To the Katus Empire (3)

Yona couldn’t handle spicy food well.

It had always been that way.

Even before falling into this world, Yona couldn’t eat spicy food, and after falling into this world, she had few opportunities to taste spicy food, so her resistance to spicy flavors had weakened even further.

Moreover, Port Lukasia, being closer to the south, was a warm region where spicy seasonings were quite common.

The sauce sprinkled on the sandwich Yona ate was also part of this, and it was a very spicy sauce.

“Ugh, ueh, ugegegek…!”

As Yona coughed and sputtered, tears and snot flowing, Amira frantically looked for something to drink.

“Eh, Sa- Saint-nim— Wh-what should we do…”

“Wa- water, waaaterrrr…!”

Yona, tears streaming down her face, also searched for something to drink.

It was fortunate if it was just tears, but with snot and even drool flowing down her mouth, it was quite a mess.

“After eating something spicy, you should drink milk.”

Someone grabbed Yona’s waist and pulled her close.

Then they held a wooden cup to Yona’s lips, and Yona immediately gulped it down.

It soothed her mouth that felt like it was on fire, and as it flowed down, it cooled her throat that felt scorched — the rich and mild taste of milk.

“Ugh, uh… uwah, uwaah…”

“How careless, eating spicy food when you can’t handle it.”

Yona finally looked up at the person who had grabbed her waist.

A handsome man with black hair.

When he grinned, his white teeth seemed to sparkle in the moonlight.

“…Alec, why are you here?”

“I thought this might happen.”

Yona took the handkerchief Alec offered and wiped her mouth and eyes.

“Ah, aaaaagh!”

Yona writhed again at the burning sensation around her eyes.

“So you came out to buy snacks?”

Yona and Alec were sitting side by side on a bench.

The bustling noise of the night market was quite pleasant to hear.

It felt like what the sound of a livable place might be like.

“That’s right. You’ve never been abroad either, right? When you go to a foreign place, you tend to miss food from home.”

Alec looked at Yona with a grin.

Yona, who had her head tilted back with an ice pack Amira had brought from somewhere covering her eyes, scoffed at Alec’s words.

“You’re quite something. How did you come up with such an idea? Impressive.”

In fact, he had heard it from Kaiyak.

Alec didn’t bother to mention that fact.

Sometimes it’s better to keep things hidden.

“How many years have I been with you? I should know to take care of this much. Right?”

“That’s true. You’ve become a real person, our baldy.”

Although there was a slight pang of conscience, this much should be fine.

Alec apologized to Kaiyak in his mind while grinning.

“The princess is treating you really well.”

“Well, that’s because I said I’m Berbaria’s owner.”

Yona slowly lowered the ice pack.

The burning sensation around her eyes had subsided after washing with milk, then water repeatedly, and finally cooling with the ice pack. The ice pack had also melted, now just sloshing with water.

“Apparently, snake beastkin have always worshipped the snake god. It seems Berbaria is something like their local deity.”

“I see. If that’s the case, it makes sense for the princess to personally attend to you.”

“That’s how it is. What about Rubina?”

“Alebiang is taking care of her.”

Yona let out a shallow sigh.

Thinking about Rubina made her chest feel tight, which wasn’t good.

“Shall we walk a bit?”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

It was a rare night market.

Yona stood up from the bench at Alec’s suggestion.

Her saint’s outfit gradually changed back into a nun’s habit, and the holy armband settled on her arm as if it had always been there.

“We’re leaving tomorrow, so it should be fine to have some fun tonight, right?”

“That’s right.”

Alec also stood up with a grin, following Yona.

It was a night with an exceptionally bright moon.

Even Evian had typical northern climate, but it was amazing how the climate changed completely after traveling south for just a few days.

It was the season transitioning from mid-winter to late winter.

Yet, there was hardly any cold to be felt.

The vitality of the bustling people made the whole city feel alive.

Yona felt good for the first time in a while as she walked through such streets.

The sight of people with their own stories setting up stalls and chattering busily even reminded her of entering the adventurers’ guild in Evian.

“This place is really lively.”

“It sure is.”

Yona took the skewer Alec handed her.

Amidst the pungent smell of fire, there was a scent that seemed somewhat like soy sauce, mixed with a strange fishy smell.

“Is this fish?”

“Yeah. It’s fish, they said. I heard the name but forgot it.”

She thought it was meat, but it turned out to be fish.

She didn’t know what kind of fish it was, but since they were selling it, it must be edible.

