Chapter 73

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The night market was bustling with energy.

Under the night sky, warm lights twinkled, and the laughter and conversations of people never ceased.

The streets were lined with various foods like skewered meat, sugar-coated fruits, and crispy fried snacks.

A little further away, the dazzling performances of street performers caught people’s attention.

There was a fire juggler, a dancing clown, and musicians playing instruments.

Children ran around holding balloons, screaming with joy, while stall owners called out to customers with bright voices, adding to the festive atmosphere.

“Look over there, Lucy!”

Finn tapped Lucy’s cheek and shouted.

“It’s sugar-coated fruit!”

Lucy looked where Finn was pointing.

A stall surrounded by a red canopy.

Rows of skewered fruits were lined up.

Apples, pears, peaches, strawberries, and more.

The fruits glistened with white sugar.

A sweet scent tickled her nose.

“Do you want some?”

“Yes! Let’s try it! Let’s try it!”

Finn bounced excitedly on Lucy’s shoulder.

“Alright.”

Lucy walked toward the stall selling sugar-coated fruits.

In her arms, hon was nestled.

“Oh, Lucy, wait for me.”

Brian, who had been watching the girls nearby, hurriedly followed Lucy.

Thomas was walking toward them from a distance, holding a balloon.

When Lucy arrived at the fruit stall, she said to the owner,

“One of each, please.”

“Oh my, what a cute young lady.”

The owner smiled brightly and skillfully skewered an apple, pear, peach, and strawberry.

Then, he evenly sprinkled white sugar powder over them and handed them to Lucy.

“Here, enjoy!”

From Lucy’s arms, hon sniffed and wagged its tail.

The owner’s eyes widened.

“Huh? There’s a dog too? Then I’ll give you a bonus!”

The owner laughed and took out another apple, coating it with sugar.

“Here! Let the dog enjoy it too!”

“Thank you.”

After paying, Lucy turned around.

Finn smiled with joy.

“It looks delicious! Lucy, try it first!”

Finn brought the peach skewer to Lucy’s mouth.

Lucy took a bite.

Sweet sugar and fruit juice filled her mouth.

“How is it?”

“It’s delicious.”

“I should try it too!”

Finn also opened her mouth wide and took a bite.

“Whoa!”

Finn’s eyes sparkled, and her wings fluttered.

“It’s so good! This is the best food in the world!”

Lucy handed skewers to Brian and Thomas, who were standing nearby.

“Here.”

“Thanks.”

Brian and Thomas also started eating the skewers.

Their reactions weren’t as dramatic as Finn’s, but they smiled, clearly enjoying it.

“Grr!”

From her arms, hon tapped Lucy’s arm with its paw.

It wanted some too.

“Here, you can have some.”

Lucy gave hon a skewer.

Hon devoured it quickly and looked up at Lucy, asking for more.

“No.”

Lucy shook her head.

“Too much sugar isn’t good for you.”

For a moment, she wondered if that was really true.

For a dog, it might not be good, but hon was a magical creature.

Would too much sugar be bad for a magical creature too?

“Lucy~”

A voice called Lucy from afar.

When she turned her head, she saw Marco and Anna approaching.

Marco was wearing a light shirt, and Anna was in a neat dress.

Since the request was over, they had changed into comfortable clothes.

“You’re already eating something~? You’re not planning to spend all the reward money here, are you?”

Marco said with a laugh.

From this extermination request, Lucy had received more reward money than expected.

As a token of gratitude for saving their lives, Zeke had suggested giving Lucy 70% of the total reward, and everyone had agreed.

From Lucy’s perspective, the income was quite substantial for just scaring off a demon.

“Ah.”

Suddenly, Lucy thought of Agrevan.

Before returning to hell, Agrevan had said this to Lucy:

―I… really like dolls….

Lucy began looking around for a place that sold dolls.

Getting a doll wasn’t particularly difficult.

She just needed to buy one.

If she wanted to make Agrevan work for her in the future, it would be better to get him one.

Luckily, she spotted a doll shop not far away.

Lucy immediately headed there.

Lucy chose a soft, yellow chick doll for Agrevan.

She wasn’t sure if Agrevan would like it, but it didn’t matter.

She didn’t know Agrevan’s doll preferences anyway.

◈

After buying the doll, she watched a clown dancing on the street.

The clown swayed to the music, encouraging people to join in.

