Second Pursuit — Hyunwoo vs. Adelia (1)
The Lion Heart Unit had recently obtained a trade ledger that included his inn. After confirming that many bandits frequently used the establishment, they had attempted to negotiate with the innkeeper. In exchange for contributing to the capture of criminals, they offered to reduce his sentence—or even grant him a full pardon for all past crimes.
The innkeeper knew better than anyone how merciless the Lion Heart Unit had been in the previous territory before arriving in Nobern. The royal family had granted summary judgment and execution rights to the commanders of each unit belonging to the Wittensbach Knight Order dispatched to the southern region to restore order. Among them, Adelia, the commander of the Lion Heart Unit, had once executed three hundred criminals simultaneously in one location under the pretext of a “great southern purge.”
Unlike the lenient lord of Nobern who had ruled over criminals with a soft hand, the Lion Heart Unit enforced an iron-fisted policy. Terrified, the innkeeper had no choice but to comply with their persuasion. In the end, he personally visited the Lion Heart Unit’s headquarters to report that Hyunwoo had stopped by. Upon hearing the news, Sinclair immediately headed to Adelia’s office.
A maid greeted her first inside.
“What brings you here, Lady Sinclair?”
“What is Lady Adelia doing right now?”
“She is selecting a dress to wear to the evening banquet.”
A voice came from within. “What is it, Sinclair?”
Adelia emerged from the inner room wearing an elegant dress with tasteful exposure. It had been a long time since she had shed her armor. Her refined hairstyle accentuated her feminine charm, and her beautiful dress made her expression appear noticeably softer.
“If you plan to attend the party, you should prepare quickly as well. Why are you still in uniform? Are you busy?”
Sinclair reported urgently with a serious expression.
“Lady Adelia. We have finally located the whereabouts of that mixed-race young man.”
Adelia froze at those words.
“…Is that so?”
A small ripple disturbed the calm surface of Adelia’s expression.
“Then I suppose I must go meet him.”
With a dry smile on her shadowed face, Adelia grasped the shoulder straps of her dress and pulled them down. The flowing garment slipped to the floor, revealing her beautiful naked form. To her, the evening banquet hosted by the lord to welcome the Lion Heart Unit no longer held any importance.
“So, where is he right now?”
As if this was finally the moment for proper revenge, she reached for the armor resting on its stand.
“Where have you been?”
When I returned to Kelly’s attic, I found Marcus sitting on the bed with his eyes wide open. His complexion looked much better, as if his body had mostly recovered.
“Huh? How did this happen?”
My eyes widened in surprise, but a glad smile quickly spread across my face.
“How did you get better so quickly? Did you cast some kind of magic?”
Marcus rolled one shoulder as if it felt stiff.
“I survived thanks to the ‘healing potion’ that crybaby girl brought.”
“Healing potion?”
Marcus paused mid-motion and stared straight at me.
“You came from far away, so I guess you don’t have them there? There’s an external wound remedy sold at the temple. We call it a healing potion.”
Ah! Healing potion! I had completely forgotten about one of the greatest advantages of this other world—the existence of healing potions. No need to visit a hospital; just drink it and your wounds are healed!
I rushed over to Marcus and examined the state of his thigh. The dried blood on his skin showed that the wound had healed perfectly.
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Does your country not have healing potions?”
“No, we don’t. This is the first time I’ve seen one.”
We talked about Phelton and Harry as well. I explained everything, including Phelton’s final moments when Marcus had been sitting in the passenger seat, hovering between life and death. While Marcus sat with a lonely expression, staring at the wall for a long time, Kelly came inside.
“Welcome back.”
Both her hands held a two-liter milk can with a handle and a bag of bread. She must have gone grocery shopping. Between the healing potion and food, she had spent quite a lot of money today.
“I’m glad you returned safely, Mr. Hyunwoo.”
Kelly greeted me with a smiling face, then took three glass cups from the shelf, placed them on the table, and sat down. I expressed my gratitude to her.
“Thank you for treating Marcus. And for the milk and bread too. I keep owing you more and more.”
At my words, the smile on her lips quickly faded for some reason. Her expression darkened.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t buy you a more expensive healing potion. I didn’t have much money…”
“It’s fine. It’s fortunate he drank it quickly. Otherwise, he would have died today. I consider it lucky that he only ended up with a limp.”
I tilted my head in confusion. A limp? What were these people talking about?
“What do you mean?”
When I blinked and asked, Kelly looked at the floor and answered in a small voice.
“Because Mr. Marcus drank the lowest-grade healing potion instead of a good one… he will have to limp for the rest of his life…”
“I told you not to worry about it,” Marcus clicked his tongue.
From what I gathered… Marcus’s injury had been severe. If he had drunk the lowest-grade healing potion immediately, it might have been different, but because a considerable amount of time had passed before he consumed it, he had recovered but was left with a permanent disability. To achieve a more perfect recovery, he would have needed to drink a much more expensive, higher-grade healing potion.
My heart ached knowing Marcus had been left with a disability, but there was nothing we could do about the unavoidable circumstances. I hadn’t even thought about healing potions in the first place. I was grateful to Kelly for making the wise choice that saved Marcus’s life, and I comforted her with a gentle smile.
“You don’t need to feel sorry, Kelly. Even a lowest-grade healing potion is better than nothing. If not for that, our squad leader would have died today.”
