20 – Innocent Boy (3)
“So, did you finish the story well?”
The story itself was not difficult.
Monsters are attacking villages and stagecoaches, so I ask you to eliminate them at their source.
I had no idea yet how strong they were,
If only she could properly use the magic she learned from her mother…
“Yes, maybe…”
“What is probably? If you said you would work, are you sure? Huh?”
Pang, pang, his arms were filled with excessive energy as he patted my back and hugged my shoulders.
It felt different from when my mom squeezed me tightly.
Maybe that’s natural.
Mom probably made me…
“What is the answer?”
“Yes, yes! I think I can do it.”
“Hmm… Okay! Then, let’s at least treat the boy who might become a hero to a meal.”
The guard captain excitedly steps forward with his feet without showing any signs of loosening his grip on his shoulders.
The place he headed to, held in his burdensome hands, was a restaurant.
The order was placed in an instant without even asking what I wanted to eat.
The bottle containing water was also placed roughly, so he could not help but flinch.
“I guess I should ask too.
Where is our wizard from?”
“Where… Are you from?”
“Okay. Well, should I call it my hometown? You don’t even know that?”
In a way, what he said was right.
Only her mother probably knows exactly where the house she lived in with her grandmother is.
Even in that cave I escaped from, I couldn’t even determine for sure where it was.
If you think about that hallway, even that forest path can’t be called a proper path.
“I grew up without my parents since I was young.
Master taught me and raised me.”
“Hmm. Then, can I ask Master’s name?”
“That’s…”
The fact that the red dragon is my teacher and mother is a fact that should never be said out loud.
That said, I didn’t even prepare an excuse in advance, so what should I do about this?
I groan while touching my dazed head and sweaty hands –
“No, that’s enough.
Well, at least it looks like Master was quite an eccentric. “It’s amazing to see you so scared.”
Immediately, I was able to take a deep breath as I felt the back of my neck being grabbed and released.
Enough to make my throat ache.
“Take it, handkerchief.
Why on earth do you get so scared by a simple question, Won?
Am I that scary?”
He touched the rough beard on his chin again and let out a heavy smile.
Those eyes staring at me,
However, the raised corners of his mouth made his true intentions even more unclear.
“I’m sorry if it was too burdensome.
After all, this is my job.
You even use magic, but you don’t have much to prove your origins, so you’re someone to be quite wary of.”
As I slowly wiped away the sweat and looked carefully,
He reached out his hand and stroked his hair as if to ruffle it.
It feels completely different from my mother’s soft and warm feeling.
I stopped squinting at the feeling that could actually be said to be painful.
“Should I call it an apology?
I’m the one who buys this meal today, so feel free to eat it.”
The words sounded soft and cheerful, but
In fact, the words felt differently in a corner of my heart and through my body.
Even at the moment she said that to me, her eyes showed no sign of letting go and the swelling on her skin showed no signs of calming down.
It seems that meeting people is not as easy as I thought.
***
In front of me, sitting there with the feeling of not knowing whether I ate the food properly or not,
The guard captain leisurely drank a cup of tea and then stood up.
Putting down a small bag of money in front of me.
“This is a fee. If you have the necessary equipment or colleagues, settle for that.
Please calculate!”
When you open the money bag and try to spend the coins inside.
“Ah, you don’t have to calculate. Didn’t you say I’m buying it?
And you can settle your accommodations here.
Payment will be made by the village.”
He waved his hand at me and made me put back the hand I was trying to extend.
Whenever you push me, now you’re being kind.
At that time when I was hesitant, not knowing how to react.
“Actually, it’s not that important where you come from.
What I care about is the safety of this town,
And I just need to make sure that you faithfully carry out the duties assigned to you by the chief.
So, just do your job properly. “Isn’t it simple?”
The words he said to me lingered in my ears.
I patted the side of his arm and bowed my head as he left the restaurant, but-
What he said really bothered me.
Follow the staff’s instructions, walk slowly, return to ‘my room’, and sit on the bed –
The discomfort still remains.
“…Wouldn’t it have been better to be with mom?”
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
Receiving very reluctant looks from the first day,
Because of that, you can no longer feel what you are eating with your mouth.
It was not something I wanted to experience often.
Perhaps, as my mother said, I was not properly prepared.
I thought, why not go back now? –
“No, no. I should have thought about this much.
