The boss, who saw the fruit bag, said with a smile.
“Oh my, receiving such precious gifts from you again, what should I do? Sigh, the prices went up due to winter preparations, but for you, I’ll charge the regular price.”
Inside the bag were the apples and pears he frequently liked. With a happy expression, he accepted the bag of fruits and handed her the chickens and eggs. From then on, Sylvia was completely engrossed.
She hurriedly purchased various meats, bought more magic bags, and finally, she even purchased the gemstone brooches with the insulation magic circle that she had seen earlier. Rushing through the market, she was finally done.
“Whew.”
Truly, the crowd was so overwhelming that Sylvia almost got stuck and died in there.
[There are so many people. Is it always like this before winter?]
Having only heard stories and lived with Felix in the palace, Eryngium looked around with amazement.
Sylvia left the market and stopped by the blacksmith’s workshop next. She received various pots, pans, and cups that she had previously ordered. Handing over the familiar cloth sack filled with fruits, she greeted the blacksmith.
“I’ll come back to you next time. How can someone who makes swords make pots this well?”
The blacksmith chuckled and took the sack of fruits.
“It’s all the same ironwork. You take care during the winter too. If the snow piles up in front of your door and you don’t clear it right away, you’ll have a hard time. Here, take this as a service.”
He handed her a sturdy shovel made of iron, and she thanked him before quickly leaving.
Without a moment to rest, she continued walking, and Eryngium asked from above her head.
[Where are we going now?]
“This is the last stop, I promise.”
Fortunately, she went into a shop that sold glass products in the same alley and called out to the shopkeeper.
“Give me ten large glass bottles!”
“That will be three gold coins!”
“Gosh.”
Thinking it would be expensive, she grumbled inwardly as she paid for the glass bottles and placed one of them in her magic bag. She felt like she was spending her hard-earned money carelessly, as if it was bleeding away. As she counted the remaining money, she made her way back home.
“Is this all just a waste?”
Having not experienced winter in this world yet, she wasn’t entirely sure if all this preparation was necessary. Lost in thought, she turned into the alley leading to her house. However, she noticed a man sitting there, huddled over.
[Who is that?]
Eryngium didn’t recognize him, so he was likely not a significant character from the novel. As she got closer, she could see his face more clearly, and Sylvia became certain.
His hair and eye color were different.
Anyone who didn’t match their appearance with their magical aura was a non-magical person. In that case, he couldn’t possibly be the protagonist or anyone close to the protagonist.
“Then, who on earth is sitting in front of my house?”
She quickened her pace and approached her home. The man, who had his head lowered, raised it upon hearing the footsteps. With a scruffy appearance, he got up from his seat.
“Sylvia.”
“Oh my goodness. It seems we know each other. What should I do?”
She wanted to ask for help from Eryngium, but with the man right there, she didn’t think that would be possible. As she remained silent, the man grumbled with a hint of irritation.
“I’m talking to you, Sylvia.”
“When I call, you’re supposed to answer, Sylvia.”
The brown-haired man leaned against the front door, arrogantly tugging at his chin. He saw Sylvia smiling mischievously and asking, “Who are you?”
It was the first time he had seen her smile like that, and he was taken aback by her next words.
“What?”
Sylvia came right up to him and tilted her head, saying, “Do I know you?”
Either show off your wit or just confidently walk away. If nothing else, she could use the excuse of injuring her head like on the first day.
Forming a daring plan in her mind, Sylvia continued, “This is my house, and you’re blocking the way. I can’t get in.”
It wasn’t even a difficult sentence to understand, but the man was so surprised and confused that he couldn’t process her words.
“What are you saying? Don’t tell me you’re getting mad over such a trivial matter?”
His emerald eyes widened, and he spoke in a loud voice.
“I told you, it might be a matter of life and death. I’m sure I dissuaded you, and then you went and got yourself into trouble. And the money you received as an advance back then wasn’t even that much.”
His words were strangely displeasing to her.
Sylvia blinked her eyes, trying to grasp the essence of his words. When she remained silent, the man shouted even more confidently.
“If it was going to be like this, I shouldn’t have bothered coming. I didn’t even know if you were still alive. You could have at least contacted me. I was the only one worrying. Well then, take care, Sylvia.”
As if parting with a lover, the man glanced at her with a lingering gaze and took confident strides past her.
