177
Snow play
‘It’s snow.’
Kel looked up at the sky as snowflakes filtered in through his leather helmet.
The sky was filled with thick snow falling heavily. It was so thick that the sky was not visible.
‘Rosa would like that.’
Kel muttered softly. Rosa loved snow, so on snowy days she would walk around outside for a long time.
“This is fucked up. When are you going to clean this up?”
At that moment, Brick grumbled harshly. His condition did not look good, with dark circles under his eyes and flaky skin.
I recently met with my wife, mother, and the captain, and I’ve been like that ever since.
Kel looked at Brick’s expression and opened his mouth slightly.
“Hey, Brick, I’m going to go check on Rosa for a sec.”
“It’s a good time. It’s a good time. Got it.”
Kel’s face lit up at Brick’s simple permission. Kel reached into his pocket and handed Brick thirty coppers.
“What is this······.”
Brick refused, but took Cooper with him. It was clear that he intended to use it as money for beer.
Kel ran hurriedly towards the house. The sticky mud was pulling at his feet, but his feet felt incredibly light.
On the way, Kel stopped by Hasson’s bakery. Rosa really liked the cakes, but they weren’t cheap.
Kel checked his pockets to see how much money he had left. Things were not going well with Rosa taking a break from work.
‘But if I cut down on drinking······.’
Kel bit his lip and entered the bakery. The sweet smell of bread filled the air. Since he hadn’t had lunch, his mouth was watering.
“Hey, Kel! Rosa’s pregnant.”
As he was taking out the bread, Haeson greeted me in a rough voice.
“Oh, Heson. My stomach is slowly coming out.”
Kel glanced at the cake and answered. Should I buy it? Rosa would probably like it. If I just work a little longer, wouldn’t it work out somehow? A conflict arose in his head.
“Oh, Rosa loved cake. Joanna wasn’t here today, so there’s quite a bit left. Would you like some? I’ll give it to you at a low price.”
Harrison shrugged, looking at the cakes piled on one side. Kel’s eyes widened at the suggestion.
There was a day when Haesun’s bread was left over-. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Kel nodded quickly. It was almost half price.
“Kel, congratulations.”
Haeson congratulated him by handing him a cake. Kel tried to smile at the strangely uneasy congratulations.
“Thank you. I’ll come back with Rosarang later.”
Kel picked up the cake and headed home carefully.
The place where Kel and Rosa were currently staying was the house that Aaron had given them. It was a much neater and larger house than the place they had lived before.
When I went in, Rosa was sitting there blankly. She seemed strangely listless, which was a pity.
Kel hid the cake around the door and went in.
“Kel-?”
Rosa’s red pupils dilated slightly. Kel laughed brightly at Rosa’s signature blank smile.
“It’s snowing outside, Rosa.”
“Really? I want to go see it.”
Rosa stretched out her arms. Kel looked at her protruding belly beneath them and picked her up. The body temperature in her arms was warmer than a bakery.
“Bakan and Braum were fighting earlier. I had to forcefully stop Bakan from biting Braum’s head, but if I had left it alone, Braum would have won. I bet on Braum.”
Kel walked with Rosa holding his hand and told her the story of the day. Rosa frowned and focused on the story.
A moment later, Rosa, who had discovered the snow, ran over and touched it.
“It’s so cold.”
A startled Rosa gestured to Kel.
“Your eyes are originally cold, Rosa.”
“I know, but this is colder.”
Kel smiled as he watched Rosa carefully touching her eyes.
“But isn’t this Aaron?”
Rosa tilted her head and held out her hand. Aaron’s face was on the snowflake resting on Rosa’s palm.
Aaron, the leader, smiled awkwardly, but strangely, he didn’t melt. Kel, who remembered Dylan’s ‘big brother!’, hurriedly shook Rosa’s palm.
“Chief Aaron, you can’t do that. Absolutely not.”
“Why? Kel likes Aaron. He talks about Aaron every day-.”
At Rosa’s question, Kel scratched his nose and avoided eye contact. It was too much of a man’s pride to explain it with his own mouth.
Rosa, who had been wondering for a moment, focused her eyes again. Kel watched while occasionally shaking Rosa’s palm.
Rosa played with the snowflakes for a while. As she watched him, her complicated mind at Haeson’s subtle reaction felt a little clearer.
‘Yes, because it’s Rosa’s child.’
It was something I had been worried about since I met the prostitute Rosa. I thought I could just let it go, but when it actually became reality, it felt different.
‘I wish I was more like Rosa. A lot more like her.’
Kel knew all of Rosa’s guests. None of them were of any use.
I thought about the list, but there wasn’t a single man who could be a role model for my child.
