GDTEA Ch 72

Seems Like They Liked Him

While everyone’s attention was drawn outside due to the arrival of the Deputy Tower Master, Sharti was quietly carrying out her duties.

<I think all the patients can be taken home now.>

The temporary tent set up to isolate patients had served its purpose.

With the Magic Tower officially beginning to provide support, there would be no more serious cases of mana poisoning.

‘I should leave soon, once things are somewhat settled.’

As the village was now known as the Tower Master’s village, drawing attention from within the Empire, it would become difficult both to leave and to stay.

So Sharti needed to depart before then.

‘It should be fine if I just prepare some basic medicines.’

The doctor who had been the Marquis Bridend’s spy had fled with all the medicines, leaving the village without even the most basic remedies.

As a result, Sharti had to work diligently.

‘If I write down the needed medicinal ingredients and show it to Grandmother, she’ll prepare them.’

Though Sharti was currently the village’s only doctor, she wasn’t particularly worried about leaving. She believed that once she departed, the Krofl Mercenary Group would recruit a doctor.

Being the Krofl Mercenary Group’s first base, there was less to worry about.

‘I’ll be able to return safely.’

The purpose of this medical trip was to treat the unknown disease spreading in Ashu’s village.

She had essentially accomplished her goal, having identified the cause of the disease as mana poisoning, discovered the treatment, and arranged for help with treatment.

However, she felt a strange reluctance to simply return home right away.

‘It seems a shame to go straight home.’

Thanks to speaking up and showing her face in front of the village chief and officials, and experiencing various incidents, her courage had grown.

Of course, revealing her face was still not an easy decision, but her fear of shrinking from others’ gazes had diminished.

‘If possible, I’d like to visit other places too.’

Thanks to Ren, she could travel for long periods without pain in her legs.

Although she wasn’t completely free from fatigue, she felt less lonely and more secure than when she traveled alone for medical work, which made it bearable.

‘Should I ask Ren?’

Sharti massaged her stiff neck and looked around.

Ren, who should have finished his sparring session and come looking for her by now, was still nowhere to be seen.

‘Grandmother said she would tell him.’

Or perhaps he was engaged in some other training.

Sharti placed the herbs she had been squeezing onto a drying rack and rolled up the paper listing the herbs she needed.

‘Hmm, the atmosphere has definitely changed.’

The entire village was bustling with activity, as the Magic Tower had sent support supplies and personnel.

The mercenaries were busily helping villagers move the supplies.

‘Where did Ren go?’

Sharti left the tent and carefully walked through the village.

After always seeing the sights of a mountain village, walking on gleaming roads like those in the capital gave her an unfamiliar feeling. It reminded her of an ordinary day 5 years ago, before anything had happened.

Of course, even then she had been wary of people’s eyes. As a street orphan girl, she had feared facing either pity or contempt.

‘…But it was good.’

She had enjoyed the freedom. Even without money, as long as her body was healthy, she could go anywhere.

Of course, those feelings had gradually faded as she became an adult.

“Sha?”

“…!”

Sharti, who had stopped walking while lost in hazy memories of the past, was startled by Ren’s voice and quickly turned around.

Ren with his hair in complete disarray was emerging from behind a building.

“Ren!”

Her joy was momentary as she noticed Ren wearing a blindfold. Sharti was startled and ran over to him.

She felt uneasy seeing him walking around alone with his eyes covered.

“I’m sorry. I meant to come right away…”

“How can you come anywhere when you can’t see?”

Sharti quickly grabbed Ren’s hand.

Ren flinched slightly at the small hand firmly grasping his.

“Hmm, people avoid me first, so I just need to be careful of rocks and steps.”

“That’s exactly what you need to be careful about.”

Sharti narrowed her eyes and sighed. Ren seemed pleased by her worried scolding and nodded obediently.

The pressure of their clasped hands made his palm tingle strangely.

‘But how did he recognize me while blindfolded?’

Could it be that it wasn’t an ordinary blindfold?

As Sharti stared intently at Ren’s blindfold, she blinked at the scene visible over his shoulder.

“…Hmm.”

Sensing that Sharti’s gaze had shifted, Ren belatedly tried to block her view by leaning his body, but the scene was too large to be hidden even by his size.

The area behind the building was literally scorched earth.

‘Could there have been another attack?’

Whether there had been other visitors in the village besides the nighttime guests who arrived at midnight, the ground was covered with burn marks and blackened holes from powerful impacts.

“It’s nothing.”

“Is this related to you, Ren?”

Ren frowned in apparent difficulty. He looked more embarrassed than troubled.

As Sharti craned her neck to take a closer look, Ren quickly blocked her view.

Sharti let out a small sigh and temporarily put aside her deepening questions.

“Are you hurt anywhere? Did you fall?”

“I’m fine.”

There were no visible injuries, suggesting he had held up well even against Karun, who had wielded a fearsome greatsword.

‘I thought he might have been cut again since he changed clothes.’

Ren was wearing clothes she hadn’t seen before. Instead of the custom-made clothes Sharti had clumsily made, he was wearing the standard clothes that many of the Krofl Mercenary Group wore.

He had also removed his cloak. Instead, he had covered his eyes with a long cloth.

Perhaps that was why. Without seeing Ren’s teal eyes, Sharti found him somehow unfamiliar.

“What’s wrong?”

Noticing that Sharti had become less talkative, Ren tilted his head slightly and asked.

As Ren’s face came closer, Sharti awkwardly averted her gaze.

“The mercenary group seems to like you.”

They had sparred with Ren despite his suspicious appearance and had given him clothes. The Krofl Mercenary Group was being friendly toward Ren.