Sylvia pondered intensely about who on earth this man could be, in such a short amount of time.
“Why bother thinking about it? You had a rough idea of something like this happening, didn’t you? Seo Yoo-jeong.”
Sylvia turned her back and called the man to a halt. In that moment, he stopped with a ‘Well, I guess’ expression, but deliberately did not show his face.
Whenever he did this, Sylvia would feel uneasy and try to comfort him, then hand him a meager amount of money as he desired.
“Ugh, I thought this time I could really make some good money.”
He had put Sylvia in a mercenary unit and sent her on monster subjugation missions while he enjoyed himself with the upfront payment he received. Then, he had a big opportunity and made a lot of money, but ended up losing it all.
No, he didn’t just lose the money he made, he lost even more and ended up in debt. So, of course, he had to come find Sylvia. He wanted to pay off his debts and spend the winter at her place, even if it was dirty and shabby.
However, instead of the pitiful tone he had in mind, he heard Sylvia’s resolute voice sounding somewhat lonely, and it rattled him like the protagonist in a novel.
“What’s the deal between you and me?”
It wasn’t the polite and respectful girl who always spoke to him in formal language. Perplexed by her sudden change in attitude, he immediately turned around.
“Are you kidding me now? When did you ever follow me willingly? What did you just say? Huh!”
He abandoned his role-playing act and grew fierce and agitated.
“Ha! Did you really hurt your head or something? How can you treat me like this?”
She threw a question about their relationship, but he kept avoiding giving a direct answer.
With a stern expression, Sylvia crossed her arms.
“It seems like we’re not on any kind of special terms. I wasted my time for nothing, huh?”
She had wondered if there could be some sort of family relationship between them. If Sylvia had a family, she might have been tongue-tied and speechless with embarrassment.
As if bored, she sighed and tried to walk back home, but the man yelled at her.
“Who else would bother to meet an orphan like you? Huh? Instead of being grateful, you can’t even give me money! What did you just say?”
Seemingly angered, the brown-haired man approached her, but Sylvia, looking bewildered, pointed her index finger at her head and spun it around in a circle.
“Is this guy actually crazy?”
Sylvia, who had rarely lost her temper, giggled and playfully touched her leg.
‘Unbelievable. I never expected to hear this kind of talk here.’
Sylvia had heard that her parents passed away too early many times, just like the typical story in novels or soap operas. If they had nothing else to say, they would always bring up that story to stir up emotions and turn people’s hearts upside down.
She knew this type of person well.
“Recycling, huh? That’s bullshit. It’s crap.”
“What did you say! Huh!”
The burly man threatened, raising his fist, and Sylvia turned her head away, sticking out her tongue and making a sound. The isolated house, where no one came, was perfect for moments like this.
“Why did I end up living in such a ridiculous place? It’s infested with parasites.”
Using love as leverage to control people was one of the most vile things, something you wouldn’t understand unless you experienced it.
Why do they say the one who loves first loses?
Isn’t it about enjoying the feeling of mutual affection and saying you love each other?
If you love alone, that’s just one-sided love.
Or it could be stalking.
Sylvia pondered which tree would whip the hardest as she let her imagination run wild. Suddenly, the man approached her, and he convincingly swung his fist.
Yes, he swung his fist convincingly, but he was just another bastard resorting to violence against a woman.
“Give me your money! You bitch!”
Whish!
As the incoming fist approached, Sylvia infused the peridot ring she was wearing with magic. She quickly grew the bamboo using wind magic and cut off the base.
Though she had been prepared to endure the pain of getting hit even if she managed to strike the man with the bamboo, Sylvia was surprised that the anticipated pain didn’t come. As she was about to swing the bamboo, she noticed something strange. There was a circular stream of water hanging in the air around the man’s neck.
“What?”
Upon closer inspection, Sylvia saw a water loop encircling the brown-haired man’s neck.
“Are you okay?”
Hubert came out of her house and asked. Dennis followed closely behind, bursting out of the house.
“This piece of garbage.”
Smack!
Hubert kicked the flailing man in the air.
“Ouch!”
Despite the kick, the water loop around the man’s neck didn’t loosen and instead seemed to climb up towards his face. It was a bizarre experience that made it difficult to breathe, and the brown-haired man desperately struggled.
Sylvia looked at Hubert.
