Clouds Underfoot
It felt like walking on drifting clouds.
A little way off she could see the yard where wagons and horses were kept. No one stood at the entrance, but the keeper would be somewhere farther inside. Lizzie glanced up beside her. Her husband's face was very high above her. Perhaps he felt her looking. He lowered his head, their eyes met, and the harsh set of his softened as he smiled.
In that moment she understood.
He doesn't know.
He had no idea at all how much the money they had just received was worth. He had probably never been as poor as Lizzie. When she told him they had become rich, her husband smiled, but he clearly had not truly grasped what she meant.
The old man her older sister had married was, among the poor, a well-off "poor farmer." Most trade in the village was barter, yet people still had a rough sense of what a year's earnings came to. She had heard that her sister's husband brought in about a hundred rina a year, and that was with all his grown sons working beside him. Sometimes it was less, sometimes more — a hundred and twenty rina one year, ninety the next.
A hundred and twenty rina was ten silver.
With seven rabbit pelts they had taken in several times what her sister's household earned in a hard year of labor. Of course, once you went into a city, prices rose, and to someone truly wealthy this might not be much money at all. To the rich and the nobility it would be a trifling sum. But to a farmer like Lizzie, forty-nine silver was a sum she might never touch all at once in her entire life.
And they had not even sold the wolf pelt.
Juhwan had said he did not mind if they sold it, but it was the first thing her husband had hunted. When she looked reluctant to let it go, he left it in her arms. A wife's little sentiment was nothing. He could have ignored it and sold the pelt anyway. Instead he had smiled and told her to do as she liked.
Lizzie stole another glance at him. Was he angry that they had not sold the wolf pelt because of her? She knew he was not that sort of man, and yet an enormous amount of money was at stake. Most men would have regretted it, or grown angry. Wolf fur had to cost far more than rabbit. But Juhwan's face was still the same smiling one. He was not thinking about the wolf pelt at all. He was simply as he always was.
She looked down. Her small hand was wrapped entirely in her husband's large one.
She felt that she was the same as that hand. Held by him, she had been carried clear of the world's rough waves. Misfortune had been shut out completely. If this hand ever left her, she would be thrown naked into a world of thunder and lightning.
Suddenly she was afraid.
Once you had tasted a sweet world, you could not breathe in a mire of piss and dung. You could not go back and live there. Lizzie watched Juhwan's face as he answered Dorothy's questions. Only now was the child asking what an adventurer was.
Juhwan.
This man was a sweet poison. He wrapped everything around her in sweetness and good things and undid the heart she had bound so tightly shut. He was making it so she could not live without him. Even when she was beaten, even when she lived day to day on miserable gruel, she had once believed that was life. She could not return to those days now. If she went back to merely clinging to survival, her heart would sicken, and she would no longer be able to live.
It was not only the money. The time before she had known this man's tenderness, seen now that she knew the light, was like the deep, pitch-dark earth.
I don't want to go back.
Lizzie gripped her husband's large hand tight.
Please. Don't change.
She did not know why. She was so happy now, and yet she was far more anxious than she had been in misfortune. The ground under her feet felt like cloud.
"Lizzie, are you all right?"
Her behavior must have seemed strange. Juhwan bent his head to look at her face.
"Mama, does your tummy hurt?"
Dorothy asked, eyes round.
Lizzie answered that it was nothing, that she was fine, but Juhwan still seemed worried. With his free arm he started to lift her as if she were a child.
"Heh... I'm all right."
When she smiled, he seemed to relax at last.
"Let's find lodgings quickly and rest."
He said it gently and gave the hand holding hers a light squeeze. The warmth of him seemed to tell her that the man before her now was the same one who had been with her all along — a husband who stayed kind. Walking where Juhwan led her, Lizzie felt a deep relief settle in her chest.
Yes. This man did not change. Even with money, even grown rich, he did not change. He was still the same tender, gentle man. He still called Dorothy his daughter, though they shared no blood, and he loved Lizzie, whom he had married because there had been no other choice.
I don't need to be afraid.
The weightless clouds under her feet, which had felt as if she might sink straight through them, seemed to harden. When she came back to herself, she was standing once more on solid ground.
Juhwan's fierce profile seemed to be saying it.
Maybe he had something on his face. Lizzie kept looking at him.
But.
Every time their eyes met she smiled so sweetly that he began to wonder if he had grown handsome. Perhaps the mana filling his body was affecting his looks as well. Juhwan brushed a hand over his own face. Nothing felt particularly different.
