Chapter 53: People Can, People Should

To be honest, when faced with a request like this, most people simply wouldn’t be able to refuse.

Red was the same.

After hesitating for a moment, he still chose to sit down beside Litt.

He seemed a little tense, but his eyes kept straying to places he shouldn’t be looking.

That lunchbox was resting right on Litt’s white-silk-clad thighs…

No, no, no—what are you even thinking about?

Red quickly shook his head, trying to shake out those messy thoughts from his mind.

They both came from the church, after all—even if one was from the White Church, and the other from the Holy Church.

But the almost transparent aura of sanctity that lingered around Litt, like an invisible barrier, made it nearly impossible to have even the slightest profane thought about her.

Compared to Letia, that toe-scratching priestess.

Sigh…

Just thinking of Letia, Red couldn’t help but sigh to himself.

How can there be such a huge difference between people?

“Please, help yourself.”

Litt handed Red his portion of dinner.

“No need to be so polite with me.”

“…Sometimes I really don’t know how to thank you.”

Litt kept that pure, spotless smile on her face.

“So I said, really, don’t mention it.”

After a few brief words, the two began quietly enjoying their dinner.

Even though this place was full of dust and mess, it really didn’t look romantic at all.

But Litt knew, for someone like Red—or rather, for most men—a girl willing to step into his messy present, fight alongside him, and share in the dust and toil, would touch the softest part of his heart far more than a delicate candlelit dinner ever could.

Well, you could say that’s the wisdom from a previous life—after all, only someone who’s been a man would truly know what men actually need.

But…

The reason the white moon is the white moon is precisely because of that sense of “so close, yet forever out of reach.”

Just as the script revealed, “Litt” would always be that bright moon hanging in the sky for Red, never the hearth fire within arm’s reach.

Maintaining this delicate balance—close but not too close—was just right.

Giving warmth, yet never crossing the line.

And, most importantly…

Teasing Red was actually pretty fun.

“Is there something on my face?”

Red noticed Litt had stopped moving, her eyes fixed on him, and felt a little embarrassed for no reason.

“It’s nothing,” Litt came back to her senses.

“I just thought, Red, maybe your face is really popular with the girls.”

Red chuckled in spite of himself and shook his head, saying no more.

If he really was that popular, he wouldn’t have been treated so coldly back in Dawn’s Edge, would he?

Once the meal was over, Litt packed up the lunchboxes and began tidying up the shop.

Since Red had already cleaned up a fair bit before, there wasn’t too much left to do.

And Red tried his best not to let Litt carry anything heavy.

After all, with that petite figure of hers, she really did look as frail as a feather—like one wooden plank could flatten her.

But maybe because Litt was around, Red—usually already quick and efficient—put even more effort in today.

With Litt helping out by his side, it took only two hours to clear away almost all the miscellaneous junk from the shop.

After a bit of simple renovation, it would be ready to open for business.

“It’s getting a bit late, Red. Let’s head back for now,” Litt stretched her tired body a bit.

“You picked a great spot for this shop—it’s right next door to my place.”

“Mm… Mm?”

Red suddenly realized something was off.

He turned to look out the window.

Sure enough, not far from here was that all-too-familiar house.

A suspicion crept into Red’s mind, so he took out the Rental Contract Elliean had given him.

On his way over, Letia’s nonsense had distracted him, and he never had the chance to check who the landlord was for this shop.

Driven by that suspicion, Red slowly opened the Rental Contract.

And right there, in the section for the landlord, was written—the name “Otto.”

Red turned his gaze to Litt, who was happily humming an unknown tune and bobbing her head.

His mouth twitched uncontrollably several times.

So she’s happy because her “trap has worked”?

As expected, this seemingly pure and innocent white-robed nun… was hiding quite the background.

Without realizing it, he owed her another favor.

But since he had already accepted her kindness, Red could only resign himself and say to Litt,

“Litt… Sometimes, I really don’t know how to thank you.”

“…?”

Litt, who was just happy about getting off work, froze when she heard this.

She tilted her head slightly, her clear, guileless eyes suddenly filled with question marks.

***

In the days that followed.

Red was extremely busy.

On the one hand, the Gilded Chamber of Commerce was currently slow at making Bloodhunting Spiders, so Red was researching how to break down the production process and create a proper assembly line.

On the other hand, he was helping Letia with her battle plans.

At the same time, the shop was being prepared, and he was looking for the right time to hold a simple opening ceremony…

So many things piled up at once, there was simply no way to keep up with everything.

Still, even like this, it was much easier than back at Dawn’s Edge.

But when he looked at the Photo on the desk, Red couldn’t help but sigh.

No matter what, he had promised the other party—so the things he’d agreed to do, he would do.

And as far as Red knew, Dawn’s Edge was set to head back into the dungeon in about a week.

A week—barely enough time to survey the twenty-fourth floor, and, with the information he’d gathered from other adventurer parties who’d been there, put together a new battle plan.

But with the dungeon’s “refresh mechanism,” organizing all the information wouldn’t be simple.

The most important thing was, back when he was still with Dawn’s Edge, he’d already collected a fair amount of data on the twenty-fourth floor.

So it would be much easier.

But even so, it was still a thankless task.

And Red was very clear on one thing.

After this, he probably wouldn’t be able to help them anymore.

Because beyond the twenty-fourth floor, he really hadn’t explored at all—it was truly uncharted darkness for him.

Drafting a so-called “strategy” without any intel was the height of irresponsibility.

If something really went wrong, he wouldn’t be able to bear that responsibility.

So, this plan—this would probably be his last contribution to Dawn’s Edge.

From now on, there wouldn’t be much of a connection anymore.

No—wait, he’d still have to chase down the money owed.

Come to think of it, how much did Letia owe him at this point?

Could he even keep track anymore?

Red looked at the bonus Photo on his desk, feeling a strange thrill—those white stockings really were surprisingly tempting.

Why didn’t he feel the urge to charge right in?

Red’s fingers absentmindedly rubbed his chin.

Hiss~

Honestly, would any normal person ever feel anything toward a monkey?

But those white stockings really were enticing.