Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

After escaping the crowd of townspeople hawking goods or offering services, Dion and the others walked up to the city’s second level, where numerous inns were located. Looking back, the two Shadow Hand members who had been with them were nowhere to be seen. Dion grunted, then turned to Mei,

"So where are we staying?" Dion asked.

"I have an acquaintance here, follow me," Mei answered.

"I really can’t wait to see your inn, Mei, it must be beautiful," Luna replied.

"Whoa... all the inns along this street look huge and lush... amazing," Sheila said, looking at the many beautiful lodges with neatly manicured gardens surrounding them.

"And the air... it’s so fresh, they really turned this mountain into a resort," Cleo said, breathing in the crisp air.

"Well... that’s the best part of this city, though I have to admit, the back section of town is truly gorgeous. All the times I’ve been here, I never came to this part because I usually only visit for trade," Aria said, shrugging her shoulders.

"If it weren’t for those vendors back at the front... we could have looked around town before heading here," Luna said.

"Yeah, true, I actually wanted to look around too, but I was afraid I’d be forced to buy something... I’m weak when people offer me things," Sheila said.

"I want to check out the magic shops and bookstores here," Cleo said.

"And the drink shops, don’t forget those," Sheila replied, baiting her.

"Uh... please don’t talk about drinks anymore, I know I was a mess, so please don’t bring it up again," Cleo replied, looking reluctant to indulge Sheila’s teasing.

"Hungry,"

Everyone immediately turned to look at Gina, who was perched on Dion’s head looking weak, clinging tightly to Dion’s head as a little girl’s voice resonated in their minds.

"We’ll eat once we reach the inn, okay?" Mei said, looking at Gina atop Dion’s head as she walked beside him.

Gina didn’t answer, she simply nodded and rested her snout back on top of Dion’s head.

They continued walking upward. The further they went, the sparser and more spread out the houses became, making the view even more stunning and far less cramped than down in the city. After a while,

"Alright, we’re here," Mei said.

"Huh,"

Dion, Luna, Cleo, Sheila, and Aria stood stunned by the beauty of the sunlit valley, but what made them freeze wasn’t the view, but a large single-story house or villa that looked old and ready to collapse at any moment without warning. Unmaintained yet clean, the fence-less front yard looked beautiful yet carried a eerie, mystical vibe. The appearance of the villa before them looked like an empty haunted house with no occupants, yet a wooden sign in front of the door read "Rooms Available," and below it a second board read "Open."

"Mei... there are no ghosts here... right?" Cleo asked, overthinking.

"Huh... of course not, this inn belongs to an acquaintance of mine," Mei answered.

"Hmm... your acquaintance... is still human, right?" Aria asked.

"Of course she’s human," Mei answered again.

"I hope you’re right, Mei, because this house... how should I put it... it’s hard to explain without offending anyone," Sheila said.

"Never mind... let’s go inside, Gina said she’s hungry, right?" Mei replied, picking Gina up from Dion’s head.

Mei then walked onto the porch under a hole-ridden canopy covering the veranda. Sheila pulled Cleo and Aria inside following Mei, while Dion and Luna remained frozen. Dion then turned to look at Luna,

"Let’s go in," Dion invited.

"Um... can we share a room? We’re engaged, after all, aren’t we?" Luna asked.

"Wait... why are you suddenly asking if sharing a room is okay? Usually you don’t even ask and just fall asleep on my bed, weird," Dion answered, confused.

"Well... someone like me who usually doesn’t believe in ghosts now believes just by looking at this building... besides... you know... what I’m most terrified of," Luna replied.

"Hmm... insects... cockroa..."

"Don’t say its name, this house looks like a nest of theirs planning to invade the world, so don’t say crazy things," Luna said, clapping her hand over Dion’s mouth to stop him from speaking.

"What’s wrong with you, we’ve been in forests, caves, ruins all the time... how can you be scared of something like this, so weird... besides, where would those creatures be in here, let’s go in," Dion said, removing Luna’s hand from his mouth and pulling her inside.

Then they stood before the villa’s door with the others, "Excuse us," Mei opened the front door marked open.

