Chapter 107 – Chapter 26. Expedition Preparations.
A month passed by like an arrow. Sisters Rosalia and Lorelia also gained weight in those days. Lorelia now has enough strength to take a light walk. But her deep illness, which had penetrated her marrow, still haunted her.
Ludwigne always carried Rosalia by her side, and she talked to her about details. Starting with living, simple etiquette, things to do as a team member, and even that terrible expedition with the captain–!
Rosalia’s fearful eyes filled with tears whenever she spoke of that ghastly demon. She even had her own nightmares about it.
“Really… , Can I do it, sister?”
“Oh, you just have to trust me. Because this sister will do everything. You just need to buff or grind from behind, I mean. Okay?”
After recovering her physical strength to some extent, Rosalia began to practice buffs in earnest. Ludbine went to her magic academy library and took her books related to her buffs and lent them to her. … But another problem arose. It’s just that this shy person can’t read.
So, studying writing and studying buffs went hand in hand. Ludwigne came to the sister’s room and had Lorelia study simple writing. The three of them stuck together so often and lived like sisters.
Still, thanks to her natural talent, Rosalia managed to get the buff in just a week. Of course, the effect was very minimal and the duration was also very short, but she still focused on the fact that she succeeded. Ludbene also liked her job as much as her own, and ran to her boss. She boasted that Rosalia had succeeded in her buff.
“Okay? Then I should tell you to prepare a nice dinner to commemorate today.”
So again, all of her colleagues gathered together for a hearty dinner. Sister Rosalia and Lorelia stopped weeping from undeserved happiness. Ludbigne slapped Rosalia on the back and scolded her that it was unlucky to cry on a happy day. Then she forced herself to laugh and shook her hand saying that she hadn’t cried.
… Another month passed like lightning.
The sisters, who had grown thin, gained weight without realizing it. As Rosalia also tidied up her messy hair, her pretty ladylike side began to come alive.
And within a month, I was able to read quite well, and I used buffs well. Lorelia, who received Grace’s heels every day, also had a lot of her waking hours. Everything was getting better.
Then one day.
Lorelia, who had been watching Rosalia’s buff training from the sidelines by her side, also did it for fun, so she tried to copy it here and there, and then she succeeded in buffing. Ruud Binet, who was teaching her sister’s side, jumped in surprise. She immediately reported the fact to the captain.
Jihyeok came running in a month. The hero confirmed with his own eyes that what Ludbine had reported was true. She hadn’t known that he, too, had her buff-caster qualities until her sister, Lorelia. … No, he was right that there was no way to know that in the first place. It was the first time I’d ever seen a living Lorelia.
To say that the sisters were buff magicians in pairs—.
Considering Rosalia’s case, she had no doubt that Lorelia’s talent would be great too. This gave her one more important reason to keep her alive.
Anyway.
Preparations for the expedition were progressing steadily. Jihyeok was also carefully planning what he had to do in the southern continent. It also included going to his starting city, Eretria, and visiting the academy.
Now that he has become a B-class hero who belongs to the ranks of the strongest in the empire, he should accelerate the work of bringing in promising players and raising them into warriors.
Jihyeok was thinking of weeding out talented people rather meticulously. No matter how good his skills were, if he seemed to have a problem with his personality, he had no intention of accepting them. If it was his teammate, even if he had a little flaw, he could make up for it to some extent, but the fact that the hero who was supposed to lead a team had flaws could later develop into an irreversible problem. It was the same even when looking at several cases right now.
… Ah…
The warrior with his messy hair rubbed his face with both hands and washed his face dry. Looking only at the main stem of the plan, not the twigs, it was easy to predict that this expedition would be particularly busy with a lot of work.
I had to prepare to leave for the southern continent. Then, the first thing we had to do was form a team. Jihyeok divided his guildmates into two teams. Team Jihyeok and Team Mafushu. … It took a bit of time to put my name in the wizard position, but it was decided soon.
Jihyeok called Kayak and Glendal. The two entered the office side by side and politely stood in front of the desk.
“I’m going to rotate the team once this time. Because I have to coordinate with all of my co-workers. … Kayak goes with me, and Grendal goes with Mahoushu. Grendal, take good care of Mafushu. Having experienced it once, you should have gotten used to it by now, but there will still be a lot of immature parts. Keep an eye on you.”
“All right.”
The hero held out a piece of paper with the team list written on it to each of them. They took it politely and looked it over. Kayak looked at the captain again and asked.
“Is there any possibility that this will change in the future?”
“Few.”
It was necessary to temporarily tinker with the need for a healer from the Mafushu team. Recruitment seemed to be difficult this time. It’s because skillful healers aren’t a role group that can be found more widely than I thought.
Anyway, this is the end of the team decision. Jihyeok decided to depart in a week and ordered his team members to prepare thoroughly.
Another two days passed like that, and a guest came to Ji-hyeok’s mansion. She was an Elizabethan warrior with a slightly different atmosphere.
“Long time no see, Elizabeth.”
“… Yes, it’s been a while, Warrior Kang Ji-hyeok. I heard you got promoted. Congratulation.”
She thought she was the best in the world, but she talked less and her expression changed. She seemed to have gone through something that would cause a change of heart.
… Her colleague is dead
Jihyeok, who had a lot of experience, noticed it at once. Otherwise, it would not have been easy to make such a dramatic change in just a few months. … Perhaps she felt her limits through this expedition.
