Chapter 51 – A Strange Encounter
#051.
Caang!
The sword Rijenny wielded deflected the arrow that was aiming at Aris Kielune, the daughter of Viscount Kielune. A minute had passed since the fight had taken place, and the same amount of time had passed since Gaon disappeared into the bush.
She clicked her tongue as she watched the goblins aiming at Aris, repeatedly hitting and dropping from all sides of her. They noticed their weakness.
Fortunately, an unidentified ally called Gaon was shaking their encirclement. Thanks to that, the offensive wasn’t that strong.
The woman she had left behind as a wizard was also killing the goblins who were attacking from a distance with magic bullets at the right moment.
Li Jenny hit Aris with a roar as she fired the poisonous needle that flew towards her.
“Miss! I said we should bring more escorts! What is this!”
“I’m sorry, Lijenny. But I couldn’t help it.”
“I’ll tell His Excellency when I get back.”
“Too bad… I was wrong. I won’t do that again. Huh?”
When Aris told her that she was reporting to her father, she teased her, but Jenny Lee knew that it was just a superficial apology and that deep down in her heart there was no remorse.
It’s not like it happened once or twice.
It was the nature of the tomboyish lady she served to pretend to reflect like that and then have another accident soon after.
‘I’ll have to double the number of escorts next time.’
When Lijenny goes back, she swears that she won’t be much in the report, and she cuts down the charging goblins.
Actually, they did, but just because there were only four of them, it didn’t mean they were struggling against the goblins. Even now, the knights standing in the front are silently killing the goblins.
At this rate, they’ll be annihilated before five minutes pass, or they’ll get scared and run away.
“Haap!”
A green magic bullet was fired again and pierced the chest of a goblin who had just blown a pipe from a distance of about 3m.
After that, there were no more poisonous needles. And, Rijeni belatedly realized that the shower of arrows had also stopped.
‘Already?’
I hurriedly looked around, and before I knew it, I saw all the goblin archers who had collapsed and stopped breathing.
As soon as I could see him, the spear ripped through the air in the bush and split the back of a goblin in two.
In an instant, silence fell over the battlefield.
Dry footsteps resounded in that quiet space.
The sound of grass being trampled and crushed breaks the silence.
Soon Gaon appeared.
“Fortunately, no one was hurt. Then let’s kill ourselves. If you miss it, reinforcements may come.”
“Ah yes! Everyone, don’t miss a single one!”
It feels like being possessed by a ghost. Even though he could have killed dozens of goblins beyond that bush, Gaon was neat.
Only the window was full of blood.
Rijeni regained her sanity a step later at Gaon’s words and gave instructions to everyone. The rest of the knights quickly spurred the ground and subdued the goblins.
Having subdued all the monsters before 30 seconds had passed, they sat around the roaring bonfire.
Aris was the first to speak.
“Thank you brother! Thanks to that, I was able to escape.”
“Thank you for protecting my comrades. I’m glad the young lady wasn’t hurt either.”
“It’s Aris! Please call me Aris. My brother said Gaon, right? He will call me Gaon oppa.”
“Ah, lady!”
“How are you? Yes? Gaon oppa!”
Jenny Lee tried to stop Aris from suggesting something, but the girl even urged Gaon to answer with a smile as she said how she was.
With a fairly open attitude, Gaon strangely glanced at Chorin, whose face was hardened, then nodded and opened his mouth.
“… Then, Lady Aris?”
“Yes!”
You say you can’t spit on a smiling face?
Gaon greeted Aris’ wide smile instead of spitting.
“I’ll just go for it. The group seems tired. See you in the morning, then.”
“Ah, four! Then see you in the morning!”
Aris and the others were taken aback by Gaon’s words.
It was okay to continue the conversation with Aris and build a friendship, but he firmly cut it off.
Of course, Chorin’s dark face brightened.
It was because I was worried that the relationship between the two would deepen and something happened, but when Gaon rejected it, a smile came to my mind.
Gaon left them behind and returned to the place where he slept with Chorin. He shoved the firewood into the bonfire that was about to be extinguished and put his butt against the log laid out for a chair in front of it.
Chorin was staring at Gaon from the side of her.
“Why is that? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No! Not at all. Are you okay, Mr. Gaon?”
“Of course.”
“Really? I can’t believe it! Be still.”
If that’s the case, I don’t know why you asked.
Even when Gaon said he was okay, he looked down at Chorin, who approached and groped his chest, and shook his head excitedly.
Despite Gaon’s movements, Chorin just groped his body. Turning her head slightly, she met Aris’ gaze as she stared at this place.
That’s how peace came to the shelter.
***
“Lee Cho-rin. It is morning.”
“Ugh… Wait a minute…”
Shaking her shoulders to wake her up, Chorin turned her back and straightened her face, then she raised her body with a rather hazy expression.
The two of them were rummaging through their bags for breakfast, with their butts on the campfire, when Lijenny, who had been staring at them since earlier, approached.
“Me, Gaon-gyeong?”
“Sir Lijenny. Good morning. But I am not a knight.”
“Then what should I call you…”
“Just call me Mr. Gaon.”
“Yes. Then, Mr. Gaon. Would you like to have a meal together? The lady wants to treat you to a meal.”
At Li Jenny’s words, they turned their gaze to the bonfire where they saw Aris waving her hand. However, Gaon’s gaze first settled on the bubbling stew over the campfire.
The stew with plenty of meat looked very warm, delicious, and nutritious.
