“Yoo Jin······.”
Early morning.
Jill staggered out of her room, clutching her growling stomach.
She thought she had shed all her tears, but even after returning to Hameln, she locked herself in her room, crying and crying again.
She threw and smashed everything within reach.
Yet, Yoo Jin just kept faithfully following his last order to not talk to her.
He never once came into her room.
“Yoo Jin······.”
What a spiteful guy.
Thinking that made her pout in disappointment.
Still, after sulking in that room for over a day, she felt a bit better.
Even though it was still infuriating that Yoo Jin betrayed her and rolled around with another girl for the first time, it wasn’t unforgivable.
Yoo Jin would remain by her side forever.
That girl was just a one-night fling, because the one Yoo Jin truly cherishes and loves is only her.
“I’m hungry, Yoo Jin. Don’t you have any food prepared?”
There was no response at all since earlier.
Did he go out grocery shopping or something?
As Jill wondered, she went to the kitchen and discovered a note secured with a dagger on the table.
It was the dagger she gifted Yoo Jin as a token of the Bodyguard Knight.
– I’m sorry. I’ve disappointed you due to my shortcomings. I feel I’m not suited to be the Priestess’s Bodyguard Knight after all. I will take my leave now. Please stay healthy.
“Ah······.”
A dry sigh escaped Jill’s lips.
Tears quickly welled up in her dried, distorted eyes.
*
The Priestess’s Bodyguard Knight salary is 4000 Gold.
Subtracting 1000 Gold for the upkeep of armor and sword leaves 3000 Gold.
After deducting living expenses (including Jill’s snack budget), only 1000 Gold remains.
Finally, subtracting 10% of income as an involuntary donation to the church leaves 600 Gold.
So, that means roughly 600,000 won a month.
Enduring all cravings for snacks and saving up ends up being 600,000 won.
All this money accumulated to about 1,500,000 won.
“Woohoo. A savings account maturing after three months. What a delight.”
It’s a laughable amount. A bitter laugh.
But it’s more than enough for a ticket on the Transcontinental Train.
Since it’s a train that runs for a whole month to reach the final stop, even the cheapest seat will cost quite a bit.
Of course, Jill could choose to sell the dagger she gave Yoo Jin.
It would sell for 10,000 Gold, but······.
“Am I crazy? Am I going to go die first?”
If that happened, it would be instant game over.
I wouldn’t want to see the church declare me a traitor and organize pursuers to chase me down, so I left the dagger there to hold down the note.
“Why does this guy live so far away all alone?”
It’s been ten days since I boarded the Transcontinental Train.
Finally, I crossed the strait into the Northern Continent.
And I still have to go for another 20 days? I can hardly believe it.
“No way this is a place anyone would live.”
As soon as the continent changed, the climate shifted dramatically.
It’s like moving to another world in a game.
The lush fields and plains outside the window disappeared completely, replaced only by snow-covered mountains.
Is there really anyone living in this land?
Even with all my knowledge of the game’s story, it’s a sight that makes me feel puzzled.
Even wearing the thick fur coat I brought, I’m shivering with cold.
Just thinking about living in a place like this makes me dizzy, but it’s not all negative.
“Oh. I can start to see Eastern-style architecture.”
“Mom, what is that big brother saying?”
“Shh. He seems a little crazy······.”
If the Southern Continent was based on Western European themes, the Northern Continent has an Eastern Asian theme.
But it’s not like they’re going back to the Joseon Dynasty to sport topknots or something.
It means their basic lifestyle is similar to that of an East Asian person.
For example, it’s basic to take off shoes when entering indoors, or using chopsticks and a spoon during meals······.
Why is this basic thing a merit, you ask?
Live with a Priestess who doesn’t even realize something’s off while lying on the bed with her shoes on and see how your blood pressure fares!
Once you get used to it, you can manage, but it can’t be helped that it makes me angry every time I see it.
“Ugh. I can’t sleep······.”
It’s too cold to sleep.
