Chapter 68

Episode 68:

Mana was concentrated all over her body.

Mana covered her body evenly, like cream on bread.

If I saw her without anything, I couldn’t recognize her.

I had to increase my vision extremely with aura to be able to see her face and body lines, even vaguely.

Just by looking at it, I could see how outstanding her magical knowledge and understanding were.

The reason I recognized her was because I knew what she looked like when she was disguised as a man.

‘It’s really cool.’

If I hadn’t known that, I would have thought for a long time about whether she was Beatrice or would have passed it by without knowing.

That’s how excellent her disguise magic was.

“Oh really… where on earth have you gone!”

As I got a little closer, I heard her voice.

Even the voice in trouble belonged to a man, so her form could not be found.

‘But what have you lost?’

In the original work, it was stated that she and the protagonist met here and had a small fight.

The result was Beatrice’s defeat.

She said that she ran away from the protagonist through the northern gate that opened at the right time, developed her skills there, and returned to her family.

And that happens a year later.

Even before meeting the protagonist, she always spent time at this inn before going to the North.

That’s why I came here.

She didn’t know exactly what happened during this time.

But I couldn’t just watch like this, so I talked to her.

“excuse me….”

“…!”

When I spoke to her, she was startled and started to step back and be wary of me.

Since a suspicious person wearing a mask is talking to you in an unfamiliar place, you must be cautious.

“What’s wrong?”

I tried to put on a friendly smile, but soon realized that my face was covered by a mask, so I erased my expression.

It’s also quite difficult to force a smile.

Just speaking softly is enough.

“ah. “That…”

Beatrice glanced at me and was reluctant to speak.

It seems like he can’t reveal his secrets to someone he meets for the first time.

“….”

She was silent for a while.

I watched her and tapped the mask.

Looks like he doesn’t want to talk.

If the other person doesn’t want to talk, there’s no need to force them to do something.

“Then I’ll go in.”

It’s not like now is the only time to meet her, so it’s still okay.

There is no need to try to become friends with her right away.

“…Now wait a minute!”

“…?”

As soon as I was about to enter the inn, she caught me.

I don’t know if it was her real face, but I felt really bad when a handsome man grabbed me…

But after he grabbed me, I couldn’t say anything.

He held my collar for a while and looked at me blankly.

“What is it?”

“Well… some money.”

“yes?”

“I don’t have any money, so… can you lend me some money?”

I smiled at her words.

Yeah, this is how it starts. If I lend her money, she will continue to feel indebted to me.

“yes. All right.”

“yes…?”

Her eyes wavered, as if she didn’t know I was going to say that right away.

Either that or not. I went into the inn just as I was caught by her.

Jing!

“welcome!”

As soon as the door opened, the employee greeted me warmly.

A scary-looking man whose voice did not match the lively woman’s voice was there.

For a moment, I thought I had seen something wrong.

Or I thought it was a woman talking in the kitchen and a man coming forward.

“One, two… five people. “You can sit here.”

and. Something gives me goosebumps.

Saying such a woman’s voice with a manly face made skin grow on my arms.

I felt lucky that he was wearing a mask and ordered a quick meal from him.

And after renting four rooms, I sat down where he showed me.

And then I looked at Beatrice.

Beatrice opened her mouth, blushing at the attention focused on her.

“He obviously had money. But…”

Her simple explanation is that she was pickpocketed.

And the person involved did not know that.

The northern city of Boru was a lawless area.

Although there were knights and guards, they did not care about petty misdemeanors.

Pickpocketing was a common occurrence in this place where you never know when you might die.

Mercenaries and free knights knew this, so they were very careful when walking on the streets.

It was a place where you could lose your belongings if you relaxed even a little.

In order not to lose money, I also activated my auror and was wary of any hands approaching me.

But she didn’t know that.

You’ve always lived in a safe place, and even if you knew, you never would have thought that someone would break through your boundaries and steal something.

She must have felt it too through this experience.

You shouldn’t relax even a little bit here.

“This is a place where pickpocketing is common. “Even veterans are always on guard here, but they always lose one thing.”

“Ah…”

He opened his mouth and sighed at my words.

After hearing my words, she realized why the money was gone.

And soon her face turned red.

He remembered that a stranger’s hands were scanning his body.

“My name is Redmill. This is Mary, my wife. Next to them are Mahol and Raina. Although they are young, they are dependable colleagues.”

“Oh, I’m Beth. “I am a scholar who travels the world and studies nature.”

“iced coffee.”

She introduced herself as a free knight-like wanderer.

But funny enough, on her robe was a wide-open multi-colored book badge representing the Skylar family.

