Chapter 5: A Misunderstood Refuge
After walking for two hours across a vast, open plain surrounded by natural beauty, green rolling hills, sparse trees in the distance looking dry from the autumn season, the silhouette of mountains on the horizon, and much more, they finally spotted ruins that looked like an ancient city from ages past. Dion decided to take a break since it was already late afternoon, intending to pitch a tent there. Luna turned to look at Dion, who was sitting beside her.
"Is your place still really far away, Dion?" Luna asked as she untied her hood.
"Pretty far. Since we started from the Minatheras Empire, we have to pass through the Kingdom of Lutherias, where the academy city of Phobos is located, then head east through the forest to the Kingdom of Thetor, and after that, keep heading east again," Dion answered casually, taking a seat.
"Oh, I thought it was close to the Kingdom of Thetor," Luna muttered.
"I told you, it’s near the border of the dark forest, so yeah... from Thetor’s capital, you keep going further east," Dion replied.
"Wait... if it’s east of Thetor’s capital... that means your territory is outside the kingdom altogether. Isn’t that a no man’s land?" Luna countered.
"Yep... yeah... that’s right. It’s sandwiched between the Kingdom of Thetor, the Kingdom of Eredor, and the Kingdom of Norgath behind the mountains," Dion replied.
"Wow... are you some kind of petty king or what? Why is your territory in a place like that?" Luna asked.
"How should I know? I didn’t choose to be born there... but you remember when I got that letter back when we were at the academy, the one where I had to return to my territory to handle the funeral? If I’m not mistaken, you and Rene came along, right?" Dion asked.
Luna went quiet for a moment. She stared straight ahead, her face clearly showing she remembered that event. Then, she took Dion’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Don’t worry, I’m with you now. We’ll visit your parents’ grave later," Luna said, smiling.
"Okay... thanks," Dion replied casually, taking a sip of his water.
"Your class... it’s World Keeper, right?" Luna asked, changing the subject.
"Yeah. My class is weird, isn’t it?" Dion answered, turning to look at Luna.
"I don’t care if it’s weird or not. As far as I know, you’re strong, even stronger than a Sword Saint and S-rank monsters... so I don’t care," Luna said, leaning her head forward as she looked at Dion with a smile.
"Ah... you’re exaggerating... way too much. I’m not strong... Rene was right. In truth, I’m actually really weak and useless in combat, you know," Dion said with complete honesty.
"Don’t be so humble like that. Have some confidence! You saved the three of us back in the forest, at the academy, and against monster quests and dungeons. So don’t ever say you’re like what Rene claimed, because Rene was dead wrong," Luna said with absolute, fiery conviction.
"Sigh," Dion let out a breath, looking utterly hopeless in trying to convince Luna. "I’m telling the literal truth here. Why does she keep misunderstanding? When I sparred with Rene, it wasn’t because I held back, I actually lost to him! Man, how can she be so blind and fail to see reality?" Dion muttered in his head.
"Are we spending the night here?" Luna asked, noticing it was getting dark.
"Yeah, it’s safe and secluded here. We’ll resume our journey tomorrow morning," Dion answered.
"Okay... I’ll set up a tent," Luna said, opening her dimensional bag to pull out a tent.
"Okay... me too," Dion opened his dimensional waist pouch.
Suddenly, Luna grabbed his hand. He turned and saw her worried face right in front of him.
"Let me set up the tent. You can just sleep in mine, it’s fine. You were just fired, so you must be feeling hurt. I’m ready to keep you company tonight," Luna said.
"Huh?" Dion gasped in shock, his eyes widening at Luna in front of him. But due to his mental baggage, he immediately envisioned the words "child support" floating above Luna’s forehead again. He racked his brain to find a way to decline without offending her, knowing her personality all too well.
Finally, an idea struck him. He remembered something he had crafted while using his Mechanical Crafter and Gunner persona in a dungeon. He reached his hand into his dimensional waist pouch.
"Here, let’s just use this," Dion said, holding it right in front of Luna’s face.
He pulled out a metal orb with a red button on top. He pressed the button and tossed it near the ruins. Boom! The metal orb exploded in a puff of smoke, transforming into a small, boxy steel structure that looked more like an elevator door appearing out of nowhere among the ruined pillars and stone.
Suddenly, boom! an underground explosive rumble shook the ground, causing them both to jump slightly, and Luna clutched onto Dion. After that, everything went quiet again. Dion turned to Luna with a smile.
"Let’s go," Dion urged, pressing the button beside the door.
"Oh... you want to use that room?" Luna asked.
"Yeah... remember when we were in the dungeon and couldn’t find a place to rest?" Dion answered.
"Hmm... so it can be used out in an open field like this, huh? I thought it was a special artifact just for dungeons. But is it really okay to use a valuable artifact like this?" Luna asked thoughtfully.
"It’s fine. Besides, this thing is single-use, but I still have spares left... come on," Dion urged. "Whatever, I’ll just craft more later using the Mechanical Crafter and Gunner persona," Dion thought in his head.
Ting! The door opened. Dion invited Luna inside, and the door closed behind them. Inside, the space that looked like an elevator was illuminated by the light of a yellow magic crystal. A control panel by the door frame showed buttons for going up and down. Dion pressed the button, and the floor began descending like an elevator. Luna held onto Dion’s arm; she seemed to be throbbing with excitement, looking forward to it with a smile.
When the door slid open, "Whoa!" Luna shouted cheerfully. Once again, she saw a spacious area with five rooms, complete with a dining table, a fireplace that could be used for cooking and heating the room, and a small door leading to a bathroom. The layout looked like a five-bedroom apartment, though with minimal furniture and a large bathroom.
"Just pick whichever room you want to use," Dion said, sitting down on an iron dining chair.
"Okay... where are you staying?" Luna asked.
"Um... I’ll figure it out later, no big deal," Dion answered.
"Oh... okay then. I’ll take a bath first... the bathroom is still the same, right?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, still the same," Dion replied.
"Okay... heading in first!" Luna said cheerfully.
Whistling a tune, she walked happily toward the bathroom door, opened it, and saw a bathing pool that could easily fit five people, filled with steaming hot water and flanked by two lion-head fountain statues on the left and right. Blam! Luna shut the door. "Sigh," Dion let out a heavy breath. He pulled five identical metal orbs from his dimensional bag and placed them on the table.
"Five left, huh... well, whatever. We should reach Phobos in the Kingdom of Lutherias by tomorrow," Dion thought in his head.
***
That night, inside the bedroom, Dion lay flat on his fairly large bed, motionless as he stared up at the ceiling above him, as if it held the answers to the chaotic questions swirling in his mind.
"Why did it end up like this?" he asked in his head.
"Zzz... zzz."
As it turned out, Luna was sleeping right beside him, cuddling his arm. To make matters worse, she had taken off her armor and cloak, wearing only thin sleepwear, making it impossible for Dion to even turn his head.
"Back in the dungeon, I could’ve sworn we all slept in our own separate spots... why is Luna sleeping in my bed like this now? Why... and why am I suddenly remembering Rene and even missing him? That’s right, if he were here... something like this would never be happening," Dion muttered in his head.