They recognized Ren’s skills and seemed to want him.

‘Wouldn’t it be better for Ren to stay here longer?’

Her lips trembled.

But a cold feeling that seeped into her chest prevented Sharti from speaking.

“I wonder.”

Unlike Sharti, who was troubled by her complex feelings, Ren seemed indifferent. His reaction was lukewarm, as if he had no need for the Krofl Mercenary Group’s interest.

As Sharti swallowed a strange sense of relief, Ren tilted his head slightly.

“After all, I haven’t managed to please my master.”

“…!”

When Sharti flinched, Ren smirked.

Even with his eyes covered, it was clear that Ren was testing her reaction.

“You’re teasing me…!”

Wide-eyed, Sharti tried to pull her hand away, but Ren’s grip was too firm.

Ren chuckled. His laughter made her ears itch strangely.

Sharti rubbed her ear and turned her head away.

She knew that if she pulled harder, Ren would let go, but hearing his laughter, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“Ah! There he is!”

Just as Ren’s laughter was subsiding, mages burst out from behind the building, panting and charging toward Ren.

Startled by their bull-like entrance, Sharti tried to step back, but Ren quickly moved in front of her.

‘Are they mages from the Magic Tower?’

The robes worn by the mages had unfamiliar emblems. Moon, star, and cross symbols. Vaguely recognizing them as Magic Tower mages, Sharti observed them with tense eyes.

However, the Magic Tower mages’ interest was focused solely on Ren.

“How could you just leave like that!”

“What are you? You’re not really a mercenary? A regular person? Really?”

“How does magic not work on you at all? Why?”

“Is it your constitution? A powerful protection spell? Nothing like that?”

The mages bombarded Ren with questions like scholars who had lost their reason, their eyes bulging.

Even the Krofl Mercenary Group’s mages hadn’t been this intense. The Magic Tower mages looked like they would dissect Ren’s body immediately to satisfy their curiosity.

They literally seemed out of their minds.

‘After the mercenary group, now even the Magic Tower…?’

But the mages before them were more aggressive and blatant. Ren, whose constitution made him immune to magic, was a coveted existence.

Ren was barely restraining himself from swinging his arms to shake off the mages clinging to him. As long as they weren’t enemies, he couldn’t display violent behavior in front of Sharti.

“Is what that mage Shukadi or whatever said true?”

“Can’t you be friendly with us too?”

“We can give you a job at our Magic Tower too!”

Thanks to the Magic Tower mages’ disorderly chatter, Sharti grasped the situation.

‘So Ren got a job from a mage he met at dawn?’

And that job seemed related to turning the area behind the building into a wasteland.

Sharti’s expression grew serious at this plausible assumption.

‘It sounds dangerous.’

Remembering how Ren had fallen for the general store owner’s flowery speech, her worry increased.

Of course, she didn’t suspect that Shukadi, Vireta’s fellow mercenary, would commit employment fraud against Ren.

She just thought that Ren might accept a job without properly checking it out first.

“-Don’t touch me.”

“…!”

While Sharti was lost in thought, Ren growled threateningly at the mages.

The mages who had been pressing against Ren, looking for an opportunity, all scattered at once. Having been severely dealt with by Ren, who had been Shukadi’s secret weapon until just now, they responded effectively.

Seizing the moment, Sharti rose slightly on her tiptoes.

“Ren, were you with the mercenary group when they fought with the Magic Tower?”

“…I just stood there.”

“You agreed to do such dangerous work?”

Ren quickly turned and shook his head at Sharti’s appalled reaction.

“I received a promise that I wouldn’t get hurt.”

“How can you be sure of that…!”

“They drafted a magic contract, so it should be fine.”

A magic contract could exact an appropriate price if the contract was broken, so it was expensive.

Hearing that such a magic contract was used for Ren’s employment contract, Sharti was at a loss for words.

If anything, it increased trustworthiness.

But Sharti’s expression remained unhappy.

“All I need to do is help with whatever that mage requests while we stay here.”

“And that help included being a shield in conflicts with other mages.”

Ren wasn’t even carrying a weapon.

The fact that they had positioned Ren as a shield based solely on his constitution made Sharti unable to hide her distress.

“It’s not a difficult task.”

Ren offered excuses to the sullen Sharti, then scratched his head.

“And I’ve arranged to be paid handsomely for it.”

“If you need money, I can…!”

“Excuse me…”

While Ren and Sharti were arguing in low voices, the mages had stealthily approached again.

Though they were careful not to irritate Ren, their eyes still targeted him.

“We only need one time!”

“Right now! We can all finish at once!”

“If you cooperate, we can pay you generously!”

The mages looked at Ren with sparkling eyes full of desperation.

“Just let us touch you!”

Needless to say, Ren completely ignored them.

Contact with others, except for Sharti, only brought him discomfort.

It was the same with gazes, touches, looks, and smells.

“Isn’t a Magic Tower mage more trustworthy than a mercenary?”

At the mention of the Magic Tower, Ren turned his head to stare at the mages.

Despite his blindfold, it felt as if their eyes had met.

“I wonder. My master thinks the opposite.”

“…?”

Ren refuted in a flat tone and slightly raised his hand, which was clasped with Sharti’s.

The mages’ eyes all turned to Sharti, whom Ren was holding.

Sharti blinked rapidly.

“Above all, my body belongs to my master.”

Ren said, sticking close to Sharti.

“So I cannot surrender my body without my master’s permission.”

“…!”

After making a contract with Shukadi without a word and acting as a shield, he was now being completely shameless.