Translator: Nox

I Became A Married Man in Another World

Chapter 69

#069 To Stand by Her Husband's Side

Leaning against the window of the lodging, she looks down at the plaza, which has grown dark before she knew it.

In the village where Lizzie lived, everyone returned home to sleep early once the sun set and darkness fell. Then, they would wake up in the pitch-black dawn.

But the city seems different. Around the plaza where darkness has settled, shops operating with lights on can be seen here and there.

Occasionally, the sound of boisterous laughter drifts from afar through the darkness.

It seems to be people drinking and playing. Mixed with the voices of men, the laughter of women spreads sharply into the night sky.

"Aren't you cold?"

Joo-hwan came to stand behind her. He brought a wool blanket and draped it over her shoulders with one hand. A kind man. Lizzie gently leaned her head against his body.

Right in front of her gaze is the sleeping Dorothy. Joo-hwan was holding the fast-asleep Dorothy.

The child seemed to be okay, but she must have been very startled by the incident during the day.

Once she started getting sleepy, unlike usual, she clung to Joo-hwan's embrace and wouldn't let go. When he tried to lay her on the bed as she dozed off, she would open her eyes. And she whined like never before. It was behavior she never showed normally.

She wouldn't come even when Lizzie tried to hold her. She just clung to Joo-hwan and wouldn't separate. In the end, Joo-hwan continues to hold the child, having only taken off his outer coat.

With his free hand, he wraps around her shoulder and looks out the window. The sound of someone shouting loudly in the darkness can be heard.

Lizzie quietly peered at the child's sleeping face.

Until now, she didn't seem to have the awareness of being a mother. Perhaps she had been thinking of Dorothy as a younger sister with a large age gap. Since both Lizzie and Dorothy were very lonely and exhausted when they first met, it might have been a simple sympathy that deepened.

It was only after almost losing the child today that she seemed to realize the fact that she is a mother. It felt like she finally understood the meaning of when this child calls her "Mom."

"Joo-hwan, you're amazing."

When she suddenly said that, her husband laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"...I think you've been Dorothy's father since the first time we met. I feel like I've only just barely realized that I'm a mother."

Joo-hwan tightened his arm around her shoulder. Then he said in a low voice.

"Because that's what I was hoping for from the beginning. Lizzie, there's no need to overdo it. You slowly become a parent while making mistakes and wrong decisions. For both me and you, Dorothy is our first child."

"...."

Lizzie closed her eyes. Since he says it like that, it really feels that way. As expected, Joo-hwan is different. She can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but there is power in this man's words.

She recalled the sight of Joo-hwan checking the letters at the Miller Merchant Group during the day. The sight of Joo-hwan talking as an equal while reading the documents given by the merchant was dazzling. He looked like someone truly great.

She had thought that things like letters were of no help in making a living, but it felt like the reality of what it means for a person to live like a human and be treated with respect was thrust before her eyes.

Karin of the Red Sword telling her that she was envious continued to linger in a corner of her heart.

Any other woman would think the same upon meeting Joo-hwan. That he is such a cool and great person.

Perhaps a woman of high status that Lizzie couldn't even imagine might fall in love with Joo-hwan.

If such a day comes, would she really be able to stay with this man?

'I can't stay like this after all.'

She wants to become a woman who isn't shameful to stand by this man. She felt that only after becoming such a person could she proudly puff out her chest and say she is this man's wife. And she will fight to stay by her husband's side. Even if someone comes and tells her to hand over her husband, she doesn't want to lose.

'Besides, I want to raise Dorothy well too.'

She hopes Dorothy becomes a woman who is much stronger and can live in the world better than herself. To raise her that way, she herself must study and become a better person. Yes, she must.

"Joo-hwan, you know what you said before. About teaching me letters.

I... I want to learn."

Most people dislike it when a woman learns to read. However, when she looked up at her husband, Joo-hwan was smiling as if he were truly happy. Ah, she really likes this man so much. For a while, Lizzie looked out at the black night of the city while embracing Dorothy together with her husband.

