~*~

The next day, Elrose had to walk with a heavy bag on her back.

“Ugh…”

Elrose’s bag was full of things she had bought the day before.

Most of them were clothes and shoes.

No one else would have had to buy this much at once.

But all she had before was what she was wearing now, so she had to buy new pairs of clothes from head to toe.

When she was young, Elrose wore clothes that her mother chose for her, and she wore an apprenticeship uniform that was like a girl who went to a monastery.

Elrose bought her first decent old clothes in the village near the monastery with the money she sold the book from.

So it was the first time in her life where she bought clothes properly.

Which was why Elrose didn’t know what and how to choose.

Fortunately, Lakshan, who had been waiting outside, came in and gave advice that the North was much colder than the monastery in the West where Elrose used to stay.

“I think this will suit you better.”

He brought clothes from the display case and put them around Elrose while looking for a better color, shape, and sizes for her.

Thanks to this, Elrose was able to buy her clothes happily.

She saw Lakshan walking ahead, and exhaled a harsh breath.

‘Lakshan carried everything that was really heavy.’

So, his bag looked twice as big as her’s.

Those were all Elrose’s things too. The bag became too heavy, so she tried to buy less, but Lakshan encouraged her to buy a lot of things.

He even paid for it instead.

She tried to give him the remaining gold coins, but he never accepted them.

‘I don’t think Lakshan will have enough.’

Later, when Elrose would get the emergency fund, she thought it would be enough to give to Lakshan.

“Are you having a hard time? Shall we take a break?”

Lakshan kept looking back and stopped walking as he saw Elrose’s face turning pale.

It wasn’t a very rough road for him, so he didn’t expect Elrose to suffer this much.

“No, I’ll keep… Oh!

Elrose almost fell down because she couldn’t see the stone in front of her.

“Be careful.”

Fortunately, Lakshan quickly approached and grabbed her arm.

He lifted her up lightly with one arm.

“…Thank you.”

“Let’s take a break. The road will be uphill in a little while, so you should take a break before that.”

At the word uphill, Elrose’s face became even paler.

“And give me your bag when we go up. I’ll take it.”

Saying that, Lakshan quickly pulled the backpack off of Elrose’s back, which had been crouched down.

Elrose looked at him with a blank face.

‘No, how can a person carry so much and walk? Are all northerners good at carrying luggage?’

Elrose, who was breathing heavily, lay down on the lawn next to the road.

Then a cool breeze brushed past her face. She could hear birds chirping in the forest and the sound of a small stream flowing.

Elrose, enjoying her rest while listening to the sounds of nature, spoke to Lakshan, who was rearranging her backpack to fit him.

“Lakshan, tell me more about your village.”

“Again?”

He looked at Elrose with a look of boredom.

It was understandable, since yesterday, Elrose has been asking about his village whenever she had time.

“I’m just curious about where I will live in the future.”

What Elrose said was not a lie.

As she started thinking about what she would be doing for the year ahead at the market yesterday, a picture of her future flashed in her mind.

She would rent a clean house.

In her bedroom, there would be a soft bed with pretty bedding made of silky fabric.

When the morning sunlight entered the room, she would wake up slowly and enjoy a cup of hot tea while looking out over the garden.

Then she would get up, change clothes, and go shopping.

When she returned home, she would have a hearty lunch of fresh vegetables and fruits she bought and freshly baked bread.

After that, she was going to plant a garden, read a book, visit the village, and then maybe visit Lakshan’s house.

Then, when the sun went down, she would go to a village restaurant to buy dinner and talk to the villagers.

‘It is perfect…’

Eloze smiled as she recalled the resort life she had read in a book back in her hut.

Now, if she went over that hill, she would see a village that would bring her that comfortable life.

“Okay.”

Elrose jumped to her feet, got up, and brushed her clothes. She grunted as she put her backpack back on that Lakshan had taken.

Although he said he would help, she felt bad.

It seemed too blatant to get his help beyond this.

Although they were married, it was really a relationship that was made only on paper due to each other’s needs.

But to rely on him in the future like a real family…

‘I’ll have a hard time later.’

