R302 | Chapter 8

[✧ March 9th, Tree Day]4c0eaffe57dd84f9

Ain said it was nothing to worry about… but I can’t help but be concerned about him.da3b63aba716ab64

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Lately, the number 0ec3e0dcca of monsters has 8f05850c24 been increasing. The sheer number is troublesome, 7f7ee87545 but the fact that stronger 3e26c5b877 ones are appearing is an 2fb2a79181 even bigger problem. I heard Ain always takes 75619bc120 the lead when fighting those ba111a8d59 monsters.bd8edf1329137e03

I wish he’d be a bit more careful. Ain doesn’t seem to care much about his own safety, so all I can do is wait for him, worried.d50bb0d9e3e70578

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Of course, I know Ain is strong. I’ve never seen it myself, but I’ve heard various tales of his exploits. But no matter how strong a swordsman is, even a sword master, death can come in an instant. I hate to even imagine it, but if something were to happen to Ain…29aba7ec52797bd8

I really wouldn’t be able to bear it.5111df17d21bcc6d

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It’s not just the monsters that bother me. Lately, there have been unsettling stories, and I can’t help but be on edge.7b25723b9e885593

Am I just worrying too much…? Today, I seem particularly anxious. Maybe it’s because of the dream I had. In the dream, Ain was badly hurt, and I couldn’t do anything but cry like a child. When I woke up, my face was soaked. Really foolish.cd005bfa983beef3

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Yeah, it’s foolish. I’m just pouring out endless anxiety. Ain is just doing what he needs to do in the place he chose for himself…7c97d184a7ef9aa6

Right, I shouldn’t worry too much. Ain will come back safely. I just need to do what I have to do in my place.125cc2926a9b8d2e

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☆ To-do List for Tomorrow2ce4db42789ba6d5

— Sort the incoming materialse0da6aae2db7bea7

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* * *55e1a0d43236f35d

March 20th, 3 PM, when there weren’t many people around. The inn door opened noisily. Ain, leading a group of five, came inside.90caedcddeb3802e

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“Licht, hyung is back!”fd2213539abba2d3

“Ain!”f8866aff6f2f06ee

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Licht, who was sitting at e7cc3df7b4 the table organizing the ledger, 1481dce3c0 jumped up and ran to a6def7069a Ain.05cf61dac0bdd113

I was already very worried since Ain had been gone for over ten days. Licht looked Ain over thoroughly. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be injured.fd530442bf7fb04b

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“You’re not hurt, right?”3f3d0717faeaa189

“Of course, not a scratch. Bjorn fell once, though.”11f3b24e7e4d880b

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“I didn’t fall, I was dodging… sigh, never mind.”f80503619c79dd04

Bjorn shook his head. He didn’t seem to have any major injuries either. Licht finally sighed in relief.12418762091fdef4

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Maser, who was standing at 53fede0c9c the back, strode towards the 8f17e2837b kitchen. The large wooden box 8f53181e4e he was carrying looked f1a806ea2f suspicious.3648e4ce153a8b1e

“Hey, Mr. Heiker!”981d9e0699f6006c

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Heiker, who was preparing ingredients 6e61025216 for dinner, looked up and 46ade21a54 approached Maser. Maser grinned and 97a6222b3b tapped the wooden 270b930580 box.ec88eb74bb454711

“I brought something amazing. Take a look.”7ac1b3d0816ced50

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“…What’s so amazing?”21eee2be3849e885

Maser opened the wooden box. Inside was a fish the size of an arm and several oysters. Heiker’s eyes widened in surprise.4ce7f65d32950961

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“This is….”0f1249028df1e1c6

“It’s Seldom Fish and oysters. How is it? Looks good, right?”e3b32236893faa25

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“Hmm, yes. It does look good, but….”2789759410a48d93

Heiker had an awkward ed517f0831 smile on his face. Maser soon looked serious.e4bd7f70b4ef8f96

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“Oh. Is it hard to prepare?”732e7cb913016569

“No, I can prepare it.”2b0ec0249ea17ce4

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The preparation wasn’t the problem. The problem was that this place was far from the sea. How did he bring it back so fresh? It’s a distance that’s hard to cover in ten days.4fa84b7facec5408

