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For the first stop, Peperina led me to an area with a lot of pastry and ice cream shops. In there, she showed me the delicious treats they sold. There were two payment methods: to pay using Credits or to pay using gold. I decided to pay using credits, as we bought a triple ice cream crepe with banana and strawberry. It was a rather delicious treat—a sweet crepe dough rolled around a lot of whipped cream, fruit, and three balls of ice cream on top.
"A-Are you sure you want to pay? I can buy it myself. Peperina gasped as she saw me giving her the big ice cream.
"Of course, I invite you." I smiled. "Don't feel ashamed; it was rather cheap compared to my own savings."
"W-Well, if you say so…" Peperina gasped as she saw the huge crepe. "So good! Nom, nom…! Hmm! So creamy! I love these! The chocolate, cookies and cream, and strawberry ice cream flavor combo never fails!"
She was really happy as she ate, leaving her cute face covered with a bit of ice cream and whipped cream.
"Fufu, it seems you really enjoy it." I giggled. "But you're eating too eagerly; look, you're a bit messy." I gently cleansed her cheek with the small amount of cream there and then licked my finger. "Hmm, it is indeed quite a refreshing flavor, yes."
"A-Ah… T-Thanks." She suddenly felt slightly embarrassed as I did that.
"I bought salted caramel, vanilla, and white chocolate flavors," I said. "Want to give it a try?"
"Oohh… I haven't tasted those flavors, okay…!" She nodded, quickly taking a bite off the balls. "Hmm? Oh, the vanilla is rather flavorful. Usually, it is the most plain of flavors. The salted caramel is sure something… I don't know how to describe it. It's like sweet and salty and sweet and salty... It makes my head a bit dizzy. White chocolate was good, and the chocolate bits were nice."
"Is that so? I do like them as well." I licked the ice cream where she had taken a bite. "Hmm, delicious."
"A-Ah…" She blushed again. "D-Do you want to taste mine too?" She offered me her ice cream. She had clearly licked them a lot. But it wasn't like I minded that.
"Sure~!" I took a small bite of her flavor. "Hmm! This is a cookies and cream one, so it is like cream-flavored ice cream with cookie bits."
"Yeah, it is my favorite." She kept blushing. "A-Ahh, anyways, let me show you the plaza!"
"Sure, lead the way!"
Following her around was really fun and refreshing, honestly. And unlike the twins, Peperina had an air of innocence and cuteness that was very unique to herself. She showed me the place I hadn't seen before in detail, and we sat down there to enjoy the ice cream while looking at street performers singing and dancing.
There were quite a few wandering bands of musicians, usually led by a bard; they went from town to town singing and dancing and living off of what people donated to them.
Their songs were mostly part of the folklore of this world, or, well, of this region of the continent. They usually sang about the ancient dispute between light and darkness and how, at the beginning, there was a never-ending eclipse, therefore calling this world after that.
"Say, Peperina, are you from this floor or from another?" I wondered.
"Ah! I was born and raised in Eclipse. Yes." She nodded. "The Tower has always existed, from what my parents have remembered. I think the old history says our world was added to the tower like... hundreds of thousands of years ago."
"How interesting! I wonder what it would feel to be born and raised in such a fantastic world full of monsters and magic." I smiled. "I've noticed you're not like other beastkin, though; sorry if this sounds rude."
"Oh, not at all! Some people wonder that a lot. It's because my dad is a dwarf and my mom is a rabbit-beast woman! So I am what could be said to be like a hybrid? I'm a half-dwarf rabbitkin. I am rather proud of my double heritage!" She was a bundle of joy.
"So that's how it is!" I nodded. "That's pretty amazing to be blessed with two heritages and two powerful bloodlines. I bet you make your parents proud?"
"I-I mean, I guess they are happy for me, but I don't know if I make them proud…" She sighed. "My dad originally wanted me to inherit his small Smithy Company, but I just couldn't with it and left. I always wanted to be an Adventurer and explore the world, and once I learned there was a Tower, I wanted to climb it too and become a Player and an Explorer!"
