Chapter 125
Chapter 125
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 125
Chapter Title: Long Time No See
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Eastern Continent.
Dark alleyway.
It was the path I ducked into to avoid the orc, dwarf, and elf trio.
"Oh, long time no see."
"......"
As soon as I saw Cheong Yura, I greeted her awkwardly.
-Saying that from our first meeting?
'What can I do.'
The awkward greeting I spat out because I couldn't stand the awkwardness any longer.
The holy sword said something to me.
But after pondering for a moment, Cheong Yura said those words to me.
"Long time no see."
With her expression slightly relaxed, Cheong Yura greeted me back. I gazed at her.
Beautiful silver hair laced with a blue sheen.
And her glossy tail.
They were different from how I remembered. The Cheong Yura in my memory had the well-groomed look of a pampered dog.
But now...
'It's rude to think this.'
That was the thought that crossed my mind.
She had become like a dog abandoned by its owner.
Gloomy eyes.
Heavy dark circles.
Pupils lacking focus.
Disheveled hair and tail.
This wasn't the proud Cheong Yura from before.
She looked like a timid child now. Eyes that feared being abandoned once more. And yet, no hatred toward me showed in them.
'......It really feels that way.'
Me abandoning Cheong Yura had been for her own good, too.
When I'd stayed at her home, strange rumors had started circulating.
So I had no choice.
I couldn't block the marriage prospects of a fine maiden like her. Especially since I owed her so much.
So I fled.
But...
'......Maybe I should've at least invited her to join the clan.'
No, if I'd stayed as things were, the rumors might have gotten even worse.
-......I don't think that's the problem.
'What is?'
-To tell you now, but those rumors spread with eerie speed back then.
'......?'
-So someone must've spread them deliberately... not quite slander, more like treating it as established fact. That's why it spread so fast everywhere.
'Established fact?'
The only one I could think of who might do that was the Beast King.
But would the Beast King really stoop to that? It concerned his daughter's reputation.
He'd seemed more like a doting father than he let on...
-But he's still the head of the clan. He could sacrifice his daughter for the good of the whole... though she seemed willing enough, so he'd have no qualms. Hell, he probably pushed it harder because he disliked you.
'......'
What the hell.
At the holy sword's words suggesting my actions might've been pointless, I was thrown off for a moment.
......No, forget that for now.
'I need to calm Cheong Yura down.'
I looked at her.
Silently prepared to accept any punishment.
She gazed at me with trembling eyes.
"......Perhaps."
Before I could even speak.
Cheong Yura forced the words out as she looked at me.
"This handmaiden has been agonizing over it all this time."
Her blue eyes fixed straight on me.
"I wondered if you'd come to hate me now."
"No way."
I spoke up in a hurry.
I might not know about other things, but I'd never hate Cheong Yura.
"Is that so? Then why back then?"
"......Weird rumors were going around. I didn't want to cause you trouble."
"Weird rumors?"
Cheong Yura echoed.
Her eyes held a hint of expectation as she watched me.
"Yeah. Like us dating, or me becoming your owner..."
"I... see."
Cheong Yura's face showed shock at my words.
Then her ears drooped limply.
"You do hate me. I'm sorry. To flee from rumors of dating me..."
"No, it's not like that."
Honestly, who wouldn't like Cheong Yura?
Any guy without bizarre tastes would adore her.
"If not that?"
"It might ruin your future."
"Something like that's fine. No one who matters to our lives anyway. Brushing off rumors is simple enough."
Cheong Yura nodded as she spoke.
"Then... will you come back to our beastkin lands with me?"
"Sure, anytime."
"I... see."
Cheong Yura's ears perked up again, her tail starting to swish.
Her mood seemed completely lifted by my words, leaving me fairly flustered inside.
-So easy to read.
'Yeah.'
Simple as the dog we'd raised at home.
"You seem in a good mood now?"
"Mm, much better. Honestly, this handmaiden thought you'd abandoned me after I gave you everything."
"......"
Nothing to say to that.
Owner complex... or something? I recalled our trip to the Labyrinth, the kidnapping.
Cheong Yura saw me as her master. And through some ritual, she'd turned into a wolf.
'Wolves are canines, so she acts like a dog.'
Thinking of it that way made Cheong Yura seem utterly adorable.
Naturally, my hand drifted to her head, and I started petting her.
