That Beast Seems a Bit Strange
Juhwan quietly looked at Lizzy’s face as she slept, buried under the blanket.
She looked like a doll made of plaster. Too still. Too quiet. It almost seemed like she wasn’t even breathing.
For a moment, a sudden fear crept into him—is she really alive?
He gently placed a finger on her cheek. Warm. Not cold.
Only then did he finally relax.
Watching her again, he noticed that her eyelashes trembled ever so slightly from time to time. In the dim room where the lantern light flickered, shadows danced faintly across her pale face. If he listened closely, he could hear her quiet breathing mixed with the sound of the winter wind outside.
Once they left for the merchant caravan job, they wouldn’t have time alone like this for a while.
Maybe that was why he had been a bit persistent earlier. Even when he stroked her cheek several times, Lizzy didn’t wake.
He remembered how she had stood in front of him and confronted the leader of Red Sword.
A soft chuckle slipped out.
Until now, he had liked her. The moment they married, beyond love, she had simply become someone dear to him.
It was as if he had been “loving” before actually falling in love. Honestly, it might have been the same no matter who it was—just becoming family was enough to make him care and love.
But as she bustled around for him like a little chick, trying her best, thinking of him bit by bit, saying she liked him, saying she loved him—his feelings gradually began to change color.
He felt himself slowly being drawn in.
He had thought he already loved her, but now he realized that wasn’t true.
Only now was he truly falling in love.
The decisive moment had been when Lizzy stood against Karin, trembling but still fighting for him.
At that moment, something in his mind went plop. Like he had been standing on the edge of a lake of love, and finally fell all the way in.
His heart was completely soaked in her.
“I think I understand now.”
The words women had once said to him on Earth, when they left him—he could finally understand them sincerely.
What kind of wounds he had given them.
“…”
How lonely and sad must it feel when the person you love doesn’t truly see you?
He had cared for them in his own way, but love couldn’t survive on that alone.
Silently apologizing too late in his heart, Juhwan slipped out of bed.
Dorothy had apparently rolled around in her sleep more than once. She was still near where she had fallen asleep, but her head was upside down, and the blanket was tangled halfway around her legs.
After pulling the blanket up to her neck, Juhwan gathered his things and left the room.
A small flame lit up in his hand, illuminating the dark hallway. The wooden floor creaked softly in the empty air.
It was deep night. Even outside, there were no human voices.
Juhwan took a torch from a sack on top of the wagon. As soon as he lit it, flames flared up, brightening the surroundings. He placed it in a holder at the corner of the wagon and began organizing the cargo.
During travel, the wheels might get stuck or the wagon might shake violently. If the luggage shifted and spilled, someone inside could get hurt—especially with a child like Dorothy.
The wagon already had sturdy shelves on one side and even a large chest. Traces of previous villagers’ use still remained.
He emptied everything and carefully reorganized it. The items they bought today and those originally in the wagon were sorted by type. Half of the wagon was arranged with straw bundles to make a bed—for Lizzy and Dorothy during the journey.
As he organized, he could clearly see what was lacking. Grouping items together made the missing parts stand out.
He tried to arrange things similarly to how Lizzy had done in the hut, but the space was too cramped, making it look messy.
“I hope this doesn’t make things harder for Lizzy later.”
Maybe someday they’d have to reorganize everything properly the way she preferred.
After securing the luggage on top and finishing everything, he installed a simple lock inside the door—a long iron bar that slid sideways. Simple, but quite expensive.
By then, the darkness in the sky had begun to fade.
Just as he thought it might be time to depart, Lizzy came outside, wrapped in the wool blanket they bought yesterday.
The winter dawn was cold without the warmth of daytime. Her breath turned white in the air.
“Why did you come out? It’s cold.”
At his words, Lizzy looked between him and the wagon in surprise.
“Juhwan, did you organize all this by yourself? That must’ve been hard. Why didn’t you tell me? We could’ve done it together.”
“It’s fine. It’s not hard for me.”
He smiled, but Lizzy seemed slightly upset. Her cheeks puffed out as if to show she was angry—but honestly, it was just cute.
She looked like a child.
Come to think of it, she was only 21. On Earth, she’d still be at an age to play around and just start dating.
She doesn’t just look young—she really is young.
In this world, people didn’t age gradually. Instead, everyone gained a year on January 1st.
When Juhwan met Santa, he was 29 by Earth standards. Here, that made him 30.
21 and 30… quite the gap.
Lizzy’s previous husband, the hunter, had been much older—probably over forty. She had even been his third wife.
Juhwan pulled Lizzy into an embrace as she glared at him slightly.
I’ll make you happy.
He told her silently in his heart.
But feelings don’t transfer so easily.
“We’re almost at the meeting time,” Lizzy whispered, sounding like she was scolding him. “Let go now. Dorothy will wake up, and—this…”
“….”
For some reason, the front of his pants had bulged. Quite noticeably.
He wasn’t some puberty-stricken teenager—why was this happening? Was his body out of sync with his mind?
Lizzy, blushing bright red, smacked his chest lightly.
“Let’s go inside. I asked the innkeeper for stew yesterday. I thought it’d be too early, but since she’s a former adventurer, she said it’s fine. Eat, and then you sleep in the wagon. I’ll drive.”
