Penny's eyes narrowed. There were already funny rumors going around.
Mia, who lives on the outskirts of the ranch, often saw Leila spending time with a man from the Dublin military. Mia, who has poor eyesight, couldn't imagine Leila with a man from the Dublin military, so she laughed it off.
Andrew and Leila continued to argue, leaving Penny behind as she began to worry about this and that.
“Leila is so cold!”
“It’s only for you.”
"Why!"
“Because I hate you!”
Although she explained it kindly, Andrew showed no sign of giving in. Leila had no intention of comforting Andrew any further, so she decided to ignore it. The more she did so, the more Andrew became irritated.
It was Penny who sorted out the situation by throwing away her annoying worries.
“Ahhh, Andrew, confess to Leila later! I’m curious, where did you get the money to buy your hat? How did you become rich? I want a hat like that, too!”
“Huh, huh, ah. That?”
Andrew cried for a while, but when she showed interest in his pitiful wealth, he became cheerful again as if he had never cried.
“Putting up flyers! That was a lot of money! You got paid 3 gold?”
"What?"
1,000 silver is 1 gold. That means that just by putting up flyers, I earned 3,000 silver. Honestly, even Leila, who tried not to be surprised by what Andrew said, opened her eyes wide in surprise.
The flyers were posted all over the city. She hadn't noticed them when she was walking around talking to Penny. Andrew pointed to the flyers on the wall and rubbed his nose.
“I did it all. In one day!”
“Ah, ah! So that’s what we were talking about back then! But it really is a waste. They gave you 3 gold just for putting up a flyer? It’s not like this is something that only happens in our town, right? Wow.”
As she looked at the leaflet, Leila felt uneasy for some reason. The leaflet that Andrew showed them was the 'Dublin Soldier Wanted' that Penny had once told her about. The contents were so absurdly simple that it was actually more strange that she didn't understand them.
[Claude the Blonde, male in his mid-20s, from Dublin, must be captured alive, reward of 700 gold.]
And at the number 700 gold, she was speechless. Penny's mouth also opened wide.
“Didn’t you say it was 500 gold last time?”
“Oh, I guess they raised it because the results weren’t great. They recently added an order that if they don’t capture him alive, they’ll be punished, so they say they raised the reward because of that. Those leaflets aren’t just distributed in our town, they’re all over the area right now, and the adults are going crazy over it. You know those bounty hunters? They openly capture all the blond Dublin men they come across and send them to the military police. It’s a win-win situation if you get caught.”
“Is that okay?”
“No way.”
“But why?”
“But he's a Dubliner?”
Penny nodded as if she was convinced by the stupid reply.
Leila frowned, but neither Penny nor Andrew saw her.
“There’s a Dubliner in our town, too. He might get taken away soon. Even if it’s not because of that wanted poster, there seem to be quite a few townspeople who are uncomfortable with that guy.”
There was a sense of malice in the term 'that guy' used to refer to Dubliners. Children simply copy the world and ideas created by adults.
“And, ah, this is a really, really secret...”
“Secret? What is it? What is it? What is it?”
Penny and Andrew were a perfect match. Leila felt like complaining for no reason. Instead of talking to Penny, why doesn't she just talk to the loudspeaker?
“A high-ranking military official is coming down to Tax for an inspection, and while he’s in the area, he’ll be stopping by here, too. Isn’t that a joke? Don’t you think it’ll be really cool? If a high-ranking officer comes...”
Leila closed her ears. The mere thought of Aaron was enough to overwhelm her. Dubliners aren't all bad people, so she doesn't know why they can't catch him.
She left the alley behind, leaving behind the thin-eared Penny and the idiot Andrew. She didn't look back, even though the annoying voices following her were saying, "Leila, come with me!" and "Leila! I'm really rich now! Let's get married!"
As Leila turned her steps toward the large bell tower of the church, her mood worsened. Not far away, a group of Ramrock soldiers was kicking an old man. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t look at them kindly, considering what Ramrock soldiers had done to their own people over the past year.
The new military government has been trying to regulate the soldiers for some time now, but the situation is unlikely to change much.
‘...There are soldiers like that, too.’
Leila turned away from the melancholy that was flooding in. She felt hurt.
Penny followed her all the way out of the alley and screamed.
“Leila! Where are you going?”
"I don't know!"
“Are you an idiot? What do you mean you don’t know? Where are you going?”
“I’m going home!”
Yeah, she guessed she should do that. Since Uncle Walter and her father always drink until they burst whenever they meet, it would take a long time for them to go back together. More than anything, if she saw Aaron in this mood right now, she thought she would burst into tears.
