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And for some reason, it felt as if the heart of the entire district was right there, with just how many walked around, always busy with their own matters.

A living and beating heart of a district… filled to the brim with busy people.

Or, in other words, a marketplace.

"Why would they…" Instantly, one question pressed to my lips while making me look from one side of the street to the other.

The difference was so overwhelming, that it only reinforced my feeling of this place being surreal. This dichotomy between elegantly mystical and then energetically ordinary made it so that not even Claire\'s touch was enough to root me at the moment.

"I figured you would rather enjoy a practical date, that\'s why I brought you here."

Where Claire\'s presence proved lacking, her voice ended up achieving with ease, forcibly binding my attention back to the world.

"Everything starts when the business starts, isn\'t that right?" Claire asked while letting go of my arm and taking just a step away as if to once again present me with this entire district.

"I mean, sure?" I replied, still somehow lost in the moment. "But before we do…" I looked over my shoulder.

\'There has to be a reason why she brought me here. A reason beyond just the nice sight…\'

I turned my eyes back to Claire\'s face.

"Before that, those temples," I turned my head yet again, casting my sights back to the marvels behind me. "Is there any meaning behind them?"

Claire first brought her eyebrows together before lowering her eyes and tightening her hands into fists. She then slowly raised her eyes as she looked up the temple side of the street.

Quite notably, her eyes stopped at three points, pretty early on, around the middle, and then nearly all the way to the end.

\'Why do I feel like the trip her eyes made was a trip down memory lane?\'

"On this street, every major clan keeps a temple. You can consider it a tax to the city of sorts, but it\'s also connected to the clan\'s prestige, standing, and all the likes…" Claire\'s voice changed, taking on quite the dismissive tone.

"My father, despite inching ever closer to the tenth stage and knocking on the wall of the realm beyond mortality… He can only reach as far as roughly the middle down this road," she stated, reaching out with her hand and pointing out at one of the more elaborate yet less magical shrines.

"Then, there\'s the Bosko clan that my mother is from," Claire added… Only to move her arm and point pretty much at the very end of the street… if not beyond the gate that lay at its end.

For a moment, the girl remained silent, the look in her eyes distant as she kept staring out at the far-off temple.

Then, Claire abruptly let go of my arm before fully turning towards one of the altars nearest the crossroads. It was one with nothing but a simple platform, a shrine proper, and then a field of flowers all around it.

"This is the shrine my parents set up when I was born, hoping to establish a whole new clan, a family no one could easily mess with."

Claire lowered her head a little as she squatted down and picked one of the flowers at the edge of the shrine. Then, for a while, she simply stared at its petals while twirling it around in her hand.

"One day, when we both prove that we are happy and worthy of the current deal, I will add your mark to one of those shrines," Claire announced, only to raise up and then turn around, facing me with only the small flower and a deep frown on the face and distant look in her eyes. "On that day, you will need to decide which shrine would you like to be added to."

I stared right back into Claire\'s eyes, perfectly able to sense the great weight that she attached to this question.

I had no clue what exactly was the meaning behind it. To a degree I could guess… but your guess would be as good as mine.

Nevertheless, that didn\'t make me any less able to feel the weight of Claire\'s question. And if she was willing to ask something so important, my one and only choice was to respond to the best of my ability anyway.

"Then, once that day comes, I will be sure to have an answer prepared, while remaining on the lookout in the meantime to make sure I will know all the implications and consequences."

For just a little longer, Claire stared right back into my eyes with the same deep, complex look in her eyes. But then, the corners of her lips trembled a little before her entire face melted down into a small, somewhat sad smile.

"Here," Claire reached out with her hand, passing over the flower she just picked.

Right as I reached out myself to accept her gift, Claire relaxed her fingers before lounging just a bit further up and grabbing my hand, only to pull me ahead and, right as I tried to remain on my feet, wrap herself around my arm just like before.

"Now then, until that day comes, let\'s go do some shopping!" she cheered up, holding nothing back when she used her left hand to strike her fist up against the sky.

Then, as her sad smile gave way to an excited one, the corner of her eyes slanted as her smile took a mischievous undertone as she brought her hand down and slid it into the breast pocket of her casual fit before pulling out a silver card with black-gold rim.

"It\'s high time to break this piggy open, isn\'t it?" she asked as her proud, playful grin grew so bright it could rival the brightness of a morning sun.