121 The Desperation They Fel (1/2)

…What in the hell is up with this weather?! First that endless downpour and now this godforsaken heat? It's like being an oven out here!

Who the fuck's messing with the thermostat up there?! I swear if I find out who's responsible for this goddamned weather, I'll…!

A muffled, half-hearted shout from inside of the bakery interrupted Reed's thoughts and he hollered back to the other half of Summer's Ambrosia that he'd finish soon.

The word 'hot' couldn't even begin to appropriately describe the weather outside. It was an infernal, borderline unmanageable monsoon of scorching heat and bone-dry wind.

There was no humidity in the air, so the power of the heatwave had been amplified beyond normal. It had gotten so bad outside that a faint, persistent shimmer in the air prevailed wherever one looked.

Cruel mirages of water tormented anyone who dared to take a step outside of their homes.

Reed frowned as he gazed at the spotless, blue sky above and spit on the sidewalk in frustration. Unfortunately, the globule of saliva never reached the ground as Reed had intended. …Instead, it promptly sizzled up into a cloud of steaming hot air and disappeared into the sky in almost comical fashion.

He bitterly shook his head and retreated into the cool, air-conditioned bakery with a heavy heart, his spirit defeated.

Were it not for the considerable fortune that Reed and Lu'um had amassed when they chased bounties during their trainee days, the situation might have been different for them. Their business was not flourishing too well as of recent but thankfully, they had far more than enough to tide by.

Out in the boonies, the property was cheap and the cost of living was low, too. The two-story building that served as their home and place of business had cost Reed and Lu'um a fraction of what they would have had to pay to live in one of the larger metropolises.

Perhaps Cem-Elle was not as up-to-date and advanced compared to the big, bustling cities, but it was blessed with various gifts that they did not have.

A feeling of community, for one. Clean, fresh air and plenty of nature, too. And let's not forget the most important gift Cem-Elle possesses…

Peace. That was the main reason why Reed and Lu'um had chosen Cem-Elle in the first place. It was in all ways, a little town ruled by peace.

There were no dangerous intrigues in Cem-Elle. No sinister plots, power struggles, or ambitious godlings in the little town by the mountains. After all, there was nothing to be gained in living in a city built by mortal hands.

When Reed walked back inside, Lu'um handed him a dry towel and said, \”See anyone outside? Or is it still the same as yesterday?\”

\”Still the same, unfortunately. Barely anyone out on the streets and I don't blame them; it's a hellhole outside,\” said Reed, wiping the sweat off of his brow.

Reed summoned his tome and pulled up the weather forecast for Cem-Elle and his expression darkened when he saw the information it had displayed for him.

43 degrees Celsius. Last I checked, I had settled down in a temperate, scenic country, not in the fucking desert!

Lu'um peeked over Reed's shoulder and said, \”…That's not good. I think tha—\”

Without warning, everything started to shake violently as if it were being thrashed around. The ground trembled with such fervor that it had even unearthed a couple of the street lights outside by the bakery.

It happened so suddenly, neither of them had been able to react properly. Reed and Lu'um stumbled around and fell on top of each other as the bakery groaned in protest. A few tense, heart-gripping minutes passed until the tremors finally passed and a semblance of normality returned.

The bakery itself had sustained a moderate amount of damage in the process. The bakery's foundations had come undone and a part of the second-story ceiling had cracked open. Shattered glass littered the inside of the store. It was a mess.

\”Agh, are you okay?!\” said Reed. For the most, he had taken most of the damage from the fall. Lu'um who'd been behind him at the time ended up falling on top of him, turning him into a human cushion.

\”A-Ah, yeah… Sorry about falling on you, dear,\” said Lu'um and she picked herself off of the floor, granting Reed some measure of relief.

…I thought this was supposed to be one of those romantic events that every story has…! The prince catching the fair maiden… not THIS!

Lu'um, to much of Reed's horror, had not been the light, weightless feather of a maiden that most love stories seemed to love depicting. No— she more of a warrior princess, out of the old, heroic myths of yore than a kidnapped maiden in some castle.

Put simply, she had been trained and raised for war as much as she'd been for dainty, noble parties. She was a true-to-life Cinderella on the outside but was a majestic-class warship on the inside.