Dark Fantasy: Super Coward Mode

Gasping for breath, I stepped out of the blacksmith workshop.

If it hadn’t been for that person, I wouldn’t have had to rush out like this. But because of those strange words, I had no choice but to resort to extreme measures.

I set the culprit who created this situation down on the floor and grabbed their cheeks with both hands, rubbing them indiscriminately.

“No more weird stuff outside! People are getting the wrong idea!”

“Eui-oo, you’re ugh so annoying.”

You’re doing this all for me, huh?

I appreciate the sentiment, but thanks to that kindness, I almost ended up in prison!

The intention was good, but the outcome was bad. What a classic situation!

The attitude of trying to sell me out to prove they did nothing wrong was infuriating, so I pulled their cheeks and stretched them out.

“Ubeee.”

There wasn’t a change in expression, but seeing them flailing their arms, it seemed like my lesson was having an effect.

Gotcha!

As I stretched their cheeks like glutinous rice cake, they looked like they were enjoying it way too much.

By this point, they should have reflected enough.

After a hard pull, I let go, and a crisp sound echoed.

It seemed it hurt a bit since they had tears building up while holding their cheeks with both hands.

Ugh.

I can’t let myself be weak to things like this.

I’ll spoil the kid if I do!

Thinking that, I looked down at Asti with a firm gaze.

In response, Asti stared up at me with doe-like eyes.

“…If you like this, I’ll endure.”

How dare you make a statement that turns me into garbage!

“Hey, don’t say that!”

“You seemed happy when you pulled my cheeks…”

“When did I ever look happy?!”

Of course, their cheeks are cute and it’s hilarious because of how silly they look!

But that doesn’t mean I did it out of happiness!

“…Oh-ho.”

“Wait, Muyun? No, that’s not it.”

Seeing Muyun make a sound like she’s coming to a realization, I desperately denied it.

“…So, Tanton prefers doing rather than being done to….”

She was muttering to herself.

“Stop! That’s not it!”

“Hi, hiik!?”

Only after I raised my voice did Muyun’s expression return to normal.

What a dangerous assassin maid.

This was definitely another attempt to socially bury me!

No wonder she hadn’t been so proactive recently.

And with just that comment, Asti’s mistake was completely wiped away.

Where on earth did she learn this advanced way of speaking?

Anyway.

This wasn’t the important thing.

Suddenly saying useless things threw off my train of thought.

The blacksmith, Sintol.

I thought he was a typical grandpa who’d be hard to deal with, but thankfully things turned out better than expected.

When I saw him being lenient with the kid, I figured he must be a good person, and it turned out to be true.

“Well, I’m glad things worked out.”

“Y-yeah! In fact, I was planning to visit for two more days to sweet-talk him, but it got resolved easily, so I feel relieved.”

…Sweet-talking that old man?

Muyun seemed to have mentally mastered it, but I started to think she was just pretending to be cute.

If she wasn’t, there’s no way she’d be thinking about coming back here to nudge him for more.

Well, anyway, it’s good that I can finally create a dedicated weapon.

“Muyun, thank you. Thanks to you, I can finally get a proper weapon.”

“…But, if you’re like Tanton, wouldn’t gauntlets or knuckles be much better than a sword?”

“Get lost!”

“Hiik!”

This person doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Knights, as tradition goes, Lance knights are efficient, while sword knights are romanticists.

Not mentioning any other knights here means they’re either too niche or irrelevant.

And you want me to claim to be a martial artist?

I’d rather quit being a knight and go enjoy my time in the wild with Hunters.

I think because I borrowed Bell’s strength during the Dragon Slayer, I feel that way even more, but fighting while borrowing the strength of an outsider is way too exhausting.

It’s literally taking a day off my lifespan.

If it turns into a long-term battle, my lifespan will be cut short, so I want to hold back unless it’s absolutely necessary.

I want to live a long life.

Hoo.

Now, I really need to head to the market place.

I lost track of time talking aimlessly.

“I think I should head to the market place now. I have some investigating to do.”

“Oh, really? Hmm… I have some schedules soon, so I probably can’t go to the market with you.”

“What a bummer. It would’ve been nice if we could go together.”

With a subtle smile, I responded to Muyun’s words.

Of course, it was just pretense.

To get information about the outsider, it’s better to wander alone as much as possible.

Although Muyun knows a bit of my situation, still, as we talk, any hidden things might be revealed.

That wouldn’t be a good situation.

Above all, it’s weird for two knights to ask a mob for information in a secluded area.

“Oh, is that so?”

“..Well, yeah. Isn’t it?”

Suddenly, Muyun’s face began to flush, and she kept trying to say something but then hesitating repeatedly.

What’s this?

Then she tightly closed her eyes and vigorously shook her head.

“W-well, anyway, have a pleasant stroll!!”

“Be careful!”

She dashed off, puffing more steam than a White Mask’s train.

What the heck was that?

Did I say something wrong?

No matter how much I think about it, no answer comes. If I have a chance to meet Muyun later, I should probably ask her.

Suddenly acting like that makes me feel awkward.

#

After Muyun left, I wandered nearby.

I was worried I might end up going back to the hearth and need to propose the map again, but luckily there was a decent crowd at the market place not far from the blacksmith workshop.

Unlike our usual perception of a typical medieval market scene, there were no merchants hanging things on pillars to sell.

They didn’t even place them on tables but instead laid everything in baskets on the ground, sitting there looking down at their goods.

Maybe they were afraid of drawing attention from the giant on the snow mountain while selling.

