LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 115
Da-eun looked around.
“Wow….”
The guest room that Justina provided for Da-eun was rather spacious.
The wooden bed’s headboard shone with a sparkle.
As Da-eun touched it, she could feel the smooth texture of the wood.
‘Is this what they call a patina?’
Thoughtful Da-eun stroked the headboard.
Anything used for a long time would wear, right? But it felt like wooden furniture, in particular, would show wear more easily.
The glimmering, faded bed she was touching was evidence that it had been touched by many hands and has endured many years.
For someone who values cleanliness or prefers new things, this might send them running, screaming.
But at least Da-eun was not that kind of person.
When it came to likes and dislikes, she actually felt more at home with this kind of furniture.
“There’s romance in it. It has a quaint vibe.”
Sitting in a weathered rocking chair in a countryside house with a yard, looking outside.
The short grass sways in the breeze, and the occasional chirping of birds gently soothes her desolate heart like a sprinkle of raindrops.
– Da-eun wished for such a peaceful life.
If you asked people on the streets of Korea, “What kind of house would you like to live in?” maybe five out of ten would answer similarly to Da-eun.
For those accustomed to living in apartments, the life depicted in the movies, dramas, and cartoons they’d watched since childhood featuring countryside houses was enough for them to consider it an ideal.
According to those who have lived in them, managing facilities including yards is tough, and if you’re scared of bugs, it’s a no-go.
Yet still, countryside houses remained the ideal for many.
Although the room Da-eun was in wasn’t exactly a countryside house, the traces of time embedded in the furniture and all around the room were perfect for her taste.
While there wasn’t any flashy elegance, it was a room made with care for the guests who stayed here.
“Look at this.”
Da-eun ran her finger across the furniture.
With a swoosh, her finger appeared to glow white without a speck of dust on it.
“You’d think if they knew no guests were coming, they’d leave it be, but seeing it this clean means it must have been maintained regularly.”
Could it be a belief that one day they would return to their normal lives?
While Da-eun was exploring the room, chatting with the audience, there was a tap tap.
“Yes! Just a moment!”
Bang!
As Da-eun opened the door to the knock, a taciturn-looking man greeted her.
“…I heard you wanted a tour of the village.”
“Oh, that’s right! Are you…?”
“….”
The man silently nodded.
‘This guy’s a man of few words, huh?’
In just a moment of conversation, Da-eun could easily guess his personality.
But being quiet didn’t mean being rude.
Even though it must be strange for a long time, if not for the first time, to see a human, the man showed no signs of awkwardness or questions.
He merely did his job, as if that’s all there was to it.
“Are we leaving now?”
“You can do it whenever you prefer.”
“R-Right then. I’ll head out now.”
Still, this is a bit uncomfortable…
Da-eun’s personality indeed leaned toward preferring talkative people over quiet ones, so she subtly gauged the man’s mood.
Why didn’t she feel this way when she became friends with Kana?
‘What’s the difference between getting close to a child and getting close to an adult?’
No matter how grown-up she pretended to be, there was no mistaking Kan’s childishness.
And with differing genders and no common ground, she had to approach cautiously.
Following the man, Da-eun stepped out of the room and knocked on the rooms of her companions.
“Selin! We’re going to check out the village, want to come?”
“Kana, aren’t you going to check out the village?”
After knocking for a while, a blonde woman opened the door and revealed her presence.
“A village tour?”
“Yes. Villages within the same country have different lifestyles depending on their locations. Since we’ve crossed the sea, the villages we see in the Ardina Continent should be quite different from what we saw before, right? I find such things interesting.”
“I think I understand what you mean. Now that you mention it, I’d be curious too.”
Nodding, Selin joined the group.
Only one person remained now.
The de facto leader of the party, the fighter, the mascot, the de-stresser…
‘Wait, didn’t Kana take on this much responsibility?’
While Da-eun thought of Kana, she tilted her head skeptically.
Moreover, since almost all the travel expenses came from Kana’s wallet, it felt like she’d even taken that role away.
‘If this were a group project, would I even need to submit my name?’
‘Even so, I’m not that bad…’ Da-eun thought, yet couldn’t easily assert herself due to a strange anxiety.
Still, why was she taking so long to show up?
Tap tap.
“Kana~?”
Calling out again with a melodious voice, the pink-haired girl still didn’t appear, nor did any sounds come from beyond the door.
“Why is there no answer?”
“Maybe she’s sleeping?”
Selin suggested to the puzzled Da-eun.
“…Already?”
It felt like she hadn’t even been in there for twenty minutes…?
“Kids tend to sleep a lot.”
“If Kana heard that, she’d hate it.”
“Hehe.”
With a sly smile, Da-eun knocked again.
After a couple more knocks, the door finally cracked open, revealing a peek of pink hair.
“…What?”
“Were you sleeping?”
“Nope.”
No way she wasn’t sleeping when her hair was squished!
Hmm… Should she say it?
As Da-eun stared at the squished pink hair like a cute little animal, she decided to keep quiet.
Because it was cuter that way.
