Chapter 73
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Yor, Getting Engaged!? #2
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"Yor, we've finally met!"
Dantes's daughter grabbed my hand.
The feel of the white, soft silk glove was so unfamiliar that I was at a complete loss.
"Uh, uh... do you know me...!?"
Karma Dantes.
A beauty who was hard to forget once seen.
For such a woman to be so thrilled to see me—it left me utterly flustered.
"Rookie, if you stole something, hand it over quick!"
Even Hermit was whispering a warning.
At that moment, Karma Dantes burst into laughter like a blooming flower bud.
"This is our first meeting. But Yor, seeing you now, I know. You're the benefactor I've been searching for!"
Squeeze—.
Miss Dantes gripped my hand as if it were some incredibly precious treasure.
In that instant, Hermit grimaced and backed away hesitantly.
"Huh...!?"
Had she forgotten the warning not to raise her voice or act rudely during today's meeting?
But I was just as tempted to blurt out something dumb.
'What the hell is going on!'
As I tried to gauge the situation, Miss Dantes suddenly pulled back in surprise.
"I'm sorry. I was just so happy that I held your hand... For someone like me to grab yours must be terribly rude to you...."
At that moment, Hermit thwacked the floor with her staff.
"Ahem! Care to explain what's going on?"
"Ah!"
Miss Dantes jolted like a startled rabbit and held out the back of her hand to us.
Slide—.
As the white glove slipped off, a strange scar-like mark appeared on the back of her left hand.
"Burn mark?"
Hermit, who often got burns from magic, recognized it right away.
Miss Dantes showed it to us, her face flushing red as if ashamed.
"...I'm sorry. It's not a pretty scar. It happened when I was little and a candelabra fell on me. Because of this, I always have to wear gloves."
"So why show us that burn scar?"
"I have scars like this all over my body. It's because I'm afflicted with a vicious curse of misfortune."
Curse of misfortune?
What did that mean?
'Does it mean she's incredibly unlucky?'
Slide—.
Miss Dantes lifted the hem of her dress.
It was a bold move.
"Wh-whoa—!"
"Whoa!"
Even Hermit jumped in surprise as scraped scars on her knees came into view.
"My knees are a mess, right? I trip over rocks every single day."
Who knew I'd live to see the knees of a highborn lady.
Nice view.
As long as she doesn't charge me for it.
"But thanks to this lucky charm my father brought from a foreign land, I've been managing to get by lately."
Swish—.
Miss Dantes pulled an item from her bosom.
It was a black, hard-looking object.
About the size of my palm?
"That's a Dragon's Claw Talisman!"
Hermit recognized it.
[Dragon's Claw Talisman: Increases the owner's Luck. Helps with Ether acquisition and material item collection.]
A talisman that boosts Ether acquisition—!?
I nearly reached out for it without thinking.
To think the very item I'd longed for was hidden in her bosom.
"Ever since I started carrying this talisman, the unlucky injuries have gotten a bit better. But lately, it feels like my luck is running out again...."
"So that's why you asked the great Hermit here to reinforce the talisman?"
Hermit smirked confidently and nodded.
Hermit soon drew a magic circle on the floor and placed the 'Dragon's Claw Talisman' on it.
"O Goddess of the Anvil—!"
Miss Dantes clenched her fists tight as she watched.
"I heard the success rate for reinforcement is under 10 percent.... Please, it has to work. Without it, I'm always living in fear of when I'll get hurt next...!"
Whoa, I was getting tense just watching her reinforce someone else's item.
The very next moment—.
Crackle—.
Sparks flew intensely over the magic circle, and finally—flash—a light burst forth.
The talisman reinforcement had succeeded.
"It... it worked!"
Hermit cheered.
Miss Dantes was overjoyed too and pulled me into a tight hug.
"It worked!!!! Success!!!!"
"Ughh—."
From my perspective, it was pure agony.
For a noble lady who could lop off my head with a single wrong glance to cling to me like this.
'Are women really this slender!'
Come to think of it, had anyone ever hugged me before?
My head was spinning from all angles when Miss Dantes suddenly jolted back in surprise.
"I'm sorry. I got too excited and...."
"Ahem, that happens. Success in reinforcement is always a joy."
Heh heh heh—.
I chuckled awkwardly and rubbed my nose.
# # #
"This is the training ground. We spend most of our time here on days we don't deploy."
We toured various spots along the Great Wall.
Miss Dantes was curious about the wall, and she also wanted to test the reinforced talisman's performance.
After about half a day's stroll like that.
Miss Dantes's face lit up like she could leap for joy.
