episode_0007

After a while, when Seris calmed down, Kara asked her everything. While Seris was thinking about how to respond, Yoosung spoke first.

“There was talk among the villagers about getting you married, Kara.”

“A collection of poetry? Is this really true?”

“Ugh, yes. that’s right. The village chief spoke first.”

Seris quickly nodded.

“Ha, why did those gentlemen touch me when I was perfectly fine?”

Kara grumbled, putting her arms on the back of the chair. Then, as if something occurred to me, I smiled and looked at Seris.

“By the way, did you cry because of that? Am I going to get married?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Huh?”

‘When you tease me like this, I usually get embarrassed or get angry and tell you not to tease me…?“

Seris was a person who usually had a lot of skinship, such as hugging, but was shy about expressing emotions. When she easily admitted it, Kara was rather embarrassed.

But the corner of Kara’s mouth twitched because she wasn’t in a bad mood.

“Kara, shall we go to the city?”

“Huh? Sister, what?

“Should we go and live in our city?”

“Huh?! Didn’t you hear wrong? Sister, are you serious? If you tell me it’s a joke, I’ll get angry?!”

“I’m serious.”

“Yay!!”

Kara was so happy that she jumped up and danced with joy.

‘Is it that good?’

Seris smiled at her younger brother. If I had known something like this would happen, I would have gone to the city a long time ago.

Seris, who was looking at Kara with a happy expression, remembered the conversation she heard through the gap in the wooden window.

-The girl said she was going to go on an adventure someday. Wouldn’t it be better to send her away?

-That’s… not bad. But will Seris stay still?

-Send Seris to the Baron right now.

Although I only heard voices, I could clearly see the expressions on the faces of the village adults.

He must be relieved that it’s not his family, and makes the excuse that it was an unavoidable sacrifice for the village, making him look like a disgusting hypocrite.

Cerise remembers when her father went missing in the mountains. At that time, the village adults did not even listen to Seris’ plea to find her father.

He just said it with a pitiful expression.

-There is nothing we can do since he was taken away by the goblins. Tsk tsk, that’s why I said you shouldn’t go deep into the mountains.

Cerise remembers when her mother was sick. They looked cold when Seris asked them to borrow money to pay for the medicine.

-Tsk tsk, I guess I didn’t know how to spend money or save it.

In the end, Seris lost her father and mother.

There was no good person to take care of the two sisters who were left alone.

Seris had to earn money to make a living.

I received work from the villagers. Even though I was scolded and teased by my peers, I persevered and worked hard. Thinking of Kara, who remained at home.

So, Cerise is my little sister who worked hard to raise me alone.

what?

‘Send it as a sacrifice to goblins?’

The anger was intense. It felt as if my brain was being cooked by the heat rising from my chest, and my organs were becoming distorted.

Seris wanted to storm into the village chief’s house and overturn everything. But I held back those feelings.

There was only one reason she didn’t do that.

Because I can’t handle it.

If it weren’t for that, I would have destroyed everything the moment I heard that disgusting conversation.

As Cerise’s stomach was pounding with anger, someone stabbed her in the side. It was a shooting star. He gestured to the front door.

Cerys, realizing the meaning of the glance, got up from her chair.

“Kara, you and Yoosung will go to work.”

“Huh? Didn’t you come here after finishing work?”

“When your sister heard about your in-laws, she had a fit and ran away. I followed him, asking where I was going.”

“Is it true, sister?”

“Ahaha…”

Seris came out with an awkward smile. Yoosung followed her out. The two walked a little bit to get away from the house.

“I think this is enough.”

Yoosung said he thought he was far enough away from home. Ceris stopped walking, turned around, and lowered her head towards the shooting star.

“Thank you.”

“Huh?”

“Thanks to you, I was able to leave the village before something serious happened.”

Seris bowed her head once again. Yoosung waved his hand, but Seris was serious.

“If it wasn’t for Yoosung, we would have been in real trouble.”

