Chapter 83

Chapter 83. The Old Woman in the Tower (8)

Following Brandy’s guidance, we stopped by the market and bought the food supplies we needed.

We bought a sack of flour, a large amount of vegetables, a container of milk, and some freshly baked bread from the bakery.

We still had plenty of dried meat and ham, but we did not eat those very often.

After putting the things we had bought at the market into the bag, we were leisurely walking along the main road under Brandy’s guidance.

“Is it good?”

“Yes. Do you want one too?”

“Ahh, I am fine.”

Remembering how Brandy and I had run around in surprise, searching everywhere for Luna when she had suddenly disappeared at the market, I gave a small laugh.

A candy shop, of all things.

With her cheeks puffed full, Luna was walking beside Rene with her usual expressionless face looking just a little pleased. (If one looked very closely, there was something like a faint smile on her face.)

And when I turned my gaze to Rene, I could tell that she was walking with the same smile as Luna.

Let us not mention that her cheeks were slightly puffed out as well.

“It seems you like sweet things.”

“Ahh.”

Just as Brandy said, elves liked sweet things.

When we went to Alcantria, Rene even had a candy shop she frequented.

On top of that, when she read books at home, she always placed a few pieces of candy on the table and enjoyed her reading that way.

Considering how much she liked sweet things, it was amazing that her teeth did not go bad.

Under Brandy’s guidance, we returned to the shop while drawing gazes from those around us.

Everyone passing by turned to look at us at least once.

If I had to explain why, in the case of women, it was because of me or the sight of my family. In the case of men, it was thanks to Rene or Luna.

Both of them were beautiful, after all.

And as the one walking beside them, I was always showered with a certain kind of gaze.

To ignore their stares, I turned my head and looked around at the village.

Since I had once spent a winter here during my travels, there were quite a few things that looked familiar to me.

First of all, this place had none of the streetlights one would find in most cities. Instead, many street trees had been planted.

The main road was still as narrow as before, to the point where three carriages standing side by side would fit just right, but perhaps because of that, it felt more like a place where people truly lived.

If I had visited this place first before stopping by Alcantria after deciding to settle down, it might have been nice, but I had no regrets.

Because thanks to that, we ended up living in the Forsaken Forest.

“We are here.”

Before I knew it, we had arrived at the shop.

Come to think of it, I still did not know the shop’s name.

Let me see. The signboard of the slightly shabby-looking shop had this name written on it.

Lu Kabadi Jin Lillior.

I ended up reading it aloud without thinking.

Rene, who was standing beside me, looked at me for a moment, then lifted her head and shifted her gaze to the signboard.

It was Elvish, was it not?

I looked with interest at Brandy standing in front of us. Brandy, who had been looking at me with a slightly surprised face, smiled brightly and said,

“Oh? You can read that?”

“Ahh. I can read a little. It seems there is some story behind it. Could you tell me?”

At that, Brandy suddenly grinned and smoothly told us the story behind the shop’s name.

“They say it was before I was born. An elf once got snowed in here and stayed for a while. Back then, our place still did not have a name, so that person gave it this name.”

“A small village where snow falls? It must snow quite a lot here.”

“Yes. They say it snows a great deal. I heard that when it snows heavily, it sometimes gets buried up to the second floor.”

Rene and Luna passed by Brandy and slowly walked toward the shop while exchanging such idle conversation.

Brandy, who could not possibly know that the two women were elves, looked at their backs with a somewhat pitiful expression.

I walked over beside him, looked up at the shop sign together with him, and grinned.

“An elf named it?”

“Yes. Maybe that is why adventurers often stop by.”

I showed him a bright smile, then slowly moved my feet.

Then I rummaged through my pocket, took out a silver coin, and flicked it to him.

“That is your fee for guiding us.”

“Thank you, mister.”

Brandy caught it with practiced skill and bowed his head.

