## Chapter 99 – Zombie Parade
“Why didn’t you tell me!”
“You sold yours off ages ago, you idiot.”
“Ah, damn it!”
“Better to sell early than hoard it, right? Hehe.”
Chatting as we walked, we quickly arrived at our destination. I scanned the alleyway, but no thugs were in sight. Maybe it was because there were three of us; usually, at least one would show up to test the waters. Well, not seeing them was a good thing.
I took the lead. My memory was a bit hazy, but after a few turns, I was able to find Risha’s shop.
“Y-you’re going in there?”
“It’s terrifying, right? There’s a super scary witch living inside. She eats up all the nasty guys. I heard the slum thugs are her main diet.”
I said, trying to scare him with a lie. Copson looked absolutely horrified, like he might faint.
Like many adventurers who blindly believed in folk superstitions, witches were terrifying creatures straight out of nightmares. In that sense, Copson was very much a native of this world.
“A witch!”
“Cloudy, are you coming in? You didn’t go in last time, did you?”
“No, I’m okay. I’ll wait outside.”
Cloudy also declined to enter this time. Even she, who usually stuck to me like glue, seemed to find this witch’s shop very unpleasant. I’m not sure why. I’m fine with it.
“Hey, Copson. Let’s go.”
“I-I’ll wait outside too!”
Copson started trembling.
“Chicken.”
ㅡCreak.
And so, I ended up entering alone. The inside was very dark as I opened the door. All the windows were covered with curtains. I guess there was a reason why the witch’s skin was so pale. Good UV protection makes for good skin.
“Isn’t it a bit early?”
“Ah, hello. Witch-nim. It’s been a while.”
“You’ve brought something good again, I see.”
In an instant, the darkness was dispelled, and the black magic user Risha Leongreen appeared. A silver-haired, red-eyed loli witch… Rubbing her eyes sleepily, she was wearing nothing but a see-through black negligee.
Startled, I quickly did an about-face twice and turned around. With that body type, it was a crime no matter how old she was.
“What’s wrong? Ah, is it the outfit? It’s okay now. Turn back around.”
“…”
When I turned around, she was already dressed in a perfect gothic dress. Was this magic too? After clearing my throat, I looked around and opened my mouth.
“We already greeted each other… Witch-nim, I brought you this.”
“I’ve already seen it. Put it down there.”
“On the bare desk? What if it rolls off?”
“…I’ll get you a cushion.”
She took out a small purple cushion and placed the orb on it. The orb was ominous, as if the primal fate of humanity was screaming in despair from within. The color was that murky.
“Looking at this, your face immediately came to mind, Witch-nim. What do you think? Isn’t it a very high-quality orb? It has a murky color, as if it contains the sins of humanity. If you listen closely, you can hear the screams of evil sinners from within. Since I got my hands on this, I haven’t been able to sleep a wink, that color! That orb! Even the dirtiest sewer is like clear, first-class water compared to this orb! I feel like I could drink it right now… Ah, despair! Orb of despair! Why are you so black! Just like my hair!”
I pointed at the orb and rattled off all sorts of compliments. I was trying to maximize its value. I explained the value of the orb with the fervor of a con artist, and from the middle, I became so immersed that I tore at my hair and screamed in astonishment.
In fact, I knew nothing about orbs. That’s why I did that.
“Hehehe, you chirp like a canary… Child, do you have a lover?”
“Uh… Excuse me? Why do you ask that all of a sudden…?”
“Hmm… Do you? It’s nothing. Anyway, unlike your explanation, this orb isn’t very high quality.”
I was openly disappointed by the same words as Elise. She picked up the orb, looked inside, and continued.
“Don’t be discouraged. I can give you about 30 silver coins.”
“ㅡ!”
GIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!! I screamed inwardly. What to do! The Teletubbies are coming out! I was so happy I felt like I was going crazy. The Teletubbies appearing was the sign. Even in the urgent situation, I remembered Lamaze breathing and slowly calmed myself down.
“Will you sell it to me?”
“Of course, of course, of course!!! Thank you!! Witch-nim!”
