escaping the dark
Only awkward silence lingered between Hyeonjun and Shosanna as they walked along the road. This is because Hyeon-jun could not fathom Shosanna’s confused mind because she had not yet been freed from the remnants of the past, and Shosanna was frightened by the rapidly changing situation and Hyeon-jun, who seemed like a different person.
Their first conversation took place 30 minutes after moving about Vance and Yetir.
“Sorry, I was a bit nervous and was hasty.”
“no it’s okay.”
Hyeon-jun did not speak coldly like when he ran away from the forest. However, he wasn’t the jovial F-class adventurer Jun who laughed well, joked around, and cursed occasionally that Shosanna knew. Hyeonjun spoke softly to Shosanna in a calm, low voice.
“If I had realized sooner, I would have run away with the money this morning.”
“Isn’t that unavoidable?”
“No, I…”
Hyeon-joon struggled to choose his words, but gave up because he felt it would make him look bad for Shosanna. In this situation, if you talk about your own incompetence, you treat Vance, Yetir, and even Shosanna as idiots who can’t even think of it. It was proof that he had recovered to the point where he could barely see other people’s villages.
“Yeah, now I can’t help it.”
Again, the conversation was cut off, and only the sound of them walking could be heard.
“So what was that?”
“Like what?”
“You looked really good earlier. I talked casually with Vance, who was said to be an aristocrat. Are you a noble, too, yo?”
Hyunjoon laughed. It was funny how Shosanna spoke cautiously, but it was also because it was regrettable that Barnes, who had just been playing around with him, was being treated with respect when he learned that he was a nobleman. Hyeon-jun, who lived in modern times, understood the treatment of nobles, but could not sympathize with them.
“No, I’m not even from the southern kingdom in the first place. look.”
The atmosphere softened a little and Hyeonjun playfully showed his face. Her skin became soft overnight, but her skin color did not change. Seeing his slightly yellowish skin and exotic appearance, Shosanna nodded.
“I am also just a commoner. They were even brought here and served as slaves for a month.”
“what?”
Shosanna exclaimed in amazement. Slavery is prohibited by law. In addition to the law, there was also a strong influence exercised by the temple. To enslave someone is an unavoidable felony, and if you’re lucky, your property will be confiscated and you’ll rot in prison for the rest of your life. Usually confiscation of property and the death penalty. A fairy tale is more precious than a prisoner’s life.
“Still, it came off well. So you don’t have to be so cautious.”
“OK got it.”
Shosanna blurted out. Hyeonjun also knew very well that it would be difficult for Shosanna to treat him like before. But I had to say that.
“What did you do before that makes your head spin like that?”
“Before, I did a lot of work, and I studied a little before that.”
“study? what study?”
There is no public education in this savage world. For a commoner, learning is all about learning how to make a living from parents or teachers.
“It’s just, academics and stuff like that.”
“oh my god! Were you a scholar?”
“Well, you can see it that way. But now it’s all useless. What good will learning do to kill a goblin other than beating it with a thick book?”
Shosanna gave a small chuckle. The atmosphere relaxed a lot, and Hyeon-jun regained the time to joke again.
“You were a scholar, so that’s why you fought with Barnes by saying such difficult things?”
Hyeonjun laughed bitterly at Shosanna’s words. fought… they didn’t fight It was just mixed up.
“Then, is that why you were so cold earlier? Originally, scholars say that they behave calmly, perhaps because they are smart.”
Shosanna spat out nonsense, as if her head had not been able to recover from the shock yet.
“Sorry, I used to be sensitive when I was studying because it was so difficult.”
Hyeonjun passed the nonsense gently. In fact, it was a manifestation of Hyun-joon’s trauma, who once closed his mind due to a traumatic event he experienced as a child. These are the sad wounds of Hyeon-jun, who was still young, who overcame with his father’s love and the friendship of his friends.
The two of them walked away, chatting little by little. Shosanna also brought up stories from the past bit by bit. Because he was relying on Hyeon-jun without realizing it, he said his heart.
“My father is a farmer. Grandpa and Grandpa’s father. i hated that Oh, it’s not that I hate farmers, it’s just… I also want to get married to another farmer and have a farmer son and a farmer daughter.”
In this world, it is natural to inherit your parent’s job. A young child who has escaped from the arms of his parents and has not grabbed even a penny of fairy tales is just a good prey to eat. No human being is kind to other people’s children. It is the same even in modern times where morality is important. There are many people who try to wink at employees and spit out double curses.
“So you decided to become an adventurer? Didn’t your parents object?”
Shosanna felt awkward with Hyeonjun’s soft tone. Doesn’t it sound like you’re talking to a child somewhere?
“I ran away with my emergency money in the middle of the night. Still, he left a letter.”
At Shosanna’s words, the two looked at each other and giggled.
“Without fear. It’s good to be alive and not dead.”
“I was lucky. I met my father’s friend and got some help.”
After walking for a while, I sat down on the side of the road and ate a simple meal with the things I brought. Shosanna only had a loaf of bread and beef jerky, so Hyeon-jun cut the sausage and gave it to her. If you were planning on killing the goblins and returning to Bimarn, you could eat it simply, but for now, it’s better to eat well. It was also for Shosanna’s shaky spirit. It is human beings who can cheer up just by eating a full meal when they are having a hard time. Shosanna also ate without saying anything to see if Hyeon-jun felt comfortable again.
“hahahaha, I want to sleep.”
Shosanna muttered. She was almost asleep. It’s because of the tension that has been released and the fatigue that has been built up.
“If you want to camp naked here, I won’t stop you.”
“No, that’s just what they say.”
Shosanna struggled to come to her senses and stood up. If you camp out with no flint and no sleeping bag, your neck might turn around the next day. In addition, the threat of monsters and beasts is great.
