Translator: Nox

Chapter 48

054 Oz, why are you covering Dorothy’s ears?

054 Oz, why are you covering Dorothy’s ears?

The job from the merchant group this time had a guaranteed minimum payment and a fixed daily wage. Even if circumstances led to them working for only a few days, as long as they didn’t break the contract themselves, the minimum amount would be paid.

Apparently, such contracts weren’t common in the past. Listening to the members of Red Sword, it seemed the situation in the fiefs had become unstable due to the ongoing war.

Bandit attacks during escorts were frequent, and near the borders, looting by enemy soldiers happened often. In such cases, goods were stolen or lives were lost, so these types of contracts had become a recent trend.

However, this job with the merchant group followed a route far from the border, and because of its massive scale, it was relatively safe.

Red Sword said as much with a smile, but Juhwan didn’t take those words at face value. As long as they were requesting a healing Magician, it couldn’t be that safe.

Juhwan placed a hand on Lij’s shoulder.

Her face had been pale ever since they left the weapon shop.

Actually, it might have been even before that. She seemed to be losing her mind over how quickly their money was vanishing.

Thinking about the money spent today made Juhwan’s stomach ache a little as well.

After selling the furs, a significant portion of the nineteen silver coins they had on hand was gone. Prices were higher than expected, but there were also just too many things they had to buy at once.

Clothes, in particular, were expensive. A single fur-lined hat cost 10 lina.

He really hadn’t wanted to reach for his wallet, but he was told that hats and gloves would be necessary not just for traveling with the merchant group, but for later as well. While escorting, they would have to take turns standing watch with the other teams… at any rate, even if Juhwan could manage, Lij and Dorothy needed them.

“I’ll have to start making clothes diligently from today. Fortunately, we have the fabric. I never imagined clothes would be this expensive.”

Lij muttered, clutching the coin pouch at her waist.

Inside was the advance payment they had received for the merchant group job.

Juhwan gave Lij’s shoulder a light squeeze and pressed his lips to the hair of the sleeping Dorothy.

No matter where you go or what world you live in, money is king. The biggest reason he accepted the merchant group job despite thinking it might be dangerous was also money.

Even after the Guild commission, his daily wage as a Magician was 200 lina—a bit over 16 silver coins. He heard the schedule was for ten days or more.

On top of that, there was a condition for additional pay if he used healing magic. There was no way he could turn this down.

In contrast, the daily wage for the Red Sword party was 14 lina for all three of them combined. Even that was said to be higher than usual. Considering that meals were provided, they said it was a truly great deal.

It seemed that Guild rank heavily influenced the determination of the payment amount. In situations where an adventurer’s skill couldn’t be objectively judged, clients judged based on the rank set by the Guild. Because of this, the Guild seemed to take rank evaluation quite seriously.

The reason Juhwan became Rank 3 immediately was because he was a Magician. And normally, he should have received compensation corresponding to that.

But for this escort, the Adventurer’s Guild guaranteed him as having Rank 2 skill. Thus, Juhwan was being paid based on Rank 2 standards.

Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been such a high amount as 200 lina.

“….”

He was truly glad he could use magic. Otherwise, they might have literally starved to death on the streets.

‘If it had come to that, I probably would have become a bandit.’

Killing people and stealing their things is a sin. He had no intention of defending such actions, nor did he think it was right to say one could harm others just to make a living, but he probably would have done it anyway. To feed Lij and Dorothy, he might have done even worse.

He no longer felt like condemning whatever the people of this world did to survive. When pushed to the limit, people are all the same in the end. There probably isn’t a soul who can guarantee they would be any different. Juhwan tightened his arm around Lij’s shoulder.

The members of Red Sword talked amongst themselves for a moment, then Marie, the most sociable and well-spoken of the party, looked at Juhwan.

“Where is the lodging you’re staying at now?”

“I don’t know the name of the place, but it’s an inn run by a retired adventurer.”

“Ah, is it that kid’s house in front of the Guild?”

Marie understood immediately. That kid really must be in front of the Guild every day. When Juhwan nodded, Marie asked if he had paid for a month in advance.

