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Chapter 9: This Is Quite Lovely II

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"Hmm, so comfortable..." Twelve Solus is quite a lot of money, so the Inn requiring that much for one night should say something, it's quite luxurious.

That explains how they got their hands on such costly artifacts which usually only nobles have, and in fact, the nobilities of this world were responsible for creating such artifacts specifically for their comfort.

The best example would be the Orbit Of Salvation, an artifact that can literally create water, and it's how the whole town gets water.

After a village reaches the standard for a town in size and power, the kingdom would provide the artifact for them. That's usually the point where it becomes a town, with that however comes taxes but people would still choose this path every time.

The mayor is also often chosen by the kingdom to not only watch over the town but also protect it. They're naturally seekers given that responsibility, mostly to guard the valuable artifact, failure means death.

In this way, the kingdom could benefit not only with progress, riches but also the loyalty of its netizens.

Such tools, or how Seekers call them, artifacts are extremely convenient but also very rare due to two reasons.

The first is that the material its created by is extremely expensive due to its rarity. Second, it can only be created by high-level Seekers.

Val was enjoying that luxury artifact to his heart's content as that warm water reached his bathtub and released that faint steam that brought a sense of eloquence to the person lying in the bathtub.

He's been in that bathtub for more than an hour and he didn't appear to be leaving any time soon. He continuously changed the water to a cleaner one as he cleaned himself up.

Staying in that place for such a long would certainly traumatize any person though he already hated disgusting things from his previous life.

He was lazily lying in the bathtub, submerged in the warm comfortable water with a faint smile on his pale face.

He has already used a clean sharp knife to shave all of his facial hair as well as giving himself a clean haircut, instead of his hair which has grown to be extremely long, he now has a clean short-styled haircut with a few locks faintly hanging to his inky eyes.

In contrast to his previous carefree attitude, his manner now resembles that of a noble, filled with a sense of elegance.

It was so natural that anyone would believe him to be a true noble which he is, and he was from his previous life.

Before 'that' happened, his family raised him perfectly in that regard as to have their sense of ethics and nobility, and he kept that eloquence even after their passing simply because he likes it.

However, he likes a lot of things so it's been said his mood and manner are simply unpredictable.

It took quite a while but it eventually happened, he finally left the bathtub as he used a towel to dry himself up then wore the other set of clothes he bought.

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He wore a simple black v-neck sweater and black pants, followed by black socks.

Val then faced the mirror and looked at himself thoroughly, confirming his previous speculation.

'I look like an exact carbon-copy of my previous self, even my appearance is the same... Can things get any more convenient? Wait, did I say that before? Well, whatever...'

Val slowly walked towards the bed before lying on it and closing his eyes, seemingly diving into the lands of dreams.

'Hmm, it seems like everything I would've wished for in such a situation has been met.

Now I'm actually wondering if the god of death fell in love with me. None of the other gods have any reason to, I was just a normal person after all... Well, I kind of wasn't.

In all seriousness though, my curiosity about my circumstances is reaching new uncalculatable heights... I really want to know just what's going so much.

My apologies mother, I guess I kind of failed you again, you always used to say that if you want to know something, then do anything to know it, even if you have to torture someone for it.

Most often than not, you'll have to kill that person afterward which often makes that information useless, but at least, you'll find yourself knowing more after that.

You even tried it on my father to make me learn, to set an example, yet I always find ways to fail you... It's definitely not because I think it's stupid but because... because?

Oh right, I need to dive into the lands of dreams, I'm quite tired after all and you always said that rest comes before anything else... Did she say that? Well, whatever.'

His nonsensical thoughts truly know no bounds though one has to question at one point, are they truly nonsensical or do they have any truth in them?

Val slept like he didn't rest for ages, he slept like a baby, uncaring about the possibility of the guards finding him no matter how low that chance is, and only woke up in the evening.

He lazily opened his inky eyes as a faint smile surfaced on his face. He stood up from his bed and headed to the toilet where he washed his face.

Then he put on his shoes before heading downstairs directly to the Inn's dining room.

He noticed few people in the room so he took a vacant table for himself, he picked the menu on the table and looked through it, noticing that the Inn only provides a few dishes.

Less than a minute passed before one of the Innkeepers stood next to his table, patiently waiting for his order without interrupting him, and Val didn't make him wait for long.

He ordered two dishes with the most plentiful nutrients to fill his hungry stomach, both with a satisfactory amount of meat. The price was just enough to leave him with one last Solus.

He waited until his food arrived then he started eating his lunch, it's a bit late for that but neither he nor the Innkeeper cared.

He ate slowly and elegantly in no hurry, after all, he's just waiting for his ride to arrive.

"Good enough... I guess. This is still lovely though." Val remarked to himself as he picked up a napkin and slowly cleaned his mouth.

'Yeah, life is so lovely, how can anyone ever get bored with it? How can anyone ever choose to end it? Well, I know the answer to those questions, I just never experienced them nor will I ever.'

Val then put the last Solus he has on the table before standing up and leaving the Inn, after all, he won't need that little amount of money anymore.

He walked out of the Inn, unaware of the surprised, curious looks he was getting from either the Innkeepers or the guests there, or he was just used to it by this point.

And indeed, after exiting the Inn, he found his ride already waiting for him.

A large luxurious black carriage pulled by two beautiful snow horses, captivating horses with snow-like fur and crystalline horns on their foreheads.

They're known for their incredible resistance to the cold, and naturally, as ether beasts, they have their own special talent.

"Young master, please." To the side of the carriage stood a middle-aged man adorned in a butler's uniform. He opened the carriage's door for Val and waited for him to enter.

Val nodded at the butler, "Louis, It's been a while, huh, and I see that you changed not one bit."

The butler finally released a gentle smile and responded, "Indeed, It's been a long time, and I see that you've changed quite a lot."

They spoke with familiarity as if they were old friends as the usual formal manner of the butler faintly faded.

Val nodded again as he made his way into the carriage with a contemplating expression on his face, though he didn't shy away from speaking out loud, "I guess I did? Though I'm not sure if it's for the good or the worse... For the world that is."

The butler was only stunned for a few seconds before he got his bearing back and mounted the carriage. Those are simply not things he cares about, his job description is quite simple and he follows it to the bones.