Why Ignorant Harems Are Dangerous

40 – #10. Northern Fortress (1)

A wooden sword collides with a fist.

Considering the length, of course I, holding the wooden sword, should have taken the initiative, but the man’s fist cut off the path of the wooden sword in advance every second, pushing it away right away before it accelerated.

“Wield it with intent to kill!”

How do you attack an opponent with the intention of killing them in Dalian?

I wanted to argue like that, but soon I allowed myself to embrace his movement that jumped out half a beat quickly. There is no need to explain the natural procedure that followed and that I was hit right in the chest.

“…… Uh-wook Aren’t you hitting me too hard?”

“If you don’t, you won’t be able to train.”

The man who had been swinging his fist, Jack smiled and held out his hand.

About a month has passed since the incident in Chengdu.

If it is short, it is a short period of time, but for me personally, it felt like a fairly long period of time.

Even if they ran away from the Chengdu, the work did not end, and rather, it seemed to have become more complicated considering the problems of the empress and the future base.

And this man who smiles and extends his hand in front of me.

“What is it, what did you put on your face?”

“It’s not like that.”

Watching Jack groping his face with his hand, he shook his head.

After we escaped from the Chengdu, we decided to secure another base.

Mea said that the Empress was also looking for me, and it was actually true that the Empress was preparing for a continental-scale war.

Therefore, it was impossible to return to the place where the whereabouts were already discovered, and it was concluded that it was impossible to know when Cecilia would interfere again if it continued to stay in the Seongguk area.

So we moved to the north.

Even in the Holy Land, it is more northern. It was a city named Sacheri, but it was also close to the cliff of grief, so it was a place where the eyes of the people on the continent could not reach.

People live on the periphery of this continent.

Rather, it was a city located close to the territory of the demons, so the height of the walls was higher than that of most cities, and the boundaries were strict.

If you ask why Jack is in our party, the reason is simple.

It’s good that he left the Holy Land, but he lost all the achievements he had accumulated and achieved there, and Jack was reduced to a penniless wanderer.

So right after he got out of the castle, he talked to Mea.

‘Hey, count Luianes will be better. Wouldn’t you like to hire us cheaply?’

Straight words.

His explanation was extremely simple.

Since they acted to help me regardless of their intentions, I wondered if I could trust them in that area. It was a shameless but really reasonable request to think of it as training and reaping because there was some skill there.

At first, Mea shook his head negatively.

They don’t need to attract attention because they’ve been around a lot, and most of all, they don’t trust Jack and his friends. Didn’t they say that it’s better to move alone than to take someone you don’t know for no reason?

Actually, I liked Jack.

He showed a human side, and he seemed to be honest and human beings who had been in various crimes.

Moreover, considering that he owed him a lot, he didn’t want to choose the option of breaking up so coldly, so he thought of defending him as much as he could by pulling Mea’s collar lightly.

‘…… What, what What. Don’t look at me like that.’

But before she could say anything, just staring at her for a moment made her face slightly frown.

‘Ah, really! Looking like an abandoned cat like that…… , I don’t know! It’s okay, so do it on your own.’

She said that and left her choice to me, and I wanted to repay Jack for the kindness he had received, so the option of leaving Jack behind did not exist in the first place.

So I ended up with him, Mea, and Lenny.

After that, it was about 10 days ago that I arrived in the northern part of the continent called Sacheri, and Mea took care of everything, such as finding a place to live there and purchasing citizenship.

Besides, Mea is actually taking care of the employment of Jack and the rest of the party, so if you think about it, didn’t Mea handle everything until she got here?

…… Uh, it really looks like Mea took over everything.

What have I been doing?

Hmm. First of all, I played with Lenny and sparred with Jack in this way. What else did you do there? I don’t remember very well.

“What is it, bro? Why are you so blank all of a sudden? Did I hit you too hard?”

“…… Jack. Will I be seen as a pillar west?”

“Why are there clues attached? Isn’t it natural?”

It must look that way too.

What will she say when she hears that Meah, who has actually been freed from the curse of fascination?

She always grumbled at me and often made sarcastic remarks, but in that respect, she probably would say that she hates being involved with you like that.

If you think like that, another question arises.

Why does Mea help me so much?

She understands what I said to atone for. Mea feared that there would be someone who abused my ability, and she clung to me, but in fact, Cecilia was preparing a crusade using charm.

I understand everything up to that point, but even taking that into account, her Mea’s dedication is a bit questionable.

If that’s all there is to it, why would she need to help me, who said she hated it?

If it hadn’t been for the funds she supported on our journey so far, it was clear that we would still be wandering around her holy land like beggars.

If it wasn’t for Mea’s help, she would not have been able to stand on the starting line, so she is only grateful, but isn’t this a role she loses too much?

“Why are you making such a complicated expression?”

Jack patted me on the back and turned his head away.

In the distance, I see Lenny sitting on a chair in the garden and Mea standing by the girl. The two of them must have talked about various things during this journey, and now they have developed a relationship to the point of calling them older sisters and younger sisters.

I was still grateful to her.

Someday, I will have to pay back to Mea, but how can I repay this much grace?

“If the count gives it to you for free, just take it and eat it.”

“I can’t do that.”