“…Yes.”

Ah, what should he do about that? He wondered if a refund system existed in a world like this. As Juhwan worried, Marie chuckled as if she knew what he was thinking.

“If it were any other lodging, that money would just be gone. They’d never give it back no matter how much you fought. But that place is fine. Even if the Adventurer’s Guild doesn’t say it outright, it’s basically an official inn. If the schedule is more than three or four days, they’ll extend your stay by that much.”

“That’s a relief.”

Ah, was that why the manager of the parking area recommended the kid’s lodging?

It seemed this town also ran on connections and networking. Or perhaps it was only natural since it was a village closer to the countryside than a city.

There might be very few cases here where someone gives a recommendation or praise out of pure sincerity. Well, the food was good, and looking back, it really did seem cheap, so he had no complaints.

“Where are you staying?”

“….”

Marie didn’t answer Juhwan’s question for a moment. But soon, she let out a small sigh and spoke.

“If you walk a bit further past that kid’s inn, there are a few buildings that look like barns bunched together. It’s a place where many people sleep together. We stay there whenever we’re in this village.”

Marie shrugged her shoulders, smiling a bit sheepishly.

“It’s cheap. Much cheaper than an inn.”

Marie raised her voice slightly on purpose. She seemed to be trying to look cheerful, but it only made her look more pitiful.

“I think we’ve bought most of the necessary things. Let’s meet at the plaza tomorrow before sunrise. We won’t be stopping at any villages along the way, so please prepare some horse feed. Also, prepare some beer or wine in the water bottles you bought today. If you ask the inn, they’ll give you a reasonable amount.”

Perhaps because the water wasn’t very good in this world, people drank a lot of wine or beer instead. From Juhwan’s perspective, he suspected the problem was that they didn’t boil the water, but the people here didn’t seem to think that way.

“Understood. See you tomorrow.”

As Juhwan replied, Marie stepped closer to him and Lij and whispered softly.

“I’m sorry about today. Our leader picking a fight. But she’s a really good person, our leader. Jessie and I met Karin right before we were about to die, and from then until now, Karin has been overextending herself to keep protecting us.”

Marie pulled back and gave a beaming smile.

“See you tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

Marie turned and ran toward her companions who were standing a short distance away.

From afar, the women of Red Sword gave a slight nod in greeting.

When Juhwan and Lij returned the gesture, Red Sword turned away.

Three women, large and small, walked side by side. Their clothes were old and worn.

Marie clung to Karin’s arm as if acting like a spoiled child. The leader, Karin, brushed her off as if wary of people’s gazes, but after walking a few steps, she quietly took Marie’s hand.

Everyone has their own story. Everyone has their own circumstances.

Juhwan lowered his head to look at Lij’s face. For some reason, she was staring intently at the departing members of Red Sword.

“Lij, what’s wrong?”

“….”

Lij looked up and gazed at Juhwan for a moment, then gave a bright smile. Her eyes were slightly misty.

“The lodging that person mentioned, I think I know it. It’s probably near the place I stayed when I was being sold before, or maybe even that very place.”

Lij leaned her face against his chest and spoke in a small voice.

“There are bedbugs. It’s so itchy you can’t sleep. There’s a little straw, but almost none, and because men and women are mixed together, some people have bad things happen to them. There was a woman like that on the night I stayed. No one helped. Everyone just watched.”

Lij wrapped her arms around Juhwan’s body. This rarely happened in front of people, but today was strange. A passing man glanced at Juhwan and Lij.

“They laugh when they see a woman being victimized. The merchant who was taking me laughed and enjoyed it too. Someone even laughed and told them to light a fire. Said they couldn’t see well.”

Speaking in a choked voice, Lij hugged him tight.

“If it weren’t for you, I would have lived through things worse than that. If I had met those women back then, I definitely would have been jealous. I would have envied them.”

Thank you, Juhwan.

Saying so, Lij stood like that for a while. Even though the Red Sword party had disappeared into the crowd, Lij continued to look toward where they had walked.

---

When she opened her eyes, she was in the inn room where the bell tower was visible.

