Chapter Ninety-Five: A Scene of Exquisite Beauty

In the city of Evergreen at night, only the downtown district was still brightly lit; everywhere else was cast in deep darkness. The same was true of the dormitory quarter for the city guards. After greeting the officer on duty, Heath left the dormitories and headed toward the reservoir.

“So dark. Why is your flashlight so dim, Trainer?” complained Zorua from atop Heath’s head.

Heath glanced at her. This little thing really was something else.

Heath remembered that foxes were canines, and canine night vision was supposed to be pretty good, wasn’t it?

“You think it’s a nuclear flashlight or something? It’s just an ordinary one. It’s already decent enough that it works in the forest at night,” Heath said irritably. This wasn’t a game; flashlights didn’t come with infinite batteries.

“You did take that big lantern from the dormitory,” Zorua said indignantly.

Heath finally understood. This little troublemaker was just upset that he hadn’t let her stay in the dorm to read novels.

With a blank expression, Heath switched off the flashlight. Then he opened his backpack, took out the portable lamp, and gave Zorua a “kind” look.

“Are you sure you want me to turn this on? Zorua, if I do, you’d better keep your eyes on it properly.” Heath said with a smile.

Zorua shivered, but still nodded, cheeks puffed in resentment.

Smiling faintly, Heath flipped the switch.

...

“Sylvia, it’s daylight already. Time to get up for morning exercises,” said Jane, lying on the dormitory bed as she looked out at the daylight beyond the window, then yawned.

“Huh?” Jane blinked in confusion and sat up. She distinctly remembered just lying down—how had it already become morning?

...

“Aaaah! My eyes! Turn it off already!” Zorua cried in agony, clutching her eyes as she lay on Heath’s head, tears streaming despite herself under the blinding light.

Heath chuckled and switched the lamp off. Only then did the forest return to the proper darkness of night.

...

“Go back to sleep. It has to be Heath and that little rascal carrying out the electric dragon lantern,” Jane muttered, watching the light go out. She yawned again, lay back down, and soon her breathing became slow and even.

“Hehehe~” Jane smiled as she climbed out of bed, then secretly lifted Jane’s blanket and reached inside with a very sleazy expression. A moment later, she grimaced in pain and slowly pulled her hand back out.

A mousetrap.

Clenching her teeth, Jane removed the trap. She truly could not understand why Jane would place a mousetrap inside her blanket while sleeping.

The next moment, Jane secretly lifted the blanket again, planning to inspect the arrangement inside before going off to knead dough like a pastry chef.

But the instant she raised the blanket, she saw a crossbow. The blanket tugged a line, and a bolt shot toward Jane. It jabbed her in the forehead, though fortunately the tip was rubber. It hurt terribly, but it wasn’t life-threatening.

“What the he—” Jane swore as she sat up, and then she felt some kind of liquid spray across her face. In the next second, Jane collapsed onto the floor and fell into a deep sleep, without another sound.

...

“Still want to turn it on?” Heath asked with a smile, watching Zorua. So this little thing still wanted to test him? She should at least look at what brand that lantern was.

It was an electric dragon lantern, and one made specially for the city guard family. Its defining features were incredible brightness and a wide range of illumination. Once turned on, it truly felt as though one were standing in daylight; that was not an exaggeration at all, and its endurance was excellent too.

“I won’t. I was wrong. Please, forgive me.” Zorua looked at Heath with tearful eyes. The sudden burst of light had stung her eyes so badly that tears would not stop flowing.

“That’s more like it.” Heath smiled and turned the flashlight back on, continuing forward.

Before long, Heath had crossed the little grove and reached a hillside. Ahead lay Evergreen Reservoir, the place that supplied water for the daily use of all Evergreen’s residents, and where city guard officers were stationed as well.

Even so, by this point Heath still hadn’t found any especially stunning scenery. But the starry sky above was indeed beautiful. Far from Evergreen City, light pollution was minimal, and Heath could see a sky like a river of stars.

Dazzling and brilliant, it brightened his mood considerably. A strange sense of exhilaration welled up within him—something perhaps impossible to understand for those who had never looked up at a sky full of stars.

Especially city people. Spending one’s entire life in a city was a pity, because it meant missing countless beauties. That, too, was the meaning of travel.

Nowadays, travel seemed to mean going to scenic spots to take photos, standing in line, and squeezing through crowds. Heath thought that was terribly dull. To him, the true meaning of travel was strolling across the grasslands, lying down, and seeing a sky full of stars above you.

“The stars are pretty nice to look at, but you didn’t come all the way here just to see the sky, did you?” Zorua asked suspiciously.

“Of course not. I probably need to keep going until I reach the reservoir.” Heath waved a hand. He still hadn’t brought out Charmander or Farfetch'd yet, and there was still the climb ahead.

Heath carried Zorua as he slowly climbed the slope. Soon he reached the edge of the reservoir, where he encountered the city guard officer stationed there.

“Little Heath? What brings you here so late at night?” asked Officer Jane, looking at him in puzzlement.

“I came up to enjoy the view, Sister Jane.” Heath scratched his head with a smile. Most of the city guard women were older than he was, so he simply called them sisters.

“You picked a pretty good spot. The scenery here really is beautiful. It’s just a pity that, aside from us, hardly anyone gets to see it,” Jane said with a grin, letting Heath pass.

Curious, Heath walked to the reservoir. After climbing the final slope, he was stunned by the beauty before him.

The Milky Way above was reflected in the water below. Caressed by the breeze, the surface rippled gently, and what shocked Heath most was that the reservoir seemed to glow, dotted with countless points of light that looked extraordinarily beautiful.

Curiously, Heath reached out and touched the water. The glimmering points came with the water he lifted into his hand, then fell away again as the water dropped.

The black night sky concealed the water’s true shape, making it seem as though Heath were holding the starry heavens in his palm.

“What a... magnificent sight,” Heath murmured in admiration.

He had lived in this place for four years, yet had never come here before. It truly was a pity.

“So beautiful...” Zorua lay atop Heath’s head, entranced by the view. Such wonderful night scenery, such a quiet place—could it be that...

Zorua lowered her head to glance at Heath. She remembered that in one novel, the hero had confessed his feelings in a place just like this.