Chapter 172: Summer and With It, Trouble (4)
VdvxGThere were quite a few popular locations for dates in the Royal Capital, but the Bayt Royal National Garden, located on the outskirts of the city, was considered by many to be a must-visit.I6x
LcWJNot only did the garden look spectacular, but the trees and flowers of this place had concealed the underground cave, which was dug out by the believers during the beginning days of the Kingdom to hide from the eyes of the persecutors.mzW
Lb1NgFor the believers of the Order, it was a historical site that showcased their faith and was also a fabulous garden that provided a wonderful walking path for the citizens of the Kingdom.Asnmv
2SrVapvDue to the amount of historical significance in the Bayt Garden, it later became a national garden and underwent a few changes, but that wasn’t important for the young couples.QGwE37y
ACB0zmThat popular national garden was what had been decided to be Hua Ran and Korin’s main venue for their date.KXjqq
3ZjrX“Ugh…”z5ooF
8cmIn front of the ticketing office located at the entrance of the garden, a black-haired girl was restlessly walking around in circles.9QFbS74
zhDB7『Hua. Honestly, you’re very distracting.』umyVaj9
jE9“Uht…”Vb3S
soZbHua couldn’t say anything back to her sister. She was too nervous and her mind was so preoccupied that she couldn’t even think of a response.e9bw
5nZv2“Will he… come?”g9N
qdnr『There’s no way he wouldn’t.』KLE
wd1“But…”ufuQkN
KUEEWhat if Korin hated her? Like, even if he didn’t hate her, what if he didn’t consider her a potential partner for a date?U1dPY
Xvt5oQ7Looking back, she was full of regret. She continued asking herself, ‘Why did I say that? Just why?’f4W
aVpyFEven Korin seemed slightly befuddled by her sudden request, and he took a while to agree…lGiV
O08a1『Sure. Anywhere you want to go?』yhcQSA
VAGZ8FEverything went by in a flash after that. Korin decided on the date, and the girls returned to the hotel that Marie had booked for them.EH7h
kjsPFortunately, Alicia and Marie had zero clue that Hua Ran was going on a date with Korin.pD4STfV
xUxwbOn D-day, Hua wore something vastly different from her usual, dry nun clothes.kDoE
SDRTKZYou had to wear something pretty for a date—that was a fact that she had taken in from one of Josephine’s romance novels. Therefore, the two girls in one body withdrew cash from the Zeon Order’s coin storage and immediately headed to a nearby clothing store.ysBw
FckIt wasn’t her first time buying clothes. Estelle had taken her to clothing stores a few times, paying several gold coins every time.ZfuFm
LctHowever, it was her first time going into a clothing store by herself. Not knowing anything, she just bought the dress that was recommended by the staff, but…pm8baL
KN7XBFV“T, this… is, is too bold.”fx16eDC
sXW『…But everyone wears stuff like that here.』KVMH
hI0EHua Ran was wearing an off-the-shoulder dress. This country was very open with bold outfits and skin exposure, but it was very embarrassing for the two, who had come from the East.IQW
MRG0『Marie-unni… and Alicia all wear like this. This is… probably normal, right?』T8B0
iTOW“They’re all… crazy.”DZlF4
hZIJCDULet alone belly buttons and thighs, the women of this country all exposed either the top or the side of their breasts as if that was the common sense of a lady!KgeNV2F
xgC5『But it’s… pretty.』Ds1D5
Sts4“…Is it?”AjnVf
GB3『Yes. Hua, you look very pretty right now.』yIE
wlCmd“Will… Korin think the same?”Dfgp
8adBl7E『It’s said in one of Senior Professor Josephine’s romance novels. Apparently, men are like rabid dogs and lose themselves when they see bare skin.』t2WOP
5JAEMRq“What does ‘rabid’ mean?”wZ76cYJ
Q8RLB『They held hands together on the bed after that, so maybe it’s part of the ritual in calling storks? But why dogs?』Dai
hgb8“…Do you need dogs to summon storks?”u5Mm7c
ZT6pd『…Wait, so the reason there haven’t been any storks until now even though we slept while holding hands…』H7r
21zEUinThat can’t be…lrP
mfZIt seemed that being far away from the stork habitat wasn’t the only reason behind their failure. After coming across such a shocking truth, the sisters both thought about somehow getting themselves a dog.53JS2H3
