Episode 72. Meaningful Noise
Lacrahan approached Bercheria and lifted her face, cupping it in his hand.
Even though they had been through the forest for two days, Bercheria's face was as clean and pale as a baby's.
"Can we stay apart for a while?"
Bercheria smiled lightly at Lacrahan's soft voice.
"I'm not a baby. Of course, I can stay."
Since leaving the castle, Lacrahan had become more affectionate by the day.
He was so gentle that it made Bercheria feel soft alongside him.
"Yes."
Lacrahan lowered his head and pressed his lips gently against Bercheria's.
The feeling of their soft skin lapping against each other instantly melted away the fatigue from walking all day.
Groovy shook his head and turned away, saying, "Here we go again."
“Just pack your bags and go back tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,”
Lyone replied meekly.
The servant, peeling fruit beside them, overheard their conversation and unconsciously clenched his teeth. He felt a deep desire to dance at the thought of the tiresome Emperor Gerard leaving, but he was having a hard time holding back.
Just as everyone was enjoying their satisfying tea time,
“Hey! Get him! Hurry up and get him!”
A sudden commotion was heard outside the window.
“What is it?”
Gerard stumbled toward the window.
He saw the stables beneath the castle crowded with people.
He crunched on an apple, gazing at it, then scowled and tossed the apple he was holding.
“Those ignorant bastards!”
Gerard turned and walked toward the entrance. He then descended the stairs, his voice irritated.
The man behind him hit the back of Groovy's head hard with his palm.
"Of course you're lying, kid. Where are your companions? If you were me, would you go hunting alone when you have companions? How hard would it be to do it alone?"
"Hahaha. As expected. You're right. Me too."
The big man finally nodded, relieved.
"Yes, let's go!"
"You unlucky young lady, be careful!"
The men carried Groovy on their backs and quickly walked away.
Lacrahan approached Bercheria and lifted her face, cupping it in his hand.
Even though they had been through the forest for two days, Bercheria's face was as clean and pale as a baby's.
"Can we stay apart for a while?"
Bercheria smiled lightly at Lacrahan's soft voice.
"I'm not a baby. Of course, I can stay."
Since leaving the castle, Lacrahan had become more affectionate by the day.
He was so gentle that it made Bercheria feel soft alongside him.
"Yes."
Lacrahan lowered his head and pressed his lips gently against Bercheria's.
The feeling of their soft skin lapping against each other instantly melted away the fatigue from walking all day.
Groovy shook his head and turned away, saying, "Here we go again."
"Lacrahan."
Ever since Groovy joined, Bercheria had been pushing him away with this awkward tone every time he made contact.
She didn't seem to realize yet that this behavior was further stimulating Lacrahan.
"Yeah, it's okay."
He wrapped his arms around Bercheria's waist and pulled her closer to him.
How adorable was the way she followed his lead despite her embarrassment?
Lacrahan gently stroked her hair and kissed her forehead and eyebrows.
"I'll be back soon."
"Yes."
Leaving Bercheria nodding, Lacrahan walked with wide strides into the lush, pathless forest.
"Then shall we go?"
Bercheria nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed, at Groovy's words.
The two of them, shoulder to shoulder, began walking along the path Lacrahan had shown them.
After walking for a few dozen minutes, Bercheria looked around as if she'd forgotten something.
Then she shouted loudly,
"Whoa! Where are you?"
Before Bercheria could finish speaking, the barking of a wild dog was heard from behind.
With a sudden run, the dirty wild dog, covered in leaves and dirt, appeared.
A smile spread across Bercheria's face as she spotted the stray dog.
"You had fun, huh?"
She knelt down and carefully brushed away the fallen leaves and dirt clinging to the stray dog's body.
Soon, the once-dirty dog revealed its white fur.
"Let's go."
Bercheria began walking with Mu, who was now completely fine.
"Why is your name Mu?"
Groovy asked, and she lifted her shoulders slightly.
Remembering how Groovy had first tried to catch Bercheria with the dogs, it was quite amusing that the stray dog now followed her around. It seemed it even had a name now.
"Just that."
After stumbling a little further, she spoke again.
"When I was in the tower, I happened to raise a young divine beast. It was a condor. Whenever I caught bugs and fed them to him, it sounded exactly like that sound. Mu, ha! Like that."
