Chapter 4
When Marcella glared at the boy with a resentful look, he shifted his gaze slightly toward the fog.
“I didn’t think of that.”
*Think of what?* Before Marcella could ask again, he raised his sword. Marcella’s heart, which had just begun to thaw, turned cold again.
*No way! Is he going to kill me because I’m whining about being scared and being a bother? Sister! Tella! Brother-in-law!*
Marcella’s trembling eyes followed his sword.
The sword drew a curved line, cleaving not Marcella, but the fog. *It’s not like the fog can be cut,* she thought.
But as if to mock her thought, sunlight revealed itself through the gap in the parted fog. As he swung his sword repeatedly, the gap widened.
“Let’s get out.”
The boy took Marcella’s hand and walked toward the gap. Flustered, Marcella followed him, making only incoherent sounds. The white fog tinged with reddish hues.
– *Just wait. I’ll kill you.*
A young woman’s voice drilled into her ear.
Marcella flinched, startled, and looked around. Giggling, mocking laughter followed. Marcella trembled, pressing close behind the boy.
She felt him glance back at her slightly. *Just a moment.* It felt like he was whispering.
Having completely escaped the fog, Marcella took a deep breath. She never thought she’d be this happy and grateful to see the sun again.
After taking another deep breath, Marcella looked back. There was no fog, as if it had all been an illusion. Then what about the monster? Where did the monster hiding in the fog go?
“That creature isn’t here.”
The boy spoke as if he knew what Marcella was looking for without her saying anything.
He was still holding Marcella’s hand, and for some reason, she felt embarrassed, her face heating up.
“It might still be hiding in the mountain.”
“It won’t come back to this mountain.”
“How do you know that?”
*No matter how capable a monster hunter you seem, how can you be so sure? You might leave and that’s the end for you, but this is Morris’s home ground.*
Glaring at the boy, Marcella instantly regretted the words that had left her mouth. *Did my courage suddenly swell the moment I escaped the fog? When was I scared of him, thinking he didn’t seem human?* Moreover, they were still holding hands tightly.
“It only comes to kill me, so there’s no reason for it to appear here.”
Contrary to Marcella’s worry, he answered nonchalantly.
Marcella didn’t fully understand what he was saying, but his certainty held a strange persuasiveness.
“But still…”
“You don’t need to worry.”
“Just in case, we should search…”
She couldn’t just accept and agree based solely on his word.
This was a place villagers frequently entered to gather wood, mushrooms, or food. Hadn’t she herself come in to pick mushrooms? If that monster remained here, it would be a big problem.
“Searching would be a waste of time and labor.”
But the boy was firm.
Marcella finally gave up. His subtly high-handed attitude was unpleasant, but there was no need to argue over it.
“Anyway, thank you.”
As Marcella slightly bowed her head to express gratitude, the boy tilted his head. His expression was hard to read, but she could tell he was puzzled.
*For someone with such a high-handed attitude, maybe he’s not used to thanks. Or maybe he’d rather be paid in money.* Of course, she didn’t have a single penny to give him right now.
“I mean thank you for saving me.”
“I saved you?”
It seemed he didn’t even have the awareness that he’d saved her. Marcella felt like she was talking to her six-year-old niece, Tella. No, talking to Tella was much better.
“You saved me from the monster and got me out of the fog.”
The boy’s golden pupils slowly rolled from right to left. *What kind of reaction is that when someone is thanking you?* Marcella had never felt this awkward after expressing gratitude. She regretted bringing it up.
“It’s too humble to call it a token of gratitude…”
As Marcella naturally tried to pull her hand free, the boy’s hand followed.
The boy blinked and looked at Marcella curiously. Marcella also blinked in confusion.
“Are you not cold anymore?”
“I’m fine now. Thank you.”
The boy let go of Marcella’s hand. When she thanked him for saving her, he was indifferent, but when she thanked him for holding her hand, the boy’s cheeks faintly reddened. Marcella felt embarrassed too.
“Here!”
Embarrassment made her voice louder than intended.
Marcella held out the lemon mushroom from her basket, which had miraculously stayed put through all the commotion. It was a bit embarrassing since there was only one, but it was better than nothing.
She wanted to give him the best thing she had with her, but he probably wouldn’t want something like a lace handkerchief.
“It has a lemon scent and is delicious when grilled.”
“…Are you giving this to me?”
“You can eat it as is after roasting it until golden brown, or with salt or butter—Wait! Are you trying to eat it raw?”
