Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 120 - 41 - Let’s Watch the Fireworks Together Next Year_2

"Hehe, uncle, you’re flattering me." Lina said with a silly laugh, scratching her head, "Uncle, keep working hard. We are off to other places."

"Huh? Look over there." Catherine suddenly stopped Lina and Vivian and said to Pannis, "Look at those two people."

"Is that? Rachel?" Vivian recognized the people there, paused for a moment, and said in a surprised whisper, "And Nicole too."

The two ladies, who had once been saved by the four, were in a corner of the trading zone, setting up a small stall. Gunner Rachel, who was not used to this, was standing behind the stall, awkwardly servicing the occasional customers who stopped by. Mage Nicole, lacking any decorum, was crawling up and down the open wagon behind the stall. Although seemingly impatient, she was still delivering various items according to Rachel’s instructions.

"Hi, Rachel, Nicole, nice to see you both again." Catherine thought for a while and walked over to greet the two ladies, "We haven’t seen each other for a while since we parted ways in Quinzel town, why are you..." she said, pointing at the stall.

"Ah, Catherine, and Lina and Vivian. Oh, Pannis is here too." Rachel seemed not shy at all. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and replied with a smile, "Nicole and I discussed it and were a bit tired of the adventurer’s life, so we decided to retire and open a shop. A while ago, we spent a few days distributing common funds to the family of our team. Since then, we’ve been preparing for this. But our savings aren’t much. If we were to manage both inventory and store rental at the same time, we wouldn’t have enough. So Nicole suggested that we be merchants for a while to accumulate some funds. That being said, we’re just in time for the Harvest Festival, and Angus Village is considered the largest Harvest Festival venue in the southern region of the Holy City. We’re trying to make some extra money while we can."

"Not enough money? Your team’s funds?" blinked Catherine. It was common knowledge that Rachel’s team was once a silver-ranked adventure team. A team of this level wouldn’t be too short on funds, or even unable to afford the rent of a storefront at all. But thinking of the fellow teammates who had passed away, Catherine suddenly said, "Oh, it wasn’t distributed equally. It was all given to their families?"

"Yes." Seeing familiar faces, Nicole also descended from the horse carriage and said pantingly, "After all, we are fortunate to be alive and we still have a chance to earn money ourselves, so we decided not to take our share. It’s not a big deal, it’s just a bit tough in the beginning, but it will get better."

"It’s very commendable." Catherine nodded in approval and asked, "What are you planning to sell?"

"Antique items," Rachel replied. Antique stores in Yarran World are quite unique, similar to antique shops. They specialize in buying items unearthed from ancient ruins that are either of unclear use or cannot be replicated. These are then sold to interested customers who can complain or even apply for arbitration for any discrepancy in the item description unless it’s marked as an item of unknown use. The price is controlled by the seller rather than the shop itself. Shop owners can then choose if they want to accept the terms of trade. Once the transaction is established, neither party can change the deal regardless of what happens afterwards.

"Ha, it suits you both perfectly." Vivian chimed in, "Rachel, as a Crystal Gunner, you sure know quite a bit about ancient machinery and technology; and Nicole, as a Mage, you specialize in ancient magical items. The two of you working together to manage an antique items store will definitely be smooth."

"That’s also what we think." Nicole said shyly with a little smile, "One step at a time."

"Come find us at No. 6 Fox Street." After thinking for a moment, Catherine looked up and said, "I had a property there whose lease just expired. The previous owner decided to develop his business in a more bustling area, so now the shop is vacant. It would be perfect to rent it to you two. This way, you won’t have to slog so much as merchants. Besides, antique items are not quite suited for being peddled. As for the rent, you won’t need to settle that until after the first six months."

"This..." Catherine’s proposal was enticing, but the two ladies who had already received great help from the adventure team hesitated; they didn’t want to trouble Catherine more or to owe the team any more favor.

Catherine waved her hand and commanded assertively, "You owe us a favor, and that’s why you have to accept our high-priced lease. You’re not allowed to refuse."

"Haha." Rachel was amused by Catherine’s words. She bit her lip and nodded, "Alright, thank you, we owe you a lot. I don’t know when we’ll be able to pay it all back."

"Then it’s settled. Remember, No. 6 Fox Street. No excuses for not showing up." Catherine too laughed and patted Rachel on the arm, "We’ve fought together, there’s no need for formalities."

Just as they were talking, a commotion arose from afar and quickly spread to their location.

"It looks like the fireworks show is about to begin." Catherine looked at the distance and said with a smile, "We are going to watch the fireworks. Good luck to you both, we’ll be waiting."

The four left Rachel’s stall, although they didn’t follow the crowd heading towards the northern region. Instead, they went in the opposite direction until they were quite far away. This was because Catherine had mentioned earlier that when watching fireworks, being closer doesn’t necessarily mean better. Being too close could mean it would be crowded and noisy, and the visual effects would be no different from watching at a distance, so the four had decided early on to watch the fireworks from outside the village.

The further out I walked, the fewer people there were. By the time I reached the edge of the village, it was quiet all around, only distant noises could still be faintly heard.

"Whoosh." The first firework shot up into the sky and exploded, followed by an array of colorful fireworks that lit up the night sky brightly. The girls sat quietly on the ridge of the field, snuggled together, staring in awe at the spectacle in the far-off sky. Pannis stood behind the girls, wordlessly gazing at the same scene, lost in his thoughts.

"It’s so beautiful," Vivian murmured dreamily, "I saw fireworks once when I was a kid, but I didn’t realize how beautiful they could be. Perhaps we cherish things more when we’re about to lose them. I wish time could stop at this moment."

"Next year, we must watch the fireworks together again." Lina suddenly clung tightly to Vivian, her voice choked with emotion, "Promise me, you’ll be with me to watch them next year."

Vivian stared blankly for a long time, her eyes slightly red, yet she nodded resolutely, "Okay, I promise, I’ll be with you to watch them next year."

Catherine reached out from the other side, hugging both of them. The girls huddled together.

"Thank you, Pannis," Vivian suddenly turned back to Pannis, "if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have had this chance to see such a beautiful sight. This is the happiest moment for me."

Pannis shrugged his shoulders, pointing to the distant sky, "Now is not the time for thanks, it’s time to enjoy the view."

Vivian bit her lip and thought for a moment. Suddenly, she reached out and made a drawing in the air, then shyly turned her head back to look at the sky. A spark of magic appeared at the place where she was drawing. The magic energy condensed into a fine line in the air, sketching the three-dimensional portrait of a woman. The portrait had a mature charm but vaguely resembled Vivian, seeming to predict what she may look like when she grows up. The portrait lingered in the air for a while, moved in front of Pannis, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

Pannis’ mouth fell open in surprise as he touched the spot on his face where the portrait had just kissed. Suddenly, the portrait burst into sparks and vanished.

"You dare to lay a hand on Vivian." Catherine said calmly.

"Beast." This was Lina’s comment.

"You don’t even spare children."

"Pervert."

"Hey, hey," Pannis snapped back to reality, protesting loudly, "I didn’t do anything. It’s not my fault!"

"Now you want to shirk responsibility."

"Scumbag." fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

Pannis, on the verge of tears, hung his head in despair," Fine, say what you will."

"Hahaha." The three girls burst into a pleasing laughter. These three faces, each distinctively charming, but all sharing the same beautiful laughter, huddled closer.