Chapter 57: After the Expedition (2)

"Please, take a seat comfortably, both of you."

Baron Arsen sat at the head of the long dining table, with his wife and son Ador to his left, and Kai and the mysterious woman on the right.

Baron Arsen lifted his wine glass with a gentle smile and said, "Let's toast to thank the hero of the expedition."

"Thank you."

One couldn’t help but feel pleased when someone praised the achievements they've worked hard for!

Baron Arsen and his family did not hold back their compliments for Kai.

"It's embarrassing to keep hearing such praise...."

"Hahaha! You should be proud. What's there to be embarrassed about?"

"Ador is right. You're too modest. Have a bit more confidence."

"Right. Even though humility is a virtue for a Cleric, too much of it isn't good either."

"I'll keep that in mind."

The dinner atmosphere, filled with the heroes who led the expedition force to victory, was inevitably warm.

But....

Kai's gaze drifted to his left.

The woman with doll-like beauty quietly ate her food, not participating in the conversation at all. She seemed as if she was there just for the food!

When Kai looked at her with a puzzled expression, Baron Arsen slapped his knee and said, "Oh, pardon me. I haven't introduced you two yet."

The woman, who had quietly put down her fork, looked at Baron Arsen and then at Kai.

"This is Kai. A valuable adventurer who always aids me and my land. Both the Orc Lord and the Orc Sorcerer were taken care of by him too."

"...The Orc Lord?"

The woman looked at Kai, seemingly shocked.

...What? Why is she reacting that way all of a sudden?

She seemed agitated, like a distressed cat! Her demeanor made it seem like she had done something terribly wrong.

"And this beautiful lady is also an adventurer like you."

"Wait a minute. An adventurer?"

This time, Kai was the one who froze. The woman he thought was an NPC was actually a player.

Kai's expression hardened in an instant.

She would have heard everything about me being the Saint of Glendale and also just heard that I took down the Orc Sorcerer and Orc Lord.

That would explain her reaction. It would have been because she realized the identity of Unknown, which many people were curious about.

Caught in an unexpected crisis, Kai's brows just furrowed when Baron Arsen continued, "Oh right, this is Yoo Ha-Rin. Being fellow adventurers, I'm sure you'll have a lot in common."

Wait, Yoo Ha-Rin?

Kai's eyes widened.

Could it be the Yoo Ha-Rin I know?

The name Yoo Ha-Rin made Kai naturally recall the player who fought Veghas.

However,

MID Online

allowed duplicate player IDs! There were countless individuals who copied the names of the rankers.

Then, could this person also be just a simple fan of Yoo Ha-Rin? Or is she... the real Yoo Ha-Rin?

Kai blankly stared at her.

Feeling overwhelmed by Kai's staring, Yoo Ha-Rin subtly turned her head away.

Of course, Kai was not the type to back down from such a cute resistance.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Kai."

"...I'm Yoo Ha-Rin."

An awkward silence settled between the two after the introductions! Their situation resembled that of friends who talked freely when in a group but became awkwardly silent when left alone.

Even Baron Arsen intervened, unable to stand the awkward scene, "She is quite shy. But it is certain that she has a good heart."

"...I see."

Kai reluctantly nodded and turned his gaze away.

Asking directly might be a bit weird so.... Maybe I should try indirectly asking first.

Prying for information the first time they met was not polite!

Looking for a suitable topic to talk about, Kai noticed the last piece of steak on her plate and softly smiled, saying, "You seem to enjoy eating steak."

Startled by his words, as if caught stealing, Yoo Ha-Rin quickly pulled her plate closer, guarding it from Kai.

“This is mine.”

Suddenly accused as a food thief, Kai wore a dumbfounded expression.

What, I wasn’t going to take it from her....

Kai even had a perfectly untouched steak on his own plate!

Bewildered by this unprecedented treatment, Kai instinctively offered his plate and said, "I... I wasn’t trying to steal it. If you like steak, would you like to have mine too?"

The moment he spoke, he first regretted his words.

Am I an idiot? It seems like I was trying to coax her with food or something. There's no way this method, which wouldn't even work on kindergartners, would make her let her guard down....

"May I?"

It did work!

Her wary look vanished in an instant, and she stared at the steak on Kai's plate, then looked at Kai with her big eyes.

Ahhh!

Her adorable gaze made it feel like it would be harmful to his heart if she continued to look at him like that!

Kai, without realizing, quickly turned his head and offered his plate, "Of course, please take it. I don’t have much of an appetite right now anyway."

"Thank you."

She politely bowed her head and took the last piece of her steak into her mouth, then began elegantly cutting and eating Kai's steak at an impressively fast pace.

As Kai blankly watched her eat, he felt full just by looking at her.

...She seems to have a big appetite.

She didn’t just eat well, she ate

exceptionally

well. While others could have seemed like a pig while eating so quickly, that wasn’t her case. The orderly and rhythmic manner in which she sliced the steak and brought it to her mouth with the fork was like a commercial for a famous barbecue restaurant starring an A-List actress.

Of course, in terms of appearance, she’s way more... no, that's not what's important right now.

Kai, having forgotten his intended goal at the sight of her beauty, barely regained his senses and carefully asked, "Uh... so, what’s your job? Since we've come to know each other I was thinking we should form a party together later. Oh! Just so you know, I'm a Cleric."

After chewing a bunch and swallowing the meat in her mouth, Yoo Ha-Rin wiped her lips with a napkin and blinked her large eyes. "I haven't chosen one yet."

"I-is that so?"

"Yes. And about forming a party... it might be difficult due to our level difference. Sorry."

Of course.

Kai let out a deep sigh, he was both disappointed and relieved by her answer.

