108 – Even the Comedic Residents Have Weaknesses.
As the sun set and darkness settled in Cardisian,
The shops that had been closed during the day to start their night businesses began to open one by one. Stores that sold different things during the day and night changed their signs and brought their daytime merchandise inside.
On the streets, there were demons with bodies no different from monsters, wizards with robes pressed deep, adventurers, and mercenaries wandering about.
Since most of the shops had just started to open, the streets were not bustling.
Among those who were busy walking to their destinations, a group of about ten people, their robes tightly pressed, hurried their steps.
No one paid attention to the group because it was common for mercenaries or black wizards accompanied by slaves to form such groups.
“…”
Leading the group, Lily kept her lips tightly closed and urged them on.
Tonight, some of Nest’s executives and members would leave Cardisian.
***
Nest had destroyed or absorbed various organizations, big and small, in Cardisian. At this point, it was safe to say that Cardisian was Nest’s territory without any doubt.
All the secluded paths and hidden information within Cardisian were in Nest’s hands. Thanks to that, about a hundred members of the organization were able to leave Cardisian without any trouble.
Noah, in his pressed robe, casually scanned the gathered members and counted their numbers. He confirmed with his own eyes that not a single person was missing, but he still couldn’t be sure if there were any mistakes, so he asked Nero, who had come closer.
“Did we make sure no one’s missing?”
“Yeah, I checked three times, so we can just go like this.”
“Good. Then let’s depart right away.”
As soon as Noah finished speaking, the crowd of about a hundred people began to move in a frightening manner. At first, it seemed like they were all moving together, but as time passed, the crowd split up.
The group of about a hundred people was divided into ten groups. They started walking with a long distance between each other, as if they were not companions.
If the group was too large, it could be risky to handle accidents. So, Noah divided the group into ten and assigned two or more executives to each group.
“Lian, if you’re having a hard time in the middle, don’t hesitate to speak up.”
Lian was at the very back of the group with Noah. It was the most dangerous group, as they had just left Cardassian.
Noah, who thought of Lian as fragile as glass, insisted on putting her in the most dangerous group because of Lily’s argument.
“Lily should be by my side to protect me!”
Lily’s voice, who demanded that nowhere was safe without being by Noah’s side, echoed loudly in Noah’s ears.
Noah didn’t want to feel helpless again, so he agreed with Lily’s opinion.
“Uh, yeah. If it gets tough, I’ll let you know.”
…
Noah tightly pressed his lips together, watching Lian’s answer with his gaze fixed on something unrelated.
“Why… do you keep avoiding me?”
Since the day Lian had fainted and vomited blood several times, she had subtly distanced herself from Noah.
They didn’t avoid conversations, but Lian couldn’t meet Noah’s gaze or touch him without flinching, as if she would be burned.
“Of course… it was uncomfortable hiding my gender.”
Noah, who was subtly hurt by Lian’s avoidance, had a gloomy expression. Lian glanced at Noah and took out a candy from her bag, handing it to him.
“Well, if you’re not feeling well, at least have this, Noah.”
…
In Noah’s confused mind, Lian’s consideration was interpreted in a different way.
“Lian is kind… she takes care of me even if I don’t like it.”
While Noah was struggling in his mind, Lian swallowed her dry saliva and stared at the dirt road, desperately trying to push away the thoughts.
“Ugh… please… stop… stop thinking about it!”
As someone who had no experience with women and was hindered by the comedy filter, that scene was too stimulating for Lian, a man recognized by the unicorn.
Moreover, that “scene” was a great shock to Lian, who had only thought of Noah as a same-s*x friend. Because of that, the scene kept coming to Lian’s mind and tormented him.
Lian secretly glanced at Noah and let out a small groan inside.
“Ugh… How could I have not noticed something so obvious?”
Even though Noah maintained a masculine appearance by using magic tools, she still exuded a subtle femininity countless times.
She would habitually act as if supporting her chest, and unconsciously tilt her head with a cute expression.
While the former may serve as evidence, the latter opinion was tainted with Lian’s bias. However, Lian didn’t notice it.
Lian, who was grumbling inwardly, soon thought seriously.
“No matter if Noah is a girl or a boy, the fact that we are friends remains the same. So let’s just focus on the fact that Noah is a girl.”
…Every time he muttered that to himself, mini-Lians in his mind would appear from somewhere, holding up signs that said, “How can friends exist between opposite s*xes!”
