Chapter 57

Morning had broken. As the surroundings brightened, Jun-sang got up, rekindled the campfire’s embers, and began preparing breakfast. Henes, who had woken up in the early hours and hadn’t been able to fall back asleep, felt a strange pang of annoyance watching him calmly pack his sleeping bag and prepare breakfast.

“Hmph…”

Hidden in her sleeping bag, Henes feigned punching Jun-sang, who was boiling something savory outside the tent. Suddenly, he turned his head and their eyes met, so she quickly pretended to be asleep and hid herself.

“If you’re awake, come out. We have to leave soon.”

“…” Henes wondered if he knew she had been tossing and turning all night.

“If you don’t come out, there’ll be no breakfast.”

“I-I’m coming!” Henes, whose mouth was already watering from the savory, unidentifiable smell, gasped and scrambled out of her sleeping bag and out of the tent.

But Jun-sang spoke to Henes again. “Sleeping bag.”

“…” Henes grumbled inwardly and started to pack her sleeping bag, using Jun-sang’s neat roll as a reference. But no matter how she tried, it never folded as neatly as his.

“Ugh…” As she grumbled, repeatedly unfolding and refolding it, Jun-sang’s voice was heard again.

“Just do it roughly and come.”

“…” In the end, Henes had no choice but to finish packing the sleeping bag with a dissatisfied expression and come out of the tent.

Jun-sang handed her a cup of strange material and a spoon. “What is this…?”

“Breakfast.”

“…” Only then did Henes realize that Jun-sang was also holding a similar cup. As if demonstrating for her, Jun-sang opened the black lid covering the cup, stirred the contents once, and then began to eat with his spoon. Henes watched him carefully and then imitated him. Knowing that it contained something hot, she carefully opened the black lid, stirred the contents with her spoon once, and then first took a spoonful of the broth and drank it.

“Hmm?”

It was smooth, savory, and even refreshing. Henes, surprised by the unfamiliar taste she had never experienced before, asked Jun-sang, “W-what is this?”

“Breakfast.”

“No, I mean… the name of the dish.”

“Bean sprout pollack soup.”

“Bean spro… hm.” The name was as unfamiliar as the taste, and Henes almost bit her tongue. Jun-sang chuckled at Henes’s reaction, then slowly chewed his rice. Henes, having almost embarrassed herself by trying to mimic the food’s name, then simply savored the breakfast in her hand in silence.

After eating, Jun-sang again distributed the wild boar meat to the wolves and then tidied up the place where they had camped yesterday. He packed the sleeping bag, folded the tent, and removed the tarp he had laid on the ground. Jun-sang took out the cabinet from his inventory and put the items inside. He also separately packed the mess tin and other cooking utensils, then put the trash in a plastic bag to dispose of. Henes was flustered when the preparations for departure were completed before she had even finished eating.

“Oh, I still… haven’t finished eating…”

“Eat slowly. There’s something I need to do.”

“Yes…” As soon as he finished tidying up the sleeping area, Jun-sang began to warm up with simple exercises. Only then did Henes feel relieved and could continue her meal carefully. When she finished eating, Jun-sang cleaned the utensils and spoon, then put the cabinet back into his inventory and began preparing to leave.

Henes cautiously spoke to Jun-sang. “Um… my dress…”

“You’re going to wear that uncomfortable thing again and ride that?”

“…” Jun-sang was right, but it felt somewhat awkward, as if she were just walking around in her pajamas. Jun-sang, glancing at her expression, took out another cabinet and then pulled out a down parka, which he handed to her. Since it was for a man, she was completely swamped in it when she put it on.

“No problem now, right?”

She hadn’t originally wanted something like this, but it would be awkward to say no when he, usually so blunt, had gone to such trouble. “Yes…” Henes replied, then climbed onto the saddle on the Crimson Wolf’s back herself. The Crimson Wolf seemed to glance back, then slowly stood up as Henes settled into position.

Jun-sang began to run slowly. The Crimson Wolf followed suit. At first, they seemed to run slowly, but then, as Jun-sang activated Sprint, they once again dashed through the wilderness, cutting through the wind. Henes silently watched Jun-sang running beside her, then suddenly realized that she didn’t even know this man’s name yet.

Goodness. To spend the night with a man whose name she didn’t even know and wake up with him in the morning. Henes thought about it and then her face flushed at the subtle nuance of the words.

“Ahem… Excuse me.”

“…” Jun-sang didn’t answer, but Henes spoke again.

“I have just one question.”

“…”

“What’s your name?”

He must have thought she was asking rather late, but Jun-sang readily told her his name. “Park Jun-sang.”

“Park… hm.” Henes almost bit her tongue again and couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. First the food name, now his name, how could all their names be so strange? Henes, realizing that pronouncing that name correctly would require considerable effort, brought up another topic.

“Is running like that also necessary?”

Actually, she had felt it was a bit strange since yesterday. Besides the red wolf she was riding, he also had the ability to summon a beautiful silver-furred wolf of similar stature. Of course, their physiques were different from hers, but it probably wouldn’t be impossible to ride if she put her mind to it… Jun-sang, however, simply continued to run and run as if he didn’t consider such things at all.

“It is necessary.”

It was still a short answer, but at least he didn’t just nod. Henes’s face brightened, and she asked again, “Isn’t it hard? I think it would be better to just summon a wolf and ride, like me.”

Jun-sang, hearing that, replied as if it were obvious. “The harder it is, the stronger I get.”

