TRPSG 11

“Whew, I’m all washed up!”

“!”

A flat piece of cloth slapped against my lips.

It was the sheet that had been used as a partition.

“…?”

Kalion, who had been right next to me until just moments ago, was gone.

Startled by Senes coming in, he must have bolted out in a hurry.

And in his rush to lower the partition, the cloth ended up fluttering and hitting my face.

“……”

It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to completely ruin the mood.

Does that jerk have no sense at all? Why would he come in now of all times?

He could’ve read the atmosphere and stayed out!

As expected, that tactless bastard immediately started asking questions.

“Kalion. What’s wrong with your face?”

“I just finished bathing, so it’s hot… Ah, brother. Don’t go that way. The owner is bathing.”

“How long does it take you to still not be done washing? Hey, you sack of burden. If you stay in the water any longer, you’ll wrinkle up.”

I’m already done, you damn jerk!

I barely managed to suppress my rising anger. My thin thread of reason only worked at times like this. Clenching my trembling hands into fists, I took a deep breath and pulled the partition aside.

“Good grief. What do you think you look like?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve got everything exposed. Are you trying to catch someone like that? It looks like you washed your brain out along with your body.”

Is there no “cancel party” function? I really want to kick that guy out.

Grinding my teeth, I buttoned up my shirt while forcing down my ragged breathing. Then I met Kalion’s eyes—he had been watching me anxiously.

“Cough. I’ll take watch outside.”

Kalion quickly turned away and headed toward the entrance.

‘There’s no need for a watch anyway; we’re inside the camp.’

Do I need to explain skills? If I mess up in front of Senes, I’ll just get insulted again.

‘Whatever.’

I gave up and returned to the sleeping spot Kalion had prepared for me.

As I sank into the soft fur cloak, the irritation that had been boiling from the interruption slowly eased.

‘Smells nice.’

A soft, cool scent.

He’s a monster hunter, so he wouldn’t be wearing perfume… is this Kalion’s natural scent?

‘Can a human smell this good?’

I didn’t really understand it, but good was good. Rubbing my face against the soft fur, my mood improved.

I could still hear Senes grumbling in that obnoxious tone, but I wasn’t in a state to care.

Wrapped in Kalion’s cloak, I gradually calmed down—and at the same time, felt strangely softened.

‘Earlier… we barely touched.’

In my impatience, I had leaned in without thinking and licked Kalion’s lips.

They had been unbelievably soft.

It was the first time a man’s lips had ever tasted that sweet. Like fresh cream.

‘I should’ve just grabbed him and kissed him properly.’

Opportunities only come once!

I missed my chance to properly enjoy those moist, slightly parted lips while staring at his flushed eyes.

This was the sorrow of a person who lost their homeland. The despair of a soaked cotton candy raccoon. The agony of a writer who lost their manuscript right before submission deadline…

If I had never tasted it, I wouldn’t be this frustrated—but having just barely tasted it made it even worse.

I might actually die of regret at this rate.

‘Maybe after Senes falls asleep… I could try something then?’

I rolled my eyes toward the entrance where Kalion was.

As if sensing it, Kalion looked back at me too.

The moment our eyes met, something like fire surged in my chest, and I quickly looked down.

Thump, thump, thump.

My heartbeat was so loud it felt like it would echo outside.

I curled up tighter as if trying to suppress it. My ears tingled.

‘It’s fine. There will be another chance!’

As they say in Korea, third time’s the charm.

The first was the healing guide, the second was the failure just now… which meant I still had one last chance left.

‘Kalion didn’t reject me either. Next time, I’m sure…’

I felt certain he would respond more actively next time.

It wasn’t baseless either.

When I kissed his hand before, I thought it was just because he was shy.

But earlier, after his bath, his reaction was different.

He couldn’t take his eyes off me, and his face slowly turning red was so obvious I couldn’t possibly miss it.

‘Honestly… it was really cute.’

He was much bigger than me, strong enough to cut down monsters in one swing.

And yet I thought he was cute.

Wasn’t that basically the end for me?

“Are you not sleeping and just grinning to yourself? Do you have sleepwalking syndrome or something?”

Yeah. I’ll sleep, you rude brat.