"Is that so? Is that something you're going to do in the near future?" I wondered curiously.
"N-No, it was just a dumb dream, though." She sighed. "When I finally got to fight monsters, I was just too scared. I couldn't really do it. And…" She started gripping her hands tightly. "I-I ran away and... ended up taking a job as a receptionist here."
"Oh dear… I'm so sorry." I sighed. "I-I didn't know that... Was I rude, asking too much?"
"Heheh, no, don't worry, Bing Xue. You're so attentive and careful with your words. It is fine." She smiled. "It's just all my fault for being dumb... I've been gone for four years since then, sending letters to my parents from time to time. They still think I am an Adventurer Leveling Up and hunting monsters inside Dungeons… Ahh, I don't really know what to do in that regard. Thankfully, they're very old-fashioned and don't use a cellphone."
"That's a rather complicated subject... Do you truly want to be an Adventurer still? Or are you still scared of monsters? What made you scared in the first place? The fear of… death?" I wondered.
"Yes… I… I was afraid of dying and… I guess I don't have a really strong will, unlike I had imagined when I was younger." She sighed. "I should have accepted Dad's proposition and become a member of her smithy. By now, I would already be pretty good if I kept practicing all those years I've wasted…"
"I'm so sorry." I sighed. "But I believe you've got a great deal of talent as a receptionist, Peperina! You're very attentive, careful, and very cute and lovely. I am sure many other hunters love it when you attend them. You also seem pretty smart and competent, and you work rather quickly." I told her, trying to lift her spirits.
"I-Is that so…? Thank you…" She smiled a bit. "Aah, well, let's just not talk about this again. Sorry, it was just me opening up out of nowhere. Weird… I guess I haven't really met someone who truly listened to what I said most of the time."
"Well! I'm here to listen to anything you say." I smiled. "I am very strong, you know. Maybe I could give you the tools to help you level up and become stronger. Until you get strong enough to gain a bit more confidence in yourself while still keeping your cautiousness."
"Oh… But that would be very unfair, right? And why would you help me so much, Bing Xue?" She wondered. "I-I don't really think you should."
"Well, if I have the power to help, then I help. That's how I go with my life." I smiled. "Have you thought about your dreams, though? Have you already forgotten them, or do you still want to fulfill them?"
"I…" She muttered, looking rather conflicted. "I really want to do it... Actually, it's just... I get scared, and it's not easy."
"Hmm…" I nodded. "Alright, if you think my helping you is unfair, you can repay me with something; how about it? A favor for a favor."
"E-Eh? What… favor?" She asked.
I slowly approached her face as she blushed. I could hear her heart beating rapidly.
"Invite me to a meal!"
"O-Oh! Ahhh… Okay!"
She nodded rapidly as I gave her a gentle head pat.
"You have some talent and are also really good-natured. I am sure you can get far. Let me be your "sponsor" or something. You can repay me once you get pretty strong." I smiled. "Helping my friends or protecting the town—any of such things could be taken as payment for me."
"I-I guess I can do that… Yes!" She nodded. "But I am still afraid of fighting; how will you help?"
"First of all, let's go have a meal. We can talk while eating." I smiled.
"S-Sure!" She nodded.
Within Peperina's eyes, I could see an ever-growing conviction. She invited me to a rather fancy-looking restaurant where they sold a combination of Earth's food and Eclipse's food. Mostly Italian and Radiant Continent combination food.
"This is my favorite place! They sell such delicious pasta with creamy sauces!" She said. "Also pretty decent wines as well! Let's go in! I invite you!"
"Thank you so much." I smiled as I walked right behind her. "I'll take this invitation happily."
After sitting down and using the table that Peperina had reserved in advance, I ordered what she recommended; it was fettuccini with white bechamel sauce and a piece of grilled, nicely seasoned salmon.