When Bercheria imitated a condor catching a small insect, Groovy laughed in amusement and imitated her.
“Mu, ha!”
The two laughed at each other.
Ever since Groovy joined, Bercheria had been pushing him away with this awkward tone every time he made contact.
She didn't seem to realize yet that this behavior was further stimulating Lacrahan.
"Yeah, it's okay."
He wrapped his arms around Bercheria's waist and pulled her closer to him.
How adorable was the way she followed his lead despite her embarrassment?
Lacrahan gently stroked her hair and kissed her forehead and eyebrows.
"I'll be back soon."
"Yes."
Leaving Bercheria nodding, Lacrahan walked with wide strides into the lush, pathless forest.
"Then shall we go?"
Bercheria nodded, her cheeks slightly flushed, at Groovy's words.
The two of them, shoulder to shoulder, began walking along the path Lacrahan had shown them.
After walking for a few dozen minutes, Bercheria looked around as if she'd forgotten something.
Then she shouted loudly,
"Whoa! Where are you?"
Before Bercheria could finish speaking, the barking of a wild dog was heard from behind.
With a sudden run, the dirty wild dog, covered in leaves and dirt, appeared.
A smile spread across Bercheria's face as she spotted the stray dog.
"You had fun, huh?"
She knelt down and carefully brushed away the fallen leaves and dirt clinging to the stray dog's body.
Soon, the once-dirty dog revealed its white fur.
"Let's go."
Bercheria began walking with Mu, who was now completely fine.
"Why is your name Mu?"
Groovy asked, and she lifted her shoulders slightly.
Remembering how Groovy had first tried to catch Bercheria with the dogs, it was quite amusing that the stray dog now followed her around. It seemed it even had a name now.
"Just that."
After stumbling a little further, she spoke again.
"When I was in the tower, I happened to raise a young divine beast. It was a condor. Whenever I caught bugs and fed them to him, it sounded exactly like that sound. Mu, ha! Like that."
When Bercheria imitated a condor catching a small insect, Groovy laughed in amusement and imitated her.
“Mu, ha!”
The two laughed at each other.
“That’s why I just named it Mu, taking the first letter. It doesn’t have any special meaning.”
Groovy smirked at the wild dog that followed him, scurrying along.
“It seems he likes it too.”
The two walked along the road, chatting nonsense.
Surprisingly, Groovy and Bercheria had a good conversation, so passing the time with silly jokes wasn’t a bad thing.
As they walked together, suddenly, a group of men appeared in the middle of the road.
They were sitting in a circle, not at the edge, but in the middle of the road.
At first glance, they didn’t look particularly polite.
Groovy hid Bercheria behind him and stepped to the side of the road.
He didn’t want the men to see her, so he pushed her aside as they passed. When he passed them and joined Mu, he said,
“What the heck? We’re not insects, but you’re ignoring people like that.”
The men called out to the two men.
Gerard was sprawled out on his chair, his feet propped up on the table, as if he had no motivation at all.
Lyone sat in front of him, drinking tea, and at another table, a servant from Lacrahan Castle was peeling fruit.
"I'm so damn bored."
Gerard raised two fingers and nodded toward the servant who was peeling fruit.
He then dipped a white-fleshed apple on his fork and placed it between his fingers.
Gerard took a bite of the apple, chewing it and staring blankly at the ceiling.
“I think I’ll return to the palace now. I can’t wait here forever for Lacrahan to return.”
After releasing the wild dogs and losing Bercheria, the Royal Guards searched everywhere for her, but to no avail.
Bercheria’s protection encompassed the entire Periat, but she was nowhere to be seen.
When the protection first returned, Gerard acted like a madman, but as time passed and nothing much happened, he gradually became numb.
To Gerard, who never went outside anyway, being a god or a human meant nothing.
It was simply Gerard’s self-importance, believing he had nothing to boast about as Emperor.
“I’m tired of standing here like this,” Lyone nodded as if to agree.
Groovy smirked at the wild dog that followed him, scurrying along.
“It seems he likes it too.”
The two walked along the road, chatting nonsense.
Surprisingly, Groovy and Bercheria had a good conversation, so passing the time with silly jokes wasn’t a bad thing.
