"I'm sorry, but the dungeon is closed for today. Please enjoy sightseeing in Mirare Town."
"Mhm... We understand. After all, it's already the 20th time you've said that!"
"I'm sorry, but the dungeon is closed for today. Please enjoy sightseeing in Mirare Town."
"Are you messing with us?!"
"Hey... You can't lose your temper like that, Lynn."
"But they're obviously making fun of us, Mr. Arezu."
After a few hours of walking from the town square towards the southern area of Mirare Town, Lynn and Arezu arrived at the entrance of the Crystal Mirror Dungeon, only to find out that entering the dungeon had been suspended for the day.
Lynn tried to find out why the dungeon was closed, but no matter what questions she asked the guards, only one response was given to her—
"I'm sorry, but the dungeon is closed for today. Please enjoy sightseeing in Mirare Town."
—And that obviously pissed her off.
Maybe the guards were just being strict or simply following orders. That's why they were so careful not to slip up and reveal any details to outsiders. But giving the same response over and over again—even Arezu found it strange.
Regardless, the guards' strangeness was less of a concern to him. What he was actually worried about was Lynn throwing an unreasonable tantrum just because she didn't get the chance to visit and explore the Crystal Mirror Dungeon.
"Answer our questions properly, or you'll regret it. When will the dungeon be open again?" Lynn said, seriously threatening the guards as she started to gather her mana to cast a mystic spell.
"I'm sorry, but the dungeon is closed for today. Please enjoy sightseeing in Mirare Town," replied one of the three guards standing in front of the dungeon gate.
"That's it!... Freeze—"
Before Lynn could cast her spell, and encase the guards in crystal-clear ice, Arezu grabbed her from behind, covering her mouth and lifting her in a bridal carry before retreating toward the forest surrounding the dungeon entrance.
After putting some distance between them and the guards, Arezu promptly released Lynn and set her down.
"What was that for, Mr. Arezu?!" Lynn grumbled, pouting—even though her face was blushing from being flustered by the bridal carry.
"I should be asking that to you, Lynn. Were you really going to attack those guards?" Arezu retorted, questioning her actions.
"It's not like I was going to hurt them. I was just gonna put them in ice."
"And that would put us in trouble."
After calming down from their argument, Arezu managed to convince Lynn to postpone her dungeon visit until the next day.
Since it was already around noon, they headed back to the town square to get lunch.
"It's your treat, right, Mr. Arezu?" She asked, still annoyed about their earlier argument.
"I know... Since it's just the two of us, you can order anything you want, even the most expensive meal."
What Arezu said definitely brightened her mood and put a smile on her face. Not because she could order anything she wanted—even the most expensive meal—but because it reminded her that right now, it was just the two of them.
Back at the town square—
"Do you really have to laugh that hard, Lynn?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Arezu... It's just—Pfft... You're so cheap—Hahaha..."
When Arezu said she could order anything she wanted, Lynn thought they'd be eating at an expensive restaurant. But to her surprise, the two of them were now walking around trying to find a food stall that would catch her interest.
Regardless, it wasn't like Lynn disliked Arezu's idea.
However, no matter how long they walked around the town square, checking each food stall one by one, neither Lynn nor Arezu could find anything appetizing. Not because they were picky, but because at every stall, they saw someone from the caravan complaining about the food.
"Thank you for your purchase. Please enjoy sightseeing in Mirare Town."
"Are you messing with me?! This food tastes like shit! Give me my money back!"
"Hey, man. Just let it go. It's not worth it to get in trouble over street food."
Curious about the complaints, Lynn and Arezu bought a pork skewer from a different stall to see if what the adventurers were saying was true.
"Seriously... What's wrong with the food in this town?" Lynn said after taking a single bite of the pork skewer.
"Is it really that bad?"
In response to Arezu's question, Lynn urged him to take a bite. He tried to take it from her hand, but she refused, only to offer it again—holding it out while Arezu leaned forward to bite it.
With just one bite, Arezu understood the problem.
"The meat is almost spoiled," he said, forcing himself to swallow it so as not to waste food.
After buying samples from other stalls, Lynn and Arezu found that all the food was in the same condition. To avoid ruining their appetites, they decided to eat the snacks Lynn had kept inside her enchanted bag.
"Isn't this town a bit strange, Mr. Arezu?"
They continued sightseeing—from the town square at the center, through the western commercial area, past the guilds, into the northern residential district, and finally back to the square.
Along the way, they noticed several odd things.
"Not just the bad food, but why do all the locals talk weirdly?" Lynn said, noticing how the caravan adventurers kept complaining about the food while the locals repeated the same words and phrases when speaking to others.
"It's like they're NPCs..."
"Hmm... What's an NPC, Mr. Arezu?"
"Huh?... Nothing. I'm just making up words, Lynn."
Lynn's observation was odd enough, but it was nothing compared to what Arezu noticed.
"It's really strange. I don't remember seeing so many left-handed locals when I was here before."
Hearing that, Lynn thought back to all the locals they had encountered since morning up until now, as the sun was about to set.
The waiters who served their meals at the restaurant, the seller who sold Arezu the tourist map, the guards she had almost frozen at the dungeon entrance, and all the food stall vendors—Lynn remembered all of them being left-handed.
That realization gave her an uneasy feeling, like something bad was about to happen.
"Let's find everyone and get out of this town, Mr. Arezu," she said, grabbing the sleeve of his coat and dragging him along in a hurry.
"How are we going to find them, Lynn?"
Arezu agreed with her suggestion and quickly walked in the direction she was pulling him.
But just as they were about to leave the square—
The bell atop the clocktower rang, unleashing a loud chime that echoed throughout Mirare Town.
Turning around, Lynn and Arezu saw not only the hands of the clock shifting to six in the evening, but also the sunset reflecting against the mirrors and glass decorating the clocktower.
It was a breathtaking moment, watching the glowing tower shine in different colors while hearing the soothing chime of the bell.
However, after a minute of that captivating scene, something suddenly changed.
Arezu didn't recognize it, but Lynn did.
Panicking, she tried to warn him—but was surprised when Arezu suddenly grabbed her hand, pulled her close, and wrapped his arms around her.
The embrace confused her, but her confusion was quickly replaced by shock when the spot where she had been standing exploded.
Arezu leapt backward, holding Lynn in his arms, narrowly escaping the blast.
"What's happening, Lynn?" Arezu asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the spot where they had been standing, where the attacker—a warrior adventurer wielding a warhammer—now stood.
"I don't know why he attacked us, Mr. Arezu. But this sudden change, this strange mana around us, can only mean one thing."
"Lynn, you're not saying this place—"
"Not just this place, but possibly the entire town has become a dungeon, Mr. Arezu."