As side dishes, we decided to order a medium-sized pizza with pesto sauce, three types of cheese, ham, and some veggies. Peperina got herself a classic Bolognese-sauce fettuccini with big meatballs.
"Hmm? Oh, this is good."
The delicious soft noodles combined with the creamy sauce made a rather comforting combination. As I took small bites of the tasty grilled salmon steak, I found myself immersed in a combination of strong and soft flavors.
"It is, isn't it? Simple, but good! Also, try the pizza; it's my favorite!"
She offered me a slice, and I took it happily and tried it out. It was also delicious. The flavors went well together. I never thought I would enjoy a pizza slice with so many veggies, but it worked.
"So good too! Pesto sauce on pizza wasn't something I had thought about back then."
As I enjoyed this food, I remembered my past, before even going to Murim, when I used to bring pizza back home after my job and enjoy it with my family.
I want to do the same again.
"It's pretty tasty, right?" She smiled, taking pictures of the food and uploading them to her Instagram page. "Hehe, maybe that'll get me some likes…"
"You really like that page." I giggled. "Well, you got the knack for being a foodie influencer, I suppose."
"I-Influencer, me?! Nahh…" She laughed. "I just do it for fun, but I don't know if I could get famous... I barely get a few dozen likes. But I appreciate you liking every post!"
"It's nothing." I smiled. "Now give me another pizza slice; that was way too good."
"There you go, hehe!" She happily gave me more.
After we were almost done, we continued talking about what I was saying before. Peperina told me her current class was called "Explorer," a basic class she picked that had a lot of exploration perks and skills, with a max level of 120.
"I'm currently at Level 6… Yeah, I barely killed a few tiny rats and slimes." She sighed.
"Hmm, we can remedy that quickly." I nodded. "We can go to a dungeon together, and I'll give you some equipment and protect you, but you'll do the rest of the job of hitting monsters. You need to learn to not be afraid of hurting others. I believe that's your primary fear, isn't it?"
"Aah, you're too good at this... Yes, it's that indeed." She nodded. "S-Since I was little, I've had a lot of strength because of my dad's lineage. His family is specifically strong among the dwarves. He descends from the Blazing Dwarves, which once came from Floor 20. They were often known as Blazars. Because of that, I was born with a lot of strength, and I once hurt my mom when I was little; I broke her hand. S-Since then, I..."
"Since then, you were afraid of hurting others, even monsters, right?" I sighed. "I understand that feeling; I wasn't good at killing before. In fact, I was afraid; I felt guilt and fear. But it is also an essential part of living and existing—to take another being's life and feed off their meat, blood, bones, and energies."
"I-I guess so…" Peperina nodded. "I also didn't want to die; my body's so small, I was always being thrown away."
"I see, I get it now." I nodded. "How about we start with some long-range weapons first? Like a bow and such?"
"A bow! I haven't thought about it. I am not too good with it, but I've heard the Explorer Class can learn some proficiency with it." She said.
"Nice! Well, what else? I guess once you get more comfortable, I could give you a hammer and heavy armor, so you don't get thrown away." I said. "Also, you said your dad is Blazar Descendant, right? Can you manipulate fire?"
"I-I haven't been able to awaken that, no…"
"Maybe once you level up enough, you'll be able to. I also have another trick called cultivation that could help you get stronger!"
"Ooh, cultivation? Where did you learn that? Oh right! Dummy me, I've been talking about me this entire time, but I never asked you anything about yourself, Bing Xue! Sorry…"
"It's fine. It is not like I enjoy talking about myself. But if you want to learn a few things, ask away."
"Well, you are a Returnee, right?"
"Indeed…"
As I slowly explained to her who I truly was, I suddenly saw a notification pop up out of thin air.
[The Tower God {Grandfather of Time} smiles.]
[He says your world shall be swallowed by the timelines once lost!]
[He says you and your people shall pay for having slain his Avatar!]
Is this the Chronomancer's sponsor?
Ah, seriously, can't I have just a single peaceful day?
Oh well. Perfect timing to test my new Skills and Abilities.
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