I wrapped Kalion’s cloak around myself and lay down on the rock.

It wasn’t as comfortable as a bed, but thanks to the warm scent and soft texture of the cloak, I fell asleep quickly.

The next day

We arrived at the village a little past noon.

Since it was close to the mountains, I expected a small rural settlement, but it was surprisingly developed—almost like a proper town.

A wide wooden palisade and watchtowers suggested constant monster attacks, and guards seemed to rotate shifts. The roads were wide and neatly organized.

On the outskirts were clustered homes, while the center had two- to three-story shops. There were not only food and basic goods, but also weapon shops and magical tool stores.

I walked over to a stall displaying strangely colored glass bottles, only to step back three paces after reading the warning:
“Handle with care! Contact may cause poisoning!”

“Master, this way.”

Kalion led me to a large inn on the southwest road.

It was a clean three-story building, with a restaurant and tavern on the first floor.

The receptionist greeted us warmly.

Not exactly out of professional courtesy—but judging by her flushed face looking at Kalion and Senes, she was clearly weak to handsome men.

Understandable.

After looking at so many faces like stale street snacks, seeing these two must feel like a blessing.

Even scam artists selling useless junk would probably get ten orders here just by showing their faces.

Of course, I would never kneel to someone as rude as Senes.

“Two rooms. One should be a double. Preferably a quiet one.”

“Yes, yes. Single rooms are 2 silver per night, doubles are 3 silver.”

The receptionist handed over the keys, still smiling brightly with a red face.

“Third floor, end of the right hallway.”

“Thank you.”

“Hehe, no problem.”

Smiling really does make people happy, and handsome people make others smile just by existing.

The receptionist looked genuinely joyful.

I really don’t understand why Kalion, with that face, is working as a monster hunter.

He could probably make way more money doing something like this.

“Are your feet glued to the floor? Want me to carry you up?”

Senes, who apparently had a knife for a tongue again.

Maybe he doesn’t hunt monsters with a sword—but with words. I’ve never actually seen him fight one. Kalion killed everything on the way here.

The third floor was quiet compared to the noisy first floor.

At the end of the hallway were two rooms under the afternoon light.

Room 310 was mine. 309 was for Kalion and Senes.

We had come together, but not surprisingly, we were assigned separate rooms.

It was reasonable… but I still felt a little disappointed.

We came together, but we wouldn’t be leaving together.

Kalion’s job was just to bring me to the village. Once resupply was done, he’d leave.

“Kalion. How long will you stay here?”

“About two days… Ah, don’t worry about your lodging. I’ll make sure you can stay here until you find work.”

He said he would help me adjust to the village, even finding work and covering living expenses until then.

It was generous to the point of being overwhelming—but I wasn’t happy.

I only had three weeks left to live anyway.

I didn’t have enough time to settle into a job here.

‘Should I ask him to take me along?’

Not that I had any combat ability worth mentioning.

My scream skill was an ally buff only—it didn’t even apply to me. Same with healing skills.

Even my shelter skill required at least one ally with me. If I were alone, the “lazy righteous one” or whatever would probably just collapse the safe zone again.

In other words, all my skills were party-based.

Useless without someone to protect me.

And Kalion wasn’t someone who protected others—he hunted monsters.

“Please enter, Master.”

Kalion inserted the key into my door and turned it. Click—the lock opened, and the door creaked.

A small bed was visible through the gap.

I looked toward the neighboring room. The door was wide open, and Senes was dumping colorful mana stones out of his inventory.

“Kalion, I sorted yours too. Take it.”

“Got it, brother.”

Kalion politely bowed to me.

That meant he was leaving to resupply.

Sell the mana stones, buy supplies, hunt again.

That was the life of a monster hunter.

Not a traveler—but not someone who stayed in one place either.

His home was the hunting grounds, not the village.

And I… I was useless there.

‘I don’t want to part like this.’

Without thinking, I grabbed Kalion’s hand.

“Master?”

His face turned slightly red at the sudden contact, but he calmly asked,

“Is something wrong?”

“I… the bedsheets.”

“Bedsheets?”

“I forgot how to change them. Could you help me… come to my room?”