Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Ch. 9 .｡.:✧ Yerina Frost (1) ✧:.｡.
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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“Yoo-jin…”
Early in the morning, Jill walked out of the room, staggering and clutching her hungry stomach.
She thought she had shed all her tears, but even after returning to Hameln, she locked herself in her room and cried and cried again.
She threw and smashed everything she could get her hands on.
Still, Yoo-jin just faithfully carried out her last order not to talk to her. He didn’t enter the room even once.
“Yoo-jin…”
That cold-hearted bastard. Thinking that, her lips pouted out again in disappointment.
However, after venting her anger in the room for more than a full day, she felt a little better.
It was still upsetting that Yoo-jin betrayed her and slept with another woman she saw for the first time, but it wasn’t something unforgivable.
Because Yoo-jin would stay by her side forever. That woman was just a one-night fling, and the only one Yoo-jin truly cherished and loved was her.
“I’m hungry, Yoo-jin. Did you make any food?”
There had been no response at all for a while. Maybe he went grocery shopping.
When Jill went to the kitchen in puzzlement, she found a note fixed to the desk with a dagger.
It was the dagger she had given Yoo-jin as a symbol of being her bodyguard knight.
-I apologize. I disappointed you due to my shortcomings. I feel I am not fit to be your bodyguard knight after all. I will take my leave now. Take care.
“Ah…”
A dry sigh escaped Jill’s mouth. Tears welled up again in her eyes, distorted from crying until they dried.
***
The monthly salary of the saintess’s bodyguard knight was 4000 gold.
Subtracting 1000 gold for maintenance of armor and sword, it was 3000 gold.
After deducting living expenses (including Jill’s snack expenses), it was 1000 gold.
Finally, taking out the semi-forced 10% tithe to the church, 600 gold remained.
In other words, roughly 600,000 won in Korean currency was left per month.
Enduring and saving every penny, refraining from all the snacks that occasionally came to mind, the money I got was 600,000 won.
Saving all of that until now, the total was about 1.5 million won.
“Yoohoo. Breaking a savings account in three months. So freaking enjoyable.”
It was an amount that made me laugh. A hollow laugh.
Still, it was more than enough money for a ticket on the transcontinental train.
Since the train took a whole month to reach the final stop, it would cost quite a bit even for the lowest class seat.
Of course, there was also the option of selling the dagger Jill gave me.
If I sold it, I could get at least 10,000 gold, but…
“Am I crazy? Using the dagger as a goodbye gift?”
That would be game over right away.
I didn’t want to see the Pope’s Office label me a traitor and organize an expedition to chase after me, so I left the dagger to pin the note.
“Why does she live alone in such a remote place?”
It had been ten days since I boarded the transcontinental train.
Finally, I crossed the strait and arrived on the northern continent.
Realizing I still had to go for another 20 days, I just felt dejected.
“It doesn’t look like a place fit for humans to live, no matter how you look at it.”
As soon as the continent changed, the climate changed dramatically. As if I had moved to a different world in a game.
The green fields and plains outside the window disappeared without a trace, and only snow-covered mountain ranges could be seen.
Did people really live on this kind of land?
Even knowing the entire story of the game, the sight made me puzzled.
Wearing the thick fur coat I had prepared in advance, my body still shivered from the cold.
Just the thought of living in this place made me dizzy, but it wasn’t all demerits.
“Oh. I’m starting to see some Oriental-style buildings too.”
“Mom, what is that guy saying?”
“Shh. He seems to be a bit mentally unstable…”
If the southern continent had a Western-style concept modeled after Western Europe, the northern continent had an Oriental-style concept modeled after Northeast Asia.
That didn’t mean they went all the way back to the Joseon Dynasty and wore topknots or shaved their foreheads.
It meant the basic way of life became similar to the sensibilities of Orientals.
For example, taking off shoes when entering a room was the norm, or using chopsticks and spoons when eating…
Why do these basic things become merits, you ask?
Try living with a saintess who wears shoes and lies on the bed without even knowing what’s strange about it.
