80 Ch-80: Katarina (2)

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Awakening from darkness and confusion, Katarina blankly looked at her arms — padded with a splint, and neatly bandaged.

She continued to look at her arms.

She had no sense of reality at all.

From her point of view, it was ludicrous.

She was on her way home happily after receiving her daily pay.

At the crossroads, she bumped into something that suddenly popped out, was knocked away, fainted, and when she opened her eyes, she was in this condition.

"Aww…"

She felt exhilarating pain as she moved her arm slightly. At this point, she had no choice but to admit — her arm was broken.

'Now what?'

Katarina, the sole breadwinner of the family, had five younger siblings to look after.

She was a third grade dancer and with the meager wages she received, it was barely enough, she could hardly feed her siblings full.

But now… for now… that didn't look possible.

Who the hell would hire a dancer with one of her arm dangling?

Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Katarina was about to accept the bleak reality.

"That… I'm sorry."

When the man who bumped into her apologized.

Katarina narrowed her eyes and looked at the apologizing man. He was handsome, beyond handsome, but to her, the present her, he was her enemy.

"No, why in the alley… ha… no no no."

She tried to shoot something and stopped.

'It was an accident, not an intentional one.'

And he was very sorry, wasn't he?

She tried to erase everything about Cloud from her head and go back to her real problems.

"Here… I know it's nothing for what I did, but please take it."

A small pouch appeared in her vision, Cloud holding it.

""

Katarina tilted her head, took the pouch and opened it.

There was money in the pocket.

She snapped her eyes and counted the coins in the pouch.

'T, This…with this the young'uns w-won't have to starve!'

No, she might even be able to save a little.

Will she finally be able to have something called savings for the first time?

Katarina, who had a bright expression on her face, froze. She came back to her senses and corrected her expression with a line coughing.

"Ahem. What is this money?"

"You look like a dancer, but because of me, you won't be able to find a job for a while. I'm taking responsibility for what I have done. Please do not decline by all means. This puts my mind at ease."

Was the word responsibility originally such a sweet word?

Katarina nodded her head, fighting back her lips from wobbling.

"Then… I, I will take it. Thank you. You don't have to worry about my arm. It will heal…"

Just as Katarina was about to turn her back with a smile.

"Ah, wait a moment."

Cloud's voice caught her.

Should she have said more? Katarina stopped, half turned and waited for him to speak. With a shifting expression, he spoke.

"This is a little sudden but the circumstances, well… can I stay at your house for a while?"

"Yes?"

Katarina wondered if her own ears had taken some serious injury.

But Cloud's voice was sincere.

'Is he crazy!?'

They didn't know each other and had met for the first time today. Why would he request to stay in her house?!

Nonsense.

She will refuse…

"It's small, but I'll pay the price."

Cloud pulled out another pouch.

Katarina's eyes fluttered slightly.

* * *

If a stranger you just met today asks to stay in your house for a while, how many would accept?

There would probably be very few.

Especially if they have a family to take care of.

Therefore, the process of convincing Katarina was quite arduous.

I described what I went through and how harsh the inns in Oulheim was for tourists.

I also proved that I was not a dangerous person.

She accepted it only after I accepted her's — terms — confiscating my weapons, helping with the housework, and paying for the stay.

"It's a pretty shady place."

The place Katarina and I were walking through was a slum in Oulheim. She strode down the ominous dark street, unaffected.

"Isn't it dangerous to stay in a place like this?"

Katarina chuckled at my question.

"It may look like that from the outside, but it's a lot better place to live than you think. Quite a lot."

"Quite a lot, huh?"

I looked around.

Yobs spitting and squabbling on the streets; and beggars with broken bones.

Seeds that would turn into robbers given the chance and a sharp knife.

Admiring her courageous remark, I made my way through narrow streets. Soon we came across a shabby house in the corner of the street, her footsteps towards it.

Katarina pulled the doorknob of the shabby house and the hinge holding the door fell off.