***

As always, Lizzie wakes up early.

Joo-hwan quietly watched the small woman, who had been held tightly in his arms when he fell asleep, busy moving around the room.

Sunlight comes in and shines on her golden blonde hair. It felt like her sparkling, beautiful hair was scattering light into the room. Her hair, which she had cut short to below her ears to save money, had grown a little.

Lizzie was putting the socks she had washed and hung up the previous evening into a basket.

Lizzie's face frowned slightly, perhaps because they weren't dry yet. Turning around, Lizzie saw Joo-hwan and smiled brightly.

"Joo-hwan, if you're awake, you should say something. Why are you watching me like that? It's embarrassing."

Her white cheeks were stained red like peaches.

When Joo-hwan reached out his hand, she came and let him embrace her as if she had no choice.

When he lifted the blanket and pulled her inside, she squirmed and struggled to escape.

"It's okay to wake up a bit late today."

"I can't. I have things to do every day. While working for the merchant group, I couldn't do any laundry at all, and I have no more clothes to change into now.

Mushrooms are about to grow on the clothes."

Yes, he knows. That's why Joo-hwan had fallen asleep stark naked. He couldn't possibly get into bed wearing clothes soaked in blood and unknown liquids.

Lizzie turned her head with a bright red face and muttered.

"You'll catch a cold. Please put on your clothes quickly."

"When the kid wakes up, she'll ask why Daddy is naked."

It can't be helped. Joo-hwan slowly got up and put on his clothes. They smell foul.

"I should buy some clothes before we leave today. I definitely need more clothes."

Lizzie let out a small sigh.

*

While helping Lizzie pack, Dorothy woke up. Dorothy had a bright face, as if her clinging to Joo-hwan and whining all night was a lie.

"...."

He thought the child might cry a little or cling to him. But contrary to his thoughts, Dorothy was the same as usual. She laughed brightly, moved around the bed, and played for a while, tumbling around with Oz.

It was a sight no different from any other time, but for some reason, something weighed on his mind. Why?

While gathering all the remaining luggage with Lizzie and packing it tightly, Joo-hwan's attention was somehow occasionally on the child.

After playing for a bit, when Lizzie told her to wash up, Dorothy took Oz to the corner of the room.

In the corner, there is a water bucket and a small basin.

It contained water used for washing hands or wetting a cloth to wipe the body.

Guests fetch the water themselves from a large water tank behind the inn.

Used water just needs to be thrown into the wooden bucket provided. They said the inn would clear it away later.

Dorothy washed her face with a splash using the water Lizzie had set aside in the basin. Every time her small hands came up from the water, it splashed on the floor.

After Dorothy finished wiping, it was Oz's turn. Dorothy wetted her small hands and rubbed Oz's horns.

It's something she's done every day since the horns came out. Dorothy seems to think Oz's horns are similar to her own teeth. She was saying they would rot if not wiped.

Oz seemed to dislike it, but stayed still nonetheless. After clumsily wiping the horns, which were smaller than her pinky finger, Dorothy straightened her body.

"Ah, I'm tired!"

Muttering that, this time she ran to the small table where the meal was set before Lizzie even called. It was no different from usual.

"Joo-hwan, breakfast is ready."

She calls. Joo-hwan ate with a somewhat unsettled feeling, then headed to the Adventurer's Guild with his family.

*

Once they went outside, Dorothy again moved around like a fluttering butterfly, interested in everything around her. However, she didn't stray too far from Joo-hwan and Lizzie. Perhaps the repeated warnings had been effective.

The guild office in Moderni was similar in form to the one in the adventurer village. Upon entering, the right side was the tables where adventurers sat, and the left side was the wall where request slips were posted. However, the interior was much larger and cleaner than what they had seen in the village.

Naturally, a picture of Santa was drawn on the sign. It seems all branches of the Adventurer's Guild have Santa pictures on their signs.

The women of the Red Sword party were sitting in a corner and lightly raised their hands to acknowledge them.

