Mini fridge
[Survive.]
[Run away.]
I jumped up and hurriedly searched for the sword by the bedside. I grabbed the sword’s handle and felt its cool sensation before I could breathe easily.
I got up from my seat and lightly stretched my stiff body.
I put on the armor I had left beside me, grabbed my sword, and headed to the backyard.
It was the darkest dawn, the sun not yet risen.
As I stepped out into the backyard, the damp morning air soothed my depressed spirits.
I stretched my body and jogged lightly. I gradually increased my speed.
Because the armor was heavy, I was out of breath much faster than before. I had to get used to it, so I ran more desperately without stopping. It was as if someone was chasing me from behind.
Finally, my heart stopped just before it burst.
I took a deep breath and drew my sword.
The coolness I felt from the blade calmed my mind.
I started with horizontal slashes. Then vertical slashes, and then stabbing. I kept repeating this until my arms started to tremble.
Eventually, when all the muscles in his body screamed, he stopped moving. Since he was wearing armor, the number of times he did this was significantly less than before.
‘If you keep doing it, you’ll eventually get used to it.’
Thinking simply, I pushed my sweaty bangs back with my hand. Even though I had moved my body to the limit, the sun had not yet risen.
“Hey··· here···.”
At that moment, I heard a small voice from the side. I turned my head to see a mini fridge that had become much softer, holding out a glass.
I took Hannah with me because she was cute, and seeing her change into new clothes, I could tell she really liked it. After washing her and putting on new clothes, the mini fridge was quite empty.
‘Certainly, you’re quick-witted.’
I thought as I accepted the glass offered by the mini fridge.
He may have looked like a child, but judging from the fact that he was among those cruel men, it was clear that he had not lived an easy life. His insides were probably a mess of various things.
‘That’s why you followed me yesterday.’
The child would know that he must follow me to survive. There was no need to explain it in a painful way, so it was better to be quick than to be clueless.
“thanks.”
The glass was filled with beer with ice cubes floating on it. I swallowed without realizing it and drank slowly.
The screaming muscles quickly melted away in the cold beer. A cold beer like this after working out. It was a great stimulus.
I emptied the beer in one go, shaking the empty glass regretfully.
“Thank you···”
The eyes of the mini fridge were wandering around, unable to look at me, and its hands were shaking. It looked like it was really scared, but it somehow expressed its gratitude to me.
It seemed like yesterday’s incident was quite a shock to the child. To reassure him, I smiled gently and reached out my hand again.
When I held out my hand, the child’s eyes widened, but instead of backing away, he just looked up at me with a frightened look.
“How old are you?”
He placed his hand on the child’s purple hair and asked.
“She… is twelve years old.”
He looked quite old, despite his appearance. It was hard to tell the age of these guys by their appearance. There was one guy who looked 16, even though he had a full beard and wrinkles on his face.
“Eat well.”
Since I had nothing to say, I just tapped his head and passed by.
“Thank you···.”
A muttering was heard behind me.
***
“So what’s your relationship with Kanna?”
Hannah, her lips pouting, pointed to the mini fridge sitting in front of me and asked.
‘Oh, the name of the mini fridge is Kanna.’
I hesitated for a moment about what kind of relationship I should have with him, then answered.
“I just picked it up.”
“Huh?! You picked up the child?!”
Hana raised her voice at the vague remark, and the child lowered her head even further.
“uh.”
“Hey···here···.”
The child held out the glass he was holding. This time, it was cold beer again. My mouth started watering at the sight. When I was about to take the glass and drink it, Hannah grabbed my hand.
“···Aaron! Don’t just pick up a child on the street! He might just be lost!”
I couldn’t understand why he was looking at me with such a serious expression and saying such obvious things that were completely undeniable.
“Anyway, keep the money that goes to her for me, and make sure she eats well. If she needs anything, buy it for her.”
“···Is that your real daughter?”
“What the hell have you been talking about since a while ago···.”
“They don’t look alike, but Kanna is so cute?”
“to?”
Suddenly, Hana grabbed Kanna’s cheek and stretched it out, and Kanna froze in that position as if she had a breakdown.
“But why is Kanna handing me a beer mug?”
Hannah, who was caressing Kanna’s cheek, narrowed her eyes and asked as I smiled contentedly while drinking my beer.
“I can make beer cold.”
“Oh my, you were the Kanna wizard?”
Surprised, Hannah let go of Kanna’s ball and straightened Kanna’s purple hair. Kanna didn’t answer, but just looked at me. Why am I looking at you like that? I clicked my tongue and answered.
