Receiving a Woman as a Reward
I stood among the massive crowd, quietly observing the chaotic situation unfolding around me. Crachio had just been killed.
Crachio's mouth, which had been screaming for mercy just moments ago, fell silent forever.
Ugh, how gruesome. At least my ears could finally get some peace. It was unfortunate for the deceased, but when he’d been shrieking at the top of his lungs, I genuinely thought my eardrums would burst. I’d even felt the urge to rush out and smack him in the head myself.
Anyway, this was the first time I had witnessed a person being murdered and seen a corpse, both on Earth and in this new world. Contrary to my expectation that I would be deeply shocked, my mind felt strangely calm. I was surprised at myself. Could it be that I had some latent psychopathic tendencies buried inside? Or maybe it was because I hadn’t slept for over thirty-five hours? Perhaps my senses had simply gone numb from exhaustion.
The fatigue was reaching its peak. Well, it wasn’t just me. Most of the people gathered here were probably in the same state. Would it be weird if I was the only one showing how sleepy I was? I’d try to hold on a little longer.
My eyes kept drooping, and a yawn slipped out. Damn it.
After exposing the counterfeit money, there wasn’t much for me to do. I blended into the crowd like an extra in a movie, simply watching the events unfold. Honestly, I wasn’t in any important position within the bandit group. I was nothing more than a lowly grunt, so taking any initiative was impossible. Not that I wanted to anyway.
On the other hand, the female leader was moving quickly. After executing Crachio, she immediately mounted her horse, gathered her elite subordinates, and rode off. From what I overheard, she had called an emergency meeting of the bandit leaders in the area. She planned to publicly reveal what Chen had done to us, confront him openly, and demand compensation. If Chen tried to play innocent or resisted too strongly, it could spark an all-out war between the two bandit groups.
Since no one knew how it would turn out, the people left behind at the hideout were told to stay on guard and dispersed. “Phew, can I finally get some sleep now?”
I was about to follow my squad members back to the barracks when members of the 13th Squad, who managed the prisoners, suddenly blocked my path. They were dragging a naked woman bound with ropes. One of the men casually thrust the rope—connected to her neck like a dog leash—into my hand.
“Take her.”
“Huh? What is this?”
“She’s your woman now.”
My woman? What kind of nonsense was that? Besides, this blonde woman was Crachio’s secretary, wasn’t she? Why was she suddenly my woman? Confused, I glanced at Marcus. He simply gave a small nod, as if to say the rope was mine now. That only made me more bewildered.
I asked the man, “Why are you giving her to me?”
“It’s a reward from the boss for exposing the counterfeit money.”
“This woman?”
“That’s right.”
This was insane. Wow, the scale of this world was something else. As a reward for revealing fake currency, they were casually handing over a fully grown adult woman. Treating people like spoils of war—it was completely incompatible with the ethical standards I’d learned on Earth.
While I hesitated, Phelton, who had been watching blankly from the side, jumped in with a grin. “So you’re the one who figured out that Crachio gave us counterfeit money?”
Phelton and Harry had just woken up and rushed outside, so they didn’t know the full story. The same went for most of the other bandits. Everyone had been tilting their heads in confusion until the female leader stepped forward and briefly explained the situation after Crachio was brought in as a captive.
Harry’s eyes widened in surprise. “Whoa, Hyunwoo! You’re amazing! And the boss even gave you a present! Hurry up and take it, Hyunwoo!”
“You cause a big scene the moment you arrive. Nice work, rookie!”
“Just take it already, you idiot. My arm’s getting tired holding this rope, and we don’t have time to waste. Don’t we all need to get some sleep?”
I felt bad for my squadmates who were congratulating me, but as a man with morals, I absolutely could not accept this. Treating a person like an object was wrong, and above all, the woman looked so pitiful.
“I won’t take her. I don’t need a woman.”
“What? Are you serious?”
The man holding the rope narrowed his eyes slightly. Phelton quickly whispered in my ear, “Rookie. If word spreads that you rejected a gift from the boss, it’ll sour her mood. Some guys might even call you arrogant and start complaining. No matter what the reward is, you take it. It’s better for you that way.”
Sound advice from a senior, I suppose.
“Hmm, so you’re refusing the boss’s reward?” the man asked, his face twisting into a scowl as if to confirm.
I reached out and grabbed the offered rope. “I’ll take it.”
I wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do. It felt like I was stepping onto a forbidden path. At the same time, I sensed myself turning into a villain. Just how far would I have to abandon my morals and ethics to survive in this den of thieves?
Still, there was no need to stand out unnecessarily and earn extra hatred. Before I could worry about this woman, I had to survive first. Only when I had some breathing room could I afford to help others. It would be foolish to pity someone else when I had none to spare.
