Chapter 8
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Keep Getting Mistaken for a Cannibal (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning.
After finishing a simple breakfast, Asha left the inn, with Lilliana seeing her off.
Lilliana waved her arms vigorously, praying for a safe journey. Asha waved back with a smile.
Just as they were about to leave Haven Village.
Suddenly, an old man came running breathlessly from the side.
It was the village chief of Haven Village.
"Huff... huff..."
He bent at the waist, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
The old man wiped the sweat-drenched forehead with his sleeve.
"Oh dear, oh dear. I almost missed you."
"What is it?"
Did the mercenaries desert last night or something?
Asha asked, and...
"Huff, how did you...!"
The chief was startled.
Can elves read minds too? The news couldn't have spread already.
He gazed at Asha with eyes full of awe. She looked like his granddaughter, yet she was anything but ordinary.
He'd have to be extra careful if he ever encountered another elf. They were beyond the rumors.
The chief shook his head and said,
"W-well, one of them did disappear, but he seems to have fled with nothing on him, so no big loss."
"I see."
'It was real?'
Asha blinked, having asked without much thought.
The chief's slightly tense expression made her wonder if it was truly no big deal, but she had no intention of getting further involved.
She had her own things to do, and excessive kindness was just meddling.
Asha waited for the chief's next words.
The chief reached into his bosom and pulled out a small pouch.
Wrinkle after wrinkle deepened on his aged face as he politely offered it.
"We can't just let you go after receiving your help without giving anything in return—it'd shame our village. It's not much, but it's from the villagers' hearts. Please accept it."
Asha took the pouch and checked its contents.
A few silver coins clinked inside. Not a huge amount, but not insignificant either.
Haven Village clearly wasn't prosperous by any means.
Asha hesitated for a moment.
'Should I take this or not?'
At that moment, the chief, who had been watching her reaction closely, hurriedly shouted,
"When you arrive at the capital! Please grant us the honor of offering you elves a drink!"
"...Uh, sure. If that's the case."
Asha tucked the pouch away as she replied.
Honor or whatever, he insisted so much it felt right to accept.
She glanced sideways at Elysia, who nodded with arms crossed, as if it were the most natural thing.
And so, having unexpectedly pocketed some reward, Asha set off toward the city with light steps.
The chief watched the two women recede from a distance and let out a deep sigh.
One had to offer payment before the elf demanded it for her dignity, or it'd be an insult. Who knew she'd move so swiftly!
He'd nearly gotten a scolding.
Especially that moment when she fell silent upon seeing inside the pouch.
That chilling gaze sent cold sweat trickling down his back.
'Should've started by exalting the elf's honor from the beginning...'
The order of words mattered that much. He gained a profound realization.
The air of the city breeds freedom.
A proverb meaning the laws and self-governance of the free city operated differently from a noble's estate.
If a noble's domain was bound by land and loyalty, a free city was driven by law, contracts, and pragmatism.
"Oh..."
Asha, seeing a city in this world for the first time, let out a short exclamation.
She hadn't been entirely worry-free, but the streets were surprisingly clean.
No stench assaulting the nose, no filth or garbage heaps littering the roadsides.
Wooden and stone buildings stood at regular intervals, neat cobblestone roads between them. The bustling citizens and travelers exuded a subtle vitality.
She didn't need to ask anyone.
Drainage systems, street cleaning—they had basic hygiene management in place.
'This is a pleasant miscalculation.'
Thank goodness there were signs of a happy medieval land.
Of course, with elves and other races existing, plus mana miracles, it made sense.
Thinking back, there had been hints even in the village.
Asha looked around with sparkling eyes full of life.
Free City of Beck.
Upon arrival, she'd worried about inspections, but...
Once Elysia proved her knight status and declared Asha her companion, the soldier glanced at the long ears and waved them through immediately.
Friends should indeed be chosen wisely.
'She probably knew it'd go smoothly from the start?'
Asha, fiddling unconsciously with her long ears, lowered her hand and looked at Elysia.
Sensing the gaze, Elysia turned, meeting her eyes with raised brows and a relaxed smile, as if asking what was up.
Asha shook her head side to side, meaning nothing.
Elysia nodded slightly and faced forward again.
A brief, insignificant exchange.
Yet Asha couldn't help but feel it inwardly.
The distance between them had closed quite a bit since last night's drinking.
Asha grinned broadly and hurried to match her pace.
Shoulders side by side, they walked along the main street.
They found a tidy-looking inn, secured rooms.
Elysia excused herself to meet some acquaintances.
Left alone, Asha entered her room.
'What should I do first...?'
Asha perched on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs idly as she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling vacantly.
"Hmm..."
So much she wanted to do, she couldn't decide where to start?
What an ironic, happy dilemma. Asha chuckled and sprang up.
"First, the bookstore!"
When in a city, buy books!
Please, let printing tech be advanced—cheap and widespread!
Asha fervently hoped as she left the room and descended to the inn's first floor.
"Hello. Which way to the bookstore?"
"Ahem, out to the main street, then right. Not far—a few blocks and you'll see it."
"Ah, thank you."
She listened carefully to the kind innkeeper's directions and bowed politely.
Then...
"...Y-yes! Have a safe trip."
The innkeeper hurriedly bowed back awkwardly.
Golden hair shining like sunlight, a bright smile, impeccable manners—an elf beauty asking for a bookstore?
Books had hard corners, but surely she wasn't planning to weaponize them...
The innkeeper pinched his cheek, wondering if he was dreaming in broad daylight.
...It hurt like hell.
Meanwhile, Asha left the inn.
'Sky's clouding over.'
Rain might come soon.
Asha quickened her steps to the main street.
She turned right as directed, scanning around as she walked.
'Once I find the bookstore, investigate Yulia Silvern first.'
Is she really her adoptive father's reincarnation?
Truth be told, whether she was or not might not matter much.
She was from a century ago, after all.
Still, the reason she wanted to investigate was...
'I'm just too curious.'
She couldn't contain the surging curiosity!
If that knight really was Min Hyeong...
How had he lived before, and what made him change so drastically?
She'd heard countless stories, but they were fragmented anecdotes.
Not a seamless tale, just scattered pieces. Even tales from a previous life, though rare.
So honestly, they didn't feel like the same person.
Yulia Silvern, heroine from a century ago, Knight of Knights.
Min Hyeong, a troublemaker who lived freely and wildly.
Wasn't the gap too wide?
How could they differ so much?
Too different.
And one more thing.
Actually, this was more important.
'If it's true, then I'm a cannibal...'
She'd freaked out, saying she didn't want to live brainless.
Min Hyeong's burst-of-laughter reaction was still fresh!
No way.
For real.
She hoped it was a different world.
Just coincidence or misremembered name.
Honestly, she still didn't get the cannibal treatment.
Most people were kind, and odd reactions weren't extreme.
The world is wide, people varied, right?
She was more likely the common-sense deficient one.
So she could only hope.
Not an unjust world where she got cannibal vibes just sitting pretty.
In a city, she'd spot an elf, surely.
If she did, strike up a chat.
To check if elf defaults were sane.