Chapter 10
“…What?”
I walked closer to the confused old man and said,
“Don’t tell anyone who we are.”
After saying that, I turned and looked at Tashik’s gray eyes for a moment.
This was to protect him.
‘You never know.’
We didn’t know how our actions might spread if someone heard about them.
Even if this place was far from the reach of the Febusion family—
“It’s better if no one hears about a boy hunting magic beasts like crazy.”
I truly wanted him to safely become the heir of the Febusion family, just like in the original story.
I turned back to the old man and shrugged.
“Otherwise, we’ll just go to another village.”
“W-wait!”
The old man quickly reached out.
Then he sighed, as if he had no choice.
“Alright, fine! I understand! What kind of identity are you little kids even trying to hide? Fine, fine, I won’t say anything!”
“Thank you!”
I smiled brightly.
The old man took out a pouch of money and handed it to us.
I counted the coins carefully.
‘Just in case.’
I didn’t want to trust a stranger too easily.
Thanks to knowledge from the novel, I could tell real coins from fake ones.
Luckily, all of them were real.
The old man looked at me thoughtfully and sighed again.
“Come to my shop again next time, alright?”
“Yes!”
Holding the money pouch, I smiled and left with Tashik.
* * *
My legs started shaking the moment we stepped outside.
I couldn’t stand anymore and sat down on the ground.
Tashik rushed over in surprise.
“Hey, you!”
“I’m fine.”
The wolves hiding nearby also got startled and started to bark.
I quickly raised my finger.
“Shh.”
The wolves quieted down and came closer.
I stood up and dusted off my knees.
Right now—
I felt amazing.
Because I had money.
“I earned money!”
250 Krone!
And now that we had a place to sell materials, we could keep earning more.
“With money… I can do anything.”
My heart beat fast.
I looked at the shop across the street.
Then I remembered the cave.
It was comfortable, but—
“I should buy some things.”
I smiled happily.
* * *
From that day on, we lived in the cave.
We hunted magic beasts, froze their parts, and sold them.
We split the money evenly.
Slowly, the cave changed.
Instead of just a campfire, we got a proper stove.
We bought a thick leather blanket.
An oil lamp.
A large water container.
Everything from the shop.
Even in the same wild life—
“Having money makes everything easier.”
One night—
I quietly left the cave while Tashik was sleeping.
When I looked up, the dark sky was filled with countless stars.
“The sky…”
I had never seen this in the underground lab.
Not even in my past life.
The stars looked like they might fall at any moment.
It felt like I could fall into the sky.
I sat on a tree stump under the moonlight.
“Let’s try making an ice sculpture.”
I stretched out my hands.
They glowed under the moonlight.
Then I paused.
“What should I make?”
My mind went blank.
Like I was lost in a vast sky.
But—
“I have memories from my past life.”
I closed my eyes and remembered my first sculpture lesson.
“Ideas don’t have to be grand. Just think about daily life.”
I opened my eyes.
‘What happened today?’
Then I remembered.
“The wolves hunting.”
Before that—
“A small rabbit.”
I closed my eyes again.
A small white rabbit.
It was trembling in fear in front of the wolves.
But the wolves didn’t attack it.
They simply looked at it—
and let it go.
The rabbit ran away.
That moment stayed in my mind.
“That little rabbit…”
For some reason, it felt like me.
My heart started beating faster.
Buzz…!
The crystal engine activated.
“Now!”
I stretched out my hands.
White mist flowed out like starlight.
From it—
Ice bloomed like a flower.
It slowly formed a shape.
Spinning.
Changing.
Like clay on a wheel.
After some time—
“Phew.”
I stopped.
A small sculpture floated into my hands.
A tiny ice rabbit.
I looked at it carefully.
“It looks like a soft rice cake.”
I gently stroked it.
For some reason, I wanted to.
Then—
Rustle.
I turned around quickly.
Tashik was standing at the cave entrance.
His gray eyes were wide as he stared at me.
‘How long was he there?’
“Did you… see everything?”
“Uh…”
He snapped out of it and quickly turned away, his face red.
“S-sorry for watching.”
“Tashik.”
I stood up and grabbed his hand.
“Why are you embarrassed?”
“….”
“You don’t need to be.”
I held out the ice rabbit to him.
“This is a gift.”
“…A gift?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
Honestly—
I was happy he watched me.
“If he accepts my first sculpture…”
That would make me really happy.
I smiled softly.
Tashik’s face turned even redder.
* * *
Recently, Tashik felt a strange pain in his chest.
It never happened before.
Not when he only hunted magic beasts.
But after meeting Jenuiere—
He kept thinking about her.
When she fell into his arms—
“She felt so small… like she could break.”
But despite that—
She stepped on corpses.
Ignored dirt.
Negotiated and earned money.
“She is strong.”
But also—
“She looks fragile.”
Sometimes—
She looked like she was afraid of someone.
But he didn’t know who.
And that made his chest ache.
But tonight—
Watching her create something under the moonlight—
“For the first time… she didn’t look fragile.”
He couldn’t look away.
But when she noticed him—
He felt embarrassed.
Then—
“Do you not like my sculpture?”
Her bright voice snapped him out of it.
Jenuiere held the shining ice rabbit—
Looking up at him with sparkling eyes.
(To be continued)
