There was a faint groan. It was soft, like she was afraid of anyone hearing her.
“Um…Urgh…” Her eyes rolled underneath her eyelids for a while before she opened them. She looked unsettled for a moment before her gaze gained focus, and she let out a long sigh.
“It’s the same…dream again…” The sweat soaking her armpits and back suggested she had suffered from nightmares the entire night. Her body felt heavy, and her head felt dizzy like the worst kind of hangover. Above all, her dream had been very unpleasant.
‘…It’s the worst.’ It was a bad sign. Having the proper state of mind was very important for Apoline. Her ‘Mana Ring’ adjusted her physical condition to its peak, but it had no influence on her mind. And her mental condition depended on her state of mind. Furthermore, today was the beginning of their mission. She knew she wouldn’t be able to do anything in her current state and needed to pull herself together.
Knock, knock. Apoline forcefully pushed herself up and said, “Come in.”
The door creaked open, and five native women quietly entered her room with their heads bowed. Four of them were carrying a large wooden tub big enough to fit a person, which was half-filled with water. The remaining one approached Apoline and placed her hand on her shoulder. Slid. Her light gown slipped down and revealed her soft skin. And while supported on both sides, Apoline dipped her small feet into the water and immediately pulled them out.
“Fire.”The lukewarm water began to boil. One of the native women inhaled deeply in surprise.
“Don’t worry about it. The temperature was good, but I changed it on my whim today,” Apoline said, and the native woman finally looked relieved. Soon, large bubbles popped up from the water, and steam rose into the air. Apoline sighed contentedly when she soaked in the boiling bath. She felt as if everything that was pressing her down was melting away; there was nothing better than a warm bath to wash away one’s worries.
Apoline rested her head on the side of the tub, and the native women got a bucket of water and began to wash her hair. After bathing for almost an hour, Apoline got out, letting the native women dry her off with towels. Then they rubbed perfume onto her still warm skin and brought clean clothes for her to wear. After putting every piece of clothing on her, they sat her down in front of the dressing table. As she closed her eyes, they put makeup on her face and brushed her long hair. After donning her with a white hair band, the native women finally finished their task at noon. By then, Apoline’s mood had fully recovered.
“Hm. Good work.” Apoline nodded and lightly waved her fingers. Hefty pouches that she had prepared beforehand floated and dropped into their hands.
“I am going away for a bit,” Apoline said while adjusting her hair band. “It might take a while, so consider yourselves on vacation.”
The native women’s faces darkened. They had been earning precious food supplies by waiting on her.
“I don’t know when I will return, so come by every day after two weeks. Knock three times, and if I don’t answer, you can quietly open it to check if I’m here.”
The native women backed away immediately after hearing her command. After they left, Apoline looked back at the reflection in the mirror, smiling at the lovely woman staring back at her. Her face glistened with makeup accentuating her supple skin, her eyebrows were neatly trimmed, and her pink eyes sparkled like she had trapped sunset inside. Awashed in daylight, her neatly arranged platinum-blonde hair shone like the blazing sun.
She was receiving luxury that most people wouldn’t dream of in a ruined world, but Apoline didn’t care for what others thought. She simply had a different mindset. What if Liber was in a dire state? What did that matter to her? She could always make her environment more livable. A hero’s duty was to overcome difficulties and make their surroundings better; in that same line of thought, Apoline could make her private living space better, and she planned to turn the house she had picked upon arrival at Liber into a small palace.
Of course, this was still far lacking. Her new servants listened to her orders well, but they were still natives. What she wanted was a subordinate. To create her own division, she needed heroes she could oversee as underlings. Given her personality, Apoline wasn’t going to just take anybody. Their abilities and character had to meet her standards, and in that regard, Ru Amuh was the perfect candidate to be her first subordinate. He was handsome, skilled, and his personality seemed all right too. During this expedition, Apoline planned to build a stronger bond with Ru Amuh; she could always show that she had the ability to make him follow and trust her later. And…
She looked at the mirror again and smiled confidently at her reflection. Apoline was well-aware of how beautiful she was. She had a beauty that anyone could fall for, and a human needed to know how to weaponize everything—this was what her father had always told her. A person’s appearance could also be a weapon. After all, it was impossible to tell what a person was thinking during the first meeting, and people were judged by their outer appearance first. This was the reason why Apoline had cared for her appearance this noon. She thought she would leave a deep impression on everyone she met now, including Ru Amuh.
