Chapter 81: Katarina (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 81: Katarina (3)
“This house is a wreck.”
Cloud’s words came out of nowhere during breakfast. It was so sudden that Katarina couldn't help but ask, “What?”
“Cold wind is blowing in through the cracks. It was so cold last night, I thought my face would freeze. Aren’t you guys cold?”
As if they had been waiting for the question, the children all complained in unison.
“It’s cold! My spot gets a lot of wind, and the blanket is thin!”
“I don’t even have a blanket! Brena-noona always steals it.”
“Wh-When did I ever steal it?!”
“You do! You always roll yourself up in it and sleep all warm!”
“It’s not warm at all! It’s still co— No, I didn’t steal it!” Brena shouted, glancing at Cloud.
Listening to the children's complaints, Cloud crossed his arms and nodded.
“So I wasn’t the only one with a complaint.”
He then turned his gaze to Katarina.
“...What.”
“Your younger siblings are like this. As the eldest daughter, don’t you have any thoughts on the matter?”
“...You think I want to live in a house like this? What am I supposed to do when we can’t afford better?”
She grumbled, stabbing a carrot with her fork. Tapping the table with his index finger, Cloud said, “Then should I help? All we need to do is call a carpenter.”
At Cloud’s words, the children looked at him with eyes full of expectation.
Could it be that they wouldn't have to fight over the blanket while they slept anymore? That they wouldn't have to suffer the injustice of having their blanket stolen just because they were young?
That hope didn't last long.
“Forget it. You don’t need to do all that. You’re just going to leave in a few days anyway.”
“I’m worried those few days will be hard for you.”
“I said forget it. I’ll say it again: you’re just a guest staying for a little while. Our family’s problems are for us to solve. You don’t need to spend your own money to help us. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
They slept in the same house and ate the same food, but Cloud was, in the end, an outsider. They were already struggling; Katarina didn't want to be indebted to someone on top of that.
So she drew a clear line.
Seeing her siblings’ disappointment stung a little, but it was better than causing problems later.
However, as if he hadn't understood her intentions at all, Cloud said something completely unexpected.
“So as long as I don’t spend any money, it’s fine, right?”
“What?”
“You’re saying I shouldn't do it because you'd feel burdened if I spent money. So, I won’t spend any money.”
Having reached that conclusion, Cloud declared, “I’ll be taking a sword,” and walked right out of the house.
It all happened so fast that Katarina couldn't even react.
She just stared blankly at the door he had left through.
Is he gone?
No.
He’d left his luggage behind.
Then what did he go out to do?
...I don't know.
Whatever strange thing he was up to, he would probably come back later.
Katarina went about her day without giving Cloud another thought.
She was preparing dinner, having given in to her hungry siblings’ whining, when she heard a splintering sound.
Creaak—
She turned her head to see that one of the wooden planks supporting the house had been torn away.
“Huh?”
What the. Why is that gone?
While Katarina was bewildered, her younger siblings were curious.
The children rushed outside in a group.
“Hey?! Wait!”
Katarina quickly grabbed her curved sword. She didn't know who had torn off a piece of her house wall, but one thing was certain: they were a lunatic. And a lunatic could harm her siblings.
She burst outside and shouted boldly, “If you so much as lay a finger on my siblings, I’ll—?”
Her bold voice trailed off into a question.
She couldn't help it...
“Wow! Hyung, your sword is glowing!”
“I’ve heard of this before. It’s Sword Aura, right? I heard only really amazing adventurers can use it!”
“Whoa, stop. Touch that the wrong way and you might lose a finger.”
...because the scene unfolding before her eyes was beyond her wildest imagination.
Logs were piled up in front of the house.
Cloud was shaping a log into a plank, and his sword, glowing with a blue light, sliced through the wood as if he were peeling fruit.
Even as he worked, he kept the approaching children, who thought it looked fun, under control.
“What in the world...”
