Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Days Without Grey (pt. I)

"Fish! Fish for sale!"

"Half-price mangoes! Only for today, half-price mangoes!"

"Cheap and Delicious! Get your peaches here!"

A cacophony of noises echoed through the air like a symphony of liveliness and chaos. No matter where one would look, there was a product for sale and customers haggling with the vendors.

It was a lively day in the market once again, and in that market, a silver-haired elf wandered aimlessly with curious and excited eyes, looking at each and every stall like a little child.

"Skewers, Pork skewers for 3 kiels each!" ［Vendor 1］

As Yuna wandered around, a voice familiar suddenly echoed in her ears, making her stop. It came from a middle-aged man who was selling skewers, the same skewers Yuna tasted on her date with Grey.

Seeing the juicy skewers being displayed in the stall, Yuna remembered the taste that she had experienced two weeks ago. She still hasn't gotten over with its juiciness and tenderness.

"U-Umm... I would like twoー no, three skewers please!" ［Yuna］

"Hahaha, what an energetic young lady." ［Vendor 1］

The vendor giggled as he saw Yuna order up with such gusto. Not just Yuna's energy, but even her eyes were sparkling that it was blinding to the eyes.

"Here you go, that'll be 9 kiels." ［Vendor 1］

"A-Ah! Here!" ［Yuna］

"Thank you for your patronage!" ［Vendor 1］

With a smile on her face, Yuna received the skewers and paid the price. She was a little nervous that it made the stall vendor feel a little warmth in his heart as if he was watching a little child excitedly buy things for the first time.

And the stall vendor was right. It was Yuna's first time purchasing something on her own. After all, whenever Grey was around, he would always handle shopping and anything money related. Yuna has never been to a city before she came to Galderia, after all.

It being her first purchase, Yuna became extremely happy. She was like a child who just gained her independence for the first time.

"Thank you for the food!" ［Yuna］

As she bit down on the skewer, the juices of the skewer immediately filled Yuna's mouth and brushed upon her taste buds. Her eyes were sparkling like stars as she continued to eat the skewers with a bright smile.

Even when she had eaten it before, the skewers still tasted amazing. It was so tender that it felt like the flavors were melting inside her mouth. Sweetness, saltiness, and savoriness danced in harmony as she continued to eat.

If she wanted to, she could have eaten as much as she wanted. But the day has just started and there are still many things to do. She has to leave room for other foods that she will eat later.

"The Miss eating the skewers, would you like some of these too?" ［Vendor 2］

Yuna hadn't even finished her skewers when a voice called out to her. It came from a man in his late-twenties at the neighboring stall. He was selling a variety of fried foods with a smile on his face.

And it wasn't only the fried food stall owner...

"Miss, eat some fruits too!"

"Would you like some stew, Miss?"

"The young lady over there, come have some grilled fish!"

... the other neighboring stall owners also called out to her actively, showing how fierce the competition in the market was.

And as innocent as she is, Yuna went through each of their stalls and tasted their products one by one. Each time, her eyes would gleam brighter as she bit down on the foods she bought.

From dry foods all the way to soups, Yuna binged every food she saw. While there were some which weren't in line with her preference, most of the foods she had tasted were delicious.

What surprised the stall owners the most was Yuna's appetite. Even when she had eaten so much, there was no sign of slowing down. They all wondered at the same

where such a delicate small body stored all she had eaten.

After wolfing down a lot of food in the marketplace, Yuna skipped happily as she once again wandered around aimlessly. Her hands swinging back and forth, and her eyes searching for anything interesting as she hummed quietly.

As she continued exploring the city, she arrived at the theater she and Grey went to the last time. Like before, there was a long line from the ticket booth. Be it men, women, or children, each one lined up with excitement blooming on their faces.

And like an excited little child, Yuna also lined up along with them, with a face looking forward to the play. She lined up not even knowing what story was going to be played at the theater.

A few minutes passed and Yuna finally entered the theater. There, a lot of people were seated as they waited for the start of the play, chatting among themselves and eating snacks with a smile.

The moment the lights went off, silence quickly enveloped the room and every single person became quiet. The play has started to unfold.

Unlike Yuna's first time where the play was about a hero slaying a dragon, the play for the day was about a tragic love story between a prince and princess from two enemy countries.

Bored from staying in the castle all day, the princess traveled the world as a commoner and by coincidence, came across the prince of the enemy country. It was an encounter common to romance novels.

The prince of the enemy kingdom was a charismatic young man with the strength to defeat an order of knights on his own. He was the pride of the kingdom and the hope of the new generation.

Yet that heroic prince, the moment he laid his eyes on the princess, his heart raced as if he was in battle and a strong sense of happiness sprouted from the depths of his heart. He had fallen in love with the princess.

The prince tried to forget the "commoner" he had met, but to no avail. The more time has passed, the more he thought and longed to see her face once again.

Of course, the princess, knowing the face of the prince, tried to avoid him as much as she wanted. She stayed away from the prince's usual route and just continued to explore the world.

