Legia's Return

The Next Day

As usual, when the sun had just risen, Jamie stepped out of his inn, but now with a gleaming black sword in hand.

The sword was not the one he had been using all along, the one that had become his constant companion for all his time as a soldier..

The sword Jamie carried now was a new one, its surface shining black. It was a new sword named Rupture.

As for his previous 'beloved' swords, he had stored them away in the corner of his mind. He didn't even consider using it anymore.

Oh~ how easily a man's heart can be swayed when he sees something more beautiful.

With a radiant smile, Jamie began swinging his sword. His enthusiasm seemed to be twice as great as yesterday.

Agilely, he moved here and there, showcasing his swordsmanship. Controlling his mana, he cut through the prepared wooden blocks. The longer he practiced, the wider his smile became. And sometimes, he even laughs so loudly, like a maniac.

Cien, who emerged from his shop with a bow and arrows, immediately looked bewildered when he caught a glimpse of Jamie's expression.

'Ugh... who is this? He's so creepy... and where's the usual Jamie?'

Cien quickly averted his gaze, unwilling to see the man who was now laughing crazily. In his heart, Cien began to question whether giving Rupture to Jamie was the right decision or not.

'Rupture is one of the basic weapons in the phone's recipe. What if I gave him something better?'

Cien hurriedly walked towards the forest, heading towards the next target. As he walked, he faintly heard Jamie's voice calling out. Cien ignored it.

Ding!

Suddenly, his cellphone in his pocket vibrated and made a sound. Cien's footsteps came to a halt. He took out his phone and saw a notification on the screen.

On the map of his shop area, at the border of the formation, there was a dot indicating that a human had just entered the protected area.

Cien had set up the protective formation to allow any human to enter unless they had malicious intent.

Seeing someone had just entered his territory, Cien raised an eyebrow. Then he remembered the woman who was supposed to return to pick up Jamie.

"Legia, is it?"

If only Cien had known about the Friend feature before Legia and the Princess left. He would have definitely added them to his friends list. So if the moving dot on the map was indeed Legia, it would display Legia's name above it.

Just like Jamie, whose name Cien could see on his phone.

Not long after, Jamie, who had been calling out to him, finally approached.

He was surprised to see the Shop Owner looking towards a certain place. Specifically, towards the forest on the eastern side of the shop.

"What's the matter, Mr. Millard? Is there a monster sneaking in here?" Jamie asked curiously.

He even prepared himself with his new sword, hoping that a monster would indeed come so he tested the Rupture.

Cien looked at Jamie cynically.

"What are you expecting? It's likely your boss is coming to pick you up."

"Huh? Do you mean, Lieutenant Legia? That's impossible, Mr. Millard! No matter how quickly the war ends, the post-war settlement process will still take longer."

"That may be true for the Princess, but your superior is not from Huntara, isn't she? Is she even participating in the war? There is no reason for her to join that damn war."

"...oh, right."

The longer Cien talked with Jamie, the more his brain felt depleted. Cien shook his head slightly and continued walking to his original destination.

"Mr. Millard! Where are you going?"

"Where else? Hunting!"

"Eh? Umm, what about Lieutenant Legia?"

"She's your superior, isn't she? Why are you asking me? If she wants to meet me, tell her to wait for a moment. I won't be long anyway. If she just wants to take you away, just go!"

Cien walked away and disappeared into the dark forest. For Cien, the fact that the person could enter without any obstacles from his protective formation meant that the person didn't have ill intentions.

So for now, Cien wasn't too worried about the person who was about to arrive.

What he should be concerned about were the monsters that existed on the border of his formation's territory.

"Goddamnit! Why do those monsters keep coming every day?"

Jamie heard Cien's frustration, which made him shudder slightly. He imagined the unfortunate fate that awaited the monsters that would become the Shop Owner's prey.

Jamie began to sympathize with those monsters.

Well, that sympathy only lasted briefly. A second later, Jamie swung his sword again with hysterical laughter as if possessed by a demon.

Luckily, it didn't take long for the strange laughter to stop. The rustling sound of grass from the east of the Shop interrupted Jamie's sword practice.

The man turned his head towards the forest over there, waiting for the figure to emerge from within.

Less than a minute later, someone wearing a black robe that covered everything from the hair to the feet appeared.

Only now did Jamie realize that Cien could have been mistaken. How did the Shop Owner know that the person who came was his superior?

Jamie quickly prepared himself in case the hooded figure was not someone he knew.

The mysterious person remained silent for a moment. Looking at Jamie, she then uncovered her hood, revealing the face of a woman who was both beautiful and masculine.

"Jamie! Are you feeling better?"

The woman greeted him, who turned out to be Legia. She looked happy and ran a short distance to where Jamie was.

"Lieutenant! It is indeed you! Yes, I've been healthy since two weeks ago! I even feel stronger than before!"