“You’re a drop-dead wizard.”
“Huh? She’s so young, isn’t it a bit odd to call her a drop-dead wizard?”
“Still, he’s a shaky wizard.”
“You must have been very distressed. Hug this girl.”
Was it an illusion that Hannah’s gaze grew warmer as she looked at Kanna? Hannah, who held the stiff Kanna in her arms, stroked her purple hair and smiled softly.
“Then, Kanna. How many glasses of cold beer can you make a day? Our Kanna, without getting tired.”
“···?”
Hannah asked, emphasizing the part that said, ‘Our Kanna.’
Kanna, who was in Hannah’s arms, opened her eyes wide and looked at me.
Since I didn’t really have anything to say, I just drank beer.
“I heard that the cold beer sold by wizards is very popular in the city···, and the conditions are the best in the industry···, as a comrade who will work together in the future···.”
Although Kanna struggled slightly, Hanna hugged her more deeply and whispered in her ear.
It seemed like the two of them would get along well.
I took another sip of my beer, and again marveled at the coolness that hit my head.
After all, there’s nothing as delicious as a beer before work.
***
“Ah, captain.”
Berman, with his handsome beard, bowed his head and greeted me. It was a quicker return than I expected, as the guys in the barrel had shouted, perhaps because of the scratches.
“Uh. Berman, you said you gave it to the mercenary and it blew up.”
“What the…! It’s just because the numbers are lacking.”
Berman answered with a grimace.
“That’s what happened. Getting hit and going around. Well, I guess I haven’t been training much lately. I’ll gather the kids together and do some special training…”
“Aroooooooon!!!”
“Sir. I think the captain is calling you.”
Berman cut me off at the sound of a pig squeezing its neck.
“Anyway, we should gather them together and train them sometime soon···.”
“Roooooon!”
“Captain, I’m out of breath.”
He clicked his tongue and got up from his seat. That gentleman wondered why there was a fuss again, and thought that he would have to gather the kids and train them soon, and headed to the second floor.
When I opened the door, the captain, dressed in casual clothes, was sitting on a soft chair. Next to him was a wooden hanger carved in the shape of a person, on which hung armor and a sword.
‘No matter what, hanging up a sword is…’
I was dumbfounded at the sight of the author, the captain of the outer wall guard, sitting there unarmed and peaceful.
“Yes, this is Aaron.”
“I was looking for you in Naeseong. What happened again?”
The captain asked, the flesh under his eyes trembling.
“Oh, it wasn’t an accident. I caught a wanted criminal yesterday and sent him to Naeseong, so that must be the reason.”
“Huh… really? Are you sure? You didn’t have another accident, did you? You didn’t just knock him down and then frame him because you were so angry, right?”
“···yes.”
Suddenly, I wondered what this kid thought of me. If you were to pick the most hard-working person in the Foreign Guard, everyone would pick me.
“As expected, our leader Aaron. I trust him very much.”
The captain quickly changed his expression, stood up, and reached out to my shoulder. Since his hand couldn’t reach me, I slightly bent my knees, and the captain patted my shoulder with a satisfied expression.
“Anyway, they said they’re looking for you in Naeseong, so go and come back before you go to work.”
I nodded to the captain’s words.
I sent Berman away first and headed towards the inner castle. In front of the inner castle gate, there was the illegitimate child, Jace, and a guy I had never seen before.
“Stop. Please state your identity and purpose.”
A guy with a hardened expression pointed his spear at me and asked. Still, it was better than the guy who had been yelling like before.
“Hey, Jace.”
Jace was staring off into the distance, pretending not to see me, as if he was trying to ignore me. My mouth was tickled by the sight.
“Are you okay with that woman who threw shit out the window?”
“···A woman who throws shit! Emma!”
The reaction was immediate. Jace, whose face was red as if it was going to burst, raised his voice. As expected, he was a guy whose reactions were always delicious.
“Aha, so that’s Emma throwing poop out the window. Anyway, how’s it going?”
“The reason Emma threw it out the window was because the toilet was too far away and most people do it that way···. No, why would I explain it to a commoner···.”
Jace spoke for a long time without taking a breath, then trailed off. Still, he seemed to know that throwing shit out the window was uncivilized behavior.
That was fortunate. If Jace married the shit-spraying woman, their children, the illegitimate cubes, wouldn’t be throwing shit out the window.
“Anyway, I’m glad that things are going well.”
“···Don’t worry about it.”