“What happened?”
“… Yes?”
“It’s just that I don’t look good.”
The princess dropped her gaze.
“Tell me.”
Jihyeok placed his chin on the table with his hands together and leaned her upper body toward the princess. She made a gesture to listen to her.
“Nothing.”
However, her pride was strong and she did not open her mouth easily. Moreover, isn’t he a person he considers a rival? He wouldn’t have come here if it hadn’t been for his father, the Duke of Balkan.
“If… , Is your colleague dead?”
“Nothing happened!”
Elizabeth raised her voice as she banged her fist on her table. The gaze, which had been glaring at Jihyeok for a moment, soon faded again and headed towards the well-tended garden.
Jihyeok didn’t ask more, just sipped the tea water. And eagerly waited for her to say anything first.
After such a long time, Elizabeth slowly opened her mouth.
“… Yes that’s right. Her colleague is dead.”
The tone and expression were dry, but there was profound sadness and shock in them.
“It was a small mistake. I hope that… , I didn’t know it would lead to such an accident.”
“The unexpected always happens. It’s something the warrior has to endure. I understand how you feel. It will be very difficult mentally, but you have to overcome it.”
“Yes. I know. I was also prepared for that. And, don’t talk like you know everything. … How do you know how I feel?”
Elizabeth glared at Jihyeok again and then looked away from her.
“I’m sorry if that sounded like that.”
Jihyeok apologized politely. The princess lightly glanced up and down him with an expression as if he had eaten something wrong.
“… You don’t even have to apologize. It just is.”
There was another long silence. Still, Elizabeth strangely put her mind at ease. It seemed that only those few words were a little comforting. … After all, she had never been so open about herself. Moreover, she had no idea that the first opponent would be this man in front of her eyes.
Jihyeok took a sip of the tea and opened his mouth.
“Did the Duke send you?”
Elizabeth couldn’t answer. Jihyuk laughed.
“He was very adamant that he would marry you.”
As he laughed, she said, slightly hurting her ego, tapping her table with her fingertips.
“Why are you laughing? … Chi, you should consider it an honor… !”
As she talked to herself so she could hear everything behind her back, she rolled her eyes at him who was laughing.
He asked softly.
“Do you want to marry me?”
“Am I? What about you? Ha-!”
Elizabeth reacted a little exaggeratedly.
“I have no feelings for you. I’m just meeting my father because he’s acting like a torch.”
“Is it so?”
Ji-hyeok responded so briefly and then shut her mouth again, which made Elizabeth feel impatient.
“No, uh, rather than not feeling anything, uh… , I am thinking positively.”
“Positively? Are you saying it’s good?”
“Are you good? … No, that’s not what I meant, uh… , It means that we are going in a direction that can improve. Now.”
“Therefore… , Are you saying it’s getting better now?”
Elizabeth’s mind twisted for a moment. Is that what it means?
“Well, it seems similar. … Anyway, is that okay, my answer?”
“In other words, are you moving towards a better desire to marry me?”
I wondered what kind of bullshit this was. After thinking for a while, she saw Ji-hyeok laughing, and Elizabeth realized that he was playing a joke.
“This person is for real!”
“Oh, sorry. It seems too serious, so I’m going to lighten the mood a little.”
“I didn’t see that, really, really, really… , You’re playing vulgarly!”
Jihyo’s smile slowly faded.
“By the way, I haven’t heard an answer yet.”
“What?”
“Do you want to marry me?”
Elizabeth pursed her lips. To be honest, it wasn’t the marriage she wanted. It is an arranged marriage promoted by her father.
But how can I say that It was to defy her father’s orders head-on. As long as she belonged to the duke’s family, as her daughter, she also belonged to the duke.
Jihyeok saw Elizabeth, who did not answer, and nodded her head.
“The next time you come, think about that first before coming.”
“… No, why are people so frustrated?”
“I know. It’s called an arranged marriage. Could it be that you don’t know that?”
“So, are you saying you don’t like it? … Even if you get married anyway, you can live like a man. You live your life, I live my life. … Everyone does it.”
Jihyuk’s lips curled up.
“You are a pitiful person, too.”
“Why me? I’m happy. I’m sorry … It’s like a star.”
“Just go back. Let me think about it.”
Elizabeth snatched her own handkerchief and her gloves off the table and jumped to her feet.
“You don’t think I’m like this because I feel sorry for you, do you? … Don’t be mistaken. You are just one of many choices. You know the subject.”
“I know.”
She was strangely upset that he had no backlash or reply.
“I guess people have no self-respect. … What do you do if you are good at it? You have to have face.”
Still, nothing was said. Eventually she shut her mouth, turned her body around, and left her drawing-room without saying goodbye. Jihyeok just watched her as she left.
… I thought I had become a bit more human, but I guess it was only for that moment.
But the next time I come back, I’ll be a little more depressed.
The Duke of Balkan was never a person who would easily give up on his prey. Since Ji-hyeok has already become a target, he will try to make the marriage happen no matter what. I could tell from the fact that her high-nosed Elizabeth had brought her heavy hips to this place twice already.
Jihyeok cast his gaze toward the garden. Some birds flew in and she went into the bush.
The hero thought deeply about how to deal with the great ambition of the Balkan Duke.