See if your blood pressure rises or not.
I got used to it so it became bearable, but I couldn’t help getting angry whenever I saw it.
“Tsk. I can’t sleep…”
I couldn’t sleep because it was cold.
Since my destination, the terminal station Palana, was still far away, managing my sleep pattern was important.
But why was the name in Russian when it was supposed to be Oriental-style?
I guess they thought it sounded cool.
How would I know what the higher-ups were thinking?
“Phew. The road is rough.”
I thought there would be a village right after getting off the train.
But I was surprised once by the simple train platform with just a single roof in the middle of nowhere.
And I was surprised twice by the conductor’s announcement that I had to walk for half a day to reach Palana.
Why not take a carriage, you ask?
Since there’s no station, of course there are no carriages either.
No, there aren’t even roads for carriages to travel on.
All I knew was that if I kept going north, I would reach Palana.
“But is this the right way?”
Following a trail made by wild animals, I had been walking through the forest and crossing mountains for 3 hours.
I was already filled with doubt.
Walking with confidence was only in the beginning.
Having to walk like this for half a day, anxiety crept up on me.
“Damn it. Even the compass is broken.”
This area was a place where mana anomalies frequently occurred.
Just as I set foot on this land, an anomaly must have happened, because the mana compass that had been working fine until a while ago was malfunctioning.
Do you remember I said before that even if humans try to walk in one direction, they end up veering to the right or left?
If I kept walking like this without knowing the direction, I might end up in a completely wrong place.
I might even make a full circle and return to the platform.
“This is seriously messed up.”
In a word, I was screwed.
No wonder the conductor looked at me with pity.
Even if I rationed my food, it would only last for two days, and I had no gear to camp out in this snowy mountain.
“Ah, whatever. My luck stat will somehow take care of it.”
There was no other way.
I couldn’t just go back to the platform and wait for the next train to come, twiddling my thumbs.
I had no choice but to roughly estimate the direction and keep walking.
My luck stat, which was well above my average, would somehow handle it.
Ah. Come to think of it, with the -5 penalty applied, it was below average…?
“Graaawr!”
“…!”
It was the roar of a bear.
The sound a bear makes when threatening its prey.
If it was prey much smaller than itself, it wouldn’t need to make such a threatening sound.
If it was a large land animal big enough for a bear to intimidate…
‘Could it be a human?!’
The one being threatened by the bear could be a human.
With that thought, my body was already quickly leaping and heading in the direction of the roar.
I quickly got tired due to the Guardian Knight penalty, but I couldn’t stop.
Instantly climbing the mountain and reaching that place,
“Crazy.”
I could see a giant black bear and the back of a person in fur clothing standing in front of it.
The black bear was standing on two legs, looking like it would strike the person with its front paws at any moment.
But that person didn’t budge at all, as if frozen in fear.
It was dangerous.
“Run away!”
“…!”
My body moved automatically, drawing my sword and standing in front of that person.
It seemed to have become a habit to block like this whenever Jill was in even a little danger.
Now, if only Guardian Knight activated, a single black bear would be a one-punch deal, but…
“Huh?”
[Stats]
[Strength: 13(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Stamina: 12(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Mana: 12(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Agility: 20(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
[Luck: 14(-5) *Guardian Knight penalty applied]
Guardian Knight didn’t activate.
Just as I was about to fall into a panic, I noticed something strange about the bear’s behavior.
It just made itself look as big as possible and threatened, but it hadn’t charged at all for a while.
As if it was afraid of something…
Was there a person who could threaten a bear just by standing still?
I did know one such person.
No way, I thought as I turned around.
“…Ha.”
The moment I saw the pretty face under the thick fur coat hat, I let out a hollow laugh.
The blue hair slightly peeking out from under the hat, the brilliantly shining blue eyes.
And the ears resembling those of a wolf, sticking up as if lifting the hat.
Yerina Frost.
The Grand Duchess of Palana and the very reason I came here.
It was the appearance of the third and final main heroine of this game.
