On Hightown’s bustling street, a crowd had gathered around a public speaker.
“Everyone!” His voice was high-pitched and very loud. “The tragedy of Yatagarasu cannot be forgiven!”
“Those goblins murdered innocent cityfolk, and we must unite to bring them to justice!
“That’s why…” The person showed a quest poster written in black ink. “As representative of Lord Yatagarasu III, I call upon brave warriors to join me in avenging our fallen comrades!”
The crowd erupted in cheers, ready to take up arms and answer the call for justice.
At first, they thought it was just another revenge-wanting refugee, but after hearing the name of their lord, Yatagarasu III, who was part of the family that founded the city, and that he was his representative, they realized they weren’t joking around!
In the crowd, several players were gathered and looked at the quest poster with wide eyes.
They were players from Yatagarasu and were currently suffering from the punishment, but after seeing the potential quest, they were thrilled, as the rewards must be incredibly valuable!
“Share the news, spread these posters, and tell your fellow countrymen. Soon, Yatagarasu will be ours again!” The person shouted energetically and began sharing the posters with the crowd.
The crowd cheered and eagerly took the posters, excited to help reclaim Yatagarasu.
At the same time, an announcement appeared in the sky that was only seen by players.
The announcement shook the world once again.
[WORLD ANNOUNCEMENT: Join the fight to reclaim Yatagarasu from the hands of goblins—Go to Hightown, accept the quest, and embark on a journey to glory—Everyone is allowed to join the quest!]
…
“Mm…” Ambrose, listening to powerful music that shook his eardrums, hummed the lyrics while walking down a dirt road.
The sky was turning orange, and it was almost time for the sun to set.
The setting sun cast a warm glow over the landscape, painting the clouds in vibrant hues of pink and gold.
It even changed the dirt road’s color to a rich, burnt orange.
“Hmm?” Ambrose opened the Music Interface, stopped the music, and then made the interface disappear.
“I have finally arrived, huh.”
In the distance, a town situated under the glow of the setting sun appeared.
It was also in the path of the train, making it a convenient stop for travelers.
The railway station was situated at the edge of the town and served as a gateway for those arriving or departing.
Ambrose stepped forward and looked up at the vibrant orange sky as he walked down the dirt road, surrounded by fields of golden wheat.
As he neared Hightown, he began seeing townspeople going about their daily routines, greeting each other with warm smiles and nods of recognition.
“Hello, traveler.” An elderly man tipped his sunhat as he walked by Ambrose, carrying a basket of fruits.
“Good evening…” Ambrose returned the greeting with a short nod.
‘This place seems to have a very tight-knit community.’ He thought to himself as he observed the friendly interaction between the elderly man and other townspeople.
After a while, he arrived at the entrance of the town and noticed a sign that read, “Welcome to Hightown.”
The dirt road then ended, and Ambrose stepped onto the paved streets of the bustling town.
The townspeople wore a variety of colorful clothes, mostly made of silk and velvet. They went about their ordinary lives, everyone having purpose in their steps and a goal to strive for.
“E-excuse me.”
“Hmm?” Ambrose looked at the young boy, who had walked over from a newspaper kiosk. “What is it?”
“H-here…” The young boy felt intimidated by the powerful-looking person and hesitantly handed him a flyer. “I-If you are a refugee, y-you can go to the square, b-but if you are not, y-you can register as a volunteer to help.”
Ambrose took the flyer and nodded at the boy.
The young boy then skipped back to the newspaper kiosk, where he worked a part-time job for his father, who owned it.
Ambrose glanced down at the flyer and saw the instructions for the refugees.
“Registering my name—I don’t need to do that, I suppose.” Ambrose thought out loud and then saw another instruction. “If I need to find someone, I can go there and ask the workers there, who have all registered names…”
“This place is quite big, and finding anyone in here feels difficult.” He then folded the flyer three times and stuffed it inside his pocket.
“Brother!”
Ambrose’s ears perked up; he could recognize that voice from anywhere.
Then, a missile in the form of a little girl launched into his embrace.
“Ugh!” He groaned as she squeezed him tightly, making it hard to breathe. “E-Emma, calm down.”
“Hmm?” Emma raised her innocent gaze and smiled sweetly, her grip loosening just a little. “What took you so long?”
“Were you waiting long?” Ambrose asked and carefully patted her head.
“No, we just arrived here.”
“We?” Ambrose raised his gaze and saw Bella sitting on a bench nearby, her face covered by newspaper.
She then slightly lowered the newspaper, and her red eyes shook in shock after seeing Ambrose look at her, and she immediately covered her face again.
“Bella?” Emma turned around and tilted her head in confusion. “Why are you hiding your face?”
“I-I am not!” Bella put the newspaper down and tried her best to compose herself, but she couldn’t hide her crimson cheeks. “I-I just found something interesting in the newspaper!”
“You are acting weird.” Emma laughed innocently and then tugged Ambrose’s sleeve. “We planned to go rent a room from here. Let’s go check it out!”
Ambrose nodded and allowed Emma to drag him by his sleeve towards the nearby three-story hotel.
Bella followed after, keeping a small distance from both of them as they made their way down the busy street. 𝗈𝒱𝐋xt.𝑐𝞸
Soon, they arrived at the hotel and went straight to the front desk to check in.
After a short negotiation, they managed to rent one room on the second floor.
Since there were so many refugees, no one could have more than one room.
After getting the key, they went to check out the room, which only had one bed.
“Bed!” Emma plopped down on the bed, stomach first, and buried her face in the pillow.
She finally managed to relax herself after sitting for entire day, first in the school and now in the hard street benches while waiting for Bella and Ambrose.
“I’ll go wash my face.” Bella smiled and walked to the bathroom.
As the bathroom door closed, Ambrose sat next to Emma and took out the ruby pendant.
“Emma, this is for you.”
“Hmm?” Emma raised her head from the pillow and looked at the beautiful pendant with sparkling eyes. “Wow, it’s so pretty!”
“Move your hair; I’ll put it on for you.” Ambrose said.
Emma was about to do that, but then she smiled mischievously and buried her face into the pillow again.
“I don’t want it anymore.”
“Huh?” Ambrose raised his eyebrow.
“Give it to Bella!” Emma looked back at her brother and smiled. “It will look good on her!”
“Uh…” Ambrose scratched his head and offered the pendant to her. “You give it to her, then.”
“No.” Emma shook her head.
“Why not?”
“I have to go do homework!” Emma smiled, put a temporary spawn on the room, and then logged off without saying another word.
“Sheesh, the hell.” Ambrose looked at the ruby pendant and was about to put it away, but then the bathroom door opened, revealing Bella, drying her drenched hair.
“Where did Emma go?” She asked after not seeing the vibrant-looking little girl anywhere.
“She had to go back to reality to do her homework.” Ambrose sighed with a wry smile.
“Mm.” Bella nodded and caught a glimpse of the ruby pendant, her eyes sparkling. “What is this? It’s so pretty.”