episode_0095

As if it were the most natural thing, Killua took my lips, confirming our relationship as lovers, then gently tapped my stunned, astonished cheek.

“Ki… Killua?”

Unable to believe his actions and decision, I couldn’t fully regain my lost wits and could only stare blankly at Killua, who was tapping my cheek.

Then Killua rose from where he was sitting on my thigh and approached the door.

And he pulled open forcefully the door, which had clearly been shut tight.

“Whoa… whoa!”

“Ahh!”

As he forcefully pulled open the door, people who seemed to have been pressing themselves against the door, eavesdropping on our conversation, tumbled into the room from beyond the wide-open doorway, like a collapsing stack of firewood.

Among the people who tumbled down were the villagers, including the village chief, and even the merchant Tom Bolt.

Killua simply looked down at the people who had tumbled at his feet with a look of pitying contempt.

As if belatedly trying to save face under his gaze, Tom Bolt quickly cleared his throat and sprang to his feet.

“Ahem… We… we showed you a disgraceful sight.”

“Yes. It was quite disgraceful.”

While saying that, Killua reached out a hand and helped the fallen village chief and villagers get to their feet.

Tom Bolt, who had been clearing his throat, also followed Killua’s lead and began helping the other people who had fallen behind him.

“Heh… heh heh, sorry about that. This village doesn’t have many young people, so…”

“Sorry, sorry. We’re really leaving now, so please continue what you were doing without any worries.”

The villagers who had taken Killua’s and Tom Bolt’s hands to get up scratched the back of their heads in embarrassment and left.

I, who couldn’t just stand by and watch Tom Bolt and Killua help the fallen villagers, also rose from the bed, stepped forward, and helped the fallen villagers up.

“W-we’re truly sorry for interrupting such a… good moment. We have no excuse.”

The village chief-nim, who had gotten up by holding my hand, seemed sorry that he hadn’t been able to control the villagers and even bowed deeply to me as he offered his apology.

“It’s alright. Your concern for me was more than enough, I’m truly grateful.”

As if the small mishap that just occurred was nothing, I expressed gratitude for the chief-nim’s belated visit, as he had come to worry about me, who had been seriously injured and collapsed, and sent him away.

He and the other villagers, even as they left the room, kept bowing their heads towards me, expressing their apologies.

After helping all the fallen villagers up and sending them away.

“Then, I too shall…”

Finally, Tom Bolt tried to leave.

“May I have a brief word with you?”

But I stopped Tom Bolt, who was about to leave after finishing his business.

At my voice, which had stopped him, Tom Bolt and Killua both turned to look at me simultaneously.

“I need your help, Tom Bolt-ssi, with matters concerning the future.”

At my words that I needed his help, Tom Bolt’s eyes widened, and Killua also nodded, as if he had expected such a choice.

“Are you planning to resume your merchant work?”

There was only one reason for me to stop him and ask for his help.

Tom Bolt also, as if he had been waiting for this moment, displayed a gentle smile and spread his arms wide, as if any request would be fine.

“Anything is fine. Our merchant guild will do our best to support you, Merchant Fox-nim.”

It was with the confidence that he would readily hand over even a single carriage if I wished.

However, I had no intention of owing him such a great favor.

“A few silver coins are enough.”

“A few silver coins?”

“Is… is that all you need?”

At my request, not only Tom Bolt but even Killua looked at me with widened eyes in surprise.

A few silver coins were only enough for about a week’s worth of food and travel expenses to go between one village and another.

“I’m still unfamiliar with the continent’s situation. I believe it’s a priority to travel the continent first and find out what is lacking and what is needed where.”

More than 10 years had passed since I quit my merchant work, and thanks to Killua’s escape magic, 5 years had been skipped.

Furthermore, with the war between humans and demons having broken out, the continent must have changed completely from the time I remembered.

If I were to start merchant work based on memories from over 10 years ago, it was highly likely that I would lose all the assets I borrowed from Tom Bolt within half a year.

Rather, though it would take a bit longer, it would be better to return to the mindset I had when I first started as a merchant and grow steadily, one step at a time.

“I can give you a few silver coins right now, but…”

Tom Bolt, with a bitter expression, pulled out a large handful of shining silver coins from the leather pouch at his waist.

“Are you sure this will be enough?”

As if worried about my decision to end a golden opportunity to receive his help with just a handful of silver coins, he looked at me, unable to open the hand clutching the silver coins, which he had placed on the table.

“It’s enough.”

I replied in a calm voice, as if I had no further regrets or desires.

At my reply, Tom Bolt, as if he couldn’t help it, spread open the hand that had been tightly clutching the silver coins.

Then the silver coins that had been clutched in his hand spilled onto the table, forming a small mound.

“If you ever need more items or assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

As if worried about me trying to make a comeback as a merchant with just a few silver coins, Tom Bolt, who had been looking back and forth between the mound of silver coins and me, left the room, leaving behind only a sigh filled with worry.

“Are you really sure this is enough?”

Once Tom Bolt had also left the room, Killua picked up a silver coin from the pile Tom Bolt had left on the table.

Killua, as a White Mage, had always carried all sorts of jewels, gold ingots, and gold coins as his assets, so he had never paid the slightest attention to mere silver coins.

As if he had never expected to actually see a currency called silver coin with his own two eyes, Killua examined the silver coin with an air of fascination.

