18 Chapter 19: Boa (2/2)
”Um john i- Are you alright? Your face looks a bit red... Why are you just staring at the sun?”
My eyes are starting to hurt...
”Y-You know.. The sun is beautiful, staring at it calms me down.”
Lies.
”O-Okay..? I just wanted to say, that i forgot my belongings at the inn i was staying at.. So do you mind going with me to get them?”
”Of course not. You're a member of our party now so no need to act so reserved around me...”
”John...” She said with a smile on her face
”Yes?” I asked
”It's just... You would've sounded a lot more cooler if there weren't tears flowing out of your eyes as you said that.” Serena replied
”Ah.. Don't worry, it's just one of the side effects from staring at the sun for too long. It also damages your vision.” I said
”Like i asked, why are you staring at it?” She asked
”There are times where a man must make sacrafices...” I replied
”John...” She said again with a smile on her face
”Yes?” I asked a second time
”You're crying.” She said
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After Ariel packed her things, I packed mine and we followed Serena to her inn and waited for her to pack her things, before heading to the port
”Ahhhh... Nothing beats the fresh breese you can get from the sea.. Ariel, what's it like seeing the sea for the first time?” I asked
Unlike we expected, after enterring the city through the gates, we weren't able to see the ocean, we needed to head to the port to see it, but since we were busy we didn't have time. However, now she is finally able to see it
”It's beautiful...” She replied as she stared at the ocean with sparkling eyes and a bright smile
I stared at Ariel, as her hair moved in motion with the breese as it passed by
”Yeah, it is. Hey ariel...” I replied as i looked at the sea
”Hm, what's wrong john?” Ariel asked
”It's nothing... Let's move on.” I replied
After we arrived at the port, we saw a few adventurers and merchants there was around 50 waiting for the Boat to Arrive
”There's quite a lot.. Will we really be able to get in with this many?” I asked
”Yeah, there's no need to worry about that. They send 3 ships once a week which is capable of carrying 50 people each.”
”Ah, that's good. You guys hungry? Looks like they're selling sea food and drinks there” I asked as i pointed at the food stalls
”Yes!” Said the two girls
And so... We ate as we waited for the boat to arrive. And after half an hour it did.
”ID?” asked the boat guard at the entrance to the boat
We spent 20 minutes waiting in life for our turn, so i handed the man my adventure's card without saying a word. I just wanted to go inside as fast as possible. Ariel and Serena did the same
”All right, that will be 3 Gold coins.” The guard said
Expensive! Now i see why there are so many adventurers here in the port. Not everyone can afford the fees. But if you do, you should be able to make more in the dungeon, which is why the boat fees are so high.
”Yes... Yes... Wait a moment.” I said as i pulled out 3 gold coins from my magic tool box
Wait... 3 Gold coins... Then that means it's one Coin per person.
”Oi... Serena... Give me a gold coin... I'm running low on funds.” I said
”W-what.. are you talking about john... You're the party leader i believe these sort of fees are your responsibility...” She said
”Why of course i'm responsible for the party however any fees the members have to pay individually has nothing to do with me. Ariel is one thing, the money i have was made with her help as we went hunting but you just joined. Shouldn't you be treating your seniors with more respect?”
Serena intenionally tried to avoid my gaze as i stared at her
”You two stop fighting! Can't you see that there are people in line waiting for us? Sorry guard, for wasitng your time, here.” Ariel said as she took the 3 gold coins off of my hands and handed it to the guard
Seeing this the guard let us through and handed us 3 separate keys, with the numbers 31, 32 and 33 written on them
”Sorry” We said to the guard as we passed by
Seeing as how we were truly apologetic the guard said. ”Don't worry about it.”
”What a nice guy... Now that i'm inside i'm starting to see how big this boat actually is...” I said
”Of course! This boat is top-quality, It has food, drinks and it even has rooms for us to sleep in. Judging by our numbers our rooms are right next to each other. Why else did you think the fee was so high?” she asked
”Yeah, the fees that i payed for.” I replied
”Huh? Weren't you the one who said that you were going to pay for anything yesterday to congratulate you and Ariel getting a new member? Besides i already thanked you!” She said
”That Was only for yesterday!” I replied
As we continued to argue, we both stopped as we heard Ariel chuckle
”What's so funny?” I asked
”It's just you guys look like you're having a lot of fun. I'm sure you two are already close friends.” She said
”Truce?” Serena asked
”Sure.” I replied
”Um... John... Sorry for getting mad at you, i've been very ungrateful...” Serena said
”It's fine... I was also being a bit childish. We're party members we should help each other” i replied
”But you're a kid? It's normal to be childish.” Serena replied
”Oh yeah that's right” I said
”pfft”
”haha”
The three of us laughed at my answer and just like that, we began our trip on the boat to Atlas. I didn't mention anything about serena being an elf, i'm sure that she must have a reason not to tell us, but honestly i don't mind at all. I really like the elf race after all.