Chapter 11: Sister Pela~

"Ehe? What do you mean, 'ehe'? Do you know how late you are?!"

"Sorry, sorry! I just got lost on the path of life."

Hearing this, the girl, who knew his personality all too well, couldn’t help but want to punch him.

For someone who was such an excellent storyteller, he always acted so unreliable. His fans would be so disillusioned if they saw him like this!

And to make a lady wait for him in the chilly evening air of Belobog for thirty minutes! How outrageous! Her knees were practically frozen stiff!

However, when she remembered the lonely, lost expression he had earlier—like someone who didn’t know where home was—her frustration quickly melted away.

This was the first time she had seen Venti, who was always so carefree and untethered like the wind, look so lost and sorrowful.

It made her want to comfort him… Wait, no! Why was she thinking like this?!

Pela’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly cleared her throat, putting on a stern face.

"Fine, I’ll let it slide this time. But remember the agreed time next time. Don’t be late again—"

"Oh! You just said it, didn’t you? That phrase that good friends always say. Well, then, it seems I must help you with your troubles!"

Venti leaned closer to her, maintaining a friendly but not overly intimate distance, and extended his hand gracefully, like a gentleman inviting her to a banquet.

"Tell me, who has committed the great sin of upsetting my best friend?"

"...Hmph, a certain someone just made me unhappy not long ago."

Caught off guard by his sudden approach, Pela quickly averted her gaze and replied with a pout.

However, she didn’t hesitate to hand him the book she was holding.

"Ah, my bad. I shouldn’t have upset Sister Pela—!"

Venti immediately put on a pitiful expression, but when he noticed the flicker of embarrassment in Pela’s eyes, he burst into laughter, causing the girl to puff up her cheeks in annoyance, looking as adorable as a little hamster.

"If you keep this up, I won’t let you read the sequel to Snow Country… Ahem, The City of Snow and Rain!"

The girl pretended to snatch the book back from his hands.

"Please, don’t! Leaving someone hanging at the best part of a story is something even demons wouldn’t do!"

Venti shook his head vigorously, clutching the thickly bound novel tightly. Its true title was The Snow Country Adventure Chronicles.

It was a banned book in Belobog, no longer printed or sold, but it still had a sizable fanbase. Every new release sold like hotcakes.

The title The City of Snow and Rain was a nickname used by fans, inspired by the icy city in the second chapter. However, since the original title was too obvious, they changed it to this.

The book still carried a faint warmth from the girl’s embrace and a subtle, pleasant scent of paper, which was soothing to the soul.

Venti also enjoyed reading others’ stories. In fact, he had a natural instinct to collect good tales and share them with more people.

Although his own stories from distant lands had somewhat overshadowed the bestsellers of various publishers, even The Snow Country Adventure Chronicles had been affected.

But as a devoted fan of the series, Miss Pela had never abandoned it. She was a true "book purist" and had her ways of obtaining these banned books, often buying eight or ten copies at a time for her collection and to share with others…

Thanks to this, Venti often asked her for out-of-print but highly praised books.

And Pela never refused, often inviting him to private fan gatherings.

These gatherings had no fixed time or location, and participants ranged from young to old across Belobog. The person sitting at the next table might very well be one of them.

Of course, just as Venti enjoyed others’ stories, Pela, a bookworm and part-time writer, was equally fascinated by him and his tales.

Compared to The Snow Country Adventure Chronicles, which was filled with imaginative world-building and a mix of passionate romance and adventurous exploration, Venti’s stories were often so vivid and realistic that it was hard to believe they were mere fantasies.

Pela’s precise "information radar" had started beeping the moment she first met Venti. As she listened to his poems and stories, it felt like a cat was scratching at her heart, leaving her frustrated whenever work interrupted her listening.

Fortunately, after getting to know Venti, she could always ask him to finish the story later. Otherwise, she’d have lost sleep over it.

Thus, a strange bond formed between the two "book lovers," and their relationship progressed rapidly.

To an outsider, it might have looked like the sweet, budding romance of a young couple.

Although, as one of the parties involved, Miss Pelageya Sergeyevna couldn’t deny having such thoughts herself.

But the carefree bard, oblivious to all this, was happily running ahead of her, waving and calling out cheerfully.

"Miss Pela, the night breeze is cool, and time is of the essence. Let’s hurry! To wine and poetry, and to the beautiful tomorrow—"

…

Rockfire Lizard Shack

This was a restaurant in the upper districts that also served alcohol.

Its signature dish was one of the lower districts’ delicacies: the Marrow Lizard.

As the name suggested, it was a cave-dwelling amphibian that lived near underground water sources.

Its feather-like scales were pale pink, and its vision had degraded due to its habitat, but its hearing and smell were highly developed—likely adaptations to its dark, damp environment.

Of course, compared to these details that biologists might find fascinating, for most Belobogians—or rather, lower district residents—it was simply one of the few sources of protein in the lower districts, with a taste similar to chicken.

Though most Belobogians today had never seen a chicken, let alone tasted one, it didn’t stop the restaurant owner from using this to his advantage.

"Want to try the premium ingredient only found in the lower districts? The most sought-after delicacy before the frost arrived (note: similar taste)? Then come to Rockfire Lizard Shack!"

"Join our membership now, and enjoy a special offer every Thursday: 20,000 credits for 20 lizard wings!"

This was essentially the restaurant’s marketing strategy, and surprisingly, many people fell for it.

Now, Venti and Pela were sitting together in a quiet corner of the Rockfire Lizard Shack.

The aroma of the roasted lizard filled the air, though its tail, which clearly betrayed its species, made it hard for Venti to associate it with chicken, let alone its original appearance…

Ahem, in any case—it was best not to think about it too much, or his appetite would vanish entirely.