Chapter 79: Poar (15)

The time to part ways was as regrettable as the meetings had been enjoyable. After a few days of preparation, we had arrived at the time when each of us had to follow our own paths. Jack stood at the village entrance, eyes glistening with tears, tightly holding Lorena’s hand.

“Lorena……”

He must have had so many things to say to her, who was ultimately hiding even her name to leave on a journey to become a knight.

“Lorena……! Sniffle……!”

But all Jack could manage to say when he opened his mouth was his daughter’s name. Even as he diligently tried to pronounce her name, rolling his tongue, Jack mangled the pronunciation as if his mouth were stuffed full of bread, contorting his face.

“Dad. Please don’t cry.”

Lorena calmly comforted Jack, who was crying like a child. Jack hugged Lorena tightly, tears falling onto her shoulder. Jack, who had been calling his daughter’s name like an echo, finally managed to pull out and utter the words he needed to say.

“Lorena…! I was sorry…! I was truly sorry……!”

“It’s okay……”

Even Lorena’s eyes were starting to redden. The coachman sitting in the carriage watched the farewell with a yawn, and Alice stealthily came over to my side and took my hand. She pouted her lips and then whispered to me.

“Dad. Hug me too.”

“Here? How bold of you.”

Alice frowned as if my joke was absurd, then slapped my back with her palm and said,

“Idiot!”

I rubbed my stinging back. Alice twisted her hair, turned around, and started walking towards the carriage. I straightened my back and then ran towards my daughter.

“Alice!”

“What……! Mmph……!”

After calling Alice’s name, the moment she turned around, I lunged forward and hugged her. She buried her face deep into my chest, playfully tapping my arm with a prim attitude, but soon settled down and hugged me obediently. Even looking down from above her head, I could see her ears turning red. I stroked Alice’s hair and said,

“You’ll think of Dad a lot, right?”

“…..Will you think of me too, Dad? Will you write me letters?”

“Of course.”

“As soon as we get there, I’ll send you the address and a letter, so you have to write, okay?”

“Okay.”

I rubbed her back. Alice stayed nestled in my arms for a long time, then stepped back with a satisfied expression. Lorena also broke free from the sniffling Jack’s embrace and started walking towards the carriage.

Alice said.

“So, I’ve packed all the reports, and I just need to give the documents to the new Guild Master, right?”

“Yes. You can give them to me.”

The newly appointed Guild Master seemed to be a man held in high regard in this village of Poar. He answered Alice’s question with a benevolent face and a friendly smile. Jack leaned against a tree, still wiping his tears, and behind him, quite a number of villagers were seeing off Lorena and Alice.

“Farewell! Lorena!”

“Lorena! You have to be well!”

“Lorena! Thank you for everything! Be sure to become a knight once you get there!”

As she opened the carriage door, she turned back to the people, standing on her tiptoes. Laughter and warm expressions filled the air. Lorena wiped away her flowing tears and ran back towards the village entrance. And waving to the people, she said,

“Yes!”

And it seemed like that was the end. All the goodbyes were over, and it looked like the people were moving away. I picked up my bag with a sense of relief. It was time for me to leave this village too. A village without Alice or Lorena held no value for me, and I also needed to prepare to explore other regions based on the strength I had gradually grown.

I thought, ‘So this is goodbye, leaving behind the memories of intense sex and looking forward to the day we meet again.’

“Lorena! Lorenaaa! Lorena!”

But that wasn’t the case. There was someone who wasn’t ready to say goodbye yet. Charlie was running towards them, calling Lorena’s name repeatedly. He was panting, his breath catching in his throat, and hay was stuck to his face. His whole body was drenched in sweat, as if he had run from far away.

“Charlie?”

Lorena’s eyes widened when Charlie arrived. I thought he was a boy who knew exactly when to make an entrance, appearing just when I thought he might not. Charlie caught his breath and said to Lorena,

“Lorena…! I, I, I have something to say.”

But Lorena wouldn’t be able to hear him. Charlie looked straight at Lorena, his face flushed, about to open his mouth. I stepped forward and suddenly hugged Lorena. It was the moment Charlie’s mouth formed a circle like he was about to whistle, pronouncing the word ‘Jo’.

I slightly opened my mouth, stuck out my tongue, and faced her. Lorena’s wide, round eyes sparkled like starlight, then she closed them and opened her mouth.

“Ugh…! Mmm……! Hmm……!”

The sound of tongues rubbing, lips tightly held, exchanging each other’s saliva, fumbling over the most precious parts in a vulgar kiss. Closing his eyes tightly, Charlie shouted.

