Chapter 55

Chapter 55: A Drive Date with Ria

After visiting all three jewelers I had reserved appointments at.

I placed my order at the second shop I had visited.

A 3-carat natural diamond set in the center, with tiny natural diamonds encircling the band.

The size was 11.

While I was there ordering the ring, I also purchased a necklace and bracelet to mount the Barrier key Magic Stones on.

It was a simple task of attaching a pendant setting to the Magic Stone and connecting it to a chain, so it took less than an hour.

As I headed to my car to leave.

'What is this......?'

This uneasy feeling.

All day long, I had felt as if someone were following me.

I turned around and looked behind me.

'There is nobody there.'

Nothing registered on my Presence Detection either.

If it were a Hunter or Monster, I would sense it through Presence Detection.

If an ordinary civilian were tailing me, I would not be able to sense them since they did not possess mana.

I had not yet reached a level where Presence Detection could pick up individuals without mana.

'Maybe I am imagining things.'

Setting the unease aside, I got into the car and headed home.

After arriving and entering the Rift, I gave Ria and Rin the Magic Stone accessories I had made.

It was the first time either of them had received accessories from me as a gift, so they were overjoyed.

I attached a Magic Stone pendant to Bell's identification tag necklace as well.

***

Thanks to Ruina, Ria and I had far fewer household chores to handle.

"Please leave the bedding laundry to me."

"I can take it and wash it in the washing machine......"

My protests fell on deaf ears.

"I do not know what a washing machine is, but what I do will be faster and more effective."

Ruina washed the bedding using water-attribute magic and purification magic.

She then hung it on the clothesline and used a magic that harmonized fire and wind to dry it in no time.

It was certainly much faster and more effective than a washing machine and dryer.

She also used wind-attribute magic to gather dust when cleaning the house.

While doing so, she said.

"This is what I honed my magic for."

"Not to become stronger, but for housework?"

"Yes, my dream was never to become a knight, but to serve Lady Ria as an attendant. I only joined the knight order because it was the only way to stay by Lady Ria's side."

"I see......, but was there a particular reason you decided you wanted to become an attendant?"

It had been over two weeks since the knight order group had arrived.

A few days ago, Ruina had asked me to speak to her informally.

She said that as an attendant, she did not wish to be spoken to formally by one of the people she served.

I began speaking to her casually to honor her attendant concept.

Her age was twenty-seven, one year younger than Ria.

That made a four-year gap between us.

In time, Ruina answered my question.

"When I was young, I could only see Lady Ria three days a week — the days we had Ancient Language lessons. That is why I always envied Lady Ria's attendants, who could be by her side all the time."

"Is that the reason?"

"It was not simply because I wanted to be near her every day. Once, my father was beaten by thugs so severely that multiple bones were broken and his internal injuries were so serious that his life was in danger. When Lady Ria heard the news, she petitioned the Grand Duke to summon a high-ranking priest to treat my father's external wounds. Then she brought something called the Elixir of Blazing Life that the Grand Duke had given her as a birthday gift when she turned seven, and had my father take it, healing even his internal injuries. An incredibly rare elixir that could not be obtained even with a chest full of gold."

"I see."

Ria had been a good person even as a child.

To give away something precious that her father had gifted her for her birthday.

"From that moment, I swore to devote my entire life in loyalty by Lady Ria's side. That is why I wanted to become an attendant."

"I see. Now I finally understand why you are so obsess......, I mean, so loyal to Ria."

"Ahem! Yes, and on top of that, even though Lady Ria was the daughter of a Grand Duke, she treated me, a commoner, like a true friend without any pretense. Lady Ria is truly a wonderful person. So please, do not cause her any heartache, and make her happy."

"I will. I promise."

It was fun hearing stories about Ria's childhood.

"Tell me more stories about Ria next time."

"As many as you like!"

I went to the other knight order members and asked them about their reasons for being loyal to Ria.

Every single one of them had their reasons.

How Ria had risked her life in battle to save theirs on multiple occasions.

How she had helped their families.

And in the Vice Commander's case, his loyalty and devotion to the Grand Duke, Ria's father.

They all had their reasons.

'Ria was a good Commander after all.'

A thoughtfulness that extended even to the families of her knights.

On the other hand, she had also been a very strict Commander.

Apparently, her training regimen had been extremely harsh.

The reason she had trained them so brutally was that she could not bear to watch her subordinates die in battle against the remnants of the Seven Demon Kings.

The harsher the training, the stronger the knight order became.

And their loyalty to Ria had been exceptionally deep.

They said that if Ria had chosen revenge, every scattered member of the knight order would have gathered and gladly laid down their lives.

