Episode 39
Episode 39
After a long journey, we arrived at the center of the Northern Region.
The Northern Region was cold, as always.
As if all creators had made some kind of pact, it was barren, cold, full of monsters, and the people were strong.
Staring at the pure white snowflakes blanketing the sky, I muttered.
"Is it predetermined in every creator's mind? The Northern Region must be cold. That kind of information."
"Huh? Suddenly? Did you read a book or something?"
Nestled comfortably in Aron's arms, I shook my head side to side.
"Just. All the novels I've seen so far are like that, games too."
"Novels and games? You only ever slept and ate."
I turned my head and glared at Aron.
"Books and games I saw before. Okay? There's not a single book at home, so how could I read? Get some books for the house later."
"That... is true."
Aron inwardly marveled at Mia's answer.
Reading books, that was possible.
Knowing Mia's true identity, Aron thought she was smart. What surprised him was Mia's attitude of talking about going home.
'Asking to get some for the house means she's planning to come to my home, right? If I ask, she'll just get annoyed.'
Satisfied by the glimpses of Mia's sincerity, Aron replied.
"Got it. Then let's buy some books or something on the way back. That okay?"
"Yeah, I like romance novels."
"Then I'll get romance ones."
Nodding satisfactorily at Aron's words, I looked outside again.
Through the slightly open canvas of the wagon, the inside of the castle was visible.
Houses densely packed together.
The lively voices of people and the visible traces of life.
It was the Northern Region's appearance, seen for the first time in a long while.
"The weather is cold, but everyone's wearing surprisingly thin clothes. Are they just used to the cold because it's the Northern Region?"
"I guess so? As a joke, they say a Northern man only needs a short sleeve, shorts, and a bottle of strong liquor."
"That's true. There are quite a few people like that in reality. Look, there's one."
I pointed at a man walking by.
Even in weather cold enough for snow, he was walking down the street in a short-sleeved shirt, chugging liquor straight from the bottle.
"See. But we're also wearing thin clothes."
"That's because we're far beyond the range of ordinary humans. Those people are just regular ordinary folks."
While exchanging trivial conversation, the wagon came to a stop.
"Ah, I'm sorry to interrupt your good time. We've just arrived in the Northern Region. Thank you for everything until now."
The Merchant Leader appeared through the gap in the wagon's canvas and greeted us.
It seemed the caravan had reached its destination.
I quickly jumped out of Aron's embrace and got out of the wagon.
"No, thank you. Thanks to you, we got to the Northern Region comfortably. Then, if we get another chance, we'll see you again. Aron, come out quickly too."
Aron followed behind me and got off the wagon.
The Merchant Leader bowed to me and Aron and held out money.
"This is money for the protection you provided on the way here."
"Huh? No. We agreed from the start to only receive room and board."
I pushed back the heavy purse with both hands, but the Merchant Leader offered it more insistently.
"No! Considering we didn't have to hire separate mercenaries thanks to you two, this is a paltry sum. Things have been a bit unsettled lately, you see!"
"Unsettled... Has something bad happened?"
The Merchant Leader handed the money to Aron.
Aron naturally accepted it, tied it to his waist, and focused on the Merchant Leader.
"Lately, one of the Empire's largest mercenary groups disappeared, and two were nearly wiped out, right? So there are a lot of thug-like scoundrels again."
"Ah... That was bound to happen, I guess."
Mercenaries are essentially beings who straddle the line between illegality and legality.
In a fantasy world, military force is greatly needed, but the state can't provide all of it. Mercenaries emerged as a solution to that.
As Seoryeong Unni and Eri said before, they were originally closer to thugs.
'The large mercenary groups somewhat organized that... I didn't know it would turn out like this.'
Originally, there were many who couldn't even provide proper escort and used all sorts of excuses to extort more money than the contract fee.
Guys with no skill just trying to make money.
Guys just trying to show off their strength.
Guys who commit robbery under the name of mercenaries.
The leaders of the large mercenary groups were the ones who cleaned up such guys and raised the quality and reliability of mercenaries.
"Hmm... I guess I'll have to check on that sometime later."
Clicking my tongue with discomfort, I nodded.
"Then I'll gratefully accept this money. Merchant Leader-nim, may your business go well, and we'll see you again if the opportunity arises."
