The duo stepped onto the bustling roar of the evening street, but the chaotic noise died down almost imdiately in their direct vicinity.
The crowd damn near scrambled toward the edges of the cobbled street as if an invisible plow were clearing a path through snow.
Seasoned adventurers, rchants, and city guards alike almost pressed their backs against the building to give the "Dragon Knight" a wide berth while whispering behind their backs.
"Look at the size of that dragon... and that sword..." a D-Rank warrior muttered to his companion while staring at the massive slab of steel resting on Nom-Nom’s back. "Wait a minute... is that Luger’s?"
"So it is true..." a passing rchant whispered, wide-eyed. "There really is a Greater Dragon in the city... She will be such a boon against this year’s Night of the Red Moon."
Nico ignored the awed whispers and the wary glances as he walked in the wake of those whispers with his hands buried in his pockets.
[I underestimated a lot of stuff back there,] he sighed, scratching the back of his head while staring at the worn stones beneath his boots to avoid making eye contact with the staring crowd. [First the Chief, then the monsters... even that Luger guy.]
He clenched his fist inside his pocket as the mory of the duel replayed in his mind.
[I an, he took the kinetic energy of basically two sniper rounds to the chest all at once and lived.]
A wave of embarrassnt washed over him as he was sharply reminded of his lack of knowledge about this world’s power scaling and the reality of his own lack of actual power.
He had walked in with the arrogance of a high-level player in a starter zone, only to realize the "starter zone" was full of maxed-out try-hards.
[That was truly a frog-in-a-well experience.... If so random Tier-3 thug has that kind of physiology, then how truly competent would Tier-3 look like?]
Letting Peko take the intellectual front now seed like the best decision he had made since arriving on the mainland.
After all, that account of re Goblins, sothing that should be nothing more than tutorial mobs, revealed that they basically carried a short-term zombie virus capable of bricking a his core.
[Biology matters...] he noted with a shudder.
They reached a busy four-way intersection where the flow of carriages and pedestrians was thickest.
Stopping near a streetlamp, Nico turned to face Nom-Nom.
The visual contrast between them was almost comical to the onlookers.
Nico stood there in his simple Samue, needing to physically tilt his head back to et the gaze of the seven-foot-tall woman looming over him like a tower of muscle and beauty, while handing her the E-Rank dungeon permit.
"Alright, Nom... this is where we go do our own thing," he said while checking the heavy leather straps on her shoulder one last ti. "So, what are our two rules?"
Nom-Nom looked down at him solemnly while ignoring the group of children who were pointing at them in wonder before reciting the doctrine with absolute seriousness.
"Hit people with the flat side of the sword... and anything else with the thin side."
"And the second one?"
"Don’t let anyone ss with you... or look down on you," she finished with a firm nod.
"Perfect," Nico replied with a thumbs up. "Now... I’ll be gone for a few days."
He reached up to pat her shoulder, which was at the level of his forehead.
"Until then, hit the dungeon every day while sending half of the monster corpses to the inventory. Sell the other half to the guild before heading ho and learn all you can from Peko."
He paused to count off the checklist on his fingers as he ntally reviewed the logistics.
"Make sure to call through the Familiar bond every night before bed to keep posted. If you need , don’t hesitate to call anyti. Make sure you brush your teeth twice... and don’t cause too much trouble for Elena... and-"
Nico froze mid-sentence, realizing he was rambling like a worried parent leaving his child on a business trip while half the street watched him lecture a woman who could bench-press a mountain.
He stopped himself before looking up at Nom-Nom, who was listening to every word with absolute focus as if he were revealing the secrets of the universe.
An involuntary chuckle couldn’t help but escape him as I reached up to awkwardly ruffle her hair.
"Look... just have fun," he said with a soft smile. "And learn a thing or two... both about how to fight and about the world. I’ll test you when I’m back. Oh, and yeah... make so friends if you can."
Nom-Nom’s eyes lit up with excitent at the prospect of exploring on her own and making new friends, and most importantly... having fun.
"Don’t you worry, Master," she bead, her bright voice cutting through the street noise. "You’ll be surprised when you get back!"
"Oh, right!"
She chirped suddenly before reaching down to unbuckle the heavy leather harness of the Khukri from her waist.
She handed the curved blade to Nico with a sweet, innocent smile that stood in stark contrast to her imposing height and the nearby pedestrians terrified flinch.
"You wanted the short one..."
Nico took the sheathed weapon before clipping it to his own belt with a resigned sigh.
"It’s gonna ruin the whole drip... but fine," he muttered while adjusting the fabric of his Samue to cover the strap. "Not like I can send it to my inventory in front of so many people..."
He then reached deep into his pocket to conceal the sudden burst of blue sparks from prying eyes before pulling out a heavy coin pouch from his inventory and pressing the velvet bag into her palm.
"Here’s so money if you need anything," he said, quietly slipping it into her hand. "If you need more... call ."
Nom-Nom took it with a happy hum before offering him a final, energetic wave that practically generated wind pressure.
Nico stood still near the streetlamp, watching her retreating figure disappear. He watched the people unconsciously move out of her way as she walked with a bounce in her step, a complex mix of expectation and worry tightening his chest.
It was the first ti since escaping the island that she would be truly on her own.
[But then again... It’s necessary for her progress,] Nico thought while watching the crowd finally swallow her silhouette. [Not just combat... she must also learn to be independent... can’t exactly keep her shoved up to my bosom forever... nor do I have any right.]
He let out a steadying breath to clear his mind before adjusting the collar of his Samue, and that’s when the thought struck him...
[Co to think of it... we’ve both kept each other shoved into our bosoms... After all. I would not have ssed with Luger and the others if I didn’t have Nom standing behind .]
With a final sigh, Nico turned on his heel before beginning his long, solitary walk toward the Western Gates.
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