Meeting Yoo Ha-Rin by chance is said to be as rare as winning the lottery, so who knew I would suddenly meet her in a place like this?

Her preference for solo play made it hard to encounter her even in the city. She was truly a person shrouded in mystery!

Now, all I need to do is ensure she doesn’t spread information about me....

Kai tried his best to maintain a calm expression, but his situation was quite serious.

He wondered what would become of his gaming life if she were to spread information about him somewhere.

The Black Bee guild guys would swarm at me like bees.

In that case, they wouldn't be bees like last time but would turn into wasps. And his chances of winning against those wasps would be virtually 0%.

That must never happen.

Of course, there was an easy way out: reveal his job and join one of the world's top ten guilds. But that was a measure to be taken only when pushed to the absolute brink.

I don't even really like the guys from the top ten guilds to begin with.

Ultimately, every choice seemed to depend on Yoo Ha-Rin right in front of him!

Kai looked at her with a very nervous expression.

And despite his persistent gaze, Yoo Ha-Rin determinedly finished all her meat.

***

Thud.

The mansion's door shut firmly, and the cool night air filled Kai and Yoo Ha-Rin's lungs.

Lightly exhaling, Kai spoke with a determined expression, "Miss Ha-Rin."

As always, the more desperate one dug the well first.

When Kai called her, Yoo Ha-Rin turned her head, looking at him with a question in her eyes.

"I'll just cut to the chase. I'll pay you to forget all the information you heard during dinner."

Kai chose the straightforward battle tactic! The longer he dragged it out, the longer she would think, and the more he could have to pay.

"Information?"

Her big eyes blinked as she thought back to the conversation during dinner. She suddenly let out a small exclamation as she realized what he was talking about.

"Are you talking about the part where you’re the Saint of Glendale, and Unknown who recently defeated the Orc Sorcerer and Orc Lord...."

"W-wait a moment!"

Kai, suddenly panicked, reached out to cover her mouth.

With a swift step back, Yoo Ha-Rin easily dodged Kai's attempt to touch her.

W-why are her reflexes so good?

Although he was impressed by her clean backstep, he realized that wasn't the important part at the moment.

Realizing his rudeness, Kai stepped back and bowed his head. "I apologize. I was too hasty. Spreading that information would complicate matters significantly."

Yoo Ha-Rin blinked silently for a moment while looking at Kai before shaking her head.

At the same time, Kai's heart sank.

I-is this a negotiation breakdown? Is she saying she doesn’t care about the reward and that she’s just going to spread my information?

However, contrary to Kai's worries, Yoo Ha-Rin's next words were good news for him.

"I won't tell anyone."

"...Really?"

As Kai hesitated, not being able to understand why she would do that for him without anything in return, Yoo Ha-Rin murmured quietly, "The Orc Lord... I feel bad...."

"Sorry? I didn't catch that."

"Nothing."

She shook her head, strongly insisting she hadn't said a word. Though he wasn't convinced, Kai had to reluctantly accept it since he couldn't do anything when she was adamant.

Honestly, it would be normal to not believe her when she says she won't tell anyone but....

Her beauty made even nonsense sound reassuring and made her seem more trustworthy!

If she were part of a pyramid scheme or was a cult leader, she probably would have been able to build several buildings by now.

But relying on just her word still feels too risky, and it's driving me insane.

However, continuing the conversation would only imply he didn't trust her.

As Kai worried, Yoo Ha-Rin slightly shivered, wrapping one arm around herself. Given the visible breaths, the night air was indeed chilly.

Come to think of it, the clothes she's wearing....

She was currently dressed in a cheap-looking short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which definitely wasn’t enough for the cold night air!

Tsk, this really takes me back to my newbie days.

It was a continuous period of being cold, hungry, and miserable. Even Kai back then had a hard time with thin clothes against the night chill.

Feeling sorry for her, Kai offered two pieces of orc leather from his inventory. Making the other person feel good was a basic principle for a trade!

"Here, put this around yourself. It's not proper clothing, but it should keep you warm."

Yoo Ha-Rin seemed puzzled.

"Oh! Just so you know, it's not that valuable. Even if sold at a general store, it would only go for about 2 silver each."

Of course, to a newbie, two pieces of leather worth 2 silver could indeed be significant.

Yoo Ha-Rin paused and seemed as if thinking about something, but then bowed politely. "I’ll use it well, thank you."

Her expression softened as she draped the two pieces of orc leather over her shoulders.

Watching this, Kai's expression also softened.

Wow, how does she make wearing even orc leather look good...?

It made him think that if she wore a proper dress, it wouldn't just be easy on the eyes but could actually improve his eyesight!

Kai then cleared his throat and mentioned in passing, “I'm not giving this to you because I don't trust you and am trying to score points. I've experienced the harsh cold during my newbie days too. That's why I'm giving it to you."

"Ah... thank you."

With those words, an awkward silence descended once again.

She wouldn’t spread the information now after I did this much, right?

The most certain way would be to intimidate her with his level or stats, given she was a newbie. However, that would make him no better than the trash he despised the most.

Right. This is all I can do.

After all, this situation wasn't really anyone's fault to begin with. Baron Arsen hadn’t had any ill intentions either. He was simply unaware of the rumors about Unknown circulating among the players.

Putting aside his complicated thoughts, Kai's expression seemed much more relaxed. "Then, I'll be on my way. It was nice meeting you."

Yoo Ha-Rin nodded.

Leaving her with a brief goodbye, Kai walked down the hill.

Left alone, Yoo Ha-Rin looked at the two pieces of orc leather around her shoulders for a long time. She looked as if she received kindness from someone for the first time.