4. Is that so

An ajumma who walks around effortlessly even with a basket weighing about as much as a bag of cement hanging on her left forearm.

Judging by her skill in chopping carrots, she must have learned mace techniques.

“Mom seems to like you.”

“Maybe she feels like she’s raising a stray dog she found outside.”

“Puhahat, no way.”

The ajumma’s daughter, Sera Otomari. I didn’t know, but the ajumma’s name is Marta Otomari. After finishing the vegetable sorting and sitting at the table to eat, Sera sat across from me.

Of course, since I was sitting at the desk, it seemed like Sera was just keeping her place.

Her dark brown hair and round, bright green eyes sparkled. She kept making eye contact with me.

Apparently, she had already arrived this morning. I didn’t know because I crawled in around 1 PM, washed up, and went straight out.

“Sera, have you had lunch?”

“Ah, not yet. Can I join you for a meal?”

“Feel free. I’m just someone who’s settled here. You don’t have to treat me like a guest.”

“Huh… I see….”

I heard that the repair of the flame stone magic tool she had requested was finished, and she had to pick it up herself because it was too expensive to have it delivered.

Sera, who came out from the desk and sat next to me on my left, continued talking.

The flame stone is a stone that gets insanely hot when you put magic into it, and it’s used to heat the bathwater. So that’s why the bathwater was lukewarm. I thought all the inns in this world just used firewood.

“Kalax is a labyrinth city. It’s fine to ride a carriage with explorers, but… it was dangerous coming back, so I waited for a caravan.”

“Caravan? What’s that?”

Caravan.

In this world, when you mention a caravan, it’s like a train of merchant wagons circling the vast continent in a counterclockwise direction.

For the people of this world, who are still three parts beast, highwaymen and professional bandits are very common.

Merchants travel from village to village, buying local specialties and selling them in other cities. The biggest problem for these merchants is, of course, bandits and robbers. Meeting bandits while traveling through forests or plains between cities with wagons full of goods is like encountering a natural disaster.

If you’re lucky, they’ll just take your goods and money, but if you’re not, you might end up dead or sold into slavery.

Hiring bodyguards for protection is expensive, and sometimes those bodyguards turn into robbers themselves the moment they enter a secluded forest.

So, merchants band together, increasing their numbers and traveling in a long line from city to city.

“Ah, you were waiting for the caravan coming from that city to Kalax.”

“That’s right. The reason mom went shopping today is because the caravan arrived with lots of goods.”

It’s cheaper to buy directly from the caravan than to buy from the vegetable vendor who got it from the caravan and then sold it to the inn.

“By the way, can I ask you something?”

“Sure, as long as it’s not my bank account password… Actually, you can ask that too.”

“Bank account password..? I don’t know about that, but those eyes of yours. Have they always been like that since you were born?”

“Oh, these eyes?”

Unlike Ravi, Sera had been making eye contact all day. It’s no wonder the color of her eyes was curious.

“These are cursed eyes. The more you look at them, the shorter your lifespan.”

“What!? Give me back my lifespan!”

“Just kidding… Something amazing happened. They changed just yesterday.”

“Oh, really? So, were they both yellow before?”

“No. They were both black originally. The yellow one changed.”

“Heh, I see.”

Sarah kept pushing her face between the plate and mine, staring intently into my eyes.

Her ponytail, tied up high, seemed like it might fall into the food, so I moved the plate slightly to the right.

“I like it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your changed eyes. They look… like a puppy’s.”

“Ugh…”

As I listened to her, I choked, and Sarah, startled, hurried to the kitchen to bring me a glass of water.

“Are you okay? You’re coughing a lot…”

“Oh, something just got stuck in my throat. I’m fine. It’s not because I’m sick.”

“Eat slowly.”

What insight she has. It’s a bit different from a puppy, but since they’re wolf eyes, it’s somewhat similar.

While I cleared my throat, Sarah also brought her own portion and picked up her utensils next to me.

“Why does the lady like me enough to leave me here?”

“I haven’t asked her yet. But I think I know.”

“Why?”

I’m curious. To me, it just seems like the lady is a saint.

“The other explorers are rough. They have no respect for others! When I walk down the street… there are so many explorers who look down on people and harass them. Men, I mean.”

Indeed, if I were strong and capable… I’d want to hit on a girl like Sarah too.

She’s strikingly pretty, after all.

“Why didn’t you just hit him?”

“Oh my, can I really do that?”

“You can, in the name of the lady.”

Smack

“Who are you to use my name?”

“Oh my head.”

“Puh-hat…”

Out of nowhere, the lady appeared and struck my head with tremendous force. This time it hurt even more, probably because she used a metal ladle.

“Hey lady, now there’s soup on my head.”

“Why would a beggar care? One ladle of soup costs five coins. You should be grateful.”