Since I still have a long way to go to my destination, Palana, managing my sleep cycle is important.
But why in an Eastern-themed context are the place names in Russian?
Did they think that sounded cool?
How would I know what those high-ups are thinking?
“Ugh. The road is rugged.”
I thought I’d get off the train to find a village right away.
But I was shocked to see just a humble train platform with a roof standing on an open field.
I was shocked again to hear from the conductor that it would take half a day to walk to Palana.
Shouldn’t we be able to take a carriage for this?
There are no post stations, so naturally, no carriages either.
There are no roads for carriages to travel either.
All I know is that if I keep going north, I’ll find Palana.
“But is this road the right one?”
Following a path made by wild animals, I’ve been going through the forest and over mountains for three hours now.
I’m already filled with skepticism.
It’s my first time walking with confidence.
The thought of having to trek for half a day like this sends a wave of anxiety over me.
“Damn it. Even my compass is broken.”
This area frequently experiences mana anomalies.
Why did a strange phenomenon occur the moment I set foot on this land? My mana compass that was perfectly fine until a little while ago is acting up.
Do you remember how, even when a person tries to walk in a single direction, they end up drifting to the left or right?
If I keep walking without knowing the direction, there’s a chance I’ll end up in a completely different place.
It’s possible I might just take all the way back to the platform.
“I’m really screwed.”
In short, I’m in deep trouble.
No wonder the conductor kept looking at me with pity.
Food is only enough for two days, and I have no tools to camp out in this snowy mountain.
“I don’t know. My luck stats will have to pull through.”
There’s no other way.
I can’t just go back to the platform and wait for the next train to come for ages.
I have to walk with my instincts for direction.
My luck stats, which are far above average, will surely do something.
Ah. Now that I think about it – applying a -5 penalty puts me below average······?
“Kraaarrr!”
“······!”
The sound of a bear’s roar.
A sound it makes to threaten its prey.
If it’s something much smaller than itself, it wouldn’t need to make such a threat.
If a land animal was so large to the point it had to intimidate, then······?
‘No way, is it a person!’
The thing being threatened by the bear could be a person.
As that thought crossed my mind, my body sprang into action, rushing toward the direction of the roar.
Although I was quickly tiring due to the Bodyguard Knight penalty, I couldn’t stop.
I climbed up the mountain in an instant and reached the place.
“Crazy.”
I spotted a giant black bear and a person in fur standing in front of it.
The black bear stood on its hind legs, ready to swat the person with its forepaw at any moment.
However, the person seemed paralyzed with fear, not moving at all.
This is dangerous.
“Run away!”
“······!”
My body moved automatically as I drew my sword and stood in front of the person.
It became second nature to protect Jill when I sense even the slightest danger.
With my Bodyguard Knight ability activated, taking down a single bear would be a piece of cake······.
“Huh?”
[Stats]
[Strength: 13 (-5) *Bodyguard Knight Penalty Applied]
[Stamina: 12 (-5) *Bodyguard Knight Penalty Applied]
[Mana: 12 (-5) *Bodyguard Knight Penalty Applied]
[Dexterity: 20 (-5) *Bodyguard Knight Penalty Applied]
[Luck: 14 (-5) *Bodyguard Knight Penalty Applied]
The Bodyguard Knight ability doesn’t activate.
Just as I was about to panic, I noticed something odd about the bear.
It was puffing itself up as much as it could to intimidate yet hadn’t charged at all.
Almost as if it was afraid of something.
Is there someone who could intimidate a bear just by standing still?
Well, I do know of one person who could.
Could it really be true?
I turned around slowly.
“······Whoa.”
As soon as I saw the lovely face peeking out from under the thick fur coat hood, I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
The blue hair slightly sticking out from the hood and the shimmering wall eyes.
And the wolf-like ears sticking straight up as if they were going to lift up the hood.
Yerina Frost.
The great ruler of Palana and the very reason I’m here.
This was the third and final main heroine of this game.