“hmm.”
As Jace and I talked, the guy who had his spear pointed at me moved it away.
“I see you came. I guess you are the guard who caught the wanted criminals.”
“Yes. Even after work, I caught it. How much I value this Catholic Castle…”
“Go in and go to the annex. Nova is in charge of this as well.”
“Why, that woman again···.”
I felt annoyed at the sight of Jace raising the corners of his mouth, and my hands were itching to move, but this wasn’t a good place to swing a fist. I waved my hand and went inside.
Phew···.
As with last time, Nova was the most feisty woman in the Castle of Cassadic, so I prepared myself for a moment and then knocked on the door.
dripping.
I knocked at the exact rhythm of my rhythm, expressing through my knock how polite I was.
“Come in.”
A much softer voice was heard from inside than last time.
Feeling relieved, I pushed open the door. Nova, with her vivid orange hair tied back like last time, was sitting at a desk filled with yellow papers.
Nova didn’t stop writing with her quill pen, just looked up at me. Then she immediately made a face.
“You again?”
“Ahem···.”
I felt like Nova’s reaction was the same as last time, so I coughed slightly.
“Well, if it weren’t for that scoundrel Aaron from Castle Cassidy, there wouldn’t be anyone in the outer castle guards who could catch them. But with that skill, why are you leading the outer castle guards? Towards the inner castle guards… No, if that scoundrel causes trouble in the inner castle, I can’t handle it.”
Nova, who had been mumbling, scratched my head with a quill pen. Still, her face wasn’t as irritated as before.
“Good morning. Orange.”
“Why should I… No, let’s not talk. Talking to you will only give me a headache.”
“Good morning. Beautiful orange.”
“···Just because you add ‘beautiful’ in front of it doesn’t mean the orange is praised. Why should I explain this··· Anyway, I’ll just get to the point. The guys you captured and handed over to us are from the ‘Lone Wolf’ group, one of the three major organizations in the city of Karzan. They originally had a bounty on them, but the amount was doubled because they killed a noble’s child.”
Nova, who had been talking nonstop, took a deep breath and brought the glass of water to her lips. Nova’s wrinkle-free neck moved.
‘A water-drinking orange.’
At that moment, the thought that came to mind almost came out of my mouth, but I held it back because of Nova’s fierce gaze. Nova, who had been drinking water with his eyes tightly shut, put down the cup and returned to his usual fierce expression.
“As it happens, the lord was looking for a line towards Karzan, so those guys you caught are quite a valuable gift.”
“···Ahem.”
“Could you please keep a straight face in front of me? I haven’t had lunch yet.”
“huh?”
“It makes my appetite disappear when I see a guy as vicious as you twitching the corners of his mouth at being praised.”
I laughed even louder at those sharp remarks, and Nova, who had been glaring at me, couldn’t hold it back and let out a small laugh.
Then, perhaps because his pride was hurt, he returned to his usual innocent face, but when I flared my nostrils, Nova couldn’t hold it in and laughed even louder.
“Pfft… Anyway, I will convey the Lord’s message.”
“Should I kneel down?”
“Okay. No one’s going to see it anyway, so just say it. ‘Thank you for your hard work. Thanks to you, the Cassady Castle… this and that. I appreciate your hard work.’ That’s it.”
Nova took out a white piece of paper from among the yellow ones and read it with a slightly serious expression, then trailed off.
“huh?”
“Thank you for your hard work. He said to continue to protect the Cassadic Castle like this.”
“With my mouth shut? This is fucking asshole···.”
“Hey! You crazy kid! Do that in your room or with those ignorant security guards! Why are you doing that in my office!”
As I cursed softly, Nova jumped up in surprise, covered my mouth with her bare feet, and then, as if she had lost her balance, slammed her head into my chest.
There was a small thud, and Nova lifted her head, palming her forehead where she had been hit. That familiar annoyance filled her face again.
“Well, no one’s watching anyway···.”
“Shut up. Shut up, please. Shut up. And listen to me until the end. Anyway, the lord has appreciated your efforts, and I’ll give you the bounty on those guys separately. The lord is already overflowing with money, and he probably doesn’t even know there’s a bounty.”
“Nova, you are such a beautiful and wise orange.”
“I’ll say it again, adding a modifier in front of an orange doesn’t make it a compliment.”
“A beautiful, wise and intelligent orange.”
“Pfft. Anyway, if there’s a bounty, I’ll call you again. And while you’re at it, call the executioner. Tell him the number is six.”
“Dalus?”
