IHRM 17

Chapter 17. An Unusual Encounter

A tense atmosphere formed around a single sword, prompting the shop owner to rush over and try to intervene between the two.

“Now, now, please calm down, both of you. There are plenty of other swords, so…”

“Just give up. I’m buying this as a gift for someone.”

“It’s the same for me.”

When Ellea showed no sign of backing down, the man suddenly smiled in a relaxed manner. For some reason, that smile made her uneasy.

“Well, I suppose there’s no other way. Shopkeeper.”

“Y-Yes?”

“I’ll pay ten times the original price.”

Ellea was momentarily dumbfounded at the mention of ten times. His intent couldn’t have been clearer.

“Isn’t that a bit much?”

“If you’re upset, why don’t you pay more than what you think it’s worth?”

Ellea had no rebuttal for the man’s provocation, even though it was infuriating. After all, she didn’t have that kind of money on her at the moment. Thinking she wouldn’t need much, she hadn’t brought a lot with her, and the rest of her belongings were in the carriage.

‘If I’d known, I would’ve brought more.’

As she hesitated, the man seized the opportunity, quickly grabbing the sword and taking it as his own. Though frustrated, she had no choice but to watch.

Soon, the man calmly paid and walked past Ellea out of the shop.

“Ugh, I really liked that sword.”

After glancing around and finding nothing else that appealed to her, Ellea decided to return another time. Just as she was about to head back to the meeting point, she froze at the sight of a scene unfolding nearby.

‘What now?’

Inside an alleyway, a large man had someone pinned against a wall by the collar. The face of the man being grabbed looked very familiar.

It was the same man who had taken the sword from her earlier.

Ellea paused for a moment, considering whether to ignore it and keep walking. But then the man called out to her urgently.

“Hey, wait! Don’t just walk by—help me out here! This is an emergency!”

His words made her stop and look at him. But despite what he said, his expression wasn’t panicked at all. In fact, he seemed strangely composed.

As if he was sure Ellea would save him—even though they’d just met today.

Ellea had no intention of helping, but now the thug seemed to have set his sights on her instead.

He threw the other man aside and started walking toward her.

“Hey, you look like you’ve got some money too. Just hand over everything you’ve got, and I’ll let you go.”

“Maybe you should just let me go. That seems better for both of us. And if it’s money you want, that guy behind me has way more.”

“Which is why I’ll be taking your money too—along with his.”

Not wanting to waste any more time—and even less so with a thug like this—Ellea gave one final warning.

“What if I say no? I’m telling you, for your own good, just walk away.”

“Enough! Just hand over everything you’ve got!”

‘How are people like this just walking around freely? What’s the lord of this territory even doing?’

While Ellea was quietly seething, the man suddenly closed the distance. His face twisted in anger when she didn’t act as he wanted.

He reached toward her, clearly planning to overpower her, but she lightly dodged and brought her foot up to strike his shin.

With a loud thud, he stumbled backward in pain.

“Just leave. I don’t have time for this.”

Ellea showed no fear—just irritation. Unable to contain his rage, the thug charged at her.

She sighed and, instead of dodging, casually picked up a wooden stick lying nearby in the alley.

Once the distance between them narrowed, she swiftly thrust the stick at his weak points.

It was only a stick and couldn’t do any serious damage, but by repeatedly targeting vital areas, Ellea prevented the man from even laying a finger on her.

It looked as if she was toying with him.

“You little—!”

Even then, the man didn’t get the hint and kept coming. Not wanting to waste any more time, Ellea decided to end it.

She sidestepped his charge and tripped him. As expected, his body pitched forward.

He hit the ground hard and groaned in pain.

Without the slightest bit of concern, Ellea calmly placed her foot on his back and applied pressure.

“Move this off me!”

“I told you to walk away. Be thankful I didn’t have a real weapon.”

Under the weight of her foot pressing into his back, the man finally understood the situation and begged frantically.

“Alright! I’ll leave! Please, just let me go!”

“Let you go?”

“Please! I was wrong!”

“If I catch you doing something like this again, there won’t be a next time. Understand?”

“Yes, yes! I’ll remember that, I swear!”

Once he gave a clear answer, she stepped off. He gasped for breath, then bolted away without looking back.

