Stepping into the entrance, she looked down at the neatly arranged shoes. Something felt off, and it seemed this was the reason.
They take off their shoes to enter? It seemed so.
Looking around, she saw no slippers for indoor use.
“Barefoot?”
The floor gleamed, spotless and clean, but it felt a bit unsettling.
“Oh, take off your shoes and come in barefoot. It’s clean, so don’t worry.”
Yuda poked his head out from what seemed to be the kitchen, confirming her hesitant thoughts.
“…….”
The custom of removing shoes and living barefoot indoors existed in only two countries across the First and Second Continents. All other nations used slippers or kept shoes inside. This practice was widely known because those two countries were empires. On the Second Continent, there was 〈Gauri〉, which unified three kingdoms. The other empire was…
Baekje, on the First Continent. Following the cultural practices of a nation hostile to her Byron Empire made her feel uneasy. But as the saying goes, “When in another country, follow its culture and laws,” she needed to respect the customs of this house.
Following Yuda’s instructions, she took off her shoes and stepped barefoot on the floor. Worried about foot odor, she sniffed discreetly, but there was no smell. Instead, the delicious aroma from the kitchen stirred her appetite.
Cautiously scanning her surroundings, she entered the kitchen, where dishes were being set on a four-person table. Steam rose from the food, indicating it was prepared with care and warmth.
“Did you make this yourself?”
“Yeah, I can handle basic cooking, except for the really tough stuff.”
“That’s impressive. At such a young age, you’re brave, skilled, and even good at cooking.”
Jeanne looked at the dishes on the table with admiration. Yuda told her to sit there but suddenly remembered something, stopping her as she pulled out a chair.
“Wait a sec. You need to wash your hands. Over there—that’s the bathroom. Just wash your hands quickly and come back.”
Jeanne glanced at her hands and obediently headed to the bathroom. After sending her off, Yuda stood in front of Tia’s door and knocked.
“Tia, you asleep?”
“…Nooo.”
A faint voice, barely audible unless you strained, came from inside. He turned the doorknob—it wasn’t locked. Saying he was coming in, Yuda opened the door without waiting for a reply. He saw her sitting on the bed. Unlike her usual self, she looked deflated, and Yuda let out a small chuckle as he approached. Her drooping tail and ears, lifelessly hanging, showed she was in a bad mood. He lowered his head to meet her eyes, but she deliberately avoided his gaze.
“What’s wrong, Tia?”
“…Just, I’m sorry.”
Ha, really. Yuda let out a hollow laugh. He’d hoped she wouldn’t think that way, but as expected, she was blaming herself. He sat beside her.
“I’ve said it multiple times, but there’s nothing to be sorry about.”
“But I feel like I did something awful. I’m so sorry.”
She said, glancing at him cautiously.
“Something awful? No way. I don’t understand what you’re apologizing for, but one thing’s clear—this isn’t like you.”
At Yuda’s words, Tia’s eyes widened.
“…Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Right? It’s not like me, is it?”
“It’s not like you. The confident Tia, who talks like she can do anything and actually can. Why would she act so timid? Is it because of yesterday? I liked it, but if you didn’t, I can’t help it. I’ll forget it.”
Tia, silent until now, had a determined look in her eyes. She nodded vigorously.
“No, don’t forget. You don’t need to. Actually, I’d rather my dear student remember it. Come on! Let’s go eat. You came to call me for breakfast, right?”
Tia lifted Yuda, who was sitting beside her, with ease. Unfortunately, their height difference meant his toes dangled far from the ground. Flailing in the air, he was startled as Tia leaned in and lightly kissed his lips. A soft sensation accompanied the smack before fading.
“Hmph, right. I’ll just raise him and eat him up. What was I even worrying about!”
She muttered to herself, but unfortunately, Yuda heard. Knowing what “raise and eat up” implied, his heart raced at her bold, almost masculine (?) charm. Unbeknownst to him, at that moment, her status window updated—her affection, stuck at 69, rose to 70, reaching the “lover” stage.
“Tia, could you put me down?”
“Why?”
As she strode forward with a somewhat gleeful expression, Yuda sighed and said,
“We have a guest. In the kitchen.”
But it was too late. Tia entered the kitchen still holding Yuda, where Jeanne sat awkwardly alone, staring. The brief awkward glance didn’t last long, as Tia, seemingly unbothered, headed to the table set for breakfast.
“Who cares? It’s fine.”
Treated like a baby, Yuda wanted to hide from embarrassment. Tia pulled out a chair with one hand, set him down, and sat beside him. She moved the rice and utensils from across the table to her spot.
“…You saw something you shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine.”
At Yuda’s words, Jeanne gave a faint smile.
“But who’s this person sitting here?”
Tia, holding a spoon, asked Yuda. Before he could answer, Jeanne pushed her chair back, stood, and extended her hand. Reluctantly, Tia stood and shook it.