Jamie cheerfully replied. The two of them then embraced each other as friends. Legia examined Jamie's body from head to toe. She truly saw that her comrade had returned to his former self.

"Sigh..."

Legia let out a long sigh. She had always been worried about Jamie's condition.

When she left her subordinate in the care of Lord Millard and went to Huntara, Jamie was on the verge of death.

But it seemed that her decision to entrust Jamie to Lord Millard's care was not a wrong one.

"I'm relieved that you're fine. I wasn't sure if I had the courage to face the Commander without you. How was your day here?"

Jamie then recounted his daily life and work, assisting Mr. Millard built the inn and tended to his garden.

Legia listened attentively, occasionally letting out a small laugh. She then turned to the newly constructed inn, which she had never seen before.

She couldn't believe that Lord Millard and Jamie had built this inn. Just the two of them in a short time.

And to top it off, Jamie mentioned that the majority of the inn was built without using nails, yet it remained sturdy like any other building.

"Lord Millard is truly an extraordinary person. Ah, where is he? I'd like to greet him."

"He's out hunting. He'll be back soon."

Sure enough, less than five minutes later, Cien's figure returned. This time too, he didn't bring any game with him.

"Where's the game?" Ask Jamie.

"It was a giant worm. Yesterday's materials from the worm are still not used, adding more will only fill storage. You can't even eat it because of the mucus. So I burn it."

Jamie glanced up at the sky where Cien had gone earlier. There, he noticed a small plume of smoke rising towards the sky.

"What a shame…" Jamie whispered, thinking that today he wouldn't be getting free meat.

Meanwhile, Cien turned to Legia.

"You're back," he said.

Legia politely nodded and slightly bowed to Cien.

"Yes, Lord Millard, thanks to you. Hopefully my presence won't be troublesome."

Cien smiled, "Of course not. Especially if you buy items from my shop. I would be very happy."

Legia chuckled in response. Whether she would buy anything or not, only time would tell.

Cien then looked at Legia seriously. The woman felt the gaze and returned it with a more serious expression.

"What about Huntara?"

"For now, Blackwinter has been secured. But... I don't know if it's according to plan or not. However, Huntara still lost one of its cities."

"...."

"!!! What do you mean, Lieutenant?!"

Unlike Jamie, who was shocked, Cien appeared silent and thoughtful. From Legia's tone, the loss of the city didn't seem like a bad thing. But he knew what she actually meant.

"For the details..."

Cien raised his hand, gesturing for Legia to stop. Then he pointed his head towards the shop.

"Let's go inside. You haven't had breakfast, right? I'll treat you. Your journey here must have been difficult. We'll discuss the details after you fill your stomach and rest."

Cien then walked towards the front door of his shop. Legia gave him a sweet smile and finally followed suit. Jamie quickly followed behind Legia.

However, before Cien entered, he glanced at Jamie.

"Where are you going?"

"Umm... to have a meal?"

"I never invited you. You have your own food. If it's not enough, just take some vegetables from the garden or the forest. I'm sure the meat from yesterday hasn't run out yet. Come on, Legia, let's go inside. Let that crazy person make his own breakfast."

"..."

Cien and Legia entered, leaving Jamie stunned, staring blankly at the closed door.

"W-Why is the treatment so different?"

Clank!

Just as Jamie complained, the front door opened again. Cien's head peeked out from inside.

"What do you mean by different? Have you forgotten who nursed you back to health from the brink of death? Have you forgotten the free food and meat I provided? Have you forgotten about the Rupture? Spoiled brat, go away! Go back to your training!"

Brak!

The door closed once again.

Jamie could only gape in silence, unable to retort. Even if he wanted to argue, what was there to argue about? Everything Cien said was true. Jamie owed the Shop Owner a lot.

"Sigh..."

With shoulders slumped, Jamie returned to the front yard of the inn. Back to his training routine, although this time without the sound of hysterical laughter.

Indeed, Jamie's enthusiasm had drastically diminished from before.

Inside the shop, Cien instructed Legia to sit at the dining table while he prepared breakfast for both of them.

Once ready, Cien and Legia had breakfast together. The meal passed peacefully without a single word exchanged. Only the sounds of chewing, utensils, and glasses echoed in the dining room.

After eating, Legia wanted to share about the events in Huntara. However, Cien forbade her from doing so. He told Legia to go to the inn and choose an empty room there.

"Rest for now. We'll discuss this later tonight. Oh, if you want to take a bath, you can use the bathroom inside here. There's one outside, but I'm afraid you might hesitate because Jamie is there."

"Hahaha, it's alright, Lord Millard. I'll use the one outside. Jamie wouldn't dare to peek. He already knows the consequences of such actions."

"Ah~ so he has done it before. He's truly foolish."