"Goblins?"
"Yeah, goblins."
"But didn't you fight against them yesterday?"
"Yeah, I did."
"So why fight against more goblins. Shouldn't you battle against dragons? They're way cooler than goblins, right?"
"Yes, you're right, but dragons are also way more dangerous."
"Yeah, but big brother is super strong now. You can totally fight a dragon on your own, right?" Emma asked with a pout but Ray smiled in return.
"Maybe some other day kiddo." He ruffled her hair gently and Emma grinned as she wished her brother good luck on his journey tomorrow.
The two talked and laughed for a while before heading downstairs for dinner.
After dinner, Ray went straight to bed, then he lay in bed before staring at the ceiling as he planned on what he would be doing tomorrow.
In the morning, Ray planned to leave as early as possible because the journey to the dungeon would take most of the day, so he thought he'd camp outside the dungeon vicinity, before resting and entering the dungeon the following morning.
The Goblin Nest had three floors with over twenty goblins in total, and a boss Hobgoblin on the bottom floor.
Hobgoblins were known to be strong, fast and smart for a monster their size but Ray wasn't worried about encountering the monster.
However, one may wonder how Ray knew of the dungeon floors and the Hobgoblin residing at the bottom floor.
In his first life, a team of three adventurers had cleared the dungeon, but they had barely done so.
The only reason Ray was able to know all what he knew right now was because right after these adventurers made it out of the dungeon, they began to brag about their accomplishments to several young maidens in taverns.
Ray was in one of these taverns on that day, so he overheard everything the three adventurers were saying because they were bragging aloud for everyone to hear.
Their objective was to attract more girls to woo and to make the males around them in the tavern jealous.
Some fell prey to their antics while others remained uninterested in it, with Ray being among those who weren't interested in their accomplishments at the time.
In fact, a part of him wanted to leave the tavern, but he was glad that he didn't, because if he had, then he certainly wouldn't have known about the dungeon now, and this brought a bigger smile on his face as he prepared himself mentally for tomorrow's journey.
But while this was happening, Ray suddenly heard a knock on his door which interrupted his train of thought.
"Come in."
Mira opened the door and stepped inside before closing it softly behind her.
Just like yesterday, she was wearing her nightgown and her hair were loose around her shoulder as she crossed the room and climbed into the bed beside him.
Mira curled against his side and rested her head on his chest to cuddle close to him but Ray could only smile as he watched her satisfy herself.
He carefully stroke her hair gently as he enjoyed the soothing silence of the room and the two of them remained that way until Mira opened her mouth to ask.
"You're really not going to change your mind about leaving?"
"Nope."
*Sighs* "You really are stubborn, you know that?"
"Yep, and so are you too."
"True." Mira smiled and cuddled up to him even more before sighing softly. "Very well, I won't try to change your mind anymore. Just be careful, okay?"
"I will." Ray assured her and Mira smiled warmly as she slowly fell asleep.
The next day, Ray woke up before dawn, then he noticed Mira was still asleep beside him.
He carefully slipped out of bed, then he got dressed in his worn leather armor before strapping his late father's sword to his hip.
Ray grabbed his pack and walked out of his room before seeing Helen awake and sitting at the table with a cup of tea in front of her.
"What's wrong mom? You couldn't sleep?" Ray asked and Helen shook her head in response.
"How can a mother sleep when her child is about to do something dangerous."
Ray rolled his eyes with a smile before sitting across from her. "I told you I'll be fine Mom."
"You keep saying that but you're still my son and it's my job to worry about you."
Ray reached across the table and took her hand. "I know mom, but I need you to believe in me, okay?"
"I do, honey. I always do."
"Thanks mom, you're the best." Ray planted a kiss on her cheek and Helen smiled as she watched him grab a few snacks for his travel.
Once done, the two hugged and said their goodbyes.
Then Ray stepped outside to see that the sun had slowly began to rise.
Villagers were still asleep in their houses and the streets were still empty.
But Ray adjusted his bag, then he started walking toward the Northern road.
He made it ten steps before hearing footsteps behind him. "Ray!" A female called out to him.
It was Mira.
She was still dressed in her nightgown and her hair was still messy because she had just woken up from sleep, but she ran toward him and skidded to a stop in front of him.
"You were going to leave without saying goodbye, weren't you?" Mira asked while still breathing heavily.
"I'm sorry Mira, you looked so beautiful while you were still asleep, so I didn't want to wake you." Ray replied with a smile.
"Idiot, who cares about that."
"I do."
"You're so annoying." Mira punched his arm lightly before grabbing his shirt and pulling him down for a kiss.
The kiss was a quick, short and intense intimacy, but Mira had to settle for this or else she really wouldn't allow Ray to leave today.
She slowly pulled back and with tears in her eyes, she muttered loud enough for Ray to hear. "Come back home safe, okay?"
"I will." Ray assured her before resuming his journey.
Mira stepped back and wrapped her arms around herself as she watched him vanish into the distance.
Meanwhile, Ray continued to walk North until he arrived at his destination later that evening.