Chapter 20
“Pardon?”
“Storing food is fine, but there’s no need to.”
With a sly grin, he tore off his share of the wheat bread and held it up to my mouth.
‘Huh…?’
When I blinked and looked at Kai, he urged me on.
“Hurry.”
I took the bread without thinking and bit into it. As I chewed on the nutty flavor, Kai rubbed my cheek.
“Good girl.”
“…!”
That wasn’t the end of it.
After carefully brushing away the crumbs, he stuck out his red tongue and licked the tip of his finger—
his gaze fixed on me as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
‘Ah…’
The bread I had been holding slipped from my mouth and dropped onto the table.
I closed my eyes without hesitation.
Dear God, please prepare just one seat for me in the heavens.
I think this is as far as I go.
Anton Becker. Male, in his thirties.
The young captain of the Third Guard Post.
A family man with a doe-eyed wife and three children who look like little rabbits.
A young man of this era who lives each day diligently, without slacking off or cutting corners.
In the original story, he is the protagonist’s supporter—and the very embodiment of a tank.
He is also the man ranked first on my list of “allies to recruit” that I had marked down early on.
“Anton, are you really all right with leaving Goldenhafen?”
“Of course! It’s an honor to serve Your Highness!”
After hearing the full story from Kai, Anton decided on the spot to join the journey.
“I’ve experienced Your Highness’s greatness firsthand. This isn’t just because I owe you my life.”
On the battlefield, a mercenary’s life was no better than scrap paper.
They were easily bought and sold for money, nothing more than expendable supplies to their commanders.
The situation had been no different during the Battle of Valorant.
Anton and the other mercenaries were pushed to the front lines—into a death trap that was obviously an enemy ambush—and were driven to the brink of annihilation.
A surprise attack by the enemy burned what little supplies they had, and everyone stood on the verge of total destruction.
‘…Are these all the survivors left?’
Then appeared the man known as the Empire’s hunting dog.
The Third Prince, with jet-black hair, came to rescue them.
Anton barely survived, but he had to bury his friends, comrades, and mentor with his own hands.
And yet, nowhere in the vast Empire was there a place for those who had died.
Immediately after the battle, the mercenaries banded together to create a communal graveyard, burying the bodies that had nowhere else to go.
Only one commander ever came to pay his respects.
Kai Hayden.
Removing his helmet, he bowed his head, the only one to show proper courtesy before the fallen.
He had risked his noble life to break through the battlefield and save the mercenaries, yet he still grieved deeply for those he could not save.
“After that day, I quit being a mercenary and settled down. But any of the men who were there would’ve done the same as me.”
“Still, your wife and children must all be in Goldenhafen. Following us like this is…”
“Huh? Haha, no need to worry!”
Anton laughed and waved his hand.
I stepped between the two and spoke up.
“Anton’s family is in the capital. You could say he’s a ‘goose father.’”
“That’s right. If my wife and children were here, I wouldn’t have been able to leave, even if it was Your Highness’s order.”
Exactly. No matter how great your savior is, nothing is more important than family.
“As long as the capital is safe, I can rest easy. My wife’s been missing me too, so I’ll treat this as a retirement trip.”
We had explained the monsters that appeared on the passenger ship in detail.
Even so, Anton didn’t seem to grasp how serious the situation was.
‘This actually works out well. I can recruit him while he’s still clueless.’
It was fortunate we grabbed Anton before he encountered the monsters himself.
If he had known just how dangerous they were, he would’ve run for his life.
The forest outside the North Gate was not just sparsely populated—it was completely deserted.
Guards were stationed nearby, but no one ventured deep enough to reach the lodge.
Kai and I stayed there, waiting for the soldiers’ vigilance to ease.
“There’s still plenty of time to stop the monsters. Jürgen Schultz won’t act rashly either.”
The territory of the Hayden Empire, based in the western continent, was enormous.
And it took up to twelve hours for those infected by the monster virus to mutate.
In other words, an empire with vast land and low population density wouldn’t collapse overnight.
On top of that, the mayor of Goldenhafen was infamous for being indecisive.
Until the nine ships—and the original story’s mastermind—arrived in Goldenhafen, Jürgen wouldn’t make a move.
‘I still don’t get how someone that weak-willed ended up under Berlotté’s thumb.’
Anyway, based on the original story, the deadline was one week from now.
After hearing my explanation, Kai and Anton brought out a map and began planning routes.
“It’ll take over a month on foot to reach the capital. We could cut that in half by crossing the Broken Mountains, but that terrain is impossible for people.”
While studying the map with lowered eyes, Kai drew a line across it.
The line passed through several territories, stretching from Goldenhafen to the Imperial Palace.
“If we change horses and ride through these territories, we can reach the capital within a week.”
“That’s by Your Highness’s standards. Ordinary people like us would barely survive two nights.”
Comparing ourselves to his near-robotic stamina was pointless. Riding nonstop for a week would end with us falling off our horses halfway through.
“Your Highness, what about using the communication network connected to the capital?”
Anton pointed out major cities likely to have communication facilities, all one or two days from Goldenhafen.
I immediately shook my head.
“That won’t work. Berlotté’s agents are probably already interfering with all communications heading to the capital.”
“…And how does Lady Netti know that?”
At Anton’s doubtful question, my eyes instinctively met Kai’s. I cleared my throat and avoided his gaze.
“Ahem—well, there are reasons. Anyway, communication’s out. But instead, I have an absolutely revolutionary way to reach the capital in just three days!”
“Pardon? That’s physically impossible…”
“There’s no such thing as impossible. Mr. Anton, you haven’t taken off your guard captain uniform yet, right?”
“No, I was planning to submit my resignation this afternoon.”
“Perfect. Then before you do, go steal us some bikes.”
Let’s shoot a full-on Mad Max.
I cracked my knuckles.
It was time to show off the motorcycle riding skills I once used to rule the roads.
Anton shouted enthusiastically as he left for the outer forest.
‘Since I’m stealing anyway, I’ll go big and grab three bikes!’
Hahaha—this guy Anton. I really like him.
After seeing him off, I returned to the lodge.
And then I froze at the sight of the tall man blocking my path.
“Y-Y-Your Highness…?”
“Netti.”
Kai called my name in a gentle voice—but his appearance was anything but gentle. It was blatant, almost violently so.
He wore nothing on top, only black trousers below.
Broad shoulders like a beast’s, a wide and firm chest, and sharply defined abs stole my gaze.
What drove me even crazier was his damp black hair, and the water droplets trailing down beneath it.
Droplets blessed by a past life of saving the nation slid over Kai’s smooth skin and came to a stop at his pronounced hip bones.
I covered my eyes with my palm, but my fingers kept spreading apart.
“W-Why… why are you always taking your clothes off…?!”
“I was washing up with running water.”
“W-Washing up…?”
“The weather is quite muggy.”
Then Kai politely made a request.
“Netti, if it’s all right… could you help me?”
“…With what?”
“With this. Just pour water here.”
Kai pointed to his long neck, his collarbone, and somewhere between them.
