If there’s one thing that’s changed, it’s that this time the journey to the Church Region isn’t on foot but by carriage.
Just as Ceres had a carriage, Alebians had one too.
The difference was that Ceres’s carriage was from the Regent, while Alebians’ was from the Mage Tower.
“Wait, the fact that Alebians is a high-ranking person is the biggest surprise.”
Yona leaned her chin on the carriage window, staring blankly outside.
Thanks to that, she didn’t need to shiver from the cold and it was comfortable and fast, which was nice, but honestly, there was something else that had been bothering her since earlier.
“Hey.”
At Yona’s words, Alex, who had been stealing glances at her, jumped a bit and flinched.
Seeing that almost made Yona burst out laughing, but she managed to keep a straight face, stifling her amusement.
“That guy needs to stew a bit. Who does he think he is, talking like that…”
Is it a no-go to say I won’t erase the tattoo? How about we just run away and live together—
At that time, Yona was indeed being a bit overreactive. She didn’t need to push him that hard, but from her perspective, it wasn’t unreasonable to feel offended.
And in truth, Yona knew she was being overly sensitive, so her anger didn’t last long.
But since she was indeed angry, showing she was totally fine the next day would seem off, so she was just pretending to be mad.
To be more honest, part of the reason was that watching Alex fidget around was actually pretty entertaining.
Alex, looking at Yona’s sulking face, was at a loss.
He knew that once he got started talking, it was hard to stop if it was going well. So he usually chose his words carefully, but for some reason that day—no, it was likely because he was feeling great, a flood of words just came out.
He should have thought about how Yona would take comments like “Can I just not erase the tattoo?” or “Let’s run away and live together,” but he didn’t consider that at all. As a result, the moment Yona saw him from the next day, her expression immediately froze, and that brought us to the present day.
He needed to resolve it, but thanks to the unexpected carriage ride, they arrived at the Church Region much quicker than planned, making Alex feel even more anxious.
That night.
Even though they were traveling by carriage, the distance during the day just lengthened, and night still came, so camping was the same.
When they laid down the seats in the carriage, it became just right for a few people to lie down and sleep.
Yona had already made herself comfortable and was lying down; whether she was asleep or not, it was likely she was.
Thinking that, Alex poked Kaiyak in the side.
Kaiyak glanced back and Alex motioned him to come outside, leading the way as he stepped out of the carriage, and soon after, Kaiyak followed him out.
“Let’s talk for a bit.”
“What’s this about?”
“…You, that kid of yours, right?”
“That’s true.”
Alex’s thought process was quite simple. At least since Kaiyak had a kid, it meant he was married, and being married meant he had a corresponding spouse. Although he hadn’t met Kaiyak’s wife during their visit to Lizardden, that was the gist of it.
“Because you have a family, you must have gotten married, and if you’re married, it means you have a suitable partner. During this visit to the Lizardden, we didn’t get to meet Kaiyak’s wife, but it must be something like that.
This means that in terms of relationships, Kaiyak is more experienced than Alex. Alex took note of this, and that has brought us here now.
Sitting next to Kaiyak, Alex poked at the mobile stove that he had lit for dinner preparation, stirring the still-living embers as he opened his mouth.
“Kaiyak, you’re married, right?”
Kaiyak’s eyebrows twitched. Did he eat something wrong?
To call him here just to ask if he’s married—did he expect Kaiyak to set him up for a blind date if he wasn’t?
“Of course I am. That’s why I have kids.”
“R-Right?”
Alex visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
“What exactly are you trying to say, Alex? You didn’t drag me into this conversation just to talk about pointless things, did you?”
Taking a breath, Alex continued.
“Wasn’t Yona acting a bit strange yesterday and today?”
“Well, she was quiet, but…”
Thinking about it, Kaiyak felt it was a bit off. But the truth is, he wasn’t observant enough to catch Yona’s emotional fluctuations. After all, their species was different. Lizardmen weren’t delicate enough to notice such details.
“So what? Is there a problem?”
“Well, the thing is…”
Alex struggled to get the words out, trying to remain as objective as possible, stating only the facts.
“—And that’s what happened.”
Though it was somewhat rambling, Alex’s explanation was relatively accurate. He didn’t deny what he said nor did he bring up what he hadn’t.
And after listening to the entire explanation, Kaiyak stroked his chin without giving any particular response.
Despite being of different species, and having married himself, Kaiyak could deduce that Alex, in his eyes, was just being stupid.
“Alex, I think I understand why you’ve followed Yona around for three years without making any progress.”
“…Why?!… Why, why?”
Alex almost shouted but quickly covered his mouth in surprise, then asked Kaiyak in a softer voice.
He just wanted to discuss things, to seek advice, but he didn’t expect to be criticized like this.
“Wasn’t your main reason for visiting Yona’s room just because you were worried about her?”
“W-Well, that’s true.”