‘Hm… Besides Ru Amuh, was there another hero that seemed useful?’ Apoline pondered and thought of one. ‘What was his name again?’ She could only remember that he looked pale-ish. ‘Why am I even thinking about that ditzy guy…?’ She wondered and recalled the dream she had.
Apoline scowled and shook her head. She couldn’t ruin her mood again after she finally felt better. It was the time they had agreed upon anyways, and Apoline got up from her seat. She would be right on time if she went right now. The main character always arrived late, she told herself and leisurely walked.
* * *
“The Choi family’s youngest son can’t go around in such a state.”
Slice. Slice. “Don’t you know how important it is to keep appearances?” Chi-Woo’s hair fell every time there was a cutting sound. “Furthermore, you are Lord Choi Chi-Hyun’s biological brother.”
Since early in the morning, Chi-Woo had been forcibly getting a makeover from Noel. His hair had become a little shaggy while he stayed in the mountain to the point that it almost reached his shoulders. Thus, Noel had taken the matter into her own hands.
“Okay, lie down now. I will wash your hair.” And after rinsing his hair, she said, “I’m all done! Ta-da! Don’t you look much better and cleaner now?”
Chi-Woo nodded as Noel brought him a towel.
“Of course. Since you’re related to Lord Choi Chi-Hyun, it’s only expected that you are also handsome.”
It was annoying how she brought up his brother in every sentence. Still, he couldn’t deny her skills and was satisfied with his new haircut.
“But it really is a worry,” Noel said while drying Chi-Woo’s hair. Chi-Woo glanced at her through the mirror.
“The expedition?”
“There’s that too, but I’m talking about the girl from Afrilith...”
Chi-Woo didn’t know how to respond. For some reason, Noel always turned antagonistic as soon as Afrilith’s name was mentioned.
“Young master.” Noel cleared her throat. “I told you before, but it can’t happen.”
“What can’t happen?”
“You know, with Lady Afrilith. You must not even meet her eyes.”
“Why?”
“If you guys happen to meet eyes and develop feelings for one another, I don’t know how I will face my Lord.”
“…” Chi-Woo stared as Noel worried about this matter with utmost seriousness.
“Ms. Noel.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you even saying that?”
“Excuse me?”
“I have nothing going on with her. I only met her once, so I wonder why you are even worrying about something like that. It’s embarrassing,” Chi-Woo said, baffled. Noel blinked hard.
“Do you perhaps not…know…?”
“What?”
Noel was shocked to see that Chi-Woo seemed completely oblivious. She thought Chi-Woo would know how the Afriliths had crossed the line after getting their marriage proposals turned down multiple times, but perhaps his family hadn’t told him—it seemed possible considering the Lord’s personality. In that case, there was no need for her to worry.
“No, it’s nothing. It was pointless for me to even bring it up.”
Chi-Woo stared suspiciously as Noel smiled. In the end, after Chi-Woo’s preparation was done, they parted ways. When Chi-Woo went to their meeting spot, he saw one person standing there.
“Hello.”
“How could…!” Apoline was about to respond angrily when she stopped. She scanned Chi-Woo from head to toe and looked taken aback. After getting his hair sorted out and putting on some nice clothes, he was quite…presentable?
“...You look all right today.”
“?”
“See how much better you look after cleaning yourself up? You should go around like that from now on.”
Chi-Woo glanced at the clothes he was wearing. Noel had chosen his clothes and shoes.
“Anyways, where are the others…?” Apoline trailed off when she saw another person arriving a bit later than Chi-Woo. It was a woman with ivory hair that cascaded down her shoulders.
“Why are you here…?” Apoline asked.
“?”
“I decided to join you,” Noel replied.
Apoline’s eyes narrowed as she replied, “I wasn’t informed at all.”
“Ah, is that so? I thought I had let everyone know by message. That’s unfortunate.”
Apoline glared. Noel Freya was one of those rare priestly heroes and a saintess who specialized in dealing with heretics. The simple fact that the legend had allowed her to follow him meant Apoline had to take her seriously. But above all, Apoline wondered why Noel had suddenly decided to participate.
“This is surprising,” Apoline spoke with the intention to find out the reason. “I thought you were just a house-guarding dog. Were you getting bored with your owner’s absence?”