Gaon asked as he heard Chorin gulping down her saliva as he turned his gaze to follow him.
“Lee Cho-rin. How is it? May I dine with you?”
“Oh that, … Yes Eat together.”
“You seem to be fine. Lijenny, let’s go.”
“Yes. You don’t have to feel too pressured.”
There wasn’t much luggage to pack.
The two of them, carrying their bags, followed Lizeny and sat down with Aris and the others.
Then, Aris, who was staring at her, smiled broadly and shouted.
“Brother! Good morning!”
“Yes. Good morning. Lady Aris.”
“You can just talk comfortably!”
“I am just a mercenary. You can’t commit such rudeness.”
“Then I can’t help it. Hee hee! Eat first!”
After a brief conversation, Gaon and Chorin mingled among themselves and started eating. The stew was even tastier than it looked.
It seems that only the highest quality materials were used, probably because she was a daughter of a noble family. The meat is tenderly torn, and the vegetables are crushed with the right texture. The spices were also generously spiced and the flavor was great.
Even Chorin, who had been staring at Aris as if she hadn’t noticed it since earlier, moved her mouth without stopping, as if she hadn’t had enough time to focus on something else at least during the meal.
The meal ended in an instant, and while she was rubbing her swollen stomach and drinking water, Aris spoke to her.
“Brother Gaon. Where are you going next time?”
“Why is that all of a sudden…”
“Because we’re going to get out of the demon realm now. Hee hee… If there are more, I might get scolded.”
Aris scratched her cheek awkwardly.
Apparently, the female knight called Lijenny had been nagging her after that. She even trembled as she recalled her memories of that time.
“Is that so? We’re thinking of exploring the Devil’s Land a bit more. I still have to grow more.”
“Is that so? Hmm… Then take this.”
“This…”
What Aris gave was a pendant engraved with the pattern of a golden reed field. Even if the rope was made of gold, it looked expensive.
As Gaon turned his head away from the pendant and met his gaze, Aris continued.
“It is the proof of my family. Because you are a benefactor If you bring it to the family later, I’ll treat you to it.”
“… Then I will be grateful.”
“Yes! Then see you later. Do you really need to come?”
“Of course.”
Aris nodded her head as if that was enough and kept her silent.
Soon after, the knights had packed all their belongings, and Lijenny came to inform them that preparations had been completed.
“Brother Gaon. If you come to the Kielun estate later, be sure to visit the viscount’s house. At that time, I will repay you properly.”
“All right. See you later. Lady Aris.”
“Yes! Then Lijenny. Let’s go!”
Aris left the shelter with her escort knights, leaving Gaon with her request to come back again and again.
Her face was full of regret, so it seems that she originally planned to stay longer, but unfortunately, even after going through this, she couldn’t stay in the Demon Realm.
If you look at the conversation you’ve been having, it seems that Aris forcibly reduced her escort forces and entered the Devil’s Palace, so it was almost certain that her viscount would be scolded if she endured any longer.
In fact, it can be seen that it is still too late.
As Gaon was immersed in her thoughts and Aris was staring in the direction she had disappeared, Chorin poked at her side and grunted.
“Are you so sorry?”
“Yes?”
“Do you want to see the lady of Ariski Elune?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“… I don’t know every day.”
Seeing Gaon evading her answer, Chorin pouted and kicked the floor for no reason. Gaon, who was caught in his leather shoes and stared down at the dirt floor, turned his head toward the forest and said,
“Lee Cho-rin. Today we will go in that direction. Now, I’m thinking of going to the realm of the orcs.”
“… Orc?”
Chorin’s head went up.
She, too, has a sense of knowing when she’s grumbling and when she’s not. Since monster-related matters were her life-and-death matter, she was swayed by her emotions and did not ignore them.
Gaon glanced at Chorin’s feet, who had stopped moving before she knew it.
“Yes. Did you not feel Lee Cho-rin?”
“What?”
“My physical ability does not increase by killing goblins anymore. How about Lee Cho-rin? Are there any changes like when you first killed the goblin?’
At Gaon’s words, Chorin thought deeply.
She recalled her fight in the night just a few hours earlier, and recalled in detail the change she felt when she killed the goblin with her magic bullet.
She and she concluded.
“No. I haven’t noticed even the slightest change since a few days ago. Why?
“… Perhaps there is a limit to the amount of karma that can be absorbed from goblins. That’s why no matter how much you hold on to it, it doesn’t get stronger.”
“Hmm… It makes sense. If I could keep getting stronger by killing goblins, there would be a lot of people here.”
“You’re right. There must have been some people who didn’t bother fighting dangerously strong monsters, and wanted to become stronger by killing only goblins.”
Karma is an index of life that a living being builds up as he lives. At the same time, it is a record that is engraved in the world, and it is like a foundation that sustains its life.
Goblins grow very quickly, so even if they are adults, their life span is shorter than that of humans.
How many records can be accumulated in such a short amount of time? Of course, the level is very poor compared to Gaon and Chorin.
It was surprising enough that he had become so strong with such poor karma.
“So we have to catch the orc. After hunting for a few more days in the Devil’s Nest, I’ll rest well when I get back.”
“All right. Then let’s go hunt the orcs!”
“Take it easy. They will be stronger than the guys I saw before coming to Union.”
“Of course! Then let’s go—!”
With Chorin’s courageous reply, they moved into the forest. One month before the appointment, he had to become strong enough to hunt trolls as well as orcs.
