– Cheon Mu-myeong
After pouring cold water on my face a few times to snap me out of it, at last, the redness on my cheeks began to settle down a little.
“What on earth is my Master thinking…?”
Why did she apply so much saliva on my lips?
I could feel my face heating up again and shook my head vigorously.
“Calm down…”
Even if my Master is completely oblivious, she has to notice something off when she sees me like this.
…Of course.
On the flip side, I do wish she would notice…
“It’s not the time yet.”
It’s not that I want her to realize this right now.
With a light sigh, I pushed my damp hair back and looked in the mirror.
The man reflected in the mirror looked quite displeased, frowning as if he had a lot on his mind, but his cheeks were flushed a light pink—like a shy girl.
“…This should be fine.”
I wasn’t completely calm yet, but it shouldn’t be noticeable enough to make Master feel awkward.
I shook my damp hair lightly and wrapped a towel around my neck as I left the bathroom.
– Cheon Ha-rang
Lying on the pillow and spacing out, Nameless approached me with his hair tied up reasonably dry.
“Master, I’m ready.”
Nameless’s cheeks, slightly flushed from washing up, looked rather cute.
What on earth did he do in the bathroom?
I smirked, raising one corner of my mouth in a mischievous grin as I faced him.
“Hehe, took you long enough, huh?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I totally understand; it happens.”
Nameless stiffened his face and spoke up.
“…What exactly do you understand?”
“Heh… you’re asking me to say it out loud, aren’t you?”
“…”
Nameless let out a deep sigh and turned his head away.
A quick glance revealed that the tips of his ears were red.
“…We need to hurry if we want to leave today.”
“Uhm, right, let’s go then.”
Nodding vigorously, I still wore a somewhat mischievous smile.
…
As I walked toward the outskirts of the village to find a carriage, I felt an unfamiliar sensation for the first time since coming here.
No, calling it just an ‘unfamiliar sensation’ is too mild.
It was definitely a vibe I had never felt before, yet for some reason, it made me feel disgusted—enough to feel nauseated.
My brows furrowed.
“Master? Are you alright?”
Nameless anxiously peered at me, and I nodded slightly to reassure him before continuing my thoughts.
‘What should I do…?’
While the presence I felt was vast, it was shamefully small compared to ‘Nameless’; in other words, I could overpower whoever was radiating this energy before they even noticed me.
…But of course, I wouldn’t do that.
Logically speaking, a god wouldn’t just suddenly descend here with such weak energy.
I let out a small sigh to calm my excitement and grasped Nameless’s hand tightly.
“It’s really fine, so just don’t worry too much.”
“…Yes, understood.”
Nameless firmly held onto my hand in return.
Hmm, I felt a bit calmer.
I smiled gently at Nameless.
“Let’s keep going.”
“Yes.”
But it wouldn’t hurt to remain on guard.
I adjusted my grip on the wooden sword.
…
When we arrived at the outskirts of the village, much like the previous one, several carriages were lined up in rows.
The obvious difference was the sheer number of them.
While I relaxed and looked around, Nameless relaxed his grip and turned back to me.
“Master, I’ll run an errand alone for a bit. Just stay here.”
“Uhm.”
I usually let Nameless run errands only because I was too lazy to do it myself.
But today felt different.
‘What’s different?’ Well, back then, there weren’t any threats to Nameless, but now that I felt this overwhelming force, it was better for me to accompany him.
However, saying it like this might seem like I’m criticizing Nameless’s strength, so it would be best to make an excuse.
“I want to see the carriage-picking process, you know.”
“…? Yes, understood.”
Nameless seemed surprised by my words, his eyes wide open as he nodded.
Hmm, did I really leave him alone that much?
His reaction surprised me a little.
My lips poked out in a pout.
Seeing me like this, Nameless chuckled and guided me toward the gathering place of the carriages.
It’s slightly embarrassing to admit, but… I don’t know how to read this place’s characters.
After all, I grew up in the mountains; doesn’t make sense for me to know how to read, does it?
Of course, I learned a little from young Nameless when I lived in the little cabin back then…
To be honest, it feels quite humiliating to think about having learned from a kid, and back then, I thought, ‘It’s more worth it to practice swinging my sword than learn how to read.’
As a result, apart from the characters for Cheon Ha-rang and Cheon Mu-myeong, I know barely the basics.
Hmm, even if it’s painful, maybe I should have learned a bit more.
I regretted it, but regretting won’t change anything now, will it?
I quietly mumbled to myself while being led by Nameless.
Once again, the sight before the carriages was marked by small signs, and it seemed that the two previous villages also adhered to this method—a sort of unwritten rule among Mages.
Nameless skimmed through the signs in front of the carriages, quickly passing by them.
“How is it? Found one?”
“Not yet, but… there should be at least one, right?”
“Hmm, I hope we can find it quickly.”
Indeed.
Given our destination was far from here, I anticipated it wouldn’t be easy to find a carriage.
Well, if we had to, maybe we could offer extra payments to go there…
But was it really necessary?
It’s not that urgent; we can take our time, and going through another village wouldn’t hurt.
Plus, with that money, how many strawberries would that buy?
Honestly, it makes more sense to buy more strawberries even if we arrived a bit later.
‘Hmm, right.’
I nodded.
As Nameless passed by dozens of carriages quickly, he suddenly stopped in front of one, approaching a Mage slumped over and dozing off.
“Hey there.”
“Yes?”
Startled by my sudden call, the Mage perked up, glancing around before spotting Nameless and bowing his head.
“Ah, how can I help you?”
“Is your carriage heading to Ellen?”
“Yes, it is.”
Nameless nodded and rummaged through his pocket to pull out a few coins.
“We want to ride for two people. Is this enough?”
“Ah… but…”
Is it not enough money?
The Mage scratched his head awkwardly and opened his mouth again.
“Some already booked and bought out all the seats…”
“What if we offer more than them?”
“Hahaha…”
At Nameless’s suggestion, the Mage gave a strained smile, looking around.
Then, making an apologetic face, he leaned closer to Nameless and whispered softly.
Of course, I could still hear it.
“Well, the people who reserved this time are rather important, so…”
“Ugh.”
“Sorry…”
The Mage scratched his head with a forced smile on his face.
“Nameless, is it a no-go?”
“Yes…”
“Hmm, is there really no other carriage?”
“Yes… I looked at the other carriages once, but…”
It seemed like it wasn’t available because our destination was too far.
Hmm, what a dilemma.
Maybe it would be better to take another day to decide leisurely here?
Or perhaps it’d be wiser to take it slow through another village.
While I was pondering, someone suddenly approached us.
“Excuse me…”
Turning to the source of the voice, I was greeted by an extraordinarily beautiful woman.
Her hair, shimmering like gold, looked well-maintained—unlike mine, which was dry and frizzy.
Her eyes sparkled like sapphires, and with a gentle curve to them, she gave off an angelic vibe.
However, despite her serene appearance, there was something ominous about her.
The very source of the unpleasant vibe I had been feeling.
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