His azure eyes glimmered with life, making him appear even more intimidating. Disliking the sight of violence and especially not wanting to witness someone dying right in front of her house, she urgently restrained him.
“Customer! You can’t do this here. I don’t want to see someone dying in front of my house.”
Smack!
Whether to do it or not, Dennis had to teach this despicable man a lesson, even if it meant going to the extreme.
Smack, smack, smack.
At Sylvia’s request, Hubert reluctantly let go of the brown-haired man, though not gently.
Thud!
“Ouch! What’s with these people! Using magic against regular folks is a crime! A crime, I tell you!”
Using magic to harm or kill regular people resulted in severe punishment under the laws of the Corpora Empire. Thanks to those laws, even non-magical individuals could move around the city without worries.
Sylvia, recalling the contents of a novel, turned her head and said, “Wait!”
She stopped Dennis, who was on the verge of beating the man to death. He looked at her with a frustrated expression, as if questioning why she was stopping him.
“Such a despicable creature should meet a proper end.”
Since this was Sylvia’s first encounter with Dennis, she greeted him respectfully with a bow. “Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of our regular customer?”
Dennis, with his short red hair exposing his forehead, looked like a typical knight. He was taller and more lanky than Hubert, with a slightly unruly appearance. Every time he kicked the pathetic man with brown hair, his whip-like swings landed with precision.
Smack, smack. No, it’s more like puhak, puhak.
Dennis, who was forcefully kicking the man, looked startled and stood still in a rigid stance.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Dennis!”
Sylvia felt a sudden surge of energy. With red eyes gleaming, Dennis looked Sylvia up and down.
“Nice to meet you too. Do you really need to keep such a pathetic guy around in such a pleasant place?”
Turning towards Dennis, Sylvia calmly asked Hubert, “You came to buy fruit, right?”
Expecting her to be surprised, he was taken aback by her composed tone. Hubert, feeling flustered, nodded in response. Sylvia then nodded as if understanding, taking out a key from her pocket to unlock the front door.
“Please come in first.”
With a playful smile, she invited Hubert and Dennis inside. Bewildered, they entered hesitantly.
Meanwhile, the brown-haired man who was still sprawled on the ground shouted in anger.
The boss, who saw the fruit bag, said with a smile.
“Oh my, receiving such precious gifts from you again, what should I do? Sigh, the prices went up due to winter preparations, but for you, I’ll charge the regular price.”
Inside the bag were the apples and pears he frequently liked. With a happy expression, he accepted the bag of fruits and handed her the chickens and eggs. From then on, Sylvia was completely engrossed.
She hurriedly purchased various meats, bought more magic bags, and finally, she even purchased the gemstone brooches with the insulation magic circle that she had seen earlier. Rushing through the market, she was finally done.
“Whew.”
Truly, the crowd was so overwhelming that Sylvia almost got stuck and died in there.
[There are so many people. Is it always like this before winter?]
Having only heard stories and lived with Felix in the palace, Eryngium looked around with amazement.
Sylvia left the market and stopped by the blacksmith’s workshop next. She received various pots, pans, and cups that she had previously ordered. Handing over the familiar cloth sack filled with fruits, she greeted the blacksmith.
“I’ll come back to you next time. How can someone who makes swords make pots this well?”
The blacksmith chuckled and took the sack of fruits.
“It’s all the same ironwork. You take care during the winter too. If the snow piles up in front of your door and you don’t clear it right away, you’ll have a hard time. Here, take this as a service.”
He handed her a sturdy shovel made of iron, and she thanked him before quickly leaving.
Without a moment to rest, she continued walking, and Eryngium asked from above her head.
[Where are we going now?]
“This is the last stop, I promise.”
Fortunately, she went into a shop that sold glass products in the same alley and called out to the shopkeeper.
“Give me ten large glass bottles!”
“That will be three gold coins!”
“Gosh.”
Thinking it would be expensive, she grumbled inwardly as she paid for the glass bottles and placed one of them in her magic bag. She felt like she was spending her hard-earned money carelessly, as if it was bleeding away. As she counted the remaining money, she made her way back home.
“Is this all just a waste?”
Having not experienced winter in this world yet, she wasn’t entirely sure if all this preparation was necessary. Lost in thought, she turned into the alley leading to her house. However, she noticed a man sitting there, huddled over.
[Who is that?]
