Chapter 15 – Little Trouble in Bahran (5)

“Can I sleep at my brother’s house tonight?”

– Cool Cool Cool…!

Seris looked back and forth between me and Kara with an expression of disbelief.

“Kara! Suddenly wanting to sleep at Yoosung’s house! Are you insane?!”

“Sister, why are you screaming?”

“You don’t seem to be screaming now?! How could you be that a girl could say that so easily…”

“Ceris was so excited. Calm down.”

Celis stood up on the table in her excitement. I sat her back down and calmed her down.

“By the way Kara, do you want to sleep over at my house? May I ask why?”

“I don’t have enough money…”

Kara made a rare shady face.

“Don’t you have any money?”

“You mean the daily wage here is 7 coppers? If you spend 2 coppers for lodging here and 2 coppers for food, you only have 3 coppers left for a day. When will I become an adventurer after collecting this? So I’m trying to reduce the cost of lodging. …No?”

“No!!”

“I didn’t ask my sister! Can’t you brother?”

“I can’t!!”

“Well, it’s not bad… Our house must be very shabby. Are you okay?”

“Mr. Yooseong?!”

“Yes I’m fine! I’m staying for free, so what if it’s shabby!”

“Kara! What do I mean by…”

“Okay. Don’t complain later.”

“With what…”

“Don’t worry. Because I really just need to sleep. Hi-Hi.”

“What…”

“No bed?”

“What…”

“Eh… That’s a bit…”

“Grave…”

“I can’t help it if you don’t like it. Just pay 2 coppers and sleep at the inn.”

“…”

“Ugh… I get it. It’s okay even if you don’t have anything like a bed!”

“…”

Kara and I laughed and chatted. Seris was just dazed and she sat there.

* * *

“…Is you really going to follow me?”

“Okay! Why? Can’t my sister go?”

“It’s not like that…”

Kara became somewhat dissatisfied. I smiled and handed the cloth to Kara.

“Why is this?”

“You should cover your face too. My house is in an unsafe place.”

“…Yes?”

Cerys became an uneasy voice.

“That… Are you okay..?”

“It’s okay if you just listen to me. Never say don’t do it It’s strange because you could be kidnapped by doing something stupid.”

“…Are you kidding?”

Without saying a word, I wrapped a cloth around Kara’s face. Seris grabbed my sleeve and waved it, prompting her for an answer.

“You’re kidding, right? Yes?”

“Sister, stop it. Really?”

“Kara. Kidnapping! Kidnapping! What could happen…!”

“Looking at it, my brother was joking. Otherwise, how is your brother doing well there?”

“Ah…”

“If you’re that scared, sister will sleep at the inn. Is that okay?”

“That’s not allowed.”

It was a firm speech. Just like her father who objected when her daughter said she would go on a 2-day trip with her lover.

“Chit…”

Kara clicked her tongue. I smiled lightly and took the two of us to the cabin.

The closer we got to the slums, the fewer lights illuminated the dark streets. Before long, the only thing that lit up the dark streets was the moonlight in the sky.

“…I’ve been at the inn too long.”

I should have made some noise and came out.

As the streets darkened and the atmosphere became tense, Seris and even Kara seemed nervous.

I tried to ease their tension with a joke.

“Stand there. If you don’t want to have a puncture in your stomach, give me anything worth money.”

However, a robber appeared in front of him and interfered. He had his face covered with a cloth, and he came this way with a small dagger.

“Hick..!”

Seris was cold. Kara swallowed so loudly that she could hear a gulp.

“Oh? There are also women. I can enjoy it after a long time.”

The robber giggled. As I pondered how to react, a trembling hand grabbed my hand.

It was Seris.

Tears welled up in her eyes through the cloth.

It’s probably better not to joke around.

“Stop fucking with Calix and put the knife in.”

“Yes? Who else is Calix?”

“Stop yelling and put it in.”

“…Not funny at all.”

Kalix, who was pretending to be a robber, put his knife in.

“Where does it go if I adjust it a bit?”

“If I had done well, I would have corrected it. But he looked like a fucking asshole.”

“That’s too much. But what about the women in the back? Lover?”

Calix looked over at Seris and Kara. I was in front of him and covered them.

“Never mind. What did you come for?”

Since the Masked Party was destroyed, there was no reason for Calix to come to me. However, the fact that he has come means that I have something to do.

“Between us…”

“Didn’t I tell you not to fuck?”

“Ah Okay. It’s gotten worse Please talk to me for a moment.”

Calix pointed to the alleyway and said. It was said that they had something to talk about secretly.

I shook my head. It’s not a good idea to go into an alley late at night, especially in a slum, and Kara and Seris are behind me right now.

