Chapter 75: How to Go Home as a Semi-Hero (2)
Ashveil woke up the way someone does when they really don’t want to—fog still hugging the streets, the smell of burned wood drifting lazily between chimneys. But that morning, something felt different. It wasn’t the noise of the market opening, or the sound of hammers on rooftops, or even the off-key singing of some drunk late to get home. It was more... ceremonial.
I noticed it the second I saw the gate.
Guards lined up with a care they rarely bothered with. Polished, clean-shaven, their spears aligned like teeth in a threatening jaw. And between them, one figure in well-polished plate armor—the local sergeant, who looked about as comfortable in all that shiny metal as a cat in a bath.
All of it to escort us.
Me, Dante, and Thalia. Two "pardoned" convicts returned under public pressure, being pushed back to our hometown like poisoned gifts.
[EVENT: "Return to Ashveil"]
→ Escort Units: Active
→ Public Perception: High Curiosity
→ Dress Status: Formal / Cleaned (Authority-Assisted)
→ Charisma Bonus: +3 (Unexpected Elegance)
They’d been careful, I’ll admit. They gave us clean clothes before we left Antoril. I wore a dark, almost military-style coat with brass buttons, high collar, and a belt with a runic buckle. Thalia had on a moss-green dress with long sleeves and subtle oak-leaf embroidery—elegant, respectable. She looked beautiful. Too beautiful, honestly. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun that didn’t completely hide the gold strands falling over her forehead.