"Fine, you can come with us," he said. Her face lit up, her smile bright and innocent.
"Thank you," she said in a jolly tone. "I'll show you the places you should know first," she added.
They began heading into the town, with her leading the way. The first place they passed through was the town's market.
"This place has everything you'll need. There are more than a hundred different shops and businesses—weapons, materials, everything," she said.
The market was crowded, as any market would be, people going about their day, selling and buying.
"You should be careful whenever you are here. There are a lot of pickpockets. They notice when someone is distracted and they take from them," she said.
"You don't have to worry about that. I use this," Jake said and raised his finger. She looked at the ring and immediately rushed at him. She pulled his hand down, her eyes darting all around, as if trying to see if anyone saw.
"Please, never allow anyone to know that you have such a ring. You would be in a lot of trouble if you do," she pleaded. The worry in her voice was genuine.
'I guess this storage ring is rare. I should be careful,' Jake thought.
"Master, there seem to be some people watching us," Crypt spoke directly into Jake's mind through telepathy.
"Watching us? Who?" Jake responded in his mind as well.
"I'm not sure, Master, but they have been watching us ever since we stepped into the town," Crypt replied.
"Five men. Five men are watching you, Master," Drake suddenly spoke. It seemed his ability to observe was far higher than that of Crypt.
"Do you want me to take them down?" Crypt asked.
"Nope, leave it be. I want to see how it develops," Jake said with a smile. He looked at her. "Hey, I don't know your name. What is it?" he asked.
"My name? It's Lily," she said.
"She is lying, Master," Crypt said telepathically.
"How so?" Jake responded.
"Her heartbeat spiked to an unusual amount when you asked her the question. She clenched her fist and her voice had a slight tremble," Crypt explained.
"Hmm? Why would she need to lie about her name?" Jake asked.
"It's possible she is working with those men that are hiding," Crypt said.
"Hmmm, I hope not," Jake said.
"That's a beautiful name, Lily. So where do we go next?" he asked.
"The town square," she responded.
She led them to the town square. It was a massive space with a statue of a man stabbing his spear into the mouth of a twisted creature below him.
"That statue, what's it about?" Jake asked.
"That is the hero of our kingdom, Authur. He was one of the first people to stand with the Dark Dragon and fight off the Abyss, saving our kingdom," she said.
"Hmm, and this information is common knowledge?" Jake asked.
"Yes. They teach kids from little as a sign of respect. If the Dark Dragon is seen as a god that brought answers in our dark times, Sir Authur is a prophet that helped deliver the will of the god," she explained.
"You are pretty smart, Lily," Jake said.
"I was born that way. I learned how to read by the age of four and was very good at it. It was at that age my mother and father were caught up in the battle of two monsters and died," she said. Her eyes turned red the moment she said that, tears welling up inside. She quickly cleaned her eyes.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up," she said.
"No, it's fine. I lost my parents too. My mum died after I was born and my dad the same day. I understand how it feels to be alone," Jake said. He walked to her and patted her on the head.
"I'm hungry, let's go eat," he said and flashed a smile. She couldn't help but smile as well. She quickly led them to a restaurant that was not too far from the town square.
Calling it a restaurant was a stretch; it would be better to say it was a food stand. There were seats outside under a canopy that stretched from a small shop where the food was made, while the guests all sat outside under the canopy.
It could take at most twelve guests per time, three per table. Jake took a table and sat down. Crypt sat down as well, but Lily stood beside them.
"Why are you standing? Do you eat standing?" Jake asked.
Her eyes lit up when she saw that Jake was asking her to basically sit down and eat with him. She was hesitant, but her hunger got the better of her, so she sat down.
The only waiter in the establishment, an average dude, took their order and soon brought out their food—spicy noodle soup—but only for Jake and Lily. Crypt couldn't eat anymore, nor did he have the need to eat.
"Mister, why aren't you eating?" Lily asked.
"Don't worry about him, he's fine," Jake said while stuffing his face.
Lily didn't seem to understand, but she decided not to pry. She had not seen such food in a while, so she wanted to savor it down to every last bit.
Jake saw how much she ate and decided to allow her go all out. Plate after plate after plate, she kept eating until her tiny stomach popped out like a beer belly.
She rubbed her hand over her stomach. A stack of seven plates stood on her side of the table.
'She really eats a lot. Where did all that food go?' Jake thought.
"Master, the people watching are getting closer," Crypt suddenly said.
"Hmm, they are still watching? What could they want? Doesn't matter though, let's leave here," he responded to Crypt.
After eating, Lily spent the whole day showing Jake and Crypt around the town. And when the sun was finally down, she showed them the best inn to stay in.
Jake pulled out two gold coins and gave them to Lily. She was shocked to see this and tried to refuse it.
"You earned it, Lily. I had fun today, talking to you and going around the town. Hopefully I'll see you again sometime," Jake said.
Hearing Jake's words, Lily couldn't help but smile. In the smile, Jake saw someone that was hiding a lot of pain. He had shown that same type of smile many times before.
She took the coins. Her clothes raised up as she stretched out for the coins, and on her pale white skin, Jake saw what looked like a scar.