NOVPUB
Chapter 253: A Passing Road
“Huff.”
Findenai stepped out of the carriage with a cigarette in her mouth. After staying back in Graypond for about three months, she now felt she shouldn’t stay there any longer. So she returned to Norseweden.
She had spent three months yearning for the cold air unique to this place.
Her usual revealing maid uniform was neatly tucked away in her luggage and she was now wearing a shirt, leather pants, and a yellowish coat.
She had stopped wearing her maid uniform the day Deus and the dead departed Graypond.
A maid must have a master; however, she no longer had one.
Now, she was just the unemployed Findenai.
“Huff.”
With her luggage slung over her shoulder, she headed into Norseweden.
She could barely recognize a few people from the Clark Republic.
While other fiefs might have been less welcoming, the feudal lord, Darius, had been generous in accepting a large number of refugees from the Clark Republic, taking a more conservative stance.
And thanks to the presence of the Scrapyard Nomads, who had been active here for over a year, they managed to blend in with ease.
She bitterly exhaled the cigarette smoke.
Even though it had been a while since she had returned to this street, the strange stinging sensation on her tongue made her feel as if she was pitying herself for no reason.
At that moment...
“Findenai?”
A familiar voice.
Before Findenai could even turn her head, a woman hugged her.
“Illuania?”
It was Illuania, who just like her, had worked as a maid for Deus. Seated at a street vendor’s table behind her was Deia, holding a small baby who could barely babble
“I heard that you stayed behind in Graypond all by yourself, but you’re finally back!”
“Well, yeah. I guess so.”
Although she had just lit her cigarette, Findenai put out her cigarette and tucked the stub into her cigarette case reluctantly.
After all, she couldn’t smoke in the presence of the baby.
He would have scolded me if he were here.
With a bitter smile, Findenai hugged Illuania back.
She then joined the two at the outdoor table in the somewhat secluded city.
They were eating warm food like fish cake soup to warm their bodies while Deia was out on one of her regular patrols through the city.
Deia often ate street food and observed the everyday lives of people, reflecting on her own thoughts in her own way.
It was a form of meditation for her.
“What did you do over there?”
Crossing her legs and resting her chin on her hand, Deia asked. She too was present in Graypond when the incident occurred, but she was unable to help in any form.
Her combat abilities, which were limited to pulling triggers, weren’t good enough to intervene on that battlefield.
“Nothing, I was just killing some time.”
Findenai said as she poked a piece of fish cake and put it in her mouth, signaling that she didn’t really feel like talking about it.
Knowing how she felt, Deia shifted her gaze without saying much.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
In fact, the only person at the table who didn’t know the reason Findenai had stayed behind in Graypond was Sevia, who couldn’t speak yet.
Watching Sevia giggle with joy in her mother’s arms lightened her heart a bit, but at the same time... thinking of the man who had named that child made her heart heavy again.
There was that time when he had disappeared for a month. Back then, it was so sudden that it left everyone baffled.
However, this time was different.
It happened right in front of Findenai’s eyes. He took all the souls with him and entered the general store.
And the one who followed him to the store was a monster, strong enough to be called a one-man army—Raizel, the god of lightning and clouds.
Having faced him for a brief moment, Findenai couldn’t help but be worried because he wasn’t someone a mere human could possibly contend with.
But still...
She had entertained this thought countless times. If it was Deus Verdi, wouldn’t he have somehow managed to win again?
Could it be that he had defeated Raizel and was unable to return just because of some temporary issue?
He had disappeared for one whole month without a word; everyone scoured every place to try to find him.
However, now that she had seen everything with her own eyes, there was nothing she could do but wait.
But that wait was harder to bear than expected.
The silence showed no signs of breaking.
Findenai and Deia sat across from each other but were staring in opposite directions. Both kept their mouths shut tight.
Because if anyone tried to start a conversation, the topic would inevitably turn to him.
Talking about that was more painful than expected.
In that moment—
“Let’s drink.”
Illuania spoke with a bright smile.
The two looked at her as if to say, ‘What the hell is this mother with a baby who can barely babble talking about?’
But Illuania stood up without hesitation and said,
“Not me. The two of you look like you could use a drink.”
Kyaa!
As if in agreement, Sevia let out an excited squeal from her arms.
***Bang.
Crack.
Bang.
Crack.
Bang.
Crack.
Late at night, a rhythmic noise filled the dark alleyway of the city, where even moonlight didn’t reach.
As if it were some sort of distress signal, the sound didn’t cease for even a moment. Each bang delivered with all its might.
Bang.
Crack.
Bang.
Crack.
Bang.
Crack.
The sound kept ringing out.
Although the place was eerily deserted, the noise was strangely hard to ignore.
“So, as I was saying, Master’s teaching methods are simply too extreme.”
