Details from the Past

"Damn it, where'd that kid go?" someone suddenly shouted in the street, sounding rather frantic. Another person seemed to answer him, and then they hurried off again.

Have they got their eyes on me? Zhang Ruofeng muttered silently from the shadows of a corner. The two men chasing him had been customers at the shop, but judging by their expressions and the fact that they weren't carrying weapons, Zhang Ruofeng figured some god had finally sent them to test him. Still, the two adventurers were clearly only Level 1, so he had shaken them off with ease. Even so, Zhang Ruofeng let out a breath. He had already put on his bracers. If the two men had found him, he wouldn't have minded fighting them. From what he'd observed, their speed was about the same as his, and their overall strength was probably no greater than his own. He was confident he could break away even if they got caught up in a fight.

Zhang Ruofeng waited a little longer, making sure the two men hadn't found his trail and had already left, then emerged from the corner and looked around. Orario was very quiet at night, especially in this rather secluded area where he had ended up while avoiding the two adventurers. The streets around him were nearly silent.

"I should head back." Seeing that there was no longer any danger, Zhang Ruofeng immediately started running along the route he remembered. After about half an hour, he finally reached the northeastern district where his Familia lived. The area was densely populated, and even at night plenty of people were on their way home or out for a walk. Zhang Ruofeng's wariness eased. After all, adventurers were under the Guild's rules and wouldn't dare start a fight in the street without good reason.

"Oh, you're back." Fura had just finished bathing and was sitting at the round table where she usually drank tea, combing her long red hair. Seeing Zhang Ruofeng panting, she asked curiously, "What happened?"

"Nothing." Zhang Ruofeng answered coolly and took off his bracers. "I was just testing how it felt to wear them. They're pretty heavy."

"Wow, you really smell of alcohol," the goddess said as she handed Zhang Ruofeng a towel to wipe off his sweat. "You and that craftsman drank quite a bit."

"Yeah. Sorry." Zhang Ruofeng didn't know whether his goddess disapproved of drinking, so he apologized.

"Drinking's fine." Seeing how afraid he was that she might scold him, the goddess laughed. Then she took back the towel she'd been about to hand him, stepped closer, and wiped the sweat from his forehead herself. "There's hardly a god who doesn't like drinking. We've lived for tens of millions of years, after all. Drinking at gatherings is just the norm. You don't need to apologize for that."

Zhang Ruofeng's face, already flushed from exercising, turned even redder. He spent plenty of time with Xin Mu, but Fura was even more beautiful than a school beauty like Xin Mu. And when a goddess fearlessly strode into his personal space, he never knew how to handle it. Every time, he ended up fleeing in disarray.

"Hahaha, all right, I'll stop teasing you. Go upstairs and take a bath. Xin Mu should be done by now." The goddess finished and returned to her chair, carefully continuing to comb her hair. Zhang Ruofeng went up to the second floor and found that Xin Mu had already bathed. She was sitting on the bed, gazing absently out the window.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Ruofeng asked, looking at the distracted Xin Mu. She only shook her head blankly, her brows drawing together slightly. "You smell strongly of alcohol and sweat."

"Hahaha..." Zhang Ruofeng had spent the day doing combat training with Xin Mu and then been busy all afternoon. He'd still had to run all the way back that evening, so it was no surprise that he smelled of sweat. He said no more and went to take a bath.

After bathing, Zhang Ruofeng felt refreshed, but the exhaustion soon caught up with him. He'd had quite a bit to drink that day, too. Even though his body was now far beyond an ordinary person's, he could still get tired. When he returned to the room, Xin Mu had already turned onto her side to sleep. Zhang Ruofeng turned off the light and lay down in his usual position, with his back to her. He stared at the moonlight outside the window, waiting for sleep to carry away his thoughts. He heard Xin Mu seem to sit up behind him, but he kept to his habit and didn't look her way. Then he felt someone slip under his blanket. He knew it had to be Xin Mu.

"Hmm?" Zhang Ruofeng's body went rigid. He was exhausted, but that didn't stop desire from surging through him, or the ache in his heart from rising and falling. "What's wrong, Xin Mu? You know I don't want this kind of intimacy, right?" Zhang Ruofeng tried to shift away, but Xin Mu wrapped her arms around him from behind, leaving him unable to move.

"Didn't you promise you'd do one thing for me, as long as it was within your ability?" Xin Mu's voice came from behind him. "I won't do anything. I just want to hold you while we sleep."

"But that's beyond what I can—" Before Zhang Ruofeng could finish, Xin Mu cut him off without mercy.

"Ruofeng, do you remember the name of the restaurant on the far left across from our school?" Xin Mu asked hesitantly.

"Hm?" Zhang Ruofeng's attention was drawn to her question at once, and he began to think. He remembered really liking the rice topped with shredded pork and green peppers there, but for some reason he couldn't recall the restaurant's name. "I only remember how much you hated their pickled cabbage and fish."

"Yeah, but just like me, you can't remember its name either, can you?" Xin Mu asked.

"It's not a big deal. We barely went there anyway. The shredded pork and green pepper was the only good thing they served." Zhang Ruofeng tried to reassure her, though he had already guessed what she was getting at.

"This world is fascinating, but we know so little about it. We've been here for almost zero time, and every day we've been frantically learning about its customs, traditions, and legends. Perman and I both think you've been under a lot of pressure because of me." Xin Mu held Zhang Ruofeng tightly, trembling slightly. "I've thought about it a lot these past few days, but I still can't make sense of it. I've even started forgetting little details from our old world that I never paid attention to before. I'm scared."

Zhang Ruofeng's mouth twisted bitterly. The goddess had only said there might be a way home. Zhang Ruofeng didn't dare even think about whether they could really return. Though he'd always been thinking about it, he'd kept forcing down the fear welling up inside him. Hearing Xin Mu say this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Right now, I'm more worried that..." Zhang Ruofeng managed a smile with great effort. "My Platinum rank's about to hit Diamond! I've definitely dropped a tier."

"Enough with the lousy jokes." Xin Mu said, then pinched Zhang Ruofeng hard on the waist.