The boy, having received the mushroom, was about to put it straight into his mouth. He tilted his head, looking at Marcella with a ‘why are you stopping me?’ expression.
Marcella couldn’t believe it. *Is he lacking common sense?* He was a strange boy.
She snatched the mushroom back from his hand and applied a very small flame to it. It was an application of the only magic she could do: lighting a candle.
“So you are a mage.”
When the boy spoke as if he hadn’t known, Marcella was taken aback. *Even if you’re such a great mage that your emitted magical power alone could crush my energy, you should at least be able to see that I have some, however weak.*
Marcella felt offended but focused on roasting the mushroom. Even for simple magic like this, she had to concentrate to do it properly.
“I’m an Inferior. Unlike an excellent mage like you, this is all I can do.”
A sarcastic tone slipped out unintentionally. Still, an apology didn’t readily come to her lips. Because she had a feeling she knew what he was thinking.
*After all, no matter how much an Inferior like me sasses, mages don’t get offended. They either always ignore Inferiors or pity them, one of the two.*
“No one roasts mushrooms as well as I do.”
Marcella deliberately spoke more forcefully and handed over the fully roasted mushroom.
It didn’t make her feel better. Even looking at the perfectly roasted mushroom, the boy showed no sign of being impressed.
“You shouldn’t try to eat mushrooms raw. You have to cook them, grill or steam them. How have you managed to survive until now?”
That’s why sarcastic remarks kept coming out. Marcella snorted.
The boy held the mushroom in his hand, looking down at it quietly as if checking if it was hot.
“Was it poisonous?”
“What? Why would I give a poisonous mushroom to someone who helped me?”
Marcella was startled and denied it. *Why is he suddenly talking about poison?* But his expression held not a hint of playfulness.
Marcella felt like snatching the mushroom back from his hand. *After I went to the trouble of roasting it!*
“…It doesn’t matter.”
“It’s not poisonous, I said!”
It was a perfectly roasted lemon mushroom, excellent to just the right degree for her liking. To be treated as poisonous and then told ‘it doesn’t matter’ was too much.
Marcella frowned and watched him slowly chew and swallow the mushroom. *Once you taste it, your eyes will widen and your assessment will change. Once you eat this delicious lemon mushroom!*
“It’s a taste I’ve had before.”
His eyes did not widen at all.
Marcella was very disappointed. It could have been much tastier if she had salt or butter.
Marcella felt very displeased, as if both the mushroom and herself had been ignored.
“You seem to have talent for cooking. It’s comparable to something made by a chef.”
*Is he giving poison and then medicine?* Confused by his offhand remark, Marcella couldn’t tell if he was trying to compliment or belittle her.
But Marcella was already in a bad mood, so his words weren’t taken well.
“Or is that chef not very skilled?”
“At least in Castleade, he was said to be skilled, but I wouldn’t know here.”
*He held my hand when I was cold, pulled me out of the fog when I was scared, so he’s not entirely heartless, but he also belittled me by asking if I was a mage, and now says something that seems like a compliment…*
Marcella was confused about whether she should like or dislike him.
Marcella observed the boy closely as he quietly ate the lemon mushroom without making chewing sounds. His gray cloak looked worn, but the clothes glimpsed underneath seemed too fine for a commoner. He could just be a wealthy monster hunter, but that didn’t seem right.
“You said the West, so you must be from the capital.”
“One could say that.”
*If that’s what you say.* He really seemed to want to hide his information.
The more he acted like that, the more Marcella began to speculate about him. His way of speaking and his naturally high-handed demeanor were definitely not those of an ordinary person.
He seemed to be a noble living in Castleade.
As her thoughts reached that point, Marcella felt a laugh bubble up, as if she’d uncovered his secret. *He’s probably a noble hiding his identity and working as a monster hunter.*
“Is Castleade a nice place? I’ve never been there.”
“It’s similar to here.”
“That’s a lie! Even though I’ve never been to the capital, I’m not naive enough to believe that.”
When Marcella burst out laughing incredulously, the boy tilted his head and looked at her. It was still a serious face, not at all playful.
Marcella, who had thought him scary and inhuman, now found him quite comfortable to be with, now that the dangerous aura had vanished. At least he didn’t seem like he would stab her with the same sword he had mercilessly stabbed the monster with.
“Have you been to the Imperial Palace, too?”
Rather than fearing him, she had many questions. *The Imperial Palace!* Marcella was so curious about the palace.
Her sister and brother-in-law often told her that all the splendor in the world was gathered there.