“Ugh, Senior, I get it. You’re too drunk.”
Bang.
Crack.
Bang.
Crack.
Two men in martial arts uniforms, one with a flushed face, clearly drunk.
“How are you going to train tomorrow morning? You’ve had too much to drink.”
“We just skip it! Besides, even if we go, all he’ll teach us is more nonsense! Maintaining your balance? Training to stabilize our center? Nonsense! A spear is meant to be swung, not for showing off!”
Bang.
Crack.
“But you were a direct disciple of Master Han So, you could learn the martial spear technique of the God of War thanks to that.”
Bang.
Crack.
“Martial spear technique, my foot...”
The man, called senior disciple, spat on the ground and then turned his head towards an alley so dark, that the inside couldn’t be seen.
Bang.
Crack.
Bang.
Crack.
“Hmm?”
“What’s that sound?”
Noticing the sound belatedly, the two people glanced around before stepping into the alley.
Perhaps it was because they were too drunk to think clearly or because they were confident in their skills.
Or maybe the sound itself was somehow pulling at their emotions.
For whatever reason, the two men entered the alley.
Help me.
A sorrowful yet pitiful voice began to bring them to their senses.
Please, help me.
Even though they could feel the alcohol leave their system by the second, the two men realized they couldn’t just stay there any longer.
Please, please help me.
Responding to the pitiful plea for help, the two nodded instinctively with the spirit of a martial artist. 𝚗𝚘v𝚙𝚞b.𝚌𝚘m
“Leave it to us.”
“You don’t need to worry.”
But then—
No!
No!
Nooooooo!
The voice echoing from the alley was that of someone asking for help.
And soon after—
Bang.
Crack.
Bang.
Crack.
It began sending its distress signal out toward the city once more.
***Xiaohua—A city named by an Emperor of the Han Empire, meaning ‘small flower,’ to reflect its precious and beautiful nature.
However, the humble and elaborate beauty it once held had long faded, and it had grown far too prosperous to be called small anymore.
In that city, a small girl was running laboriously, carrying delivery food on her shoulders.
Her hair was tied up in two buns, giving her a rather cute appearance, but judging by her steady stride and stable breathing even as she ran to make the delivery, it was clear she was more than just the shop’s mascot.
She was Xiao Hu.
Despite her young age, she had lived on her own, working hard without her parents. But Xiao Hu didn’t dwell too much on not having parents.
Because she had a place to stay—now known as the Lanlan Diner, which had shed its old name as an inn.
The woman, both owner and chef, was like a mother to Xiao Hu. Although she was a bit rough around the edges, people often said that was typical for those who worked in kitchens.
Whether that was true or not—
Anyway, Xiao Hu went about diligently on her food deliveries today as well, hurrying through the familiar streets to keep the food from getting cold.
But then—
“Oh, come on!”
She grumbled as she saw the packed street. The people gathered in front of the alley were murmuring quite loudly.
“How many?”
“Six, they say.”
“In just one night?”
“What are the city guards even doing?”
“Ugh, they take so much taxes, but for what?”
Her ears began to hurt from the voices coming from all around, but Xiao Hu was able to get a general sense of the situation.
Six people died in that alley last night, huh?
No wonder she felt restless last night.
Sighing at the unfortunate incident, Xiao Hu tried to force her way through the crowd and move along quickly. However...
“Hello, little one.”
The sound of a man calling out to her made her stop and quickly turn her head.
He was quite an unusual man.
Though he looked similar to the locals, his behavior and posture felt strangely peculiar, like that of a foreigner.
“Yes?”
Xiao Hu looked up at him with a puzzled expression. He wasn’t sweating at all and his face had almost no expression.
However, he was a handsome man, unlike anyone the city-born Xiao Hu had ever seen before.
Having unknowingly built a favorable impression, the man asked a question.
“Which restaurant is this from?”
“Ah, you can smell it? The aroma is amazing, right?”
Xiao Hu giggled and immediately gave him the directions to Lanlan Diner. The man, still without a change in expression, asked another question.
“How long has it been since you started living as a human?”
“Oh, well...”
Scratching the back of her head, Xiao Hu maintained her business smile, but her expression began to change gradually.
The smile that had been raising the corners of her mouth slowly faded, and her eyes became calm and still.
Yet, even at the chilling, sharp hostility, the man looked down at her, completely indifferent.
It was almost as if he was all too familiar with this kind of situation.
“You don’t have to be afraid.”
The man calmly offered his advice.
Even though Xiao Hu was glaring at him with murderous intent and baring her teeth, he told her not to worry in a cryptic tone.
“I’m just passing through.”
As he said this, for the first time, a faint smile appeared on the man’s lips.
Footnotes
1. This part actually uses Shixiong, which means senior disciple in Korean.
