“I’m going to take a nap. Let me know when we arrive.”
“Sure, get some rest.”
A short companionship of about three days.
It was enough time to figure out what kind of person Yoo Jin was.
So many things happened in that short time…
So when asked what kind of person Yoo Jin is, it’s hard to answer in just one sentence.
If I had to summarize it in one sentence…
He’s vulgar, barbaric, rough-mouthed, and impulsive.
“He’s the ideal commoner in many ways.”
But if I were to evaluate him as a mercenary, the story changes.
He’s brave, has the power to back it up, is decisive, and has quite a bit of leadership.
In fact, he’s the second strongest person I’ve seen after Yerina unnie.
He’s the man who competed with a spider monster so fast that I could barely follow its movements with my eyes.
He could definitely hold his own against any sword master.
“And above all, his mental strength…”
But the reason I think Yoo Jin is strong isn’t because of some petty power.
It’s his mental strength that shines in extreme situations.
He never boasts about it, but Yoo Jin always takes on the most dangerous frontlines.
He doesn’t fear pain and goes all in.
He’s even willing to sacrifice himself for others.
That’s not all.
His determination to save Mi Jeong, whom he thought was just a disposable slave, led him to awaken 5th-tier magic.
I can’t even begin to express my shock at seeing a human who couldn’t even grasp the basics of attribute magic suddenly awaken 5th-tier magic.
If that guy could, he could definitely learn even greater magic.
It wouldn’t surprise me if I met him later and he suddenly became a black mage.
“Indeed…”
Looking at it this way, I can understand a bit why my sister fell for him.
He’s not entirely trash.
He’s totally trash in terms of personality, but he clearly has strengths.
He looks delicate and elegant, like he could make cocktails in a bar…
But his power and personality are all macho…
“Tsk. No wonder my sister is smitten.”
Yerina unnie has idolized strong people since before.
No, it might be more accurate to say she despises the weak rather than idolizing the strong.
It seems she doesn’t even see men weaker than her as rational beings.
And he’s the one who caught her heart.
Even I felt a little…
Just a little. Really just a little, fluttered at that thought.
But as a dating partner, he’s completely a dud.
He doesn’t know how to consider a woman.
He smiles at every woman he meets.
And above all, he lives so dangerously that it makes me question if he’ll die at any moment.
He’s so strong yet does things so perilously that even I feel anxious watching him.
Like he’s searching for a place to die.
I can’t help but sigh.
“Ah. His bangs are in his eyes…”
Is it because he moved around in his sleep?
Yoo Jin’s bangs have fallen down over his eyelids.
I can’t help but worry he might poke his eye, and unconsciously, I got closer.
“He’s got decent looks too… What a jerk.”
Isn’t it a crime to be flirting with women with a face like that?
Suddenly my anger rises.
My face feels hot too.
Anyway.
After spending about three days with this man, I became convinced.
No matter how desperately my sister feels or how badly she wants, she cannot let this man come into her life.
Because it’s obvious she would soon become a widow if she did.
Somehow, I’ll make sure Yoo Jin and my sister don’t connect.
If necessary, I’ll even take him away…
“What should I do? Do I have an excuse to keep following him…?”
Swish.
Just as I brushed aside Yoo Jin’s bangs and exhaled a rough breath.
“……Yoo Jin. Alicia is doing something weird.”
“I got ya, you rabbit.”
“Four?!”
Thud.
The box next to me popped open, and Mi Jeong jumped out.
Then suddenly, my wrist was caught in Yoo Jin’s rough grip.
Whoa. His hands are huge…
“I asked him to keep an eye on you while you slept, and Mi Jeong caught you. What were you sneaking around for?”
“Excuse me?! Why are you treating me like a thief?!”
Seriously, this guy is consistently crazy…
This is the problem with him. This part.
I briefly lost my reason.
I thought there was charm in this guy.
“Aha. So you came to steal the mana stone given by the elf elders.”
“Not at all! What do you take the resources of Evgenia for?!”
“Just kidding. You should take a look at this mana stone. You never know, it might fit you perfectly.”
“……”
Yoo Jin, who had opened his eyes, casually smiled and handed me the mana stone.