“Come to the square tomorrow at noon. Let’s talk there.”

“Um… Well, it doesn’t matter. Then see you then Have a good time with your girlfriends.”

Calix patted me on the shoulder and left.

“Are you Yoosung’s friend?”

“No friend. Just someone you know.”

“I see… But it’s a relief that it was a prank by an acquaintance of Yoosung. What a surprise…”

“I was so shocked that I couldn’t even move my mouth. Why is that brother playing like that?”

She asked, as if Kara couldn’t understand.

However, Calix wasn’t playing around like that, he really went around robbing. Then he noticed me.

I couldn’t tell the truth, so I covered it moderately.

“It’s just because he’s a bad kid. And didn’t I tell you not to say it here? Dangerous.”

“Oh right… I’m sorry.”

“It’s just a little bit longer, so… Seris, can you let go of my hand?”

Seris was still holding my hand tightly. She was startled and withdrew her hand. Kara narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ceris.

“Ah,..! Sorry!”

“Sister…”

“Kara, this is…”

“Be quiet.”

“Huh…”

“Yes…”

* * *

Kara’s reaction to seeing her cabin was poor.

“You live in a place like this..?”

Kara looked around her cabin in shock.

The cabin is about the size of a studio, and there are many gaps here and there, so the wind blows in, so it’s understandable.

“Kara, is that rude?”

Surprisingly, Seris did not respond in any way. She crouched down and started her campfire.

“It must have been a waste of money to stay.”

“Yes?”

“No. It’s late, so let’s go to sleep. Kara has to go to work tomorrow too.”

We lay down in the order of me, Seris, and Kara. It’s because Seris got in between me and Kara. Even though Kara put on a sullen expression, once she lay down on the floor, she fell asleep shortly after.

‘Anyway, it’s been a while since the house felt cramped.’

It reminded me of the past I spent in a runaway farm. Back then, five or six people slept in one studio.

As I smiled while searching for old memories, I heard a muttering next to me.

‘I’m sorry… I’m sorry…’

I raised only my upper body and turned around in the direction of the sound. Kara was talking in her sleep with a distressed expression on her face.

“It’s been like this ever since I got out of town.”

Seris said while stroking Kara’s head.

“I must have given up on the village that day and it took a lot of heart.”

“…I thought it was okay to stay bright.”

“Iknow, right.”

Seris continued stroking Kara’s hair. Until Kara’s expression becomes comfortable.

“If it’s difficult, it would be nice if you told me it was difficult.”

When Kara’s drowsiness subsided, Seris covered her with the blanket again. She looked at her sister with her concerned eyes.

“Are you okay? You left the village.”

It attracted goblins to the village. Sister Celis’s feelings were not taken into consideration. It was something she had to do, so she just did it.

However, it is also true that she feels uncomfortable when she sees Kara, who has always been energetic, secretly suffering from her guilt.

I wondered if Celis was in a similar state to Kara’s, so I asked.

At my question, Celis smiled shyly.

“It may sound a bit cold when I say this, but honestly, I don’t mind. I didn’t even like the town itself in the first place…”

That’s fortunate I asked because I was curious about her, but even if she felt guilty, there was nothing I could do. It was something only time could solve.

“More than that, I want to hear about that Yoosung.”

Seris said with a bashful laugh.

The moment she saw that smile, a throbbing pain rose in her chest. She struggled to ignore it.

“My story? Why is that all of a sudden?”

“That’s a little unfair. Yooseong knows about my past, but I don’t know Yooseong.”

“Is that unfair?”

“Yes! Awesome!”

Seris nodded her head. With every movement of her slender chin, her fair blues fluttered along her feet.

“Mr. Yooseong?”

Oops, she just stared blankly. She was supposed to come to her senses when Ceris revealed her face. It is my mistake.

I answered as if nothing happened.

“My story? It wouldn’t be fun.”

It wasn’t that it wasn’t fun, it was impossible to tell.

Because it’s a different story.

I looked like I was worried, and Seris said that it was okay even if it wasn’t funny, and she was persistent, saying that she just wanted to hear my story.

I was about to make up a story to tell you, but I just lay down on the floor.

“Mr. Yooseong?”

“Now. Late.”

“Oh, what is it? It’s not fair. Unfair!”

“Shut up. Kara will wake up.”

“Ugh… That’s too much.”

Seris pouted her mouth and lay down on her seat. As if telling me to listen, she complained and fell asleep.

“Yes…”

Kara tossed and turned. It was because Seris hugged her next to her. I smiled and closed my eyes as I watched Sister Seris sleep soundly.

The bonfire was warm today, so I was able to fall asleep easily.

And the next day.

I met Calix at the plaza.

“Lend me some money.”

“What?”