If it weren’t for Yoosung’s prank at that time, I wouldn’t have known about it. Only after the situation had occurred would he have struggled to somehow escape, and that struggle would have been likely to fail.

Yoosung smiled sheepishly, but soon erased his smile and asked with a stern face.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“I have to go to the city. I plan to start anew there.”

“Really? Do you have money saved?”

Seris hesitated to answer for a moment. However, since it didn’t seem like Yoosung would harm them, they decided to answer honestly.

“I have about 10 silver saved up.”

This is money that I have steadily saved for 10 years. She had some pride in this money. But that was shattered by Yoosung’s next words.

“10 silver… that’s not enough…”

“Not enough…?”

“Yes. 10 silver is not a small amount of money, but it is not enough to live in the city.”

“I don’t want a house. All you need is an environment where you can eat and live…!”

Seris’ voice became desperate. However, reality did not change just because she became desperate.

“The cost of lodging at the inn is 3 copper per day.”

“3, 3 Cooper…”

Cerise’s eyes widened. The money she earned by working hard all day was 5 to 6 coppers. But you lose 3 copper just by sleeping…

“Of course, if you’re going to live in the city, it’s unreasonable to stay at an inn. Then you have to live on rent, but for that you need a citizenship card. And that citizenship card costs 10 silver per person.”

“10Silver…”

It was Seris’s entire property. It took her 10 years to buy a citizenship card.

“And living isn’t just about having a place to sleep. You have to buy food, and you have to pay to use the well when you stay at the inn. Moreover, if you show that you are from the countryside, they will try to rip you off.”

“…”

“It would be… very difficult to go to the city and live there without knowing anything.”

Cerise’s pupils trembled. She only had a vague idea that if she just went up to the city, everything would work out.

That’s because she lived in this village for half her life. I thought that all I had to do was live as hard as I lived here.

Therefore, the reality of the city that Yoosung spoke about felt heavy.

“Then… then what should I do?”

Cerise’s voice became wet with moisture.

“Then what should I do!”

The anger she felt towards the villagers and the helplessness she felt after realizing the reality mixed together tore through her.

“There’s nothing I can do even if I go to the city, so should I stay here and do whatever those damn people want? Kara was taken as the former baron’s concubine and suffered cruel treatment by goblins? I don’t like it.”

Seris is willing to sacrifice anything for her family.

But I didn’t want to give even a penny for this village.

“Yes! As Yoosung said, it must be difficult to live in the city! however? That doesn’t mean anything changes. Why, why are you saying things like that to lower my spirits?! Why!”

Sniff.

Cerys said in tears. She knows too. That Yoosung said this because he was worried about her. That this is nothing more than venting one’s anger.

But I couldn’t bear it without at least venting my anger like this. The weight of being the head of the household that I had been forced to bear for the past 10 years was too heavy and frustrating.

And that still weighs on her shoulders. Seris wanted to relieve this frustrating feeling even a little.

“I’m not even going to help you!”

So, I got angry at Yoosung. Even though he knew this was wrong, even though he knew Yoosung would be disappointed in himself. She wanted to feel a little more comfortable.

Grumble

A tear ran down her cheek. That was the beginning. Tears burst from her eyes like an old dam collapsing.

Jump and jump

I heard footsteps. It must be the sound of Yoosung leaving, disappointed in her. Okay. From the beginning, she had handled everything alone. Nothing will change in the future. huh. Let’s cry a little and then go back to normal. Originally.

But Seris soon realized something strange. The sound of footsteps is getting closer, not farther away.

Cerise raised her head. Something soft touched the corner of her eye.

It was a handkerchief. Yoosung wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

“I will help you.”

Yoosung said with a smile.

* * *

I didn’t intend to cry. I was just trying to make her aware of the reality and my need.

“Will you help me..? Is it true?”

“Yes.”

“But why is Yoosung…? There is no reason for you to help us.”

There is no such thing.

Just looking at the status window right now, I’m starting to suspect that he’s connected to Seris.

However, I couldn’t tell you this, so I gave a cursory answer.

