The Start of a Heart-Pounding Adventure?! (4) Sharing the Fire with Strange Companions – A Small Quarrel
The one who said that was a girl who got off the carriage.
“……?”
“What are you doing in front of people?”
“Miss! What’s the matter?”
“Let go! If you don’t want to help, just say you don’t want to. Going around in circles with your words.”
“Miss, don’t these people have their circumstances too? We should be grateful they’re letting us stay even for a moment.”
“Is this land theirs? If we’re going to argue like that…”
As the girl snapped at him, the man stammered trying to stop her.
While sending apologetic glances our way repeatedly.
Hyung was already holding my hand, and it felt like he meant don’t fight.
I bit my lips.
Right, I’ll endure. I can endure!
I was rude just now. Right, right. I nodded inwardly.
“Why are only you saying thank you?”
“Pardon?”
“Isn’t that right? We’re sharing medicine with that wheezing kid too, so why are only we grateful? Right? This is the worst! Not only do we have to sleep outdoors in a place like this, but I have to be grateful to people like them – my situation is pathetic and unlucky!”
The girl stomped her foot and glared at us.
The shoes studded with jewels sparkled even in the darkness.
What the!?
“You’re way more unlucky than we are, you know?”
“What?”
The girl’s eyes became fierce beyond comparison to before.
But, so what?
“Why are you speaking informally and acting crazy?? Wasn’t it wrong to make an uncomfortable request in the first place? Are you trying to take credit for giving unwanted kindness? Don’t you see we reluctantly agreed because we felt sorry? We don’t need cough medicine or soup or anything like that, okay?? Who do you think we are, beggars?”
“What did you say? What are you babbling about right now!”
“Your informal speech is unlucky! You seem to be hard of hearing too!”
“Ren! Stop it right now!”
“Miss! Please stop!”
“What! What did I! Listen here! Coming on a hard journey dressed up so garishly without thinking is really ridiculous, you know?? You’re not expecting people to go ‘Oh my, how scary, how noble!!’ and treat you special when you order them around like that, right? If there’s such a person, they’re just after the jewels on your shoes, you know?”
“You―!”
Ha! I must have hit the nail on the head?!
She didn’t bat an eye before, but when I talked about the jewels, her face turned bright red.
The Duke’s daughter stomped toward us hard enough to dig up the dirt.
Yeah, let’s go at it, come on!!
I also stomped toward her when…
“Miss, please be quiet―!”
“Mmph!! Mmmph!”
“Hehe! Haha! Serves you ri―mmph! Mmmmph!!”
“……”
“……”
“Haaa…”
Someone’s silence and someone’s sigh…
Ah, right. They told us to be quiet earlier… No, I wasn’t trying to fight… Achoo!
That kid’s the one picking a fight! Speaking informally!
So what if she’s a Duke’s daughter? So what if she’s a noble?!
But hyung’s expression wasn’t good.
“I apologize.”
What, why are you apologizing? I’m the one who acted crazy, why is hyung apologizing! More than that, that kid deserved to be cursed at too!
Thorough hyung held me tightly from behind so I couldn’t struggle. The hand covering my mouth was even firmer. No matter how much I pounded, hyung wouldn’t release the hand covering my mouth.
“My younger brother… is immature.”
“Not at all. Our miss also…”
“Mmmph! Mmph!”
“Mmmmph! Mmph!!!”
The girl and I both struggled and tried to speak, but neither person would let us go…
“I apologize for the uncomfortable request.”
The man spoke while looking at me, as if apologizing to me.
……If you look at it that way, I feel sorry too…
I firmly shut my mouth.
Even though I stopped struggling, hyung didn’t loosen the strength in his hand.
Hyung! I won’t make noise anymore. Let me go!
Tapping the back of his hand was useless.
Achoo! Achoo! Sniff!
I coughed while being muffled by hyung’s hand.
“Excuse me… are you perhaps a Hero?”
The man’s voice became extremely low and serious.
“Hmm.”
Damn it. Why are you bringing up Heroes! How do you know?! Is it written on my hyung’s face? As expected, he’s too cool! His physique isn’t ordinary and his face is impressive. Actually, not knowing he’s a Hero might be the stupider thing. I kept glancing at hyung.
Ruman, who had been smiling and watching the man intently, looked at me and held back his laughter.
What, is my face funny!? When I scrunched up my face, he ducked his head snickering.
“How did you know?”
Hyung’s serious face was terrifying. Me, the expression he makes when scolding me must have been going easy.
“I apologize. Actually, I caught a glimpse of the star on the cloak earlier. I’ve heard stories about it.”
“You have good observation skills?”
The man, whose words were cut off when Ruman interrupted, smiled with effort and continued.
“Rather than that… the war was long, wasn’t it? I’ve heard from my younger brother.”
It was a lonely-sounding statement.
He’s not about to say his younger brother died or something like that, right? If it’s something like that, I really don’t want to hear it! I prepared to cover my ears. Fortunately, the man shut his mouth after those words.
“I see.”
Hyung’s tone became gentler. Huh, wait, hyung! You’re not softening from those words just now, are you!?
“The war was indeed long.”
Ruman gently agreed. The atmosphere became much lighter.
Ah, no…! Hey, just get lost already!
“I apologize for presumptuously recognizing you earlier. We’re really in trouble… Hero-nim. Please, couldn’t we share the fire for just one night?”