I thought it would be nice if he looked like Rosa. If not, then he looked like me. If he looked like someone else, then I would feel bad.
“what’s the matter?”
Rosa, who had come in front of me, tilted her head.
Kel slapped my cheek. I had been prepared for this from the moment I decided to meet Rosa, so how could I be thinking this now?
“No. Nothing.”
Kel licked his lips and then shook his head.
“Your expression is strange.”
Rosa’s cold, wet palm grabbed Kel’s cheek. Kel bit his lip tightly. He felt like he was about to burst out with dirty questions.
“Kel’s child.”
“······huh?”
“I’m sure.”
Rosa said, her eyes opening more clearly than usual.
“······really?”
Kel slapped me in the face for the dirty question that burst out without me being able to control it.
“Don’t hit me. Yeah, Aaron told me.”
“······what?”
When Captain Aaron’s name was mentioned, another sense of unease crept up on me. I wouldn’t know if it was another man, but if it was Captain Aaron, I couldn’t hate him.
“Aaron said to put in the cleaned intestines. That will prevent pregnancy and disease.”
Kel couldn’t understand Rosa’s words. What did she mean? But if that Aaron Sergeant said-.
“There is no one but Kel.”
Kel laughed heartily without realizing it, then hurriedly slapped his cheek. Rosa grabbed his hand and glared at him. Her face turned red.
“Were you worried?”
Kel avoided Rosa’s gaze. There was silence for a moment. As the snowflakes settled on Rosa’s crown, Kel took off his leather helmet and placed it on Rosa’s head.
“I bought a cake. ······Want some?”
Kel pointed inward slightly. Rosa smiled brightly.
“······Chief Aaron, you can’t.”
Kel took out the words he had kept inside since he had already become so dirty.
“why?”
“Chief Aaron is cool.”
“Kel is cooler.”
“Still, it won’t work. Anyway, it won’t work.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
Kel hoped the child would look like Rosa.
***
‘This is magic-.’
I looked back and forth between the canna in my hand and the snowflakes falling from the sky.
Making it snow? Is that magic? If it can change the climate, isn’t that already a miracle?
Although Kuo Bao Rou explained that he had originally pulled the snow that was about to fall, it was still amazing.
Most of the magic I’d seen up until then had been about burning or crushing someone, so this was the first time I’d seen something this worthless and beautiful.
[Rain is good, but I hate snow because it’s cold.]
I opened my mouth wide at the voice that suddenly came to mind. Snowflakes fell one after another between my lips, and my mouth felt cool.
The wider I opened my mouth, the more snowflakes came in. Funny enough, I hated rain, but I loved snow.
‘I wish there was syrup.’
It would have been shaved ice if I had just poured syrup on it since it was slightly covered in snow, but I wasn’t prepared.
I headed back to my accommodations, my mouth watering.
Since I had roughly finished the important work that had piled up, I was thinking of putting Kanna away and taking a hot bath.
The guy who had been covering my story realized that there were no more cakes and disappeared somewhere.
When we arrived at the accommodation, Hannah, who was usually at the bar, was sitting at the table.
Hannah was wiping the dishes with a cloth, but her movements were strangely creaking. It was like wiping a cloth with a dish.
“···Arong, are you here?”
Hannah tilted her head slightly and smiled softly. The corners of her lips were raised, giving her a somewhat chilling look.
“uh.”
I instinctively grabbed Kanna by the scruff of her neck and pushed her out. The atmosphere relaxed as Hannah, her eyes widening, suddenly sat up.
“Oh my, Kanna! What’s going on?”
Hannah held Kanna in her arms. The way she held her looked very warm.
“I brought winter.”
“······yes?”
“You’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.”
I relayed what Kuobarou had said in a nutshell. He had given a long explanation using difficult words, but it was basically about needing a rest.
“Ah! Okay. Arong, are you going to take a bath?”
“uh.”
“···Just a moment! I’ll leave Kanna behind.”
Hannah immediately raised her voice and went inside.
I waited, brushing the snow off my armor. There were snowflakes piling up between my breastplate, and they bothered me because I was smiling.
A moment later, Hannah returned holding a clean cloth.
“It suddenly started snowing heavily.”
Hannah muttered as she wiped the snow off me with a cloth. She lifted her head as if she wanted to shake it, but it wasn’t enough because of the difference in height.
I slightly bent my knees, and Hannah smiled faintly and ruffled my hair.
Knock. I wonder if body slamming is a trend, Hannah slammed her body into me like Kanna.
“I have prepared the water.”
I was surprised that warm water was available and not automatic, but I didn’t ask.