As they walked together, suddenly, a group of men appeared in the middle of the road.
They were sitting in a circle, not at the edge, but in the middle of the road.
At first glance, they didn’t look particularly polite.
Groovy hid Bercheria behind him and stepped to the side of the road.
He didn’t want the men to see her, so he pushed her aside as they passed. When he passed them and joined Mu, he said,
“What the heck? We’re not insects, but you’re ignoring people like that.”
The men called out to the two men.
***
Gerard was sprawled out on his chair, his feet propped up on the table, as if he had no motivation at all.
Lyone sat in front of him, drinking tea, and at another table, a servant from Lacrahan Castle was peeling fruit.
"I'm so damn bored."
Gerard raised two fingers and nodded toward the servant who was peeling fruit.
He then dipped a white-fleshed apple on his fork and placed it between his fingers.
Gerard took a bite of the apple, chewing it and staring blankly at the ceiling.
“I think I’ll return to the palace now. I can’t wait here forever for Lacrahan to return.”
After releasing the wild dogs and losing Bercheria, the Royal Guards searched everywhere for her, but to no avail.
Bercheria’s protection encompassed the entire Periat, but she was nowhere to be seen.
When the protection first returned, Gerard acted like a madman, but as time passed and nothing much happened, he gradually became numb.
To Gerard, who never went outside anyway, being a god or a human meant nothing.
It was simply Gerard’s self-importance, believing he had nothing to boast about as Emperor.
“I’m tired of standing here like this,” Lyone nodded as if to agree.
“Just pack your bags and go back tomorrow.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,”
Lyone replied meekly.
The servant, peeling fruit beside them, overheard their conversation and unconsciously clenched his teeth. He felt a deep desire to dance at the thought of the tiresome Emperor Gerard leaving, but he was having a hard time holding back.
Just as everyone was enjoying their satisfying tea time,
“Hey! Get him! Hurry up and get him!”
A sudden commotion was heard outside the window.
“What is it?”
Gerard stumbled toward the window.
He saw the stables beneath the castle crowded with people.
He crunched on an apple, gazing at it, then scowled and tossed the apple he was holding.
“Those ignorant bastards!”
Gerard turned and walked toward the entrance. He then descended the stairs, his voice irritated.
***
“What the hell? We’re not insects, how can you ignore us like that?”
Groovy, his tone somewhat arguing, still hid Bercheria behind him so they wouldn’t see him.
Then, he cleared his throat.
“Brothers. How could I ignore you? This is my older sister. My older sister is very shy and timid, so I was afraid that she might cause trouble for you, brothers, so please be kind to me.”
Groovy chuckled and backed away with Bercheria.
Knowing how exhausting it would be to be caught up in such strange people without Lacrahan, he just wanted to get past quickly. After walking a few steps, he quickly turned around, grabbed Bercheria’s hand, and ran forward.
“Did you see the color of this kid’s eyes? They’re so unusual?”
...He was about to run.
Until a man with a monstrous build grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
“Huh? Look at that girl. Even girls have golden eyes. Wow. What is this? This is so amazing.”
At the man’s words, the men sitting in a circle also stood up and gathered around them.
As the filthy, stinking humans poked their heads out and approached, Bercheria held her breath with all her might.
“Oh, look at this woman’s expression. Don’t you like how arrogant she is?”
The men snickered at Bercheria.
Grrrr.
As Mu stood in front of her, baring his teeth menacingly, the men who were about to touch her hesitated and took a step back.
“Oh, my. What kind of wild dog has such scary teeth?”
Even as they spoke, the men didn’t move far away, but instead stood a step away from Bercheria, glaring at each other.
Then one man hesitantly spoke up.
“By the way, bro, did you know that if you mess with a blonde woman in the wrong place, you could be cursed for life?”
“What’s this idiot saying?”
Another man chimed in.
“I heard that too. Why, they say blondes are cursed by Bercheria.”
At the mention of Bercheria, Groovy’s shoulders flinched.
The men looked back and forth between the two, then focused on Groovy.
“Hey. What about the blond guy?”
“Huh?”
“What happens if you touch the blond guy?”
“Oh, nothing’s going to happen, right?”
The men nodded at each other, then quickly threw Groovy onto their haunches.