“Ah, perfect timing. Take the kids inside. I can’t get anything done, I’m too worried they’ll get into trouble.”
“What on earth are you doing?”
“What does it look like? I’m fixing the house.”
“I’m pretty sure I said you didn’t need to.”
“You said it was fine as long as I didn’t spend money, right?”
“You didn’t spend money? Then what are those?”
Katarina pointed at the heaping pile of logs. Common sense dictated that there was no way to get that many logs without buying them from a lumberyard.
But Cloud’s answer completely defied common sense.
“I chopped them down outside.”
“...What?”
“I chopped them down outside the city.”
Cloud grabbed a log and lifted it. The motion was as natural as Katarina lifting groceries.
Katarina’s legs began to tremble slightly.
“Hyung! Hyung! Can you lift more?”
“Can I lift more? What a silly question.”
Cloud lifted another log with his other hand. When he started juggling the logs, Katarina couldn't take it anymore and collapsed to the ground.
“Ah... Aah...”
Wh-What have I done?
To think I let a monster like that into our house for just a few coins...!
Katarina clutched her head, cursing her past self.
Regardless of her feelings, Cloud diligently reassembled the shabby house. Like the Ship of Theseus, the dilapidated house was transformed into a new one, leaving only its original structure behind.
Thanks to him, Cloud and Katarina’s siblings were able to sleep soundly, free from the cold wind.
Katarina, on the other hand, couldn't sleep.
The rope she used to tie Cloud's limbs looked far too flimsy.
Chains. I need thick, heavy chains!
But there was no way a poor girl like her could afford something as expensive as chains, and she cursed her poverty.
*
Cloud's eccentric behavior didn't stop at rebuilding the house.
“The wardrobe is a bit small...”
A large wardrobe was built.
“Don’t you want a vegetable garden?”
A sturdy fence surrounded the house.
“Isn’t it inconvenient when you cook?”
A three-tiered shelf was built.
Whenever he found something inconvenient, he would just whip it up on the spot. Later, when he seemed to run out of things to do, he even tried his hand at cat's cradle.
Three weeks passed in this absurd environment.
After dinner, they went to bed. As usual, the children excitedly talked about what they had done with Cloud that day before falling asleep. Normally, she would have just played along and left it at that, but today, she asked her siblings a question.
Did they like Cloud that much?
Without a moment's hesitation, her siblings said yes.
They did.
They wished their big brother Cloud would stay with them forever.
Katarina smiled bitterly.
When he first arrived, she had been wary of him. When he showed her the bizarre act of juggling logs, she had trembled in fear.
But those negative feelings faded with time.
Because Cloud had always treated her and her siblings with genuine kindness.
‘I wish he would stay forever...’
She had had a similar thought herself.
She wished these ordinary, happy days would continue forever.
But Katarina was not a naive child like her siblings.
She was well aware that these happy days would not last.
After confirming that everyone was asleep, she changed into her dancer's outfit, took her curved sword, and went outside.
Basking in the soft moonlight, she unwrapped her bandages.
Moving her arm no longer caused her any pain.
It’s finally over.
In truth, her arm had healed a few days ago.
But she had hidden that fact.
She had felt it, vaguely.
The moment her arm was fully healed, her and her siblings' lives would return to how they were before he came.
Humans are creatures that settle down.
Once a certain level of safety and happiness is guaranteed, they want to settle down and stay there.
Katarina was no different.
She had lied because she wanted to prolong the happiness of the past three weeks. If she wanted to, she could continue it even now.
But she couldn't.
The memory of that day, stained red with her parents' blood, would not allow her to settle.
And so, Katarina danced.
To awaken a body that had grown soft with peace.
To repay blood with blood.
And...
So as not to despair over a happiness that would soon disappear.
[Chapter 1: Butterfly Dance.]
The caterpillar that hatched from the egg becomes a chrysalis, and breaking through the hard shell, it becomes a butterfly... but it failed.