What! What on earth happened! She should have played more, so why was Dorothy back in the room now?

Dorothy jumped up. Mama and Papa were sitting on the other bed kissing, and then they looked at Dorothy in surprise.

“No fair! Why is Dorothy the only one left out!”

She already wanted to cry because she didn’t get to play at the market, but for Mama and Papa to kiss while Dorothy was left out was just too much.

Dorothy hopped and flew across the bed. As she landed on the next bed, Papa laughed and hugged her.

“Dorothy. What if you get hurt?”

“But Dorothy is the only one left out. Papa, kiss Dorothy too!”

When she pouted her lips, Papa kissed her on the mouth, nose, and forehead.

Then he pressed his mouth to her belly and blew a raspberry. It was warm and ticklish, and laughter burst out of her.

Dorothy twisted and turned, dodging Papa as she rolled across the bed. As she rolled around for a while, she saw Lij Mama’s face. For some reason, Mama’s face was incredibly red.

“Mama, why is your face so red?”

“Hu-he, eh.”

Mama became a dummy. She couldn’t talk. She became just like Oz.

“Papa, it’s an emergency. Mama is a dummy.”

“….”

Papa laughed.

Mama got even redder.

“Uh.”

Dorothy tilted her head. Folding her fingers one by one, she counted as Papa had taught her. Papa had taught her numbers up to all her fingers. She could count to ten now.

“Oz, Toto, Mama… one, two, three. It’s three!”

With Oz, Toto, and Mama, they became the Three Musketeers. The number is the same as the Three Musketeers Papa told her about. All three of them can’t talk.

“…Uh.”

Then isn’t it okay? As long as she’s not the only one left out, isn’t it fine? It would be a big deal if only one couldn’t talk, but there are three. Mama won’t be lonely, so it’ll be okay, right?

“Yep! It’s okay. Mama, it’s okay even if you’re a dummy. Since Oz and Toto can’t talk either. Besides, it’s cool. The Three Musketeers!”

Dorothy jumped up. Since Mama becoming a dummy meant they became the cool Three Musketeers, it was fine now, and since Dorothy got kisses from Papa too—oh, Mama’s kiss.

She quickly clung to Lij Mama. She gave her a kiss with a loud ‘mwah’ sound. Great! Now it’s done. Everyone got kisses.

“Now Dorothy has to wear her hat!”

Papa and Mama bought her a hat. It was fluffy with fur. It had a tail. Oz has a round tail because he’s a rabbit, but the hat has a long tail.

It’s much longer and cooler.

“I’m going to be cooler than Oz. Because I have a long tail now.”

She ran toward the bundle of luggage under the bed. The fluffy hat was somewhere in there.

“Dorothy, wait a moment. There’s so much luggage that you won’t be able to find it like that.”

Lij Mama laughed as she unpacked the luggage. It seemed the dummy was gone.

She wasn’t sure if that was a relief or a bad thing because they weren’t the Three Musketeers anymore.

“Here, here it is.”

“Wow.”

Holding the hat Mama handed her, Dorothy’s eyes went wide.

It was soft. It felt like her hands were inside a cloud.

Oz came close, twitching his nose as he sniffed it.

“Oz, see? This is Dorothy’s tail.”

the long tail was really cool. After gently touching the tail, Dorothy put the hat on her head. When she let go, the hat slipped down and covered her eyes. She couldn’t see.

“Mama! I can’t see!”

“Yes, I know. I picked a big one so Dorothy can wear it even after she grows a bit.”

Mama took the hat away. No fair. Her new hat…. She felt like she was going to cry.

“Mama, Dorothy can’t wear the hat until she grows up?”

“Oh, Dorothy. No. I’ll sew a string inside so you can wear the hat.”

“When?”

“Tonight. But it’ll take some time, so, hmm, I’ll have it all done by the time Dorothy wakes up in the morning. You’ll be able to wear it in the morning.”

Mama laughed, but Dorothy’s tears came anyway.

‘It’s a new hat.’

She wanted to wear it before coming home. She wanted to wear it at the market too, but she kept holding back. Because Dorothy is Oz’s big sister.

