Cradle of Heroes (11): Delicate Threads and Familiar Faces
The relationship between the three of us right now was incredibly delicate. First, there was Song Dayeong. Ours was a purely transactional dynamic. She’d seduced me with sex to drain away five hundred points, and ever since, she’d been clinging to my side without pause. Kwon Soyeon’s situation had taken a different path but amounted to much the same thing. It might have started with the aphrodisiac potion, but after what amounted to little more than rape, the fact that she stayed close and kept acting friendly told me she had an agenda. I figured her goal wasn’t all that different from Song Dayeong’s.
One man. Two women stuck to him. Even if it wasn’t romance, once the triangle formed, a power struggle was inevitable. The real question was what the hell I was supposed to do about it.
Hmm…
I glanced at Song Dayeong and Kwon Soyeon walking shoulder to shoulder on either side of me. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I needed to do anything at all. I had no idea how far we’d even travel together. We weren’t madly in love; this was a bond glued together by points and raw power. Relationships like these usually collapsed the moment my strength stopped being useful. For now they had no better options, so they’d keep trying to hold on. How long that would last, though…
“Senior! Senior!”
“Yeah? What? I’m listening.”
“What were you thinking about so hard that you couldn’t even hear me calling?”
“Nothing. Just walking. Why?”
“We’re getting skewers. I was asking if you wanted any.”
“Sure, I’ll eat.”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed we’d already reached the bustling district we’d been heading for. Street stalls popped into view immediately. When you came to a place like this, it was basically mandatory to try the local street food, so I set my worries aside for later and agreed. There was no point agonizing over things right now anyway. We still had plenty of time left before our stay at the Cradle of Heroes ended.
“What’s that in your hand?”
“Money.”
“How much?”
“Ten brins each.”
A single meal ran about fifty brins, so it didn’t seem bad. I pulled ten brins from my pocket and dropped them into Song Dayeong’s palm.
“Hehe, Oppa, get ours too…”
“Get lost. Then don’t eat.”
“Tsk, it’s not even that much. Unnie, give me ten brins too.”
Grumbling, Song Dayeong collected the coins and handed thirty brins to the vendor, who promptly traded them for skewers. The moment I took mine I bit off a huge chunk.
“How is it? Does it taste just like chicken skewers from back home?”
“Of course not. It’s just grilled chicken and vegetables.”
To be honest it wasn’t great, but this was average quality here. Unseasoned, bland, the meat was tough and gamey. The vegetables were actually the best part. The other two must have felt the same; they frowned every time they bit into the meat. Still, since this was the first time they’d bought and eaten anything with their own money since arriving, they forced it down.
“Do either of you have somewhere you want to go?”
“Not really,” Kwon Soyeon answered.
I thought for a moment but nothing came to mind. We’d only come out to get a feel for the city, so we hadn’t set any specific plans. Song Dayeong gave the same answer.
“Then how about a bookstore?” Kwon Soyeon suggested. “I want to see how much magic books cost.”
It made sense—she had the magic talent, after all. Since we had nowhere else to be, I nodded.
“Let’s go. Dayeong, you okay with that?”
“Yeah, I don’t mind.”
With a destination decided, we asked the vendor for directions, confirmed the location, and started toward the bookstore. Then—
The sudden chase forced us to stop and step aside. Curious, I craned my neck through the crowd to see the thief’s face.
It was someone I knew.
What a ridiculous coincidence. Our original plans had fallen through, so we’d come for a simple city tour, only to run into an acquaintance—and as a common thief, no less.
What were the odds of everything connecting like this?
“…Thank you, Senior.”
“Just consider yourself lucky. I was going to ignore it at first, but I was curious about a few things, so I helped.”
There weren’t many people in this city I could possibly know. At most, the forty-seven who’d been summoned together and the people we’d met inside the cradle. Among them, the ones likely to get caught stealing were the twenty-three who’d been expelled on arrival.
The guy currently bowing in gratitude was one of those twenty-three. We’d never been close, but I remembered his name. Yeo Mun-su. The unusual surname had stuck with me.
That wasn’t what mattered right now.
“You really had to steal bread? Are things that bad?”