He immediately ran down the path beside the pub, and I watched him for a moment before giving a small laugh and looking up at the shop’s signboard.

Was it a coincidence?

Lowering my head again, I leisurely stepped inside.

The inn was as quiet as it had been earlier.

The only difference was that the young women from before and the men who had been playing cards at the other table were gone. They had probably gone outside or upstairs.

“Take this.”

“Ah? Mm.”

I accepted the backpack she held out.

Holding her own luggage in one hand, Rene greeted Brangdi, who was pouring wine for a hooded man on the other side with a smile.

“Take care, Brangdi. Ah, your parents are well, are they not?”

At that, Brangdi nodded with a kind smile, a wine bottle in one hand.

“Yes, both of them are well. They are in the kitchen right now….”

But she could not continue.

Because after hearing her words, Rene left first.

And after giving a slight smile, I went outside as well. Luna slowly followed us with a piece of candy in her mouth.

When we went outside, Brandy was standing there with the horses ready.

He was stroking Race’s neck with a bright smile, so he probably liked him.

When we came out, Brandy led the horses over to us.

Rene gave him a faint smile and loaded the luggage onto the saddle.

Then she helped Luna, who was standing beside her, climb onto the horse before mounting as well.

I also loaded the luggage, took the reins Brandy held out, and climbed onto the horse.

“Take care.”

“Yes, have a safe trip.”

Brandy said that with a smile, waving his hand.

We looked at his innocent smile for a moment, then started the horses.

At that moment, Luna, who was sitting behind Rene, took her hand out of her pocket and threw something to him. Brandy caught it, again with practiced skill.

“Try it. It tastes good.”

“Ah, th-thank you!”

Brandy bowed at a ninety-degree angle.

Watching that, Luna rested her forehead against Rene’s back and giggled.

“You should not toy with other people’s feelings.”

“But it is fun.”

At Luna’s giggling words, I gave a bitter smile, and Rene smiled gently.

Rene had turned her head and was looking at Brandy and the pub, with a small smile hanging on her lips.

Seeing her smile, I smiled gently as well, then turned my head forward and opened my mouth.

“Was it a coincidence?”

“Who knows?”

Rene smiled brightly and urged her horse forward, riding ahead of me.

I shook my head for a moment with a smile, then realized that the distance between us had grown rather large and hurriedly followed after her.

Like that, we left the main road at a fast pace and, at the village entrance, received an enthusiastic farewell from the guards who had been handed candy by Luna, before leaving the small village where snow fell.

Before long, dusk fell, and we chose a place to camp early.

And there, Rene began tormenting Luna because she said simply traveling was boring.

“That is not how you do it. Stretch your leg out a little farther. Like this.”

SWISH! WHACK!

Rene twisted her upper body and waist as she stretched out her long leg.

I had been lost in the delusion that her legs were truly beautiful, but the sound of another sharp impact made me turn my gaze toward Luna.

Luna furrowed her brow and kicked the air with her foot in the same posture Rene had shown her.

WHAP!

Rene, who had been watching from the side, smiled gently and nodded.

“Yes. That is how you do it. Repeat it one hundred times.”

Luna furrowed her brow at her words, but without saying anything, she closed her mouth tightly and carefully expressed the movement with her body, one motion at a time.

After watching her for a moment from beside her, Rene came over and sat near me.

“One hundred times? Is that not a little too much?”

“No. That is just a figure of speech. Doing one hundred is only the stated policy on the surface, and whether she actually finishes them or not is something she must judge for herself. By the way, Han? How is the camp preparation coming along?”

At her words, I gave a bitter smile and rose from my seat.

I had prepared everything else for now, but I had not brought firewood to light the fire in the evening.

Rene seemed to know that too, because she did not say anything else and began taking a book out of her bag.

Luna continued kicking the air while counting aloud.

If she practiced the same motion more than fifty times, she would get dizzy. I wondered if she would be all right.