Also, since they were a bit away from the hearth, they wore thick clothes, different from the customers.

It was a grim yet lively and ironic atmosphere unique to Rondan.

Even so, the merchants seemed sincere about selling their goods, urging customers to buy their products with louder voices.

As I walked in a daze, I was surprised by the voices coming from the ground.

Since entering the market, Asti was also curiously looking around, just like me.

For me, this was the first scene upon being reincarnated in this world.

…Having been raised as a slave, she probably never had seen a landscape like this before.

To ensure I wouldn’t lose Asti, I held her hand, and she looked up at me.

“There are so many people. Hold on tight so you don’t get lost.”

“Yeah.”

Her response was incredibly cute.

Holding hands and wandering around the market felt strangely like being out with a parent, and Asti’s expression appeared strangely excited.

I felt like this could be a good time for Asti, so I’m glad I came.

Having roughly roamed around, now it was time to find the mob.

Seeing Asti staring at the food with that pleading expression, the same as when she asked me to pet her this morning, made me want to buy everything in sight. But I didn’t have time for that.

The market was only a stop to gather information.

Valuable intel usually comes from old books at the corners of libraries or wandering through dark alleyways of creepy markets.

If I were to start wandering around the library so soon, that would be a waste of time, considering the order of things. So, I decided to come to the market first.

As I was contemplating that, I almost fell because Asti suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“Asti?”

As I called out to Asti, the sound of “Ah” escaped my lips.

She seemed to have her gaze fixed somewhere and began to look back and forth between me and some items with those eyes.

What could possibly have her so captivated this time? To my surprise, it was a beautifully made pink macaron.

Hmmm.

Right.

She’s at an age where she wants something sweet.

With such a demanding look, I felt like I should buy her one.

“Hello, how much for the macarons?”

“Three Hwahwa.”

The rugged-looking man extended three fingers as he spoke.

He looked like he’s been around a while, so I didn’t doubt the taste.

“What color do you want?”

“Hmm…”

Asti started to look around at the macarons.

It was serious yet happy hesitation, as she seemed to struggle with her choice.

Choosing like that must be a happy moment for the kids.

Fortunately, she made her choice quickly and pointed at one macaron.

“Oh.”

Of all things, it was a macaron made of white meringue with red cream.

…It sounded quite significant, but I decided to believe she just picked her favorite color.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

I took the macaron handed to me by the seller and immediately offered it to Asti.

“Try it.”

“…Okay.”

Asti took it but hesitated to put it in her mouth.

Was it too pretty that she found it hard to take a bite?

“I’ll buy you another one the next time we come to the market, so don’t worry about it.”

“…Really?”

Kwhik.

The way Asti asked that, so unlike her, made me wonder what kind of life she led, which made me feel uneasy.

“Yeah, if you like it, you can come every day.”

“…Thank you, Master.”

Seeing her face light up as I smiled, it seemed like she finally felt like eating and carefully brought one macaron to her mouth.

After a few chews, her eyes gradually widened, looking quite adorable.

I should bring her here more often.

If she’s this delighted.

“…My mother used to give me sweets sometimes. They were delicious.”

She must have been captured by those slave traders.

I should’ve beaten them more back then.

“No, my mother trained me to be a slave and then sold me.”

“…Huh?”

Something that sounded like it shouldn’t have been said slipped out so quickly.

Did I really hear that right?

What kind of crazy mother trains her own child to be a slave and then sells them off?

I felt a surge of anger building inside me.

Yet, Asti just quietly took another bite of her macaron and slowly swallowed it.

“My mother was a strong person. Perhaps she will grow even stronger in the future. There must’ve been a reason for sending me away… Ugh.”

She was beginning to complain for the first time, but suddenly she made a painful sound.

“Are you alright?”

“…I bit my tongue on the cookie part.”

Asti looked directly at me and stuck out her tongue.

…Huh?

“What are you doing!”

“Here.”

Her pronunciation was so muffled due to the biting that she showed the spot close to the tip of her tongue.

There was indeed a hint of redness there.

“I get it, so put your tongue back in!”

“Okay.”

Asti answered curtly and resumed her macaron eating.

She looked like she was acting as if nothing happened.

But am I imagining things?

Asti’s sudden silence felt like it was for some other reason than the macaron.

#

I roamed around with the mindset of catching something, but I found that meeting merchants who sell information was harder than expected.

I knew they could be hiding somewhere, but isn’t this a bit too much for them to not show up at all?

“Hey, buddy. What are you looking for?”

As I kept wandering the same area, a merchant asked me, but of course, someone selling something in the open wouldn’t know anything about that.

Sigh.

I thought I could at least find one person like that, but now it seems there’s really no one around?

I wandered through alleyways that felt like I’d inadvertently end up in an exhibition of organs yet couldn’t find anyone, so it seems they’re truly absent.

I don’t know when I’ll have another chance if not today.

Or maybe I should look for a separate area where a civil group might be?

So as I was about to step away from the market place to check out nearby lodges.

“What are you wandering around for? If you’re trying to buy info, I can sell it cheap.”

Suddenly, a voice whispered in my ear, freezing me in place.

Could it really be what I was searching for?

Of course, it’s about thirty percent of my interest.

But more than that.

The voice felt familiar, like I had heard it somewhere before.

I gradually turned my body in the direction of the voice, and there she was.

With her signature chestnut hair and sharp eyes—she was radiating enthusiasm this time unlike before.

And she was waving her arms around, grinning mischievously.

“Ehehe, it’s been a while.”

Agartha, looking much more composed than before, was standing there.

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