“……”
Wow, I really don’t like that man! Those words just now were to tug at sympathy, right!? Why bring up the war?! Why! Why emphasize Hero-nim! We already refused but look at him shamelessly asking again! At this rate, he’ll ask us to hand over our bundles later too!
I looked at hyung desperately.
No!! Absolutely not!
Hyung’s brow furrowed as if troubled!
“We can offer compensation that won’t disappoint.”
The confident tone was directed at Ruman. A bright smile appeared on Ruman’s lips.
What! So it doesn’t matter as long as there’s profit!?
Obviously if we share the fire, hyung will, hyung will pay more attention to those people… Do I have to see that after coming all this way! Waaah.
“We need cough medicine anyway, so it’s not entirely bad?”
When Ruman grinned and changed his opinion, Temarr also nodded.
“I’m Temarr.”
“I’m Ruman. As you may know, I’m also a Hero?”
Ruman made an ambiguous greeting, whether introduction or not, and extended his hand. His narrowly folded eyes created a gentle smile.
“I’ll look forward to the compensation.”
Wow! Ruman’s pretty shameless too!
The man released his hand from the Duke’s daughter’s mouth and grasped Ruman’s hand, shaking it.
“I’m called Del. This is Miss Coco.”
“Why are you telling them my name? Just call me.”
She sneered and glared at me.
Aaah! Hyung, let this go! Let me speak too!
“Mmph!!”
“I’m sorry. My younger brother is sensitive. You seem to be in a predicament and we should naturally help… I’m sorry.”
“As expected of a Hero. We’re the ones who should be sorry…”
Hahaha.
Hohoho.
Only I had a shit-eating expression.
“A guy being sensitive.”
You fucking―!
What did you say!
“Mmmph!!”
You wanna die or live!
“Mmmmph! Mmmph!!”
Hyung, let this go!
Aaaah!! So frustrating!
Whether I kicked in the air or not… we smoothly joined together.
That, that ill-mannered kid called Coco who clicked her tongue at me also ended up sitting around the campfire together.
So unlucky!
“Here it is.”
“Thank you.”
Hyung held out the medicine Del handed him to me.
“No thanks. I don’t need it. Who asked for cough medicine?”
“Ren.”
Oops. I got irritated.
“Hey. If you don’t want to eat it, don’t. We don’t want to give it to a kid like you either? Who begged you to eat…”
“Miss… Why are you doing this? Haha. You must be very tired from the journey.”
“What did I. I’m not tired at all.”
“No. Ren. Don’t be stubborn and hurry up.”
“……”
Thud.
I snatched the medicine and gulped it down while holding my breath.
Ugh.
It tasted nauseating.
“Good job.”
“…Yeah.”
We really don’t get along.
“Ah. Please have some of this.”
“Thank you. Miss, please eat.”
“…How am I supposed to eat such dirty meat!”
“Miss Coco! Why are you really doing this? You need to eat and regain your strength.”
“It smells, it’s dirty!”
“……Brat.”
“What?”
“Ren!”
“Calling her a brat… that’s a bit harsh, Ren.”
“Why? It’s true.”
I hesitated for a moment, but answered shamelessly.
Her actions are like that! My actions aren’t good either, but that miss seems to have a worse attitude, you know?
Eyes that pretend to be kind while glaring as if demanding an apology.
As expected, it feels bad.
“It’s true.”
“Brat? You’re worse than me with nothing, complaining and being dissatisfied. You’re obviously baggage on this trip, I don’t know what circumstances you have, but wouldn’t it be better to go back home? You have no money, a bad personality, and no social skills, right? Isn’t that so?”
Coco sneered while twirling her hair round and round. Purple hair curled sinuously around her hand.
Baggage.
Why do I have to hear that even from a complete stranger?
And why is Coco wearing hyung’s cloak?
Whether from the medicine’s effects or because I was angry, my head felt foggy.
Why isn’t hyung saying anything? Tell her I’m not like baggage.
But hyung was only looking at Coco.
“Miss, please don’t be so harsh.”
“I’ve never seen a kid like that before.”
While pretending to stop her, it seems like he’s actually egging her on.
That Coco kid’s ‘I’m being patient’ attitude is even more infuriating! After hurling insults, she’s pretending to be the victim! It’s absurd and suffocating.
“I guess having ignorantly lots of money makes people ignorant?”
When I smiled and sneered, Coco also smiled by only raising the corners of her mouth.
“You don’t know anything about the class system, do you? Your head is empty so you’re acting up like this in front of me. You think being a Hero’s brother means everything?”
“You fucking…”
As if it was the first time she’d been cursed at, Coco showed a flustered expression for the first time.
At the same time, the smile also disappeared from the face of Del, the escort knight.
That damn Hero’s brother!!
“Ren. You really…”
“……”
Is hyung scolding me again? Why?
The reliable Hero figure of hyung isn’t for me after all. I’ve known for a long time already but… my heart hurt as if a barely healed wound had been freshly scratched.
“Shall we stop there?”
It was Ruman who cut through the dark atmosphere with an annoyed voice.
He wrinkled his nose bridge and pointed at me.
Why? What are you going to say? I didn’t have any expectations anyway.
“Ren. You’re loud. You agreed to be quiet earlier.”
“……”
“Miss Coco? You’re louder than Ren. You seem to have forgotten, but it was your party who earnestly requested to travel together. Isn’t that right? I’d appreciate it if you didn’t cause a commotion.”