“…It’s embarrassing, but yes. There’s nothing else I can do.”
Yeo Mun-su spoke calmly about their situation.
“After we were kicked out with nothing, I tried to find work right away. But no one would hire outsiders. The girls at least got jobs at taverns, but the men couldn’t find anything. We just sat around for days doing nothing. Then some man appeared asking if we were hero candidates…”
“What man? What does he do?”
“I don’t know. He offered to lend us money if we wanted to work, but something felt off, so I refused.”
Some man… I didn’t know what he did, but it was definitely suspicious. Targeting only the people who’d failed the tutorial, luring them in with money—there was no way that wasn’t shady. It carried the stench of danger, the kind you didn’t get involved with if you wanted to stay safe.
“How many of the others are still here?”
“Han Seung-woo, Im Do-geon, and most of their group followed that man. Not many left. If you count the ones who caused trouble and got banished from the city, there are probably only two or three men remaining.”
“I see.”
That was enough to satisfy my curiosity. I’d only asked because I wondered what the expelled guys were doing to survive. The answer left a bad aftertaste, but at least I knew now.
I stood up.
“…You’re leaving?”
His eyes clearly wanted something more, but—
“I have to go. Eat the bread yourself.”
“Yes…”
I left without hesitation. We’d never been close, and stopping him from becoming a thief was already more than enough charity.
“Let’s go.”
The next morning, after our trip to the city. Everyone’s faces were noticeably brighter than yesterday. The sightseeing seemed to have worked as a refresh.
“Hey, after training today, wanna head out again?”
“They’re letting us? I asked Gillen and he said it’s fine. We’re not kids—they’re not going to babysit us.”
“Then let’s go to that place that was closed last time. They said it opens in the evening.”
“Sounds good. We’re doing it, right?”
Some had gotten a taste for the outside world and were eager to go play again. Most, however, seemed satisfied with a single refresher.
“Nice to meet you all. I’m Lee Chang-hwan from the Seoul Mercenary Group.”
“I’m Kim Da-jeong.”
Not long after breakfast, the morning lesson began. I’d been expecting veteran hero candidates, but I never thought they’d be Koreans. I hadn’t assumed we were the only Koreans summoned, but I certainly hadn’t expected to meet any inside the cradle—and this quickly.
“As our group name suggests, we’re a mercenary company made up mostly of Koreans. So when we heard about you at the cradle, we accepted the request without a second thought.”
“Koreans always look out for each other, right?”
Their roles were clear. The rather stiff-looking man handled most of the explanations while the small, cute woman softened the atmosphere. Thanks to that balance, the morning passed in a blur—half bragging about themselves, half describing what to expect in the border region.
If you asked whether it was incredibly useful, I’d say it was only moderately so. It was informative, but without any firsthand experience, the stories felt a little vague and distant.
The pair also joined the afternoon training. Today’s session involved actual weapons for combat practice. The man had brought a bow, which didn’t quite match his rugged face, but the real mismatch was someone else entirely.
“Why are you all staring? Never seen a woman carry an axe before?”
Kim Da-jeong grinned at our wide-eyed surprise and swung the axe—nearly as big as she was—with a heavy whoosh. I couldn’t fathom how that small body produced such power. The weight behind each swing made it obvious the weapon was no toy.
“Hey, you. If you’re curious, want to spar?”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you. You’ve been staring holes through me with that ‘how is she swinging that so easily’ look on your face.”
Whether she had some mind-reading talent or not, she’d nailed my exact thoughts. With no way out, I stepped forward and drew my sword.
“Hmm~ One-handed sword? That doesn’t really suit you either, does it?”
“You’ll regret underestimating me.”
“Oh, scary. Let’s see if your skills live up to the talk.”
She beckoned with her fingers. I poured aura into my blade and charged.
The moment I brought my sword down toward the massive axe that hid her small frame—
“W-wait! Time!”
She shouted for a timeout with a flustered expression. I froze in an awkward stance.
“What the hell?”
She’d provoked me to come at her first, yet she was stopping the match before we even traded a single blow. When I pressed her, her answer was even more ridiculous.
“I surrender. I can’t win if you’re using aura.”