After looking at them, I moved toward the forest.

Since Rene was teaching Luna how to fight, the camp preparations had been pushed onto me.

Though she had said she would make dinner.

I walked around the area and gathered firewood. Fortunately, there was a dead fallen tree not far away, so I brushed aside the branches and moved toward it.

The place we were at now was a flat area halfway up the mountain.

Rene had found a road used by dwarves and hobbits and guided us along it. Their road was narrow, but it was well paved, making it easy to travel, and it was large enough for horses to pass.

The only problem was that it was so well hidden that it was difficult to find.

Rene had looked at the shapes of the nearby trees and the mountain, then quickly found the path and guided us.

Luna had asked about it out of curiosity, but Rene did not teach her anything about that.

She only said,

“There is an order to everything.”

“Hup!”

BAM! CRACK?!

Perhaps because the inside had rotted a little, it broke apart easily.

I struck the tree with a little less force than before, splitting it into pieces that would be easy to burn.

Then I gathered them against my chest and headed toward where the others were.

When I pushed through the bushes and reached the clearing we had chosen as tonight’s campsite, Luna was gritting her teeth and kicking the air.

I set down the wood I had brought in my arms to one side, crossed my arms, and began watching her for a moment.

Rene, who had been leisurely reading a book, looked at me, then turned her head toward Luna.

She lowered the book, rose from her seat, and opened her mouth.

“How many have you done now?”

“Fifty!”

“That is enough. If you do not want to doze off on the horse tomorrow and fall, stop there and look this way.”

Luna turned her head toward Rene while panting, and Rene smiled brightly before opening her mouth again.

“Watch carefully. This is good to know. Han? Could you come here?”

“Ah!”

I rose from my seat and walked in front of her.

“Place your hand on my head.”

“Like this?”

I raised my arm to place my hand on Rene’s head as she instructed.

Then Rene’s arm came toward me at tremendous speed.

“Ugh?!”

“Did you see that? In battle, if your opponent’s arm comes up over your head, do this. If your hair is grabbed, it puts you at a disadvantage in many ways.”

Rene grabbed my arm, twisted it, bent it, and pressed it down with her body.

Then, to Luna, who was sitting on the ground with sparkling eyes and nodding, she kindly explained even how to break the opponent’s arm joint from that position.

Ugh! My arm!

It seemed this trip was going to be rather difficult.

“Dear, is your arm all right?”

“Yes. It is all right. But how much do you plan to teach Luna?”

At that, Rene looked at Luna, who had fallen asleep immediately after dinner because she was exhausted from practice, and smiled brightly.

“Until we have our own child, I will teach her everything I know.”

“Is… that so?”

“Do not smile like that. I still have not given up hope. I will definitely have your child.”

Rene said that and leaned her head against my arm. I looked down at her head with a faint smile.

I stretched the arm wrapped in the blanket to the side and gently embraced her shoulders. As if she had been waiting for it, Rene raised her head and lifted both arms to embrace my neck and head.

While calming my pounding heart at the sight of her, I slipped a hand beneath her legs.

Then I lifted her from where she had been sitting on the tree stump and seated her on my lap.

Now Rene was sitting on my legs, looking down at me. She seemed a little flustered by my action, but soon she began looking at me with a small smile on her face.

I held her slender waist, looked up at her, and gave her a bright smile. Then I lowered my head and pressed my ear to her chest.

Along with the sound of her breathing in slowly, I could hear the beating of Rene’s heart.

Just as I thought the heart that had been beating slowly had suddenly begun beating faster, white hands rose, pressed against both of my cheeks, and lifted my head.

I could see her with her eyes closed, her slightly parted lips pressed against mine.

After a long time passed, when the corners of our mouths had grown glossy with saliva and something inside my chest twitched, I could no longer endure it and brought my hand toward her chest.

And that was when it happened.

“Kyaaaah! What are you doing?! Get away from me!”