Porter: Johann 19
“Wow~! The smell is really good. How nice it would be to eat food like this every day?”
The plate was piled high with greasy, stimulating dishes that couldn't even compare to the monastery slop. For a high-ranking monk, this would be condemned as a sin of waste just by existing.
The Priest had thought herself accustomed to bold flavors from traveling with the hero, but the food before her eyes opened up a whole new dimension.
Johann sliced into the thick steak in his own bowl and scooped more than half onto her plate. It was a clear signal: I like you. But the Priest, utterly lacking in romantic instincts, just saw it as simple kindness.
“Ah! Porter-nim! You need to eat too. You paid for it...”
“Just watching you eat fills me up, Priest-nim. Wouldn't that portion be too small for you?”
“W-well, that's true, but... Eek~! I-I'm not some big eater. It's just that this place serves small portions.”
Still, she was a woman—even she felt awkward looking like a glutton in front of a man. She added that unnecessary excuse but gratefully accepted the meat he'd passed over. Throwing away food given with good intentions would be a sin too, after all.
Unnecessarily heavy seasoning. The meat quality isn't great either... High-end restaurants usually let the ingredients' natural flavors shine. Has fine dining not developed in this world?
The Priest's eyes sparkled with delight at the tasty meal, but Johann's palate—trained on countless delicacies—found the restaurant's fare lacking. The maids back in Solaris World made food at least ten times better.
Of course, that didn't mean he'd half-assed sharing the main dish with her. This was just another grind for building affection. From the vibe, half her heart already seemed to be his.
But I'm still missing that decisive blow.
Johann didn't act rashly. Temptations to pounce on her flickered now and then, but he held back. He'd built this up steadily so far. No way he'd topple his carefully constructed tower on a momentary impulse.
The restaurant meal was a deeply satisfying time for the Priest. She even scraped the dessert clean. She'd denied it, but she had a hearty appetite—the kind that could polish off plates meant for two grown men without breaking a sweat.
“Yaaawn~! Now I'm full.”
The Priest cutely patted her tummy, then quickly realized it was unbecoming and bowed her head, cheeks flushing. Even her little gestures brimmed with girlish charm.
“Porter-nim! There's a place I want to show you!”
Back out on the street, the Priest beamed innocently and grabbed Johann's arm. Bursting with excitement, she led him toward the village outskirts.
Passing the tavern district and crossing the square, they slipped through a moldy back alley to emerge in a wide clearing guarded only by a few warehouses and barns. Off to one side, a narrow path wound up a small hill.
This path was a little secret shared among the party members. Without it, reaching the hill would take ten extra minutes of circling around.
“This is our party's secret passage! You're a full-fledged party member now, so I'm telling you!”
“Oh ho. So there's a path like this.”
Hidden behind warehouses, only someone with sharp eyes would notice it even after passing through the area. Animal tracks dotted the ground lightly, hinting no humans came here often.
“Watch out for spiderwebs. There are some scary venomous spiders standing guard!”
The Priest raised both hands like a mantis in battle stance, her voice full of playful exaggeration. It was the cute joke of a pure maiden.
“Heh. I'll have to be careful. Guess I'll need you to protect me, Priest-nim.”
“Of course! I'm a veteran, after all!”
Thumping her chest proudly, the Priest climbed the path with familiar steps. There were a few webs as she'd said, but no venomous spiders. Certainly no arachnids chasing off thugs. The two ascended without incident.
“Ta-da! Here it is!”
About ten minutes later?
A few large boulders jutted out from the hillside, waiting for them. They formed a natural overlook, perfect for taking in the village below.
The Priest sat on one. Before her stretched a panoramic view of Start Village.
The inn where they stayed, the Adventurer's Guild a bit further off, the blacksmith down the alley to the left of the guild, the square with its flashy fountain asserting its presence, and the restaurant street to the south from there.
Lifting her gaze north revealed the monastery where she'd been raised. Just thirty meters away stood the church, and even now, adventurer parties streamed toward it for healing and potions.
“This is my world!”