“Oh, really? I’m thinking of going out to tour the village, want to join us?”
“A village tour? No way.”
“Why? You were curious just a bit ago.”
“That was then, and this is now.”
Kana declared sulkily that she had changed her mind.
They say a woman’s heart is as fickle as a reed, right?
Da-eun thought a child’s heart was a whole field of reeds.
Especially a field buffeted by strong winds.
So it was hardly surprising for her heart to change at any moment.
“Hmmm…?”
Seeing Kana’s oddly pouty face, Da-eun thought she wasn’t just being fickle.
“Are you still sulking?”
“….”
Kana’s half-visible face retreated further behind the door.
Now she was peeking at Da-eun with just one eye.
She didn’t say anything, but her actions echoed as a response.
Selin chimed in with a confused voice.
“I told you, that was just for fun…”
This all began with a comment made by Da-eun.
“But Kana, now that you’ve gotten comfortable with that ability, can’t we just speak in Arkish?”
Until now, Da-eun had to act as a translator because they couldn’t communicate.
However, now that Kana had learned a new ability, it should be unnecessary to translate anymore since she could speak directly with Selin.
When talking in Granic, what Kana said would reach Selin, but Da-eun’s words wouldn’t.
While it was possible to understand through the translation process, delays were natural.
Upon hearing Da-eun’s words, Kana’s cheeks puffed up.
“…So you mean it’s a hassle now?”
Even her normally flat tone had a prickly edge.
Feeling this, Da-eun hurriedly opened her mouth to correct her mistake.
“Ah, no! That’s not what I mean…! I just thought Selin seemed a bit left out…”
“….”
Kana’s cheeks were still puffed, so Da-eun desperately tried to soothe her.
By the time they entered the room provided by Justina, she seemed to have calmed down a bit.
Yet, it seemed her sulkiness didn’t fully go away. Still, Da-eun was relieved to understand why she was upset.
In the Holy Kingdom, Da-eun had struggles without knowing why, making it tough for her…
After a rainy day, the ground became hard, and it became an opportunity for her and Kana to become closer, but she still felt anxious remembering that time.
But this time, she knew why Kana was upset and that made her less of a hassle, and even adorable.
“Yippee!”
Da-eun flung open the door and scooped Kana into a tight embrace.
“There’s no way I’d take my eyes off my adorable Kana. You are always my priority, you know! As I said earlier, excluding you isn’t good. You’re too kind to not know that.”
“I told you, quit treating me like a kid!”
“Hmm~? If you keep sulking, what am I supposed to do but treat you like a kid?”
“I’m not sulking. Now put me down.”
If she truly disliked it, she could have used her strength to escape.
She didn’t resist being lifted nor opening the door, yet acted like she didn’t like it.
But if she said that, it was obvious she’d shut the door and retreat, so Da-eun hesitated to talk down to the honest girl and let her go instead.
“…Okay, fine. I was worried about you, anyway.”
“Then why did you- no, never mind.”
She almost blurted out the same mistake again.
Da-eun wiped away her cold sweat.
Fortunately, Kana didn’t notice what Da-eun was about to say.
“Yeah, you’re kind. Thanks for understanding.”
“….”
Kana, who had her usual phrasing stolen, opened her eyes wide in disbelief.
Da-eun disregarded Kana’s sharp gaze nonchalantly and ruffled her hair.
“Alright. Shall we head out now? We’ll miss the day otherwise.”
It was still dark, but it was better than it being completely night, right?
Saying this, Da-eun smiled brightly.
*
“Look over there! A cow!”
Da-eun jumped up and down.
Then suddenly, she stopped and tilted her head.
“…But why does it have eight legs?”
“Did you just notice that?”
She received applause for Da-eun’s remarkably quick reaction.
That wasn’t meant as a compliment, so there was no need for an embarrassed expression.
Letting out a sigh, Da-eun stepped closer.
“It’s a monster.”
At first glance, it looked somewhat like a cow commonly seen in Ardina, but it was actually a monster.
“Raising monsters, huh. That’s something only the Demon Race would think of.”
If Ardina inhabitants tried this, they’d be dragged off to the execution grounds, their heads rolling off immediately.
It would prompt not just negligence towards risks, but also chaos and addiction to mana.
After all, monsters wouldn’t obey humans so docilely, making it an impossibility.
But how they had tamed it was fascinating.
“Are you raising it for food?”
“…Yes.”
“…Ah, okay.”
Excitedly asking the demon about it, Da-eun’s enthusiasm waned with just one response.
‘This is how they’re securing their food?’
Of course, merely raising livestock wouldn’t produce enough food to feed numerous demons.
That might be why fields of crops were visible throughout the village as well.
She had expected something spectacular from the Mad Continent, but raising animals and farming was no different from her life back home.
But then again, they were originally humans known as the Purifier Clan, so perhaps it made sense.
“Kana! Look! A chicken with six legs!”
“…That’s not a chicken, it’s a monster.”
Kana retorted bluntly, although her body was moving toward Da-eun.
How could she resist a six-legged chicken?