'Ria's decision to give up revenge must have also been partly because she cared about her knight order comrades.'

In any case, hearing stories about Ria's past from her knights was incredibly interesting.

I had come to know her in even greater detail.

'The more I learn about Ria, the more impressive she is.'

Honest, loyal, and overflowing with consideration for others.

Despite her high status, she was never arrogant.

She treated commoners equally and promoted them without discrimination as long as they had ability.

'And someone like that is my lover.'

I was newly struck by the realization that I was a fortunate man.

And I also felt that I was, in many ways, lacking compared to Ria.

I needed to grow more mature as a person myself.

***

After more than two weeks had passed, Rin had grown accustomed to the knight order members, just as she had with the three S-Rank members.

Ruina deserved much of the credit for that.

She had looked after Rin like a nanny.

Thanks to that, things had reached a point where I could take Ria to Korea.

"Rin, we will be back soon."

"We will be right back, Rin."

Rin now understood the parting phrase "We will be back."

"Have a shafe twip."

She placed both hands on her belly and bowed at the waist in a polite bow.

It was a greeting Ria had taught her.

"Rin is so adorable......"

"I know, she is lovely."

After receiving Rin's farewell, we stepped into the Gate portal.

We transferred to the countryside house.

Ria looked up at the sky and said.

"I am glad I can come to your world again, Seon-u."

"You will be coming here often from now on. We need to visit the Rift Management Bureau soon and start the naturalization process."

"That is true."

Ria then put on sunglasses.

Actually, rather than sunglasses, they were glasses with a mirrored coating.

To others, they appeared dark like sunglasses.

But the wearer could see through them as clearly as plain lenses.

'It would be a waste if things looked dark when I am showing her around.'

They were simply to mask Ria's beauty to some degree.

"Shall we go?"

"Yes, this is going to be fun. A drive, you said."

For Ria, this must have been incredibly novel.

It was her first time riding in a car, and her first time viewing the scenery of an unfamiliar world from inside one.

And so, Ria and I went out the front gate and walked to the car parked in the village's communal parking lot.

I opened the passenger door and helped Ria in.

I got in the driver's seat.

"Let me buckle your seatbelt."

"Thank you."

I leaned toward Ria and fastened her seatbelt.

I then started the engine.

Ria looked at the car's smart screen display and the LED lights inside the vehicle in admiration.

"How fascinating."

I then gently pressed the accelerator and started driving.

Despite it being her first time in a car, Ria showed no signs of nervousness.

She was simply fascinated.

We left the village and entered the road.

After driving for about ten minutes, we merged onto the highway.

"Wow, there are so many cars."

"There are. On average, every household has at least one."

"Really? Everyone in your world must be wealthy. To have this many luxurious vehicles lined up."

That was not exactly the case.

In any case, Ria kept admiring the view outside the window.

We must have driven for about 40 minutes.

I pulled into a rest stop and parked.

"Where is this?"

"It is called a rest stop — literally a place where you stop to rest. They have restrooms and food."

"How fascinating. May I get out too?"

"Of course."

Ria, wearing her sunglasses, stepped out.

Today, Ria was dressed in jeans, a white shirt, and a black jacket — an extremely ordinary outfit.

'And yet she seems to shine as if she were standing on a red carpet.'

This would not do.

"Let us put a mask on too, Ria."

"All right."

With the mask on, her face was so small that the mask looked enormous.

In any case, this should make her less conspicuous.

I headed to the rest stop with Ria.

"Do you not need to use the restroom?"

The essential rest stop question.

Ria's ears turned red.

"I am fine."

"In your world, that sort of question is considered rude, right?"

"It is, but since the cultures are different, I understand. Besides, I am learning Korean, learning Korean cooking, so I should learn the culture too."

"That is a good mindset."

We then bought coffee and snacks at the rest stop.

Hodugwaja, roasted baby potatoes with butter, and sotteoksotteok.

We sat on an outdoor bench and sampled the food.

Ria pulled her mask down to her chin and tried the sotteoksotteok first.

"This rice cake is incredibly chewy. The sausage is delicious too."

"Ria, is this your first time trying rice cake?"

"Yes, my first time. It feels slightly similar in texture to the gnocchi pasta you made before, Seon-u. The gnocchi was a bit softer and nuttier, but this is delicious too."

"True, the rice cake has a nice chewy texture."

She then tried the roasted baby potatoes with butter.

"These are much more delicious when you make them, Seon-u."

"Well, I use higher quality ingredients."

Next was the hodugwaja.

"Mmm! This is good. This is really delicious."

This particular rest stop was fairly well known for its hodugwaja.

"Really? Then I should buy more for you to snack on, Ria. So we can store them in Acresia."