“Ugh, what, what are you doing!”
“Hey! You think we’re going to miss this opportunity we’ve all had in a while? We should take you with us, right?”
“Take him and order him cooking. I’m sick of cooking.”
“Why order him to cook? He should be doing laundry! Do you know how hard it is for me to do laundry all day?”
“Oh, my gosh. What the hell are you all talking about! He should be cleaning! Do you know how hard it is for me to clean that pigsty you guys are in?”
The closer you got to the outskirts, the fewer people there were, and the only people left were old people and criminals. Meeting young people here was a rarity.
But now, it was happening right before their eyes.
It was a precious opportunity, if they had to take Groovy and make him their slave for life.
“Let him go. My uncle, father, and brothers are hunting over there. If I shout once, they’ll all come running. Are you here to see me die today?”
The large man grabbed Groovy by the collar and blinked in bewilderment.
“I-Is it real?”
Groovy shouted with a serious face.
“Of course it’s real, that...!”
Groovy, his tone somewhat arguing, still hid Bercheria behind him so they wouldn’t see him.
Then, he cleared his throat.
“Brothers. How could I ignore you? This is my older sister. My older sister is very shy and timid, so I was afraid that she might cause trouble for you, brothers, so please be kind to me.”
Groovy chuckled and backed away with Bercheria.
Knowing how exhausting it would be to be caught up in such strange people without Lacrahan, he just wanted to get past quickly. After walking a few steps, he quickly turned around, grabbed Bercheria’s hand, and ran forward.
“Did you see the color of this kid’s eyes? They’re so unusual?”
...He was about to run.
Until a man with a monstrous build grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
“Huh? Look at that girl. Even girls have golden eyes. Wow. What is this? This is so amazing.”
At the man’s words, the men sitting in a circle also stood up and gathered around them.
As the filthy, stinking humans poked their heads out and approached, Bercheria held her breath with all her might.
“Oh, look at this woman’s expression. Don’t you like how arrogant she is?”
The men snickered at Bercheria.
Grrrr.
As Mu stood in front of her, baring his teeth menacingly, the men who were about to touch her hesitated and took a step back.
“Oh, my. What kind of wild dog has such scary teeth?”
Even as they spoke, the men didn’t move far away, but instead stood a step away from Bercheria, glaring at each other.
Then one man hesitantly spoke up.
“By the way, bro, did you know that if you mess with a blonde woman in the wrong place, you could be cursed for life?”
“What’s this idiot saying?”
Another man chimed in.
“I heard that too. Why, they say blondes are cursed by Bercheria.”
At the mention of Bercheria, Groovy’s shoulders flinched.
The men looked back and forth between the two, then focused on Groovy.
“Hey. What about the blond guy?”
“Huh?”
“What happens if you touch the blond guy?”
“Oh, nothing’s going to happen, right?”
The men nodded at each other, then quickly threw Groovy onto their haunches.
“Ugh, what, what are you doing!”
“Hey! You think we’re going to miss this opportunity we’ve all had in a while? We should take you with us, right?”
“Take him and order him cooking. I’m sick of cooking.”
“Why order him to cook? He should be doing laundry! Do you know how hard it is for me to do laundry all day?”
“Oh, my gosh. What the hell are you all talking about! He should be cleaning! Do you know how hard it is for me to clean that pigsty you guys are in?”
The closer you got to the outskirts, the fewer people there were, and the only people left were old people and criminals. Meeting young people here was a rarity.
But now, it was happening right before their eyes.
It was a precious opportunity, if they had to take Groovy and make him their slave for life.
“Let him go. My uncle, father, and brothers are hunting over there. If I shout once, they’ll all come running. Are you here to see me die today?”
The large man grabbed Groovy by the collar and blinked in bewilderment.
“I-Is it real?”
Groovy shouted with a serious face.
“Of course it’s real, that...!”
The man behind him hit the back of Groovy's head hard with his palm.
"Of course you're lying, kid. Where are your companions? If you were me, would you go hunting alone when you have companions? How hard would it be to do it alone?"
"Hahaha. As expected. You're right. Me too."
The big man finally nodded, relieved.
"Yes, let's go!"
"You unlucky young lady, be careful!"
The men carried Groovy on their backs and quickly walked away.
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