After many weeks of locking himself inside the house, today Kei finally stepped outside. To be more precise, he was gently forced to step outside by Sora.
Sora stood in front of the door, hands on her hips, wearing a bright smile that left no room for refusal.
"Kei, you’ve been cooped up inside for way too long. You just need to go out for a little while, you need to breathe the outside air too, right?"
Kei looked at the street through the doorway, then back at Sora.
"What’s so different about the air outside?"
"It is different. Outside there’s sunlight, wind, people passing by, and most importantly, I’ll be there with you."
Sora patted her chest confidently as she spoke. She wanted Kei to go out more often, staying in a closed space for too long wasn’t good for anyone.
"The last part is the real reason, isn’t it?"
Sora blinked, then turned her face away.
"You’re overthinking it."
Kei looked at her deliberately innocent expression and could only sigh, giving in to Sora’s wishes, just like the way Kei always compromised with Grandma Kim Hye Ji’s requests.
He was weak against the affection of the loved ones around him.
After locking up the shop, the two headed toward Thunder’s store. Kei wanted to see him.
Thanks to the book Thunder had lent him, he’d managed to repair Ular’s space ring. However, that was only the beginning. Kei still had many things he wanted to learn about item crafting in this world.
If he could borrow a few more books on research and leveling up the Craftsman profession, maybe he could shorten the time needed to restore his strength.
"Kei, are you planning to borrow books today, or buy them outright?"
Sora asked as they walked.
"If Thunder agrees to lend them, I’ll borrow. If not..."
Kei fell into silent thought.
"Then what? Don’t tell me you’re planning to steal the books?"
"Then I’ll find a way to convince him to sell them. Thunder runs a shop after all, we’ll be able to buy the books."
Sora burst into light laughter.
"You’re getting better at doing business these days."
Kei rubbed his nose and gave an awkward smile.
"I learned that from Grandma Kim. Thunder only agreed to lend me books because of her introduction, he must have been indebted to her at some point."
The moment Grandma Kim was mentioned, the smile on Sora’s lips faltered slightly.
Kei fell silent too.
The cheerful atmosphere from moments ago quickly settled down. However, this time Kei didn’t turn around and head home like he was running away. He only tightened his hand slightly and kept walking forward.
Sora quietly walked beside him. She knew that in moments of missing someone who had passed, all that was needed was someone to quietly keep company by your side, and Kei would slowly get through it.
A moment later, Thunder’s shop appeared at the end of the hunter’s market. The door was still tightly shut as usual. Kei walked up and pushed the door open.
Boom!
A deafening explosion rang out.
The door burst open. A powerful blast of air slammed straight into Kei’s chest, sending him flying backward.
"Kei!"
Sora screamed and rushed toward Kei.
Kei flew across a stretch of road, his back crashing hard into the door of the shop across the street.
Bang!
The door behind him rattled violently. Kei slid down and landed sitting on the ground.
"What’s going on?"
He looked up in shock toward Thunder’s shop.
Dust and smoke poured out from inside. Wooden fragments and pieces of metal scattered across the street. In the middle of all that chaos, Thunder was wielding a large sword, chasing after a burly man.
That man had a muscular body, disheveled hair, and clothes so bizarre that Kei didn’t know whether to call it battle gear or an outfit randomly picked from a storage room.
Every time the two clashed, another part of the shop came crashing down.
Thunder raised his sword and slashed down hard; the burly man quickly dodged to the side. The sword cut into the stone floor, leaving a deep crack.
"Lucas!" Thunder shouted furiously. "Say that again if you dare!"
"Thunder, calm down! That was just the guild master speaking in anger, it wasn’t me who said it."
The muscular man spoke awkwardly.
"Calm down my ass!"
Thunder swung his sword, chasing after Lucas, forcing the man to keep retreating."Where did you find such a skilled A-rank Craftsman like me? And yet you people of Guild Zootopia dare to say that what I craft is junk?!"
Kei sat on the ground, dazedly watching the scene before him. Sora ran over to help him up, asking worriedly:
"Kei, are you hurt?"
"I don’t think so."
Kei shook his head, then looked at the door behind him.
"That door, on the other hand, seems pretty banged up. We’re going to have to pay for that."
Sora turned to look. The wooden door had a large dent in it.
"That’s not important!"
She laughed.
"The shop owner might think it is, though."
While the two were talking, Thunder continued to roar:
"Damn it! Who the hell is Hwang Do Hyun to call me trash?!"
"Thunder, I’m sorry!" Lucas shouted while dodging a swing. "You know our guild master is a madman! Can you cut me some slack?"
"Never!"
Thunder swung his sword again.
Lucas ducked out of the way. The sword struck a shelf behind him, instantly shattering it into pieces.
"I’m not taking a single order from Guild Zootopia anymore!" Thunder pointed his blade at Lucas. "Get out! Get out of my sight!"
"Alright, alright! I’m leaving!"
Lucas raised both hands above his head, backing away while looking at Thunder with a helpless expression.
"But can you really not reconsider? We still have a lot of equipment that needs repairing."
A vein bulged on Thunder’s forehead. He was feeling intensely insulted!
"Go find that Hwang Do Hyun guy to fix them!"
"He’s our guild master, but he’s not a Craftsman. Thunder-nim, please, for old times’ sake..."
"Then fix them yourselves!"