Even if they managed to travel back and forth, maintaining this freshness would have been impossible, even if it wasn’t hot weather yet….a2eb04b5af28ea74

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Heiker decided to stop thinking 9f2241451a about it. Those capable folks must 8157dc3419 have figured something out.4c39d334ca95ceaa

“What should I make with this?”bcc7fb86d3c101e8

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“Hmm, I don’t know. Just cook it however you like, Mr. Heiker. Use the leftovers as you see fit.”ca62cccdd39aa7b2

“Sure.”cd94f0f3ac452ca9

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Maser smiled at Heiker, e9fc943bf3 who answered quietly, and f8fae96dc5 turned his body. As Heiker entered the 24df06d0f7 kitchen, Ain nodded his d262504469 head towards Licht, gesturing 849c39bfad upwards.d4de36f51d1ac573

“Licht, we’ll go wash up first.”333b047cc7f81b59

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“Okay. See you later.”d7903baeee69a9f9

Ain’s group went upstairs. Only after their footsteps disappeared did it occur to Licht that they might need warm water. They were probably exhausted, and if they weren’t careful, they might catch a cold.7326e090bfb962fc

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Licht grabbed several heating stones from the counter and hurried up to the third floor. He knocked on Ain’s door right away.ee17542c46208b14

“Ain, it’s me.”62daea064367a491

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As soon as 3ff4bad35e he identified himself, d978813e62 the door opened. Licht was surprised to a7cc387c0e see Ain inside the 63bf975942 room.c5feccfe60882dc6

Ain had completely taken off his top. Licht couldn’t help but look over Ain’s body. It was a sculpted figure that naturally drew the eye.99af9b014d7a9b36

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His tall frame 3d065585cd with large muscles 7324bbdcc1 gave a strong 26ec3ec562 yet agile impression. From the broad shoulders 15ddd43501 that seemed like you 7daf00ad77 could sit on them, d7ce9708a3 to the distinctly defined d557674471 abs. By the time he had 7e8aa890ea looked over it about three 92a639a93e times, Ain chuckled.1f54d70af35276b6

“What are you staring at?”33e42312964c44bb

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“Ain… your body is amazing. I’m jealous.”254f2fd80b25a6b9

“Really, jealous? Well, our Licht’s body is all soft and squishy.”a998bc0627051d50

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“…No, it’s not! It’s not squishy!”ae0b7572e1c0b7b0

“Looks squishy to me. Let’s see.”9c628ca53a7c83b3

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Ain grinned and grabbed Licht’s top. Startled, Licht quickly bent his upper body. Ain gently tickled Licht’s side, which he couldn’t defend. As Licht let out a short scream and twisted his body, Ain lifted Licht’s top and slipped his hand in.88375e182d93f0c5

“See? It’s not squishy… there’s just no flesh. It’s just bones and skin.”a161e8330e6b8ddd

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Ain, who had d3f7eb131f been laughing, suddenly 73f5be62d2 turned serious.0427aa939d5b0324

“What is this, like a kid who’s been starving. Eat more, Licht. Hyung is upset.”85155d340cdba83a

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“It’s not just skin! It’s muscle.”3dd912f6581b4922

“Where do you see muscle? It’s just skin. I’ll have to watch how much you eat later.”56e9a62bcb95b021

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He said as he kneaded Licht’s flat belly. Licht hit Ain’s hand repeatedly, and Ain exaggeratedly groaned, “Ouch, ouch,” and pulled his hand back.9ae6b3f79d210141

It’s not like they’re kids anymore, and yet Ain is still poking and tickling. Licht thought Ain was really immature.8777eac5ab96716e

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“Ain, you fool….”ac90d008a3e0446a

“Yes, yes, I’m a fool. So, what’s up?”b7922b9ead27ca46

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“Oh.”f77cb6b54af0ee06

Licht finally remembered the 77f77e74f9 reason he came.1a60fd5ce08c0dd3

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“I came to heat up some water for you…. It’s still nice to have warm water, right?”d6cf2aed7c3d021f

“Yeah, it is.”568960c90ce042aa

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“So here, take this.”ab860e70da38b475

“These are… heating stones.”4bf230f69b0805ee

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“Yeah. I prepared enough for 739827d60b each room, so use ae1d808724 them.”3fc0796a2417d16f

