Chapter 166: Meeting with the woman of my dreams

POV Ansgar

“Hey, Cornelius, when are we moving on?” Ansgar

“Are you being impatient again? We were thinking of leaving in two days.” Cornelius

“Then I’m going into town. I’m bored.” Ansgar

“Go ahead, but don’t get into any trouble.” Cornelius

“Got a problem with that? You're not my mother, so shut up.” Ansgar

“Sure. But if you're going to be wandering around, keep your ears open for anything interesting.” Cornelius

“I will. Bye.” Ansgar

I left our inn and stood on the street. The street was very busy for a morning. It was usually less busy here, as the inn was not located in one of the city's main squares. When choosing it, we had looked for a quiet location as well as quality.

While walking in the same direction as most of the other people I then came to one of the large squares. Many wooden stalls had been set up here, and from the conversations around me, I could gather that there would be a market festival in the next few days. Caravans from the surrounding towns were expected, and the merchants wanted to offer their wares. That sounded interesting, but unfortunately we wanted to continue our journey. I was torn between the anticipation of the festival and the desire to finally move on.

I was lost in thought as I wandered aimlessly through the city. As a result, I didn't notice that I had bumped into someone and knocked them to the ground.

“Ouch!” Woman

“Hey, watch where you're going! Don't you have eyes in your head? Leo, are you hurt?” Other woman

“What? Oh, sorry. Wait, I'll help you up.” Ansgar

I turned to the person on the ground and offered my hand to help them up. When I looked at them, my heart beat much faster. Standing before me was a young female dark elf. She looked at me with large, clear eyes. Her white hair shimmered in the sunlight. Her entire appearance took my breath away and captivated me. As I knew from role-playing games, she was beautiful as an elf. I had fallen in love at first sight.

“Forget it, I won't let you near her. You'll only defile her. Come on, Leo, I'll help you up.” Another woman

Only now did I really see the other woman. She was a beastman, a demihuman. Judging by her ears and tail, she was one of the catfolk. And she, too, was exceptionally pretty. But she was nowhere near as beautiful as the dark elf.

“I'm fine, Betty. Thanks for your concern. And thank you for helping me up.” Eliza

“We have to keep going. You can continue talking later. Our companion is seriously injured and we've just come from the hospital. Have a nice day." Man, dismissively.

I turned my gaze to the man. I hadn't noticed that there were two other people here. They were both men who looked familiar to me somehow. I had also heard the names of the two women somewhere before. Wait a minute. Seriously injured and hospital?

Immediately I turned my head toward the building and realized that it was the mercenary guild's hospital, as indicated by a sign above the door. Wasn't this where the injured from the labyrinth were treated? That meant my dark elf was in the labyrinth and had been injured there. So she could fight. Combined with her beauty, she interested me more and more. I had to get to know her!

I turned back to her, but saw that she was no longer there. Neither were the other three people. What, why? Where and when had they gone? I looked around, but couldn't see them anywhere. I ran to the next corner and looked around frantically. Unfortunately, it was a large, busy street. I couldn't see her anymore. Damn it! I couldn't accept that. I had finally found the woman who set my heart on fire. That's why I couldn't just let her go. I had to find her again. Whatever it took!

I spent the whole day looking for her, but couldn't find her. Disappointed, I returned to the others without having achieved anything. But I had made a decision.

POV Eliza

We made our way to our lodgings. The three of them took great care of me, and with every step I took, small fragments of memory slowly came back to me. Bishop's healing magic had obviously worked a small miracle. The concept of magic was new to me, but according to the others, I could use magic. I was eager to try it out.

We talked quietly as we left the hospital. I had just stepped onto the street when I was knocked over. I landed on my butt with an audible thud.

“Ouch!” Eliza

I was irritated and slightly confused. So I hardly noticed my companions arguing with a man. I turned to him and looked at him. He was tall, certainly over 2 meters, and very, very muscular. His upper body was covered only by a half-open vest. He was bald and had a thick full beard. I had a very strong feeling of déjà vu, but at that moment I was sure I had never seen him before. My memory lapses bothered me.

But I hardly had a chance to think about it for long, because Betty helped me up and asked how I was feeling. In the meantime, the other two distracted the man. Betty seized the opportunity and quickly led me through the small street to the main road, which was much busier. There, Duke and Bishop caught up with us.

“Everything okay, Leo? You seem confused.” Duke

“Yes, everything's fine. Although I don't know. I know this man from somewhere, but I can't remember where.” Eliza

“Duke, this is not good. I don't know who that was, but he promises trouble.” Betty

“I'm convinced of that. We should keep a low profile for the next few days. He has companions I definitely don't want to encounter.” Duke, annoyed

“Calm down. We'll just move to another part of town. He looks like a mercenary or something, so we should also avoid the guild for the time being.” Bishop, appeasing

“That's bad. Leo still needs some rest, but we have to earn money. We don't have much left.” Betty

“I know, I'm well aware of that. We can try to do other jobs or work for the hunters. The arena is out of the question. That would be far too conspicuous.” Duke

"Let's wait a day or two and see how things develop. In the meantime, we can make a plan." Bishop

“That sounds good. Agreed.” Betty

“Thank you for caring so much about me.” Eliza, grateful

“You don't need to thank us. We're comrades and a team. It's only right that we help each other.” Betty

“We should walk faster, or he'll find us.” Bishop

“Good point. We should pick up the pace.” Duke

We walked quickly to our inn and packed our things. Then we went to another part of town and found a new inn.

In another inn

“Cornelius, we can't leave in two days. We have to stay here because of an urgent matter!” Ansgar