Chapter 77

Chapter 77. The Old Woman in the Tower (2)

Jimant grinned and shoved his money pouch into his pants pocket.

Then, when he noticed Luna standing beside him with her arms crossed, he took out one gold coin and flicked it to her.

CLINK—

The golden coin flew through the air and dropped into Luna’s hand.

TAP!

“What is this?”

“Pocket money. You will have a use for it. Keep it.”

Jimant said that and forced the money pouch into his pocket.

Luna stared intently at the thick gold coin shining brilliantly on her palm, then gave a small laugh and put it into her pocket.

“Thanks. I will use it well.”

And with that, Luna now had the enormous sum of three hundred thousand woni.

Was she lucky with money?

She kept one hand in her pocket, perhaps feeling the texture of the coin.

I looked at her for a moment, then chuckled and turned my head to look for Rene.

The kitchen? She was not there.

The hall? Only Jimant, Luna, and I were here.

Then where?

While I was looking around like that, the voice of the person I had been searching for came from the second floor.

“Han, what are you looking for?”

Rene was slowly coming down the stairs from the second floor, and her outfit particularly caught my eye.

Leather pants, a leather jacket, long boots, and at her waist, a thick sword belt with two longswords fastened to it.

This was outdoor attire.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“To accompany Luna.”

She raised her hand and pointed at Luna.

When Luna heard that, she pulled her hand out of her pocket and crossed her arms again.

“I do not mind going alone.”

“I do. I am your guardian, after all. So I have to go with you.”

“Guardian? Since when did that happen?”

Luna tilted her head crookedly and looked at Rene. Rene smiled brightly and said,

“From the moment you closed the door of this house.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want.”

Luna turned her head as she said that.

Rene came down from the stairs with a faint smile on her face and stood beside me.

At that, Jimant, who had been lost in thought, looked at Luna with the face of someone who had finished sorting things out and gave a small laugh.

“Are you saying you are going to see me off?”

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I mean I will protect you until you get out of the forest. You need to return home as quickly and safely as possible, old man.”

After hearing her words, Jimant opened his mouth with a somewhat bitter expression.

“Damn it. I am so grateful I could cry.”

Luna clicked her tongue and wagged a finger left and right at his words.

“Tsk, tsk! A grown adult should not show tears in front of a child.”

THWACK!

Jimant moved like lightning and gave Luna a sharp rap on the head.

Then he looked for a moment at Luna, who had lowered her head and was clutching it with both hands.

After that, he turned his head toward Rene and me, who were standing beside him with blank expressions, and slowly spoke.

“As you can see, she is a brat with no manners. Please raise her well. For your reference, we dwarves raise children by hitting them in moderation. I am not trying to criticize the elven style of early childhood education, but if she does not listen, knock her on the head like this.”

Jimant said that while raising his tightly clenched fist. Rene and I gave slightly bitter smiles.

I glanced at Luna, who had been punched on the head.

She was not particularly angry. She merely held her head with both hands, kept her mouth tightly shut, and stared down at the floor.

Then she turned around and began walking outside first.

Jimant, who had been watching her, grinned and followed after her, saying something to her, but Luna silently ignored him.

Watching that, I turned my head and looked at Rene.

“Should I go too?”

At my words, Rene smiled gently, then patted my backside, and I looked at her with a somewhat startled expression.

Rene smiled and said,

“It is fine. You must be tired, so stay home.”

After saying that, she came closer, gave me a light kiss, smiled brightly, and walked outside.

I watched her back, then followed them out and saw them off.

“Please take care!”

“Yes. Take care of yourself.”

Jimant crossed the yard and headed into the forest, escorted on both sides by lovely elven young ladies.

I watched their backs with a relaxed expression.

But Rene, who had been walking ahead, stopped in place, turned around, and spoke in a slightly loud voice.

“Haan, I am sorry. I forgot to wash the dishes. Please take care of them before I come back.”

Feeling my legs suddenly go weak, I waved my hand at her.

Rene gave me a bright smile, then answered something Luna said beside her and disappeared into the forest.

I looked at the forest where they had vanished for a moment, then turned around and went back inside the house.

“It is spacious.”

It was certainly a spacious hall, but being alone made it look even wider.

How strange, being alone in this large house.

I was always with Rene, so being alone made me feel uneasy.

After roughly clearing the table, I went into the kitchen, wiped the trays and dishes clean with dishcloths and the like, then put them aside one by one.

If there had been plenty of water, I would not have needed to do it this way, but because it had not rained much, there was not much water in the water container.

On top of that, thanks to Rene’s active obstruction, I was not allowed to use the bath water for household use like this.

What had she said again? That there at least had to be enough water for bathing? (It was true that the water in the bath was not exactly overflowing.)

I put the leftover food into a separate container, then took the dishes I had wiped and rinsed them roughly in the tub before taking them out.

Then I shook the water from all the dishes I had taken out, arranged them neatly, and put them into the cupboard. I also poured the food scraps at the place where the rosebush was and disposed of them.

After that, I took a dishcloth out to the hall and wiped the five tables, and before I knew it, an hour had passed.

Mm, time really does fly.

I pulled out a chair at one table, sat down, and leisurely drew in a deep breath.

“Haa!”

How peaceful.

I stood up again, took the dishcloth back to the kitchen, then went up to the second floor.

Should I take a nap?

I entered the room, kicked off my slippers without even changing my clothes, and collapsed straight onto the bed.

Feeling the softness of the sheets, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

I would have had nothing more to wish for if Rene had been beside me, but she was not here now.

I was tired.

Just as I was about to fall asleep, I opened my eyes at a strange sensation and hurriedly sat up properly on the bed.

It felt as though something inside my chest had made a heavy clunk.

Ugh! Damn it!

I drew in a slightly deeper breath and began enduring the oppressive sensation in my chest.

Cold sweat ran down my forehead and dripped from my chin.

“Haa, haa! Uuugh!”

I clenched my teeth.

I clutched my chest with both hands, slowly bent my upper body, curled in on myself, pressed my forehead against the sheets, and gasped for breath.

Krrgh! Is this a seizure?

I knew it would come, but having it arrive like this was not exactly welcome.

“Hah?!”

After my chest, my back now began to hurt.

It felt as though the skin on my back was being torn apart.

It must have been because I had ignored the old woman’s warning and used my strength recklessly, causing the wall to collapse.

I despaired.

Damn it! I have to keep holding her.

Warmly, so she will not be soaked by the rain of loneliness, for the woman who protected me from them even after being abandoned by her clan.

“I, I… I. I… Krrgh?!”

A terrible pain surged up from my chest.

It hurt.

Even for me, who was used to pain, this sort of pain was truly hateful.

Mental anguish built upon physical agony.

But I could not collapse here.

Endure it. I have to endure it.

At that moment, warm liquid flowed down the back of my neck.

I raised my dimming eyes and looked at the liquid soaking into the sheets.

It was blood.

Blood was flowing from the tattoo carved into my back.

The red liquid seeped out, soaking my shirt, then ran down my shoulders and the nape of my neck, gradually dyeing the white sheets red.

Ha, haha… Damn. Rene will hate this if she sees it.