While walking and talking again, Hyeonjun suddenly raised his hand.
“what?”
“It’s a goblin. Has it spread to places like this?”
“what!”
Shocked, Shosanna shouted and covered her mouth. Then, trembling with fear, he looked left and right.
“are you okay. there are only three There are no other guys.”
Hyeonjun pointed to the bushes beside the road and said. But Shosanna saw nothing, heard nothing. However, because Shosanna trusted Hyeon-jun, she did not doubt the existence of goblins. It was because he trusted Hyeon-jun that he ran away all the way here.
“Let’s get rid of it at once and go.”
Hyeonjun unfastened the shield he had hung on his back, put it on, and drew out his sword. Shosanna also took up a shield and an axe. As soon as she armed herself, the image of the foolish country girl disappeared and a warrior stood there.
The two strode towards the goblin. It’s hard to be nervous with three goblins. As they got closer, they heard an unpleasant squeak, and the goblins rushed out.
From noble mtl dot com
“Queek!”
One even tripped and fell. They are sick people who are not good at ambush. While fighting in the forest, there were evil and thugs, as well as cunning goblins.
“Keee!”
Hyeonjun struck the goblin with his shield. That was it. At just the right moment and at the right angle, the shield hit the goblin in the chin, spinning his head and breaking his neck, killing him instantly. Shosanna cut off the head of another goblin with an axe. In the meantime, Hyeonjun walked up to a goblin who was about to get up and kicked him. In one blow, the skull cracked and the neck was broken.
When you watch movies or dramas, even after getting beaten up all day, they jump up and fight, but if you go straight into a soccer kick, even athletes crawl on the floor shaking their legs. It’s even more strange that Hyeon-jun, whose body has been strengthened, threw it at a goblin, who was weak enough to be kicked out of the group.
“wow···.”
Hyeonjun looked back at Shosanna’s admiration. Shosanna broke the goblin’s head with an axe, so blood and brains splattered a little, but Hyeon-jun killed the two goblins cleanly without spilling a single drop of blood.
“No, nothing.”
Shosanna struggled to clean the axe. My self-confidence dropped a little, but my hand to clean the ax had no strength. Hyunjoon waited for her without saying anything. Any consolation or encouragement from him here would hurt Shosanna.
After Shosanna habitually cut off her goblin ears, the two hit the road again. Fortunately, we were able to reach the next village before sunset. The name of the village is Forest Road Village. There is no surname, but all village names are like this.
Seeing the two armed men, the guard, who hadn’t taken off his boyish identity yet, behaved harshly, but the senior-looking, wrinkled guard slapped him in the back of the head and shut his mouth and became quiet.
“Are you from Bimarn?”
“yes. I went to Bimarun to get some money, but tomorrow the lord said the army would subdue the goblins. What is it? That’s why I came out without seeing the goblin head, let alone money.”
The guards giggled at Hyeon-jun’s sly words as he handed over his ID.
“Even before you came, there were a lot of new adventurers. Anyway, come on. As long as you don’t have an accident, get some rest.”
“Is there an inn?”
“If you go in and walk a little, there is a signboard with an apple on it.”
“Thank you.”
Hyeonjun and Shosanna greeted the guards and went straight inside. As the guard said, there was an inn with an apology sign hanging on it. There are quite a few people who want to have a beer even though the sun hasn’t even set.
“How much until tomorrow morning?”
“Six fairy tales.”
That’s an unbelievable price. Six fairy tales for one night at this shabby inn! If it’s non-skinny, it’s an inn worth 4 fairy tales. However, Hyeon-jun paid Donghwa with a nonchalant face. Partly because he checked Shosanna’s expression, and because he knew that inns in such small towns were expensive, thanks to his experience in the city where he lived as a slave.
“What is the food?”
“It’s stew and bread. Don’t worry, the meat is also included.”
As soon as the innkeeper confirmed the fairy tale, he suddenly acted friendly and said, Hyeonjun took Shosanna and entered the room. A man and a woman share a room, but there was no tension. It was because Hyeon-jun had no idea what to do with Shosanna in the first place, and Shosanna considered Hyeon-jun a reliable colleague.
“If you go to the next village, there is a friend of your father. We can take a day off there.”
“How long will it take?”
“If you take a carriage, you can leave in the morning and go before sunset…”
“How much is the wagon?”
“That’s the wagon owner’s heart. But since it’s usually 3 fairy tales per person, there should be no problem.”
“this.”
“why?”
“There are only six left.”
“what? There are seven left.”
“No, I gave one to the guard at the entrance.”
“What, when did you give it to me?”
“I gave it to you when you gave me your ID.”
Shosanna hit her forehead. But he didn’t say anything. It was because he knew very well that if he hadn’t handed the fairy tale, the guards would have procrastinated and caught him. Somehow they sent it right away. Until I told you about the inn.
“I’m not going to skip one meal for lunch tomorrow.”
I had to buy a little bit of food with the remaining fairy tale in the carriage, but it was wrong. Shosanna pondered over Hyeonjun’s sly words before speaking.
“Let’s take the request.”
“request?”
“Yes, I am being asked to escort a wagon to the village by the river.”
The next village seems to be the village next to the river.
“Should I give an F-class a wagon escort request?”
“It’s only the guys who live in the city who are classy. In a small town like this, as long as your skills look good, you can use them all.”
“Um, good. Let’s have dinner and look for it.”
The two left the room and went down to the pub on the first floor. He took off his helmet and left his shield behind, but he took Gambison and his weapon. Because it is not a safe city, and because they are strangers here.
As the innkeeper said, the meal was quite good. The stew had a strong flour taste, but there was meat and it was filling. After eating, I went straight to the innkeeper.