They moved through the city streets at a brisk walk, their heads moving this way and that as they tried to find their destination.

Melody spotted it first.

It was a building set slightly back from the main street, with a red cross mounted above the entrance, the symbol large enough to be visible from a distance.

With a smile, they pushed through the door, entering the lobby.

The interior was quiet and organized, with a reception desk near the entrance, staffed by a woman who looked up as they came in.

"We need to see a Medic," Lukas said. "I have foot burns. Sustained two days ago."

She asked for payment upfront, quoted a fee, and Lukas pressed his bank card to the reader without negotiating.

She gestured to a corridor and a junior attendant appeared, leading them to a private room at the end of it.

The room was small and clean, with a padded examination surface along one wall and two chairs beside it. Lukas sat on the examination surface, while Melody and Akira took the chairs.

The Medic arrived a few minutes later. He was a middle aged elf who seemed to move in an unhurried manner, as if even if it was a life threatening injury, he wouldn’t move with any urgency than he was already moving with.

He crouched in front of Lukas, removed both boots, and examined the soles carefully, pressing at different points.

Lukas winced twice, not because he couldn’t bear the pain, but because he wanted to show the man a response.

The Medic nodded to himself, placed both hands over Lukas’s feet, and activated his skill.

Green light spread from his palms and across the damaged skin in a soft glow.

The pain began retreating almost immediately, the persistent ache that had been sitting in Lukas’s feet for two days slowly fading away.

He exhaled slowly in relief.

"Thank you," he said, when the light faded.

The Medic gave a short nod and stood.

Lukas pulled his socks back on, then his boots, and stood. When he placed both feet back on the ground, there was no pain this time.

They thanked the man again and walked out.

The moment they stepped out of the building, Lukas rolled his shoulders, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He now felt like himself. Like he could confidently strut without discomfort.

And this only served to remind him of the importance of healing. He needed something of his own. Either a healing [Item] or a healing skill.

He sighed. If only his system had a store where he could just purchase things outright. But that would defeat its entire purpose of being a Gacha system in the first place.

"Before we go back," Melody said, falling into step beside him as they walked down the street, "we should sell the corpses we have on hand to make room in our rings. We’ve been carrying them for days."

Lukas thought about it for a second. "You’re right."

"The pavilion?" Akira asked.

"Yeah," Melody nodded. "Let’s head to the pavilion."

They traced the route to the pavilion without needing to consult anyone, the route already familiar from their first day in the ringed city.

The Le Fay pavilion appeared at the end of the street, wide and tall as always.

They crossed the trading floor without stopping, moving to the door at the far end. Lukas pressed his ID to the keypad. The light shifted and the door opened.

The smaller hall inside was quiet, with only a handful of other Adepts conducting business at the counters along the walls. The senior attendant was occupied with someone at the far end of the room.

Melody stepped up to the nearest junior attendant. "We’d like Hardy, please."

The attendant nodded and disappeared through the side door.

A minute later, Hardy appeared. His face shifted into a genuine smile the moment he recognized them.

"Welcome back," he said, with slightly more warmth than the professional standard required. "Good to see you again."

"And you," Lukas said. "We have loot to sell."

Hardy led them through to the same large room they’d used the first time.

They spread out and began pulling corpses from their spatial rings, the Chilopodas and scorpions stacking up quickly alongside the vultures. Then Melody produced the Basilisk meats, setting them out carefully.

Hardy moved along the row of corpses, assessing each item with a frown. When he reached the Basilisk, he slowed slightly, checking the condition of each meat with more attention.

"Good quality," he said, mostly to himself. He entered the figures into his device and turned the screen to them.

The Basilisk had pushed the total significantly higher than they’d been expecting.

Lukas looked at the number and nodded.

Hardy gave them the slip, and they carried it to the front desk. The payment was split among their three cards.

They thanked Hardy on the way out, and he told them he’d see them next time.

They walked back out through the trading floor and into the street.

It wasn’t too hard to find their inn from the pavilion, and soon, they were climbing up the stairs to their room.

The moment they were inside, Lukas turned to both his wives. "Can I use the shower first?"

"Of course." Melody gestured to the bathroom without argument, while Akira dropped onto the edge of the bed and began pulling off her boots.

He stepped inside, turned the water on, and stood under it.

The spray hit the back of his neck and he stayed there for more than a minute, just letting the water run down his back.

He felt the tension loosen in his body, his brain finally telling him he could relax.

This was a different feeling entirely from standing in the desert with a container held over his head, the water hissing when it hit the sand. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He washed properly, taking his time, then toweled off and changed into clean clothes before walking back into the room and lowering himself onto the bed.

He was asleep within minutes.

Melody and Akira used the bathroom one after the other, emerging clean and changing into comfortable clothes, moving quietly around the room while Lukas slept.

He stirred awake sometime later to the sound of low conversation. He blinked at the ceiling, then pushed himself upright.

Both of them looked over at him. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "But now, I want to draw from the mystery box banner."