Leila was very hurt.
Too much.
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
Aaron, who supported the staggering Ben, greeted him in a calm tone. Walter, who was already half-dead, laughed and waved with both arms wide open. After leaving the store, Aaron snickered and fixed Ben.
“Mr. Ben, this is not the direction. And that’s how you stumble and fall.”
Ben said that he didn't feel anything strange even though he was walking in a zigzag pattern.
“The alley is originally winding!”
“This is a major road.”
When she raised her head to say something bitter, deciding to do something about the man in front of her and then go back, Penny was a little surprised. From the first time she saw him, the man had always had a playful and gentle smile on his face, and he seemed somewhat relaxed. It was because of that comfortable atmosphere that she dared to walk up to him even though she thought he might be a Dublin soldier.
But now, the man whose expression had been completely erased looked terribly cold. He seemed like a different person.
Aaron, who had been staring at Ben and Andrew, opened his lips.
“Who is that young man?”
Previous Next
Mia, who lives on the outskirts of the ranch, often saw Leila spending time with a man from the Dublin military. Mia, who has poor eyesight, couldn't imagine Leila with a man from the Dublin military, so she laughed it off.
Andrew and Leila continued to argue, leaving Penny behind as she began to worry about this and that.
“Leila is so cold!”
“It’s only for you.”
"Why!"
“Because I hate you!”
Although she explained it kindly, Andrew showed no sign of giving in. Leila had no intention of comforting Andrew any further, so she decided to ignore it. The more she did so, the more Andrew became irritated.
It was Penny who sorted out the situation by throwing away her annoying worries.
“Ahhh, Andrew, confess to Leila later! I’m curious, where did you get the money to buy your hat? How did you become rich? I want a hat like that, too!”
“Huh, huh, ah. That?”
Andrew cried for a while, but when she showed interest in his pitiful wealth, he became cheerful again as if he had never cried.
“Putting up flyers! That was a lot of money! You got paid 3 gold?”
"What?"
1,000 silver is 1 gold. That means that just by putting up flyers, I earned 3,000 silver. Honestly, even Leila, who tried not to be surprised by what Andrew said, opened her eyes wide in surprise.
The flyers were posted all over the city. She hadn't noticed them when she was walking around talking to Penny. Andrew pointed to the flyers on the wall and rubbed his nose.
“I did it all. In one day!”
“Ah, ah! So that’s what we were talking about back then! But it really is a waste. They gave you 3 gold just for putting up a flyer? It’s not like this is something that only happens in our town, right? Wow.”
As she looked at the leaflet, Leila felt uneasy for some reason. The leaflet that Andrew showed them was the 'Dublin Soldier Wanted' that Penny had once told her about. The contents were so absurdly simple that it was actually more strange that she didn't understand them.
[Claude the Blonde, male in his mid-20s, from Dublin, must be captured alive, reward of 700 gold.]
And at the number 700 gold, she was speechless. Penny's mouth also opened wide.
“Didn’t you say it was 500 gold last time?”
“Oh, I guess they raised it because the results weren’t great. They recently added an order that if they don’t capture him alive, they’ll be punished, so they say they raised the reward because of that. Those leaflets aren’t just distributed in our town, they’re all over the area right now, and the adults are going crazy over it. You know those bounty hunters? They openly capture all the blond Dublin men they come across and send them to the military police. It’s a win-win situation if you get caught.”
“Is that okay?”
“No way.”
“But why?”
“But he's a Dubliner?”
Penny nodded as if she was convinced by the stupid reply.
Leila frowned, but neither Penny nor Andrew saw her.
“There’s a Dubliner in our town, too. He might get taken away soon. Even if it’s not because of that wanted poster, there seem to be quite a few townspeople who are uncomfortable with that guy.”
There was a sense of malice in the term 'that guy' used to refer to Dubliners. Children simply copy the world and ideas created by adults.
“And, ah, this is a really, really secret...”
“Secret? What is it? What is it? What is it?”
Penny and Andrew were a perfect match. Leila felt like complaining for no reason. Instead of talking to Penny, why doesn't she just talk to the loudspeaker?
“A high-ranking military official is coming down to Tax for an inspection, and while he’s in the area, he’ll be stopping by here, too. Isn’t that a joke? Don’t you think it’ll be really cool? If a high-ranking officer comes...”
Leila closed her ears. The mere thought of Aaron was enough to overwhelm her. Dubliners aren't all bad people, so she doesn't know why they can't catch him.