He treats this massive mana stone like it’s just a pebble lying on the roadside…
I took the mana stone dazedly.
In the process, Yoo Jin’s finger brushed against my palm.
My body shivered slightly.
Ah. It felt a little damp…
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“It has amazing performance. It’s way more comfortable than the one I used before.”
To be honest, it was a mana stone that made me marvel.
But it couldn’t make much of an impression.
I had already touched Yoo Jin’s black mana stone before.
Wasn’t it the kind of mana stone created when that spider monster died…?
Thinking back now, it still makes me nauseous, but it’s superior to the mana stone Elvenguard has refined over ten years.
“Really? Then…”
“But I don’t think it’s really for me. I’m a bit picky, you see. There’s probably someone who’d suit this mana stone better than I do. I truly appreciate it, but I’ll just take the sentiment.”
“Huh? Thankful? What do you mean by that?”
“Huh? Weren’t you giving it to me?”
“What?! I thought you liked it, so I was going to sell it to you. Why are you making this weird assumption…?”
“AAAH!”
My face was burning.
With the heat spreading through me and embarrassment taking over, I couldn’t help but shout and covered Yoo Jin’s mouth.
I mean, the atmosphere clearly felt like he was giving me a present.
He smiled at me.
But that was really just the sweet sales smile of a second-hand mana stone dealer?
Don’t joke around, you jerk.
“Why are you playing with people’s feelings?!”
“What the hell? What’s with that sudden reverse accusation? Just calm down and accept this.”
“This is…?”
Ping.
A metallic object flicked from Yoo Jin’s hand, spinning in the air and landing on my palm.
On closer inspection, it was a ring.
The one Yoo Jin had lent me before.
“In the end, you couldn’t find a suitable magical tool for yourself. Until you do, just use that one. Oh, and it’s a gift, not for sale, so don’t make that face.”
“What did I make a face for…? Th-thank you.”
Why did he have to give me the ring at this timing…?
I couldn’t even get angry.
As I mellowed the anger inside, I expressed my gratitude to Yoo Jin.
“……Ah. The couple ring with Yoo Jin.”
Mi Jeong, who had been blankly staring beside me.
Now that I think about it, Mi Jeong was also wearing the exact same ring.
We felt somewhat connected.
I slipped the ring onto my finger and showed it to Mi Jeong as I smiled, but…
“Now it’s a couple’s ring for me and you?”
“……I hate it.”
“Wh-What?!”
Mi Jeong pouted her cheeks and quickly disappeared back into the box.
Why? Why did she hate me?
“Ugh?!”
Just as I was confused.
The carriage made a sudden halt, jostling me forward.
As a result, my head bumped right into Yoo Jin’s chest.
“Excited about the ring or something?”
“Excuse me…?”
Yoo Jin was grinning again.
I really didn’t like it.
But that sweat scent, huh…
If I keep on breathing it in, it feels like I might get weird, so I quickly pulled myself away.
“It seems we’ve reached the station.”
“I’ll gratefully accept the ring! Now here’s where we part ways!”
“Yeah. You’ll head up to Palana. I’ve got my own path to go down.”
Parting ways.
The way that word sounded felt particularly bitter today.
I stood up abruptly and extended my hand, and Yoo Jin chuckled, grasping my hand as he stood up.
The roughness of his palm brushing against mine felt oddly nice.
“I’ll get a safe house set up as soon as possible and send you the address to Evgenia. From now on, we’ll keep tabs on Yerina and send you that address once a week. If anything urgent happens, just send it over.”
“You’re thorough.”
“I have to be. The moment Yerina catches wind of it, it won’t end well. Oh, right. I almost forgot to mention the fee for teaching you magic.”
“The name of the person who crafted that black mana stone?”
“Yeah. That one. We had agreed on that.”
“Forget it. My conscience won’t allow it. My lessons weren’t actually useful…”
“It might not have been useful to me, but it was for Mi Jeong. How many things did she learn? Fire magic, electricity magic… Thanks to you, it seems like we’ve gained quite the versatile tool. No more carrying torches every time we enter a dark dungeon.”