“I kept holding back because Oz doesn’t have a hat and I felt sorry for him….”

Her lips twitched on their own. It felt like a sob was coming. Papa laughed and scooped Dorothy up.

“While you wait for the hat, Papa will tell you a fun story.”

“…Really?”

“Yes.”

“Until the hat is ready?”

“Of course.”

She liked the stories Papa told. The tears were still coming a little, but the sobbing stopped.

“What story should I tell this time?”

“An adventure story. Dorothy is going to be an adventurer, so I like adventure stories! Papa, an adventure story!”

“Hmm, then how about Sinbad this time?”

Mama placed a basket with scissors and fabric next to the bed. The lamp light danced back and forth, and Papa began the story.

Once upon a time, in a certain country, there lived a boy named Sinbad.

“Papa, why does Sinbad have a name like that?”

“Well, I guess the name Sinbad was common in that country.”

“What about Dorothy?”

“In that country, Dorothy was…”

Papa looked at Dorothy for a moment, then brushed the hair off her forehead.

“In that country, Dorothy was a name that only very special people could have. It’s a name given only to great adventurers.”

“Like me?”

“Yes, like our Dorothy. In that country, Dorothy is a name held by a very strong, cool, and wonderful woman. She isn’t scared of bad people, and she can find courage even when she’s afraid. And even if she falls, she gets back up. If she falls ten times, she gets back up eleven times, and eventually, she’s the kind of woman who always succeeds. It’s a very cool name.”

Is it cool to get back up after falling? Dorothy thought it was strange, but if Papa said so, then it must be true.

“Dorothy gets up when she falls too. Is Dorothy cool?”

“Yes, you’re very cool.”

Beside them, Mama let out a ‘fufu’ laugh. It seemed her dummy-sickness was all cured.

It looked like she had returned to being the Mama of old.

He began telling the story of Sinbad again. She wanted to listen more to Papa’s story, but strangely, she felt sleepy. Nodding off, she still wanted to keep listening, so Dorothy rubbed her eyes several times. She felt like she had become the Dorothy of Sinbad’s country, who gets back up even after falling.

…Sinbad was startled. He thought it was an island, but it turned out to be a whale….

Papa’s voice seemed to come from far away.

Suddenly, a place with a lot of water appeared in her head. It was a river so large she couldn’t see the end of it.

The herring she saw at the market today was swimming in that river.

There were several trees on the herring’s back.

Ah, so this is a whale.

A herring so large Dorothy had never seen anything like it floated quietly on the water and called to the boy on its back.

[Hey, Sinbad! If you and Dorothy fought, who do you think would win?]

Huh? When did he appear? Sinbad? She felt a bit strange. But there was no time to think long. Sinbad huffed and answered with a laugh.

[Of course I’d win. How could someone like her ever beat me!]

Just then, Dorothy appeared before Sinbad with a towel wrapped around her head and Oz sitting on top of it.

Sinbad was very strong, but Dorothy was braver.

Dorothy fell ten times, and on the eleventh time, she jumped up and pushed Sinbad. Sinbad lost his balance and fell off the herring-whale.

Sinbad shouted as he floated in the river.

[Dorothy! I was wrong! You’re stronger. You’re the cool Dorothy!]

Fufufu. It’s just like Papa said. Dorothy falls ten times and gets up on the eleventh to win over everything.

Then, she thought she heard Papa’s voice for a fleeting moment.

[It’s okay, Lij. Dorothy has fallen asleep.]

She heard Mama’s whispering voice.

[But I’m holding a needle right now.]

[Just a little… we stopped earlier because of Dorothy. I’m not satisfied yet, Lij.]

She heard that much, but after that, Mama and Papa’s voices disappeared.

She met Sinbad again on top of the herring-whale. This time they became friends and played happily on top of the giant whale.

For some reason, Oz was sitting on Dorothy’s head, using his long ears to cover Dorothy’s ears. It was strange.

She asked Oz, but she didn’t get an answer. Since her ears were covered, she couldn’t hear anything at all.