There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 448

Chapter 448: Chapter 441. Pearls

Zein’s plan to never leave their room was thwarted when the ship arrived in its mid-destination; the Tower of Varna.

In the first place, locking themselves up in the room for five days was just not feasible. No matter how much stamina they had, their bodies still needed to reproduce...stuff. And so, the Tower of Varna seemed to be a good enough distraction after all the cuddling and frolicking in bed.

That being said, they only watched the Island, the Tower far away, and the throng of the cruise ship’s passengers coming down from the dock while enjoying the sea breeze.

"You’re not going down?" Bassena asked, shaking his head as his hair was getting played by the wind and the strands were poking his eyes.

"What’s the point if we can’t go to the Tower?" Zein shrugged, wincing at the sunglasses he had never worn before.

"We can go there if we teleport a few times, but then..."

"It’s not like we can go inside," Zein finished the esper’s words. "And we don’t have permits."

Bassena snapped his fingers in agreement. Even though the Island of Varna looked like a tourist spot with an accessible beach, no one could get through the gate past the beach. Those who wanted to get through needed a permit from the government or the association, whether it was for a trial or scouting.

Well, Tower was Tower. There was nothing too different other than the architecture which bore the patron deity’s symbol. If Zein put mana in his eyes and tried hard to enhance his vision, he would be able to see the Tower a little bit clearer.

"Hmm...I guess, the beacon acts like a lighthouse?"

"Yep," Bassena, like a good tour guide, explained. "Even if it’s dark or stormy, the beacon of the Tower will never get hindered. We could even see it slightly from the hotel room, couldn’t we?"

"Ah, so that came from the Tower?"

Bassena, who was getting annoyed with his hair, tugged on Zein’s sleeve. "Should we get in? Most of the passengers are down there, so there won’t be a lot of people inside."

Zein chuckled at the wincing esper who regretted not taking a hat before coming out and following the man inside. He understood though; here, people didn’t easily recognize them. Not many cared about the espers or guides from another country since it had nothing to do with them. Especially people in the high-zone, who didn’t have much interaction with dungeon or espers in the first place.

So they could just walk around without disguise, even when they were in the observatory and the restaurant on their second day in Urda. Truly felt like a vacation, losing all the tension they would acquire the next week as they marched into the darkness.

And something Zein learned now that he was part of the high-dweller was that when people went on vacation, there was a souvenir to be expected.

They didn’t need to buy one, since they would directly go to the Borderland after their vacation, so there wouldn’t be any time to share the souvenirs. Still, it was fun just looking at them.

There were a lot of things Zein had never seen before since it was a completely different region. Different kinds of local snacks that they ended up buying a stash for a bit of indulgence inside the Deathzone, and clothes in local fabrics and designs they bought for funsies--since they couldn’t wear them inside the Deathzone.

Bassena liked to see it being worn by Zein, though; it was baggy and flowy and easy to take off.

Their leisure, nonchalant exploration of the ship’s stores ended with Zein staring interestedly at a jewelry store. It wasn’t the jewelry per se, but the material that he hadn’t seen before.

"What’s that?" Zein asked while pointing at the piece in the display window. It was a bracelet that was made of little balls, like beads, but with a vastly different shine on them.

"Pearls," Bassena replied. "They came from the oyster we ate for breakfast--you know, the one you said was too fishy for your taste."

"They are alright when fried," Zein shrugged, before walking toward the store’s door. "Wait...was the black pearl came from something like that oyster too? Even though it’s a dagger.’

"Yep--a gigantic one. Like...as big as the dining table. Why it’s a dagger and not like...a magic crystal or something is beyond me. I kind of feel those deities like playing with the trial takers."

"Huh..."

"But that ended up becoming very useful, so..." Bassena shrugged and smiled at the holder of the dagger while opening the store door for him. "After you, Sir."

The clerk perked up when the couple came inside, because the jewelry store rarely got visited before the last day. Well, no stores but the ones selling daily necessities, actually. And people rarely bought jewelry on the cruise ship anyway, since the price was rather higher than the ones on the mainland.

"Are you going to buy one?" Bassena asked curiously.