"Ah, here we go again. Still usable… after I borrow a hammer from the blacksmith?"

Katarina, in a manner dangerously familiar, picked up the hinges and nails that had fallen off.

"It's quite shabby, but please come in."

"Excuse me."

I followed Katarina into the house.

Contrary to the shabby exterior, the interior was quite nice. Brazier, pot, bed and so on. Everything was there. Old, but clean.

"Sister!"

A small child, barely reaching my waist, ran up to us and hugged Katarina. Starting with that child, two other children ran out and hugged Katarina tightly.

Not joining in on the embracing session were the older siblings who seemed to be going through puberty, and the elderly pair who looked like a couple.

The old couple looked at Katarina's arm, eyes wide.

"Katarina, what happened to your arm?!"

"Which bastard hit you?!"

Katarina smiled awkwardly and shook her head.

"No one hit me. I just missed a step and fell, causing it to sprain."

Katarina hid that I had bumped into her.

Maybe because she didn't want me to feel discomfort during my stay here.

"I have someone to introduce."

"Who would you like to introduce? Huh?! Is he your boyfriend?! Hey, it's too sudden! You never told us before!"

"It's not like that! Grandma, see Grandpa, he's over fussing again."

"No no, my dear, it's worth a fuss! You don't know, but all men are wolves, wolves! Add a guy with a smug handsome face like that. How many girls must have cried over that face? Never fall for that!"

Smug..?

"It's not like that, really… he's Cloud, and he's a tourist who came to witness the festival, but due to some circumstances, he has to stay in our house for a while."

"Wh, What?! Katarina, you are an unmarried young woman, you cannot sleep under the same roof with another man, try to understand."

"Wh, What?! Katarina, you are an unmarried young woman, you cannot sleep under the same roof with another man, try to understand."

Said the old man as he jumped up, causing Katarina to sigh as she looked at me.

"Grandpa please… I'm exhausted from going through so much today. Can't you just give me a break?"

"Kat, your Grandpa at times does make a fuss, but this is an important issue. Yours and your siblings' safety is at stake."

The Grandma interjected softly as she clasped Katarina's hands with her wrinkled fingers.

Katarina smiled. "Thank you for your concern. It's okay, though. His weapons have been confiscated, and I have the confidence to protect myself as well as my my brothers and sisters."

"Katarina, think again…"

The old couple persistently persuaded, but Katarina's determination was firm. At her insistence, the old couple had no choice but to back down.

"Alright… I see. Goddess, who can break your stubbornness? We'll be going then. Talk to us anytime if you need help."

"Pay attention and see if that wolf isn't trying anything sneaky!"

The old couple left the house only after they each uttered their concerns.

"Who are they?"

"There are people who live around here. When I go out to work as a dancer, they take care of my young brothers and sisters."

"They are good people."

"Didn't I tell you? It's a very friendly neighborhood."

Katarina said, while taking out ingredients such as cabbage and carrots from a large basket.

"We will be having soup for dinner. Are you going to eat with us, Cloud-nim?"

"I think we're of the same age, you can talk casually to me."

"Yes? Alright. Then, would you be eating with us, Cloud?"

"Yup. But will you be able to cook with one hand? May I help you?"

"I certainly can. One hand is enough to make the soup, so our dear customer can rest."

Saying so, Katarina started cutting the vegetables on the chopping board. Likely, if you have a knack for it, you can cut nicely with one hand, using snaps of the wrist.

With nothing else to do other than resting needlessly, I picked up the hinges and nails that Katarina had placed on the table.

"Hey, what's your name?" I asked the teenage girl who had been staring at me for a long time. She pointed a finger at herself, as if asking for confirmation.

"Me?"

"Yeah, yeah you. What is your name?"

"Brenna…"

"Nice, Brenna. Can you help this Oppa of yours?"

"Yes!"

Brenna pranced joyfully.

"How can Brenna help you?"