I scratched my head and took out the remaining dress from my pocket. I had bought a lot so I had some left over.
I handed her the dress and headed to the bathroom, when I heard the sound of something falling behind me. When I turned around, I saw Hannah leaning against the table and smiling awkwardly.
The bathroom was filled with warm water. I put my sword in the door and took off my armor. The blood stuck inside fell off. It was uncomfortable because it wasn’t my blood.
‘It’s gotten longer.’
The handprint that had filled her left breast was extending past her belly button and all the way to her right side.
It seemed like the liquid had a big effect. Judging from the fact that the tenant was still quiet, it seemed like it was still digesting.
I scratched it lightly with my fingernail, but there was no scratch. It looked ugly, but from another perspective, it looked quite nice.
‘I won’t die unless I come now.’
The Devil’s Handprint was similar to the Devil’s shell. The Devil’s shell was stronger than iron, so most swords wouldn’t be able to penetrate my upper body.
It was like wearing steel underwear. If I got caught with that side effect, everything would go awry, but I was pretty used to it.
I tapped the shell to check its strength. I hit it hard enough, but it only hurt my fist.
‘It’s useful.’
I turned my gaze to the bathtub, thinking of the best possible outcome.
‘Something else has been added in the meantime.’
There were more Deokgu. I wondered why there was a stone statue of Deokgu looking down next to the bathtub, but it was too late to point it out.
Still, the function was excellent. As I went in, the water was moderately warm and melted my body.
The knees of the Deokgu statue were sunken like a chair. Sitting on it and leaning against Deokgu’s shoulder was ugly, but it was comfortable, like sitting on a massage chair.
The tension that had been unrelieved for so long is now slowly dissipating.
As the events that took place in the capital came to mind one after another, various important pieces of information came to mind one after another.
‘Ah, it’s refreshing.’
For now, I put it aside and slowly closed my eyes.
***
Knock knock.
“······Arong! Arong!!”
I opened my eyes to a loud noise.
‘You slept for a long time.’
The hot water had become cold. There was no heavy feeling, as if I had just woken up from a nightmare. It felt like I had had a really good night’s sleep for the first time in a long time.
“Arong! Are you okay?! Are you inside?! I’m going to break it! I’m going to break this!”
Hannah screamed loudly. The door kept rattling, as if someone was going to burst through at any moment.
“I dozed off for a bit.”
“Arong? Are you okay? Since you didn’t answer···.”
At Hannah’s voice that had become slightly quiet, I got up and wiped off the moisture with a cloth. I put on the clothes that were lying on one side.
Then I opened the door and saw Hannah looking up with her face turned pale.
Thud. Hannah body slammed again.
I lowered my head and realized.
Hannah was wearing the dress I gave her.
However, its size was a problem.
‘Small.’
It seemed like the employee didn’t understand the order of ‘generous’. The clothes were screaming loudly. They looked precarious, as if they were hanging from the edge of a cliff.
“The clothes are too small. It’s not that I’m fat. The clothes are too small!”
Hannah quickly shot back. I thought that it couldn’t be said that the clothes were too small, but I didn’t say anything out loud.
As I nodded to him, Hannah cleared her throat and coughed.
“······Do you want to go see the snow?”
Hannah asked with only her face sticking out. I had taken the bath, but Hannah’s face was even redder.
“okay.”
As I nodded, Hannah took my hand and led me into the backyard. There was a lot of snow piled up in the uncovered area.
Hannah began to shovel snow diligently with her bare hands. The snow was quite cold, but she didn’t seem to mind.
“If you press down hard like this… ta-da!”
Hannah smiled brightly and held out a snowball. It was a fairly dense snowball.
When I gave her a small exclamation of admiration, Hannah rolled her eyes again. I followed suit and made a snowball.
The cool texture was quite refreshing. As I gathered them, it was secretly fun and the size gradually increased.
As I rolled along with Hannah, the snowman was completed in no time.
“What is it?”
“snowman.”
“······Was this a person?”
It seemed too early for a medieval person to have a modern snowman. I clicked my tongue and pressed it here and there.
As I pressed hard, the snow began to melt and took shape. After a while of being absorbed in it, I got up.
“So it was Kanna.”
I clicked my tongue at the snowman that had become even uglier. When I actually made it, I was even more impressed by Kanna’s sophistication.
Hannah squatted down and was gathering snow diligently. After dawdling for a while, Hannah held out her snowman and said, “Dah!”
I don’t know how he made it, but it was a very thin snowman. I carefully placed the snowman Hannah had made next to me.
Hannah glanced at me and smiled playfully, then stuck the snowman on me.
