~Chapter 26~
“…”
I let out a sigh.
They say sighing shortens your life, so I must’ve just lost a year.
But whatever.
Jin, looking like he didn’t have a care in the world, gave me a cheerful smile and said,
“Oh, we’re almost there, my lady.”
He pointed to the left.
I turned my head in that direction and saw a bunch of run-down buildings and some shabby-looking farmhouses.
‘Wow, this place is really in the boonies.’
Almost like he read my mind, Jin casually responded,
“Estella territory or the Reton Church district—either way, the capital areas are naturally better off and cleaner. Even though we’re close to the Reton district here, this place has gotten worse compared to before.”
He continued, looking kind of sorry.
“Adventurers from the East used to stop by Reton to find priests, so they’d often stay here in Cheloti, and the place was doing pretty well. But that changed when the previous lord passed away a couple of years ago and the new one took over…”
Jin scratched his cheek like he couldn’t be bothered, glancing around.
“Doesn’t feel great here. I’d heard crime had gotten worse, and now I see it’s true. You’d normally see carts and livestock all over the place here, but now? Nothing.”
He clicked his tongue and stared off into the distance where the lord’s mansion was barely visible through the fog.
“For now, Lady, I suggest you don’t leave my side. This place is crawling with lowlifes among the adventurers and mercenaries—some of them jump at any woman they see. Hahaha, not to brag or anything, but of course, I’m not like those guys. I’m a rare, quality professional in this field! Hahaha!”
“Sure you are.”
I replied dryly, which made him raise an eyebrow like he didn’t like that, but then he just smiled again.
“First, let me check out some inns. Safety’s the top priority when you’re traveling, so even if it’s boring, bear with me.”
He gave a polite bow with an exaggerated grin.
“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
“Of course, my lady. I’ll do my best to make your stay comfortable.”
Jin gave an overly dramatic bow with a silly grin.
Was he doing this on purpose? His laid-back behavior was starting to make me lower my guard a bit too.
As we entered the village, more and more scruffy-looking people started showing up.
It was clear that compared to the wealthier Reton district, this place was really run-down.
Just like Jin said, a lot of people looked like mercenaries.
“This way, my lady. As you can see, this area’s a bit rough.”
No surprise—I could feel the stares following me.
Probably because there weren’t many women around.
The level of public safety here was easy enough to figure out.
“Pardon me, my lady.”
Just then, Jin leaned in close and whispered in my ear, before wrapping his arm around my waist.
“Oops, tight space here, haha.”
He used his big body to shield me as he pushed through the crowd.
Honestly, it was a little uncomfortable, but I understood why he did it, so I didn’t say anything.
As we got deeper into the town, the streets got more crowded.
Like he said, they were mostly mercenaries or adventurers.
“Whoa there, Missy! Pretty face you got there. And who’s the guy? Your sugar daddy? Hahaha!”
“Colton, stop picking fights with strangers. Remember last time you got your teeth knocked out? Learn your damn lesson. Booze is the real enemy.”
It was exactly the kind of scene I expected.
A bunch of nasty-looking mercs were catcalling me, and I just ignored them.
But every time that happened, Jin would flash a sweet smile and proudly flip them off with his middle finger as we walked through the street like he owned it.
I stared at him, completely dumbfounded.
“Wait, isn’t flipping people off like that gonna get us into trouble?”
Jin just smirked and replied,
“In the world of mercenaries, it’s all survival of the fittest. Stuff like that? No big deal. Anyone who’s been around a while can tell just by looking whether they can take someone or not.”
He puffed out his chest like he was showing off.
I gave him a once-over, unimpressed.
“Well… I guess you’re built solid.”
“Exactly! Look at this sculpted, powerful body! Who in their right mind would try anything with me? You, my lady, made a brilliant choice hiring me, if I may say so! Hahahaha!”
And he was off again.
Whether I was amused or not, Jin just cheerfully dragged me toward what looked like a half-decent inn.
Then he said confidently,
“One room should be enough, right?”
“…”
Is this guy for real? Seeing my expression, he smoothly launched into a nonsense explanation like he expected this reaction.
“Whaaat~? My lady! How could you think such a thing? I’m a proper gentleman! It’s just, y’know, safety reasons. If we book two rooms in a place like this, it could be dangerous. Plus, it saves on travel expenses!”
He even rubbed his fingers together and grinned.
“Are you seriously still running away?!”
With a deadpan look, I mentally reviewed everything that had just happened.
“Hahaha! C’mon now! Let’s just call it a day, yeah? I’ve got a client waiting for me, and I can’t afford to get hurt. Gotta be responsible, right?”
Just 30 minutes ago, we’d agreed to grab a quick bite and check out the orphanage.
That was my only goal—do a bit of investigating, avoid trouble. Simple.
So why the hell was I hiding behind a wall next to a stray cat, and why was he—Jin—being chased?
‘Should’ve known when he started flipping people off like it was nothing!’
We had just sat down at a diner when a bald priest, drunk and red-faced, barged in yelling, “You vile unbeliever! You think you can deceive a servant of God and walk away?!”
To be clear, he was shouting at Jin, not me.
“Pay back the money you scammed for that holy relic, you bastard!”
Peeking out from behind the wall, I watched the two face off.
The priest looked shady, but instead of being scared, Jin seemed totally chill.
“What are you even talking about? Oh, priest, judging by your red eyes, you lost money gambling again, didn’t you?”
Jin casually patted the priest’s shoulder and kept talking.
“And hey, your hair’s gotten even thinner since last time. Yikes. That’s what happens when holy men get too caught up in worldly pleasures. Oh, dear Reton, please have mercy on your pitiful servant…”
He even fake-cried and prayed dramatically to the sky.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
Here I was crouched behind a wall like a stray cat, while this guy was either trying to calm things down—or stir them up more?
Where was the urgency?
“Come on, priest, act like a man of the cloth, will ya? Stop harassing innocent civilians. Think about what Reton would say if he saw you now. Act like a proper priest, alright?”
I watched Jin Blake’s ridiculous one-man show from behind the wall.
What the hell kind of scam did he pull with a holy relic that made a priest chase him down like this?
“You think you can pull that off and still receive divine blessings?!”
The priest started radiating holy energy. Jin didn’t even blink.
“I told you, it wasn’t a scam! And you—didn’t you skim off money from the job too? Hah! You’ve got some nerve yelling at me when you stole twice the amount I did. Unbelievable. People should have standards, tsk.”
The priest’s face turned red with rage as he shouted,
“So you did scam me after all!”