As I was looking at it, she hurriedly took off the badge and hid it in her arms.

“haha.”

“The food is here.”

The waiter placed the food on the table one by one and finally handed over the room key.

“bon appetite.”

And then he moved his body towards the other guests.

“Let’s eat first.”

“It’s shameless, but I’ll eat it gratefully.”

She reached out and grabbed the pork.

I looked at her and reached for the mask.

Sweet.

The mask around his mouth fell and he took up a drink.

‘It’s been a while since I drank alcohol.’

I felt Ellis looking at me from next to me.

Because he saw what Raymond looked like when he drank, he was worried that I might cause an accident.

“don’t worry.”

He spoke softly to her and drank.

Although it wasn’t enough to stand out.

The cool yet bitter taste of barley went down my throat.

“nice…!”

A gasp comes out of nowhere.

And when I was about to eat snacks, I felt a hot gaze in front of me.

Beatrice was staring at the glass I was holding.

‘Do you want to drink it?’

Well, you might be curious.

It must have been difficult for her to drink alcohol at the count’s house.

Wizards do not drink alcohol because they believe it messes with their heads.

Even if I did drink it, I drank low-alcohol wine.

So, you might have been curious about the taste of the alcohol that mercenaries and knights drink.

“Would you like to eat it?”

“Oh, thank you!”

She didn’t decline.

He quickly took the glass of alcohol I gave him and put it to his mouth.

“Wow…!”

And then he frowned and let out an exclamation.

I smile as I imagine her original face.

It was a bit surprising to see a precocious lady like this.

“This is really good.”

She seemed to have been disarmed with that one drink and had completely relaxed her guard.

He then ordered a drink and ate some snacks, appearing relaxed.

The sight felt different, so I stopped eating and watched her.

Perhaps because she felt burdened by my gaze, she quietly put down the glass she was holding and spoke to me.

“Are you not eating?”

“I’m eating.”

I waved my hand saying it was okay and raised my drink.

And it was a time when I was in the middle of drinking alcohol while chatting with her.

“Lord Redmill, why did you come to the North?”

Her cheeks were completely red and her voice was slurred.

He was drunk.

Looking at her like that, I said bitterly.

“Well, is there any other reason why people come here? “I came here to make money.”

“Money…”

“My parents were commoners. “I grew up seeing how difficult poverty was for those who made a living as tenant farmers.”

She has a lot of affection.

That’s why she told commoners to come visit her at any time, saying that they had the opportunity to learn magic.

Although a part of my heart ached because I felt like I was deceiving her.

This story will become a bridge that narrows the distance between her and me.

“And he passed away the day I became a knight.”

“So…”

She sighed as if she felt sorry.

Before I knew it, she was immersed in what I was saying.

Maybe it was because there was an audience that listened well, but even though I wasn’t acting, my voice contained feelings of sadness and regret.

“I remember what he said when he held my hand. Never give in and never live in poverty. “They said they were sorry for not doing anything for them… I always blamed the poor family and blamed them.”

“….”

“They knew me like that and loved me. “They were people who always smiled while sacrificing themselves to support me, an unfilial person.”

“…It must have been very difficult.”

“yes. It was difficult at first. And as time passed, I felt so pathetic about myself. I felt pitiful and resentful of myself for not being able to do anything for them. That’s when I met Merina. “He pulled me out of the pit where I was living like a wreck.”

He trembled at the sound of Ellis calling him.

I turned to her and signaled her to listen to me.

Then her mood changed completely.

Her face, which had no emotion whatsoever, contained feelings of love and sadness.

Even I, who ordered it, was surprised at how quickly her appearance changed.

Pat pat.

Her hands stroked my back.

Every action is very natural.

Maybe that’s why Beatrice had no doubts that what I said was a lie.

“I couldn’t stay still because she was there. But all I could do was use my body. So I came up north to make money for her, and she said she would follow me.”

“Because I don’t want to imagine a day without you.”

“…!”

I unconsciously closed my mouth at her words.

She literally looked like a wife with one husband.

It was amazing how people could change this much.

“Something like that. “That’s why I’m not much different from others.”

“Sigh.”

“…sniff!”

huh?

what. It was understandable that Beatrice was crying, but I heard a sniffling sound next to her.

When I turned around with a puzzled mind, I saw Mahol and Reina holding each other’s hands and quietly wiping away tears.

Why are they suddenly acting like this?

While I was feeling a little embarrassed, Beatrice held my hand.

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

Looking at her with red eyes, I did not open my mouth.

My mouth twitched.

She took the bait.