Chapter 22: The Final Days Of Training

The air is really nice today. Charlotte thought. She was strolling through the city's streets, named Westwind, admiring the food markets, stores, and people, all of which gave it a lively atmosphere. 

Unlike the settlements in her hometown, this one was much more relaxed and laid back. None of the people had that hidden look of fear near the city officials, nor were the guards needlessly cruel. This was how things should have been.

After she had finished her level 100 quest, Walter immediately called out to her, asking how she did. She filled him in on the details, and when she got to the part where she defeated the Hive Queen, he congratulated her. As a present, she was given an entire day off of training. When she asked about the Mana Jewel, he told her to use it. It wasn't affected by her level cap, so it meant a free level cap increase. Now her max level was 270 instead of 250!

She postponed the decision to check her notifications for completing her quest, focusing on the larger task at hand. Exploring Westwind. She was determined to enjoy all the sights and attractions it held, and... make some friends. 

"Hey, little miss! Want to try a skewer?" A voice called out to her. She turned around and saw a middle-aged man sitting by a food booth, cooking pieces of mushrooms, vegetables, and chunks of meat. She pointed at herself, to which the man nodded.

Why not?

She approached him and inspected his products. She had to admit, it did smell good. "It's 5 coppers! Just for you!"

Charlotte had to admit she was kind of hungry. Just a little bit. She dug into her pouch, rooting around for some money. Pulling out a bag of coins, she opened it and... she only had silvers and gold coins.

"Do you have change?" She asked nervously. Charlotte was still not used to talking to people, especially when she spent the past half year either running away from people or training under that maniac. Even before that, she only conversed with her family and close noble friends. Talking to a commoner stranger was so strange.

"Yep! Up to 70 coppers worth." He smiled, as the smile wrinkles on his face showed themselves. 

She dropped a single silver on the counter. "I- I'll take 5 then..." 

With a swift hand motion, 5 skewers came off the grill and into his hand. He then handed it to Charlotte, which she took. "Unfortunately, I don't have enough change for your silver..." 

"Oh! It's fine, you can keep the change!" She stammered as she ran away. That was enough human interaction for 1 day!

The man sighed and shook his head as he watched her run away. "hah... must be some young noble..." At least she wasn't arrogant and stuck up like so many of the others.

"Oi boss! 3 skewers please!" A voice brought him back to his stall. "Coming right up!" He smiled as he brought out more ingredients and placed them on the grill. 

...

Charlotte ran back to the town square, where the dungeon stood at the center. There was a long line now, with many people lining up to enter the dungeon. She wondered if Hilas was doing fine. 

She was her first real friend. If Hilas even considered her one.

Sitting down on a nearby bench, she began munching on a skewer. To her surprise, it was super delicious. The mushrooms were juicy and soft, the vegetables were crunchy, and the meat was flavorful! She didn't know how it was seasoned, but godsdamn this was the best food she had since her comfortable noble life.

Scarfing down the rest of her skewers, she let out a sigh of relief. Everything was better with a full belly.

You are reading story Masamune, The Blood Blade at novel35.com

While walking around before, she heard that there was a place in the city that a lot of people gossiped about. It was, apparently, also the place where a lot of the city's men went to have fun, so she decided to go check it out first. 

The people called it the 'Red-light' district, for whatever reason. Well, she could see that a portion of the city where this district stood was glowing red but damn, did it need to be named after a color?

After that, she'll find a good inn to sleep in and rest before the dreaded day to return starts. She looked up, noting that the sun was now beginning to dip below the horizon, the orange glow casting long shadows throughout the city. She'd better start now before it gets fully dark, and what better way to find the directions there than to ask the locals?

Going up to a young woman that looked like she wasn't doing anything at the moment, she asked, "Hey! Do you know how to get to the Red light district?"

...

Charlotte was not having a good time.

She was laying in bed at the inn, watching as sunlight slowly poured into the room. 

She regretted everything that happened yesterday. Her face flushed even thinking about what she had to go through because of her thick-headedness. It was a place where mostly men went, what other establishment did she think only men would go to?!

 She smothered her face into the blanket. The look on that lady's face when she asked her how to get to the Red-light district...

"AUGHHH!" She screamed, inflicted with psychological pain. She could never show her face in front of those people... EVER AGAIN!

But... she was... intrigued?

"It's time for you to return." A disembodied voice said into her left ear. 

Charlotte screamed in surprise. "Can you at least not scare me into my next life?!" 

"You have 2 more months. Hurry on back." He said, his voice fading. 

Charlotte groaned, and began to put on her clothes. This time, she made sure to wear a hooded cloak so that no one would recognize her. Picking up all her stuff and paying for her room, she left the city without many problems, back into the small town where she would spend the next 2 months in.

On her way there, she decided to finally check her notification.

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