Chapter 44: The Maiden's Foot Assault

"Well..."

Yelin wore an expression that suggested he had much more to say. His quick reflexes had kept him from sustaining any serious injuries; only a small scratch marred the skin of his arm where the Spear of Victory had grazed him.

However, the makeshift bed he had cobbled together—the very place where he was supposed to sleep tonight—had been completely dismantled, reduced to a pile of splintered debris that would make excellent firewood.

Luna glared with wide, furious eyes, her anger far from spent. Clutching a purple-glowing crucifix, she cornered Yelin against the wall.

Thud—

The dull, heavy impact of the crucifix hitting the floor made the aggrieved Yelin shiver. Could this possibly be a Judgement-spec buffer?

If he were to blame for this, he had only asked normal questions according to protocol at the start. But if he wasn't to blame, it was simply because they were communicating on completely different wavelengths.

"I'll pay for the damages, so please don't be angry..."

"I don't want your money, but you must accompany me to the upper reaches of the Sky Tower!"

"Uh, how's that? Do you have a fondness for scaling heights? Would you like me to lift you up high?"

"Pervert! This is serious business. It's like this..."

Realizing there might still room for negotiation, and knowing he had already lost all his dignity anyway, Yelin figured that bolting away now would mean he had disgraced himself for nothing.

It turned out that back when the Sky Tower was still unrestricted, she and a squad of fighters had managed to bypass the monsters in the Dragon's Nest and the Doll Foundry by sheer luck, reaching the vicinity of the Gargoyle Tower.

Just as they were preparing to destroy the blocked suspension ladder to ascend further, an intensely malicious gaze locked onto her and the fighters.

Then, a terrifying scene unfolded that left her utterly frozen. The fighters, who had been full of momentum, suddenly slumped limply to the ground, unable to move, as if all their physical strength and mental energy had been completely hollowed out.

Only she managed to narrowly evade that gaze, protected by an amulet from her church.

Had that gaze not come and gone so quickly, compounded by her own Purifying Chant and Courage Anthem, the entire squad might have perished right there in the Gargoyle Tower.

"An evil gaze that renders whoever it looks at powerless? Could it be the Suspension City? The Evil Eye?"

The Suspension City was garrisoned by the armies of the Tyrant King Bakal. Though they were merely casually created cannon fodder to Bakal, they still posed immense pressure to adventurers, even seasoned professionals.

Nothing associated with the Apostles was ever simple.

"Look... I'm sorry. Did you know that the imperial elite Iron Wolf Knights, led by Vayne, suffered heavy losses there a few days ago? I suspect that very gaze was responsible. Otherwise, there's no reason a Blademaster couldn't block the dragonkin's attacks. Because Vayne was promoted too quickly, he faced resistance from the imperial aristocracy, so he had no reason to abandon his subordinates and leave behind such a damning stain."

"Therefore, I must consider things from my own team members' perspective. I cannot walk into even greater, terrifying danger just to meet your condition. If something happens to them, I won't even have a place to cry over my regret."

Yelin shrugged helplessly, a look of sincere regret on his face. Since the heaven-defying item known as the Coin of Resurrection still hadn't dropped for him, he absolutely could not agree to this condition. In other words, it seemed there was no longer any room for cooperation between them.

"I'm joining!"

"Ah, what a pity... Wait, you're joining? Why?"

He froze, followed by a look of sheer astonishment. He was quite certain he had just made it clear that he had no intention of going to the Suspension City.

"You said you'd consider your team members' perspective. I admire that. A leader must possess steadfast reliability."

Luna put away her crucifix and sighed. The reason she gave was, of course, completely fabricated; this man possessed about as much steadfast reliability as a hammer.

The real reason was simply that far too few people possessed the Sky Tower's transit passes, and besides... she had already lost all her dignity here, and she refused to lose it for nothing!

"Welcome aboard. Might I take a look at your... support capabilities?"

Swallowing hard to force down those specific words, Luna's pretty face darkened once more, and she almost raised her crucifix again.

After a thorough ordeal, they managed to roughly gauge the effects of the [Blessing of Courage]. The buffs were quite decent, and the technique was proficient, though the weapon and equipment left a bit to be desired. Still, as long as she applied the buffs in a timely manner, earning a little pocket money wasn't a bad deal.