So fluffy and addictive—I wanted to keep going forever.
'......Her tail too.'
Humans are creatures of desire, they say.
Standing makes you want to sit, sitting makes you want to lie down—that's human nature.
Petting her head made me want to hug her tail and sleep.
More honestly, I think I preferred her dog form to her current look.
'......That'd be rude, right?'
-Of course it would.
The holy sword gave my thoughts a light scolding.
"......Hehe, you like this handmaiden's head? Feel free to pet more."
"No need."
"Is that so... You really don't like me after all."
Cheong Yura sulked again at my words.
She looked up at me from below with eyes glistening just a bit.
"......"
The kid's picked up some weird habits.
I sighed inwardly and looked at her.
"How could I ever hate you?"
"......"
Cheong Yura went blank at my words.
"Back then, I had no choice... but even then, I was thinking of you."
"I... see. You always think of me."
"......? Well, yeah."
Not always, but sure.
She did hold a pretty big place in my heart.
"......Hehe. So that's how it is."
"Yeah, yeah."
I petted her head.
"By the way, did you book an inn? If not, with this handmaiden...?"
"Got the party."
"Oh... Then tell me where."
"Not sure yet. Party's handling it."
Ermé would take care of it just fine.
"......? Got a way to contact them?"
"Nope."
Wished we had phones in this era sometimes.
Cases like this, especially.
"But how'll you find your party?"
"Easy."
"......?"
Cheong Yura looked puzzled, not getting it, then her face lit up with realization.
"You sniff like this handmaiden too? But in a city like this, smells are tough."
"Smells are hard in cities, but traces stick around. Just follow the party's trail."
"......?"
Cheong Yura looked even more baffled.
Hm, doesn't get it.
I'd figured she might.
-You're the weird one. Finding traces in a city ain't easy.
'No big deal.'
I headed back to where the party had first scattered.
Cheong Yura trotted after me.
"How do you spot the traces?"
"Smell first. Then footprints."
"Footprints?"
"Yeah."
Shoes are handmade in this era, so they're easy to ID.
"See those footprints over there?"
"Yes."
"And the wavy pattern?"
-Yeah.
"That's the mark from the shoe shop our clan uses a lot. Not exclusive, but terrain-adapted design makes 'em stand out. Plus the smell."
"Smell?"
"Faint perfume. Two in the party have plum scent, lavender lingering faintly—so they went this way."
FYI, plum's Volkan and So Yeonhwa.
"Easy tracking from here."
"You got all that at a glance?"
"......Yeah."
Truth is, my gift spells it out.
More precisely, I simplified it to something understandable.
'Extremity's still human territory.'
Divine Realm's another story. I could even hear their chatter en route to the inn.
Less tracking, more...
'Like rewinding time to watch their moves.'
Once I explained, Cheong Yura followed quietly.
As we trailed the signs, a gaudy inn came into view.
"This the place?"
"Yeah."
For some reason, Cheong Yura's face brightened, her tail swishing happily.
"Good thing. Looks like we're at the same inn."
"Same inn, huh."
Makes sense. We've got the crown prince; she's the Beast King's daughter.
Same top-tier inn tracks.
"Sorry, sir. Someone's rented out the whole place today..."
"......?"
Was dead sure the party was here, but rented out?
"Sorry. The Empire's princess rented it, so..."
"......"
We've got a crown prince, and now a princess?
Felt off, but a weird premonition of hassle hit me.
'Nearby inn it is, then...'
As I turned to go—
Two figures with golden eyes.
One a woman.
The other, the crown prince who'd come with our party.
"Crown prince renting just three rooms? So undignified. Think of the Empire's honor."
"Oh? Not dignified—downright graceless. Decent inn, evicting folk on the spot."
"Paid premium, didn't I?"
"Hmm. Then I'll double your cash—now scram."
"My, trying to buy me out? But our ancestors were great ones. Can't have their heir sleeping on the street like some bum."
"Street? You, with eight Silver Wind horses pulling your luxury carriage solo?"
Wow, the princess and prince going at it.
Definitely dragged into something annoying.
I pulled my hat low, draped a cloth over Cheong Yura.
"Let's slip out."
"Love elopement...? Th-this handmaiden will follow anywhere..."
No, not elopement.
More than that—you're not that type.
"Serving my husband like an emperor's only natural. Just practice for me."
No—we're not like that.