“Now, everyone! If you’re confident in your dancing skills, come up and dance with me! I’ll give you a prize!”

In the clown’s hand was a large glass jar.

“The prize is a jar of sweet honey, a specialty of Bellagard! Natural honey! If you’re interested, please come forward! Any kind of dance is fine! Now, who’s coming up?”

“Me, me!”

Suddenly, Thomas raised his hand.

“Oh ho?”

The clown looked Thomas up and down.

Thomas was chubby and short.

He didn’t seem like someone who would be good at dancing.

Nevertheless, the clown grinned.

“Great! Come on up! Everyone, give him a round of applause!”

Thomas scratched his head shyly and stepped forward.

“Thomas, do your best!”

Brian shouted loudly, and Finn clapped her hands while bouncing on Lucy’s shoulder.

“Thomas, fighting!”

As the music began to play, Thomas slowly started to move to the rhythm.

“Oh ho, this isn’t ordinary, is it?”

The clown swayed beside Thomas.

The music gradually sped up, building in intensity, and Thomas’s movements became more vigorous to match.

“Wow!”

The crowd cheered.

Even the clown dancing beside him looked surprised.

“Wow, this is amazing! You’ve got incredible dance skills!”

Thomas moved as flexibly as a slime.

His short limbs moved briskly, capturing everyone’s attention.

When the music ended, Thomas spun gracefully and spread his arms.

Laughter and cheers erupted from the crowd.

“That was the best!”

The clown applauded and handed him the glass jar.

“This honey is yours!”

“Thank you…”

Thomas smiled shyly as he accepted the honey.

When Thomas returned to his spot, Brian gave him a thumbs-up.

“Thomas, you did great!”

Marco and Anna also praised him.

“I’ve never seen such an amazing dance before!”

“That was really impressive!”

Finn fluttered her wings and flew over to stroke Thomas’s cheek.

“Hehe, Thomas, you’ve been hiding this talent? You’re a real dancer! But you’re not planning to eat that honey all by yourself, are you?”

“This is for you and Lucy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. That’s why I took it.”

Thomas handed the honey to Lucy.

Lucy smiled as she accepted it.

Given the atmosphere, it seemed like Lucy should say something complimentary too.

“…That was a fantastic dance.”

“Th-thank you.”

Thomas blushed and smiled.

Just then.

Bang!

A loud sound filled the air, and the night sky lit up with bright colors.

Bang! Bang!

The sky was painted with colorful fireworks.

The fireworks display had begun.

The crowd gasped and applauded.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

Finn sat on Lucy’s shoulder, her eyes sparkling.

Hon wagged its tail as it gazed at the night sky.

“Bellagard’s fireworks are always magical, no matter how many times you see them.”

Marco grinned as he spoke.

Then, Anna let out a soft gasp.

“Over there…”

Anna pointed in a direction.

Lucy turned her head to look where Anna was pointing.

At the end of an alley, a commotion was unfolding.

No, to be precise, two men were dragging a girl away.

The girl’s mouth was covered, so she couldn’t make a sound, and she looked at them with desperate eyes.

Soon, she was pulled into the darkness by the men and disappeared.

“Did you see that?”

Anna’s expression turned serious.

“It looks like a kidnapping. We need to help her right away!”

Anna immediately ran toward the alley.

The others exchanged bewildered looks.

“Sigh.”

Marco let out a deep breath.

“She really lives up to being a priestess.”

Marco chased after Anna.

Brian and Thomas looked at Lucy.

Their expressions asked, What should we do?

After a moment of thought, Lucy nodded.

“Let’s go too.”

◈

The alley Anna and Marco had entered was like a maze, with winding paths.

They followed the path, but Anna and Marco were nowhere to be seen.

“Where did they go?”

Brian looked around.

“Did they split up somewhere?”

“Bro, over there…”

Thomas pointed in a direction.

There was a shabby building with its door wide open.

Inside, a staircase leading underground was visible.

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

She thought she could hear faint noises coming from below.

“Let’s go that way.”

Lucy started walking toward the building.

Brian quickly stepped in front of her.

“Just in case, I’ll take the lead. Thomas, you protect Lucy from behind.”

“Got it.”

Brian and Thomas positioned themselves protectively in front and behind Lucy.

A sense of determination filled their expressions.

“Pfft.”

Finn couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Who’s protecting who here…”

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Why are they so fixated on 70%? 

The world may never know~