“My greetings are late. I was a bit startled… Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Jeanne Atruare, a trainee blue lance knight of the Byron Empire.”
“Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you. I’m Zentia.”
Jeanne sat back down and continued.
“I came with a request, but somehow ended up being treated to a meal. I’ll be imposing for a bit.”
Yuda shrugged at Tia’s questioning look, as if asking why he’d done something unnecessary. It just came out naturally. She had gone out of her way to visit, so telling her to come back later felt wrong. Since she hadn’t eaten breakfast either, eating together seemed fine.
Nudging Tia’s side with his elbow to stop her staring, Yuda said, “Enjoy your meal!” and started eating. But only he and Tia ate heartily.
Tia took a spoonful of bean sprout soup, let out a satisfied “Ahh,” and gulped it down. Meanwhile, Jeanne struggled awkwardly with chopsticks. Realizing her difficulty, Yuda quickly fetched a fork for her.
“Try this too.”
“Thank you.”
Seeing her pick at the greens, Yuda used chopsticks to place an octopus sausage on her rice. She bowed her head in thanks, looked at the sausage, and ate it with some rice. As she chewed, her eyes widened.
“Eating rice with sausage… it’s my first time, but it’s really delicious. I don’t often eat rice.”
Her words made Yuda feel satisfied. When Tia, watching from the side, started to pout, he fed her directly. The simple meal ended like that. As it wrapped up, Yuda let out a small gasp of admiration. The dishes were spotless, with no food scraps, so he could stack them in the sink and wash them later.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“It was good.”
Yuda nodded.
“I hope it suited your taste.”
“No, it was very delicious. How should I put it… yes, it tasted healthy.”
An amusing way to put it. Well, there were a lot of greens. Jeanne helped stack the empty dishes. With the meal done and the table cleared, Yuda brought out some apples he had bought yesterday and washed them. As soon as he sliced the fruit, Tia stabbed a piece with a fork and ate it. He offered some to Jeanne too.
“By the way, what was the request you came for?”
Tia, chewing an apple, asked, and Jeanne swallowed what was in her mouth. After leisurely finishing the meal and even having dessert, she’d nearly forgotten her purpose. She smacked her lips, gathered her thoughts, and answered.
“Let me correct myself. It’s a request.”
“Go ahead and tell us. We’ll hear you out.”
“I heard you’ve been hunting black wolves in the Eastern Forest. I’d like to join you in that hunt, but on a broader scale than the client’s request.”
Tia, eating an apple, narrowed her eyes.
“Why?”
“Pardon?”
“Why do you need to hunt black wolves in the Eastern Forest with us? Even as a trainee, a blue lance knight like you could go to the Adventurers’ Guild and find plenty of people eager to join you. If money were an issue, you wouldn’t be offering a paid request. If it’s about serving the townsfolk scared of the black wolves, you could gather like-minded people at the guild and act together. It’s obviously not a casual stroll. So, you must be looking for something.”
Something to find. At Tia’s analytical words, Jeanne’s gaze sharpened. Meeting her eyes, Tia smirked, as if saying, “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“For example… a fragment? But it’s said the fragments fell in the Western Forest. So what are you looking for in the Eastern Forest? Just be honest. Tell us your purpose. We need to know what you’re thinking before we decide whether to accept the request.”
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***Author’s Note***
Reader: If you cut back on releases because they got a girlfriend, readers would probably understand lol.
Author: Really?
Reader: Nah, no way lmao.
Author: (Sulks)
There was a question.
Q. How did you come up with the concept of “codes”?
It’s a bit of a long story, but in the original setting, hunting monsters would drop finished weapons or armor, like in a game. You’d check item options with something like a magic book. But that felt cumbersome and tedious.
There were also issues with stats. So after some thought, I came up with 〈Codes〉.
Actually, it wasn’t just a little, it took about a month. I even scrapped and rewrote things twice because of it.
I wanted to create weapons with cool names like 〈Spear of the Black Wolf〉, but in a non-virtual reality setting, having monsters drop weapons felt a bit unrealistic. It’s still not perfect, but something about it didn’t sit right. But then, removing finished item drops altogether didn’t feel right either.
So after more thinking, I recalled an old game I played, AirRivals (a fighter jet game), which had prefix and suffix options. Unlike the “sharp” prefixes and suffixes in my novel, they were things like “King XX of King.” But that style felt uncool and boring.
Wanting to combine unique traits, I tinkered around… and that’s how Codes came about.
There’s this thing called 〈Sari〉.
In the dictionary, it means “the relics of Shakyamuni or saints, referring in later times only to the bead-like remains after cremation.”
I made it so that Codes drop upon death, like those relics.
That way, I could assign the names and abilities I wanted.
Pretty simple, right?
It might seem like a half-hearted answer, but it’s true. It just hit me one day like, “Oh? This could work!” and I added it to the setting lol.
