Eda and Rita (3)
Eda and Rita came from the Chinikia tribe on a distant island far to the east. Their father had been a wise chieftain and their mother a valiant warrior. As the sisters grew, they learned from their parents the art of becoming exceptional fighters.
Then one day a nobleman was caught in a typhoon at sea and washed ashore on the island’s beach. Their father and the tribespeople took the exhausted stranger in and cared for him with every kindness. Yet what destroyed the tribe—people who had lived sincerely in harmony with nature—was human greed.
Once the nobleman recovered, he noticed the tribespeople adorned in brilliant gold and realized the island held a gold mine. He immediately borrowed a ship and returned to the mainland. One month later he reappeared with dozens of vessels and a private army. A brutal battle erupted between the tribespeople and the soldiers. In the end, the only survivors of that sudden carnage were Eda and Rita.
Consumed by rage, the sisters dug the nobleman’s corpse from the piles of bodies and tore it apart until it was unrecognizable. After they had mourned their parents and the rest of the tribe, they took one of the soldiers’ ships and fled to the mainland.
“How did only the two of you survive?”
Out of so many lives, it seemed miraculous that the sisters alone had made it. The soldiers had been far better equipped; the odds should have been impossible.
To my question Eda gave a light smile, as though the answer were the simplest thing in the world.
“Two ogres had lived on that island since ancient times. Our ancestors had sealed them inside a cave with their wisdom and cunning. When our parents and the tribe were being slaughtered one-sidedly, Rita and I decided there was no hope left. In desperation we released the ogres. We drove the enemy away easily enough, but our homeland became a place no human could ever live again.”
Two ogres on an island of gold… That was the end of the sisters’ tale.
They now made their living as mercenaries, taking requests with the skills they possessed. They had been on their way to meet a client even now. When I asked whether they could afford to sit drinking so leisurely when their road seemed urgent, they laughed with easy confidence, saying a day or two’s delay wouldn’t matter.
“Ehe…”
Rita suddenly scooted right beside me. She gazed at my cheek with the fascinated eyes of someone discovering a rare treasure and stroked it gently. She had been sending me suggestive glances throughout our conversation; now she leaned in and blew warm breath into my ear.
“Hoo… Hehe.”
Eda watched with a bright, knowing smile.
“Looks like she wants to sleep with you.”
“Don’t tease.”
“I’m not. In our tribe, when a man and woman desire each other, they blow breath into the partner’s ear. The way Rita is clinging to you today tells me she truly wants you. That isn’t a joke—it’s sincere.”
“……”
The touching had grown far beyond casual. Rita now had both arms wrapped around me. I looked down at her. She met my gaze and lifted the corners of her mouth in a faint smile. Fierce yet somehow childlike, she reminded me of a lion cub. She seized the collar of her low-cut top and yanked it downward, deliberately exposing a nipple for me to see. This was an unmistakable provocation.
“Whew.”
Warm breath suddenly brushed my other ear. I turned to find Eda now seated beside me, wearing an unreadable smile. I raised one eyebrow.
“Why are you blowing in my ear too?”
“Since we were little, Rita and I have shared everything equally. That includes men.”
The statement carried heavy implications. I scratched my chin, lost in thought. What a depraved situation. Yet the man I had become—the man who could kill without remorse—had no reason to refuse. After studying Eda for a long moment I rose from my seat.
“Let’s go upstairs and have another drink.”
I left the alcove with both women on my arms, giggling. As we crossed the hall, every man at the tables stared with open envy. It was only natural. Eda and Rita’s bodies were not merely slender—they were devastating.
The moment we entered the sisters’ room and I locked the door, they descended on me with kisses, as if they had been waiting for this exact second. In the middle of it Eda, face flushed, asked with mischievous delight.
“Who are you going to put it in first?”
Eda and Rita left the following morning. After seeing them off with a body heavy from endless yawning, I returned to the room and shook the still-sleeping Pasvachio awake.
“Pasvachio? Pasvachio?”
“Mmm… Captain…”
He finally woke, rubbing his bleary eyes.
“Where are we…?”
