Chapter: 110
After a night that felt like a rom-com, a new day dawned. As soon as the sun started to rise, people began bustling around.
They had a quick breakfast and packed up the blankets they used for sleeping. After covering the extinguished campfires with dirt or leaves, they split into ten groups and set off on their journey again.
Noah’s group, being the last bunch, quietly waited for the other groups to depart.
“Yawn…”
Lian, having had a rough night due to the cursed sword incident, yawned widely and rubbed the tears from his eyes. Noah secretly watched him.
Noah wanted to dash over, ask him a million questions, and sort things out, but she held back.
‘I promised not to push him.’
Lian was used to handling everything on his own, not because he didn’t trust Noah but because he didn’t see the need to confide. Julianna, with her wealth of social experience, had pointed this out.
To get Lian to open up, Noah knew she had to break down his walls.
Every time Lian said, “I’m fine,” and she pressed him, he would only retreat further into his shell.
For that reason, even if Lian was secretly bleeding or showing signs of hiding something, she purposely didn’t ask. She aimed to treat his problems as trivial so he would eventually talk about them more easily.
‘Am I doing this right?’
Doubt crept into Noah’s head but she quickly shook it off. She knew too well that heavy worries always came back to bite her.
Before long, it was time for Noah’s group to head out. She kept her usual attitude, completely ignoring the previous night’s drama.
‘Ugh… it’s even harder today.’
Despite Noah’s efforts, Lian kept even more distance than before.
‘This is all Gargandoa’s fault.’
Having felt Noah’s flat chest, Lian stumbled over his words every time he interacted with her, his gaze falling and his face turning as red as a tomato.
Noah being her usual self—no, extra attentive—just made Lian’s struggles even deeper.
A few days passed, and they finally reached a new town.
They had intentionally avoided smaller villages where their presence might raise eyebrows, but this town was pretty substantial. It served as a waypoint for travelers headed to Cardishian, with a bustling population great enough to mask Lian’s group of about a hundred.
They entered the town in staggered groups to gather supplies and have a break at the inns without attracting attention.
With the constant flow of people coming and going, there were no guards at the entrance, allowing them to slip in easily.
To prevent any information leaks, they had agreed that each group would stay at a different inn.
“Eh?”
Noah, busting along, suddenly stopped. Everyone, including Lian, turned their gaze towards her, then to where she was looking.
“Whoa…”
“It’s all collapsed.”
At the end of their gaze stood a building that had completely crumbled. Given the crazy reputation of the town, nobody was shocked. Noah muttered under her breath.
“We were supposed to stay at that inn…”
“It collapsed a month or two ago.”
As Noah mumbled, a man smoking nearby chimed in.
“Some dude, Potato or Potensian or something, got into a brawl, and look at the mess.”
‘Ah, one of those Four Heavenly Kings must’ve done it.’
The aftermath of an incident caused by Potensian, the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings who had dedicated himself to an outer god, was still evident here.
“The innkeeper moved to another place over there. If you’re headed that way, go there.”
The man puffed out a long exhale and smiled. Noah, somewhat familiar with the local customs, flicked him a silver coin.
The guy caught it without a hitch. He wide-eyed at the surprisingly hefty amount, giving a grin that could rival a Cheshire cat.
“Thanks!”
With that, he skedaddled away, realizing the silver coin doubled as hush money.
“Let’s hurry up before sunset.”
Noah picked up the pace, heading towards the inn the man had mentioned. Just as he said, an inn with the same name was present.
The first floor of the inn was a restaurant buzzing with people, with tables even spilling out onto the street.
“Ha ha ha! Drink up! Drink up!”
“The first one to pass out buys a round for everyone, you got it?”
Roaring laughter, curses, and the aromatic blend of alcohol and smoked meat filled the air.
“There was no info about the first floor being a tavern.”
Noah frowned, deep in thought before heading inside. The place was packed with busy staff and overflowing tables.
Fortunately, there was a clear path from the entrance to the front desk.
As they made their way to the desk, a few people eyed them greedily, but since Noah was holding all the money, no one dared pickpocket them.
“Damn it… what’s this?”
“Ha ha!”
“You idiot, ha ha!”
“It’s like a squirrel’s stash around here!”
One hapless guy who managed to pickpocket found his loot was merely a bag of acorns and grimaced.
“Oh no! My acorns…!”
Ribon, the youngest in the group, looked shocked at the rough men. As she reflexively turned towards the table, she dragged Lian along with her.
“Why are you carrying this trash around?!”
The man glared at Ribon, possibly angered by being laughed at by his buddies. When Ribon swiftly snatched the acorn bag back, the man’s face turned even redder in rage.
“Now you’re getting robbed by a kid.”
“Some great thief you are, idiot ha ha!”
The man’s boast about robbing a mighty dark wizard’s house felt utterly humiliated now.
“Ribon, let’s go. Noah booked us a room.”
“Okay!”
At Noah’s gesture, Lian quickly pulled Ribon away. The man suddenly pulled a sword from his belt.
Shing!
“Stop right there! You’re making a fool out of me…!”
“Ah! Clear the way!”
The man jumped up, crashing into a waitress carrying twelve beers.
Crash!
The man fell to the ground, drenched in beer.
“Damn it! You bastards!”
Furious, he swung his sword at the waitress. Just as he was about to strike—
Thud.
“…?”
Someone grabbed his shoulder. He turned his red face around to see a group of muscular goons grinning menacingly.
“You spilled our drinks?”
“What?”
“What’s your problem? ‘What’ is just your house slave’s name, you jerk.”
With so many people waiting for their drinks, the guys took the chance to drag the sword-wielding man outside with them.
In the midst of this gag-fueled chaos, Noah’s group made it upstairs without a hitch.
The eight-person ensemble, regardless of gender or age, ended up crammed into one room. It was unavoidable, considering the lurking dangers of the Demon King’s territory.
“It’s a hassle,” Noah began, “but this is the best option right now, so please bear with it.”
Knowing full well how dangerous the Demon King’s land was, no one complained.
“The outside is chaotic, so let’s eat in the room.”
“Sure.”
“I’ll go get the food.”
The loyal but slightly weaker members jumped at the chance to bring back food. With many mouths to feed, about half, including Noah, went to fetch provisions.
Noah grabbed an empty bag to buy some extra supplies. Though they could’ve stuffed things into their dimensional bag, it was too precious to flaunt.
“I’ll be back shortly. Lian, keep an eye on things.”
“Uh, okay…”
Noah forced a smile at Lian, who wouldn’t meet her gaze, and quickly slipped out of the room.
‘Let’s make this quick.’
Noah knew Lian was strong—she’d seen it a few times—but she couldn’t shake off her worries entirely. She hurried out of the inn and headed towards the night market.
Knowing exactly what she needed made shopping a breeze. She exchanged brief nods with other members of the group as they passed.
With her bag feeling heavier, she returned quickly to the inn. It seemed mealtime was over, as many tables in the first-floor restaurant were emptying out. As she walked through to head upstairs—
“Sniff… sniff…”
She heard a woman sobbing. Her gaze instinctively shifted toward the sound.
One woman had buried her face in a table while another, likely her friend, patted her back.
“I treated him so well… sniff, sob…”
“I told you he was acting weird.”
“I thought it was nothing….”
“Oh please, just eat up, forget the guy.”
“Okay…”
“Come on, eat this and relieve your stress. Start fresh again tomorrow, okay?”
“Alright… let’s do this!”
The two mercenary-looking women began chugging away at their drinks. Noah’s attention lingered on their emptying glasses.
‘Why on earth do they drink that tasteless stuff?’
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