I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 66
066 The Man in the Fur Coat
Upon entering the city, the merchant caravan split up as each group headed for their respective company headquarters. Some companies should have branched off at the mid-sized cities along the way, but it seemed they had stayed with the group until now because of the bandits. Some people sighed, lamenting that they would have to double back.
The Red Sword party and Juhwan accompanied the Miller Merchant Company to their shop. They explained that finishing the job required going to the final destination for official confirmation.
The main thoroughfares where the carriages passed were filled with people who looked quite wealthy.
Some women wore fluffy fur hats that looked three times taller than Dorothy’s, and occasionally, he saw women wearing dresses like the ones he had only seen in paintings.
Rather than thinking they looked pretty or impressive, his first thought was that they must be getting filthy by sweeping up all the dust on the street.
To Lij’s eyes, however, they seemed exceptionally beautiful. She couldn’t take her eyes off the woman’s dress and ornate coat.
He thought they had earned a lot from this job, but they were still light-years away from having enough leisure to buy something like that. Earn some money, me.
As if realizing Juhwan was watching her, Lij forced her gaze elsewhere, though her eyes remained stuck to the finery like stubborn glue. Seriously, earn some money, husband.
Dorothy was even busier than Lij.
She stared in awe at a magnificent hat, then her eyes darted to a pair of strange, pointed shoes. They seemed incredibly cool to her. But a moment later, a passing nobleman’s horse looked even more magnificent.
To Dorothy, everything filling the streets seemed wondrous and grand.
Even the horse dung dropped on the road appeared special to the child’s eyes. She had seen horses drop manure while walking countless times before, yet she marveled at it even now.
“Even a horse like that poops. That’s amazing.”
Did she think expensive, handsome horses didn’t poop? Lij, who had been eyeing a passing woman’s feathered hat, let out a giggle.
Lij and Dorothy seemed to like this city. However, Juhwan didn’t view this flashy city in a purely positive light.
Between the wide roads, narrow alleys branched out like spiderwebs. Though it looked wealthy on the surface, there were many people dressed in shabby clothes inside those cramped alleys.
He occasionally spotted children so thin their bones showed through their skin, and people who looked as if they might die at any moment. It was a city with a severe gap between the rich and the poor.
Juhwan turned his gaze away from the alleys. This wasn’t like the village where everyone was poor. In the eyes of the people standing in the shadows of the alleys, watching the main road, there was a glimmer of something like hatred.
It doesn’t matter if someone is wealthy and decadent in a place you don’t know. You can just think of them as a completely different species.
But when happiness and luxury are flaunted right before one’s eyes, envy fills the heart. From that, resentment and hatred are born. That is simply human nature.
Juhwan’s own heart used to grow desolate during times like holidays or Christmas when families gathered. His own unhappiness would feel magnified, and he would envy people laughing with their families so much it turned into resentment.
That was why he had unintentionally pitied Santa when they met.
So there is another person as miserable as me; I’m not the only one.
As a result, he had learned the hard way that one should not pity people recklessly. Of course, now he realized that one should live virtuously and generously after all. If he had just passed Santa by back then, he never would have met Lij and Dorothy.
“….”
After traveling down a long, winding main road for a while, a circular space appeared. This city had a plaza, just like the ones he had seen in other towns.
In a village, you could tell at a glance that the plaza was the center, but in a city, it was hard to say. The plaza was far more ornate than the ones in the villages, but because the city was so large, even that massive plaza looked like just one small gear in a giant clock.
The Miller Merchant Company was located a bit further past that plaza. Once they left the plaza, the streets became quiet, unlike the other areas.
This street was similar to what people back on Earth would call a luxury district.
The buildings surrounding the plaza had been pretty and clean, but the buildings on this street looked different down to every stone and door. The doors, carved with ornate decorations, looked like works of art crafted by a master sculptor.
There were fewer people passing by. Occasionally, he saw people dressed in clothes that suggested they might be nobles, and carriages engraved with fine ornaments.
Lij and Dorothy, whose eyes had been shining with excitement just moments ago, hesitated slightly. They seemed intimidated.
The Miller Merchant Company was located in the middle of this high-end street.
Juhwan followed the company’s carriages into a small alley beside the Miller Merchant building.
Behind the company, a completely different scene from the street front unfolded. Wooden crates, carriages, and goods were scattered everywhere. In the cramped space, dozens of servants were moving goods or running about.
Several servants ran over upon spotting Gordon, the escort leader, and Leonard. Other servants cleared the way and made space for the new carriages to enter. It was like a swan gliding gracefully across a lake while its feet paddled busily beneath the water.
Juhwan stepped down from the carriage and entered the merchant building. Leonard led the way.