Yona was about to take a bite of the skewer but stopped and turned it around, examining it.

She was checking if there was any sauce that looked red or spicy.

And Alec smiled as he watched Yona do this.

“I asked them to remove all the spicy stuff. Don’t worry.”

“Really? Well done, you.”

But if he asked for the spicy stuff to be removed, doesn’t that mean it was originally there?

With this doubt in mind, Yona took a big bite of the fish skewer.

The fish, with its white flesh soaked in a sauce that tasted like soy sauce, was quite good.

Being by the sea, it makes sense that they would have such fish.

“So what did you buy?”

Yona turned to look at Alec while chewing on the fish.

Alec, who had been staring intently at Yona as she ate, flinched when their eyes met.

“Why are you so surprised? Is there something on my face?”

“Uh, yeah. There is.”

“Really? Where?”

Alec hesitated for a moment.

This was the perfect opportunity to use that killer line he had heard from James.

“Beauty is on your face.”

“…What?”

The moonlight was so bright that Yona’s face scrunching up was clearly visible moment by moment.

James had laughed heartily, truly manly, saying this was how he had wooed his wife, but no matter how Alec looked at it, Yona’s current reaction was not good at all.

“…What did you just say?”

Yona’s voice, as she asked Alec with a frown, was ominously calm.

Alec realized something had gone wrong when he heard her voice filled with complex emotions.

“What’s on my face?”

“…Uh, now that I look closer, it’s sauce…”

“Hey, won’t you speak properly? Where did you learn such nonsense?”

Yona glared at Alec with half-closed eyes.

‘No, what strange things have you learned and why are you doing this? How am I supposed to react to this? Did that lizard Kaiyak teach you?’

“…Don’t do things like that. Why are you saying such strange things?”

Seeing Alec fumbling and not knowing what to do, Yona didn’t feel like pushing him any further.

There should be some satisfaction in scolding someone when they react, but looking at Alec, she didn’t even feel like doing that.

“Sigh… Really, learning strange things. Let’s go. I’m thirsty.”

Alec started walking, following Yona who had taken the lead.

The moon was slowly being covered by clouds.

The moonlight that had been shining down on the entire city was dimming, leaving a gloomy darkness.

It was fortunate, at least.

Yona didn’t realize that her ears had turned bright red.

And Alec, walking behind her, didn’t notice either.

“This is delicious.”

Yona exclaimed, holding a fruit about the size of her fist.

It was a fruit, but not one you eat by biting into it. Instead, a large portion around the stem had been carved out.

The flesh itself wasn’t very tasty, but instead, the empty space around the seeds was filled with fruit juice. It was a unique fruit where they had carved out the top part to expose the juice-filled cavity, using the fruit itself as a cup to drink from.

It was both refreshing and sweet.

Sweet but with a hint of sourness too.

“Yeah, this is really delicious, isn’t it?”

Alec also seemed to enjoy it, repeatedly smacking his lips as he drank the fruit juice.

“Let’s go over there too. Seeing how people are gathering, it looks like there might be something fun.”

Yona urged Alec, grabbing his forearm.

The touch of Yona’s cold hand felt like it was jolting Alec’s mind awake.

“Oh, okay. Yeah, let’s go.”

The place they went, with Yona half-dragging Alec, had an entertainment that was essential to any night market.

“What’s that?”

Next to where a man who seemed to be the owner stood, there was a long shelf.

On the 5-tiered shelf, various items were neatly arranged: dolls made of cheap cloth, dishes, weapons that didn’t look of very good quality, armor that looked old but somehow maintained its shine, and all sorts of other things.

Opposite this shelf, at a distance of about three times the length of an adult man, there was a long table with plates of darts placed on it.

“So if you hit those targets with the darts, you get those prizes?”

Judging by how it looked, that seemed to be the case.

“No, it’s not just about hitting them. It looks like you have to knock them down.”

Alec interjected.

From his perspective, just hitting the targets didn’t seem very difficult.

And Alec could clearly see it all.

The so-called ‘prizes’ on that shelf were fixed in place with nails at the bottom, almost imperceptibly.

So it wouldn’t be given just for hitting it.

“Come on, come on! Right now when there are no challengers! Just! If you knock it down, you get the prize, right away!”

A man with a bushy mustache was calling for customers.

It seemed there had already been several challengers, but judging by the fact that there were no empty spots on the prize shelf, they must have all failed.

“Is there anything you want from there?”

Alec asked Yona boldly.