Eryngium didn’t recognize him, so he was likely not a significant character from the novel. As she got closer, she could see his face more clearly, and Sylvia became certain.
His hair and eye color were different.
Anyone who didn’t match their appearance with their magical aura was a non-magical person. In that case, he couldn’t possibly be the protagonist or anyone close to the protagonist.
“Then, who on earth is sitting in front of my house?”
She quickened her pace and approached her home. The man, who had his head lowered, raised it upon hearing the footsteps. With a scruffy appearance, he got up from his seat.
“Sylvia.”
“Oh my goodness. It seems we know each other. What should I do?”
She wanted to ask for help from Eryngium, but with the man right there, she didn’t think that would be possible. As she remained silent, the man grumbled with a hint of irritation.
“I’m talking to you, Sylvia.”
“When I call, you’re supposed to answer, Sylvia.”
The brown-haired man leaned against the front door, arrogantly tugging at his chin. He saw Sylvia smiling mischievously and asking, “Who are you?”
It was the first time he had seen her smile like that, and he was taken aback by her next words.
“What?”
Sylvia came right up to him and tilted her head, saying, “Do I know you?”
Either show off your wit or just confidently walk away. If nothing else, she could use the excuse of injuring her head like on the first day.
Forming a daring plan in her mind, Sylvia continued, “This is my house, and you’re blocking the way. I can’t get in.”
It wasn’t even a difficult sentence to understand, but the man was so surprised and confused that he couldn’t process her words.
“What are you saying? Don’t tell me you’re getting mad over such a trivial matter?”
His emerald eyes widened, and he spoke in a loud voice.
“I told you, it might be a matter of life and death. I’m sure I dissuaded you, and then you went and got yourself into trouble. And the money you received as an advance back then wasn’t even that much.”
His words were strangely displeasing to her.
Sylvia blinked her eyes, trying to grasp the essence of his words. When she remained silent, the man shouted even more confidently.
“If it was going to be like this, I shouldn’t have bothered coming. I didn’t even know if you were still alive. You could have at least contacted me. I was the only one worrying. Well then, take care, Sylvia.”
As if parting with a lover, the man glanced at her with a lingering gaze and took confident strides past her.
Sylvia pondered intensely about who on earth this man could be, in such a short amount of time.
“Why bother thinking about it? You had a rough idea of something like this happening, didn’t you? Seo Yoo-jeong.”
Sylvia turned her back and called the man to a halt. In that moment, he stopped with a ‘Well, I guess’ expression, but deliberately did not show his face.
Whenever he did this, Sylvia would feel uneasy and try to comfort him, then hand him a meager amount of money as he desired.
“Ugh, I thought this time I could really make some good money.”
He had put Sylvia in a mercenary unit and sent her on monster subjugation missions while he enjoyed himself with the upfront payment he received. Then, he had a big opportunity and made a lot of money, but ended up losing it all.
No, he didn’t just lose the money he made, he lost even more and ended up in debt. So, of course, he had to come find Sylvia. He wanted to pay off his debts and spend the winter at her place, even if it was dirty and shabby.
However, instead of the pitiful tone he had in mind, he heard Sylvia’s resolute voice sounding somewhat lonely, and it rattled him like the protagonist in a novel.
“What’s the deal between you and me?”
It wasn’t the polite and respectful girl who always spoke to him in formal language. Perplexed by her sudden change in attitude, he immediately turned around.
“Are you kidding me now? When did you ever follow me willingly? What did you just say? Huh!”
He abandoned his role-playing act and grew fierce and agitated.
“Ha! Did you really hurt your head or something? How can you treat me like this?”
She threw a question about their relationship, but he kept avoiding giving a direct answer.
With a stern expression, Sylvia crossed her arms.
“It seems like we’re not on any kind of special terms. I wasted my time for nothing, huh?”
She had wondered if there could be some sort of family relationship between them. If Sylvia had a family, she might have been tongue-tied and speechless with embarrassment.
As if bored, she sighed and tried to walk back home, but the man yelled at her.
“Who else would bother to meet an orphan like you? Huh? Instead of being grateful, you can’t even give me money! What did you just say?”
Seemingly angered, the brown-haired man approached her, but Sylvia, looking bewildered, pointed her index finger at her head and spun it around in a circle.
“Is this guy actually crazy?”
Sylvia, who had rarely lost her temper, giggled and playfully touched her leg.