“An inn.”
Seeing him safe and sound brought a wide smile to my face. We gathered our things, left the inn, and set off once more for our destination.
After two hours of riding under Pasvachio’s guidance we reached a mining village nestled among rugged stone mountains and boulders. For a village it was surprisingly large, with a sizable population.
Pasvachio halted his horse in front of an apothecary. We tied the horses at the roadside and stepped inside. Despite the sign, the shop was completely empty. Had the owner moved?
The small bell on the door rang. A slim woman who appeared to be in her early forties descended from the second floor.
“Why did it take you so long? I thought my neck would snap from waiting.”
She smiled at Pasvachio. Could this be the acquaintance he had mentioned?
After exchanging warm greetings, Pasvachio introduced me. The woman offered a polite bow.
“It is an honor to meet you, Captain Hyunwoo. I am Yunia Lartes.”
She wore the simple clothes of an ordinary housewife, yet her bearing and appearance suggested anything but. Her features were plain, but her height and confident posture made her seem stronger and more spirited than most men. She had to be around 175 centimeters tall.
After the introductions we moved to the reception room on the second floor. Pasvachio took a sip of tea, set the cup down, and spoke.
“Did the funeral go well?”
“Thanks to the villagers it did. My husband had done many favors for everyone except his own wife, so the mourners filled the house.”
Yunia’s face looked at ease.
“But how did it happen?”
“He always put work first and neglected his health. He had a chronic condition. A while ago, on a rainy day, he suddenly said he wanted to travel. He wished to see even nearby Nobern. I was delighted. It had been so long since we could spend time together. But while I was busy packing, he quietly passed away at his desk.”
Yunia let out a short sigh, then smiled warmly.
“There was a letter on the desk where he had collapsed. It said thank you and I’m sorry, and that I should leave this stifling place and live freely. That was the last thing he left me.”
“So he knew that day would be his last.”
As I drank my tea and listened, I learned that Pasvachio and Yunia had been comrades in the same mercenary company in their youth. In a village they once visited, Yunia met a wandering pharmacist. She fell for his gentle heart, quit the mercenary life, and chose to become an ordinary wife. After their wedding they settled in this mining village. They had no children.
“All our savings went to his medical costs. I still have to eat, the apothecary is here, but the only thing I know is how to fight with a spear. While I was wondering what to do, Pasvachio’s letter arrived at the perfect time.”
Yunia looked at me with a faint smile.
“You’re quite the handsome young bachelor for a captain. Can you afford to feed me too?”
It could also be taken as saying I looked like an unreliable young gigolo. I answered seriously.
“First I should test your skill. I have no intention of recruiting just anyone.”
“Haha, just anyone?”
Yunia let out a hollow laugh, as if she had heard something utterly unexpected.
“In the old days I received rather special treatment, you know.”
She stood and beckoned us to follow her into another room.
“My husband loved peace and hated weapons of war. In front of him I couldn’t even say the words ‘shield’ or ‘sword.’”
When she lifted a wooden floorboard, a long wooden box appeared. “These are things I kept hidden for over ten years while playing the part of a proper lady. It’s the gear I used during my mercenary days.”
Yunia opened the box with pride. Inside lay neatly arranged armor, a helmet, and a partisan spear. Even at a glance I could tell these were rare items not found in ordinary shops.
“Good lord. I sold every piece of my equipment the moment I married to buy milk for our daughter, yet you kept yours all this time?”
At Pasvachio’s impressed tone, Yunia smiled with satisfaction.
“I worked desperately hard in my twenties to gather them. It felt too wasteful to sell.”
She pulled the shoulder of her dress down with one hand.
“Pasvachio, turn around.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll face the door.”
Pasvachio turned obediently. Yunia began to undress right in front of me, as if putting on a show.
“Well, Captain? Is this enough to satisfy you?”
Soon she stood in nothing but underwear that barely covered her breasts and hips. She spun once, deliberately displaying her figure.
“What do you think? I’ve kept myself in good shape even as a married woman, haven’t I?”
Indeed she had. I gave a silent nod.