“I also have no intention of living in this town. I never thought it would be a town that sacrifices people to goblins. So, I’m going up to the city again, and I’ll help you along the way.”

“Are you sure you’re okay…?”

“Yes. But next time, let’s at least wipe away the tears ourselves, right?”

It was only then that Seris realized what the current situation was and panicked.

“Oh, ok, I’ll clean it!”

“That’s it, I already cleaned it all.”

“Then, I’ll at least wash your handkerchief. Please!”

“That’s it, I’m going home and packing my things. I’ll come later in the evening.”

“In the evening?”

“Okay. I’m leaving town tonight.”

“At night? The night is…”

“Just as you think, the road at night is dangerous. But it’s better than being chased by the villagers.”

After having her pack her things, we returned to the bar. Gedric has not returned yet.

I climbed the mountain carrying an axe. This is the mountain where I followed the goblins last time.

I plan to kill the goblins patrolling here. I let one or two of them go without telling them which village they came from.

If that happens, the angry goblins will turn the village into rubble.

‘I feel guilty because even innocent people get caught up in it, but…’

There was a reason why it had to be done that way.

Cerise’s father sent the letter directly to the Baron.

That means the Baron knows of Seris’ existence. What if you take Seris with you and leave the village?

‘The Baron himself will send a squad to kill you. Or maybe they would hire mercenaries to kill him.’

Either I die or someone else dies. If I had to choose between the two, my choice was clear.

I climbed the mountain carefully, remembering the goblins’ patrol route.

Soon, the sounds of goblins were heard. They were coming this way. I hid among the trees and bushes.

-Klick! A new girl is coming soon!

-The chief will use it first anyway. You won’t be able to use it until a while later. Hehehe.

-Klick! The chief alone is too much!

-Then challenge the chief. Doesn’t the chief accept all challenges?

-That’s impossible! No compatriot will be able to defeat the Chieftain!

-That’s right. A great chieftain!

Their voices got closer. If there weren’t a tree blocking them and me, I would have noticed it right away.

My heart was pounding wildly due to tension. However, there is no hesitation in movement. I ran straight towards the goblins.

“Wow!!”

-Kik, kkirik!?

As soon as I came out, I hit the head of the goblin I saw with my axe. The guy with his skull cracked fell down.

[Acquired 2 Karma.]

A notification window appeared. Now is not the time to worry about that.

The ax was put down without being pulled out. If you try to pull it out here, a gap will form. I kicked the guy next to the dead goblin.

-Squeak, squeak…

The guy who was hit squarely in the stomach stumbled and sat down. It is a goblin with the body shape of a toddler. There was no way I could withstand being kicked with all my might.

-Klick! human!?

The one remaining guy aimed his spear. It was a flimsy spear shorter than my height.

I grabbed the pole and pulled it toward me. He hit the goblin dragged by the spear with his knee.

-Kek…

I pulled out a dagger from my chest. He held it backwards and stuck it into the goblin’s neck.

-Kehehe..!

The goblin opened its eyes wide and glared at me. I pulled out the dagger and stuck it in my throat once again. The goblin’s eyes became cloudy.

“Phew…”

I pulled the dagger from the dead goblin and looked to the side. The guy who was hit by my kick was running away, crawling on the floor as if he wanted to survive.

I picked up the goblin’s crude spear from the floor. I approached the crawling goblin.

-Say, save me! I’ll do anything!

The goblin that was crawling begged for its life. The way he was rubbing his palms together like a fly looked very servile. I stretched out my spear and put an end to the guy’s servile begging for his life.

I let go of the spear and tried to squeeze it with both hands.

“Fuck…”

It feels like a blade is cutting through flesh and bone. It was very shitty. Even though it wasn’t my first time, I couldn’t help it.

He pulled out the ax stuck in the goblin’s head. The brain drained from the axe.

“Tsk…”

I wiped it off with a mess that was embarrassing to even call it goblin clothing. I went into the mountain with a cleaner ax than before.

This is not enough to incur the wrath of the goblins.