‘Unbelievable. I never expected to hear this kind of talk here.’
Sylvia had heard that her parents passed away too early many times, just like the typical story in novels or soap operas. If they had nothing else to say, they would always bring up that story to stir up emotions and turn people’s hearts upside down.
She knew this type of person well.
“Recycling, huh? That’s bullshit. It’s crap.”
“What did you say! Huh!”
The burly man threatened, raising his fist, and Sylvia turned her head away, sticking out her tongue and making a sound. The isolated house, where no one came, was perfect for moments like this.
“Why did I end up living in such a ridiculous place? It’s infested with parasites.”
Using love as leverage to control people was one of the most vile things, something you wouldn’t understand unless you experienced it.
Why do they say the one who loves first loses?
Isn’t it about enjoying the feeling of mutual affection and saying you love each other?
If you love alone, that’s just one-sided love.
Or it could be stalking.
Sylvia pondered which tree would whip the hardest as she let her imagination run wild. Suddenly, the man approached her, and he convincingly swung his fist.
Yes, he swung his fist convincingly, but he was just another bastard resorting to violence against a woman.
“Give me your money! You bitch!”
Whish!
As the incoming fist approached, Sylvia infused the peridot ring she was wearing with magic. She quickly grew the bamboo using wind magic and cut off the base.
Though she had been prepared to endure the pain of getting hit even if she managed to strike the man with the bamboo, Sylvia was surprised that the anticipated pain didn’t come. As she was about to swing the bamboo, she noticed something strange. There was a circular stream of water hanging in the air around the man’s neck.
“What?”
Upon closer inspection, Sylvia saw a water loop encircling the brown-haired man’s neck.
“Are you okay?”
Hubert came out of her house and asked. Dennis followed closely behind, bursting out of the house.
“This piece of garbage.”
Smack!
Hubert kicked the flailing man in the air.
“Ouch!”
Despite the kick, the water loop around the man’s neck didn’t loosen and instead seemed to climb up towards his face. It was a bizarre experience that made it difficult to breathe, and the brown-haired man desperately struggled.
Sylvia looked at Hubert.
His azure eyes glimmered with life, making him appear even more intimidating. Disliking the sight of violence and especially not wanting to witness someone dying right in front of her house, she urgently restrained him.
“Customer! You can’t do this here. I don’t want to see someone dying in front of my house.”
Smack!
Whether to do it or not, Dennis had to teach this despicable man a lesson, even if it meant going to the extreme.
Smack, smack, smack.
At Sylvia’s request, Hubert reluctantly let go of the brown-haired man, though not gently.
Thud!
“Ouch! What’s with these people! Using magic against regular folks is a crime! A crime, I tell you!”
Using magic to harm or kill regular people resulted in severe punishment under the laws of the Corpora Empire. Thanks to those laws, even non-magical individuals could move around the city without worries.
Sylvia, recalling the contents of a novel, turned her head and said, “Wait!”
She stopped Dennis, who was on the verge of beating the man to death. He looked at her with a frustrated expression, as if questioning why she was stopping him.
“Such a despicable creature should meet a proper end.”
Since this was Sylvia’s first encounter with Dennis, she greeted him respectfully with a bow. “Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of our regular customer?”
Dennis, with his short red hair exposing his forehead, looked like a typical knight. He was taller and more lanky than Hubert, with a slightly unruly appearance. Every time he kicked the pathetic man with brown hair, his whip-like swings landed with precision.
Smack, smack. No, it’s more like puhak, puhak.
Dennis, who was forcefully kicking the man, looked startled and stood still in a rigid stance.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Dennis!”
Sylvia felt a sudden surge of energy. With red eyes gleaming, Dennis looked Sylvia up and down.
“Nice to meet you too. Do you really need to keep such a pathetic guy around in such a pleasant place?”
Turning towards Dennis, Sylvia calmly asked Hubert, “You came to buy fruit, right?”
Expecting her to be surprised, he was taken aback by her composed tone. Hubert, feeling flustered, nodded in response. Sylvia then nodded as if understanding, taking out a key from her pocket to unlock the front door.
“Please come in first.”
With a playful smile, she invited Hubert and Dennis inside. Bewildered, they entered hesitantly.
Meanwhile, the brown-haired man who was still sprawled on the ground shouted in anger.