He didn’t really need to sleep, but maybe he could lean on her for once.
“…Alright. Let me rest a bit after we leave.”
“Hehe, don’t worry. Sleep as much as you want. I’m better at driving the wagon anyway.”
She lifted her chin slightly, smiling proudly.
When they returned to the room, Dorothy was talking in her sleep.
“…meat… mine… Sin…bad… I won…”
At least she seemed to be having a good dream.
At the square, the Red Sword party was already waiting with their cart. It carried some food, blankets, and a few items—mostly old and worn.
Although Juhwan had already heard the general route, Jessie from Red Sword drew lines on the ground and explained it again, along with precautions:
Don’t go too fast.
Let the horses rest every few hours.
If the ground shines, it might be ice or unstable terrain—don’t cross recklessly.
Basic things.
A guide instructor was someone who taught adventurers essential knowledge. A month with one meant learning everything from choosing inns to unspoken rules between adventurers.
Juhwan had thought Red Sword was assigned to guide them because they were an all-female party—but maybe it was also due to their attentiveness.
Karin seemed to be the first driver. As she climbed onto the driver’s seat, the other two got into the cart.
“Juhwan, hurry and get in.”
Lizzy pushed him toward the wagon enthusiastically. Her eyes sparkled—she looked genuinely happy.
“Don’t overdo it. I’ll just rest a little.”
“No. You need proper rest. Otherwise, you’ll get sick.”
Seeing her worried smile, Juhwan climbed into the wagon.
Inside, Dorothy was sleeping soundly on the straw bed. If left alone, she might sleep until noon.
Juhwan lay down beside her. As he closed his eyes, the wagon began to move, rattling noisily.
Even with all that shaking, the child slept peacefully.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at all.”
He stared blankly at the ceiling, his eyes growing clearer with every jolt.
They had checked two places near the goblin village, but found no trace of the man.
With his unusual appearance and large wagon, they thought he’d be easy to track—but something was off.
“He should have passed through at least one of these villages.”
Yet no one had seen him.
“Did he notice the pursuit and change direction?”
The aide considered it, but shook his head.
No one in the village even knew the chief had tried to sell a mage. There was no sign he had been discovered.
Still, they had to hurry.
He urged his horse forward.
Soon, he spotted a wagon and a cart ahead. They weren’t moving very fast. Hard to tell if they were together.
Three women were riding the cart—likely adventurers, judging by their pants.
The wagon behind them was large.
Could that be the one?
But a woman was driving it.
Unusual.
“If there were a man, he’d be the one driving.”
Still, he was about to stop them—
“Follow our cart closely! If you step in the wrong place, the wheel might get stuck!”
“Got it!”
They were together.
Possibly female adventurers escorting the wagon.
The aide turned his gaze away.
“Tch.”
No time to waste.
He rode on.
Soon, stone walls appeared ahead—a village famous for adventurers.
The Bern Adventurer Village.
Small, but surprisingly wealthy thanks to the Adventurers Guild.
The aide clicked his tongue. He didn’t want to come here.
That talkative man…
Good at his job, but utterly lacking tact—yet strangely good at uncovering secrets and blurting them out.
If that was all, it’d be fine. But he never reflected on his actions.
“Shameless bastard.”
He had tried to get rid of him, but the guild master here had accepted him instead.
“Why would they take someone like that?”
Later, inside the guild—
The guild master rubbed his bald head and looked at the talkative man.
“Feel better now?”
“Of course. Though I always feel fine.”
“That aide was the one who kicked you out, right?”
“Yep.”
The man tilted his head.
“Strange, isn’t it? I don’t really hate him. But he really hates me.”
“Well, you did expose all the women he was involved with.”
“That wasn’t even a secret. He bragged about it.”
The master sighed.
“You still shouldn’t have told their husbands directly.”
“They should be able to handle the consequences of their actions, shouldn’t they?”
The master stared at him, then laughed.
“I like you. You seem dense, but you’re not. Like just now—you told him about the mage on purpose.”
“….”
“You’re actually quite petty inside. You know that, right?”
The man shrugged.
“Maybe.”
“You were even planning to marry one of the women he stole, weren’t you?”
“…You know a lot. But what about the merchant caravan? Why give such a job to a beginner?”
The master smiled.
“There’s someone in that caravan who knows a lot about beasts. I asked them to take a look at the horned rabbit.”
“Why?”
“Do you know much about magical beasts?”
“Not really.”
“Exactly.”
The master frowned slightly.
“That beast… feels strange.”
He recalled it.
“At the time, I thought it was just protecting its owner like a pet dog. But magical beasts aren’t that easily tamed.”
He shivered slightly.
“They require long training. And they rarely follow anyone other than their master. A child becoming its master? Almost impossible.”
“Really?”
“That’s just my experience.”
The talkative man tilted his head.
The master rubbed his smooth head again.
“It’s just a feeling… like goosebumps. That beast—and that mage—both feel… off.”
He kept rubbing his bald head absentmindedly.
At first, it had felt strange being bald. But now, it oddly calmed him.
Maybe I should’ve gone bald sooner