Leonard’s behavior was the same as ever. It hadn’t changed. However, Leonard, who had seemed like just an ordinary merchant owner in the caravan, suddenly looked like a great merchant prince, so grand he felt unapproachable.
As Juhwan scooped up the intimidated Dorothy, the child whispered into his ear.
“Daddy, is that Grandpa a great man? Is he a noble?”
Gordon, who was following behind them, let out a chuckle.
“He’s not a noble. He’s just a commoner.”
“….”
Dorothy looked around in all directions, then hugged Juhwan’s neck with both hands and looked back. She asked Gordon in a tiny voice.
“Is he a prince then?”
“Dorothy!”
As Lij gasped in surprise, Dorothy squeezed Juhwan’s neck tight and whispered.
“Mommy, nobody can hear. I said it quietly.”
“….”
He felt like he needed to have a serious talk with the child.
The wooden plaques had the same numbers written on them as the ones the Guild had given them at the start.
To ensure even those who couldn’t read could understand, only numbers were written on the wooden plaques. You just had to compare it with the one you had and see if it looked the same.
With that, the Red Sword party’s work was done. Juhwan also had to verify the number of times he had used healing magic.
Gordon held out a long sheet of paper. The name of the merchant company and various numbers were written in small script.
“This is a record of the number of times Juhwan-ssi used healing magic and who he used it on. If you can’t read, please just check if the notches on the stick you have match the count.”
Because he was told it was mandatory, Juhwan had the merchant staff carve a notch into a small stick every time he used healing magic. For the severely injured, they carved multiple notches instead of just one. He compared those with the paper.
After finishing all those tasks, they left the merchant company. A servant followed them, saying he would guide them to their lodging at the central plaza.
As Juhwan headed toward the back of the building where the carriages were, Karin of the Red Sword party spoke up.
“Normally, it would be best to go to the Guild today and file the completion report, but so much has happened over the past few days. Let’s rest today and meet tomorrow.”
Karin glanced at Lij and Dorothy.
“This city is larger than the one where the Border Count’s castle is located. It’s the largest city in Bern. Bern borders several countries, so many merchants gather here. Moderni is where those merchants have the most branch offices, so there’s plenty to see and eat. You should take a look around.”
Karin cleared her throat with an “Ahem” and gave Juhwan a deep bow.
“Thank you for the advice last time. Seeing you beat up that fire magician… it gave me a lot to think about. It was truly terrifying. Beyond the magic itself, that display… how should I put it? I felt like you could have won even if you were fighting bare-handed with nothing at all.”
Karin looked at Juhwan’s face and gave a small smile.
“We’re planning to change our way of fighting too. Thank you.”
“….”
For some reason, her takeaway seemed a bit off. But as the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome; as long as they found a fighting style that suited them, it was fine. He was glad if his words and actions had been of some help to them, even if the point was slightly skewed.
Karin approached Lij and whispered in her ear.
“I envy you, Lij.”
Karin said they would see each other tomorrow and left with her companions. Lij tilted her head and looked up at Juhwan.
“I can understand why she’d envy me, but Juhwan, what did you do while we were sleeping?”
“….”
Well, should he answer that he did something he couldn’t tell her or Dorothy? Juhwan gave a sly grin as if he were hiding a secret.
The place the Miller Merchant servant guided them to was the most beautiful building in the plaza. The first floor served as both a pub and a restaurant. It was the same format as the inn they had stayed at before, but the exterior and interior of the building were completely different. The food prices seemed very different too—on the extremely expensive side.
“There are many people from foreign merchant companies around this building. Since most of them are wealthy, there are almost no vagrants or thugs, and the city guards patrol frequently. You’ll be able to stay here safely.”
The servant guided them to the highest floor of the building and then returned to the merchant company.
The room was incredibly luxurious compared to the inn they had stayed in. It seemed to be exactly to Dorothy and Lij’s liking.
Dorothy ran around the room, squealing with joy. The child was so excited he couldn’t catch her. The way she dashed here and there like a hamster made her look like an acorn rolling around on a tray.
“Lij, what’s wrong?”
Lij had been restless ever since they entered the room. She looked at Juhwan as if she had something to say, then turned away, looked out the window, and finally looked back at Juhwan as if she had made a decision.
“…Juhwan.”
“Yeah.”
“…I….”
Lij started to speak but then lowered her head.
“Tell me, what is it, Lij? Are you sick? Do you feel nauseous, or is it your head?”
“Oh, no. It’s not that.”
Lij furrowed her brow as if troubled, then stole a glance at Juhwan.
She came closer and lightly grabbed his sleeve. Then she looked up at him again. She was too cute.