She thought it would continue that way, but fate has other plans. On a rainy day as she was waiting for the rain to let down, she once again met the prince as he rode on his white horse.

The moment the prince saw the princess, he became ecstatic. He swore to himself that he'll never let go of her once again. He summoned all his courage and confessed his feelings to the fair lady before him.

The princess tried to stay away from the prince, but the prince was persistent. Through time and effort, the princess also fell for the prince. Even when she knew that it was forbidden, she couldn't help her heart racing faster and faster each time they met. It was like a curse was casted on her.

Weeks passed and their hearts grew closer to one another. And just when the prince was about to ask for her hand in marriage, the princess vanished like thin air, leaving only a letter behind.

In the letter, the princess' true identity was revealed. She wrote that a messenger from her family had arrived and brought the news that she was to be engaged to the heir of a ducal family.

The prince's heart quickly sunk into despair as he learnt the identity of the love of his life. Alcohol, women, and gambling. He did everything he could to forget the woman that was supposed to be her enemy, but to no avail. His heart still yearned for her, unwavering and tougher than ever.

But it wasn't only him, the princess was also longing for the prince's warmth. She could not forget the days they spent together and the kisses they shared with one another. She was just as lonely as he was.

He lied in bed, drowned in the deepest depths of despair, ready to take his own life at a moment's notice. If it weren't for his friend telling him to chase his heart's desires, he would have probably despaired until the end of time.

With the day of the wedding drawing closer and a heart filled with determination, the prince grabbed his sword and charged to the neighboring kingdom to see his beloved. It didn't matter to him if he were to die or if his beloved were to hate him. He only wanted to see her for the last time.

The bells rang as the day of the wedding came. The princess was dressed in white for her wedding, yet her face was full of sadness. Deep inside her heart, she wished she had been the commoner she pretended to be. Maybe then, she can be with the one she loved the most.

The princess and her husband-to-be were on the pedestal, the people smiling happily for their unification, and the priest conducting the grand ceremony, when all of a sudden, cries of pain and suffering rang throughout the surrounding area.

Moments later, the prince went inside the venue, his eyes full of longing. He was full of wounds and his side was bleeding heavily, but the moment he saw the love of his life, a smile full of happiness bloomed in his face.

Tears quickly trickled down the princess' face. Although she was happy to see her dearest, she was saddened at the sight of his body covered in wounds. If she could, she would have ran to his arms and embraced him as tightly as she could, not caring about the eyes looking at them.

Blades, spells, arrows, and a variety of attacks rained down upon the prince, but none of them mattered to him. In a single swing, all of them were wiped out without a trace.

Seeing the spectacle before them, the attendants of the wedding quickly evacuated and all that were left were the knights and the soldiers who tried their best to kill the prince before them. Even the man who was supposed to be wed to the princess had already run away with his tail tucked between his legs.

Step after step, the prince drew closer to his love. And step after step, he received more and more wounds. But all of that didn't matter. He only wanted to hold hisnlove once again before he departed.

"I've come to see you, my love."

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The prince whispered to the princess as he caressed the princess's cheeks, making her bawl her eyes out from both happiness and worry.

Even when it was a forbidden love and many have lost their lives because of it, she couldn't stop herself from being happy. She could only think how vile a woman she was.

But such happiness didn't last long. In the corner of her eyes, she saw an archer fire a magic arrow towards the prince, and without hesitation, she took the arrow to the heart, allowing the prince to survive and kill the attacker.

In her last moments, there was no grief, no sorrow, nor any traces of regret. She was smiling happily as she gently touched the face which she had been seeing in her dreams, the face she would always think of, the face of the only man she has ever loved.

With every bit of strength she had left, she closed in the distance between her and the face of the man crying like a child before her. It wasn't sweet nor bitter, but one which tasted like iron. That was the last kiss she shared with him before her heart stopped beating.

As her body laud motionless in the ground, the prince continued to wail the death of his beloved. Pressing her hand on his cheeks and caressing her pearly face, tears continued to fall from his face.

Seeing the opportunity given to him, one of the knights held tightly to his spear and threw it with all his might. The spear struck the prince's chest and blood gushed out of his mouth, yet he didn't budge an inch nor did he flinch. He just continued to look at the face of his love.

Even at his last moments, all he could think of was her. All he wanted to hold was her hands. All he wanted to kiss was her lips. All he wanted to hear was her voice. Finally, he could be together with her for all eternity.

As the prince fell to the floor with his hands holding the princess', the play came to an end and the actors bowed their heads in response to the crowd's applause.

Many people were standing with tears trickling down their eyes as they clapped their hands in admiration. It was such a beautiful play that people would easily fall in love with the story.

Of course, Yuna was also affected by the play as traces of tears could be seen on her face. She was in a daze, as if she was still trapped inside the world foretold by the play.

Inside her mind, she wondered if she would also be able to lay down her life for Grey. If Grey would also look at her way the same way the princess did to the prince. If... she would be able to say how much she loves him without a care for the world.

With the play finished, people flooded out of the theater and went their own ways. Yuna, who had no other plans, continued to wander aimlessly as she looked for more interesting things.

