### Lily’s POV
I woke up early in the morning and stared at the familiar wooden roof of the inn—the same inn where I had spent my entire childhood growing up.
For a moment, I simply lay there in silence, feeling strangely relaxed.
Then I looked around the room. Two middle-aged women were still sleeping peacefully on mattresses spread across the floor.
After getting up, I headed downstairs. Father was already there, sitting behind the counter while finishing some documents. His expression looked serious and busy, so I decided not to disturb him.
But when my eyes searched the room and failed to find *him*, my mood instantly dropped.
I let out a quiet sigh before washing up and changing into a beautiful white dress.
I hope he likes it.
After that, I tied my apron around my waist and started preparing breakfast for everyone.
A few minutes later, I suddenly heard the sound of the inn’s door opening. Since the inn is currently closed, very few people can came inside.
My heart instantly jumped with excitement.
I quickly turned toward the entrance, hoping to see him standing there.
But instead, it was someone else.
The village chief, Harold.
I had known him since childhood and usually called him Uncle Harold.
The smile on my face faded once again after realizing Luke still hadn’t come. Feeling disappointed, I absentmindedly continued cooking.
Then, once more, I heard the sound of the door opening.
This time, I only glanced sideways without much expectation.
But the moment I saw him, my body froze.
A young man in his twenties walked inside with messy black hair, pale skin, and those deep blue eyes that always mesmerized me, A good looking face.
Luke.
Without even thinking, I instinctively ran toward him. I wanted to hug him tightly and complain about why he didn’t came back last night.
But as I got closer, I suddenly noticed Father and Uncle Harold watching us.
I immediately stopped myself and tried to calm down.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
I am standing right in front of Luke with a spatula still in my hand.
Embarrassed, I quickly hid it behind my back.
"You’re late, Luke!" I said with a bright smile.
"Ah... sorry." He smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.
The moment I heard his voice, all the worry inside me disappeared.
Yeah...
He’s finally here.
My Luke.
I smiled softly to myself.
### Luke’s POV
As soon as I entered the inn, I saw Lily rushing toward me while holding a spatula in her hand.
For a second, I thought she might actually hit me for not returning last night.
Thankfully, instead of attacking me, she only complained about me being late.
I gave her an awkward smile in response, but then I noticed the dangerous smile on her face.
Maybe I am really in trouble.
Soon, Lily finished setting the table, and all four of us sat down together. Lily sat directly across from me while Thomas and Harold sat on the other side.
"Here, eat this. And take some more of this too," Lily said enthusiastically as she kept serving food onto my plate.
I glanced toward Thomas and Harold.
Their plates were nearly empty.
"Lily, give some to me and your uncle as well," Thomas complained while trying to grab the tray filled with vegetable soup.
"What do two grown old men need so much food for?" Lily replied with an annoyed expression. "Luke is still growing. He needs to eat more."
Thomas and Harold were both stunned for a moment.
But after noticing the way Lily looked at Luke while serving food, they immediately understood everything and laughed helplessly.
"Youth sure is wonderful," Harold said with a grin.
Lily completely ignored Harold’s comment and continued serving food as if nothing had happened.
As I quietly ate, I suddenly felt something brush against my leg beneath the table.
I froze for a moment.
When I glanced downward, my body instantly tensed.
Lily was gently rubbing her smooth leg against mine under the table.
My grip on the spoon tightened.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze toward her.
She calmly continued drinking her soup, the spoon resting lightly against her lips, acting as though nothing unusual was happening.
But her eyes...
Her eyes were completely focused on me.
A dangerous smile slowly appeared on her face.
I unconsciously gulped.
Then I quickly looked around the table to check if anyone had noticed.
Fortunately, Thomas and Harold seemed completely unaware of what Lily was doing beneath the table.
"Here, drink this milk. I freshly prepared it only for you," she said with a loving smile as she handed me a full glass.
As I started drinking, my gaze unintentionally drifted downward.
My eyes widened.
Her new white dress revealed far more than usual, showing a deep cleavage that immediately turned my face red.
Lily noticed exactly where I was looking.
"Did you like it?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"W-What?!" I nearly spat out the milk in shock.
"The milk," she replied innocently while tilting her head.
"Y-Yeah..." I answered awkwardly while quickly looking away.