Then he sat down again and fidgeted and made a little snowman.
Hannah looked up at me and smiled, sneaking a snowman in.
“lol······.”
That laugh was so stupid that I laughed along.
***
“Hehehe… No, this isn’t a laugh!”
Hannah kept her lips shut to keep herself from laughing.
‘A bit more politely – raising one corner of the mouth···.’
I tried to smile that charming smile I’d heard at the ladies’ gathering.
Sure, things were going well back then-.
“···Hehehe. No! Why do you keep acting like an idiot!”
I kept having a cracking laugh. I tried again and again, but all I got was a stupid, broken laugh.
“Hehe. ······Oh my god!”
The more I thought about it, the weirder my laughter became. I couldn’t remember how I used to laugh.
‘······I’m going crazy. Seriously.’
Hannah held her ball and looked very depressed. She had been like this ever since she played in the snow with Aaron.
“Your eyes are like a dog’s eyes······.”
At that moment, the door opened with a bang and Dylan came in. Dylan, who had been complaining, opened his eyes wide at Hannah.
Dylan’s eyes moved rapidly. Hannah squinted and clenched her fists.
However, Dylan’s eyes were truly innocent.
“Mother, you finally took out your weapon!”
Dylan jumped up and down, making a noise that he couldn’t understand.
“······yes?”
“Where is father… Is he washing up?”
“Oh, yes. I’m going to play in the snow again···”
“Then today is······the day of the decisive battle!”
Dylan jumped again, making a strange sound. Dylan, who had been mumbling something to himself, suddenly took on a serious expression.
“I will take Kanna out today. She is a smart child, so I am sure she will understand.”
Dylan’s face, lowering his voice, had a look of nobility.
“What are you saying now···.”
“Shh! I know everything.”
“So what···.”
“Shhh! Don’t ignore that Dylan’s gaze.”
Dylan tiptoed inside. Hannah realized that Dylan’s footsteps were silent and let out a small exclamation of admiration.
I wondered why I didn’t feel Dylan’s presence while we were together, and it seemed like he was just wandering around.
A moment later, Dylan came out holding the unconscious Kanna in his arms. It was as if he was holding a treasure.
“I will not allow anyone to approach this place today. Have a good time with your mother and father…”
Dylan’s voice was very serious as he spoke. Dylan, who was walking towards the door while trembling, looked back at Hannah.
“I like a strong younger brother.”
Dylan gave a thumbs up and disappeared.
Only then did Hannah understand, and she sat down, holding her face.
Creak. The bathroom door opened and heavy footsteps made her heart pound. Hannah crouched down and crawled to hide under the table.
The sound of footsteps that had stopped for a moment went upstairs.
‘······The day of the final battle!’
The words Dylan spoke echoed through Hannah’s mind.
Dylan’s boast that he wouldn’t let anyone pass tonight struck a chord with my heart.
‘Final Battle?!’
Hannah recalled the night she slept with Aaron and Kanna.
Aaron clearly said 2 silver.
then-.
‘······How much is that?!’
Hannah’s mind went blank. Hannah opened her mouth for a moment and then went inside.
He took out the hidden safe and put all the gold and silver coins inside into a leather pouch.
‘······Is this enough?’
I was so out of it that I didn’t even count how much I put in, but my pockets were pretty heavy. Seriously heavy!
‘······I think it’ll work!!’
Hannah’s eyes sparkled as she held the bag politely as if it were an offering.
Hannah hurried to the bathroom. The water was cold, but she didn’t have the presence of mind to care.
Hannah, who had prepared everything, even her leather pouch, stood on the stairs and looked up.
‘······I think it will work!!’
The heavy pockets gave her confidence. Hannah, who had been hesitating in front of the stairs for a while, stepped forward.
Squeak-. Ha-na ran away screaming softly at the sound of the wooden stairs. After a long time of trying to calm herself down, she climbed the stairs again.
Each step that I usually took lightly felt very heavy.
Eventually, she arrived at the door. Even though it was just an ordinary door, she kept feeling out of breath. Hoo- Hoo- Hae-na covered her mouth and held her breath for a long time.
After calming down, I knocked on the door. There was no response. Should I tell them what I need to do?!
“Money… I brought money!”
Hannah shouted, sticking her pockets out the door.
‘······Isn’t this a bit strange?’
When I actually said it, the words felt a bit strange. But it was already done. There was no place to retreat. The leather pouch was heavy.
Knock knock!
“······I brought money! Arong! Open it! More than 2 silver!”
No matter how many times I knocked, there was no response.
It seemed as if his words had come across strangely.
“I said 2 silver last time. So I brought this much, um······.”
