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Chapter 4
Se-hee’s body froze completely.
“Did you…… hear that?”
With no one else to rely on, Se-hee instinctively turned toward the wolf.
The wolf was already growling low at the bushes.
Se-hee took a breath and carefully approached.
When she pushed the grass aside, she found a person collapsed inside.
“Huh?”
There were deep wounds on his shoulder and side, as if they had been hastily treated.
He was covered in blood.
But Se-hee’s first reaction was admiration.
“Crazy.”
His black hair was wet and falling across his forehead, while his long eyelashes cast shadows over his pale face.
Even though his features were stained with blood, they were unbelievably clear and well-defined.
Se-hee was speechless for a moment.
“Wow…….”
It was a face she had never seen in real life.
Simply calling him handsome was not enough.
‘He looks like the male lead who jumped straight out of the cover of a romance-fantasy novel.’
Her gaze naturally moved downward.
The black coat-like top was made of expensive-looking, well-tailored material, with metal decorations attached to the shoulders.
It was difficult to see clearly because of the blood, but even the material looked far from ordinary.
‘He definitely doesn’t seem like a normal person.’
Se-hee stared blankly down at his face for a moment.
Even she found her own reaction ridiculous.
‘No, can someone really look like this……?’
Even if she had seen a celebrity in real life, she did not think she would have been this shocked.
Se-hee shook her head firmly.
‘Why am I looking at his face first in a situation like this?’
Se-hee examined the man again.
His breathing was uneven, and his body trembled slightly every time he inhaled.
When she placed the back of her hand against his forehead, she immediately felt the heat.
“His fever is really high.”
She had nothing with which to treat his wounds.
“And of course, I don’t have anything useful for this either.”
As she scrolled down the list, a familiar name caught her eye.
[Parkgas]
Effect: Randomly provides one of the following effects: fatigue recovery / temporary awakening / slight recovery of stamina and concentration.
Effects cannot be stacked.
“It is a recovery item, at least.”
It was not a potion, but it was better than doing nothing.
If she left him in this condition, he seemed likely to get worse.
“I should at least give him this right now.”
Without hesitation, Se-hee took out the Parkgas.
She opened the cap and grabbed the man’s chin.
“Just a moment. Try taking this. It should help.”
The man weakly shook his head.
Se-hee did not hesitate.
“Ah, you don’t get to refuse right now.”
She simply put the bottle straight into his mouth.
‘……What does this taste like?’
Faint memories surfaced just before his consciousness had faded.
A battle against a group of Liches and Skeletons.
At the moment he swung his sword, something inside his body had twisted.
His mana had stopped responding to him.
An attack he normally could have blocked had hit him directly.
And then his vision had gone dark.
‘But…….’
At first, he thought it was simply a stimulus.
An unfamiliar taste, both bitter and sweet.
The moment it entered his mouth, his disordered flow of mana began to settle, as if it were being pushed back into its proper place.
The energy that had been violently surging suddenly became calm.
The noise filling his head disappeared, and the sounds around him became clear.
‘……Purification?’
When he raised his head, he saw a light.
A small fire burning in front of a tent.
And a woman standing in front of it.
Her skin looked as if a thin layer of light had been laid over it, and her light-brown hair was loosely tied back.
For some reason, his gaze lingered on her, wondering what she would look like if she let her hair down.
There was something strangely difficult to look away from about her face.
‘But those are Drain Wolves?’
They were wolves classified as high-level monsters.
Wolves that fed on magical power had a strong sense of territory and normally would not stay near humans so easily.
‘And there’s a whole pack of them?’
The wolves clearly seemed to be following the woman.
‘Could she have tamed them?’
Cassian remembered how strangely stable his body had become moments ago.
‘Holy power?’
Her attitude when she had just grabbed the bottle and put it straight into his mouth without hesitation.
If she were a Saintess,
‘she would never behave like that.’
Yet there was no other explanation for the stability he now felt throughout his body.
‘Was it a coincidence, or……?’
After organizing his thoughts, Cassian gathered his strength.
The moment Cassian sat up, his sword flashed.
The cold blade stopped directly in front of Se-hee’s neck.
It was close enough for her to feel his breath.
The wolves growled, but Cassian’s gaze did not waver.
His cold blue eyes stared straight down at her.
“Don’t move.”
Even though he was injured, the hand holding the sword did not tremble in the slightest.
“Who are you?”
Yet the woman in front of him did not seem frightened.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
Her answer came in a completely casual tone, as if nothing unusual had happened.
‘What the hell? Why did he suddenly pull a sword……!’
Se-hee tried to stay calm and change the subject.
“Do you happen to have any money?”
Cassian’s bewildered gaze was obvious.
“Money?”