She decided she shouldn’t depend too much on someone who would leave after a year anyway.

“Okay, let’s go!”

Elrose firmly spoke and climbed the hill again.

Just a little bit more. She would go up a little further and see the village.

A square with a bell tower, and colorful buildings lined up next to it with wheat fields swaying in the wind. People roaming the streets and children playing.

Elrose worked hard dreaming of a beautiful village where her new life would begin.

And the moment she finally reached the top of the hill, the village spread out under her feet caught her eyes.

“…Oh?”

Elrose’s eyes widened as she looked at the village.

She opened her mouth for a long time and looked down, and a bewildered voice came out of her mouth.

“…Did I get married by fraud?”

Elrose looked at the village with a puzzled face.

Lakshan had said there was a tall bell tower in the middle of the village.

There seemed to be a bell tower, but the bell was gone and the tower was half-collapsed.

He said that colorful brick houses were lined up along the square.

Those houses were there, although they were burned by fire.

He said there was a vast wheat field.

But no matter how hard she looked at it, all the things that were swaying in the wind were now weeds.

“How did this happen…”

Elrose slumped down on the spot.

When he came up behind her, she was surprised and rushed up.

“What’s the matter? What’s going on?”

“Hey, over there, your village…”

Judging from Elrose’s standards, what was below was not a village. It was in ruins.

It was also a devastated ruin with great certainty.

Maybe the place was attacked.

After the war was over, she heard that people who were struggling to make a living were stealing in groups.

Could it be that Lakshan’s village was also affected by such people?

As soon as Elrose’s face turned white, Lakshan looked at the village and spoke with a sullen voice.

“It’s a little better than I thought.”

“…A little better?”

“I thought that there might be no traces left since this place was involved during the war.”

“Wait, then Lakshan, you knew that the village was like this?”

“Yes.”

Lakshan nodded his head with a questionable look.

When Elrose couldn’t hide her disappointment, he realized his mistake.

‘I only said good things.’

When Elrose asked him about her hometown, he explained excitedly, reminiscing about the village at the time when he was a child.

Every time he gave an explanation, Elrose pricked her ears and listened to him.

Lakshan liked the appearance of Elrose like that.

He had never said those things to anyone about the town he lived in as a child.

In fact, the story of his hometown had always been a topic of discussion among mercenaries.

In his hometown, there was a very high rocky mountain, and when the sun set, it looked like the mountain was made of gold from the light.

In the conversation between mercenaries, home was beautiful and full of joy, and a paradise where family who loved them awaited.

But Lakshan could only listen to their conversation.

On the battlefield, Lakshan lived as Kharkan.

And the name Kharkan…

‘There were too many enemies.’

His enemies weren’t the only ones grinding their teeth if they found him.

Mercenaries, who were known to be strong, came to Kharkan (who was Lakshan), saying they wanted to fight against him in any way.

In the world of mercenaries, everything was determined by force.

Other mercenaries had no doubt that if they toppled Kharkan, the king of mercenaries, honor, money and power would come into their hands at once.

Thanks to that, Lakshan had to deal with mercenaries who always challenged him.

No mercenaries beat him, of course.

“That’s amazing. If you don’t mind, can you put me in this mercenary group from today?”

Most of the mercenaries used to ask that, but Lakshan refused. That was what he would do because most of the mercenaries who entered the mercenary group would then go after his life.

The terms cheap and cunning was more of a compliment among mercenaries.

It was a world where whoever survives at all costs wins.

So, others were desperate to find Lakshan’s weakness.

All his casual words were collected by his enemies and used as weapons against him.

Knowing that, Lakshan never talked about his hometown.

If his enemies found out, they would go to his home, and he didn’t know what they would do.

His colleagues also understood Lakshan’s meaning and never talked about their hometowns.

So when he lived as a mercenary king, Lakshan always had to listen to other people’s pride in their hometowns.

Then, he became excited because he finally met someone who he could tell about the village where he lived without any worries for the first time.

He wanted Elrose to think of his hometown as a wonderful place.

So he explained the most beautiful parts…

Lakshan came to his senses looking at the village.

His beloved hometown was in ruins.