Her dance was cut short.
Was it because her body had stiffened after a three-week hiatus?
No. Even so, this was strange.
The Butterfly Dance was a very basic dance. Ever since she had completely mastered it, she had never once faltered here.
So why was this happening now?
I don’t know.
She just... didn't feel the will to dance right now. I'll start practicing properly tomorrow, after he leaves. Katarina turned to go back to bed.
And froze.
“Why’d you stop after just a little?”
Cloud was leaning against the doorframe, watching her.
“Weren’t you sleeping?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I was just lying there with my eyes closed. More importantly, why did you stop dancing?”
“I just... I’m not in the mood to dance today.”
“Hmm...”
After thinking for a moment, Cloud approached Katarina.
“Uh... uhh..? What are you doing..?”
“Stay still.”
Cloud moved behind Katarina. Pressing his body close to hers, he pressed his right index finger just below her navel.
“Kyaa?! Wh-What are you doing?!”
Startled, Katarina struggled to push him away, but Cloud deftly dodged her attempts.
“How is it? Can you feel it?”
“Feel what... huh...?”
From the tip of Cloud's finger, a strange energy began to flow through her veins. She shivered at the unfamiliar sensation.
“What is this..?”
“Mana, Ki, Aether. It’s a hard-to-explain power with many names. From now on, I’m going to control it in time with your dance. Remember this feeling well.”
“You want me to dance? Like this?”
“Don’t mind me. I’ll be sure to dodge the blades.”
“No... that’s not the problem...”
Mumbling, Katarina had no choice but to start dancing at Cloud's urging.
“Katarina, focus.”
She had barely started when he pointed out how dull her sword dance was.
Katarina felt it was unfair.
Objectively speaking, Cloud was a very attractive man.
Not just in looks, but in ability as well.
Moreover, having seen Cloud’s kind side over the past three weeks, Katarina had developed feelings for him.
And now she was pressed against such a man.
How could she possibly dance with any composure?
Her heart was pounding, her head felt hot, and all her senses were focused on the feeling of his body against her back. It was utter chaos.
But that was only for a moment.
As Cloud began to manipulate his mana in earnest and it started to infuse her sword dance, Katarina’s consciousness was instantly drawn into the dance.
She had always felt that something was missing, even when she perfectly replicated the movements.
It was only natural for her to madly indulge in the answer she had been seeking.
The caterpillar becomes a chrysalis, the chrysalis a butterfly.
[Chapter 1: Butterfly Dance] ended successfully.
Katarina didn't continue the dance and lowered her arms.
She closed her eyes, replaying the sensations from moments before.
What was different from all the dances she had performed until now?
The aura around her was different.
To be precise, her dance had changed the aura around her.
After retracing the sensations and savoring the answer, she opened her eyes.
She glanced over and saw Cloud giving her a proud smile. Seeing that smile, Katarina couldn't help but ask.
“Why are you staying at our house?”
It was a question she’d had for the past three weeks.
A question she had been curious about, but had pushed to the back of her mind, afraid that knowing the answer would make him leave.
That was the question she asked.
“Hm?”
“I’m asking why you’re staying at our house.”
“Like I said before, it’s due to various circumstances...”
“Lies. From what I’ve seen, you’re no ordinary person. You must be a famous adventurer somewhere. I don’t believe for a second that someone like you couldn’t stay at an inn because of some street thugs.”
“...”
“So tell me the real reason. Why are you with us...”
Katarina's words trailed off.
Because she had just now felt something pressing against her backside.
That something was hard, thick, and long.
And Katarina was not a woman completely ignorant of such matters.
Her eyes trembled.
“Y-You... don’t tell me you’re...”
“Hm? Ah, this is a misunderstanding... No, on second thought, it’s not a misunderstanding.”
Cloud crossed his arms and nodded. Then, with a serious expression, he said to her, “You got me hard, so take responsibility.”