“The most important things for a merchant aren’t money or assets. They are knowledge and experience.”

Standing beside him, I took a look at the silver coin Tom Bolt had left, to check if it might be a fake or a gilded counterfeit.

Fortunately, its clean luster, bright enough to reflect a face, and the fact that it didn’t scratch even when I scraped it with my fingertip, confirmed it was a genuine silver coin.

“Oh~ That was quite an expert-like statement. Pretty cool, huh?”

“Not expert-like, but an actual expert.”

At Killua’s mischievous praise, I also let out a chuckle and playfully responded to his question.

Then Killua, as if enjoying such conversation, burst into bright, childlike laughter.

“For now, our first destination is the hot spring city of Belton.”

“What?”

But at my words revealing our first destination, his laughter faded.

The hot spring city of Belton.

It is a tourist city famous for its massive bathing facilities that use hot spring water flowing from the Rothan Mountains in the center of the continent.

And it was also the city where the location of his second fragment had been confirmed.

“Don’t tell me… you still have lingering feelings for the fragment?”

Killua, thinking that my decision to set Belton as our first destination was due to lingering attachment to the fragment, frowned and asked about my intentions.

“To be honest, I can’t say there aren’t any.”

But at my honesty, Killua’s brow furrowed in worry.

He seemed to be recalling the life-threatening moments he had experienced to obtain the fragment.

“However, that’s only if it’s truly safe. If I think it’s even slightly dangerous or too much, I’ll give up decisively.”

At his worry, I promised that I wouldn’t covet the fragment to the point of taking risks.

“There’s no need to go there by force in the first place, is there?”

But Killua seemed worried about the act of getting close to the fragment itself.

Even though I had promised not to take risks… if the fragment were found right before my eyes, he seemed worried that I might unwittingly become blinded by the fragment and do something dangerous.

“Belton City is a place where all sorts of nobles, merchants, and mercenaries gather for relaxation. There’s no better place to quickly grasp the continent’s situation.”

However, I also wasn’t being forced to go to Belton City because of the fragment.

As it was one of the continent’s famous resort cities, it was a city where numerous nobles, merchants exhausted from long journeys, and mercenaries weary from harsh adventures gathered.

If I could stay for just two days at an inn in that city, I was confident I could grasp over 80% of the continent’s situation.

“Alright. Just promise me you won’t try to find or investigate the fragment.”

“Of course.”

Killua, as if having completely given up his lingering attachment and obsession with the White Mage’s power, instead demanded that I not be obsessed with the fragment.

I also, unless he wanted it, had no intention of actively trying to find the fragment.

The fragment, which emitted such immense magical power that it couldn’t be hidden, would surely already be in someone’s hands, and taking it from his grasp would clearly be an endeavor so dangerous that even our two lives wouldn’t be enough as collateral.

“Good. So the destination is set, and…”

Once the schedule was confirmed, Killua put the silver coin he was holding back into the pile.

And opening the door that Tom Bolt had closed on his way out, he checked the hallway outside.

Feeling no presence, Killua firmly closed the door and asked me.

“When are we leaving? Perhaps… tomorrow?”

It was a question where his true feelings—that he wanted to rest here for the day—were clearly discernible.

Killua even, as if having no intention of hiding his true feelings, gestured towards the bed with a sidelong glance.

At such an overt display of affection, I swallowed dryly and carefully revealed my plan.

“I plan to join Tom Bolt-ssi when he leaves and depart together.”

I don’t know when Tom Bolt came to this village, but he will probably stay for two or three days before leaving.

When he leaves, if I borrow a spot in his merchant guild’s carriage, we could travel very comfortably to a city near Belton.

The two or three days he stays would be enough time for us to whisper our honest feelings to each other.

“Leaving today?”

However, at my answer, as if all his expectations had crumbled, Killua replied with a stiff, frozen expression.

“What?”

At his unexpected reply, my face also stiffened.

“Can’t we postpone it?”

Then Killua carefully clutched my sleeve and asked.

If we had to travel purely on foot without the help of Tom Bolt’s merchant guild’s carriage, it would not only be too far but also a dangerously perilous journey for us, who had no mercenaries for escort.

On the other hand, waiting for Tom Bolt’s merchant guild to visit Eaton Village again would waste too much time.

“I don’t want to postpone it…”

And the worst part was Ariel, who was still in Eaton Village…

Due to the succubus and the Hero, our relationship had terribly fallen apart with her, and the thought of facing her again was terrifying and unpleasant.

“Alright. Let’s leave today then.”

As if he understood my feelings, Killua gave a gentle smile tinged with a hint of regret and swept the silver coins from the table into the leather pouch.

“Grab what you need and come out to the plaza! I’ll get my things quickly too!”

Once a decision is made, action should be swift.

He quickly covered up his regret about having to leave immediately and forced a cheerful voice as he shouted and dashed out of the room.

“……”

With eyes filled with lingering regret, I gazed at the bed where we might have lain together.

But, replaying Killua’s cheerful voice in my head, I shook off the lingering regrets that tried to bind my hands and feet.

Our journey was just beginning anyway.

There would be plenty of time and leisure ahead.

Thinking that there was no need to dwell too much on the immediate regret, I began to pack what I could, just as Killua had told me.