🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 4
“That side’s swarming with people, but you’re sitting here alone. It looks bad—like you’re being excluded or something.”
“And by the way, calling me ‘that person’—is that how you treat your lifesaver? We’ve already exchanged names, you know. You could at least call me by mine.”
“Since when did you—Mirea—become my lifesaver?”
“Well, technically, I did save your life. But as I said, I can manage on my own, so wouldn’t it be better if you helped the people from the Order first? Looks like that priestess is the only one actually doing anything.”
“They’re probably doing just fine on their own.”
With that, Aris took a rough count of the people from the Order. There were at least 15 armed individuals, and another five or so non-combatants—about 20 in total. They seemed thoroughly prepared for the dangers of the Beast-infested Forest. But on this side…
“If someone can’t even eat on their own, are they a child or an adult?”
Mirea loosened the belt around her waist and placed her twin swords beside her, then adjusted her posture comfortably. Aris gave her weapons a sidelong glance. He mainly used a sword himself, but when entering the forest, he’d taken along a rifle just in case. It was an old model, but better than nothing.
He didn’t actually think she couldn’t eat by herself after having made it through the corrupted Beast Forest alone, but letting her eat entirely by herself just felt wrong. Especially since the people of Myren were known for their strong hospitality. If Mirea insisted on eating alone, the villagers would probably be so heartbroken, they’d wail in despair.
“Well, aside from all that, the food here is delicious. If you’re offering, I’ll gladly accept.”
With that, Mirea took a bowl and spoon, gave a short nod, and began shoveling food into her mouth with gusto.
“When are you planning to leave?”
She quickly swallowed her food and replied,
“I’ll leave with the Order people. I overheard earlier that they’re not moving until tomorrow because it’s already late today.”
At least she wasn’t planning to travel alone, which gave Aris some relief. He couldn’t understand why he even cared about her safety in the first place.
“True. Traveling alone at this hour would be dangerous…”
“And if I stick with the Order, I don’t even have to do anything—they take care of it all. It’s a great deal for me.”
“You said you weren’t close with them.”
“That’s exactly why I’m doing this. If we were close, I’d have to help out and stuff.”
She said it without a hint of shame.
“Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?”
“I can sleep pretty much anywhere.”
There she went again, giving a completely unprepared answer.
“Find somewhere proper to sleep. This might not look like much, but the village isn’t so harsh that it skimps on hospitality. If you want, you could even stay at my place. The room barely fits one person lying down, though…”
“I couldn’t impose that much. And if I stayed there, where would you sleep? I can just roll out my sleeping bag in my truck bed.”
After finishing her food, Mirea neatly stacked her dishes. She glanced over at Aris, who had emptied his bowl at about the same pace.
“So what do you do here, Aris? Must’ve been hard settling in, being an outsider.”
“Mm… mostly just hunting in the forest…”
He kept his reply brief, not seeing the need to elaborate. Nothing he did here was particularly impressive. Mostly, he just gathered enough food to survive. Sometimes, when the village needed help with something, he’d lend a hand.
In return, he’d receive a bit of rice or other essentials—enough to scrape by. When he first arrived, he taught the local kids for fun, but the kind of knowledge needed here wasn’t academic. That hadn’t lasted long.
In short, he was practically unemployed. Aris fell silent, omitting the rest, and Mirea didn’t pry. Instead, she changed the topic.
“Have you lived here long?”
“No. I was only planning to stay for one season.”
“Really? It’s autumn now…”
“Yeah. So it’s about time…”
Since the season was ending, it was time for Aris to move on, just as he had planned.
“Are you leaving?”
Mirea asked the question he’d been avoiding.
“Then why don’t you come with me tomorrow?”
“No thanks.”
Aris shut her down immediately, but Mirea only shrugged without looking the least bit disappointed. Aris picked up their empty dishes and stood up. Mirea rose as well, but he waved her off, telling her to rest.
“I’ll say it again—don’t sleep outside. Stay somewhere with a roof.”
“I appreciate the concern, but there’s some important stuff left in my truck. I’d be worried leaving it unattended.”
At that, Aris didn’t press her further. Mirea gave a small wave and walked off toward her truck parked at the edge of the village.
Night fell, and the village, which had been lively thanks to the rare guest, grew quiet. From the darkness, the occasional howls of beasts echoed.
Aris turned off the lights and lay down but didn’t sleep. Curling on his side, he fell deep into thought.
“Should I head to the borderlands…?”
Blue sparks crackled from his fingertips as he mentally mapped out the surrounding regions.
“If I follow the corrupted zones, maybe I can avoid unnecessary trouble.”
The sparks continued to snap quietly between his fingers. Aris stared at them, deep in thought.
“If I hide my mana properly, I might survive even without a divine barrier.”
He was planning what to do after leaving the village. But with limited information, he wasn’t sure how much the corrupted regions had changed while he’d been isolated.
Might be best to get some news from the Frost Order while they’re here. Regardless of what happens, he needed outside intel. He still had no intention of traveling with them, though.
That line of thought led him to a troubling question.
Was it really just coincidence that both Lashvalen and the Frost Order came to this village at the same time?
Aris couldn’t shake the suspicion that they had another agenda. Just like he’d said to Mirea earlier—maybe it was time to move on.
Knock, knock, knock.
Just then, someone knocked on Aris’s door. He had already sensed someone approaching and didn’t respond. No one should be visiting him at this hour.
“Aris, are you there?”
It was Rizel’s voice outside, followed by another round of knocking.
“If you’re in, sorry for the late hour, but may I speak with you briefly?”
A shadow flitted past the window opposite the door. Though only Rizel’s voice was heard, she wasn’t alone. Perhaps she’d brought others from the village or the Order. Maybe it was an emergency. But…
Aris quietly reached under the bed and grabbed his sword. Without a sound, he rolled off the bed and crouched.
Knock, knock, knock.
After a moment of silence, Rizel’s footsteps moved away from the door. Aris exhaled slowly. Just as he loosened his grip on the sword, the window shattered, and a small metal sphere rolled into the house.
“Damn it?!”
Realizing he was too late to deflect it, Aris dove and shielded his head—just as the grenade exploded.
The blast rang in his ears. Shrapnel struck the walls and furniture, and the door was blown clean off. Any regular person caught near the blast unprotected would not have survived.
But as the dust settled, Aris stood—bruised but unharmed. His right hand crackled with dissipating mana, remnants of the magical shield he’d used to protect himself. He shook his arm, dispersing the lingering power.
“What the hell? You ruined my clothes!”
He clicked his tongue at his tattered shirt, the entire right side shredded. A familiar voice responded.
“Ah, just as I thought.”
Rizel stood near the doorway, now blasted open, coldly eyeing Aris.
“So you’re not just a swordsman. You can use magic, too.”
Two men emerged behind her and charged with swords. Aris, instead of engaging, vaulted out the broken window. Just as he expected, the house was surrounded by armed foes.
A sword slashed from his side without warning. Aris drew his own blade from behind his back and parried.
His attacker was someone he vaguely recalled from the Order’s group at dinner. He knocked the sword aside, but another came from a different direction. Forced into a clash of strength, Aris suddenly sensed an attack from an unexpected angle and retreated.
“Hey, Priestess? Did the Frost Order suddenly start greeting people by blowing up their houses and stabbing them in their sleep?”
He deflected multiple blades with swift movements.
“Because I’m really not a fan of this new policy.”
With that, Aris infused his sword with force and swung powerfully, knocking away several attackers at once. As the combatants retreated to reassess, Rizel raised her hand to signal them to stop.