"Really? Thank you."

I went off to stock up on hodugwaja.

I bought five gift boxes of freshly made hodugwaja at fifteen thousand won each.

I returned to Ria.

"Shall we eat the rest while driving?"

"Sounds good."

We headed to the car, and Ria, seated in the passenger seat, said.

"The rest stop experience was so fascinating. Are there other rest stops like this elsewhere?"

"Yes, there are tons of them."

"Wow......, the world you live in, Seon-u, really is an incredibly developed place."

"It is, I suppose."

To Ria, who came from a less developed civilization, everything must have been a fresh shock.

On top of that, Korean rest stops were so well-equipped that even foreigners were amazed by them.

There were even foreigners who came specifically for rest stop tours.

"Driving is fun, buying snacks at rest stops like this."

"I agree. I usually drive alone, so it is boring, but having you next to me, Ria, it is not boring at all. It is enjoyable."

"Then take me along whenever you go somewhere far."

"Really? Will you not get bored tagging along?"

"Not at all. As long as you are beside me, Seon-u."

That went for me too.

Having Ria beside me meant nothing was boring.

The destination we arrived at was none other than Artisan Oh Cheon-seok's workshop.

The reason for today's outing was to pick up Ria's completed armor.

I parked the car and gave the receptionist my name, then sat in the waiting area.

A moment later, Artisan Oh Cheon-seok entered the waiting room.

"You are here. But the foreign lady beside you......? She must be the owner of the armor you are picking up."

"That is correct."

"Hello."

When Ria greeted him with fairly accurate Korean pronunciation, Artisan Oh Cheon-seok looked surprised.

"You can speak Korean, too. Young man, is she your lover?"

"Yes, she is."

"Haha! Even with a mask on, I can tell she is a stunning beauty. You are quite the capable man."

He then led us to where Ria's armor was displayed and showed us the Drake Leather Armor.

Ria was delighted when she saw the armor.

"It looks similar to yours, Seon-u."

"It does, right? It is couple armor."

"Couple armor? Hehe! How fitting for us."

The first matching thing we had gotten was not couple rings but couple armor.

Ria then went into the changing room and came out wearing the armor.

With the armor on, she exuded the aura of a former Lady Knight.

"Does it fit well?"

"Yes, it fits perfectly. There is no discomfort when moving."

"Then there is no need for adjustments."

And so, the armor was picked up without needing any adjustments.

After leaving Artisan Oh Cheon-seok's workshop.

"Sir, is there anywhere around here to park where there are no CCTV cameras?"

"Hmm, if you go down the back road behind the workshop, there is a spot to park on an unpaved road that cuts through the forest. But why? Could it be that you are planning to, in the car......"

"It is nothing like that."

"Ahem! Very well. Drive safely, then."

"Thank you. I will see you next time."

"Goodbye!"

After exchanging farewells, Ria and I drove down the back road that the artisan had told us about.

We parked on the side of a densely forested road and got out.

"Seon-u, why here?"

"I want to open a Gate portal to head straight to the Rift from here."

"What about the car?"

"I can absorb it into Acresia and store it."

"Ah. Then we do not need to go all the way back to the countryside house."

"That is right."

I absorbed the car into Acresia.

Then I asked Ria.

"Did you sense anything strange while we were coming here? Like someone following us?"

"Hmm, I did feel like we were being watched, a little."

"Right?"

"Yes, I felt an unpleasant gaze watching us a few times at the rest stop."

This feeling of being watched that I had been noticing since last time.

Could someone actually be tailing me?

In any case, Ria could not detect any presence on this secluded back road, which meant they had not followed us this far.

Moreover, this was a remote unpaved road hidden by the forest, so even if someone were watching from afar, they would not be able to see us.

I absorbed the car into Acresia, then opened the Gate portal, and Ria and I headed into the Rift together.

***

After seeing Ria's armor that I had picked up, Ruina asked to see my armor as well.

I took it out of Acresia and showed it to her, and Ruina said.

"This is a very well-crafted and sturdy piece of armor. Lady Ria, how about inscribing magical engravings on the armor?"

"You would turn it into magical armor? Can you manage that?"

"Yes, I believe I can inscribe engravings on armor this well-made."

Magical armor? Magical engravings?

What is that?

When I asked, Ruina explained.

"I can inscribe magic that simply reinforces Defense, or even a shield spell. The engravings last as long as the Magic Stone has mana remaining. Of course, if you replace the Magic Stone with a new one, the engravings can be reused as long as they have not been erased."

So that was possible too......

In other words, it was essentially the same as adding skills to the armor.

The value of equipment with skills attached doubled.