" ...Understood, I will let the others know about it. See you later then." I heard Asfi's words as the communication device went silent. I had just informed Asfi of our plan to stay at Melen for today.
After that, I went back inside to find Aina and Riveria seated on the sofa while Max was in the kitchen, likely preparing snacks and tea.
"Hm? Arin, are you done letting the others know about our situation?" Riveria stopped her conversation with Aina and asked me.
"Yes, I am." In return, I gave a nod and seated myself beside her, opposite Aina, her eyes gazing at me intently, making me tilt my head in confusion.
"Arin, I don't think we have introduced ourselves properly yet, have we? I am Aina Tulle, Riveria's friend, Chambermaid, and her best buddy!" she said, excitedly.
"I see, it's nice to meet you, Aina. I am Arin Kael." I also introduced myself.
"Yes, Riveria and Eina mentioned you a lot in their letters, and I must say you are really handsome. Riveria really has a good eye, doesn't she?"
"Thank you, Aina-san," I replied simply.
"I'm not flattering you; in fact, you are quite famous here."
"Really," I asked back, raising my eyebrows.
"Putting you being the sole member of your species aside, you are also the record holder, and after the incident with Evilus, it is no surprise that you would be famous, Arin." Riveria, who was silent until now, spoke up.
"Yes, those Evilius bastards were a piece of work; a lot of ships were damaged by them," Max said, putting the tea and snacks on the table.
"I guess Melen, being one of the routes people take to travel across the world, being a target is not that big a surprise." I thought.
Riveria, seeing that the talks were going on the heavier side, changed the subject. "Anyways, enough about the gloomy subject, Aina, tell me, is Nina doing well?"
"Of course, as you know, ever since she went to the School district, she became more cheerful."
"Now, that you mention it, in a few months the school district will be coming back to Orario to repair their ship. We will be able to meet her then."
"Oh, you are right and…" As they converse among themselves, I observed Aina in detail, seeing her so cheerful now. It's hard to believe that she is suffering from an incurable illness..
And what is this illness specifically? Riveria mentioned that Aina's condition worsens in Black Desert, so maybe it's like Cancer? Or is it something else? I shook those thoughts away, as clearly I don't have any answer to that.
"By the way, what kind of work do you do, Max?" I decided to distract myself from those complicated thoughts and asked him.
"I work as an accountant at the dock, entering what goods arrived, what left, etc, etc." To be honest, I was quite surprised at that. Going by his muscular figure, I judged that he would be working as a shipmaker or something.
"Hehe, my darling is really smart and hardworking, you know?" Aina said proudly, clinging to him.
"Haa…" Riveria sighed, seeing their antics, and stood up, calling me out. "Arin, let's go and have a walk. I will show you around the town."
And so we left the two love birds behind us and made our way out of the house. "Is there a place you would like to go? Or should I just show you around?" Riveria turns to ask me. Normally, I would have just asked her to guide me, but here, I do in fact have a place I would like to go.
"Yes, actually, I want to go somewhere first, after that we can walk around the town." Riveria just tilted her head to the side.
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We arrived at the place that I wanted to see as Riveria spoke, "So, you wanted to see the Ocean?"
"Yup, mainly because I have never seen the ocean before…" I replied, gazing at the horizon that seemed to go on forever with the sea water sliding up the sand, creating a soothing sound.
"Really? Have you never seen the ocean?" Riveria asked again, surprised, flickering in her words.
"I mean, I have seen it in the pictures, but never in person." The place we came to was a small beach located slightly away from the main dock, where the river met the sea, with no other people present except us. It is a peaceful place.
"So, what do you feel after seeing it?"
"I feel free, I guess not as free as I feel staring at the night sky, but close enough, which makes me want to see what other things this world has to offer. When did you say you came here last time?"
"It's been a few months, but I still remember the smell of this ake clearly, though some believe the smell of this lake is trying on a forest elf's nose… I am quite fond of it. When I first laid eyes on this scenery, it seemed so different from the confining village I was raised in—it was exhilarating."
A small smile graced her lips as she looked out across the lake, towards the horizon, and the glimmer of the far-off sea.
Hearing this, I couldn't help but think of everything I heard from Riveria about her past—how she left her elven home in hopes of broadening her world and discovering the unknown.
