Starfall, known as the city of dungeons and adventurers, is essentially a vast continent divided into three regions.
The Adventurer Guild, the Entertainment District, and the Dungeons.
The Adventurer Guild is where Awakeneds can join to form parties and raid dungeons.
They earn money by selling the items they find inside the dungeons or the corpses of beasts they hunt.
There are also five prominent private guilds in Starfall that recruit the most renowned adventurers to tackle dungeons too challenging for the Adventurer Guild.
The Entertainment District is bustling with inns, hotels, bars, and many other establishments catering to the needs of adventurers, providing them with a place to relax and unwind.
The district is a maze of narrow streets and vibrant signs, with music and laughter spilling out from the doorways.
In the Entertainment District, two figures cloaked in black walked toward an inn.
The inn's sign creaked gently in the evening breeze, illuminated by flickering lanterns.
One of the cloaked figures was struggling with a pounding headache caused by the two idiots inside his head.
( Bro, I want ice cream!)
Nero's voice chirped, and Vaan could almost see the sparkle in his eyes.
[ Shut up, kiddo. Vaan, you need to eat meat and drink alcohol to get strong]
Axel retorted.
( Alcohol doesn't make anyone stronger, you dumb devil!)
Nero shot back.
[ Adults get stronger with it, you fool!]
Axel bickered.
'Stop it, both of you!' Vaan finally snapped, having endured their arguing for too long.
After that, he and Daisy entered the inn and scanned the bustling room for a table.
The place was filled with adventurers, creating a lively and chaotic atmosphere.
The long tables were crowded with adventurers eating, drinking, and sharing stories.
A minstrel played a lively tune in the corner, adding to the cacophony of sounds.
Vaan and Daisy finally settled at a corner table.
Vaan called for a waiter while Daisy curiously observed the diverse crowd around them.
Guards, rugged adventurers, beautiful girls, and handsome boys—all types of people filled the inn.
She glanced at Vaan to see if he was eyeing any of the girls, but he sat silently, which made her feel relieved.
"What do you want, sir?" the waiter asked, presenting a menu to Vaan.
Vaan skimmed the menu and ordered two special sets with ice cream.
After taking their order, the waiter left to bring the food.
Vaan closed his eyes and sat quietly, trying to find a moment of peace amidst the noise.
"Here's your order, sir," the waiter said, placing the food on the table.
The table was now filled with an array of meats, alcohol, ice cream, and various side dishes.
"Do you want anything more?" Vaan asked Daisy.
"No, it's already a lot," she replied, shaking her head.
"It's good!" she exclaimed after taking a bite.
"Yeah," he nodded, a smile forming on his lips as he watched her enjoy the food without any worries.
[ Eat the meat quickly before it gets cold]
( Brother, eat the ice cream first or it'll melt)
The smile faded from Vaan's face as he heard the voices. To quiet them, he hurriedly ate everything as instructed.
Daisy watched in surprise as Vaan devoured the food and then ordered another set.
She had never seen him eat like this; it was the first time she saw him with such an appetite.
"Do you want anything?" he asked, noticing her gaze.
"No, it's just... this is the first time I've seen you eat like this," she said, her tone curious.
Vaan blushed in embarrassment and quickly tried to cover it with a poker face, but she had already seen it.
"Haha," she laughed, seeing him act like a child.
After they ate their fill, Vaan settled the bill, and they left the bustling inn to search for a place to stay at a reasonable price.
The streets of the Entertainment District were still lively, with street performers entertaining passersby and vendors selling trinkets and snacks.
The glow of lanterns illuminated their path as they navigated through the streets.
After some searching, they finally found an inn that suited their needs and went inside.
"How many rooms do you need?" the staff asked.
"Single room with two beds," Vaan answered, surprising Daisy, who had assumed they would stay in separate rooms.
"Two silvers," the staff asked, and Vaan gave two silver coins to her.
The staff nodded and handed him the key. He and Daisy then made their way to their room on the second floor of the inn.
The room had two single beds with ample space to move around.
There was a nightstand positioned between the beds and a closet for storage.
Vaan removed his cloak and lay down on one of the beds, still feeling fatigued after the synchronization.
Daisy also took off her cloak and sat on the other bed.
Her heart raced like a drumbeat as she watched Vaan sleeping peacefully beside her.
She had liked him since the day he arrived at the orphanage.
Among all the kids and adults there, no one was her age until he came along.
Discovering they were the same age had made her incredibly happy.
Initially, she had only wanted to drag him outside to play as a friend, but as time passed, her feelings had deepened.
She had reasoned that it was because he was the only one her age.
But even as they explored the entertainment district and encountered many handsome young men, she had felt no attraction toward anyone else.
Now she was certain.
She was in love with this idiot who was peacefully sleeping, while a beautiful girl like her shared the same room.
She gazed at his small face with striking red eyes, pale white skin, and messy black hair.
He looked so adorable that she felt like using him as a pillow.
As she drifted into her own world, fatigue overtook her and her eyes began to droop until she finally fell asleep.
Two hours later, in the dead of night, an infinity tattoo on her wrist began to glow faintly.
She sweated profusely in her sleep due to the unsettling dream she was having.
She dreamt of the bandit leader brutally murdering Jack and Mark, then imprisoning her and Rowan in a cage, bound with ropes.
They were left to starve for three agonizing days before being sold at a slave market for a mere 30 gold coins.
At the market, she witnessed countless children like herself and Rowan, shackled with chains around their necks and treated like livestock.
They were collared, beaten, and left to starve if they disobeyed their captors or attempted to escape—a living nightmare for children their age.
Her eyes snapped open, heart pounding with terror.
She frantically looked around for Vaan, finding him peacefully asleep beside her.
Only then did she manage to calm down.
"Was that just a dream?" she whispered to herself, though it felt more like a haunting recollection of past memories than a mere dream.
Slowly, the glow of the infinity tattoo on her wrist faded away.