“I felt that the relationship between the two of us was very complicated, but first of all, the other side did it without expecting anything in return, right? If you ask me to repay you later, then I will ask if you have a contract.”

I laughed a little at the answer that seemed like a trade.

However, the thing I was most worried about was Mea’s safety.

She rose to the position of a prestigious hero within the empire, much less an aide to the empress. While she is emptying her empire and moving, will there be no interference in the Baja Empire?

Judging from what has happened so far, it is right to judge that the Empress is definitely broken somewhere.

She doesn’t know if it was because I left or if she just hid it. But it seemed to be true that her clear disposition had become cruel, and if this made her uncomfortable… ….

“What are you whispering about?”

While I was sitting and contemplating for a while, Mea, who had been far away, approached this place before I knew it, and was making the usual sad expression.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Merchant, I didn’t ask you.”

“I would appreciate it if you could call me the mercenary commander now.”

Ignoring Jack’s blunt rebuttal, she turned her gaze straight to me.

“Everything is good, but do you plan on not eating?”

“Is that already?”

“It has already passed. It’s nice when the two of you guys smell like sweat, but I hope you’ll at least think about us when you’re living together.”

She didn’t hide her sharp reaction even after going through her work at her Chengdu.

She seemed to be bluntly reprimanding me, but now that I’m used to Mea’s reaction, I think it’s a good thing that I can treat her with a smile.

“Sorry. I’ll just clean up here first and I’ll be back soon.”

There are already more than five broken wooden swords around.

All of this was broken by bumping into Jack’s fist.

When I think of that, I feel again how strong the man in front of me is, and I think about what kind of people the heroes who are pushed back without being able to use their hands and feet even like that.

I stared at Jack and Mea for a moment, and she responded immediately.

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“No. What I feel while training my body like this is that you guys are really great people.”

Cecilia is the same, Mea is the same.

I knew that Neira had a notoriety widely known on the continent, but she only saw something after she trained herself like this.

A hero’s name is not a lie.

What is this curse of fascination that makes even them unable to resist and become subjugated? Even more doubts remained about his ability to forcibly seize even those who were much stronger and greater than me.

“What are you talking about?”

Meah meanwhile shrugged her shoulders at my words and nodded her head.

“Isn’t it a gap that can be caught up with only a few years of holding the sword? If you pick someone who still uses a sword on this continent, you are common.”

I thought I put in a lot of effort, but I can’t help but understand it when I hear it like this.

Sometimes I thought of the battle in the Holy City. And in the process, I thought of what I could do, but always the ending was that I couldn’t do anything without Mea’s help.

Perhaps, if Mea hadn’t come all the way to the Holy Land to help me, she might have given in to Cecilia’s words.

Her words were self-righteous good deeds that were completely unacceptable, but in the process, even if I resisted, there was no sharp point.

“That’s right.”

As Mea tried to stand up, she poked her finger at my shoulder.

“Don’t stretch out for nothing. Don’t step out and don’t be conceited just because you’ve improved your skills. Then die soon.”

“Whoah, sister. Aren’t the words too exaggerated? If a man wants to improve his skills and stand up straight, don’t say that cheering is a woman’s role, ah!! Now, hold on!!”

Before Jack could speak further, Mea’s fist struck him in the stomach.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Don’t take it for granted.”

“…… While being foolish, I accepted everything.”

“What?”

“Ah, let’s not come!!”

Jack shook his head desperately to mean that it was more appropriate to say no.

Mea couldn’t have overheard the whisper, but she snorted and shook her head, as if she didn’t want to argue about the matter.

“Anyway, you have a child to take care of. End irresponsible things once and for all.”

She nodded at her last words before leaving.

It was my responsibility to take care of the child who lost her entire family. My original problem that I couldn’t hand over to Mea, and I couldn’t rely on Jack either.

I got up from my seat.

There is still a long way to go, and although he actually fled to this city, he had no intention of completely neglecting the continental issue.

I’ll have to go back someday.

So, I reap the seeds I sow, and from there the atonement begins. The problems caused by this curse and the things that happened as a result are all mine.

Apart from him and the problem, it felt like Mea’s words eventually turned around and made me worry. I have no words to give back when I say it is self-conscious, but I know you meant not to die.

That’s why I followed Mea’s back as she walked away and lightly tapped her on the shoulder.

“Thank you.”

“Wow!?”

But instead of answering her, she blushes with her strange moan.

I didn’t know why, so I tilted her head, but in the end, it was her irritation that came back instead of an answer. Mea openly distanced herself and shouted, making her blush.

“Don’t come closer! Warm, smelling like sweat….”

“Did it smell that bad?”

I didn’t expect that.

After all, I wonder if I can’t feel body odor myself.

Even so, I wondered if I was overreacting, but it was hard to say anything when I saw her shaking her head desperately and exuding her strange atmosphere.

Leaving behind her the receding Mea, she turned her head toward Jack, who was approaching her.

“Jack. Do I smell?”

“I don’t know.”

I can’t feel anything even when I pull my clothes on myself and sniff her.

Is this just Mea being particularly sensitive to her smell?

“Well, aren’t all women creatures like that?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Originally, all women are complicated.”

I nodded at Jack’s answer, feeling his age, and followed Mea’s back, who was moving further away.