"The Imperial Iron Wolf Knights are still exploring the Sky Tower. To avoid running into them, we won't head to the West Coast for the next few days. Shall we exchange contact information?"

"I'll be on duty at the Lemidia Cathedral for the next week. Find me an hour before we depart."

"Alright. We'll be staying in this very room; just come knock if you need anything."

"Mm..."

Muttering a mosquito-like hum from the back of her throat, Luna immediately stood up and strode away. She truly did not want to spend another second in this place.

She only hoped she wouldn't have nightmares tonight.

The festivities at the Moonlight Tavern remained lively. As the proprietorship owner, Sharan performed a magic trick with a mysterious box at the peak of the revelry—a small box capable of producing all sorts of incredible items.

True to someone who had managed a tavern for many years, she gave away nearly twenty kinds of items from over a dozen boxes—including a Legacy weapon, a +7 Reinforcement Scroll, and hundreds of recovery potions—completely free to the guests in attendance to show her sincerity.

She then smoothly pivoted to promote Seria and her shop, announcing that one hundred of these mysterious boxes would be sold in limited quantities shortly, and available in limited supplies starting tomorrow.

At the same time, Sharan selected several young men and women to don matching outfits for a runway fashion show, even inviting G.S.D, who had been drinking, to verify the magical effects of the fashion items.

Following this double promotional push came the Moonlight Tavern's traditional grand finale: a martial artist's PvP duel. The winner would earn the cheers of the crowd and the right to treat everyone present to a mug of beer, courtesy of Sharan.

Behind a newly constructed bar counter, Seria wore a shy, smiling expression, her clean and ethereal temperament quickly winning the affection of the patrons.

Watching the people waiting in line, Seria's smile grew even wider. All of this equaled money!

"Do you have those mysterious boxes here? How much for one? They look quite interesting."

Sia feigned curiosity, turning an empty box over and over in her hands. As a certified lucky charm, she naturally wanted to step up immediately and kick off the sales with a winning start.

"We do! Three thousand gold coins each. If you buy in bulk, like a bundle of ten or fifty, you can get a discount."

Sia's hand jerked, and she almost dropped the empty box. Seria had directly multiplied the box's price by six; she had originally thought adding just one or two hundred coins would be about right.

After all, most of the items inside the boxes were just basic recovery potions, anyway...

"Hurry up, little lady. Recovery potions with this kind of effect are exceptionally rare, you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'll take one..."

Sia instantly understood. It turned out people weren't chasing after reinforcement scrolls at all; they were after the potions.

She had gotten so used to using them herself that she hadn't realized how crucial these potions—capable of restoring both health and magical energy simultaneously—were to adventurers.

The box was opened, and a piece of Legacy armor materialized in her hand, instantly drawing the gaze of a large crowd of adventurers.

"Beautiful lady, I am Kagon. A pleasure to meet you!"

A dark elf man with white hair, holding a rose between his teeth, placed it elegantly before Seria.

"How many would you like to buy?" Seria kept her sweet smile firmly in place.

"Uh, well... I'm a dark elf, and I was hoping to make your acquaintance—"

"There's a discount if you buy more."

"I am Kagon, a dark elf—"

"We only have one hundred available today."

"I'll take one, then."

Kagon patted his pockets. He had only come to the Moonlight Tavern to join the bustling crowd and hadn't brought much money with him.

He opened the box. A flash of light appeared, revealing a rather peculiar item within.

It was a transparent crystal ball roughly the size of an adult's fist, enclosing a dainty, exquisite high-heeled shoe inside.

[Maiden's Footstrike]: Upon use, grants a special baptism that restores a certain amount of health and mana.

"A gorgeous piece of art, perfectly suited for someone just as gorgeous..."

Kagon cradled the crystal ball in his palm, intending to hand it to Seria, but the next instant, the crystal ball suddenly shattered.

Thud—

"Hehe... I suddenly remembered I have somewhere to be..."

Feigning composure, he slowly turned and walked away, though his gait looked rather awkward, his face flushed bright red and beads of sweat dotting his brow.