**Chapter 207 – The Lady’s Dream Destination**


    With a handful of bubbly foam, thedy blew on it softly, scattering the bubbles as a smile spread across her face.


    “Heheh…”


    It seemed like the bath, which was easing the tension from her entire body, was so enjoyable that thedy had no intention of getting out anytime soon.


    “The bubbles are so soft and fluffy….”


    “Are you having fun, mydy?”


    “Yes. I feel like I’ve be ten years younger.”


    As expected, thedy truly loved bathing.


    After ying with the bubbles for quite a while, thedy began stacking them up to create two huge mountain-like mounds, then looked at me.So plump and bouncy, those bubbles.


    Poking at the bubbles with her finger, thedy spoke up.


    “Ricardo, don’t these remind you of something?”


    “No, not really.”


    Thedy gave me a mischievous smile, which made me feel a bit uneasy. Her ‘art projects’ often defied my expectations.


    A prime example might be when she insisted that the poorly folded mess in front of me was a crane. That traumatic experience, when she folded a rectangr piece of paper and called it a crane, was enough to make me suspect that whatever she was doing now had some deep, iprehensible meaning behind it as well.


    With an intense look of focus, thedy carefully added more bubbles onto her creation, making it even bigger.


    “Think carefully….”


    “No matter how much I look, I don’t get it.”


    “It’s soft and bouncy….”


    “Yes.”


    “It’s huge, isn’t it?”


    As I struggled to figure out what exactly thedy was referring to, I leaned closer for a better view of her artistic masterpiece.


    It did seem like it would be soft and bouncy if touched.


    ‘But what is it?’


    Just as I pondered this, my gaze, purely by instinct, strayed to an unintended location. It was like my eyes were pulled by a maic force.


    Dripping water rolledzily off thedy’s treasure chest, creating an unexpectedly majestic sight, and I quickly averted my eyes, bowing my head.


    ‘No way…’


    Looking at thedy’s solemn expression, I shook my head. There was no way she could be this serious while making such a thing.


    ‘Then again… I really can’t think of anything else.’


    I sighed inwardly, realizing that her creations were often beyond the understanding of someone as in as myself.


    Thedy pursed her lips as I failed to grasp her intentions. Finally, in a sincere tone, she said:


    “It looks like a pair of breasts.”


    “…Sigh.”


    “They’re super soft, and they’re super big, right?”


    “Oh, for heaven’s sake…”


    I sshed water directly into her face.


    Her bubble creation ruined by my hand, thedy wore an expression of sheer devastation, wrapping her arms protectively around her chest as she cried out in despair.


    “My breasts!”


    “What breasts are you talking about!”


    “Eeeek! Ricardo destroyed my breasts!”


    “That’s not…!”


    Had this wicked viiness only learned naughty things? Thedy’s skill at teasing was impable.


    Seeing the bright blush spread across my face, thedy beamed with delight.


    “Kyaah! Why are you acting like that?”


    “Why did you make them bigger than watermelons! And what’s the point of making such… things?!”


    “Heheh! It’s fun!”


    As always, thedy’s energy peaked when she was in the bath.


    After spending a while crafting various creations from bubbles, she seemed to grow bored. She started poking at the floating yellow rubber duck with her finger before speaking to me again.


    “You know, Ricardo.”


    “Yes, mydy.”


    “I’ve been thinking carefully about where I want to go on our trip.”


    “You’ve been giving it some thought? I expected you’d just say we should go anywhere.”


    “Ugh…”


    She shot me a small re, pursing her lips. Then, as if she was about to hide her words away, thedy lowered her head and became visibly sulky.


    Watching her, I let out a small smile.


    “So, where is this ce you’ve thought of?”


    “Well, it’s….”


    “Yes, mydy?”


    “That is to say…”


    Thedy seemed quite reluctant to say it out loud.


    Judging by her hesitance, I imagined she must have chosen an expensive destination. As she hugged her legs and fiddled nervously with the rubber duck floating in the tub, she kept ncing at me out of the corner of her eye.


    What kind of ce could make her so hesitant?


    For ady who usually cared more about Gomtangi’s opinion than mine, it must be an extravagant ce indeed, if she was acting this cautious.


    I crouched down beside her, observing her imposing chest while waiting for her reply. Staring at her directly would surely make her feel embarrassed, and I had no inappropriate intentions either—by my honor.


    -Stare…


    “Ricardo, you’re a perv.”


    I suppose you can’t fool the eyes of a viiness.


    Sighing, thedy carefully revealed what she had been keeping inside. She mentioned a ce she’d thought about, wondering how I’d feel about it.


    “I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, thinking about where we could go that would be fun.”


    “It must have been tough.”


    “Yeah. If I let you pick, I bet you’d suggest some dragon-infestedir or go where barbarians live.”


    “…I thought you liked that kind of thing. I was already nning a trip along those lines.”


    “Grr…”


    Even though she was the one who had mocked the idea, she tilted her head, muttering, ‘That actually does sound kind of fun…’


    I was d I seemed to have an urate read on her preferences. Still, I kept quiet and focused as she clearly had something more to say.


    Thedy was being serious now.


    “So, um…”


    Thedy nced nervously at me once more before gripping the floating rubber duck tightly in her hand.


    -Squeeeak!


    The duck made a pitiful sound under her hand’s pressure. I almost burst outughing at the poor toy’s cry, but when I saw thedy’s bashful, hesitant face, all of that amusement immediately vanished. If Iughed now, that duck would be heading straight for my face.