The first line of the Frost Duchess, who had mercilessly purged all the nobles and gained absolute power, was,
“Eek, eek. I’m so scared. Please save me?”
“…”
It was somewhat absurd.
“Hyah, hyah. Hyah.”
When I awkwardly made sounds and swung my sword around, the black bear soon ran away into the cave.
It must have been humiliating for it to run away from a woman with no weapons, but thanks to me, it got a good excuse.
While returning to the cave, it seemed to glance back and shoot me a grateful look, but was it just my imagination?
Like this, I succeeded in safely returning a reliable head of a family of three bears back to his family.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I survived thanks to you. I almost got terribly attacked by that ferocious bear. Thank you, thank you so much.”
“…”
The one who almost got terribly attacked wasn’t you, but the bear.
It was just ridiculous for the one who could collapse that cave with one hand and wipe out the bear family of three to say this.
Yerina was supposed to have a bold and aggressive personality.
It was suspicious how she awkwardly kept up the lie.
Besides her innate terrible acting skills, she couldn’t lie at all because her ears twitched every moment according to her emotions.
What kind of benefit did Yerina have to be putting on this unfitting act of a powerless, pitiful, and pure country maiden?
I felt like I would go crazy from not being able to understand at all.
“Are you from out of town?”
“Yes. I came on a trip by transcontinental train from the southern continent.”
“Hmm. I guess you have an acquaintance in Palana?”
“That’s not it. I just came for sightseeing. Do you live in Palana?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, could I ask you to guide me to Palana?”
“Ah, oh! Of course! I can’t just abandon a traveler in the back mountains and leave.”
To Yerina, this rugged mountain was just the village’s backyard.
The difference in perception seemed to show the difference in level.
And so, I began a strange journey with a frail (not) maiden who had come to pick berries in the back mountains.
“Your walking stride is quite wide. I guess you’re used to wearing pants?”
“Oh, no? No? I’m a very pure girl who loves wearing skirts?”
“Why do you keep hesitating? It’s just like the posture a vigilant knight takes when sensing the presence of a stranger.”
“Th-that can’t be? It must be a coincidence? I just stumbled, that’s all?”
I hinted at it a few times.
I already noticed everything.
Since you seem to be a superhuman in this world setting, please stop putting on this unfitting act.
But Yerina kept stubbornly insisting on her act till the end, like a 7-year-old child who believes she has a talent for acting.
In the end, I gave up.
What could I do if she didn’t want to reveal it herself?
It’s not like I could go, “The deduction is over. Your name is Yerina Frost. Your three sizes are…” here.
Eventually, the awkward mountain hike continued and continued, and before I knew it, it was dusk.
“I heard that if you walk diligently for half a day, you’ll arrive. Is it still far?”
“Hmm. Just a little bit more.”
“We should be able to see the village by now…”
Something was strange.
They said if you went straight north for about 6 hours, you would arrive.
But there was no sign of the village lights, let alone a road people traveled on.
Did the conductor lie?
There was no way Yerina, whose home ground this was, took the wrong path.
Just as I was about to tilt my head in puzzlement,
“Oh. Oh no. This is a big problem.”
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s too dark to see the way.”
“If you’re a wolf demihu-”
“Aaah! Oh no! I didn’t bring a lantern! There’s no choice! We’ll have to sleep here for the night!”
“…?”
What was she saying?
My brows furrowed at the sight that seemed like a 7-year-old child who thought she had a talent for acting getting immersed and overacting.
Couldn’t we just light the way with a torch and walk a little more to reach the village?
With that naive thought, I took out the compass to check, and at that moment,
“…Huh?”
What was going on?
Why was north pointing in the opposite direction of our progress?
Could it be that we had been going in the opposite direction for half a day, turning 180 degrees…?
Just as I was about to fall into a panic, not knowing what was going on, I turned around and saw,
“Oh, hurry and lie down. We have to sleep early and leave early tomorrow morning.”
“…”
Yerina had already finished preparing a campfire, tent, and sleeping bag.
Yerina’s face reflected in the campfire had a slight blush.
What the hell was this, really?
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