As he approached, Joo-hwan's gaze went toward Karin's waist. He saw strange objects tucked into her belt.

"...."

They were nails. All members of the Red Sword party had several nails tucked densely into their belts.

They looked a bit different from modern nails. They weren't round and long, but angular. They looked like long pieces of iron carved by hand.

And they were much thicker and longer than something like modern concrete nails.

At that point, weren't they just chisels used for breaking stones rather than nails?

Seeing Joo-hwan's gaze directed at their waists, Marie giggled and laughed. Then she said in a low voice.

"We bought them yesterday. These are our secondary weapons. Just as you said, Joo-hwan, if an opening appears in the opponent, we'll stab them with these!"

As Marie mimicked raising her arm, Dorothy watched quietly and then whispered to Joo-hwan.

"Daddy, Dorothy wants those too."

"...Well, I don't think they suit you very much."

"But if I have those, Dorothy will punish the bad guys."

"...."

Once again, an unknown feeling washed over him. It felt like there was grease deep in his throat. It didn't hinder his actions, but it was a feeling that kept bothering him.

Joo-hwan bent his knees and crouched down. Even then, the small child's face was below him. After crouching to meet her eyes, he lightly stroked the head of Oz, who was sitting on her hat.

"Dorothy, you're a Magic Beast Tamer, so you fight together with Oz, not with nails."

When Joo-hwan spoke, Dorothy's eyes widened, and she took on a thoughtful expression for a moment. A child's thoughts are not trivial. Even a young child thinks and worries as hard as an adult in their own way. Dorothy was lost in deep thought before nodding her head several times.

"Yeah, that's right! Dorothy and Oz are one body, so we can fight well."

Yesterday, he thought she was just scared, but inwardly, she seemed to be thinking about winning in her own young way. Dorothy smiled brightly and spoke into Joo-hwan's ear.

"Yes, thank you."

It seems this child will grow up bravely. As the saying goes, 'words become seeds,' and since she was registered as a party member, she might actually become an adventurer.

Joo-hwan went and stood behind the people lined up with the Red Sword. Perhaps because it was a city, it was crowded with many people despite being spacious. In the village, lines weren't even visible, but this time, people were standing in long lines in front of every reception desk.

People whispered and looked back and forth between Dorothy and Oz. As expected, since horns grew on its head, they seemed to recognize it as a magic beast. For now, they were just slightly visible, buried in fluffy fur, but people with good eyes seemed to know immediately.

Because of the murmuring people, several staff members at the reception desk also looked toward Joo-hwan. A man who was inside the reception desk saw Joo-hwan and immediately got up and came out.

"Are you perhaps the party [Dorothy and Oz]?"

"That is correct."

"Ah, as I thought. Please come this way. We have received word about you all. We are already prepared to register you as Rank 2. Those who are Rank 2 do not need to stand in line."

Amidst the murmuring people watching, the guild staff member glanced at Oz.

"I thought it was strange to hear that a child and a magic beast were together, but the two of you suit each other well."

"It's Dorothy and Oz."

Dorothy raised her hand to touch Oz and smiled broadly. The guild staff member smiled warmly at that sight.

They followed the staff member inside the reception area. It was together with the Red Sword party.

When he gave the staff member the request wooden plaque and the wood he had marked when using healing magic, the calculation was done immediately.

The amount received as a daily wage was quite large, but this time, the compensation received for performing healing magic due to the bandit attack was even greater.

Total income: 9,200 Lina.

Lizzie seemed to faint with her eyes open upon hearing the amount. She didn't move for a while.

Most of the money was deposited in the guild, and the Red Sword party received their money directly.

After returning the wooden plaque that said Rank 3 and changing the necklace to Rank 2, everything they had to do here was finished. They could go to the adventurer village as they were, or stay in this city a bit longer and take on requests.

While discussing what to do with the Red Sword party, the guild door opened. A man in splendid attire entered with a somewhat hurried pace.

The guild staff member grinned and said.

"I thought he would come, but he's faster than expected. It's the aide to the March Lord."