No matter how hard he tried not to, the moment Lian started thinking of Noah as a “pretty and cute girl,” all his efforts became in vain.
The journey continued in a strangely uncomfortable atmosphere.
***
Contrary to the worries before setting off, the journey was smoother than expected. Although there were cases of monster or thief attacks in between, they were dealt with by the higher-ups.
When night fell, as it became much more dangerous, the group would settle in a spacious clearing once everyone had fallen asleep.
The busiest ones at this time were the higher-ups. They had to check if anyone was injured or sick, and if anyone had left the group, and report to Lily.
Noah, including Lian and the rest of the group, was leading the group, so as soon as they settled in the open space, she checked the condition of the group.
Not long after, a large bonfire was created in the middle of the clearing. They took out a huge pot from their dimensional bag and poured water into it, starting to make soup.
Since meals were held in the morning and evening, before going to sleep and after waking up, about 100 people had to eat together.
There was a lot of food, so the portions were also substantial. When the savory aroma tickled his nostrils, Lian swallowed his saliva continuously.
*Rumble!*
The stomach, which had smelled the food, twisted in anticipation and shouted for the rice to be served quickly. A long line formed in front of the pot. A steaming soup filled the wooden bowls.
From Noble mtl dot com
Plenty of freshly hunted meat was added, along with some leftovers.
“I should hurry and get in line too.”
Just as Lian was about to head to the end of the line, Noah approached him with soup bowls in both hands.
“Noah, do you want two bowls?”
Lian’s eyes widened in surprise.
Since food was limited, it was necessary to divide it as fairly as possible to sustain the supplies.
Noah, who seemed to not even realize that fact, emphasized it by taking advantage of his authority and receiving two bowls of soup. Lian was taken aback.
Noah handed the soup to Lian and said, “This is for you too. Let’s eat together.”
“Ah, yeah.”
When Noah smiled brightly, Lian nodded his head like a person possessed by a fairy and followed Noah.
…
Iris, who was part of another group, squinted her eyes and watched Lian and Noah, but she didn’t take any further action.
Meals had to be eaten in groups to prepare for sudden attacks. Iris ate the soup with a rough expression.
At that moment, Lian and Noah sat down where their group gathered. Since the others were still in line, there were only Lian and Noah.
There was no need to start eating together, so Lian and Noah immediately began their meal. They drank the soup as if tilting a cup.
When a large piece of meat entered their mouths, they couldn’t help but laugh. When Lian had emptied about half of the soup in an instant, Noah cautiously spoke.
“Lian.”
“Yeah? *gulp* What is it?”
Thanks to the warm soup, which seemed to melt pleasantly in her body, Ri-an’s voice, which would have been stiff and rigid under normal circumstances, flowed smoothly.
Relieved by Ri-an’s voice, Noah looked down at the soup bowl with about three minutes left and spoke.
“.. You’ve been walking all day today. It must have been tiring.”
“Hmm, even younger kids than me are walking without complaining. So why would I be tired?”
“Well..”
Noah thought.
“What does it matter if someone else isn’t tired and you are?”
Human suffering is relative. What may be terrible pain to someone could be nothing to others.
That’s why humans need to set their own standards. That’s how they can properly take care of themselves.
Of course, Ri-an’s attitude is not necessarily bad. To live in society, one must be aware of others’ opinions and be willing to compromise.
But you can’t always just say that everything is okay. No matter how old you are or how much experience you have, eventually you’ll get tired.
That’s why Noah felt bitter about Ri-an’s words. He wanted to spit out the words swirling in his mouth right away, but he managed to swallow them deep inside his throat.
“That’s good to hear. If you ever get tired, just let me know. Oh, and if you run out of soup, do you want to eat mine?”
Noah, who had been looking into Ri-an’s eyes, smiled and, feeling relieved, extended his soup bowl towards Ri-an, who was now looking at his empty bowl.
It was really just a thoughtless remark.
“Uh..?”
To Ri-an, it sounded like a shocking confession.
“T-that, that indirect ki-, ki-, kiss…”
Ri-an’s pupils shook as if an earthquake had occurred, then quickly dropped to the ground.
“It’s okay! I’ll, uh! Yeah, the bowl! I’ll return the empty bowl and come back!”
“Huh?”
Noah, who was left alone, ate the remaining soup with a gloomy face not long after.