Lupia liked my idea for the A-rank promotion test so we quickly hashed out a plan for the adventurers' test which would take place in two days.

“Thanks Lyte,” she said gratefully, “that saves me a lot of work.”

“No problem,” I replied, standing up to leave.

“Why did you come here originally?” Lupia asked.

“Oh yeah,” I smacked my forehead. “Is there anywhere to eat in the town, and do you have a recommendation?”

“That one's easy since I never have enough time to cook for myself, so I know all the places in town. I'd say the best is 'The Oxhead Bar', down the corner two to the right. It's a little expensive though.”

“Can I have that advice in writing, in triplicate please?” I teased her and she laugh-groaned and shooed me out.

After leaving Lupia at the town hall, I found the recommended eatery then spent some time wandering around town. I bought some groceries, fruit and veg, a variety of meats at the butcher, and various bits and pieces in shops around town.

In my wanderings, I found myself outside the tailor's, and went in. Gavin wasn't behind the counter, so I just quietly browsed, soon finding a catalogue of sorts on the counter and flicking through it with interest; he seemed to have a lot more items listed than I ever expected to find in a shop this size.

A few minutes after I entered, Gavin came out of the back of the shop.

“Ah, friend Lyte! My dearest apologies for not noticing you sooner!” he called, managing to sound jovial, humble, and apologetic all at the same time. “What can I help you with?” he asked.

“I noticed you have carpets in your catalogue here, is it possible to get my hands on some?” I inquired curiously.

“For you and your beautiful silk, anything is possible,” he said, his eyes sharpening predatorily above his jovial pudgy face.

“Selling well is it?” I asked cynically.

“Quite so,” he replied honestly. “All my clients in the capital are enamoured with it.”

“You own a shop in the capital?” I asked, surprised.

“Of course I own a shop in the capital!” the tailor cried with mock indignation. “You seem to be underestimating me friend Lyte.”

“Hahaha! I would dare dream of underestimating you! As your abilities are so boundless, do you think you can get these carpets here by two days from now? If you can, I’ll pay extra~”

“Why of course,” the large man said, puffing himself up proudly, “My motto is not for nothing! 'State your desire, pay a suitable price, and receive' meaning 'state your desire, pay a suitable price, and receive'!”

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For a moment I wondered why he had repeated his words before I focused properly on what I had actually heard. Whatever translator the God of Reincarnation had given me apparently didn’t limit itself to whatever the common language was round here.

Shaking my head slightly to dislodge my rogue thoughts, I replied “I'm counting on you then! Now, let's talk about that 'suitable price' of yours...”

I left the tailor after having had a long fierce haggling battle over the carpets' prices and the 'extra' that I had promised him. I think we both had fun testing how far we could push each other before settling on a final compromise. I expected he earned a lot more by selling my silks post processing than he lost haggling with me, but I had fun so I didn't pay it much mind.

I found Tear wandering along the Main Street. She had a brown satchel over one shoulder which seemed to have various items in. I waved off her various attempts to return the remaining coins to me, telling her to keep them.

“Are you hungry?” I asked Tear, who nodded eagerly. “Well then, follow me.”

I headed off towards The Oxhead Bar, the shorter girl trotting alongside. We soon reached it; it was a rustic looking building, at least to me, though it was probably more modern to the people of this world, as I had spent some time in England, which was chock full of such buildings.

We went in, found a table, and ordered once we were ready. I had a meat pie and Tear had fish, which the catgirl seemed to enjoy greatly, if her twitching ears were any indication. I asked where they had caught the fish, and learned that the nearby river was an excellent site for fishing. I weighed my bad memories of hours of Angler Quests against the possibility of fish dishes, then decided to pay it a visit at some point. I added it to the list in my notebook.

Over dinner, I told Tear about Lupia and my plan, and she agreed to be an escortee, interest shining in her eyes. “Though do you need an escort?” she asked dubiously.

“No, of course not,” I laughed. “In fact, if I were to allow my aura to expand out, all the monsters with a shred of intelligence would probably run away!”

“What's the point of it then?”

I leant across the table and flicked an exposed cat ear causing her to jump back. “It's a test for them silly, they need to 'protect' us 'squishy normies'.”

Once we had finished our meal, I paid up (it was more expensive than I had expected, though it was less than a drop in the bucket for me), and left the Bar. Steven jogged past, raising an arm to wave before wincing and giving us a wave with the other arm, but didn't stop. I wondered if there was something going on, but it wasn't my business so I left it.

The town gates were closed but the guard kindly let us through, though he did give us a look that suggested he thought we were mad for going out into the Beast Woods at night.

At my usual take off spot I stopped and pulled out a large swath of cloth.

“Tear, if you don't want to be carried, you could lie in this cloth like a hammock. What do you prefer?” I asked.

The catgirl looked at it with obvious distrust. “If I go in there, I'll definitely fall out,” she said. “I'd much rather to be carried.”

“Finally starting to enjoy it?” I teased and she gave me a long but thoughtful look.

“Maybe-,” I only just heard her mutter under her breath as I picked her up. She leant her head against my shoulder and relaxed against my arms as I flew sedately back.

When I reached the tower, I didn't land, instead spiralling round, up the tower, then even higher up.

“What are we doing?” Tear asked me in confusion, raising her head from my shoulder.

“Look up,” I said, smiling gently at Tear, hovering in place with gentle wingbeats.

She tilted her head back, and wonder filled her eyes as they reflected the sea of stars spread across the sky. “So beautiful,” she breathed, “I've never seen so many.”

We hovered there, gazing at the lights in the sky, the thin crescent of the moon barely competing with them. It would have been romantic had either of us had any attraction towards the other. But after only a short while I noticed the young girl in my arms shivering.

“Come on,” I said, “let's go home.”