Maybe later I'll check my reflection in an axe blade.
When Lizzie and Dorothy were not around, he would take a quiet look and see whether anything had changed.
When they reached the wagon, he saw the wagon-yard keeper in a corner, feeding another horse. Spotting Juhwan, the keeper greeted him with a small nod. It was just then that Dorothy, in high spirits, pointed at the driver's seat and shouted.
"I'm riding up front! 'Cause I'm an adventurer!"
The ten-year-old boy they had met at the entrance popped out from behind the wagon.
"Hehe, sir! All finished at the guild?"
"..."
"I guarded your wagon real hard. I watched and watched to see if any thieves came."
"..."
The boy stole a look at Juhwan's face, then scratched his head and laughed.
"If you haven't picked lodgings yet, want me to show you our place?"
He had seen them meet the three adventurers at the entrance, so he seemed to know his lie had already been found out. The wagon-yard keeper, carrying a water bucket for the horse, spoke as he passed.
"He's fine so long as you don't give the little rascal any money. The house is shabby, but the price is fair and the food's good. The couple who run it are decent people. The boy's just a bit of trouble, that's all."
Juhwan thanked the keeper and looked at the boy.
"All right. Let's go to your house."
"Haha! Thank you!"
The boy beamed and ran ahead.
"This way! Follow me in the wagon."
Lizzie sat on the driver's seat and started the horse. The ten-year-old darted off as quick as a squirrel, then looked back.
"Here! This road!"
He flung a hand up to show the way. Lizzie let out a small laugh.
"He's a lively child. He does lie a little, but maybe that much is just right. With that kind of grit, he'll survive wherever he goes."
She glanced at Dorothy.
Dorothy was playing adventurer. Oz seemed to be the magical beast, and Toto a member of the party. Oz, asleep across her lap, was supposedly brooding an egg that breathed fire. Why a rabbit had laid an egg, and how an egg breathed fire, was beyond him.
"It isn't an easy world for men either, but it's especially hard for a girl. A man can stand on his own once he's grown. A woman can't decide anything for herself. In truth, marriage is the only road open to her."
Lizzie smiled brightly.
"I hope Dorothy lives tough, like a weed."
He had thought she was lost in her game, but she seemed to have heard every word the adults said. Dorothy spoke up loudly.
"Mama! Dorothy's an adventurer! Adventurers can't be weeds. Weeds can't go anywhere."
"Hehe. That's true."
Lizzie laughed quietly. She must have been remembering her own childhood. Her expression was a little bitter.
The lodgings the boy led them to lay a short way down a filthy alley. The center of the village had been fairly clean, but the lanes beyond it were another matter — makeshift buildings, shabby houses, piss and shit and trash flung anywhere in the street. The alley was narrow, and with every turn of the wheels he grew tense, afraid they might strike someone.
"This way. Come in here."
The boy guided the wagon alongside a wooden building only a little better than the shacks. It was no proper stable. Just a bit of open ground with no roof, several posts for tying horses, and a feed trough set in front of them. In the corner stood a peddler's wagon, perhaps another guest's. There was one horse, and it looked very old. For some reason the cramped space seemed even shabbier because of that wagon and that horse.
He must have been wearing a rather pitiful look. The boy rubbed his nose, embarrassed.
"The feed's good, though. Our place may look like this, but we really use good stuff."
"Sorry. It's my first time at a place like this. I was just a little surprised."
He might have hurt the child's feelings. When Juhwan said it as he climbed down from the wagon, the boy grinned.
"Then please eat the special. The special my mom makes is really delicious. It's amazing. And there's lots of it."
The word the boy used seemed to mean a special meal. Lizzie, down from the wagon, whispered in Juhwan's ear that it was expensive. From the way she murmured it, she clearly meant to order whatever cost less.
Well, I think we could eat something a little better, just for today. The food at a place like this can't be that expensive anyway.
Juhwan thought it, but he said nothing and only smiled. He pressed the coin pouch they had received at the guild into Lizzie's hand.
"Lizzie, you hold on to this."
From now on he would leave the choosing of food and goods to her. She was the party's accountant and manager. Spending money still looked awkward for her, but as they earned more she would grow used to it soon enough. The day she stopped begrudging every coin and said they ought to eat something expensive and delicious could not be far off. He did hope that day would come a little sooner. If they were going to eat, he would rather it be something good.
