24 Hearts

21====================

To live in this world.

I sighed as I neared Serenia two hours later. The forest quickly darkened, so there was no time to walk leisurely. Fortunately, the sun had not yet set and the gates had not closed. If I had arrived a bit late, I would have spent the night in the woods.

‘Fwoo,’ I sighed deeply as I struggled through some bushes, there existing no path at all. I finally stumbled onto the road that led to the east gate.

‘Aaargh!’

I flinched as I heard screams of terror coming from the nearby woods. I was surprised and soon saw that there was a man who had suddenly sank down after he had screamed. He looked more surprised than me.

The man was an old hunter that I often met face-to-face in the mornings. He had spent his whole life farming, only becoming a hunter in his old age.

‘Aha, hello.’ I laughed awkwardly as I greeted him, seeing him in such a strange state.

Suddenly the old hunter, who had not spoken a word, began to scream, leaping up and sprinting toward the city gate. He even dropped the sack that contained his prey for the day.

I wondered why the man was so terrified, and then remembered that I was drenched in blood. I had been able to wash my face and body in a small spring on my way here, but I had not been able to clean my clothes.

‘When I return to the forest, I’ll have to make sure to pack some extra clothes and food in my inventory.’

I didn’t know whether the same events as today would occur again.

I took out the wolf pelt and threw it over my shoulder and even put the gemstones in my pocket, in case the old hunter had spoken to the soldiers at the gate.

I picked up the hunter’s sack with my left hand. As I had expected, the gate was fully closed. I didn’t know what exactly the hunter had said, but some armored knights and soldiers stood above the gate.

‘What, is that Judah?’

‘He’s wearing bloody clothes, but is he hurt?’

Those soldiers with good eyesight talked with each other. The gate opened, and an armored knight descended the stairs.

‘Judah.’

The knight’s voice was familiar. He was Charles, captain of the guard.

Although he had been a commoner, he had been recognized for his skills and had become a knight, serving the lord of Serenia. I smiled at him and showed that I was not seeking violence by raising my hands, and by putting the pelt on my shoulder and the hunter’s sack on the ground.

‘Yes, Charles, it’s me.’

The knight approached, not seeming to want trouble.

Still, I held my hands up, because I was uncertain. He studied me from head to toe and then noticed the black wolf’s pelt that I had placed on the ground.

‘Did you kill that?’

‘Somehow, yes. I got lucky.’

‘Huh. A black wolf at your age? Are you injured?’

I shook my head.

‘It’s all wolf blood. Oh, and hunter Hail left his sack behind.’

‘Yeah. He just ran here to us screaming, saying that a killer has appeared from the woods, and then ran on into the city. How such a scared man can go out there and hunt… Then, I’ll give this bag to him tomorrow.’

‘Yes. I’ll appreciate it if you do. So, can I go in?’

‘Yeah. Go home quickly and wash yourself. People will be shocked by your looks, so please borrow a hood from the guards.’

The hood in question was rather a raincoat that the soldiers wore in inclement weather. As they figured I was a kid that had an adventure, there was no reason for them to reject my request. They knew a great many people would be surprised if they saw me walking around with bloody clothes.

The cloak I got from the guardroom smelled fresh.

For me, it was a fairly large piece of clothing, so it dragged on the ground. The soldiers who saw me laughed, saying that I was still a kid even if I had killed a wolf. As I heard their laughter, I headed home bitterly.

As I walked along the road, with the wolf pelt slung over my back, people stared and stared.

The southern forest is home to many black and white wolves, but adventurers don’t visit Serenia to hunt wolves.

The spot where the meteor and its fragment were estimated to have fallen was in the western forest, and there was far more forest to the west of the city than in any other direction. Naturally, there is less profit compared to the risk taken in the southern forest than the western one, so the amount of adventurers going there has decreased.

Still, black wolf pelts were expensive, so at times, adventurers teamed up to hunt black wolves to earn some money.

It was no wonder that I got people’s attention. When I reached my house, I opened the door and stepped inside.

‘I’m here, Tia.’

Tia is a nickname. After I had spent nearly two years with my teacher, Gentia, we became very close, and I was allowed to call her so.

I had at first tried to call her Mistress, but she refused, disliking it. Only when I took off my leather shoes and stepped onto the floor did she greet me.

‘Oh, come here-‘

Just as she started speaking, she stopped, and ferally jumped from the living room sofa and landed before me. It had been a very agile movement.

‘Judas, you… What happened?’

***

Tia smelled the blood on Judah, and so forcibly removed the hooded coat that he was wearing. Seeing that it was old and torn, she figured that he must have borrowed it. Considering its age, it didn’t seem a problem that it had gotten dirty.

She was amazed at his appearance, with blood clogged up all over his clothes, and then understood why he had borrowed a cloak. Judah spoke quickly, in case Tia might misunderstand the situation.

‘Ah, wait. It’s not my blood, don’t get me wrong.’

She ignored Judah’s words, shuddering as she reached out to him. She sighed in displeasure as she took in his bloodied state.

Tia then opened his arms so that she could prod his body. Of course, she found no wounds. As Tia realized this, she gave a sigh of relief.

‘What happened?’

‘Uh- Well, can’t we talk about it after I wash myself?’

‘No. Talk now.’

Judah wished to take off his clothes and wash his sweaty body right away, but Tia wanted an explanation, so he told her everything.

‘I accidentally went very deep into the woods, and when I realized it, I tried to return, but I got unlucky and encountered black wolves. I wanted to run away but then thought that I couldn’t escape. So, I drew my weapons and fought. And I finally won.’