The first time she met Finn and the others was when she strong-armed her way into Loki Familia with such force that Loki described it as "Making a deal with the devil," apparently leading to countless days of contention. Her journey to Oraroio had been far more than the "simple trip" she described it as.
All of this, however, would mean that Riveira, too, had experienced a great many wonders as she made her way to the city. Her longing to discover the unknown, her curious heart—everything about her had the making of an adventurer, and today she was every bit of a citizen of the dungeon city, Orario. Having said that, even she herself had remarked at one point that she'd like to see it all over again—to traverse the world a second time.
I also remember how, in the heat of the moment had grabbed her hand and declared that we would see it again, her, me, and everyone else, and when this world has nothing new to offer, then we would travel beyond the stars to see and know that unknown.
At that time, we weren't that close as we are now, so I had to let go of her hands, but now…
"Hm? What happened, Arin, grabbing my hand like that?" Riveria shifted her eyes from the horizon and settled on me. But I kept my gaze steady, pretending not to be affected by her touch.
"Nothing, I just felt like holding your hand…" I said, and she gave a helpless shake of her head, but a smile still graced her lips as she too looked out at the horizon again.
We remain at the beach for some time, enjoying the beautiful view and each other's company. Accompanied only by the sound of waves crashing onto the shore and the water flowing through the river.
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" ...let's go and walk around the town now, it's been a while since I last came here, and they also have some good food stalls as well." Riviera and I enjoyed the peace, and after a while Riveria turned to leave. I also walked up to her.
"Yes, I noticed some unique dishes on our way here," I replied, remembering the various exotic aromas we'd passed.
As we walked back toward the town center, the variety of food stalls became apparent. Being a major port where travelers from across the world stopped to rest and resupply, Melen had an incredible diversity of cuisines.
"I've never seen those spices before." I pointed to a stall where a dark-skinned merchant was grilling skewers of what looked like spiced fish with vibrant red and yellow seasonings.
"Those are from the Southern side of the Continent," Riveria explained. "They use a blend of fire peppers and sun spices that give the fish a unique sweet-heat flavor."
Nearby, another vendor was serving what appeared to be dumplings, but they were bright blue and steaming with an almost ethereal vapor.
"And those?" I asked, fascinated by all kinds of new food I encountered.
"Deep-sea dumplings filled with fish meat and sea herbs. The blue color comes from deep-water kelp—it's supposed to be quite nutritious."
We passed a stall run by what appeared to be a family from the Far East, serving noodles in a rich, dark broth topped with strange purple vegetables and thin slices of some unknown meat.
"Storm-beast ramen," Riveria noted, seeing my curiosity. "It is very famous in the Far East. It's said to invigorate the spirit."
Another stall caught my attention—an elderly woman was wrapping some kind of flatbread around grilled meat and vegetables, but the bread itself seemed to shimmer with golden flecks.
"Golden grain wraps," Riveria smiled at my obvious interest. "It's just for novelty purposes. Though it has a slightly sweet taste and is incredibly filling."
"This is amazing," I said, overwhelmed by the variety. "Let's try some."
"Yes, we should," Riviera replied, and we spent some time in the town trying all kinds of different food. But it was one piece of food that I ate, which seemed to be stuffed with one of the ingredients I hate the most.
"Ah, Arin, wait–!" And Riveria was too late to warn me, or rather, I, being a foody person, was just enjoying different kinds of them and didn't heed her call, and took a big mouthful of the food, only to cringe right after.
"Ugh…! Hick, I hate green chili… Hick," I spat the food back out on the plate and threw it in a nearby dustbin. I was allergic to green chili makes me hick up every time I eat them, which is kind of weird now, as I have a body that is pretty much immune to all kinds of disease, but I guess my reaction is more psychological than a real allergy.
"Haa… You should have listened to me. Here, try this, it's sweet." Riveria handed me a big, fluffy ball that looked like cotton candy, which she was eating. I took a big bite of it, and only after that did my stinging tongue calm down.
"Next time you eat something unfamiliar, ask me first, okay?" she chided gently, rubbing my back, as I took another bite of the cotton candy. The sight must have been strange, with a man over 180cm being treated like glass by a beautiful woman whose beauty rivaled the gods, which attracted quite a few eyes from the people.
But Riveria didn't seem to notice anything as she spoke, "It's getting late now, we should head back," she said, looking at the setting sun. I nodded back and gave her the rest of the candy. And we made our way back to Aina's house.