She left the alley behind, leaving behind the thin-eared Penny and the idiot Andrew. She didn't look back, even though the annoying voices following her were saying, "Leila, come with me!" and "Leila! I'm really rich now! Let's get married!"
As Leila turned her steps toward the large bell tower of the church, her mood worsened. Not far away, a group of Ramrock soldiers was kicking an old man. She didn’t know why, but she couldn’t look at them kindly, considering what Ramrock soldiers had done to their own people over the past year.
The new military government has been trying to regulate the soldiers for some time now, but the situation is unlikely to change much.
‘...There are soldiers like that, too.’
Leila turned away from the melancholy that was flooding in. She felt hurt.
Penny followed her all the way out of the alley and screamed.
“Leila! Where are you going?”
"I don't know!"
“Are you an idiot? What do you mean you don’t know? Where are you going?”
“I’m going home!”
Yeah, she guessed she should do that. Since Uncle Walter and her father always drink until they burst whenever they meet, it would take a long time for them to go back together. More than anything, if she saw Aaron in this mood right now, she thought she would burst into tears.
Leila was very hurt.
Too much.
***
“Then I’ll see you next time.”
Aaron, who supported the staggering Ben, greeted him in a calm tone. Walter, who was already half-dead, laughed and waved with both arms wide open. After leaving the store, Aaron snickered and fixed Ben.
“Mr. Ben, this is not the direction. And that’s how you stumble and fall.”
Ben said that he didn't feel anything strange even though he was walking in a zigzag pattern.
“The alley is originally winding!”
“This is a major road.”
Aaron adjusted his hat and smiled helplessly.
The drinks at Walter's store were quite sweet. Aaron drank about four glasses. He seemed to be getting a little tipsy because he had only had a few drinks. Throughout the drinking party, Walter looked uncomfortable with the fact that Aaron was sitting at the same table, but he soon ignored them, and even Kane, who had openly criticized Aaron as a 'Dublin soldier who would smash his head in', was distracted by Auntie Bree's constant drunken behavior of taking off her clothes and running out. In the meantime, Ben just drank while talking to Walter.
For the first time, Aaron felt comfortable among the Ramrocks, who, for their own reasons, showed no ill will. It felt good.
"Mister!"
From a distance, a short woman and a young man wearing a rather shiny hat came running toward them. It was Penny and Andrew. In Penny's hand was a package wrapped in paper that looked quite heavy.
“Mr. Ben! Hello!”
“Sir! You’re here!”
Penny held out the market item she was holding. It was something that Leila had left behind in the alleyway, as if she had suddenly become angry and turned away. Penny was worried that she had been so absent-minded that she had left it behind.
“Mr. Ben, that’s a good thing, take this! Leila left it behind. What’s wrong with her? She always gets angry and sullen, so I don’t know when she’ll grow up. Did she suddenly disappear again today? Am I the porter or something?”
“Oh, Penny, when will your snout grow old? It’s noisy! It’s making noise! It’s making me vomit... ugh.”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, Ben shook off Aaron and ran to the alley wall, where he began to vomit.
Penny's face twisted into an expression that seemed to suggest that she wanted to vomit more. Aaron smiled awkwardly and reached out to Penny.
“Give it to me.”
Only then did Penny properly recognize Aaron. At first, she thought he was a tall man wearing a hat standing next to Ben, but when she looked up, she saw that the face revealed under the hat was extraordinary.
'Wow, he's handsome.'
Blonde with blue eyes, not that rare, but very, very well-made, even among blondies... Hia skin is also nice... The small scar on his chin is a bit flawed... It’s a bit of a... Hmm?
Penny, who had been analyzing it up to that point, hugged the package tightly and stepped back. What's handsome is handsome, and what's suspicious is suspicious.
“Excuse me, who are you?”
“Did Leila go home first?”
“Who are you to pretend to be close to Leila?”
Aaron responded calmly.
“Penny’s cookies were delicious last time. Miss Leila praised them a lot. She said Penny’s cookies were the best.”
“The cookies I bake are the best in Casnier... No! Who are you!”
Penny glared at the handsome man who was just talking nonchalantly, and she began to have a vague idea that he might be the soldier from Dublin. Aaron smiled broadly and reached out to snatch Leila's belongings from Penny's hands.
“I’m not the kind of guy who tells ny name to just anyone.”
"Oh, you're so shameless!"
