Chapter 16
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Clumsy Pursuit
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After finishing our meal, we toured the landmarks of the border city under the guidance of the Eisen Baron.
With about two hours left until the conquest was complete, the baron didn't let the time go to waste.
"Academy life must keep you busy, but you'll pass through this border city on your way home during every break. Let me show you the best spots to rest and unwind in advance."
The Eisen Baron began pointing them out one by one with the tip of his cane.
Yet, hidden throughout were scenes utterly at odds with the rigid military city.
A quaint path lined along an artificial lake park.
Each tree adorned with subtle magic stone lights, giving off a strangely romantic vibe even in broad daylight.
"This is the 'Lovers' Path.' Come evening, the lighting magic stones turn on, creating a wonderful atmosphere. Wouldn't it reignite cooled emotions for a couple walking hand in hand on the way back home after a long time apart?"
"A military city with a soft spot like this? Unexpected."
When I asked in genuine surprise, the Eisen Baron adjusted his glasses, his eyes gleaming.
"Strategic placement."
"Strategy?"
"Soldiers on the border are full of vigor. But the barren environment can dry up their spirits. That's why we created areas like this on purpose."
He stated the terrifying logic as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"If soldiers naturally meet local women, fall in love, and start families, what happens? Their children grow up here and become the 'next generation of soldiers' defending the place, right? It's essentially a facility for securing future troops."
"......"
Kara and I gaped in unison.
I'd thought it was just simple welfare, but beneath it lay ruthless efficiency and calculation.
Kara shook her head with a look of dismay.
"Wow... Baron, you're scarier than I thought. Even romance is calculated?"
"I'll take that as a compliment. Still, we ensure they get standard education in the facilities. Though I can't say what it's like now."
The Eisen Baron smiled nonchalantly.
A chill ran down my spine.
On the surface, a capable and gentlemanly patron.
But beneath lurked the cold nature of an administrator who could exploit anything for the empire's sake.
'The Eisen Baron isn't ordinary. Crossing him would be a headache.'
We resumed walking.
As we strolled through the lively streets, a prickling sensation tugged at my back.
Someone's gaze.
I glanced sideways behind us.
It came from behind the utility pole.
From behind the street tree too.
Even from behind passing pedestrians.
All radiating the same suspicious buzz.
In this border city where snow fell often, a single black-haired head popping out and ducking back stood out starkly.
Naturally, it was Kairun.
The young master's suspicious antics kept the buzzing from dying down.
He'd been tailing us ever since we left the restaurant.
Were his escort knights held back by his stern order of "You're too big and obvious! Stay way back there!"?
They fidgeted anxiously far off, while he alone fumbled through his amateur infiltration act.
'This guy's making it hard to pretend I don't notice.'
I clicked my tongue.
Kara beside me tilted her head.
"Huh? Isn't that the young master over there?"
Even Kara had noticed.
But her interpretation was way off from mine.
"He's still following us. Maybe he's waiting for a chance to return the mask I lent him without awkwardness? Cute."
"......"
The Eisen Baron and I exchanged glances.
'The missus has no clue.'
'Good thing she's oblivious in this area.'
We shared a silent look.
This wasn't about the mask.
It was the classic sticky lingering of a pubescent boy unable to let go of his first love, hovering around a married woman.
Then, Kara casually whipped around.
"Huh? Young Master!"
"......!"
Her eyes locked with Kairun's, who was peeking from behind the utility pole.
Startled, he flailed and bolted.
"Gah!"
Crash!
The spot he dove behind to hide? Right by a newsstand.
It wobbled, spilling magazines and bundled papers everywhere.
"Hey! You guys got too close and almost blew my cover! Go farther back! Hide where you're invisible!"
Just then, the escort knights—who'd edged closer under the pretense of guarding—were getting an earful from behind the stand.
Kara tilted her head again and faced forward.
"Sounds like he tripped... Hope he's okay."
"Leave him. Kid's tough."
I wrapped an arm around Kara's shoulders and quickened our pace.
"Huff... huff..."
Kairun lay buried in the pile of scattered magazines, breathing raggedly.
His heart felt like it would burst.
Almost caught.
No, their eyes met.
He was busted.
When her sapphire eyes turned his way, his mind went blank white.
Even with the escorts dismissed, Kairun tailed Barg's group alone.
One goal.
'A weakness.'
Proof that the hulking man didn't suit Kara.
'He's not my ideal. No way. Just a big, dumb barbarian savage from a foreign tribe. Kara will be disappointed soon enough.'
Kairun desperately denied it, waiting for Barg's mistake.
And the chance came.
Barg, laughing with Kara, caught his foot on a sidewalk curb and stumbled.
"Whoa!"
A perfectly idiotic blunder.
Kairun's eyes lit up.
'Yes! See that? That clumsy move! All bulk, no lower body stability! Not a warrior—just a big, clumsy oaf who can't control his own body!'
The novice cheered inwardly.
A true warrior navigating northern rough terrain wouldn't trip on flat ground.
Proof of lacking basics.
'Kara must have lost all affection seeing that pathetic display!'
But.
"Pfft! Barg, what was that? Legs go soft? Have I been pushing you too hard lately?"
Kara's reaction was the opposite.
She grabbed his arm, bursting into laughter, clearly enjoying the moment.
Far from falling out of love—her gaze dripped honey.
The tiny slip had sparked a smile instead.
"......Huh?"
As Barg grinned sheepishly, Kairun blankly stared at the spot.
One protruding sidewalk block was cracked wide open.
The moment Barg stepped on it, the stone couldn't withstand his insane weight and pressure—it screamed and shattered.
'What... the hell?'
A body where even a mistake became a weapon.
Kairun imagined himself in the same spot.
He'd probably yell at his escorts in pain.
'Damn...'
