Side Chapter: Sightseeing
The case with the Church of God’s Light was concluded and the half-destroyed castle was repaired. Jade had come to the Nation of the Beast King to pick Ruri up and they planned to return tomorrow.
Ruri was getting her luggage in order, but she was suddenly interrupted by someone opening the door and making a lot of noise.
“Let’s go, brat!” Heat said, barging into Ruri’s room without knocking.
Ruri stopped what she was doing and glared at him. “Heat-sama, at least knock before you come into a lady’s room.”
“Hurry yourself up.”
“No one filled me in. Where are we going in the first place?”
Celestine, who had entered the room after Heat, answered,“Since the issues with the Church of God’s Light are resolved, I’ve gained permission to go into town. Since you’ll be going back tomorrow, I thought it’d be a good chance to show you and the others around, Lady Ruri.”
“Wow, really? Let’s go, let’s go!”
“Then be quick about it, brat.”
“Okey dokey!” Ruri replied. She quickly squared away her belongings, shoved them into her pocket space, and ran up to Celestine. “Can Kotaro and the others come as well?”
“Yes, but of course. I’m sure the townspeople will shed tears at the good fortune of meeting spirits with physical bodies,” Celestine explained.
“So, that will be okay?” Ruri asked. The people of the Nation of the Beast King worshiped spirits as a religion, so Ruri worried about the massive panic that would ensue from a couple of Beloveds and a pack of supreme-level spirits walking around town.
“The people of the Nation of the Beast King are very aware of where they stand. They would never stir up trouble for a Beloved or spirit.” If Celestine was willing to insist it was safe, then it must’ve been.
Randomly, Ruri realized something was off about Celestine’s hair. After a pause, she realized what it was.
“Did you cut your hair?”
“Yes, a little off the ends,” Celestine said with a tiny chuckle. “Women truly do have an acute sense for these matters. I went to see Master Arman and Master Jade a moment ago, but neither of them noticed. Men can be so thickheaded.”
Good point. Neither of those two seemed like the type to care. With long hair herself, Ruri was bound to notice Celestine’s shoulder-length cut.
With that, Ruri and her group sallied forth to the city. Of course, they weren’t without an entourage. The two girls were in the center of a formation of soldiers packed so tight not even a cat could squeeze through. Ruri knew there was no way they wouldn’t assign guards to a couple of Beloveds walking in a crowded town, but she felt it was too overboard and sort of ruining half the fun. At the same time, she also understood why it was necessary to begin with.
“Aah, it’s Lady Beloved!” shouted a man.
“Lady Beloved!” yelled someone else.
A woman shrieked, “Eeek! She just looked at me!”
All over, the cheers rang out for Celestine—with more passion than when Ruri walked through town in the Nation of the Dragon King, in fact. Although, that was probably inevitable. Celestine had been protecting this nation for several years as a Beloved, and Ruri practically showed up yesterday. Celestine had gained far more popularity and trust among the people as a Beloved.
The townspeople were passionate for sure, but they were well-mannered just as Celestine said. They all kept a certain distance as if there were an invisible wall between Ruri’s group and them. They simply cheered and screeched from afar. In order to avoid an event that would harm a Beloved by getting too close, they naturally assumed that position without even being ordered to. People in this nation worshiped Beloveds and spirits to an extraordinary degree. If anyone were to ever lay a hand on one, they would probably rue their existence and take their own life.
As the people watched from a distance, Celestine showed Ruri her favorite establishments around the capital.
The first shop they went to was for clothing and apparel. It was apparently the shop that specially made all of Celestine’s clothes, from casual wear to festival garments. They were visiting in order to pick up the new clothes she’d ordered for Heat since his old ones were reduced to ash in the eruption. The shop had already made his clothes super express, and they were fresh out of the metaphorical oven. While delivery was always an option, they were already in the city anyway, so no harm, no foul.
After receiving the outfit, Heat went to the back room to change. He returned in a few moments, redressed and looking satisfied. Apparently, the tailoring was to his liking as he struck a variety of poses in vain admiration before the full-length mirror.
“Hm, yes, not too shabby.”
“It looks wonderful on you, sir,” the female clerk said, flattering him.
“Heh, heh, heh, quite naturally,” Heat replied, pleased as punch by her compliment.
The shop was filled with the native garb Celestine always wore. The beautiful selection caught Ruri’s eyes. She couldn’t help her womanly impulses. She was interested in the apparel, and now that she was sightseeing, she had a desire to wear this nation’s native garb for reasons she couldn’t explain. While she still found the skimpiness embarrassing and only wore the clothes she brought with her from the Nation of the Dragon King, that didn’t mean she had no interest in the clothes here at all. This shop had more reserved outfits in stock as well. She laid her hands on an outfit that caught her eye, one that seemed wearable, and tested the texture with her fingers.
“That is a brand-new design that just arrived the other day. You have quite the keen eye, as one would expect,” the clerk said, flattering Ruri.
“Will you be taking that, Lady Ruri?” asked Celestine.