WM24c6m“…It’s too early for a stork.”Ces
D19C『Think about it though. A stork carrying a little baby that looks like us and Oppa. How handsome, and how pretty will the child be?』nxYLU
h505mLK“…Don’t say ‘us’.”lCfHV
n29HQJ『You’re saying that again?』Q64
yPXnRan was the one that liked Korin, not her – Hua once again put emphasis on that to defend herself. This date was just to confirm the fact that she did not like Korin.V4Ncho7
Jbm“Sorry, I’m late. Ohh~ new clothes, huh?”aNMEk
I2w“Y, yeah…”4Rk19
Zg9Hua unconsciously gulped as she saw Korin arrive 10 minutes before the promised meeting time. It was her first time showing a casual outfit and was therefore visibly nervous.beG
ifzG6vLWhat will he say? Will he say it’s pretty? Or that it looked nice?9IJsm
JADaFor some reason, Hua had a feeling that she would feel hurt if he said something negative.Ke3
TuKDKG“You look pretty. You’ve always been pretty but seeing you dressed up makes you look different. In fact, my question is, why haven’t you been dressing up like this until now?”CnnmFn
3xCiQkI“R, really?”71TTa
6pcIt was a magnificent reply from the male. With a shy look on her face, Hua fidgeted with the short strands of her hair.TTmqfcu
Kocr1un“Let’s go buy clothes together later when we have a chance. I’m sure you’ll look pretty no matter what you wear, but we can buy accessories that go well with you and your clothes as well.”2YI
8aodP“Nnn…”ZFVQ
YIpM1Hua was bashfully fidgeting with her hair when Korin reached out to grab her hand. She flinched from the sudden turn of events, but her surprise didn’t end there.uJi2
T2qdKKorin gave a kiss to the back of her hand and asked to escort her, as he had been ‘taught’.GMl8U
qTmz7of“Shall we go, my lady? If you give me the honor of escorting you, that is.”7rz43
G0G“Y, yeah… Nn…”kHwtfHR
fup5Unable to fling away or reject his hand, Hua found herself holding onto Korin’s hand as they entered the garden together. As expected of a popular garden, it was packed with people.UuwPcZ
boe8“There are a lot of people. Are you okay?”zTN158m
DWGH“I’m… fine.”eIJTUea
AqoHua, who hated being with a large crowd, leaned on his shoulder like a kitten relying on its mother.I2HXlC
AbZMore parts of their body came into contact, from hand-in-hand to arm-in-arm. Oblivious to how the warmth of the touching skin was flushing up her cheeks, Hua Ran leaned in even closer.Nfg
KkiAi5C“Smells nice. No wonder everyone recommends this place.”9FH
BTm“Yeah…”NQAR9Av
JbG“This place is famous for the Pigeon Cave, which leads to an underground shelter. Going to that place first seems to be the way to go, so do you want to try that one out first?”MhDi98
nvNNe“Okay…”RCBf
RUhkHFollowing the signs that wouldn’t have been there in the distant past, they walked forward until they arrived at the famous Pigeon Cave. Going down the stone staircase that led to the shelter of the persecuted believers, they found a wide entrance.AVkQVJZ
fdVDespite the expensive magical lamps placed here and there, the cave was overall still dark. The two of them therefore stuck close to each other as they walked down the pathway.oTf
jLUi1iOn the walls of the dark cave, they found several equal-sized spherical holes.gkvqYNc
tqiJ“Hua, look. This must be where they kept the pigeons.”vJEG
3KCrBy“Y, yeah…”cz6Vm
ZGQ8RHua couldn’t focus on the conversation. Her mind was solely focused on her arm that was locked next to Korin’s.LtQD
TUTThe sound of her heart, which was always noisy when next to him, sounded even noisier inside the silent cave.uK43
7FDcMu‘Can he hear it? Can he?’BsmBpqL
KEYd『H, he shouldn’t be able to.』9biT
9CFWshAll she could do was hope that the sound of her heartbeat wouldn’t reach the ears of the one next to her. Hua Ran… was intoxicated by the sweetness of the situation.LAVgJD
LUeiKd***NDQ7C
2CzHua didn’t look too good.p3gpw1
x8NAWhen we were exploring the cave, she didn’t bother looking around and instead held tightly onto my arm with her head dropping low.1aDnl
eIENQ‘Is she scared of dark places?’hEih4
HsssIt was a mistake on my part for not checking beforehand whether she had claustrophobia or anything similar.ELni
Z2s“I think we are done with the cave now. Do you want to go up?”n99Q4Jm