“Yes…”
Perhaps reassured by my words, Kelly’s expression softened a little. She really is a kind person. Even though I had rescued her from the bandit group, how many people in the world would step forward this eagerly to repay that favor? If it had been me, I probably would have washed my hands of the matter the moment I was freed and pretended not to know them. Yet here she was, helping us with all her heart and soul. It was truly touching.
And now that I knew she was a good person, I didn’t want our connection to end as a one-time thing. I wanted to continue this relationship going forward. Hmm. Maybe I should suggest we stay friends. Expanding my network for the future wouldn’t hurt. I might need her help again later.
“Be honest. You wanted me to die, didn’t you?”
It was Marcus’s voice. Now that he had regained his energy, the old man was at it again.
“Who said I wanted you to die? How was I supposed to escape this place alone?”
“Really?”
“I ran all over the place trying to keep you alive. All over!”
“Thanks to this girl, I’m perfectly fine now. Why bother?”
“Is it enough that your body is better? Our top priority is getting out of this city.”
I opened the milk can Kelly had bought, poured some into a cup, and wet my throat.
“Where did you go?”
“You know that slum inn where we ate last dawn, right? I went there.”
“How did you know about it? Did you remember the way?”
“I got a bit lost.”
I got really lost.
“You’re a clever one. Good thing you’re not completely directionally challenged. So, what did the innkeeper say?”
Marcus didn’t even ask how I had known the inn was a place that handled dirty work for bandits or how I had found it. He simply skipped over that and continued with his questions.
“We’re taking a boat at eight tonight. So we need to get to the inn by seven. The owner said he’d take us there by carriage.”
“That’s wonderful!”
Kelly clapped her hands together with a bright smile. She looked genuinely happy that we could return safely.
After watching her for a moment, I spoke up.
“Once we leave, you’ll have to find a new job, right, Kelly?”
“Yes, I will. I need to make a living.”
“Will it be easy to find one?”
“I’m not sure. But anywhere will be better than working at Crachio’s trading company, so I’m willing to take on difficult work. That should help me find something quickly, don’t you think?”
“Was the working environment there really that bad?”
“They made me work a lot but habitually withheld my wages, so I had no intention of staying long.”
I see. So that’s why she had stood in front of the female leader with veins bulging in her neck and revealed all of Crachio’s betrayals. Working under a wicked boss like that would make anyone want to explode like that.
“You’re not the one who’s going to find her a job, so why are you worrying about that woman’s employment? What a funny guy.”
Damn old man. He just had to pop up and ruin the mood again.
“Squad Leader, why don’t you drink this instead?”
I poured milk into a cup and handed it to him along with some bread. Marcus must have been very hungry, because he immediately shut his mouth and started eating. With the nuisance gone, I continued my conversation with Kelly, and my ears felt much more at peace.
“Before we leave, I have one favor to ask. Could I meet your younger brother again right now?”
“Flavio?”
“There’s something very important that I absolutely need his help with. The sooner, the better.”
I had planned never to meet that friend who had tried to drag me back into the criminal underworld, but unavoidable circumstances had arisen. At this moment, Flavio’s help was desperately needed.
“I understand. I’ll go to the unit for a bit. If a family member visits, they should allow him to step out.”
“You’ve been running around all day. Your feet must hurt.”
“Still, I have to do what I have to do.”
Her bright smile made her look both admirable and strong-willed.
“Wait.”
I unconsciously grabbed her arm as she put on her coat and opened the door to leave.
“Kelly.”
“Yes?”
“If I manage to get out of here alive, I will definitely come find you later. I want to properly express my gratitude then. Maybe we could have a meal together or something…”
While I was speaking, a sudden incident occurred.
“Thank you.”
She suddenly kissed my left cheek, gave me a tender look, and then left without another word. I stood frozen in place with a dazed expression. What just happened? How could a woman be so bold?
As I absentmindedly stroked my cheek and replayed the moment in my head, Marcus chuckled at my stupefied appearance.
“It was just a greeting. Why are you so surprised? You look like a country bumpkin.”
“A greeting?”
Marcus’s teasing snapped me back to my senses. That’s right. It was a Western-style greeting. I remembered now. Even on Earth, foreigners often kissed each other on the cheek when they were close. They just made the sound without actually touching. But Kelly’s lips had pressed firmly against my skin, hadn’t they? I thought she was stamping a seal on my cheek. Her lips pressed so hard I thought she was stamping a marriage registration form.
“Don’t you think it’s strange too?”
Marcus spoke with a slightly cynical smile.
“I knew it would turn out like this from the moment you kept throwing flirty comments at that girl. Even to me, that didn’t look like a simple greeting.”
This was ridiculous.
“When did I ever throw flirty comments?”
“A handsome guy like you worrying about someone else’s job and saying you’ll repay her later with such friendliness—who wouldn’t fall for that?”
Is this an insult or a compliment?
“I’ve never thought of myself as handsome, and I definitely didn’t flirt. But if Kelly misunderstood because of my careless behavior, then that’s my fault. I’ll have to be more careful with my words and actions from now on.”
“…You really don’t get it?”
“Get what?”
“It’s already too late.”
“Why is it too late?”
Marcus looked at me as if I were pathetic.
“If you had died and the only ones left in this attic were me and Harry, do you think that girl would have helped us this eagerly? We probably wouldn’t even have this attic. We’d be sleeping on the streets.”