“Lij, why?”
“We have plenty of food. We bought meat, we have ingredients for stew, and even expensive pepper….”
So what was the problem? Lij hesitated before speaking again.
“But, the food we had at the inn last time… it was really delicious.”
It actually was. He felt bad, but it had tasted better than Lij’s cooking. If Lij gave him something, he would eat it happily without a word of complaint even if it was burnt to ash or hard as a rock, but if asked what was delicious, the inn food won.
“So, this time too….”
Lij looked up at Juhwan with slightly upturned eyes as if apologetic. What, was that it? His heart, which had been a bit tense, turned to mush at how silly he felt.
“The preserved food can be eaten later, so it’s fine. We should do things we can only do here. Let’s eat on the first floor and then go out, Lij. You can spend all the money we received as a token of gratitude in this city.”
“I can’t do that, Juhwan. It’s only right to save money.”
Lij spoke firmly. But her face was smiling. She seemed happy.
Dorothy, who had been running around the room, suddenly appeared and clung to Juhwan’s leg.
“Daddy, Dorothy wants to eat meat.”
Eat as much as you want, Dorothy. Seeing Dorothy’s face, which even had a bit of drool at the thought of meat, he burst into laughter along with Lij.
He would never forgive anything that ruined this daily life. That was what he thought.
When they went down to the first-floor restaurant after briefly unpacking, it was a bit early for dinner. Perhaps because of that, or because it was an upscale restaurant with fewer customers, there was only one man in the shop.
The man sitting in the corner was wrapped in high-quality fur.
He looked to be about the same age as Juhwan, around thirty.
In front of the man sat only a pretty plate with a red fruit on it. It was a fruit Juhwan had seen on Earth. He had never eaten it, but it was a pomegranate.
So there are pomegranates in this world too.
As he thought that, his eyes met the man’s. Unlike other people who usually flinched when they saw Juhwan, the man gave a sly grin as if it were nothing. Since that was a bit strange, Juhwan occasionally glanced at the man even as he took his seat.
Besides alcohol and meat dishes, the shop also sold things like pomegranates, figs, and apple wine. But unlike the previous inn, they didn’t tell him the prices first.
The prices are probably quite something.
The atmosphere suggested as much from the outside, but it seemed to be a shop catering to wealthy customers. The items inside the shop were also quite well-crafted. These weren’t tables made by just roughly slapping wood together. The tables and chairs were all beautifully carved.
He stole a look at Lij. However, Lij seemed overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the shop. She peeked around the interior with a slightly intimidated expression.
Since the Miller Merchant Company had recommended this place and Leonard hadn’t said anything special, they wouldn’t be swindled to the point of paying a gold coin for a single meal. But it was definitely more expensive than Lij expected.
“….”
But well, this was an experience too. Since he had decided to leave almost everything related to money to Lij.
Juhwan didn’t drink because he was with his family, but since Lij said she had never tried apple wine, he ordered a glass for her with the meal. For Dorothy, he picked out a pomegranate in addition to the meat.
“Ah, excuse me, how much is this?”
At the waiter’s answer, Lij didn’t move for a moment.
“Customer?”
Seven Rina for one pomegranate. It seemed to be a price Lij couldn’t even imagine. She just blinked, unable to even speak.
But she couldn’t bring herself to cancel it now, so Lij smiled through her inner tears.
“…It’s nothing.”
The waiter gave a small smile and bowed. Did customers like this come often? When the waiter left, Lij gently took Juhwan’s hand.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would be this expensive.”
“….”
When Juhwan laughed at the sight of a single tear nearly falling, Lij lowered her head slightly.
But the food was truly delicious. Dorothy said it was delicious after one bite, then took another bite and repeated that it was delicious. Lij was eating while crying a little.
The man sitting in the corner occasionally looked over. He seemed to be looking at Oz, who was perched on Dorothy’s head.
When Dorothy stared at the man in the fur coat, the man smiled broadly and spun his finger around on the table.
Following the man’s finger, the pomegranate seeds rolled and moved in a circle. Since that was incredibly fascinating, Dorothy couldn’t take her eyes off it.
He felt like he should really try practicing wind magic in earnest.
Around the time Juhwan finished paying and was leaving with his family, another man entered the restaurant. The man flinched upon seeing Juhwan’s massive frame.
Yeah, this is the normal reaction.
Juhwan stepped outside with a bitter smile. The man who just entered seemed to be a companion of the one in the fur coat. Just before the door closed, he saw him sit down at the same table.
Suddenly, his eyes met the man in the fur coat again. The man gave a thin smile. That smile lingered in his mind. It felt exactly like looking at a person wearing a mask.
