LIGHTNOVELONLINE 20: How Couples Always Walk Slowly…
Strolling down the street, arm-in-arm with Valencia, Astrid spent the walk just admiring the views the city provided. Given her previous house-bound recovery status, the only fresh air Astrid had gotten was through open windows.
Now, however, fresh air was everywhere!
Walking at an amble, Astrid didn’t feel too much stress or pain in her legs—even if they were stiff as rocks.
Maybe she could also finally get some info about Marcen’s Cliffs too! Given her... complete lack of knowledge about the city, the slow pace allowed Astrid plenty of time to listen to Valencia explain various parts and attractions of the city.
They had already walked past a couple of parks, a couple of small shops, some neighborhoods of houses, and well... everything else a city had to offer.
“Technically we’re still in the suburb area.” Valencia explained, using a sweeping hand motion to encompass the surrounding area. “We’re coming up on a bridge from which you’ll be able to see a lot more of the city’s structure.”
Nodding and squeezing Valencia’s hand, Astrid brushed a strand of hair behind her ear as they came up to a large bridge.
Looking left and right, Astrid’s eyes widened as she looked around. Pulling Valencia closer to the bridge’s start, Astrid peeked over the edge. “Are... are we over water right now?”
“Yeah, we are. Marcen’s Cliffs has an interesting structure. Kind of counter-intuitive but... it’s interesting.” Valencia pat Astrid on the back while resting against the railing.
Using her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, Astrid took in the city’s sights while listening to Valencia begin a comprehensive explanation about the city’s structure.
With Valencia having moved away from the city before she was even ten and having returned only recently, Astrid was impressed at her knowledge! Beyond impressed even! It was as if Valencia had lived in the city for hundreds... maybe even thousands of years!
Astrid felt Valencia had knowledge even on the level of the founders!
Shaking her head to dismiss the exaggerated thoughts from her head, Astrid listened in as Valencia gave her explanation.
Most of the information, Astrid assumed, could be found in a travel brochure or two.
Marcen’s Cliffs, as a sprawling metropolis, actually had two different ‘downtown’ areas. There was the ‘original’ city, sitting beside a cliff. This had been where the city started and expanded from. In the center of this city, a little skewed towards the cliff’s edge, was one downtown area. Filled with skyscrapers and other tall buildings.
However, according to Valencia, as the city expanded, people began disliking the inland feel. The city’s biggest appeal was the cliff’s edge! Without it, it was just a city!
Following this logic, the city stopped expanding further inland. With the help of some ‘rare’ deities, Astrid was amazed to find out they began raising HUGE concentric half-circle platforms. Each platform was supported by huge pillars planted deep into the ocean floor and reinforced with magic along with materials resistant to tear.
Plus, there was even a huge section of the job market in the city dedicated to maintaining these pillars and the platforms they supported.
Each platform, wide and long enough to support a couple of neighborhoods, got bigger with each concentric half-circle.
Then, with each also being a little taller than the rest, it was—eventually—put to a halt by the leaders of the city, which led to the current layout of the city. A downtown area on land extending to the original cliff’s edge followed by a number of concentric half-circle platforms considered the suburbs, followed by the last couple of platforms which formed the premier edge of the city.
The last few platforms, facing the vast ocean, were, again, according to Valencia, where all the richest and most powerful people gathered...
Complicated stuff.
Standing at one of the bridge lines connecting all the platforms, Astrid couldn’t help but murmur. “Isn’t it a little narrow? There are roads, so I assume there are cars and other vehicles... But this is only wide enough for pedestrians and maybe some bikers.”
“Ah, there are a couple dozen bridge paths, some of them are like this, pedestrian only, but there are a few large ones that allow cars and stuff.” Valencia reassured, pointing off into the distance. “Well, you can’t see it right now so... you’ll just have to take my word for it.”
Turning and standing on her tip-toes, Astrid gave Valencia a peck on the cheek. “Of course, I’ll take your word for it, I trust you~”
Coughing, Valencia pulled Astrid closer and returned the peck with a longer kiss on the lips. “The flower place I want to bring you to is just up ahead. Any questions so far? Feeling alright, dear? No pain anywhere? Nausea? Light-headedness?”
“I-I’m fine,” Astrid reached into Valencia’s bag to take out a bottle of water while nodding. Taking a long sip, Astrid recovered from the surprise Valencia had given her.
Wasn’t Valencia embarrassed?!
Valencia, last time Astrid checked, wasn’t a big fan of publicly displayed affection! Astrid, as a definitely healthy person with an actually healthy amount of shame, always kept it within reason! Pecks on the cheek, handholding, the likes.
Of course, sometimes it was a bit much for Valencia, but Astrid had to take advantage of the few times she could tease! Valencia was the one in control most of the time...
So why was Valencia suddenly initiating full-on kisses in public...
Capping her water bottle, Astrid shook her head a few more times to banish her flustered panic thoughts while trying to gather herself. “Uhm... hmm.. erm-”
“Yes, love~?” Valencia grinned, a faint twinkle of amusement dancing behind her eyes as she squeezed Astrid in a little closer.
“Uhm.... yeah, so which er... which concentric half-circle platform thing do we live on?” Astrid looked around, trying to spot a sign which might answer her question.
“We’re in one of the safer suburbs.” Valencia tapped her chin, her eyebrows furrowing. “I... think we live on the third or fourth platform from the ocean. Later tonight, I’ll bring you to this nice place on the first platform so we can go stargazing. We can figure out which platform we live on when we walk there.”
“Ah... aren’t we in a pretty nice area then…?” Astrid trailed off, looking around. “It looks pretty normal though... but by all standards shouldn’t this area be pretty... rich?”
“Maybe?” Valencia shrugged, not investing too much thought into it. “I had the place so I just moved in. I did some research to make sure it was safe. The city, though, in general, is pretty nice and safe because there’s a couple training academies here.”
“Oh-” Astrid’s eyes lit up. “We should visit one day! They’d be so fancy! Maybe they’d be the bougie places...”
“Well, maybe one day.” Valencia coughed, unsure how the whole deity thing would go down should they go. Brushing some of Astrid’s hair back, Valencia pointed up ahead while changing the topic. “Speaking of bougie, the flower shop’s right up ahead. It’s a really nice place so... shall we continue on in?”
