The weather was, unfortunately, rainy.
But despite that, we managed to reach the city as planned.
A massive river flowed through its center, dividing the city into north and south.
Smaller waterways also ran throughout the town.
The City of Water.
That was what this place—Aquareite—was called.
“Still, this rain is terrible.”
As we entered the city, the downpour grew even heavier.
The wind picked up too, and umbrellas were useless.
We had to rely on our cloaks to shield ourselves from the rain.
“Could it be that a storm is coming...?”
“The carriage has to cross to the other side of the river first, right?”
“Yes, but...”
Sofia looked up at the dark, rain-filled sky and sighed.
“In this weather, I doubt any ferries are running to the other side.”
“We should probably look for an inn first.”
Both Sofia and I felt our spirits sink.
Meanwhile—
“Kyaa~♪”
“Woof woof!”
Aisha and Snow were having the time of their lives.
It was probably their first storm ever.
Rather than feeling scared, they seemed thrilled by the unknown experience.
It was better than them being frightened, of course—but still, we had to be careful.
Storms often lead to accidents, so we needed to keep a close eye on them.
“Wait… huh? Where’s Licorice?”
“Oh my?”
Sofia and I tilted our heads in confusion.
At some point, Licorice had vanished.
“Kyaaaaaaa!?”
When we turned around, we found her clinging desperately to a streetlight, looking like she was about to be blown away by the wind.
“Licorice!?”
Sofia and I rushed over in a panic to help her.
――――――――――
“I-I thought I was going to die…”
We had safely rescued Licorice…
Then we moved to the inn and wiped off our soaked bodies.
“Scary storm, scary storm, scary storm…”
Wrapped in a small towel, Licorice was trembling violently.
It seemed the experience had left her with a little trauma.
“Are you okay?”
“Kuuun…”
Aisha and Snow were comforting her.
Leaving them to it, Sofia and I decided to gather some information.
We left the room and headed down to the first-floor dining hall, which also served as a tavern.
“Oh, hello there. You haven’t caught a cold, have you?”
The inn’s proprietress greeted us warmly.
Not only did she rent us a room, but she had also lent us towels for our soaked bodies—truly a kind person.
“Thanks to the towels you lent us, we’re fine. Thank you very much.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. When you’re in trouble, we help each other out.”
The proprietress smiled kindly.
We decided to ask her some questions first.
“We’d like to take a ferry to the north side of the city. When are the tickets usually available?”
“To the north side of the city? Well…”
Her smile vanished, replaced by a bitter expression.
“Is there some kind of problem?”
“Problem or no problem… it’s this storm, isn’t it? The ferries aren’t running.”
“I’m not asking for right away. I just want to ride after the storm passes…”
“I see. You’re travelers, so you probably don’t understand. The storm… isn’t going to end.”
“The storm won’t end…?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“…This city is already finished.”
As she spoke, the proprietress’ eyes were filled with despair.
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