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“You know, I told you to get the car so we could use it as transport, right?” Alice asked as she dismounted from the vehicle. It looked exactly like a carriage except it had a metal frame and body. The space at the front where horses should’ve been attached to had also been converted into a trunk.
Tafel snorted as she hopped off the driver’s seat. “I’m not going to ride a flaming deathtrap voluntarily,” she said and shook her head, loosening her hair. “Besides, warping to Anfang’s a lot faster, no? I don’t care how fast this explosive carriage can go; nothing beats teleportation.”
“I guess,” Alice said with a sigh. Her brow furrowed as she took in the surroundings. “This…”
“A festival?” Tafel asked. Banners streamed from Anfang’s walls and sounds of revelry came from beyond the city gates. “Wasn’t there an earthquake recently? It didn’t hit Anfang then.”
“No,” Alice said and shook her head. “The earthquake definitely arrived. I’ve lived here for the past two years. The skyline is different. The adventurers’ guild’s spire is missing, and the church of the holy dragons is completely gone.” She pointed at the city wall. “Look. That crack wasn’t there before, and there’s evidence of repairs. That scaffold hasn’t been removed yet. But why is everyone celebrating?”
Tafel shrugged and tapped the car. It disappeared with a white light, causing Alice to frown. The guild master placed her hands on her hips and asked, “What’s that about?”
“It’s inconvenient to bring around,” Tafel said and dusted her hands together. “I created a space beneath the earth and memorized the coordinates. I put my stuff there and access it with portals.” She waved her hand and a portal appeared. She reached into it and pulled out the red pearl necklace that Vur had won from the fishmen. “See?” Before she could toss the necklace back into the portal, Alice stopped her.
“Wait,” Alice said and adjusted her glasses. “Are those sunset pearls?”
“I don’t know?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow. She glanced at the pearls in her palm. They were warming up and turning red due to the sun.
“Let me see,” Alice said, reaching towards the necklace.
Tafel’s hand retreated, pulling the pearls away. “You see with your eyes,” she said and donned the necklace. “Vur gave this to me.”
Alice wrinkled her nose. “Stingy,” she said before glancing at the gate. Two guards with red faces and mugs beside them were laughing and chatting with each other, completely oblivious to the two women standing a feet away from them. Alice slapped her shield, which was strapped to her wrist, with her palm, creating a thunder-like sound. “Hey.”
The guards continued to laugh and chat with each other. Alice’s brow furrowed as she walked up to them and placed her hands on her hips. Even though she was right beneath their noses, they still ignored her. Alice glanced at Tafel who had arrived beside her. “I’m not that short, right?”
“Well, you are, but that doesn’t explain it,” Tafel said. She avoided the dirty look Alice gave her and tapped the guard on the shoulder. The guard flinched and froze before his eyes widened. “Hello?”
The guard’s whipped around to look at Tafel and Alice. “G-guild master! Hello! I didn’t see you there,” he said. His partner was staring blankly at him with a dazed expression, and the guard slapped his partner’s face.
The partner blinked and clutched his red cheek. “G-guild master! Hello! I didn’t see you there,” he said and smiled at Alice.
“What’s wrong with you two,” Alice asked and furrowed her brow. “I could’ve walked in without either of you noticing. And what’s with the noise? And why are you drinking on duty?”
“We’re celebrating Resurrector’s Day,” the guard said with a nod.
“A what day?” Alice asked as Tafel made a strange expression.
“Resurrector’s Day,” the guard said again. “Henry made an announcement. It’s an official holiday in Anfang now.”
Alice blinked twice. “Henry? The receptionist? Who gave him the authority to do things like announce an official holiday? What happened to the mayor?”
“The mayor died during the earthquake, but he was brought back thanks to the lord and resurrector,” the guard said with a nod and smile. “He’s the one who gave Henry the idea to announce Resurrector’s Day.”
“What the hell?” Alice scowled and stomped past the guards. “I have to see this for myself.”
Tafel pursed her lips and chased after Alice. Resurrector’s Day. Could it be…? No. Right…?
Throngs of people lined the streets. Adventurers competed with each other in arm wrestling, duels, and drinking competitions as dozens of onlookers watched. There were a few pale people lingering about their red-faced counterparts, and their eyes were glazed over, but they still partook in drink and merriment. As Tafel and Alice got closer to the adventurers’ guild which was in the center of the city, the sounds became even louder and it sounded as if someone was preaching. Dozens of drunken fairies were wobbling about in the air, some resting on people’s heads.
“Tafel,” Alice said and stopped in her tracks. She took her shield into her right hand. “Do you see that?” The miniature shield expanded into a kite shield. “There’s a skeleton.”
Tafel sighed. “So there is,” she said and bit her lower lip. “You’re … not planning on killing it, right?”
“You can’t kill what’s already dead,” Alice said and stomped forward. “I’m just removing an unnatural existence.”
“Hey, it’s the guild master!” someone in the crowd shouted. “She looks mighty pissed too! Someone get Henry.”
Before Alice could arrive in front of the skeleton she had set her sights on, the pale receptionist was whisked in front of her by a group of adventurers. He cleared his throat. “Guild master. I, I can explain,” he said. “Put away your shield, please.”
“You better talk fast,” Alice said, her eyes narrowing. She adjusted her glasses and crossed her arms over her chest, shield included.
“The undead aren’t brainless—well, the skeletons are brainless, but that’s beside the point. The undead aren’t bloodthirsty and cruel like the holy dragons would have us believe,” Henry said. “The undead were actually the first to respond when the earthquake hit. Hundreds of more lives would’ve been lost if they hadn’t helped. We might have even suffered major losses if they took advantage of the chaos to attack us. But basically, everyone who’s ever been buried in our cemetery came back to life with their memories intact. And anyone who died during the earthquake also came back to life—the mayor included.” Henry cleared his throat as Alice’s expression darkened. “They’re friendly and harmless. All they asked for was a few mana crystals as recompense, and they even brought out leviathan meat to fuel this banquet.”
“You realize holy dragons hate the undead, right?” Alice asked. “What happened to their church?”
Henry let out an awkward laugh as he scratched his neck. “We, uh, burned it down,” he said. “The skeletons said it was the best kindling to cook the leviathan with!”
“Hey, Henry,” a skeleton said as he arrived by the receptionist’s side. He glanced at Alice who had just opened her mouth to speak. “Is this the guild master who you claimed was old-fashioned and lived with a stick stuck up her a—”
Henry slapped the skeleton’s jaw. He coughed and avoided Alice’s glare. “This is Noteleks. He’s—”
“Tafel!” the skeleton said as its gaze landed on the demon. “Is that you?”
Tafel sighed and closed her eyes while hanging her head. She spoke towards the ground, “Hello, Mr. Skelly.”