The Frost Duchess, who purged all the nobility and seized absolute power, made her first declaration.
“Kyaaa, it’s so scary! Please save me?”
“······.”
I was at a loss for words.
“Hu, hu. Heh heh.”
As I tried to awkwardly swing my sword, the black bear took off running back to its cave.
It’s a shame running away from a weaponless woman would damage its pride, but it seems my presence gave it a good reason.
As it retreated back, I felt a gaze of gratitude directed toward me from Yerina. Or is that just my imagination?
I successfully returned such a reliable head of the family safely to the arms of the bear family.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. Thanks to you, I survived. I nearly faced terrible harm from that vicious bear. Really, really thank you.”
“······.”
The one nearly facing harm would have been the bear, not you.
Hearing this from someone who could crush that cave with one hand is utterly absurd.
Yerina must’ve had a proud and reckless personality.
Yet seeing her awkwardly continuing a lie raised suspicion.
It’s not just her god-awful acting skills, but her ears perked up and twitched constantly according to her emotions, making it impossible to lie.
What benefit could it possibly bring Yerina to pretend to be a defenseless, pitiful, innocent country girl?
It makes no sense, and it’s driving me crazy.
“Are you a traveler from afar?”
“Yes. I came traveling on the Transcontinental Train from the Southern Continent.”
“Hmm. So you seem to have someone in Palana?”
“Not exactly. I just came for sightseeing. You live here in Palana, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, could you guide me to Palana?”
“Oh! Of course! I couldn’t just leave a traveler behind on the mountain!”
Yerina sees this rough mountain as just the backyard of the village.
Through that difference in perception, I catch a glimpse of varying standings.
Thus, I began an unusual companionship with the fragile (not really) maiden picking fruits on the back mountain.
“Your stride is really wide, huh? You must be used to wearing pants?”
“Oh, no? Not at all? I really enjoy wearing skirts and am such an innocent girl!”
“Then why do you keep pausing? It looks just like the stance a sensitive knight would take when sensing the aura of a stranger?”
“I-I’m sure that’s just coincidental! I just tripped, is all!”
I threw a few hints.
I’ve already noticed everything.
No matter how you look, you seem like a powerhouse in this world, so just give up on the pretense.
But Yerina kept denying it like a seven-year-old kid who believes she’s good at acting.
Eventually, I gave up.
If she didn’t want to reveal herself, then what more could I do?
It wouldn’t make sense for me to go, “The investigation is over. Your name is Yerina Frost. Your waist size is······.”
The awkward mountain trek continued on and on until sunset arrived.
“I heard it would take a diligent half-day to arrive. Are we still far?”
“Um. Just a little further.”
“It should be around the time we see the village······.”
Something feels off.
They said it takes about six hours to go straight north.
Yet not only could I not see the lights of any village, but not a single path made by people.
Was the conductor lying?
It can’t be that Yerina, who’s in her home ground, took the wrong path.
Just as I was tilting my head in confusion.
“Oh. Oh no! This is serious.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s too dark to see the road.”
“A wolf beastman should be able to see well even at night, right······?”
“Oh no! What should we do?! I forgot to bring a light! It seems we’ll have to camp here for the night!”
“······?”
What does that even mean?
Seeing her throwing a fit while thinking she’s a master of acting like a seven-year-old child made my eyebrows furrow.
Couldn’t we just lighten the way with a torch and walk a little more to reach the village instead?
While thinking such innocent thoughts, I glanced at the compass.
“······Huh?”
Why is it behaving this way?
Why is north pointing in the opposite direction of where we’re headed?
Don’t tell me we’ve been going in the opposite direction for half a day, making a 180-degree turn······?
As I panicked, still clueless about what’s going on, I turned around.
“Oh, hurry up and lie down! We need to sleep early and get up early in the morning!”
“······.”
By then, Yerina had already set up a campfire, tent, and sleeping bag.
Her face, illuminated by the campfire, had a slight flush.
What is this really?