The drinks at Walter's store were quite sweet. Aaron drank about four glasses. He seemed to be getting a little tipsy because he had only had a few drinks. Throughout the drinking party, Walter looked uncomfortable with the fact that Aaron was sitting at the same table, but he soon ignored them, and even Kane, who had openly criticized Aaron as a 'Dublin soldier who would smash his head in', was distracted by Auntie Bree's constant drunken behavior of taking off her clothes and running out. In the meantime, Ben just drank while talking to Walter.
For the first time, Aaron felt comfortable among the Ramrocks, who, for their own reasons, showed no ill will. It felt good.
"Mister!"
From a distance, a short woman and a young man wearing a rather shiny hat came running toward them. It was Penny and Andrew. In Penny's hand was a package wrapped in paper that looked quite heavy.
“Mr. Ben! Hello!”
“Sir! You’re here!”
Penny held out the market item she was holding. It was something that Leila had left behind in the alleyway, as if she had suddenly become angry and turned away. Penny was worried that she had been so absent-minded that she had left it behind.
“Mr. Ben, that’s a good thing, take this! Leila left it behind. What’s wrong with her? She always gets angry and sullen, so I don’t know when she’ll grow up. Did she suddenly disappear again today? Am I the porter or something?”
“Oh, Penny, when will your snout grow old? It’s noisy! It’s making noise! It’s making me vomit... ugh.”
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, Ben shook off Aaron and ran to the alley wall, where he began to vomit.
Penny's face twisted into an expression that seemed to suggest that she wanted to vomit more. Aaron smiled awkwardly and reached out to Penny.
“Give it to me.”
Only then did Penny properly recognize Aaron. At first, she thought he was a tall man wearing a hat standing next to Ben, but when she looked up, she saw that the face revealed under the hat was extraordinary.
'Wow, he's handsome.'
Blonde with blue eyes, not that rare, but very, very well-made, even among blondies... Hia skin is also nice... The small scar on his chin is a bit flawed... It’s a bit of a... Hmm?
Penny, who had been analyzing it up to that point, hugged the package tightly and stepped back. What's handsome is handsome, and what's suspicious is suspicious.
“Excuse me, who are you?”
“Did Leila go home first?”
“Who are you to pretend to be close to Leila?”
Aaron responded calmly.
“Penny’s cookies were delicious last time. Miss Leila praised them a lot. She said Penny’s cookies were the best.”
“The cookies I bake are the best in Casnier... No! Who are you!”
Penny glared at the handsome man who was just talking nonchalantly, and she began to have a vague idea that he might be the soldier from Dublin. Aaron smiled broadly and reached out to snatch Leila's belongings from Penny's hands.
“I’m not the kind of guy who tells ny name to just anyone.”
"Oh, you're so shameless!"
Penny shouted in disgust.
“Do you think I threw you a sly glance?”
“Even if you throw it, it will dodge. Anyway... Since Mr. Ben and I are going the same way, I was going to bring you here, so I will pass this on to Leila.”
When the man raised his arm, Penny couldn't reach him even though she jumped.
'Ugh! I'm so pissed!'
Not far away, Andrew was slapping Ben's back and farting all over the place. His face was red from all the things Ben had thrown up, and he looked like he was going to throw up, but he was still determined.
“Master, you’re a man after all! You keep coming out!”
“Wow!”
“If a man drinks it once, he’ll be finished... Woohoo!”
Eventually, as they both leaned over and started throwing up, Penny felt like she wanted to throw up with them. What a squeamish person to be so close to someone who is throwing up!
“Do you think I threw you a sly glance?”
“Even if you throw it, it will dodge. Anyway... Since Mr. Ben and I are going the same way, I was going to bring you here, so I will pass this on to Leila.”
When the man raised his arm, Penny couldn't reach him even though she jumped.
'Ugh! I'm so pissed!'
Not far away, Andrew was slapping Ben's back and farting all over the place. His face was red from all the things Ben had thrown up, and he looked like he was going to throw up, but he was still determined.
“Master, you’re a man after all! You keep coming out!”
“Wow!”
“If a man drinks it once, he’ll be finished... Woohoo!”
Eventually, as they both leaned over and started throwing up, Penny felt like she wanted to throw up with them. What a squeamish person to be so close to someone who is throwing up!
When she raised her head to say something bitter, deciding to do something about the man in front of her and then go back, Penny was a little surprised. From the first time she saw him, the man had always had a playful and gentle smile on his face, and he seemed somewhat relaxed. It was because of that comfortable atmosphere that she dared to walk up to him even though she thought he might be a Dublin soldier.
But now, the man whose expression had been completely erased looked terribly cold. He seemed like a different person.
Aaron, who had been staring at Ben and Andrew, opened his lips.
“Who is that young man?”
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