Brushing herself off, Ellea turned to leave as if nothing had happened—only to hear a voice behind her.

“Wait a second.”

When she turned around, she saw the man with the purple hair—someone she had completely forgotten about.

‘Oh, right. He was here too.’

“Thanks for the help. You were the only person around, so…”

His face was genuinely grateful, but Ellea couldn’t help laughing. She couldn’t watch his act any longer.

Seeing her sudden laughter, the man looked puzzled.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I just couldn’t help it.”

“I don’t understand…”

He seemed confused, or maybe he was pretending not to know.

“I don’t know why you’re pretending to be weak, but you could’ve easily taken care of that guy with the sword you just bought. Let’s drop the act—it’s not very fun. Actually, maybe you didn’t even need the sword?”

At her unexpected words, the man’s expression briefly stiffened before quickly returning to his usual composure.

“I really was scared, and that’s why I asked for help. Why would you think otherwise?”

“Because when we both grabbed the sword earlier, I could tell. You had the hands of someone who knew how to wield a blade. But then you acted like you didn’t know anything. It just felt… disingenuous.”

The word disingenuous made him chuckle. He lowered his head briefly, then looked up again—his eyes completely different now.

“Well, you’re one to talk. Acting like some clueless noble lady when you walked into that shop. Ordinary young ladies don’t knock out guys like that.”

His tone shifted in an instant, and Ellea’s eyes narrowed.

‘Is this his true face?’

She had a gut feeling—she might have gotten involved with someone troublesome. She decided to leave quickly.

“If you’re done talking, I’ll be going. It’s not like we’ll ever meet again.”

She turned to walk away, but he called out once more.

“Hold on.”

“What now—?”

Just as she turned, something flew toward her. She caught it without issue, cutting off her words.

“What is this…?”

“A thank-you gift for helping me. And let’s save the introductions for next time. I have a feeling we’ll meet again.”

“What? Wait, hang on—!”

Despite her protest, the man walked off after saying only what he wanted.

Ellea stared after him in a daze, then glanced down at the box in her hand.

“What is with that guy?”

Labeling him as nothing more than a weirdo, she suddenly remembered how late it was getting and hurried back.

Vandel was already waiting for her.

“Sorry I’m late. Did you wait long?”

“Not at all. His Majesty is waiting in the carriage.”

They headed back together, and once Ellea boarded the carriage, the group departed.

As she tried to catch her breath from the earlier incident, Terban’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“What’s that?”

“Huh?”

Instead of replying, Terban pointed at what she was holding. Only then did Ellea open the box to check.

“This is…”

“A dagger? Not even surprising at this point.”

“Haha.”

It was the exact dagger she and the man had fought over earlier.

‘Why buy it at such a high price and then give it to me? What was that about?’

She didn’t understand his intentions, but having a weapon she genuinely liked made her happy. It fit her hand perfectly and felt just right.

Terban silently watched her as she examined the blade closely.

‘She really likes swords, huh.’

Despite having rarer and more luxurious things around her, she looked like a child thrilled over a single weapon. It was oddly surprising.

And yet, a faint smile formed on Terban’s face as he looked at her.

Even he didn’t understand what that smile meant.

Unaware, Ellea continued looking at the dagger, but the man’s last words kept nagging at her.

‘We’ll meet again? No way. I’m heading to the capital—how would we possibly meet again?’

With that thought, she carefully placed the dagger back in its box and turned her gaze toward the window.

Meanwhile…

At the same time, the man who had parted ways with Ellea was walking briskly through the streets. When he spotted his target, his eyes lit up.

‘Found you.’

The gleam in his eyes was like that of a predator spotting its prey.

“Damn it, that woman. Just you wait—”

“What are we waiting for? I’m really curious. Mind if I join?”

Startled by the sudden voice, the thug who had been humiliated by Ellea turned around.

But before he could even see who it was, a powerful force dragged him into a nearby alley and slammed him to the ground.

“What the hell—?!”

“You don’t need to know. Actually, now that I think about it, I’m really annoyed. I just stood there and let you rough me up earlier…”

The man who had previously seemed powerless was now exuding a completely different energy—especially the murderous glare in his eyes, which sent a chill down the thug’s spine.

His whole body started to tremble.