He had given a brief explanation. The evidence of his adventure was the black wolf pelts on the porch, so he wasn’t lying; for they were there.

‘…Okay, go wash.’

‘Yeah.’

Judah shrugged and then headed to the bathroom with tired steps.

Tia studied the pelts that Judah had brought. There were only two skins, and she could see the traces of the battle upon them. On had a forepaw severed, and there was a gap where a dagger had pierced into its neck.

The other hide had a large gash along its flank and a sword wound that ran across its brow.

Judah’s daggers and sword exactly matched the diameters of the wounds.

The boy himself seemed to be uninjured, despite fighting black wolves, an ugly type of monster. He had stated that the blood staining his clothes had only come from the wolves. Surely, he would not say such words and lie.

‘Hmmm.’

Tia touched her lips as she thought deeply about something and then looked down at the gifted coat that she still held in her hand. She knew that it was the type of cloak that the guards on the walls wore when it rained. She neatly folded the coat and put it in a corner by the front door, and then sat down on the living room sofa.

She had been lying there a while ago, so the cushions were still warm.

‘They were black wolves… They were very large.’

Now that she thought of it, two years have passed since she started living with Judah.

Tia refreshed her memory as she recalled the past. When she had first met Judah, he had seen her and said that she was pretty.

That had piqued her interest in him.

As a member of the Suin race, children had always been afraid of her. It was frustrating for her, as she adored children, but they always ran from her, making her upset. It had been a fresh experience when Judah had welcomed her presence.

The same held true when she started to train him at the behest of Kaseun. Judah possessed a talent for learning anything, and his diligence was as great as his talents. Sometimes he was a bit lazy, but that was all right; he was still a kid.

Judah was a mature child, acting like an adult, but he was still cute. When they had gone hunting for the first time, he looked so cute when he threw a dagger at a beast.

It was also cute when he grew so shocked as she showed him how to butcher the animal he had hunted. Judah had remained blank all day after he had personally witnessed the dismantling of the carcass.

The psychological aftermath lasted for two to three days, and after that, Judah became bold, as if he had adapted to it. It became natural for him to kill an animal with a thrown dagger, and then slice open its belly and remove its intestines. It had taken a while for him to get used to skinning, but he certainly ended up doing it well.

‘He was so cute back then.’

Tia, who had been with him all that time, then told him to go hunting on his own; it had become hard for her to get up in the morning.

After she had slept for a long time, and while the sun sat in the center of the sky, she woke up and remembered that she had sent Judah out on his own.

She had hastily followed his trail through the forest.

Judah had only been twelve at the time. Tia had watched from the trees, and she observed Judah search for prey as he made his way through the forest, all on his own. She had felt happy, then.

Finally, he succeeded in felling a wild boar. She had watched him skin it, watched him light a fire, and then roasting and eating his game.

Since then, Judah went hunting alone. Tia felt a bit disappointed that Judah never asked her to go with him, but she knew she couldn’t take care of him forever. So, she left him to rely on himself and started preparing rice for their meals and also began doing housework.

Judah didn’t spend his time in vain, and Tia took over the chores as she gave herself a break.

She spent her time reading books for young people borrowed from the library founded by Perchen, the first Lord of Serenia. She also practiced her dagger-throwing. When she was stuck indoors, she meditated or trained on her own.

Judah was an adult child, the reverse case of adults who acted as if they were children.

He never complained, and even if she wondered if he longed for his parents at night, she never saw him shed tears in front of other people. He tried to do everything by himself, and only if he couldn’t do something, did he ask her for help.

Tia liked Judah. It was a little disappointing that there was no aegyo from Judah, but he was still cute and bold. After observing him consistently for two years, one thing Tia was sure about when it came to Judah was that he was a child of great success.

‘There is definitely talent in him.’

Whether he would become an adventurer or a mercenary, he would be a great success either way. He was also related to Kaseun, who was said to be a noble, so he could become a knight.

The problem that Tia had with Judah’s purpose was that he did not seem to have realized a dream yet.

She had not yet seen him express any ambition or greed for anything so far.

He didn’t even express any determination or desire to become something later in life. He just learned things like a boy thirsty for knowledge. One thing he did say was that he was thinking of leaving Serenia someday.

‘I will probably leave here when I become an adult,’ Judah had said.

So, about two years remained. Maybe he would leave a little earlier or a little later. Perhaps for the first time ever, Tia felt the need to have a serious conversation with Judah.

She knew that it wasn’t too late to have such a conversation, and she kept telling herself to do it before it became too late. Above all else, she was Judah’s teacher. Recently, she hadn’t been teaching him much, but once a teacher, always a teacher!

Tia decided to talk with Judah about his purpose and what he planned to do in the future. While thinking many thoughts, Tia saw Judah walking out of the bathroom in simple attire after he had washed himself clean.

* * *

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[——]Hint: Clothes that are stained with blood can be cleaned by putting a spoonful of ‘Debris Removal Detergent’ (sold by Matap) into the washing machine. There are also sister products such as laundry sprays, so be sure to buy them before you go on a journey![——]

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The name is -Gentia-, but now I will call her -Tia-.

Originally, when I created my name, I called it Tia when I described it, I wrote it as Gentia.

Because of Zenyatta, I am going to change her name in case you will come to see Buddhism Shakyamuni.

It was a name that I thought of myself. <ol> When you die, is that the day you first fell behind the bandits? Or was there a save?

^^ Answering your 3333 questions will leave me with nothing to write later, so I will leave it for your questions. Ha ha ha ha ha! </ol>