I never thought it would be easy in the first place.”
I patted both cheeks and immediately opened the magic book again.
I immediately wrote down the phrases of the spells that I spontaneously came up with today, and the words that would be good to add…
I mumbled them and put them in my head.
But after that, dusk fell again –
“Oh…”
A rocking sound could be heard from the ship.
I used magic to light a candle that was sitting right there, and then went outside.
“Oh, sir.
I was going to tell you anyway.”
The lady was standing in front of my room with a candle in her hand.
With a very sorry expression.
“Cho, oh my. I guess you’re a wizard after all.
I was going to deliver the fire anyway.”
“Ah, yes, that’s…”
“Oh, and it’s unavoidable that you won’t be able to eat dinner tonight.
There were more customers for lunch than expected, so we ran out of ingredients.”
A bit shocking news.
The already hungry stomach is crying out for food.
“Then…”
“I think you’ll have to solve it outside.
Oh, you said this is your first time in our village, right?
I will show you the street where the restaurant is located. If you have time, would you please follow me?”
From Noble mtl dot com
Luckily, I can eat it somewhere else.
Because of this, I immediately followed him and went out into the dark street.
“Go straight this way, and when you pass the two buildings, turn right.
After that, if you walk along the light, you will see a restaurant area.
It is adjacent to the red light district, so I don’t recommend going too deep.”
“Red lantern… Shall we go?”
This is a word I’ve never heard before.
If I had to give a warning, would it be a bad place?
“Yes, the red light district. Ah, that…
Should I say it is a place to enjoy entertainment?”
“Ah, yes…”
This is my first time hearing that word called entertainment.
While reading the book, I thought I had already learned most of the things.
Is there something that I and my mom missed?
“Then quickly eat and come back.
If it gets too dark, you can’t see clearly… Ah.
The guest is a wizard, so I guess there’s nothing to worry about?”
The woman smiled while slightly covering her mouth and bowed her head once, then she immediately turned around and headed toward the building.
I watched quietly as the fire was lit in the lamp right in front of me, and I couldn’t resist the fire in my hungry stomach, so I took a step forward.
I was told to pass by the two buildings and head straight to the right.
***
“Oh, you look cute? How did the rumored wizard Nari end up here?”
Was the red light district like this?
Is this what the word entertainment means?
I walked in, captivated by the colorful, sparkling buildings.
I moved her feet thinking there might be something interesting to eat.
I guess I came in wrong.
“Here, here. Don’t you get lonely if you walk alone?
How about coming and resting for a while? It’s like this. Phew.”
Clothes so thin that it is difficult to open your eyes and see,
I walked blindly, avoiding the women who came into the street without even trying to hide the lines of my body.
There was danger everywhere.
Break the third rule my mother told me to do right now –
“It’s cold. Are you leaving so coldly? Huh?”
It was obvious.
Now, I hastily avoid the women who even boldly hold out their hands.
I moved towards the center of the narrow street.
But somehow, the further you go, the more
The more you stretch your feet, the more
“Ah, what a waste. Phew.”
It feels like the road is getting narrower.
It’s going to be really dangerous if I keep going like this, so I turn my eyes forward –
“…Hi.”
It wasn’t getting away.
Rather, it was going inside.
More women,
More flesh colors were in front of my eyes.
Besides –
“Gotcha!”
There was someone who held my arm.
Surprisingly, the clothes were less flashy than others,
Still, it was much more dented than the clothes my mother wore before, so it was still too dangerous to pay attention to.
I wanted to shake it off right away.
In order to keep my promise to her mother, I wanted to run.
“Hey, you were trying to come here, weren’t you?”
However, the tone I heard was very similar to my mother’s.
The expression on his face as he smiles and tucks his hair past his ear looks very gentle.
“I heard. He’s a wizard.
I don’t think I know much about this place.
Would you like me to help you get out?”
Somehow I think it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get her help –
“…Yes!”
I just nodded.
As long as she gets guidance on the way out, she won’t be breaking her promise to her mother.
So, I walked along the road, feeling the warmth of the hand holding my wrist.
“Eh, to have it all to yourself? That’s cruel!”
“Noisy! Just looking at it, it’s even weirder that you’re willing to do something to a young child!!”
I inadvertently looked at her face as she shrugged off the booing noises coming from around her.
As expected, it was the mole next to her eye that inadvertently reminded her of her mother.