Mi Jeong raised her hand in a ‘V’ sign and moved closer to Yoo Jin.
Anyone listening in would think she’s treated like a versatile tool for real.
She says that, but she’s super protective.
“Her name’s Tay. She’s a little dwarf artisan in Basel. You’ll be able to find her easily if you ask around.”
“Huh?! Isn’t she the popular one these days? They say she has a year-long backlog of reservations…”
“Wow. It’s accumulated a year already? If you ever go, just hand that over to Tay. Then you won’t have to wait at all. Instant access.”
“Oh my goodness…”
I accepted the note Yoo Jin handed over.
I could never have imagined that this person knew someone like that.
What an incredible gift I just received.
It’s touted to be the reward for teaching magic, but this doesn’t match the bill.
No way this is compensating for the basic magic and a few 2nd and 3rd-tier spells I taught.
“Thank you so much…”
“What’s this? Are you crying?”
“I’m not crying!!!”
“Then that’s good. It seems like the train time is coming up. Shouldn’t we go?”
“Yeah. We should go.”
Oh no, the atmosphere really feels like we’re parting ways.
As Yoo Jin said, the train wasn’t far off now.
I had to hurry.
But my feet just wouldn’t move.
As if he sensed my feelings, Yoo Jin removed his lips again.
“I’ve been thinking…”
“Ye-yeah!”
“Rabbit demihumans generally seem cuter when they’re moderately consumed by libido. So, I think you should gradually ditch the libido suppressor, and just live by instinct…”
“This jerk keeps going to the end…! I’m leaving now! Take care!”
What a madman.
With nonsense till the end.
Thanks to that, I could turn away without any regrets.
With fast strides, my heart was racing thump-thump and it wouldn’t calm down.
What is wrong with me?
I feel more shaken than I have in a while.
“Whoo… Finally made it.”
After parting ways with Yoo Jin.
After running, I managed to hop onto the train.
Wiping my sweat, as soon as I sat down, the train slowly pulled away from the platform.
“This feels nice to wear…”
When I raised my hand, the ring on my finger shone dazzlingly.
At first, I remember it being so radiant that they said they’d had to cover it to dull the shine…
It’s still this pretty.
I wonder how beautiful the original shine must be…
“My ring finger feels more comfortable.”
As I tried on each finger, it fit best on my ring finger.
This is definitely the most comfortable.
It felt like Yoo Jin had tightly held onto my finger.
“Hah…”
Clutching the ring tightly, I exhaled a deep breath.
Even after all that running, my ragged breathing wouldn’t settle.
Maybe my stamina has dropped.
“Ugh. Hehe. Haha. A free pass to the super popular craftsman in Basel…”
I decided to shift my focus elsewhere.
I took out and unfolded the note given by Yoo Jin.
But when I opened it, it split into two and fell apart.
One was an introduction letter written by Yoo Jin that would let me directly commission the craftsman in Basel.
What’s the other one?
I tilted my head and unfolded it.
-“I decided to treat your dependence issue as a special case. Be grateful.”
What kind of nonsense is this?
-“I confiscated your libido suppressor while you slept. How’s that? You didn’t even notice it was gone, right? See? Rabbit demihumans need to be moderately controlled by their libido to be cute and charming. Your lack of charm has been a problem, but now it should be better.”
“Wh-what?!!”
Startled, I quickly unbuttoned my shirt and pulled the rosary from my chest.
The moment I felt its comforting touch in my hand, a sigh of relief escaped.
What the… It’s here safe and sound.
“That scared me.”
It seems this was some low-quality prank to surprise me…
Huh?
“……?”
In that moment.
Suddenly, the rosary flickered and transformed into…
A regular branch.
I blinked in confusion.
Remembering the transformation magic Yoo Jin had shown me this morning.
Wait.
Does that mean I didn’t have the libido suppressor on me since this morning…?
“AAAH…”
The moment I realized that.
The sensation of my body brushing against Yoo Jin’s without the suppressor came to mind.
My lower half instantly grew damp as my body convulsed.
“Yoo Jin, you crazy jerk…!”
I won’t let him get away with this when I see him again.
Seriously, this bastard…
Ah. It’s happening again.