After that, we chatted a bit more. Before I knew it, my hands were full of silver coins. One, two, three… 30 in total. A perfect amount to divide by 10. After politely saying goodbye, I went outside. She told me to come again, and I said I would.
“Hoo, hooat, hahahahahaha!!!”
“You’re out.”
“Don’t laugh so weirdly.”
When Copson asked how much I got, I declared “30” as if making an announcement. He knelt down. And he asked, as if sobbing, if it was true. “Yes.” At that answer, Copson burst into tears.
“Take it, this ’10 Silver’.”
I solemnly handed him the silver fruit. I put it directly into Cloudy’s pocket as well. We left the alley and said goodbye to Copson. I almost forgot, but I also handed over the adventurer’s pauldron that I had acquired. Elise didn’t need it because she wasn’t an adventurer.
“Then Katt, shall we go back to the room now?”
Cloudy, who had become bolder now that it was just the two of us, pushed me against the wall and stroked my crotch. I pushed her away as she tried to pull down my pants and put her hand inside.
“Wait. Let’s stop by the church first.”
“…”
“Hey, don’t pout.”
I held out my hand to her. Cloudy reluctantly took my hand, and I dragged her to the Salvation Heaven Church. If I combined the 50 talents I received with the talents I had saved up so far, I might be able to barely buy the [Salvation Heaven Church Greaves]. They’re still on sale, so if I’m lucky, it’s totally possible.
I think this is almost the last chance. There won’t be any undead tomorrow when I go out. Then the festival will be over, and the greaves that will enhance my taekwondo’s attack power will be gone forever.
The metal greaves that protected my shins and instep would dramatically increase my kicking power in addition to increasing my defense.
“There are still a lot of people here, huh?”
“Well, people like to shop even if they don’t have money.”
There were quite a few people in the Salvation Heaven Church’s training grounds. Maybe it’s because the quality of the products here is good, but it was crowded with people looking around even though it was early in the morning. In the first place, they display their products much more neatly than other places. That’s why they have so many customers.
The organized display felt like a department store attached to a church.
I let go of Cloudy’s hand for a moment and approached the place where the greaves were displayed. With a trembling heart, I looked at the display case and was relieved to see that they hadn’t been sold yet.
“Ah, damn it, but the price.”
But the price was just barely out of reach.
“Damn it.”
Even with the discount, I was short by a frustrating amount of talents. Should I try to ask for a discount? No, even if I did, they would say, “You’re already asking for more discount after we’ve discounted it this much?” They definitely would. They would even give me a sermon about not expecting freebies.
Then should I ask Cloudy to chip in a little?
Ah… I don’t think I can do that.
I’m a little reluctant to borrow money from my girlfriend.
No, it’s not money, it’s talents, but I can’t borrow them even if I die and come back to life.
I have my pride, damn it.
“Ah, damn it, I really want to buy it.”
What should I do, damn it? Ah.
“Haa…”
After wandering around for a while, I finally sighed.
Let’s just give up.
It wasn’t meant to be.
I’ll just go to the blacksmith and buy them with the money I earned. As for the blessing… I’ll ask Elise to say a few kind words if I see her.
“There, you, the tall one!”
Then someone called out to me.
It was the nun in charge of accessories.
Then something flashed in my mind.
“Me?”
“Yes! You’re interested in accessories, right!”
I strode over there. The nun didn’t seem to remember me. She was the nun who had coldly kicked me out because I didn’t have enough talents.
“Over here, over here, are you interested in the rings of eternal love? It’s only 40 talents! If you give it to your lover, it’s truly eternal love!”
“You really like the words ‘eternal love’.”
“Of course! How great is eternal love!”
There was a silver pair and a gold pair of rings. Which one should I buy? Cloudy’s earrings are gold, so should I match them and get the gold ones? I think someone said the color of Hell-kan was gold.
The flashing thought was this.
I’m going to give her a ring as a gift.
“I’ll take the gold pair!”
“Yes! That’s 80 talents!”
“What? Hey! You said it was 40 talents!”