"While I fit the door into the gap, hold the doorknob and make sure the door doesn't fall over. Can you do that?"

Brena nodded her head vigorously.

"Then, when I give you a signal, hold it. One. Two. Three. Now!"

Brena grabbed the doorknob and began to hold it against her weight. Meanwhile, I positioned the hinges and nails on the door frame.

I placed a thumb on the nail head and pressed it firmly. The nail went in as smooth as a fork through jelly.

All the remaining nails were driven in the same way — the way of force.

"Would you like to open the door now?"

Brena pulled the adjoined door and her eyes widened.

"Wow… is it really fixed?" She exclaimed. "Oppa is great. How strong does Brenna have to be so she can push in the nails with her bare fingers?"

"Just a little strong, haha."

After fixing the door, it was soon time for dinner.

Brenna recounted with exaggeration how I fixed the door as she scooped out the delicious soup.

Katarina's eyes widened as she heard my story as she stared at me.

* * *

"Honestly, isn't this a little too much?"

"At the beginning, the clause was to confiscate your weapons. But I'm realizing after hearing Brenna, your body is a weapon itself."

"But this doesn't warrant you tying my wrists and ankles… How would I sleep like this?"

"Noisy. Be thankful I'll be tying you up at night only."

Katarina pushed him back to sleep, as if unavailable to listen to any further objections. And now, he had to crouch like a chrysalis on the ground, blankly staring at the ceiling.

It wasn't until Katarina fell asleep that he untied the knots. It was not difficult for him to untie the knots tied by a beginner.

Walking out of the house, two people with their faces covered with masks were waiting for him.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. It took time for Katarina to fall asleep."

"Why did you approach Katarina?"

'Getting straight to the point, aren't we?'

But it wasn't undesirable or anything.

"Why don't you guys take those stuffy masks off your faces before we start talking? Grandma, Grandpa."

"…"

They quietly took off their masks.

The faces of the old couple he met at Katarina's house during the day were revealed.

"…Since when did you find out?"

"From the moment I first saw you."

The structure of muscles and flow of qi was not that of an ordinary old man. A body that cannot be structured without being highly trained. This only meant that they were no ordinary old-fashioned couple.

"Rightly so, I think. I heard the rumors that the Hero of the Kingdom of Prona was completely different from before, and the rumors are indeed true."

The old man nodded his head. Soon, he spoke with a threatening tone in his voice.

"I showed my face as requested, so answer the question. What's your intention? Why approach Katarina?"

"I have no intention. Only that I am the one who broke that arm, and I was just trying to help out a little out of pity."

"Don't take us for idiots. As a Hero, you have enough means to heal Katarina's arm. And you certainly didn't have to accompany her and live in her house to help. Tell us your true intention."

"Nope."

"…"

The threat that the old pair exuded deepened.

"I won't say it, but here's my promise — I won't let any harm fall upon Katarina. So tell him not to worry about his daughter."

"How can we believe… wait what?"

The old pair's faces hardened.

"…how much do you know?"

"Everything," Cloud said. "Don't worry, I have no intention of doing any harm."

"…"

"If you can't believe me, there's nothing I can do."

The old pair put on their masks back on and started to loosen their hands lightly.

"…I hope those words are sincere."

With those words, the old pair jumped up onto the rooftop. After confirming that they had moved away, I called out.

"Shedia."

"Yes."

Shedia rose from my shadow, bathed under moonlight. In her hands were the heads of the vampires that were following us.

"Did you take care of everything?"

"I killed all except these two you let go."

Shedia put the heads down on the floor and reached out her hand towards me with a face full of anticipation.

"No. It's not all over yet."

Shedia gave a sullen expression.

* * *

"Aha. I see… I see."

He nodded, and the old pair jumped off.

Having let them go, he looked at the stone statue in the center of his room.

A stone statue of a beautiful dancer performing a sword dance.

He muttered, his voice faint.

"Anelliese."

The name of the dancer who was once the best in the all of Oulheim.

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02