Hannah froze as she spoke, realizing that her intentions were impure.
There was still no response. Hannah pushed the door open gently. Very gently, so as not to make a sound.
Squeak-. My heart sank and then came back up at the slight noise that occurred as the door opened. Thank goodness.
Hannah bit her lip and pushed the door a little further. A sense of guilt filled her. The door slowly opened, and Aaron was lying on the bed.
Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable to sleep wearing armor?
Hannah, who had been observing for a moment, slowly approached while holding out her leather pouch in front of her. It felt like she was donating money to the church.
Even though I went right up to it, there was no reaction.
‘······You’re tired.’
Hannah crouched down in front of the bed, covered her mouth, and looked at Aaron’s face for a long time.
‘Isn’t this wrong?’
I had that thought, but my body was paralyzed and I didn’t move. My eyes kept moving automatically.
As I picked at the scars on Aaron’s face one by one, it felt like I was being stabbed for no reason.
Hannah forgot her original purpose and frantically glanced at Aaron’s face.
After a while, I came to my senses when it was completely dark and Aaron’s face was no longer visible.
Only then did Hannah realize that she had done something wrong and she closed her eyes tightly.
But I still had the leather pouch.
‘How much should I give you? It was 2 silver to hug you like Kanna···.’
My head wasn’t working properly, so I couldn’t do the math.
Suddenly, I remembered the story my father told me in the past about how the price of food you eat is proportional to your satisfaction.
Then, Hannah left the entire bag she had brought on Aaron’s bedside and ran away.
***
“Isn’t that girl getting promoted again?”
Eastern Directorate Gesher Wind turned his head at the sharp voice.
Right next to me, Sinan Halina was squinting her eyes viciously.
“That woman?”
“Director Avery.”
“Oh, Avery.”
“Oh, I’m working on bringing back the Western Demon this time. Aren’t you getting promoted again?”
Sinan Halina especially hated Avery because he had a womanizing instinct.
‘···promotion?’
Gesher Wind muttered softly. In the state of the palace’s disarray, such a move was an opportunity for promotion.
However, Selena’s expression as she looked at Avery was bothering me.
It was the eyes of a beast watching its prey approaching. It felt like Avery had not struck Selena’s core, but had moved according to Selena’s intentions.
That was why Gesher Wind turned down Avery’s offer and remained in the Eastern Directorate.
‘There’s something. There’s something···.’
Gesher Wind opened his mouth. That day, the imperial knight he had met in the elevator kept coming to mind.
The large man behind Marshal Balhar Khan. Turns out, he was a mute Montbalian knight from the 6th Order.
It is said that he went missing after that day, and there were also stories that he was seen running away in the middle of the road.
But this time, since there were quite a few imperial knights who had lost their lives, no one paid any attention to the Montbalian knight.
I couldn’t figure out why the article bothered me. Maybe it was because of that bright smile on Selena’s face.
‘I don’t like beauties anymore.’
I was afraid that there was something about pretty beauties like Avery and Selena.
Having experienced both, Gesher Wind vowed to avoid beauties.
“The noble alliance, led by the Grand Duke, has requested an audience with the Emperor, and the religious order is demanding the truth about the demons that came out of the palace… In addition, the Imperial family is also looking for an opportunity to blame each other… And the rebels are also acting strangely. Problems are breaking out everywhere.”
Sinan Halina said, snapping her fingers.
“It’s going to be a total mess.”
Gesher Wind nodded. There was also talk that the article would not be published for some time.
The bugs that were everywhere were sticking their beaks out. They were tangled here and there, wondering if the empire was damaged or if there was something to eat.
Of course, the result was obvious: the yield simply increased.
“The master of the sword has disappeared.”
Gesher Wind’s expression changed at Sinan Halina’s continued words. It was a different story when the sword master emptied the palace.
I don’t know why the sword’s owner disappeared, but the sword’s owner never reported to anyone other than the emperor. I don’t know the destination or when he would arrive.
‘The continent is going to be a mess.’
Gesher Wind was grateful to be part of the Eastern Management Bureau.
The East’s involvement in the turmoil on the continent was significantly reduced.
In this incident, no one from the East was involved. It could be said that the East had safely avoided the big typhoon.
The story about the rebels moving east was a bit jarring, but it was trivial compared to other issues. I was grateful to be able to take on the responsibility.
“You all will be busy for a while.”
Sinan Halina said, stretching. Gesher Wind gulped as he looked at her exposed, slender neck.
“What are those eyes?”
The quick-witted Shinan Halina frowned and asked.
“Shina Halina, are you a beauty?”
Gesher Winde first realized that a woman’s face could be so wrinkled.