“Excuse me? Why are you yelling! 40 talents is for the silver one! This gold one is 80 talents!”
Is that how it is.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I misunderstood. Then I’ll take the gold one.”
“Yes! Here you go!”
I bought a pair of gold rings for a whopping 80 talents. Since I won’t be able to use them after the festival anyway, I’ll take this opportunity to convey my feelings to Cloudy. I went to find Cloudy. She was looking at weapons in the armory corner.
“Cloudy.”
“Oh, you’re here? What about the greaves?”
I grabbed her and dragged her to a corner before she could say anything. “Hey, what’s wrong?” It’s crowded, so a quiet place would be better. “Just follow me.” After looking around for a bit, I was able to find a secluded spot.
“Give me your hand.”
“My hand?”
“Just hold it out.”
Now that it was just the two of us, I asked her to hold out her hand. Cloudy looked puzzled and held out her hand. I took her finger and put the ring I took out of my pocket on it.
ㅡSlip.
My face started to get hot.
“U-uh? What’s this?”
“This is a custom in my hometown… There’s a custom of giving rings to lovers like this, you know? It means we’ll live together forever… When I saw the ring, I immediately thought of you.”
I don’t know about this world, but in Korea, you buy a ring and give it when you propose. Of course, this is knowledge I got from watching dramas. But it’s still romantic, so I continued, as if confessing, even though I was embarrassed.
“So I bought it. Look. It’s the same as mine. It’s proof of love.”
My face was getting seriously hot. I held out my hand and showed her the ring. Cloudy’s expression was puzzled, as if she didn’t understand. She muttered “Ring? Custom?” and mulled over my words.
And then.
“…!”
Her face turned red, and she started flailing around as if she didn’t know what to do.
She must be very embarrassed.
“What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”
Her reaction was so cute that I said it teasingly,
“Huh?! N-no! That’s not it! I don’t dislike it at all! I like it! I like it a lot! A-ah… A-ah… S-so. This is… No, but the, the greaves? You wanted to buy them, right?”
Cloudy, who had answered that she liked it while stuttering badly, quickly changed the subject. Seeing her, who I’ve already seen everything of, being so embarrassed made me seriously embarrassed too.
“The greaves were expensive. And it’s better to give you a ring than something like that. I thought so because you like it so much. Will you accept my feelings?”
I took her hand like a man.
“…Katt.”
Cloudy, with a completely ‘that’ kind of face, looked at me with moist eyes.
Ah, I made a mistake.
I should have done this in the room. I’m in trouble.
“Take out all the talents you have left.”
“Huh?”
“Hurry up and take them out.”
“Uh… Here.”
But what she said was something I never imagined. Confused, I took out all the remaining talents as she asked and handed them to her.
“Here.”
Cloudy turned around and quickly walked towards the church.
“What?”
What is it? What went wrong?
I was seriously panicked by the situation that transcended my understanding, and I started to review in my head what went wrong with the confession just now.
No, it’s true that this is my first time proposing. But damn it, wasn’t I doing a damn good job for the first time? What was the problem? As I was seriously thinking about it, I heard footsteps.
Cloudy came back.
“Cloudy? What’s that?”
She was holding a big box.
“…I have talents saved up too.”
She said that and took out the contents from the box.
It was the Salvation Heaven Church Greaves.
“Take it. It’s a reward for giving me the ring.”
“…Thank you.”
Cloudy had combined my talents with her own and bought the Salvation Heaven Church Greaves. I was so happy to receive the greaves that I was dizzy with joy. I wanted to…
“…”
Our eyes met.
Her face was red with embarrassment, and she was biting her lip while avoiding my eyes. She was so lovely.
Even though it was broad daylight, we naturally kissed.
The festival was over.
But wouldn’t my festival start from now on?
Well, as always, the truth is that the beginning and end of a festival are with your lover. It’s the same in modern times and in another world.
What’s the point of a festival without a lover? Her existence is my festival.
I was very sorry that it wasn’t a summer night with fireworks exploding.
We barely parted our lips, smiled, held hands, and went back to the room.
What’s with the motel ending, really.