“Well, I don’t think one ladle is worth that much.”

After finishing the meal, I placed a coin with the number 50 engraved on it on the desk.

“What is this?”

“I haven’t paid it all back yet. I left some for myself and gave you the rest.”

“…Alright, go and get some sleep. You’ve worked hard coming back.”

“Just a moment. It’s not polite to leave while we’re eating together.”

At those words, Sera, who was sitting next to me, turned to look at me with her cheeks stuffed full of meat. Is she a hamster or something? How can her cheeks stretch like that?

“That so-called politeness. It’s not like you’re feeding us.”

“Why? Lady, didn’t you give us food because we’re polite?”

“Enough, you rascal. If you have the energy to talk, put the food waste in the bin before you sleep.”

“Wow, suddenly I’m so tired. I should sleep quickly.”

After exchanging playful jokes, I watched Sera eat her meal. She focused on eating silently, and her bowl emptied quickly.

She eats well. If she ate like this three times a day, she wouldn’t be so skinny. Not that it’s severe, but she’s healthily thin.

After Sera finished her meal, she poured the food waste from the bucket into a pit behind the inn, added a few leaves she always used, and closed the lid.

Those leaves are like mint leaves; they eliminate the smell when the food rots. It’s amazing that there’s no smell.

“Ah! Thank you for your hard work, so… your name is…?”

“Yoo Eun. Last name Yoo, first name Eun.”

At my words, Sera pouted and turned her head sharply.

“Are you teasing me?”

“No. That’s really my name. In my hometown, the last name comes first, then the first name. So, Yoo Eun.”

“Really? It sounds like a lie…”

“Why would I lie about my name? It’s true. Don’t you have a lie detector?”

Sera looked at me with half-closed eyes from beyond her turned head and nodded as if she had no choice.

“Okay. You said you came back from the labyrinth? You must be tired.”

“Yes, well, I should sleep a bit and wake up in the evening.”

“I’ll wake you up. Go to sleep.”

“Thank you. I’m going.”

* * * * *

“Not coming back…”

I woke up after a good nap in the evening, but my eyes were still the same. Well, what can I do? Vision continues without rest while awake, so after watching for a day, I got used to this half-colorblind vision.

What is this?

“It feels like I only have half of my night vision goggles on….”

Did they say that canines have good night vision? The dark hallway on the second floor is only half illuminated.

Should I call this bright…

“No, it’s definitely bright.”

—Creak

I hear footsteps on the old wooden stairs at the end of the hallway. Judging by the fact that the floorboards aren’t creaking under the weight, it’s not the landlady.

The light footsteps suggest it’s probably Sera. She must have brought the solar lamp to hang in the hallway. She came up to the second floor holding the lamp in her left hand and a light wooden chair without a backrest in her right hand.

“Oh, you’re awake? Huh….”

“Sera? What’s wrong?”

“Your eyes… specifically your left eye. It’s glowing brightly even in the dark. Something….”

“Oh.”

Isn’t that a bit strange?

When Sera hid the lamp behind her back, my eyes quickly adapted to the darkness with the rapid pupil dilation characteristic of beasts. Seeing this, Sera was so surprised that she raised her hand to cover her mouth.

“Oh my? Oh, oh….”

Sera came closer and examined my pupils closely.

Is it that fascinating? Well, I guess I would be too.

“There’s a story behind this… It’s not that I can’t tell you, but it’s a bit funny, so I’ll tell you later.”

“Oh, okay… Then could you hang this lamp on that hook over there?”

“Yes. It’s something I always do.”

Inside the lamp, which feels like a small metal birdcage, there are randomly shaped pieces of broken stone. If left in the sunlight during the day, it absorbs the light and shines brightly at night. This mineral is called sunstone.

Taking the lamp from Sera’s hand, I hung it on a hook protruding from the hallway wall, and together with Sera, I descended the stairs.

“You’re really tall. You don’t even need a chair.”

“Well, it’s nothing much.”

“Heh…”

I took the chair Sera had brought and held it in my hand. It wasn’t particularly heavy, but it’s better if I carry the luggage.

In the evening, I usually help with the inn’s work. The lady took me in and said she wouldn’t charge me for about two weeks’ worth of inn fees, but that didn’t mean I could comfortably think my debt was gone.

After all, the lady is like a lifesaver to me. Even if she didn’t take any money, I helped with the inn’s work in the evening.

Thus, I spent the busy evening.

“Sera, it seems like the work is really hard for you.”

“Oh, no.”

“Your expression says it all.”

“Th-that’s not true…”

Sera’s expression doesn’t look good. It seems like helping with the inn’s work after just a month is tough for her.

She’s kind-hearted and doesn’t say it’s hard for her.

“Then why?”

“Well… there are more female guests than before.”

“Hmm, is that so? I wouldn’t know since I wasn’t here before.”

What is this?