"I didn't trip over any rocks, and no falling objects hit me!"
Splash splash—.
Miss Dantes dipped her feet into the artificial fountain in the park beside the training ground.
She splashed water at me with her pale feet.
"Normally, I'd have slipped and fallen by now! Whoa, it's cold!"
"Heh heh, I'm glad you're so happy!"
"It's not just the talisman—it's thanks to you too, Yor."
"Me?"
"The Blasset twins told me. There's this incredibly lucky guy. They said I should meet you...."
Am I lucky?
I'd never really thought of myself that way.
Miss Dantes seemed more like the lucky one.
Born into a noble family where she'd never worry about starving, wearing the finest clothes and eating the best food her whole life.
And her face was stunningly beautiful too.
Most of the guys in the training ground kept stealing glances.
"You must have been born under the star of heavenly luck. That's why I have a favor to ask you, Yor."
"A favor?"
"Would you mind walking with me like this from time to time? Just being with you makes me feel like I'm borrowing your luck."
Walk together?
Was this a date invitation?
A chill of excitement ran down my spine, mixed with worry.
'Getting tangled with nobility is bound to bring a ton of headaches....'
I'd have to watch my every word and action around Miss Dantes.
I'm no good at that stuff.
As I hesitated, she must have noticed and hurriedly waved her hands.
"You can treat me casually! Truth is, I've always admired what you explorers do. But because of my constitution, I've never been able to do outdoor activities since I was little...."
"Ah, if that's the case."
That evening, after parting with Miss Dantes.
As I prepared for tomorrow's deployment, I asked everyone.
"She said she'll pay 50 gold coins each time we walk together."
Felix frowned at my words.
"That Dantes girl offered that much? What, did you drug her and brainwash her or something?"
"Bullshit."
"No other explanation. It's the same with Captain Ezekiel."
"Keh heh heh, if you're jealous, just say so!"
"What'd you say?"
Felix snorted and walked off.
That's when Hermit chimed in.
"The Dantes family has deep ties to the Imperial Council. Rookie, normally, you couldn't even approach or talk to someone like her!"
"She approached me, not the other way around!"
"If things go wrong, the whole party could get wrecked by association!"
That sounded scary.
Just then, Nimble, who was gnawing on meat, clicked his tongue.
"Nobles, huh? Those whiny girls in their frilly dresses? Yor, you like that type? Your taste is...."
"No, it's not like I particularly like them.... Ahem."
The next day.
I walked atop the Great Wall with Miss Dantes.
How could I turn down 50 gold coins?
"Wow, it's really high!"
The towering wall seemed novel to a sheltered young lady in every way.
"Yor, d-don't let go of my hand!"
Miss Dantes trembled, gripping my hand tightly.
She soon stood at the high wall's railing and shouted.
"Waaaaah—!"
"Heh heh, how's it feel? Pretty great, right?"
"It feels like all the stuffiness in my chest is gone. You see views like this every day, Yor? I'm so jeal—Whoa—!?"
Slip—.
Miss Dantes twisted her ankle.
I yanked her back into my arms.
"Whoa there, be careful."
My heart pounded wildly.
If I'd let this woman fall from that high railing right in front of me?
It wouldn't have ended with just my head rolling.
"Heh heh! I survived thanks to you, Yor."
Oblivious to my thoughts, the lady giggled.
The problem was her glove had slipped off in the commotion and fallen far below.
Miss Dantes hugged her scarred hand to her chest to hide it.
"My bare hand probably feels gross to hold."
"Not at all. Look at mine."
Swish—.
I held out my hand to Miss Dantes.
A hand covered in small scars.
From injuries I couldn't even remember when or where.
"Mine's way worse."
I'd nearly lost my wrist plenty of times.
Chopping off a thief's hand is standard punishment, after all.
The fact that all my fingers were still attached was a miracle.
"...I-I think it's cool. Like a man's hand...."
Miss Dantes's face turned bright red.
First time anyone had called my hand cool.
Hell, maybe the first time anyone had called anything about me cool!
Suddenly, things got super awkward.
What the hell should I say...!?
As I agonized, Miss Dantes spoke first.
"Um, Yor, do you... have a girl you like?"
Faces of several women flashed in my mind.
I started getting tense for no reason.
"...Why do you ask?"
"Actually, there's something I haven't told you. I didn't seek you out just for the talisman reinforcement."
"Then what?"
"...Someone important wants to take you as my fiancé."
Boom—!
Thunder cracked in the clear sky.
Whoosh—.
A downpour began.
The autumn weather on the Great Wall was this unpredictable.