"Yes, then please both travel safely and have a beautiful love."
"Ah, well... Yes..."
Blushing, I nodded.
After the Merchant Leader left, I glanced at Aron, who had been watching from the side.
"Shall we first check if there's a caravan or mercenaries heading to the Red Canyon? That seems like the easiest way."
"What if there aren't any? Walk?"
"Hmm, we'd have to buy a wagon or at least a horse. It's too far to just go on foot."
"We could probably run at full speed too."
Considering Aron's power and stamina, it wasn't a bad idea. Still, it's better to preserve stamina as much as possible, just in case.
Besides, the dwarves are hiding, so going fast won't necessarily help find them.
"It's not a problem that gets solved by going quickly anyway. Let's take it slow. If we show off our strength unnecessarily, they might hide even more and not come out."
A Swordmaster is practically a natural disaster.
In a head-on fight, they might manage somehow, but if it turns into guerrilla warfare, even a nation would be hard-pressed. So the only option is to approach harmlessly.
"Right, so do you have a plan in mind?"
"Bring some decently expensive alcohol... I think going with a caravan would be best."
Dwarves don't indiscriminately hate humans.
They are the ones who absorb interesting human techniques and spit out useful techniques in return. So naturally, they also exchange and interact with human caravans.
"I'll go check at the Mercenary Guild later. There should be at least one caravan that trades with dwarves. But before that... let's find lodging first."
"Are you getting a cheap inn?"
"You can do whatever you're comfortable with. I'm fine with a cheap inn."
Aron nodded, looked around, and pointed to an inn right in front of us.
It was a well-maintained, moderately large inn.
The people going in and out were also neat.
"Shall we go there? It looks the best around here."
Thinking we'd probably stay at most a week, I nodded without much thought.
"Yeah. Then let's go get a room."
*
"I'm sorry, but we only have one room left."
That was the answer we heard upon entering the inn.
Flustered for a moment, I glanced at Aron, then asked the staff in the lobby again.
"Is there some festival happening in the Northern Region right now?"
"The last shipments before it gets colder next week are arriving this week. A festival and market are scheduled to coincide with that."
It was a festival I was hearing about for the first time, but I nodded.
I didn't come to the Northern Region often anyway, so there was more I didn't know.
"Hmm. Then... please give us the remaining room."
"There's only one large bed, is that okay?"
At the mention of one bed, I glared at Aron for a moment.
Under my sharp gaze, Aron lightly shrugged his shoulders. A reaction as if asking what he did wrong.
"Yes, then please give us that room."
"Then please take the key and go up to the 5th floor. Here is the key."
Taking the key the staff handed over, we headed straight to the room.
Entering room 501, written on the key, a surprisingly spacious and luxurious room unfolded.
Aron, who followed me in, exclaimed in admiration.
"Looks like the caravans or mercenaries took all the cheap rooms. Only this kind of high-class room was left."
"Right. I didn't even expect a private bathroom and toilet."
Usually, cheap inns have communal toilets and shower rooms.
The toilet is the commonly thought-of communal type, and the shower room often only has cold water.
Warm water requires Magic Stones, and if they had those, they wouldn't need to be a cheap inn.
I roughly took off my clothes and tossed them aside.
"Should we rest for today? According to the staff, the market opens this week, so let's go check that out. Let's buy the necessary things there and then depart."
"What about finding a caravan? Are you going to do that starting tomorrow too?"
Wearing only a thin short sleeve and short shorts, I plopped down on the bed.
Rolling over once to look at Aron, I nodded.
"Yeah, let's go sell our names a bit and find one. While we're at it... let's also ask about things related to the Flame of Harmony."
It would be a lie to say I wasn't worried, but I believed the remaining members would handle it on their own.
They are all people with sufficient skill and character.
There are plenty of veterans too.
'If it sounds like a dangerous situation... I'll just send a letter or something.'
For now, I just have to do what I need to do.
Taking the opportunity, I lay on the bed and spread my arms.
The thin clothes accentuated my figure.
"Hurry and hug me. I want to smell your scent."
With Mia posing seductively right before his eyes, tempting him, Aron wanted to pounce on her immediately. But he held back somehow and walked over slowly.
"You should probably be careful with your posture and words."
He gently pulled Mia into an embrace and lay down on the bed together.