Phh4“…”AZvPC
Z4Mi7Without saying anything back, Hua silently gave a nod in response.F4l4K
DcSfdThe highlight of the national garden was sitting down on a mat next to the flowerbeds, enjoying the fragrant scent of flowers while having lunch.GG1ebx2
V7SdAfter finding a great place to sit down, I opened up the mat and placed it on the ground. It was still a bit early for lunch though; it was more like a brunch.ggNpCF
Um93“…”V9KPlar
kNk17t0Sitting down on the mat, I took out some food. Honestly, kimbaps were the best for picnics but it was hard to make those here, so I brought some sandwiches instead.QwBM
zUHGU7It wasn’t my first time coming here, but the Royal National Garden truly was a spectacular place.aSa9f0s
xbe6Tulips were decorating the entirety of the large hills at the front. Tulips of all sorts of colors were each taking up a territory as they harmonically brightened the scenery, resembling the tulip fields of the Netherlands.QNkhRO
H04bPMThe beautiful background that was spectacular for both the eyes and the nose was further supplemented by Hua munching on the sandwiches like a squirrel.923vA
mo9CShe really is…XJOYJ
rZvRwV“Cute.”JIDY2Z
Exzb“Uhh…”oUVDuOh
uFzVHua seemed to have picked up the word that unconsciously slipped out of my mouth. Seemingly very embarrassed, she dropped her head and said after throwing a glance.Z6bM
NP1skBq“…Me?”T6zp
BhYV2“Yeah. Cute and pretty. You would put anyone in a good mood just with your looks.”V3i
4Pf4OA“Uhhh…”eTfU
smTfB9Her ears turned deep red as the heat rapidly moved down to her cheeks. I was not telling a single lie.apO
brVqAM2“Trust me. You’re the prettiest and the cutest person in the world right now.”ABb4n9
z1ajkDvHearing that, her eyes turned into circles. It was my first time seeing her open her eyes up that wide.oZFYn
9kw7Z“You’re… also looking, h, han…”b77d
lYMe“Nn? What was that?”affdT
qXwVQA“…Not bad.”QV9SwO
Qpb0nGQ“Ah… Is it not that good? I tried my best though…”9QzhvD
hqokI dropped my head looking dejected which immediately put Hua Ran in a fluster. She rolled her eyes and moved her arms around in agitation, not knowing what to do, which looked very funny and cute.nZWVjI1
Cq65“No, I mean… like…”zQIF
WVZ“I’m joking.”PD3H
DMGI“Uht…!”8G7
Z7ykWhen I mischievously said that with a smile, Hua at last realized that she had been fooled and turned red. She then took revenge.9SHO
ZggqO-Slam!QTYVO
qiL“Uahk…!”zVoY0
6U0JGIt was probably a gentle punch for her, but it felt like my shoulder was about to be ripped off. Even though I did deserve a little punch, from the looks of things, it seemed that one regeneration ability wouldn’t be enough to let me tease her another time.3NvrbKk
okEQNz“I won’t… apologize for that.”ysZOzkD
vFnz9“Haha. Sorry.”OgmDDG7
nDlAfter we were done with lunch, we got up and started walking around the garden.bZW
6Ho“Look. This rose is gold. It must be magic, right?mdvjMw
RFS“Shall we buy some souvenirs? How about a hairpin? Don’t you think this red tulip pin looks great?SoAU
DbwqAX“Ohh! They’re having a concert there. Should we listen for a bit?”5kovL2
fV9A3x“…”XBKp
SXxoIt seemed that I was the only one excited with the flowers. Despite going around and having the chance to look at all sorts of flowers and souvenirs, I found her looking at me whenever I turned around.jb2GAM
DCjATIn hindsight, it was to be expected that Hua wouldn’t be interested in flower viewing. Ran might be interested, but it appeared that I had chosen the wrong venue regardless.6PBr3
6G9We had an early dinner at a restaurant inside the garden and discovered the countless stars that were decorating the night sky when we left the restaurant.RYXhSyS
jE5ZNFeThere was a great place to see stars nearby, but I got the impression that she probably wouldn’t enjoy it, just like with the flowers.fHMy
2ArUDPD“Should we start heading back?” I asked.0La
K9vCBM“…No.”XDmFA
uNQjZmXAnd received a completely unexpected reply.qM401
nDA***ejJxTw
kfHIn the end, we walked all the way to the cave which was great for seeing stars.h1UpUZA
F0WYTechnically, we were no longer inside the Royal National Garden and were just outside of it. In the far-off distance on the grassland going all the way west to the horizon were several bell-shaped caves.8Ymd27