    “Don’tugh when I tell you.”


    “Of course not.”


    “I’m serious.”


    “I won’t.”


    In a voice that was a notch quieter than before, she spoke cautiously.


    “I’ve been, well…”


    “Yes, mydy has been…?”


    “I’ve been thinking a lot about the ocean… and mountains… and valleys….”


    “How uncharacteristically wholesome of you, mydy. I’m surprised.”


    “Yeah…”


    “Honestly, I thought you were going to suggest we go to the Dwarf Kingdom or even invade the Elven Kingdom.”


    “Could you?”


    “If you order it, I’ll make it happen.”


    “Ew… no. Maybeter. Wayter.”


    “Let me know when you change your mind.”


    “Yeah.”


    Thedy shook her head and finally spoke, cautiously.


    “For real, don’t get mad.”


    “I promise.”


    “For real-real… You told me to pick the destination.”


    “I did.”


    Taking a deep breath, thedy dipped her head lower, and in an embarrassed voice, whispered:


    “I really want to go somece cold.”


    “…Huh?”


    “The north…”


    “Wait… what?”


    “I want to visit the northernnds.”


    Her words left me shocked beyond belief. The northern territories, especially at this time of year, were practically unlivable.


    It’s unbearably cold.


    Overrun with monsters.


    Infested with cultists.


    And…


    It was also Yuria’s hometown.


    I gave a small, bitter smile and ruffled thedy’s damp hair gently.


    “Actually, that’s perfect. The weather’s starting to get hotter now, so a northern trip sounds ideal.”


    “You’re not mad?”


    “Why would I be mad?”


    “You picked somewhere seriously cold, though.”


    “If mydy wants to go, why would I be angry? It’s not like you suggested something crazy.”


    “Still…”


    “Honestly, I thought you’d say the beach. Didn’t you mention before that you wanted to wear a bikini, mydy?”


    Thedy squeezed her small belly under the bubbles and shook her head. She said it still wasn’t time for that yet.


    “I’ll go to the beach after I lose a bit more weight.”


    “You look slim enough as it is.”


    “Hehe…”


    As expected, it seemed that when it came to matters of her weight, both viinesses and saints shared the same concerns. With a lighthearted smile, I nodded and spoke brightly, acknowledging that we’d decided on a destination.


    At least we’d save money on amodations.


    “This works out perfectly. The Desmond family has a vacation home in the North, so we don’t have to worry about lodging.”


    “…”


    Thedy immediately mmed up, avoiding my gaze.


    I chuckled softly and turned to thedy.


    “You don’t have it, do you?”


    “…My dad sold it because he said he was broke.”


    For some reason, Desmond Olivia seemed a lot more pitiful today.


    *


    A cold wind blew across a small vige in the northern barrens.


    “…”


    Yuria’s father, ‘James,’ was stretching his stiff shoulders, letting out a long yawn.


    “I wonder if Yuria is doing well.”


    James’s thoughts always drifted toward his daughter, Yuria. He worried about how she was faring in the capital and knew better than anyone how hard it could be to live away from home.


    It was the ordinary concerns of a father.


    The capital was likely morefortable than the freezing northern regions, but it wasn’t home. A father’s heart could never stop worrying about a distant daughter, and James thought about Yuria every chance he got.


    -Dad… Please make sure to eat breakfast, even if I’m not there.


    -Don’t cry, Yuria. I’ll be fine. Just focus on doing well.


    -And please stop working so much….


    -I’ll try, I promise.


    Despite that promise, James still worked.


    He had recently picked up monster extermination jobs after a sudden increase in activity. Even though he had retired from his adventuring days due to injury, he had returned to work driven by the desire to send some extra allowance to his daughter living in the capital.


    ncing at the bite marks left by a recent encounter, James gave a heartyugh.


    “Yuria’s going to have something to say if she sees this.”


    Times like this made him feel the absence of his daughter all the more.


    James had two jobs.


    One was being an adventurer.


    The other, his original profession, was serving as an innkeeper, although the ie from the inn had never been as steady as his adventuring work.


    The northernnds attracted a reasonable number of tourists during the summer flocking to the snowy mountains and beautiful scenery, with strange mirage patterns sometimes appearing in the sky.


    Although spring was usually quieter, summer brought in more than enough for James to send Yuria a good amount of allowance. But recently, monster appearances in the region had reduced his profits by half.


    Rotating his aching shoulders, James sighed deeply.


    “Looks like I won’t have any customers for a while.”


    James thought it would be strange for anyone to visit the north at a time like this, especially with monsters swarming all over.


    Who would choose death over taking in the pretty sights?


    James pondered bitterly over these thoughts when suddenly—


    “Heheheh!”


    A strangeugh echoed from the mountain range in the north as a wheeled chair zoomed down at high speed.


    It wasn’t a sled.


    It was a chair.


    James rubbed his eyes and let out a dumbfounded gasp as he stared at the unbelievable sight. In his 30-plus years of living in the north, never had he seen something so absurd.


    “…”


    “Hehehehehe!!! It’s so fast!!!”


    A woman with flowing white hair raced past James in the bizarre chair. She whizzed by so fast that his eyes couldn’t follow her movements, leaving himpletely stunned.


    When a man with fiery red hair chased after her at the same speed, James could only shake his head and nod in understanding.


    “Guess I must be seeing things. Time to head home.”


    None of this made sense to James.


    And he really hoped those two weren’t his guests.


    End of Chapter.