“For what I gave you earlier. It wasn’t free.”
Cassian paused for a moment.
He had not expected her to bring up money at a time like this, especially in this way.
“……This is Greenhal Forest.”
Se-hee asked in confusion at his sudden statement.
“Yes?”
“It is the Monster Forest.”
Cassian’s eyes became cold.
“Ordinary humans do not enter here.”
After pausing briefly, he added,
“Especially without any weapons.”
Se-hee was momentarily speechless.
There was not a single thing wrong with what he had said.
“Who are you?”
That was when it happened.
Grrrrr—
The wolf beside Se-hee growled.
As the blade moved closer to Se-hee’s neck, three wolves simultaneously lowered their bodies into an attacking stance.
Cassian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Hey.”
Se-hee tapped the wolf beside her.
“Don’t.”
The wolf immediately closed its mouth.
A brief silence fell between the two of them.
Cassian’s gaze returned to Se-hee.
‘Strange.’
She was acting like that despite being surrounded by Drain Wolves.
If she had approached him with some kind of ulterior motive, there was no reason for her to be this calm.
Cassian’s gaze fell to the empty bottle in his hand.
‘If I hadn’t had this, I still wouldn’t have regained consciousness.’
The sword in Cassian’s hand lowered slightly.
“……Why did you save me?”
Cassian’s gaze pierced straight through her.
Se-hee answered bluntly, as if there were nothing strange about the question.
“Just because.”
“……What?”
“You’re a person. You were bleeding a lot, and you looked like you had a really high fever.”
Cassian’s eyes moved ever so slightly.
Her answer was completely different from anything he had expected.
“You’re a strange woman.”
After a brief silence, he lowered his sword completely.
“It is late, but I would like us to formally introduce ourselves. My name is Cassian Del Valer. I am the head of the House of Valer.”
‘A Duke?’
The fact that Se-hee had read so many novels actually helped her at a moment like this.
‘If he’s a duke, isn’t that right below the king?’
Se-hee’s eyes became about one and a half times wider than usual.
The hierarchy of nobles was quickly organized in her head.
“Ah, I’m Han Se-hee. I’m the store owner here.”
“Han…… Sei?”
Cassian struggled with the unfamiliar pronunciation of ‘hee’ and eventually pronounced it however he found easiest.
“No, Se-hee.”
Se-hee felt slightly frustrated by the way he kept mispronouncing it.
“Fine, Sei.”
Cassian continued getting her name wrong without knowing how annoyed she was.
“Hee. Can’t you pronounce ‘hee’? No, never mind. Just call me whatever you want.”
Se-hee gave up because she felt there was no point continuing.
There was no need to waste energy correcting him just because he pronounced her name a little wrong.
At that moment, Cassian threw something toward Se-hee.
Clink.
Three gold coins landed in Se-hee’s palm with the sound of metal striking metal.
“That should be enough.”
He still had enough gold for another high-grade recovery potion.
“What is this?”
She had definitely felt something touch her hand, but now it was gone.
Instead, a familiar window filled her vision.
[Exchange Notification]
• Detected Item: Imperial Gold Coins x3
• Converted Value: 3,000P
• Exchange Fee (20%): -600P
• Final Amount Obtained: 2,400P
“……Huh?”
Se-hee was stunned for a moment.
“But why are there so few points?”
When she looked at the system window again, she noticed the exchange fee.
“Minus 20%?”
Se-hee frowned.
“Wait, then did the system take this much from the gemstone earlier too?”
After a brief silence, another window immediately appeared, almost as if the system were making an excuse.
[Gemstone Exchange Fee Discount]
Gemstones and Magic Stones can be recycled as power sources for the system.
• Gold Coin Exchange Fee: 20%
(Varies according to shop level)
• Gemstone / Magic Stone Exchange Fee: 10% (Fixed)
- The point value of gemstones and magic stones changes in real time according to their market value and mana content.
Se-hee let out a short breath.
“Your discrimination is pretty obvious.”
At that moment, she felt someone’s gaze on her back.
‘From his perspective, I obviously look like a very strange person.’
After all, he had given her gold coins, only for them to suddenly disappear, while she was now staring into empty air and talking to herself.
“I’m not a weird person!”
Only after saying it did Se-hee realize something.
She was the one standing in front of a pack of wolves and talking to empty air.
Se-hee awkwardly avoided his gaze and bit her lip.
But contrary to her concern, Cassian’s thoughts were going in a completely different direction.
‘Could it be that she means it wasn’t enough to cover the cost of the potion?’
Considering the effect of the potion, that possibility made perfect sense.
“If you need more, tell me.”
Cassian still had more gold.
“No, this is enough for now.”
But Se-hee’s gaze had already moved elsewhere.
