Chapter 165 – Orichalcum
I followed Marid to the Adventure Hall.
I was curious about the dark circles around Marid’s eyes, but I didn’t ask.
It’s because I roughly expected it.
‘Lately, she said that Marid has been visiting Orca’s office a lot.’
Are you pampering me instead? Somehow, I haven’t called you well lately.
Something cool yet sad.
Smart-
Marid knocked on the door of Orca’s office.
“Mrs. Orca, this is Marid. As you said, I brought Yuseong Han. May I come in?”
-Wait a minute… That’s it. Come in.
Marid and I entered the office. As always, Orca’s desk was full of documents to be paid.
Orca looked away from the papers as we entered.
“Good job Marid. You can go back now Don’t forget to talk to the chef before you go.”
“Yes, Mr. Orca.”
Marid bowed her head and she left the office. Her departure without saying anything was a very different attitude than before.
“Long time no see.”
Orca smiled awkwardly.
She’s been like that ever since she came back from the dungeon. I thought it would get better with time, but apparently it was my mistake.
‘It would be nice to know why.’
I was a little bit bitter that I liked her old self-confident self.
“It hasn’t been a long time, has it?”
“Hasn’t it been a week? You say it’s been a while Now, sit down for a moment. Soon the chef will bring coffee and snacks.”
I took a seat at the waiter’s table, as Orca recommended. Orca got up from her desk too and she put her ass on the chair across from me.
“That… How are you?”
Orca opened her mouth awkwardly.
* * *
“Hey, I’m doing just fine. How is Orca-sama?”
“I am the same every day. I’m going to be busy doing paperwork.”
“Why don’t you call me if you’re that busy?”
“It’s okay. Marid is helping, so it’s okay.”
“As expected, those dark circles were because of Orca-sama. Is he worth some use? No matter how much you study letters, it hasn’t been long since you started.”
“That’s right. I’m trying, but I’m still not good enough to read it. So I’m just making the paperwork.”
There was a trifling story about the recent situation. Along with a light smile.
However, this was not what Orca wanted to ask him.
What I want to ask is the story about the Yeongjijeon he applied for a while ago.
Why did you jump into such a dangerous thing?
Why didn’t she say a word to her when she applied for such a job?
Does she have any injuries anywhere?
Those words filled his throat, but Orca couldn’t utter them.
I’m afraid he’ll get annoyed at me for being meddling. Maybe, even if he doesn’t show it on the outside, he might be offended on the inside.
That day.
The day Yoo-seong, who fainted in the dungeon, and his lover were helped up. Orca felt a great sense of guilt toward Yoosung.
Along with her fear that he might resent her.
That day, Orca also agreed to send her advance party. Because of this, Orca couldn’t bear to say what he wanted to ask, and only kept his mouth shut.
Yuseong, who found Orca’s appearance strange, narrowed her eyes.
“Mr. Orca? Do you have any uncomfortable places?”
“Huh? No, no. I’m okay.”
“It didn’t look like a decent person, but…”
“Because I’m really fine. I was just thinking about something else for a second.”
Orca shook his hand, but Yooseong did not erase his doubts. Just when she felt awkward, someone knocked on her office door.
“Ah, it looks like the chef brought snacks. You may come in.”
With her permission, the chef opened the door to the office and entered. He was holding a round tray of coffee and sweets. The chef set coffee and sweets on the table.
In the meantime, the conversation stopped between the two. Yuseong must have given up on asking more, so she relaxed her narrowed eyes.
After finishing the setting, the chef left, and Orca raised a cup of coffee.
“Let’s take a sip and talk. I told the chef to use some strength, so it should be edible.”
Orca took a sip of her coffee and put it in her mouth. Her coffee with lots of sugar was sweet as expected. The fact that the coffee aroma comes out just right seems like the chef got the ratio right.
However…
‘As expected, more than this…’
Coffee made by Yuseong Han. Orca liked it better. Because the scent and sweetness were superior. She put down her coffee and took a bite of the cookie.
I knew it.
Although this snack was good enough to eat, it was not very good compared to the dessert Yooseong prepared.
‘Come to think of it, when was the last time you ate dessert prepared by Han Yoo-seong?’
Seeing as I can’t remember, it seems quite old. We used to eat together quite often in the past. It was bittersweet that the distance seemed more distant than then.
Orca swallowed her sweets. She looked up at the meteor sipping coffee.
He licked her mouth several times. May I ask this? It was a more sensitive topic than Yeongjijeon. But even she couldn’t give up on that.
“You’re over there..?”
In the end, she raised her voice toward Yooseong, who picked up the snack.