“Of course. It’s a gift from the boss. I should accept it.”
One of the men gave the woman a sharp smack on her back. She stumbled forward with a small yelp, shrinking into herself.
“Now follow him. He’s basically your husband now.”
The 13th Squad members chuckled as they walked away.
“Let’s head back too.”
“You can have a go before you sleep, huh?”
“Hehe, I’m jealous, Hyunwoo.”
My squadmates also began walking toward the barracks. I stood there frozen, staring blankly at the terrified woman. Holding the rope attached to her neck made me feel like I was leading a pet. At the same time, a heavy burden surged up from deep inside me. I was barely surviving on my own—what was I supposed to do with her?
“What’s your name?”
“K-Kelly, sir.”
The woman answered with a trembling voice. Seeing her like that made me feel like I was the one tormenting her. Well, from her perspective, I probably looked no different from the rest of these bandits. Maybe I should make a scary face for fun?
“Put this on.”
I took off my top and handed it to her. Since she was completely naked, my eyes kept wandering whenever I looked at her directly. I needed something to cover her. The shirt had originally belonged to Harry, so it was loose on me too. On Kelly, it looked like a short dress that barely reached her thighs. Damn it, why did it look even sexier now?
She seemed to be in her late twenties, and her figure wasn’t bad at all. My eyes were drawn to her even more than before—especially toward her lower body. I cleared my throat and spoke.
“I have no intention of acting like the typical bandit most people imagine.”
“Pardon?”
She looked at me as if she hadn’t expected that.
“In other words, I won’t treat you like a slave or force myself on you.”
“Ah…”
“So there’s no need to be that scared.”
“Thank you…”
She let out a small sigh, and some of the tension seemed to leave her shoulders.
“But,” I continued, wanting to make things clear so she wouldn’t get any false hopes, “I can’t help you with anything beyond my capabilities, and I have no plans to take responsibility for you. If the chance to part ways comes, I’ll take it. Understood?”
“If you won’t take responsibility… what will happen to me…?”
“I don’t know about that.”
“The people who brought me earlier told me to think of you as my husband… so you are my… Um, may I ask your name, sir?”
“Hyun…”
I stopped myself before finishing. There was no reason to reveal my real name to someone whose future was uncertain.
“Boss?” No, calling me that probably wasn’t a good idea. The female leader might explode if she heard it.
“Hmm. Since you now belong to me, Kelly, just call me Master. And don’t think of me as your husband. Those people were only joking earlier.”
“Yes, Master…”
She lowered her head and sniffled. Was she lamenting the fact that she had become a slave in a single day? It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do for her. I had no intention of comforting her sadness, nor any desire to listen to her tragic backstory. The best thing for her was to accept her new reality as a slave as quickly as possible.
I gently tugged on the rope connected to her neck.
“Let’s go. I’m exhausted and just want to sleep.”
Yawning, I started walking toward the 15th Squad’s barracks. The day that had begun yesterday had been incredibly long. The moment I lay down, I felt like I would pass out instantly.
“That filthy bitch!”
The moment Chen returned to his tent, he threw his sword in a rage.
“She humiliated me in front of everyone at the leaders’ meeting!”
The advisor who followed him inside watched nervously, saying nothing and carefully reading the room. Chen’s eyes burned even hotter with fury. He grabbed whatever furniture was within reach and hurled it across the room.
Just thinking about what had happened at the leaders’ meeting a short while ago made his blood boil. Although the meeting had been called suddenly, he had attended without much thought, assuming it would be the usual affair. Instead, he had been utterly disgraced.
The female leader of the Elk Bandits had strode right up to him, grabbed a wine bottle, and smashed it over his head without warning. That alone was infuriating enough, but what came next was even worse. She had publicly exposed how he had used underhanded tactics to target her territory. All the trust he had built up over the years vanished in an instant.
When it was revealed that he had tried to sell out the other leaders to the local lord in order to stab them in the back, he was met with fierce condemnation from every leader present. Some even shouted that Chen’s band should be expelled from the alliance entirely.
Recently, news had spread that the capital had dispatched troops to wipe out the bandits in the southern region. In response, the southern bandit groups were forming regional alliances to resist them systematically. In such a situation, betraying an ally within the same coalition was tantamount to abandoning all honor.
“You think I’ll just let this slide?”
Chen’s face twisted into a vicious scowl. The blood that had poured from the gash on the left side of his head all the way to his chin had now dried and stopped flowing. He turned to the advisor, who was trembling behind him.
“Come up with a plan to destroy the Elk Bandits.”
“A-are you really going to continue? This seems too dangerous as things stand…”
“Shut up!”
Chen’s eyes narrowed to slits.
“A real man cannot simply sit back after being humiliated by a mere woman. The reason to crush the Elk Bandits has become even clearer now.”