“Ah…” If running itself was a form of training, then it wasn’t impossible to understand. Perhaps he was strong precisely because he trained continuously? In any case, Henes, having managed to get Jun-sang to open up, continued to talk to him throughout their run. About her boarding school, about her hometown… Seeing her continuously talking without getting tired, Jun-sang chuckled. It reminded him of the fairies who used to sit on his shoulder and chatter diligently.

They ran like that for the entire morning and soon arrived at a quiet little stream. Jun-sang, gauging the height of the sun, stopped and said to Henes, “We’ll rest here.”

“Yes!”

While Henes dismounted from the Crimson Wolf’s back, Jun-sang strode to the stream bank, then simply took off his sweat-soaked top and began to wash himself. Henes, who was dismounting from the wolf’s back, was startled when he suddenly stripped off his shirt and began to wash himself, and she quickly turned away.

“Whoa…” Henes tried to calm her startled heart, yet a subtle curiosity arose within her. She stealthily turned her head to peek, and his powerful back muscles immediately came into view.

Gulp. Henes unconsciously swallowed. Was a man’s body always like that? Henes, who had been secretly watching Jun-sang’s back, oblivious to the passage of time, quickly turned away again when he turned his head and looked at her.

“…” Jun-sang spoke to her as if he hadn’t noticed.

“Wash.”

“Huh? No… well… I…”

“At least wash your hair. You smell.”

“…” Instead of calling her beautiful, he said she smelled… Well, it was true she hadn’t properly washed her hair since leaving boarding school, but couldn’t he have said it more indirectly? But Henes soon shook her head. She realized that if he were the kind of man who would show that much consideration, she wouldn’t have had to talk until her mouth hurt all morning just to get him to open up.

Henes took off the down parka she was wearing, hung it on the saddle, and went to the water’s edge. Jun-sang handed her something like a container.

“This is…”

“Use this to wash your hair.”

“…” Looking at the container he handed her, it somehow resembled a laundry beating stick. She stared blankly, wondering if he wasn’t going to tell her to beat her head with it like laundry, but Jun-sang chuckled and spoke again.

“Hand.”

“H-here.” As Henes held out her hand, Jun-sang squeezed shampoo into it.

“Hmm? This is…”

“First wet your hair with water, then rub this in.”

“…” Henes, though skeptical, was curious and did as he said.

And then… My goodness! What was this rich fragrance?! And what was this soft lather?! As she exclaimed in her mind and washed her hair, Jun-sang held out another container to her.

“Hand.”

“…” This time, she held out her hand without hesitation. Jun-sang chuckled, feeling as if he were taming a puppy, and squeezed conditioner into her hand.

“Rub this into your hair, then rinse it off again.”

“Yes!” Henes diligently rubbed whatever was in her hand into her hair as he instructed. No foam came out like before, but the fragrance felt even stronger. After finishing with the conditioner and rinsing her hair with water, Jun-sang handed her a bar of soap.

“This is for washing your hands and face.”

“…” Perhaps because it was stream water, it didn’t lather as well as she expected, but Henes watched Jun-sang’s actions with sparkling eyes and began to imitate him. As she did, she thought. This man… He’s like a magical fairy from a story. A magical fairy who grants any wish, just by asking. The only difference is that unlike a magical fairy who asks for wishes sweetly, he asks for wishes as if threatening.

Henes imagined Jun-sang asking for wishes in a sweet tone and burst out laughing.

“Pfft!”

“…” Jun-sang saw her burst out laughing while washing her hands but pretended not to notice. He took a well-dried towel from his cabinet and draped it over her shoulder.

“When you’re done washing, dry yourself with that.”

“Yes.” Ah, and how soft this towel was too. It made her hum involuntarily.

Jun-sang simply dug a pit and lit a fire. When Henes approached, he quietly opened his mouth.

“Gentle Breeze, please dry her hair.”

“Huh?” She wondered what he was talking about, but as soon as he finished speaking, a slightly strong wind ruffled her hair, blowing it this way and that, and began to dry the moisture.

“Whoosh!” It blew frantically, and in an instant, the water disappeared from her hair. When her hair was dry, Jun-sang took out a comb and a hand mirror for her.

“Comb it.”

“Wow!” Henes exclaimed again, seeing her reflection clearly in the mirror. My goodness! A mirror that reflected so cleanly!

While Henes combed her hair, which had been messed up by the wind, and looked into the mirror, Jun-sang prepared a simple lunch. It was just grilled wild boar meat with Siras’s special seasoning and instant soup in a cup, but Henes finished her meal deliciously enough to make anyone watching feel pleased.

“Phew…”

“…” Henes, having washed herself thoroughly and enjoyed a delicious meal, subtly spoke as she helped Jun-sang wash the dishes in the water.

“You know, I’ve been thinking.”

“…” What was she going to talk about now? Jun-sang pretended not to notice and listened quietly.

“About… granting requests.”

“What about it?”

“If it’s bothersome to listen to each one, how about I do that role?”

“…” He looked at her with an expression that said “What are you talking about?” and Henes laughed awkwardly and said, “I thought about it. It doesn’t seem right to just receive help without doing anything…”

“…”

“While I listen to people’s stories, you can grant someone else’s request, something like that. What do you think about splitting the work?”

Jun-sang replied as if it were nothing important. “No need to worry. I’ll get the rewards anyway.”

Henes, unaware that “rewards” included experience points, quickly continued. “That’s true, but… I still want to be helpful, even if it’s just during the journey.”

“…”

“Can’t I?”

There was no reason she couldn’t. It would actually make his job easier, as he wouldn’t need to waste time on unnecessary conversations with others. She could listen to all the long, messy stories, and he would just receive a summarized version. Moreover, since she wasn’t a player, there was no need to share quest rewards.

“Do as you please.”

“Thank you!”