APTnovel Chapter 168: One More Night
Chapter 168: One More Night
It was like looking at a large ball roughly a meter wide, covered in thick, shaggy gray fur. It had a big round nose the color of a peach and its eyes were shut tight, as though the inn’s light hurt them badly. Its fur barely moved with each slow breath it took, rising and falling like a soft, peaceful mass.
Its paws were powerful steel claws that, when closed, could imitate the primary function of a shovel: digging. Even beneath the dim orange lighting at the entrance, those claws reflected faint metallic glimmers. They looked strong enough to cut through wet stone without much trouble.
"Is that... a really big mole?" Mitsuki asked, crouching in front of the creature to get a better look.
The mole did not react. It remained still, apparently focused only on delivering the letter resting atop its head. It breathed softly, with a calmness that reminded him of a certain dark elf.
He took the letter and read it. His hunch had been correct.
"Monar...? Oh, no..." he whispered, now wearing a more troubled expression—his emotional recovery was going well.
He stood up, though not before patting the mole on the head.
"Thanks, buddy. Good work."
The animal let out a small snort through its nose, warm and heavy, before becoming motionless once more.
Lulú looked expectant. She clearly did not want to pry, but it was obvious she wanted to ask. Mitsuki noticed that, so he looked at her and said:
"It’s Jeanne... She’s fighting with Marco at the bar."
"Oh... That’s not good at all."
"I know. I have to go. I’ll see if I can stop them before they both end up in jail. Though at this point, I don’t even know if a jail could hold them."
Lulú let out a nervous laugh. She probably was not sure whether that was a joke or a real possibility.
Lulú said goodbye as Mitsuki crossed the door.
The night air hit his face the moment he stepped outside. The street was colder than it had been a few hours ago, and a light breeze swept through the city’s alleys, carrying with it the smell of damp earth and chimney smoke.
He looked at the mole for a moment.
"Are you staying here? Aren’t you something like Monar’s familiar? I think he mentioned you once."
The creature stared at him before nodding.
"You understand what I’m saying? Nice. You’re really smart."
The creature nodded again.
"Or maybe you’re just nodding without understanding."
The creature... nodded.
Mitsuki sighed and shook his head. He looked toward the road before jumping onto one of the nearby rooftops, landing quickly on the tiles. Some gave off dry cracking noises beneath his boots, but they held his weight without issue.
When he looked back at the mole, it had vanished completely, as though it had never been there in the first place.
He stared at the spot for a moment, but shook his head because he could not waste time standing there thinking about it.
’When this is over, I really need to take a moment to sort out all my thoughts.’
Without another word, he leaped to the next rooftop. His body faded into darkness, transforming into ash with every use of his ability. Gray fragments briefly scattered behind him before disappearing into the night wind. From above, he could see lights still burning in some of the city’s windows, along with the occasional drunk wandering aimlessly through the streets.
***
"You arrogant nobles think you can do whatever you want with us!" Marco shouted.
The knight stood in the middle of the street. He held his sword while swaying from side to side because, just like the girl standing before him, he was completely drunk. His face was flushed red, and his unfocused gaze burned into Jeanne.
At Marco’s declaration, some nearby commoners holding beer mugs shouted in encouragement.
"That’s right, Marco!"
"Don’t let the nobles walk all over you!"
"To hell with the stupid monarchy!"
"Hit her with the chair!"
Some were even banging on the tables from inside the tavern, thrilled by the free entertainment. Others watched from nearby windows, curious and half asleep.
Beside those loud drunks, Azel pressed a hand to his forehead in pain and secondhand embarrassment.
"Are you sure the Ashen Kid will make it in time before the princess kills Marco?" he asked with obvious doubt in his voice.
Next to him, Monar, who wore a white blindfold over his eyes, nodded. He held his magic staff as though he might need it, though perhaps that would not be necessary. The moonlight softly illuminated the white cloth covering his eyes.
"He’ll come," the dark elf replied.
Both of them waited while Marco prepared to attack.
Jeanne looked amused by the whole situation. She smiled calmly because, to her, this was nothing serious. In fact, she did not even have her sword with her, which symbolized the confidence she had against someone as weak as Marco. Her relaxed posture made everything seem like nothing more than a tavern game.
She stretched her arms slightly as though she were about to train. Her shoulders cracked softly.
"Don’t get mad, man. It was just a dumb comment. Being a commoner doesn’t make you weaker than me. It’s just that there are people made of pure talent and effort... and then there’s you."
"...I’m going to make you swallow those words, arrogant princess."
"Come on. Try it. It’ll be fun."