T0UThis was a place that was shown in the game as a part of the background with no interaction possible. In reality, however, it was one of the many caves that were discarded by the government.nI0K
weS3xdUnlike the caves inside the national garden that the Kingdom maintained to be tourist attractions, the caves here were raw and untouched.Dj6Rt
ZQfqF“Here.”aNuKD
fS6XqGoing past the entrance that was wide enough for several adults to walk in side-by-side, we walked down the dark cave. Before long, we came across a single ray of light shining down.TjWw
0r4Q“Where is this?”Qc6Eho
WxlInside the enormous cave, there was a hole in the ceiling that gave way to starlight.JNl
3o9WKBUThis place was the only place inside this cave that had light. I laid myself down underneath the hole to bask in the light that was under the monopoly of this room.7yp
H9D“There was a time when I lived here due to some circumstances and reasons. Back then, I had to hide myself but that was when I came across this fabulous place. I wanted to show this to you since we were here.”1Y5
FrxxwP‘Lie down,’ I suggested as Hua carefully laid herself down on top of the mat. I recommended my arm as a pillow like I had done a few times already, and she did not refuse the offer.FJP
l2xtDY8When we laid down on the ground, we could see several stars through the small hole of the cave. The lake of stars inside the hole was much smaller than the ocean of stars you would be able to see outside.THk
u747R“…Small.”wmII
pSp6RlAHua seemed to have thought the same thing and gave her honest review.8Ejk
o1wJ0“It is. You would be able to see a lot more stars outside.”JqF2XkJ
mcE“Then why?”Bl3dJA
FvF“Sometimes, I think this to myself. As great as it is to share something beautiful with everyone else, sometimes I want to keep that all for myself.”oOP
YHxNNature belongs to everyone. I had no plans of refuting that, but was it so bad to think about being a little selfish?i4p
K133n“The people viewing stars outside gaze up at the broad space without even knowing what they are looking at. But right now, we are only looking at the stars that are filling up that tiny hole.”jH8AGtl
Yj6kl1RWe were the ones monopolizing those stars. We were the only ones gazing at those stars that filled up a small and compact area, which no one else in the world even knew of.FQvnvgq
8idLO“Only… us?”4QFhE
0OoAs if she was intrigued by my idea, she followed the end of my finger when I pointed off into the distance.zNeMBZ0
qUg“It’s ours.”yMg6g1O
CHaR3“Ours…”9734gH
AiWqzybPerhaps it might be a severely selfish interpretation, but this had left quite a deep impression in my mind, even in the last iteration.HtohU
S9z17All I hoped for was that this moment would be left behind in Hua’s mind as a memory worth revisiting, just like how it had been for me.mRaN
pYnA“…”Omyn
raip7sFor a long time, her crimson eyes were focused on the stars above while I looked at the side profile of her face.bh1xl
s2u6YqIn her immersion, her eyes reflected the stars and sparkled like gems.36VfD
IyoZYThe stars that were inside her eyes, which were even smaller than the tiny hole of the cave, were extremely close. The moment I realized that those stars were so close that she could feel my breath—DsXcIT1
F6E“…Kuhum.”D1ji
GJgRqkI cleared my throat as I continued gazing at the little artwork. Right now, I was the only one here; I was the one monopolizing the artwork called Hua Ran.Cu5C
lvjEscbFor a very short moment – perhaps one that barely lasted for three seconds – I continued that one-sided exchange.vMQh
3gtzJ5“What’s wrong?”CorZGr
1NchAHua turned around after sensing my gaze which unfortunately put an end to that exchange.drvwUV
FCzG“Nothing.”NPvj
w8uLooking away from her eyes, I turned back to the sky as Hua soon followed suit. For quite some time, we silently gazed at the sky and focused our eyes on the stars that were ours and ours alone.9xTPpI
JKmorIThe wide room of the cave, which amplified even the softest of whispers, remained silent for a very long time.rHu1l
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!