Chapter 189: Responsible Owner
Rias looked at the canal for a moment longer, her smile turning a little distant, and Martin noticed.
Rias usually carried herself with the confidence of someone who already had the answer before anyone asked the question. Calm, polished, and a little untouchable. But whenever she talked about the places she had visited, there was a softer look in her eyes.
It was not exactly regret, but something close to it.
"You really didn’t get to enjoy any of those places?" he asked.
"Not properly," she said. "Hotels, cars, airports, venues, meetings. Sometimes a beautiful view through a window. Sometimes dinner with people I needed to impress. That was usually it."
"That sounds exhausting."
"It was still a privilege," Rias said. "I know that. But yes, sometimes it was."
Martin nodded, and for once, he didn’t try to force a joke into it.
For a while, they simply walked together and let Endless Rain fill the silence for them. Rain whispered above the canopy, boats moved below, and somewhere in the distance, a bell rang, followed by the deep call of a beast that sounded more sleepy than dangerous.
Then Martin said, "Then today counts."
Rias turned to him. "Counts as what?"
"As sightseeing. No airports. No meetings. No impressing anyone. Just looking around and pretending we don’t have responsibilities."
"You make irresponsibility sound almost respectable."
Martin smiled faintly. "Well, back then, I used to break plenty of rules, and plenty of noses too."
Rias studied him for a moment, trying to decide how much of that was a joke. Then her smile returned, smaller but still there.
They continued down the thoroughfare together.
Endless Rain had plenty of charm, but the thoroughfare was practical too.
There were inns, restaurants, repair shops, potion sellers, beast-care stalls, guild offices, and information counters. Several training platforms also lined the district, giving students of the academy space to practice with water-based weapons and rain-infused skills.
One student swung a spear and sent a crescent of water slicing through a row of wooden targets. Another held both hands up while droplets gathered around her in the shape of floating needles. A third stood under the open rain beyond the canopy, letting it beat against his shoulders as he chanted and formed a shield of water around himself.
Martin watched with interest.
"This academy is flashy," he said.
"Flashy?" Rias asked.
"In a cool way. Forest Hidden feels more secretive. This place feels like it wants everyone to look."
"That fits the name. Endless Rain is hard to hide."
"True."
At the end of this thoroughfare stood the two most important places in the district: the Rain Goddess’s Statue and the Auction House.
For Endless Rain, the statue was what the Light Tree was to Forest Hidden: the spiritual center of the academy.
Even from a distance, it dominated the central district.
It rose from a circular plaza where several canals met, surrounded by bridges and layers of descending waterfalls. The Rain Goddess was carved from pale stone threaded with blue crystal veins, her hands raised toward the sky as water poured endlessly from her palms.
The water fell in graceful arcs before vanishing into the orbs around her.
Unlike the Light Tree, which felt warm and alive, the statue felt solemn, sacred, and not entirely gentle.
Martin looked at it for a while, then shifted his attention to the Auction House beside it.
The Auction House was impossible to miss too.
It had a wide entrance, several floors, and a massive glass dome that caught the rain overhead. Water streamed down the dome in smooth curtains before being collected into glowing channels around the walls.
Players moved in and out constantly, wearing everything from simple travel gear to outfits that screamed money, guild backing, or both.
"Now that looks important," Martin said.
"Because it is," Rias replied. "With this much traffic, no easy teleportation, and its own local economy, the Auction House has to be one of the main centers here."
"Good. Then we’ll definitely check it out."
Martin and Rias headed toward it, but he stopped when he spotted a nearby citizen.
The woman was carrying a basket of blue fruit under a waterproof shawl, and she looked at Martin with polite curiosity when he approached.
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"Would it be okay for my beast companion to swim in these canals?"
Rias blinked, then looked at him with quiet approval.
Martin almost smiled. He hadn’t done it to impress her, but he wasn’t above enjoying the result.
The woman’s face brightened at once. "Ah, of course! We’d be honored to have a beloved beast grace our waters with its presence. Please, don’t worry. Let it thrive in our safe waters!"
"Thank you!"
After the woman gave Martin permission, he summoned Angel out of her pocket dimension and directly into one of the canals.
BANG!
The water exploded.
A sapphire shell burst through the surface, shimmering under the academy lights. For a second, the canal itself seemed to glow around her.
Rainwater slid over the thick crystal layers on Angel’s back, tracing the deep blue veins beneath the surface before pouring back into the canal.
Her round sapphire eyes blinked once, and then her tail moved.
"This is a Dragon Turtle!"
"So young, yet already so big and adorable!"
"Such a blessing to our academy!"
More voices joined in almost immediately.
Players stopped near the railing, NPCs pointed from bridges, and a few children cheered as Angel lifted her head and looked around with the calm pride of a beast that knew exactly how important she was.
Martin folded his arms. "She’s going to get spoiled here."
"She already is," Rias said.
"That’s not true. I raise her with discipline."
Angel slapped the canal with her tail, sending a wave high enough to splash the lower edge of a bridge.
Rias gave Martin a slow look.
He cleared his throat. "Emotional discipline."
Angel ignored all the comments, all the attention, and especially Martin’s attempt to defend his parenting skills. With one powerful flap of her tail, she blasted through the canal, speeding across Endless Rain and showing everyone who the queen of the waters was.
The crowd loved her, and Martin laughed as she disappeared around a bend, leaving a rolling wake behind her.
Rias watched him instead of the canal.
"What?" he asked.
"You asked first."
"For permission?"
"Yes."
"Of course I did. It’s their academy."
Rias smiled softly. "I liked that you asked."
Martin scratched his cheek, suddenly more awkward than when they had been joking. "I mean, Angel is huge. I didn’t want her to crash into some sacred fish or something."
"A sacred fish?"
"This is a fantasy academy. There could be sacred fish."
"There might be," Rias admitted.
"See? Responsible."
This time, Rias laughed for real.
The sound mixed with the rain, light and pleasant enough that Martin wanted to hear it again, so he turned toward the Auction House before his face could betray too much.
"Alright. We can go to the Auction House now."
Rias nodded and stepped beside him.
As they started walking, her shoulder brushed his arm, and neither of them moved away.
Side by side, they headed toward their main destination while Angel ruled the canals behind them.
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