“I went to the saintess welcome banquet not too long ago. I saw a rather surprising sight there…”
The lips that speak out are as heavy as gold. Standing in her heart, she begs to stop even now, and her heart beats thump thump as if in sympathy with him.
However, she is an orca.
She was a woman who, at key moments, did not back down, she moved forward.
“You and Lady Karen walked out of the ballroom with… Arms… Crossed? Just the two of us…”
Orca turned her gaze away from her table and stared at Yoosung’s face. His eyes were pointed straight at her.
She swallowed dry saliva.
“Then why did you two go out together?”
Orca’s fists clenched under the table. She waited for Yoosung’s answer in a tense state. Every second my heart felt like it was burning.
On the other hand, Yooseong replied as if it was nothing.
“You mean going out with Karen-nim at the banquet hall? It was just that Karen-nim said there was a story the two of them wanted to share, so I followed it. Arms are said to be escorts. By the way, was Orca-sama also at the banquet? If you have, please pretend to know.”
Yooseong trembled for nothing.
Orca let out a sigh of relief. The worst thing I could have imagined didn’t happen.
“Okay? What did you talk about with Lady Karen?”
However, the answer that followed was very shocking.
“It’s nothing. She said that she did a good job at Yeongjijeon, and she gave her a gift along with a personal blessing. Also… Her suggestion that it be her own article.”
“I see, a present… Wait, what?”
Orca’s expression hardened. As fast as she is her elite, she managed her look. She made a look of interest as she normally does when reading papers.
“That, is it? It’s a little surprising. I never thought Lady Karen would make such an offer to you.”
“That’s right. I was very embarrassed at the time.”
“I see… Yes, so? What was your answer?”
Orca said please. She hoped he would decline the offer.
I know myself how absurd this is.
The most realistic success that an adventurer can dream of is to jump into the eyes of a nobleman and become a knight. It was no exaggeration to say that it was the wish of almost all adventurers.
That’s why the difference between being treated as an adventurer and a knight is huge.
Normally, of course, I would choose to become a knight.
Even so, she couldn’t get rid of the thought that maybe, if he was…
‘It won’t be… Han Yoo-seong has a deep affection. I’m not going to change places so easily.’
A glimmer of hope sprung up.
That…
“Of course I said I would.”
Yoosung’s smiley answer tore it to pieces.
Orca froze as it was. She lost even the time to manage her facial expressions and gestures. The power drained from her body.
‘Can you do it…?’
You want to become a knight?
Leaving me, Karen’s article that I haven’t seen in a while?
‘In the end, even you…’
You betray me…
You are no different from the humans in the Mage Tower.
I was a fool for expecting it.
Orca’s eyes trembled.
Looking back, it was hard to see it as a betrayal. He was just looking for a better job.
But now Orca.
Now, she is just learning little by little about being in love.
I couldn’t afford to count that. She was just lost in the hole in his chest, despairing at the thought of him abandoning her.
“Yeah, how did you…”
“Um… Orca-sama?”
“How can I…”
“That… I’m kidding.”
“Me… What?”
Orca narrowed her eyes. For a moment, I couldn’t understand Yoosung’s words.
‘I thought it was a joke?’
Did you just say that?
Anger filled his eyes as he stared blankly at the meteor.
“Are you kidding me right now?!”
Bang! The table, which was hit hard, shook. The coffee spilled and the cookie plating was messed up.
“I, I don’t even know how I felt when I asked… Well, I thought that was a joke…”
“Mr. Orca? Calm down for a second…”
“Shut up! Go away! Stay out of my sight!”
“Are you Orca?”
“Can’t you hear me say go away?! I don’t even want to see you, so get out!”
Orca picked up the cookie and threw it at Yoosung. Yoosung received the snack, put it on a plate, and slowly stood up from the chair. He glanced at Orca and left the office.
Even after he left, Orca’s anger did not seem to be relieved. After struggling for a while, he calmed down a bit. Having calmed down, she looked back at her own words and actions.
“…!”
He sighed and hurriedly ran out of the office.
However, there was no longer even his shadow in the hallway. Returning to the office, she trudged and sat down, leaning against her door.
He buried her face in her palms and sighed.
She didn’t mean to do this…
She felt sick to her stomach as she felt more distant from him.
Still.
“Thank god…”
The fact that he hadn’t left was comforting.
* * *
Sber, fuck you.
Coming out of the adventure hall, I sighed. The joke was just to break the awkward atmosphere. I expected to get a little angry, but I didn’t expect it to be that much.
‘I’ll go find him later when I feel better.’
With that thought in mind, I headed back to the guild.
Because I had to earn karma to buy paralysis poison.