“Whether it’s Dalus or Dilus, there’s only one executioner in Castle Cassidy.”
I nodded my head coldly at Nova’s nervous tone, which was back to that annoying orange color.
I left the room, hearing the distinctive squeaking sound of a quill moving across paper.
***
In the empire, not just anyone could be an executioner.
Since the peasants’ labor was classified as the lord’s property at the time, to behead someone, one had to be either an imperial executioner or a lineage of executioners.
And Dalus, the executioner of the Castle of Cassidy, was the latter. The medieval men enjoyed executions as a sport and even celebrated them, but they avoided the executioners who actually carried them out, saying that they were unfortunate. Dalus was staying in a remote hut outside the Castle of Cassidy.
dripping.
“Dalus.”
I knocked on the thick wooden door of the cabin.
Knock knock. Heavy footsteps approached from inside. After a moment, the door opened and a pale-complexioned man came out, covered from neck to thighs by a red overcoat. It was Dalus, slightly taller than me. There was a faint medicinal smell unique to Dalus.
“Long time no see, Aaron.”
“Yes, Dalus. How have you been?”
Dalus, who had found me, smiled gently and reached out his hand. I took his large hand and laughed along with him.
Medieval men would point fingers at executioners, calling them unlucky and mean, but Dalus was one of the most thoughtful and gentlemanly men I have ever seen.
“I guess you have some work to do.”
“There are six of us this time. We’ll probably make quite a bit of money.”
When I jokingly threw in a joke, Dalus smiled bitterly and nodded.
“Would you like to come in?”
“Okay.”
I followed Dalus as he thumped inside. The cabin, which smelled of soaked wood, was quite neat and tidy. On one side was a fireplace full of burnt logs, and in front of it was a long chair covered with animal skin.
And on one wall, various execution devices were neatly hung as if on display. It felt like a summer vacation home for a psychopathic killer.
“Wait a minute. Bring out some warm stew.”
Dalus, who was mumbling softly, headed toward the kitchen, and I sat down on the chair. Dalus had made it to fit his size, so there was still quite a bit of space left even after I sat down.
“Ah! Aaron!”
At that moment, a child with sunken eyes that looked just like Dalus came running down the stairs leading up to the upper floor.
“Long time no see, Ted.”
“Wow! Aaron’s armor looks so cool!!”
Ted ran up to me and tapped his fingers here and there on his armor, exclaiming, “Wow…” over and over again. I posed for him, and Ted clapped his hands in delight.
“Ted, you have to be polite.”
Dalus returned, holding a wooden bowl in both hands, and slapped me. Ted hid behind me, startled.
“Thank you.”
I took the bowl that Dalus offered me. It was filled with stew with lots of garnish.
Dalus was one of the few who washed every day, so his cooking was safe to eat. He was also good with his hands and could cook well, so he would sometimes come to the cabin to get a bite to eat.
“You said six? That’s a lot this time.”
“Because they’re criminals from other cities. The more of them, the better, right?”
“Right. I guess I’ll have to take Ted with me this time.”
“Are you that old already?”
“···Eek.”
Ted’s eyes widened in surprise, but Dalus didn’t look at him and continued gulping down the hot stew.
It was a world where if you were born the son of a farmer, you would become a farmer, and if you were born the son of an executioner, you would become an executioner.
It takes a lot of effort to go against the strong current, and most people end up starving to death after exhausting their strength.
‘Even though the treatment is like that, at least I won’t starve.’
Even though executioners were ostracized by the public, they were a job that paid quite well and was in constant demand.
It was a job that you could do for as long as you wanted, as long as you didn’t cause the horrible situation of the condemned man’s head dangling and blood spraying out like a sprinkler because you couldn’t cut it off in one go.
“This is when the opponent has a thick neck···.”
I nodded as I watched Ted listen to Dalus pointing to the gruesome tools on display on the wall.
Here, just not starving was a good enough job.
An executioner was similar to a mercenary in that he made his living by cutting off people’s heads and eating their blood, but he never had to use a knife on himself, so it was clearly a better job than being a mercenary.
‘If this news is heard, there will be chaos in the castle.’
Whenever an execution takes place, the square is filled with people who come out to watch. This time, there were six of them, so it was certain that there would be even more.
It was as if a festival was being held, with everyone in the castle holding hands with their families, coming out to share bread and beer and watch the ‘Human Neck Denggeong Show x6’.
‘Tsk, you uncivilized medieval bastards.’
My head was already spinning at the thought of controlling him.