“I like you! Lorena!”

“Oh my, oh my my.”

“Kids these days really have a lot of spirit.”

And Charlie’s shout disappeared amidst the fuss and chatter of the ajummas who witnessed the frivolous scene. Lorena, gripping my hair tightly, became even more aggressive, intertwining her tongue with mine.

“Haa…! E-Evan……! Can’t we go together? Huh?”

I licked my lips and shook my head at her pitiful plea. I too wanted to enjoy a fun city life, having sex with Lorena and Alice, but there were too many restrictions. I needed to become even stronger, and a big city like Ithaca was still too early to be my stage.

“Let’s meet again when you become a knight. Lorena.”

I kissed her forehead. As our lips parted with a ‘ppok’ sound, Lorena blushed shyly and lowered her head.

“…..Okay.”

She lowered her head deeply and moved away from me in a demure posture, and I waved to her. Alice said.

“Dad. Be careful.”

“Huh?”

She said that and then closed the carriage door with Lorena. As soon as the coachman confirmed the two were in the carriage, he urged the reins, and the horse began to stride purposefully down the main road. I tilted my head, unable to understand what she meant by that, and then looked at the villagers.

“Waaaaaaaah! Aaaaaaaah!”

“Oh dear, Charlie. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Okay?”

“Charlie. There’s a pretty older sister who looks just like this ajumma here, so I’ll introduce you to her. Don’t cry.”

“Waaaaah! Aaaaaaah! Sob…! Gasp…! Waaaaaaah!”

On one side, Charlie was shedding sorrowful tears. Even though the ajummas and ajusshis gathered around to comfort him, Charlie wouldn’t stop crying. With such a tender heart at such a young age, could he become a great knight? I prayed that he would overcome this pain and become a fine man, and then I picked up my bag again.

“H-h-h-hey, you……!”

But there was someone holding my feet, preventing me from leaving the village entrance. Jack looked at me, his face pale and his lips trembling. His face was deathly pale, and his fists were clenched so tightly that blood couldn’t reach them.

I asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“S-since when were you with my daughter…….”

Jack carefully posed his question to me. He was biting his lip and glaring, but it seemed like he was suppressing his anger as much as possible due to the fact that I was the one who saved his life. I thought it would be better to get out of this situation than to start explaining my romantic history to him.

“Ah, I need to leave in a bit of a hurry. We can talk later.”

“H-hey! I mean right there!”

“Aigoo!”

“Stop! If I catch you, I won’t let you go!”

I escaped the village, dodging the rampaging Jack. When I turned my head, I could see the rear of the carriage bobbing at the edge of the horizon. Thinking that Alice and Lorena were on that carriage filled my heart with emotion. I waved towards my women, and seeing Jack’s face pop out from the village entrance, I started running vigorously again.

“Stop! You damn bastard!”

“Ah, fuck it. You can have sex with your daughter, can’t you?”

I muttered to myself, unheard by Jack, and escaped Poar.

This wasn’t moving away from Alice and Lorena. It was getting closer to Sophia, Isabel, Elena, and Lumia. Not a farewell, but a reunion.

I was running towards the reunion.

“Hey there, buddy. Got any cash? You look like you come from a well-off family. If you have some money, please give us a handout. We’re pretty kind folks, so we’ll leave you enough for travel expenses. So, come on, open up your pockets.”

The journey towards reunion couldn’t possibly be all fun and games. Several large men surrounded me, picking a fight. These were bandits who didn’t bother the carriages of noble families or large groups of travelers, but targeted lone wanderers like me.

“I told you to open your pockets quickly, didn’t I?”

These weren’t kind people, despite what they claimed. After taking all the money, they’d claim it wasn’t enough, cripple perfectly fine people, and sell them off as slaves – utter scum.

“Buddy. Can’t you hear me?”

Right in front of me, the man who seemed to be the leader of this bandit group leaned in, threatening me. His sunken cheeks and bulging eyes made him look like a dried-up fish. His face reeked of a mixture of alcohol and rot.

Slap!

“Hyeuup!”

I couldn’t stand the stench. I landed a slap across his face, and the large man flew through the air before crashing into the bushes. The bandits, who hadn’t even drawn their weapons yet, blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend what just happened. I looked at my hand and let out a hollow laugh.

Certainly, I was getting stronger.

“W-what are you doing! Grab him!”

“Grab him, now!”

The voices of the bandits reached me.

The journey towards reunion seemed like it would be quite enjoyable.