Even as she was insulted as a dog, Noel simply responded with an unwavering smile, “It won’t be right for me to only guard my house. I am a hunting dog after all.”
“What?”
“Don’t you think so? Rather than waiting for my owner and doing nothing, I should go out and catch some prey to earn love as a hunting dog.”
Apoline’s face stiffened. She wondered, ‘Is Choi Chi-Hyun also aiming for Ru Amuh? Is that why she is participating in this expedition?’ As rivaling lights of the Celestial Realm, Apoline thought it was possible. Ru Amuh was worth competing for. Apoline flicked her head away after glaring at Noel. Maybe it would’ve been different if Chi-Hyun had come personally, but Noel was someone she could deal with. And apart from all this, Noel was indisputably skilled as someone who had gone through all sorts of hardships.
As the two conversed, Chi-Woo pondered. There was only one reason why Noel would join the expedition, and that was her second condition. Even when Chi-Woo was in a well-organized team, it still made her worried. Chi-Woo was reluctant to go with her at first since Noel didn’t even have a denomination yet, but she dismissed his concern with a shake of her head.
[Thank you for worrying, but I’m fine. I am confident that I can at least take care of myself.]
Although Noel didn’t tell him in detail, it seemed she had some trick up her sleeves. And as they waited, more members came—Nangnang, Ru Amuh, the brothers, and Abis, whom the younger man was carrying on his back. And with the arrival of Hawa, whom Chi-Woo had personally recommended, all the members of the expedition team arrived. There was no need for them to wait any longer, and the nine quickly left the capital.
The team marched quietly because Apoline was clearly in a bad mood. Unable to bear the atmosphere, the man with all his hair pulled back started a conversation with Chi-Woo.
“Well…I just want to thank you,” the man said. When Chi-Woo turned to look at him, the man smiled and continued, “It sounded like you were in a difficult position, but you still came.”
“There’s no need to thank me.”
“No, thank you, really. Whatever happens, I won’t forget that you came out to help us today.”
Chi-Woo smiled in response to the man’s trusting words. Like Hawa said, it seemed he had a good heart.
“On that note, I think I haven’t properly introduced myself.” The man extended a hand. “My name is Jin-Cheon.”
Chi-Woo took his hand and felt the man’s hardened skin. “I’ll call you Mr. Jin-Cheon from now on then.”
“Huh? Aren’t you going to tell me your name as well?”
Chi-Woo quietly smiled. He was used to this situation now and knew not to reveal his true name easily, remembering how Noel had responded when she first heard it.
“I’m just from a no-name family.”
“Really? You don’t look like it at all.”
“You can call me in whatever way most convenient for you.”
“Huh? Are you keeping a vow of silence or something that requires you to throw away your name?” The man chuckled. “Fine, I won’t push since it seems to be a secret. Then what should I call you from now on?” He wondered and clapped his hand lightly. “Dear sir seems too much. What about bro? Big bro or little bro seems okay too.”
“Bro is fine.”
“Okay! Bro it is. Well, nice to finally make your acquaintance officially!” Jin-Cheon shouted.
Seeing his light and amiable personality, Chi-Woo began to regard Jin-Cheon differently. For some reason, he felt almost an immediate affection for the man, but overall, Chi-Woo mostly thought Jin-Cheon must be a hero from a martial arts world. And while he shared a lively conversation with Jin-Cheon, they walked toward their destination, not knowing what would become of their relationship in the future.
* * *
Their march continued smoothly for a couple of days. There wasn’t a single being they could call a monster in sight, and thanks to that, they were able to reach the fortress without much trouble. It was nice to come to the fortress after a long time, but the group continued to march the very next day.
“If we go past this place, we will arrive at the border area,” Hawa said in an emotionless voice in front of a vast meadow. Chi-Woo stopped walking. This was the border line, and once he passed it, he would be passing the line his brother had set for him. It wasn’t too late for him to turn back now.
“Teacher? Is there a problem…?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
But Chi-Woo collected himself at Ru Amuh’s words. He had long crossed the line by leaving the mountain before he could crack the boulder. He was already at a point of no return.
‘Please endure for a bit longer, Lady Evelyn,’ Chi-Woo thought and moved without hesitation. Stepping onto the meadow, he made his way through the border.