Then Kara spotted the cracked block, smirked, and whispered in Barg's ear.
"Oh my, my husband's overflowing with power. Too bad we have to stick with the baron until Eisen Guard. That strength needs to go somewhere else."
"Ahem! Ahem! We can hear you, you two."
The Eisen Baron, walking ahead, cleared his throat and interjected.
He feigned propriety but flashed a knowing smile.
"Still... I've arranged the carriage to Eisen Guard for just the two of you to ride cozy. I'm getting on in years and tired—want to travel separately in comfort."
"Oh! As expected of the baron!"
Kara blushed and clung to Barg's arm.
"......"
Kairun watched numbly from his collapsed magazine pile.
Their intimate banter.
The sticky gazes exchanged.
And a perfect world with zero room—not even 1mm—for someone like him.
"......"
Despair crashed over Kairun again.
His ideal didn't crumble.
It loomed as an even larger, more solid wall blocking him.
The boy's first love withered in the shadows, trampled by no one directly.
Time for the appointment came, and our group arrived back at the clothing store Clozer.
The shop was eerily quiet, like the calm before a storm.
The head altar craftsman and staff stood with hollow eyes.
Their fingertips were ragged, dark circles under their eyes.
'Wasn't that late into the night—why the eyes...'
Yet their gazes burned bright.
Like an artist who'd poured his soul into a masterpiece, moments from unveiling it.
"It's complete."
Head craftsman Clozer pulled back the black cloth with trembling hands.
There lay not just clothes.
Something too imposing for attire, too alluring for armor.
I entered the fitting room and changed.
Shedding the shabby hood, I donned the black uniform top of Behemoth Leather.
Shhh.
The instant the leather touched my skin, a shiver ran through—not static, but a tight embrace.
Cool at first, then warming instantly to my body heat.
Like living flesh, it molded naturally along my muscles.
"Hoo..."
I stood before the mirror.
The craftsmen swarmed, slicking back my tousled hair with pomade.
A stranger stared back.
The tight black leather sheathed my massive muscles like armor.
With every move, the Behemoth Leather gleamed faintly red—exuding overwhelming intimidation and sex appeal.
The mere barbarian was gone; the northern overlord stood there.
I drew back the curtain.
Silence blanketed the shop.
"......Whoa."
Kara's face flushed; she couldn't close her mouth.
Her sapphire eyes sparkled, scanning me head to toe.
'My husband... but damn, he's hot.'
Her gaze said it all.
And the Eisen Baron.
He adjusted his glasses, staring intently.
For a moment, memories from twenty years ago overlapped.
Young Gorgon.
That raw wildness and charisma.
'No, more than that.'
Suddenly, a dangerous, buried assumption from long ago flickered through his mind.
'If... I hadn't returned to the empire back then and stayed by that man's side...'
My strategy and his might combined—Gorgon wouldn't be just a frontier chieftain...
But a 'Khan' ruling the entire north?
The shadow of unrealized ambition loomed in the youth before him.
"See? This is the masterpiece of my life!"
Clozer cried tears of joy.
His staff embraced, overcome with emotion.
I rolled my shoulders.
No discomfort at all.
Instead, a springy support aiding my movements.
"I like it."
My grin filled the shop with cheers.
At the same time.
Outside the store, under the cold evening glow.
Kairun watched the spectacle through the window.
'What's everyone so excited about...'
Then he blankly gazed at his reflection in the display glass.
Undeveloped height.
Scrawny shoulders.
A childish face twisted in jealousy, baby fat still clinging.
And beyond, Barg was...
Utterly perfect and radiant.
Overwhelming physique and masculinity.
The very 'completed male' he'd dreamed of.
'I lose. This... isn't even a contest.'
Misery bowed his head.
He couldn't watch anymore.
His idolized ideal stood beside the girl he'd fallen for at first sight.
No space for him in that flawless picture.
'Time to go... it's over.'
Kairun turned, steeped in defeat.
That instant.
His eyes met Barg's, who was checking his fit inside the store.
"......!"
Startled, shame and misery burned Kairun's face.
Run.
Without scanning around, the young master dashed into the street.
"Young Master! Danger!"
Shouts from his distant escorts.
Too late.
Clop-clop!
Neigh!
A massive loaded carriage rounding the corner barreled toward him, brakes failing.
Snow-slick roads; excited horses.
"Young lord!"
When Kairun turned, hooves loomed inches away.
'Ah...'
His mind went white.
Can't dodge.
Dying?
So pointlessly?
Showing only an ugly side to the one he loved.
Couldn't even return the mask.
In that life-or-death moment.
Crash!
A deafening shatter—the store's reinforced glass door exploded.
Glass shards fluttered like snowflakes as a black shadow launched out.
'That idiot!'
No time to think.
Body moved first.
Barg became a Behemoth-leather-clad beast and leaped.
Just before the carriage hit.
Thud!
His iron-hard arm scooped Kairun's waist.
Then hurled them both to the ground.
Crash!
Skreech!
They tumbled across the rough street.
Fresh Behemoth uniform's back scraped sparks.
"Nngh...!"
Barg gritted his teeth, cradling Kairun to shield his head through extra rolls.
'Grabbed too hastily—shock might still...!'
The carriage halted with the driver's relieved sigh; the street turned chaos.
Moments later.
"......"
Kairun opened his tightly shut eyes.
No pain.
Instead, something heavy and solid enveloped him.
He looked up.
Barg frowned down from above.
"Hey, kid... Young Master, you alright?"
Smoke rose from his back.
But the Behemoth leather held firm against the friction—no tears, just scratches.
Lucky it was magic beast hide.
Kairun stared blankly up at Barg.
The man he'd envied and hated had saved him.
With overwhelming power and an even greater magnanimity.
And so, the man who was his 'ideal type'...