That was correct. Alex was genuinely concerned about Yona, and beneath that was indeed his own anxiety. However, visiting her room was primarily driven by greater concern.
“Then if it was just to worry about her, wasn’t that enough? I really don’t understand why you added unnecessary comments. Yona struggled because of that tattoo, and just because you know her intentions, you suggested running away and living together?”
“Let’s run away together while we’re at it.”
Every time Kaiyak spoke, Alex flinched.
When he thought about it alone, he wondered what the cause was, but hearing it through Kaiyak made it hit home.
“Well, was that part the problem?”
“…Then where do you think the problem lies?”
Alex couldn’t answer Kaiyak’s counter-question. It’s no wonder; Alex vaguely thought he might have said something wrong, but he couldn’t grasp exactly where it went wrong, which is why he had sought Kaiyak’s advice in the first place.
“The approach was fundamentally flawed, Alex. You should have had a duel like the Orcs do for marriage. Or, propose by catching a special fish from the nearby lake as a gift, like we do. If you keep dragging this out, it’s pointless.”
Alex was receiving dating advice from a Lizardman.
And he didn’t even realize how weird it was.
*
As the saying goes, reconciliation methods are important in conflicts, Yona, already calmed down, had no desire to approach Alex, who was still looking at her furtively.
After all, it was Alex who had stirred up her insides, and it should be him coming forward first.
If it were the old days, she wouldn’t have cared about such things and would have hit Alex on the back of the head saying, “Hey, have you eaten?” to start a conversation, but now she didn’t want to do that.
So Yona kept her tasks inside the carriage exceedingly simple.
She propped her chin on the window frame, gazing out at the scenery; when she got bored, she would sleep. Then, when it was meal time, she’d rise to eat, clean up afterward, take a walk outside, and then come back in to sleep again.
Day after day passed in this repetitive cycle, while the carriage continued to race across the Medial Plain.
Traveling much faster than walking, the carriage was making its way toward the Infura Church Region, and it was expected to arrive by afternoon at the current pace.
“Hey, Yona.”
“…Huh?”
Looking back, Yona saw Alex peering at her shyly through the carriage window, his expression a puzzling mix of apology and embarrassment.
“What’s up?”
“Uh, can we talk for a moment?”
Yona felt like she might burst out laughing.
He was still an adorable little guy.
“Sure. Here?”
“No, uh, outside for a second.”
It would be a bit awkward to say such things in the carriage, after all.
Yona followed Alex out of the carriage.
The cold was growing even stronger.
was getting even stronger.
The wind crossing the Medial Plain seemed to get stronger as it rushed across the plain, and the wind reaching the carriage along the edge of the plain hit them like a blade.
The padded vest over her nun’s habit was just as cold.
Yona involuntarily huddled her shoulders and trembled.
“Isn’t it cold?”
When did he even pick it up? Alex was holding a rather thick jacket stuffed with cotton.
Before Yona could even respond, he draped the jacket over her shoulders.
Much better now.
The fierce wind that once lashed at their skin had significantly calmed down.
“So, what I want to say is…”
Actually, it was okay not to. With just that jacket, all of Yona’s feelings toward Alex had dissipated. It had already faded a while ago, but that pathetic pride that made her not want to talk to Alex seemed to melt away with this one jacket.
Yona bit her lip, smiling, and looked up at Alex. Seeing him, a bear-like guy, looking all awkward in front of her was almost adorable.
“…Never mind.”
“I was going to say… huh?”
Before he could hear her response, Alex paused at her words. Then, seeing the smile blooming on Yona’s face, he shyly returned a smile.
“You must have said that with me in mind. You wouldn’t say something like that to wish me harm, right? I mean, I was just feeling bad back then, that’s all. There was no need for such a long emotional battle between us. We’re not that kind of relationship, right?”
At Yona’s words, Alex just nodded, “Uh, uh…”
There was nothing wrong with what she said.
Considering Kaiyak’s words that a good man should apologize outright, it was actually Yona who was playing the manly role in this situation.
Yona’s hand reached out from under the jacket and patted Alex on the shoulder.
“I think I was too narrow-minded this time. So, don’t worry. I’ve already gotten over any anger. There’s no need to be mad at each other. Got it?”
“Uh, yeah… um, anyway, I’m sorry, Yona.”
“It’s okay. I’m sorry too.”
Yona smiled.
At the same time, she continued to pat Alex’s shoulder.
The feel of Alex’s shoulder firmly in her grasp strangely brought comfort to Yona’s heart.
She felt like she would sleep well tonight.
That afternoon, the carriage arrived near the Church Region.
And there, Yona met a familiar person.
“Governor Seok Jung!”
“Oh, it’s been a while. It’s been so long that I even came out to greet you.”
A silver-haired, beautiful woman waved her hand with a bright smile.
Ceres — the governor of Kapatia Port, Ceres Olkamain.
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