"Huff... Haah..."
After running to the other side of the city, Fang Raon hid in some tucked-away alleyway and caught his breath.
’What a crazy motherfucker I am. I did all that just for some excitement, and I almost died because of that.
’What if I had lost my vision again because of that? Far too risky, far, far, far too risky, but still... Whoo, I feel alive!’
Fang Raon looked euphoric—like an adrenaline junkie.
"...You are crazy, did you know that?"
In that moment, he heard a voice coming from a nearby rooftop and looked over.
There, a hooded figure—dressed in a dark cloak—stood with the mask muffling the voice.
"You are the one who saved me, right? I caught sight of you. Why did you rescue me from there? Who are you?"
Fang Raon asked.
"Curiosity kills the cat. I came here because I’ve heard the name of Fang Raon come out of my grandfather’s mouth more than once.
"I wanted to know... Who made my grandfather so impressed?"
The figure said, and jumped off the roof, landing gracefully in front of Fang Raon without making a sound.
"...Grandfather? Ah, I see. You must be Rock’s granddaughter. The guild master of the Rose Records, Della Rose, correct?"
Fang Raon said in surprise.
With a smile, the figure took off her cloak and mask, showing the beautiful face of a young woman in her early 20s with blond hair, about shoulder-length, and piercing blue eyes.
’...She is beautiful, truly. I think she could easily be an idol in one of those pop groups that are popular nowadays.’
Fang Raon thought.
"...How’s Rock?"
He asked.
"Good. He is back at torturing my poor subordinates. He keeps saying, ’Fang Raon would’ve done this with his eyes closed... He would’ve been able to do this thirty minutes ago...’ et cetera, to his students.
"In my subordinate’s eyes, you are quite a legendary figure now. The only person that has impressed Rock enough to use you as an example."
Della said with her arms crossed.
She also sounded quite jealous, as even she hadn’t been able to make her grandfather proud in that way.
"...You came all the way here to see me because of that?"
Fang Raon asked.
"Yes... I wanted to see with my eyes..."
Della said.
"And your conclusion is?"
"I think you’re an idiot and reckless. I would even say arrogant. You wanted to show your superiority to Randell, angering him as a result.
"If you’d stayed humble about it, he might’ve let you leave, but instead you made a mockery out of him in his own home.
"That was extremely foolish."
Della said.
"...I know, and I appreciate you saving me. You had no reason to do that, and you only put yourself at risk. Thus, I am grateful."
Fang Raon said with a genuine tone.
"You’re close with my grandfather, and he has talked about how much he wants to play General’s Game with you again, so... You can’t do that if you are dead..."
Della twirled her hair, looking like she wasn’t used to being thanked with such sincerity, which caught her off guard.
At that moment, the party window popped open in front of Fang Raon, and he saw that everyone was planning to meet back in the market street.
It didn’t look like anyone found the Desert Tower Key.
"...Others are waiting for me, so I must go. I’ll come visit Rock over on the 15th floor soon, so I’ll play a few games with him."
Fang Raon said with a smile.
Della looked at his blue eyes... They were really charming, she thought... But she then shook her head and pulled out a key from her inventory.
"Take this and leave this floor soon. Randell won’t stop looking for you, and I am sure he has already sent his goons to search for you."
She handed him a key that was sandy-colored.
"This is... Desert Tower Key?"
Fang Raon said in surprise.
"Yes, just head north, and you’ll find the tower. I’ve seen your party, and they seem very capable, so you should be able to do the raid with ease."
Della said, and she then covered herself with the cloak and the mask and started walking away.
"...Goodbye!"
Fang Raon waved after her, and she stopped, turned her head around, gave a simple nod, and then left.
"Whew..."
He pulled out the party window, typed, "I got the key," and started walking straight towards the market street.
[Machary: Really?! Fuck yeah, let’s regroup immediately and head straight to the tower. I am getting ugly gazes over here!]
[Abigail: Good job, leader]
[Poppy: Yay!]
[Ragnar: ...Impressive]
...
Della stood at the rooftop of a clay building and watched as Fang Raon and the rest of the party left the city safely.
She then noticed that some of the Street Kids arrived in the market street and barely missed them.
"...I think I am done here."
She pulled out a pearl from her inventory—it was the Return Pearl—and she then said, "15th floor," and got wrapped in some kind of purple mist.
The purple mist took her away, and when she opened her eyes again, she was standing in her bedroom.
She took off her hoodie, pulled down the mask, and quickly changed back into her usual clothes.
"...Mhm!"
Della yawned cutely, walked to the window, and saw the snow-covered land with towering snow-covered mountains in the distance.
"...Hurry up! What are you lazing around for? Do you think you can survive against Snow Yetis with that kind of shitty endurance?"
"...I am sorry, teacher. I’ll do my best!"
At the yard, players were running against the cold wind. Their tears were pretty much frozen at the corners of their eyes, and their eyebrows were covered in frost.
"RUN FASTER!"
Behind them, Rock barked orders.
"He never changes."
Della said with a smile.
BANG!
In that moment, her door opened, and Miranda, face flushed red, stomped over to her, clearly angry about something.
"Lady Della, where have you been? We’ve been worried sick! You can’t just disappear without saying a word!"
"Hehe, I was just out for a little walk, no need to worry, Miranda!"
Della hugged her, and Miranda’s angry expression melted off like a snowman in the sun.
She couldn’t stay angry at the cute Della.