“Aren’t they expensive?”9dfd9b91e7730228

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Heating stones were magical c4a80364cd tools that only mages 2f0cc28d77 could make. In a regular inn like 29590449e0 this, they usually had one c9c090eb1e or two to heat water 43bb2392ac for guests when requested.8fd3f3e588afbfac

“You paid 500 Rund. Plus, you boosted our evening 3b3617e12c sales.”4f0b7e906077f73f

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“That was for the room stay. It wasn’t meant for this.”09d058e8237f898a

“If there were guests who paid that much as a deposit, even if it wasn’t you, I’d still take care of them. Just use them and return them when you check out.”16e096a2787021b0

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Ain, who was watching Licht c6e953c841 speak calmly, pretended to wipe c9d9bb0721 tears from his eyes.f0ccedd6c69d28c5

“Oh… Licht is going to treat other men like this too… I thought it was because you were happy to see me, but I was mistaken….”86a4a7017a798540

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“No, no! Actually, it’s because it’s you, Ain. Even if someone gave me 1000 Rund, I wouldn’t do this. Really.”e4c95805c23969d5

Licht, flustered, tried to console e4c599ac52 Ain. Ain looked at Licht 6db2dec491 with the saddest face 9013512f22 he could muster.e0eeae37c285853e

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“Really?”4d2055db16c40a4c

“Yeah….”fcc2429a4da98c9a

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“Okay, I believe you.”dff4f5ba7d8ae9d1

Licht suspiciously examined Ain’s face, which looked sad but had no tears. Still pretending to be sorrowful, Ain took three of the four heating stones from Licht’s hand.d2f05f6098532b57

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“Albina is a mage, so she’ll heat her own water. Three should be enough.”b5fed9028d329b28

“Oh… okay.”f1d01c4712dfc373

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“I’ll distribute these. You finish up your work at the inn.”2e327bade3922767

Licht nodded and a461842af2 went back down d38053c3a0 to the first 6deebb78dd floor. His heart was pounding 8d1d968c30 the whole way down 1d6299aa38 the stairs.f4e4f06c73f8cb51

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He hadn’t expected Ain to feel hurt by the excuse he prepared in advance to avoid making him uncomfortable. Giving four heating stones was a gesture of goodwill towards Ain and his companions. He wouldn’t have done this for just anyone.4d35c5c2be9df305

Whether Ain was really about to cry or just pretending, it was a relief that he didn’t actually cry. Licht calmed his startled heart.a56ce4adb914a5a1

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Finally composed, Licht 668b935bd9 approached Heiker, who f1a24a260e was preparing the dc53d86231 large Seldom Fish.a9b9ded8b0680373

“Mr. Heiker, what are you 296b072169 going to cook?”997c6d71dc65afcb

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“The condition is good, so I’ll make something that brings out the original flavor. Seldom Fish is delicious even raw.”fa9d4afea158110f

Licht was shocked as if he might faint. He wasn’t picky, but he really disliked raw fish.3dabc2c2411f6dec

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“Raw?”6d395c07083f6620

“That’s not all, so don’t worry.”6d6a9b0023c33648

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Heiker reassured Licht as he marinated thin slices of Seldom Fish in lemon juice. Licht looked around for something to help with, but Heiker was so quick that there wasn’t much to do. In the end, Licht cleaned and polished various parts of the inn until they sparkled.62cc7195203f21ec

After a while, delicious 146b6ae3c4 smells began wafting from fc581bdb97 the kitchen. Drawn by the aroma, ff7d1ebca5 Maser and the others 87db4872db came down to the 1bb464d456 first floor.43f8bb560570508f

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The five companions, Licht, and Nidia all gathered around a large table. It would have been nice if Heiker joined them, but he kept declining, saying he had already eaten while cooking. In truth, Heiker didn’t want to risk indigestion eating among the king and nobles.9c0a078f3155b6f5

On the other hand, 26fe0b6610 Nidia, who had no b6335fffe3 choice but to sit, 7a2fc6c151 was trembling inside. Ignorance is bliss, they 12995a81a9 say, and to Nidia, 7e3cd8de0b ignorance was just happiness. She genuinely envied Licht, b36dd4f3cf who was oblivious.c008be63ac1a93c1

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