Marco clenched his teeth. The next moment, he appeared in front of Jeanne while swinging his sword. His movements were not intended to kill, but the single slash carried all of his frustration. The blade cut through the air with a clumsy whistle.
Jeanne dodged with ease. She spun to the side as though dancing. Then she looked toward the crowd and stuck out her tongue with a mocking grin.
The drunks shouted even louder at the provocation.
Marco clicked his tongue and attacked again, but Jeanne dodged effortlessly once more. This only frustrated Marco further, causing him to throw meaningless swings with the sword in hopes of landing a hit, but Jeanne grabbed the blade with one hand and snapped it apart through pure brute strength.
The metallic sound echoed through the entire street.
The people nearby fell silent. Not just anyone could break a sword with their bare hand. Some even stepped back instinctively.
Now Marco held only the hilt without the blade.
He looked at the broken weapon and decided to toss it aside to fight with his fists instead.
"A fistfight?" Jeanne said. "I like that. It’s been a while since I fought someone like this."
She raised her fists in a boxing-like stance. Marco copied her, and the exchange began.
Marco threw quick and accurate punches, but because he was drunk, he tripped over his own feet and slammed face-first into the ground.
Jeanne stopped.
"What? Did I already win?"
A couple of people burst out laughing.
Marco shot back up and threw a cheap punch, but at that moment, a cloud of ash dust appeared between them. Mitsuki had arrived there. The ash swirled for a few moments before scattering across the cobblestone street.
"Hey, what the hell is—?"
Marco’s fist slammed into Mitsuki’s face. Mitsuki was launched two meters into the air by the force of the hit before crashing sideways onto the ground.
The impact echoed with a dull thud. Even the drunks went silent for a moment.
Blinking a couple of times, Marco looked at Mitsuki, then at his own fist, and said:
"Oh no..."
"Mitsuki? Mitsuki!" Jeanne said, rushing to help him immediately. "Are you okay?"
She crouched in front of him. Mitsuki groaned and spat out a tooth while sitting himself up on the ground.
The small white fragment fell between the stones of the street.
"’Ow?" he said, looking at Marco. "Why are you hitting me? What did I do to you?"
"And how was I supposed to know you’d appear out of nowhere? What were you even trying to do? Stop my fist with your face?" Marco asked.
"I just wanted to tell you both to stop."
"I think you picked a pretty bad moment for that, Mitsuki," Jeanne said with a smile.
"Well, sorry about that. Anyway, why the hell were you two fighting? Do you have any idea how much damage two adventurers above Rank A can cause? I think you do. And where’s Ellegaard? She at least would’ve knocked Marco out before all of this even started."
"What?" Marco said.
Mitsuki looked toward the tavern. Through the doorway, he could see Ellegaard asleep with her face resting on a table. She was drooling, actually. Several empty mugs surrounded her body like silent evidence of why she had failed to stop anything.
’There she is...’
The off-key music of some drunk musician still echoed inside the tavern, completely unaware of the chaos outside.
He stood up and dusted off his clothes. Some particles of dust and ash fell from his coat.
"You’re not children anymore. You need to learn to control yourselves."
"She started it!" Blondie shouted.
"It doesn’t matter who started it. What matters is what could’ve happened. And, for God’s sake, Marco, for a moment there you actually made me think you were the sensible one."
Marco lowered his head. Frustrated, he turned around and walked away in silence. His steps were clumsy and heavy.
Azel sighed and followed after him, while Monar stayed behind to watch how things ended.
Mitsuki’s and Monar’s gazes met for a moment. The dark elf greeted him with a brief wave of his hand.
Then Mitsuki looked at Jeanne.
"You... What exactly did you do?"
"I said something I shouldn’t have at the wrong moment."
He sighed.
’I wish I could actually get angry...’
Now that the show was over, many of the people present began drifting back toward the tavern. Some complained that the fight had ended too quickly, while others kept talking excitedly about the broken sword.
"Seriously... are you always like this when you drink?" Mitsuki asked.
Jeanne nodded.
"More or less."
Mitsuki gave up.
"Whatever. I guess there’s nothing else I can do. For now, wait here. I’ll go get Ellegaard, then we’ll head back to the inn. If you keep this up, someone’s going to have a bad time, and I don’t want it to be me."
"What a responsible man. Let me give you a reward."
"I don’t want one. The only thing I want right now is to go back to the inn. Come on."
Mitsuki headed into the tavern to carry Ellegaard out while Jeanne silently looked up at the sky.
The night was clear. The stars shone faintly above the city, and the moon bathed the streets in pale light. Jeanne let out a small sigh while the noise of the tavern continued behind her.
Monar looked at her for a few seconds, but in the end, he left as well.