"This is..." ［Yuna］

As she continued to explore the city, she came across a large building. It was about the size of the Adventurer's Guild, with the notable difference being that there were statues in front of the building before her.

And the curious girl that she was, she entered the building without much thought, paying an entrance fee by the entrance and being briefed by the rules one must observe inside the said establishment.

"Whoa..." ［Yuna］

The moment she entered, what greeted her were mountains upon mountains of books. From textbooks, to novels, and even about strange things, there was a book for whatever one wanted.

What Yuna entered was the public library which was located near the center of the city. It was a place where one could spend their leisure time away by reading books of their interest.

Of course, the books in the library were enchanted to prevent theft. After all, books have a higher value in Merusia than in Earth where paper could easily be produced and text could easily be printed by machines.

Yuna grabbed a couple of books, mostly novels, and read her time away in the library. There, she spent a few hours reading books and finished a handful of them with her superhuman reading speed.

By the time Yuna went out, the 3 o'clock bell had already rung. Time passed by so fast that Yuna didn't even notice lunch had long passed. She just had too much fun reading fiction novels, especially the ones related to romance.

"Hey, Miss! Would you like to try this game?" ［Vendor 3］

Like how it was in the morning, when Yuna was passing by the stalls in the market, another stall owner called out to her. But rather than food, what the stall offered was entertainment.

In the stalls, there were various hoops and poles displayed by the center, and on the side, there was a variety of items which could be won as a prize.

But of course, it was a rigged game. After all, what kind of business just gives away prizes with little effort. The hoops were designed to be heavier than it looks so that it won't reach the poles easily.

"If you can shoot these hoops through at least 5 poles, you win a prize! It's that easy, and the best of it, it only costs 5 kiels per tryー" ［Vendor 3］

"Kyaaa! A thief!"

The stall owner was explaining how the game works, when suddenly, a scream of help came from the crowd.

A few moments later, a man could be seen running towards Yuna with an expensive-looking purse in one hand and a knife in his other hand. He was the thief that the voice was referring to.

"Out of the way!" ［Thief］

The thief brandished his knife recklessly, making the civilians make way for him in fear of being hurt. In these situations, the thief would have normally gotten away, normally, that is.

The moment the thief brandished his knife towards Yuna, Yuna simply grabbed it with her bare hands and crushed it with pure force, turning the once sharp knife into scrap metal.

Before the thief could react, Yuna had already grabbed his arm and forced him to the ground. When the thief came to be, he found his face almost kissing the ground and his arm being restrained by a delicate looking young elf.

The crowd was bewildered by the spectacle that they just witnessed. Most didn't even understand what just happened. Their eyes weren't fast enough to notice Yuna's movements.

"Where's the thief.....?" ［Guard］

The guard reacted as quickly as he could when he heard that there was a thief, but the moment he arrived at the scene, it was already too late. The thief was already on the ground held down by a young elven girl.

He wanted to ask around about what happened but not even the witnesses understood what just happened. It was a situation where he didn't know what to do.

"Umm... Miss, could I get your statement about what happened?" ［Guard］

"Un, sure." ［Yuna］

Even with her slightly timid behavior, Yuna explained what happened as briefly as she could.

But even with her statement, the guard was still confused about how a young girl was able to turn a knife into scrap metal and overwhelm a thief. It was only when Yuna showed her guild card that the guard fully understood the situation.

As for the stall owner who was about to scam Yuna, he was thankful that he was stopped by the sudden commotion. Otherwise, he could only imagine the consequences of offending such a powerful person.

"So it really was you, Yuna." ［Helen］

Just as the incident had been resolved, Helen suddenly showed up with a basket of vegetables and fruits with her.

Helen had just finished shopping when she saw a large crowd gather, and hearing things about a silver-haired elf, she immediately thought of Yuna. And of course, she was right.

"What happened here?" ［Helen］

"A thief stole an old lady's purse so I stopped him." ［Yuna］

"Oh..." ［Helen］

While Helen had expected something unusual to happen because of the large crowd, she didn't expect that Yuna had just stopped a thief. Not to mention, Yuna was saying it in a nonchalant way as if it was just a normal occurrence.

But then again, Helen remembered Yuna's ranks and realized that she wasn't a normal girl either. After all, even with her delicate and slim body, she has the strength to beat up even a whole band of thieves.

"Are you done shopping?" ［Yuna］

"Yeah, I'm just about to head home... Wanna go home together?" ［Helen］

"Un!" ［Yuna］

Deciding to not think about it too much, Helen just invited Yuna to a walk home, and the latter easily agreed without much thought.

On the way home, the two talked about a lot of topics. From love, to adventures, and even mysteries about the city, there were a lot of things they have covered.

Yuna has realized that even with Grey not around, there are still many things she could and many people she can put her trust on. She has forged a few bonds in the 2 weeks she has been living in Galderia.

And like the way she is now while talking to Helen, she will continue to smile as she awaits for Grey's return.

CHAPTER 23 END

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