Having lost points—at least in Alec’s mind—with that strange comment about beauty being on her face, this seemed like a good opportunity to make up for it. He was confident he could easily overcome such amateur tricks.

“Well… Hmm, if I had to choose, maybe that one.”

Yona pointed to the corner of the third shelf.

A shabby holy armband was placed there.

The holy armband Yona was currently wearing was a top-grade one she had received from Ceres, but due to circumstances, she hadn’t been able to find a replacement and had been using it until now.

“A holy armband?”

“Yes. That one, I’d like to have that.”

She probably doesn’t want to wear this thing she got from Ceres anymore—

Alec thought this as he pounded his chest confidently.

“Alright, just trust me.”

“This seems a bit strange though.”

There were five darts on a plate, and it cost three copper coins.

It was an amount equivalent to a decent meal, but they had already used three sets.

Even to Yona, this seemed odd.

The darts Alec threw definitely flew straight, but it seemed like they lost momentum just before hitting the target.

“Well, what’s strange about it? I must have aimed poorly or didn’t control my strength well.”

Alec grinned as he picked up one of the two remaining darts.

Yona pouted and grumbled at Alec.

“What’s this? You told me to just trust you.”

“The great reversal always happens with the last one. Just watch.”

Alec took a deep breath as he aimed the dart.

It seems there’s some trick beyond just fixing the items in place.

He had that feeling when he threw the first dart.

He had wasted darts trying to figure out what the trick was, but now he had a rough idea.

‘There’s something that alters the trajectory…’

While Alec was aiming the dart, Yona wasn’t just standing idle either.

【Isn’t it a bit much to summon the Demon Archduke for this, Saint?】

‘Shut up and just take a look. This is important, right now.’

Alec’s pride is at stake here.

She didn’t say that out loud though.

Alec slowly wound up his arm holding the dart.

The dart firmly gripped between his fingers extended forward powerfully with the swing of his arm.

The dart flew in a straight line towards the holy armband Yona had said she wanted, and while its trajectory seemed fine, it gradually lost momentum as it flew.

And when it reached the holy armband, it merely tapped it without knocking it down, and the dart fell.

【They’ve employed a petty trick. It’s hardly worth calling a trick, just a cheap gimmick.】

‘So it is like that, right? Is there a way to deal with it?’

【Of course there is.】

‘Right? Right?’

Yona was about to call out to Alec, thinking she had found a way to solve the problem.

But before she could, Alec had already picked up the dart, and Yona tried to call out to him with an “Uh, uh.”

“Yona, watch closely. The way to counter trickery is with straightforward force.”

Alec wound up the dart.

His forearm and shoulder muscles began to bulge visibly, and seeing this, Yona unconsciously averted her gaze.

Her rapidly beating heart felt inexplicably embarrassing.

“Huryaaaah!”

With Alec’s battle cry, he threw the dart with all his might.

• • Thud!

    Along with a sound too loud to believe it was just a dart flying, Yona’s hair fluttered.

    And the dart that flew with that thunderous sound—

    Hit the center of the third shelf,

    And broke the shelf clean through.

 

• • Crash!

 

• • Thud!

 

• • Clang!

    The broken shelf.

    And the prizes on that shelf, unable to withstand the impact, began to pour down.

    “Owner, hand over everything.”

    Alec said with a relaxed smile, rotating his arm.

    And the owner stared blankly at him.

    “What? I knocked everything down. I said hand it all over.”

    Alec’s face was particularly bright as he grinned.

 

“Is that what you call a straightforward approach?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it straightforward?”

“You’re such a brute, really…”

Yona chided Alec while fiddling with the holy armband.

She had to drag Alec away by the scruff of his neck as he insisted on claiming all the prizes, and in the end, she only took the holy armband.

It was an incredibly low-quality holy armband.

The texture was extremely rough to the touch, and not only that, the engraved seal was so poor that it was questionable whether it could even be called a holy armband.

Nevertheless, Yona kept fiddling with the armband, not letting go of it.

“Do you like it?”

You probably don’t know how cheap this holy armband is.

But Yona looked at Alec and smiled.

“Yes, I really like it. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Just say the word anytime. I’m confident in my strength, you know.”

“Oh my, is that so.”

The moonlight, still obscured by clouds, was barely enough to illuminate their surroundings.

It was getting quite late.

They needed to return to the inn and get some sleep to be prepared for tomorrow’s departure.

Continuously fiddling with the holy armband, Yona returned to the inn with Alec.

On her face was the happiest smile she had worn in recent times.