Harold suddenly spoke with a serious expression.
"I found information about the Kaeser family."
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Even my expression turned serious.
"Thomas, you should leave the village with Lily," Harold said gravely. "Staying here is definitely not safe anymore."
He paused before continuing.
"After the monster tide ends, the Kaeser family will definitely investigate their son’s death."
As he spoke, Harold gave me a sidelong glance.
After all, I was the one who killed him.
But even now, I didn’t regret it.
If that bastard came back again, I would still kill him without hesitation.
Because he tried to touch something that he shouldn’t.
My eyes turned cold.
"Going to your wife’s family is the best option," Harold continued. "She already asked you to come with her before."
I looked confused.
Thomas’s wife?
Lily’s mother’s family?
Were they powerful or something?
I noticed both Thomas and Lily’s expressions change.
Thomas looked reluctant, while Lily seemed strangely happy.
"...Alright," Thomas finally said in a heavy voice. "I also think it’s time to move."
Then he added,
"But we’ll leave after the monster tide."
After breakfast, everyone returned to their own work.
Lily dragged me around the village afterward. Even though I had already explored it myself before, I couldn’t refuse her when she asked.
After wandering around for a while and eating snacks together, we eventually sat side by side on a high hill overlooking the village.
A cold breeze passed between us.
"Are you going to fight during the monster tide too?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah," I replied while staring ahead.
A moment later, I felt her head gently lean against my shoulder.
"Don’t go," she whispered.
"I have to," I answered softly. "Otherwise, this village might not survive."
She immediately lifted her head and looked at me with trembling eyes.
"I don’t care about the village," she said sadly. "I care about you."
Tears slowly formed in her eyes.
"This isn’t your responsibility. There are many other people who can protect the village. It doesn’t have to be you."
Her voice finally broke.
"What if something happens to you?"
"How am I supposed to live then?"
She grabbed my arm tightly before continuing in a desperate voice.
"Come with us instead. Come to my family. My mother will definitely accept you after learning that you saved both of us."
There was almost a crazed desperation in her expression, as though she feared I would disappear the moment she let go.
I took a deep breath.
"Nothing will happen to me," I said with a gentle smile while wiping away the tears rolling down her cheeks. "So don’t worry."
She stared at me silently for several seconds.
Then she suddenly wiped her tears away, stood up, and started walking back toward the village.
"Go die then! I don’t care anymore!" she shouted from a distance.
I sighed helplessly before standing up as well.
Now it was time to prepare for the monster tide.
I opened my Death Realm.
"Vargan."
A dark portal opened beside me, and Vargan stepped out.
"Take all the undead with you and start collecting medium-sized rocks and large boulders for the undead gorilla," I ordered while staring toward the village below.
"Also cut down trees and store everything inside the Death Realm."
"Go."
Soon, multiple portals opened one after another as the undead began moving immediately. Even the Vine Serpent followed behind them.
Only the Red-Eyed Crow and Vorak remained beside me.
After returning to the village, I sold all the monster corpses and cores stored inside my inventory.
Elena looked completely shocked after seeing the massive pile of materials, especially the E- rank monster corpses.
### Materials Sold
* 1200 F- rank cores
* 500 F rank cores
* 10 F+ rank cores
* 1200 F- rank corpses
* 500 F rank corpses
* 300 F+ rank corpses
* 199 E- rank corpses
I asked if they had any E rank cores available for purchase, but Elena shook her head.
"This village doesn’t have something that valuable in stock."
Honestly, I had already expected that.
So instead, I exchanged everything for silver coins.
### Current Balance
**18.3 + 3040 = 3058.3 Silver Coins**
### Core Prices
* 1200 F- rank cores → 120 silver
* 500 F rank cores → 250 silver
* 10 F+ rank cores → 10 silver
### Corpse Prices
* 1200 F- rank corpses → 120 silver
* 500 F rank corpses → 250 silver
* 300 F+ rank corpses → 300 silver
* 199 E- rank corpses → 1990 silver
Now I am officially rich.
Once I reached a larger town or city, I would finally be able to buy proper equipment and useful items.
I opened my status screen and looked at my points.
**System Points: 5371P**
A smile slowly appeared on my face.
Now then...
Time for the real shopping.