“Oh, no, I was just looking,” Ruri said, slightly embarrassed that it must’ve looked like she wanted the clothes.
Celestine suggested, “Why don’t you try on some things while you’re here? You won’t get this chance very often, I believe. Put them on and let us see the sights around town.”
After some slight indecision, Ruri happily nodded in agreement.
Once she changed into her new outfit, Heat saw her and commented, “Hmm, I suppose anyone can look good in the right clothes.”
“God, can’t you just say it looks good on me? Even as a lie?” Ruri had grown pretty accustomed to his particular brand of speech, but it still irked her nonetheless.
Wearing her new clothes, she continued sightseeing. Much like any good tourist location, the town was bustling with scores of lively-looking people. Stares came from all around them, and they had to look past a wall of guards, but experiencing the town without the threat of the Church of God’s Light was a pleasant change of pace.
That being said, the sheer amount of “Beloved goods” was still concerning. Celestine knew many of the shops in the capital, which meant she must’ve frequented them before the incident with the Church of God’s Light. She had her own go-to shops and engaged in friendly banter with the clerks.
As they looked at a variety of different stores, Ruri stumbled upon Amarna, the woman from the Nation of the Dragon King. She was waving at Ruri, so Ruri waved back.
“Lady Ruri, good day to you.”
“Good afternoon. How is business?”
“The Nation of the Beast King is indeed a nation that embraces their Beloved. I’ve seen so many goods and have learned much. And among those goods, I’ve found something that would likely fetch a high price!” She was extremely excited and holding a pair of scissors for some reason. “Lady Ruri, your hair has gotten quite long. Would you care for a haircut?”
“Huh? Now? I can just cut it on my own when I get back.”
“Oh, fret not. You needn’t be shy.”
“Uh, why are you so eager to cut my hair?”
Amarna shuffled up to Ruri with an ear-to-ear grin. It set off warning bells in Ruri’s mind.
“Oh, Ruri, look at that,” Rin said, pointing over to a stall that people were gathered around. It was selling...Beloved hair.
Ruri was taken aback and turned to Celestine. “Celestine-san, what is that?! By ‘Beloved hair,’ do they mean your hair?!” she asked, remembering that Celestine just got her hair cut.
“Oh, that? Apparently, parts of a Beloved seem to bring good fortune, so they’re sold at high prices. When I cut my hair, it ends up being sold in town before I realize it.”
“Who has been selling off your hair on the side? I think you should say something. Don’t you find it creepy?”
A bunch of strangers walking around with your own hair? What were these people even thinking wanting something like that? She couldn’t wrap her head around their logic.
“This is part of a Beloved’s duty. So long as it can help contribute to the nation.” It was an admirable comment, but Celestine looked in agreeance with Ruri. It seemed it creeped her out just a little bit.
“The Nation of the Beast King’s Beloved is magnificent. She will stop at no lengths to support the people of her nation. So, Ruri, to what lengths shall I cut your hair? I believe it will sell nicely.”
“Forget it!”
“I’ll give you a cut of the profits~”
“I said forget it. Nothing you say will get me to cut my hair, so quit showing off your clippers!”
Amarna disappointedly put down her scissors. However, her eyes remained glued to Ruri’s hair.
This was not good. Ruri felt like this girl was likely to sneak a clip of her hair at this point, so she quickly said her goodbyes and left the area. By no means was Ruri willing to do anything for the nation to the same degree as Celestine.
“The Nation of the Beast King is not a place to be trifled with—in more ways than one,” Ruri said to herself. The people here would sell anything and everything pertaining to a Beloved. She couldn’t tell if it was because they worshiped Beloveds that much or if they were just that shrewd of business people.
“Is there anywhere else you’d like to go, Lady Ruri?” Celestine asked.
Ruri answered without a moment’s hesitation. The hot springs. When she got back to the Nation of the Dragon King, she was going to build herself one of her own. There were so many hot springs in the castle, but she wanted to see a public bath in order to instill the culture of hot springs into the Nation of the Dragon King.
Once Ruri explained that to Celestine, she happily escorted her to one. Since she had only come to scout and not to bathe, Heat begrudgingly moaned for her to hurry up, but the receptionist was a pretty lady, so he began to occupy his time with hitting on her. While she felt sorry for the poor lady, Ruri needed her to keep him company for a little while longer.
It was an informative experience. The public bath had parts she expected and some she didn’t. She jotted down the things that interested her. They would serve as reference when she built one in the Nation of the Dragon King.
After some good reconnaissance, Ruri returned to the castle with a satisfied smile. As soon as she saw Jade, she headed straight for him.
“Jade-sama, what do you think? It’s an outfit of the Nation of the Beast King.” She twirled around, showing off the outfit she bought in town.
Jade tenderly smiled and said, “Yes, it looks quite nice on you.”
“I went to a hot spring in town as well. Perfect preliminary research. I’m going to build hot springs in the Nation of the Dragon King, so I’d suggest you take a dip when they’re done.”
“So I see. Well, I look forward to it.”
It would only be a little longer before Ruri’s wishes were granted.
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