A gentle breeze tickled the Priest's ears. She stood with hands clasped behind her back, her smiling face like a child's proudly showing off a cherished treasure. In truth, she was introducing Johann to her most precious one.
“It's a small village, but it has everything. People, journeys, meetings, partings, delicious food and awful food, nagging Priests and mischievous kids. The hero-nim, the mage-nim, and me... We all started here.”
Start Village
This place truly was her starting point. Her grand cradle.
“Small, but beautiful.”
Johann voiced his honest impression. Cozy and quaint—the perfect spot to spend one's twilight years. Sure, adventurers made the streets noisy, but that bustle felt like the village's vitality, not unwelcome.
“After joining the hero's party, I've kept thinking about it. Someday, I'll have to leave this little hometown where I grew up.”
To shed her cursed robes, she'd have to head to End Village anyway. Even without that, riding with the hero meant fate would pull her away eventually. Maybe even tomorrow.
The hero's adventures were perilous. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him meant plunging into that danger herself.
Unable to promise a return, she'd come here. To etch this little treasure into her eyes one more time—and share it with Johann.
“You must have a treasure like this too, right, Porter-nim? Your own Start Village.”
Her words brought his hometown to mind. Seoul was too vast to compare to this tiny place. Too complicated, too noisy. Romance suddenly soured.
“My hometown's bigger and more complicated. But it lacks this village's romance.”
“Hehe, someday I'd love to visit your hometown.”
She voiced a wish that could never come true. Johann nodded silently.
“That'd be nice, if the chance comes.”
“Well, even if it does, it'll be ages from now. Anyway, Porter-nim—does this repay the meal?”
“I'd owe you change.”
“Hehe! No need for change. Just buy me another tasty meal next time!”
“Hmm... Considering your appetite, my wallet might be in danger...”
“Hey! I'm normal! Girls our age eat that much!”
The Priest playfully swatted Johann's shoulder at his teasing jab. Even knowing it was a joke, the dig at her eating habits was hard to brush off coolly.
“Just kidding.”
“Worst joke to make to a girl! You need to study women more, Porter-nim!”
“Then I need a teacher. Priest-nim, will you be my master?”
“Me?”
“Who better to teach me about women's hearts?”
“Hehe~! You think so?”
Thin-skinned as she was, the Priest's cheeks softened at the praise. Handling her was almost too easy.
“Master. May this disciple ask a question?”
“Ahem~! Of course! Ask away.”
Hands on hips, chin raised, she struck a pompous pose unlike her usual self. She clearly loved the title.
“May I ask for Master's esteemed name?”
“Y-yes!?”
The Priest panicked like a woman asked for her three sizes. Johann was the one surprised by her reaction.
“Was that so shocking?”
“Oh, right. You're a foreigner, Porter-nim!? We... people following the hero discard our names. So I don't have one. If anything, 'Priest' is my name.”
An uncomfortable tradition, no matter how you sliced it. Johann couldn't fathom why they followed it.
“I've heard that. But I'm asking for the name you discarded.”
“W-why do you want to know that!?”
“Because I want to. Your name, Priest-nim.”
“Ugh...! A name's just an identifier. Nothing to make a big deal of.”
“Hmm. Seems like you're the one attaching meaning to it. If it's merely an identifier, no reason not to tell me, right?”
“W-well...”
The Priest fidgeted like a mute, twisting her fingers. After a moment's agonized thought, she finally whispered like a squirrel scampering up a tree.
“Adventurers who've discarded their names only reveal them on certain occasions. Like... showing respect to an opponent you fight with your life on the line...”
“Respect?”
“Or... proposing to someone you like...”
The Priest clamped her mouth shut again. But Johann didn't back down. He stepped even closer.
“Eek!”
Startled by his advance, the Priest stepped back—and nearly tripped over the rock.
“Dangerous!”
Johann shot out his arm and caught her. Without him, she'd have tumbled down the hillside.
“Ah! Thanks, Porter-nim.”
“Johann.”
“......Thanks, Johann-nim.”
She murmured softly. Then, burying her face in his chest, she spoke.
“Marfa. My name is Marfa.”