Lizzie's eyes went round, and she stopped dead.
"Guests! Come on in!"
The boy, ahead of them, waved and called. Lizzie did not seem to hear. She was staring at the coin pouch as if it were some monster.
There was nothing for it. He scooped up Lizzie, frozen solid as ice, and Dorothy, already held in his other arm, tilted her head.
"Why did Mama turn into a dummy?"
"I wonder."
Only after a long moment did Lizzie seem to come to her senses. She pressed her mouth to his ear and cried out in a strangled voice.
"What if it gets stolen!"
"Then there wouldn't be anything we could do. There's still money in the account, so it's all right. And we're going to keep earning from now on."
Like the adventurers who had come to hunt goblins, he could go after magical beasts from here on. Even if not, the guild would have other work. He did not know whether it would pay well, but they could eat, at least.
"Ahahaha! Mama, you look dumb. Your face turned dumb."
Dorothy cackled and pointed at Lizzie's face. Lizzie made no sound. Her mouth only opened and closed.
The inn's first floor seemed to be a tavern that sold food. Several tables and chairs, cut from rough wood, stood about the room. He had thought there would not be many people, but there were more than he expected. Most of the guests wore shabby clothes. Several looked like adventurers. Perhaps people who were not even staying here came for a meal and a drink. It felt less like an inn than a neighborhood eatery.
A large woman, stacking several plates of food on a big tray, was walking between the tables when she saw the boy.
"You! Been out lying again, have you!"
"Mom! I brought guests!"
"I know! Your mother has eyes. You brat, do you have any idea how sore my throat gets because of you every single time!"
She shouted, set the plates down, and came stomping over, huffing. The moment she reached Juhwan, her face full of anger, she did not wait to hear a word. She planted a fist on the boy's head, then bowed to Juhwan at once.
"I'm sorry. Did this one try to sell you beer again? Or did he take money for watching your wagon or your horse? Ah, honestly, this child is going to drive me mad."
The guests at the tables burst out laughing.
"No. We came as guests. The boy guided us from in front of the guild."
"Oh — really? He only guided you?"
The woman blinked as she asked. She did not seem to believe it. The boy stuck his lip out and grumbled.
"Really, Mom, that's too much. I've been bringing guests from dawn till night, working hard. And they're lodg-ing guests!"
For a mouth that never shut, he certainly talked well — and this after he had been looking for a chance to cheat them from start to finish.
"Aigoo."
The woman flustered, then stroked and stroked the head she had just thumped. She turned a wide smile on Juhwan and Lizzie.
"How many days will you be staying?"
"We don't know yet. We only just registered as adventurers at the guild, so..."
"Aigoo, then a month at the least."
An even bigger smile settled on her face.
"And the room? You've got a child, so two beds would be better, yes? A room with one bed is one rina for two nights, and two beds costs a little extra. But — eh, let's just charge the basic rate. There's a child, and it's a long stay."
She swayed her large body and walked toward the corner where the stairs were.
"Payment's in advance, but if you pay a whole month at once I'll take something off. It's normally fifteen rina. I'll cut three, so one silver will do."
"Th-that's expensive!"
When Lizzie blurted it out in shock, the woman, already climbing the stairs, looked back.
"No, no, our place is very cheap. Two beds, and we provide lamp oil, and even without a hearth we give you a bottle of hot water. Put it in the bed and you'll stay warm till morning. Compared with anywhere else, it's practically half price. We really do charge cheap."
Lizzie muttered, her face gone pale.
"But I heard my sister's family earns ten silver a year, and in a single month the room alone is one silver..."
The woman made a face of sudden understanding and laughed.
"Aigoo, this must be your first time in a village this big. You'll faint when you hear the price of food. Enough for two people is one rina a meal."
"I-it's that expensive?"
Lizzie looked one step from fainting, foam practically at her lips. Juhwan was a little surprised himself that the food cost more than the room. He had thought it would be the other way around. The woman laughed loudly.
"Haha. Listen, our house is half price in all but name. The room, the food — the service is different, you see. If you'd gone to another place first, you'd be saying you'd rather sleep in the street."
Lizzie clutched Juhwan's clothes and said in a small voice.
"Juhwan, let's sleep in the wagon."
"..."
Dorothy's eyes filled, and she said sadly.
"Did we turn into poor people? We were rich a little while ago."
"..."
A few steps up, the innkeeper's wife clutched her belly and began to laugh.