"Welcome,"

Hearing the raspy and hoarse voice of an old woman, Dion, Luna, Sheila, Cleo, and Aria turned to look ahead. "Whoaaaah," in front of them stood a tall, thin old woman, her face heavily wrinkled, her white hair tied in a messy bun, wearing traditional clothes. Cleo even leaped into Dion’s arms, who caught her and held her in a princess carry.

"Her feet... check her feet... are they touching the ground or not... hurry," Cleo yelled, hugging Dion and not daring to look forward.

"Give me a break, she’s human, you’re so hopeless," Dion replied.

"Hello Grandma Chiyo, I’ve arrived," Mei said, greeting the old woman.

The old woman put on her glasses, then looked at Mei’s face and observed her, before a smile appeared on her face,

"You’ve come, Mei," Grandma Chiyo said.

Mei and Chiyo hugged, and Chiyo even leaned down to stroke the head of Gina, whom Mei was holding.

"Come on in everyone, I’ll prepare rooms for all of you," Chiyo said warmly.

"Alright, Grandma," Mei replied.

Mei then turned to look back. "Let me take you inside," Mei invited the others.

Dion, who was carrying Cleo, walked inside. Then Sheila stepped through the doorway, but she stopped upon seeing Luna and Aria standing frozen in front of the door.

"What’s wrong with you two?" Sheila asked.

"Oi... stupid princess, can you feel their presence?" Luna asked.

"Yeah... they’re in the walls... the floors... and the ceilings... this is bad, foolish princess," Aria answered.

Sheila watched Luna and Aria look around their surroundings, motionless, their faces pale white and looking terrified. But worst of all, they drew their weapons and readied themselves for battle, making Sheila turn back and look at them strangely,

"What now, Grandma Chiyo isn’t a ghost, okay," Sheila said.

"You wouldn’t understand, they intend to conquer the world, I can hear the sound of their conspiracy from here," Luna said.

"Right, especially in that wall, you can really hear them moving their forces," Aria added, pointing to the wall on the right.

"Hmm?"

Perplexed, Sheila walked to the wall on the right, pressed her ear to it, and indeed heard the rustling of many insects crawling behind or even inside the wall.

"Oh... you mean cockroaches, in a place like this it’s only natural there are plenty," Sheila said casually.

"Don’t say their name, or they’ll attack," Luna and Aria shouted in unison.

"Hey... are you guys coming in or not, our rooms are ready,"

They all looked inside and saw Dion calling out to them. Sheila walked over to Luna and Aria.

"Let’s go inside, Dion is calling," Sheila said.

"But... they..."

"If they come out, we’ll just step on them, come on hurry, I’m hungry too," Sheila added, cutting off Luna and Aria.

Finally, the three of them walked inside toward Dion waiting for them in the hallway. All along the way, Luna raised her staff and Aria held her hammer, looking as if they were exploring a dungeon or ruins for the first time. Seeing the three girls approaching, as they walked inside toward the rooms, Dion turned to look back and saw Luna and Aria walking back-to-back facing the walls as if in a dangerous place,

"What’s wrong with them now?" Dion asked Sheila.

"Scared of cockroaches, just leave them be, it’s normal for girls," Sheila answered casually.

"But you don’t seem scared?" Dion asked, confused.

"Huh... I eat cockroaches, no need for me to explain further, right," Sheila answered proudly.

"Hmm... that means you’re not scared just like me. That’s good, it’d be a pain if you were scared too," Dion said as he kept walking.

"Huh," Sheila only now realized she had said something completely contradictory to what she actually wanted and walked right into a trap. She glanced sideways at Dion, who was strolling casually beside her, and noticed him keeping a close eye on Luna and Aria behind them, constantly looking back over his shoulder. "Ahem," she then threw her arm around Dion beside her.

"I’m scared too, protect me," Sheila said, feigning fright.

"Uh... you’re clearly way scarier than them, and let go of me, can’t... breathe," Dion said, tapping Sheila’s arm wrapped around his neck.

Sheila, Dion, Luna, and Aria were unaware that in the hallway leading to another area behind them that they had just passed, a stone tablet was visible on the wall containing an ancient relief depicting the Calamity Supreme Monarch and Calamity Dragon with his five empresses, standing with their backs turned toward a grand, majestic city nestled in the middle of or even inside the mountains, with a giant tree in the center of the city.