TCMED 06

Chapter 06

The square was filled with the bustle of preparing for the evening.

I walked for about ten minutes, getting jostled here and there. After entering the shopping street, I no longer needed the map.

Even though it was late, a few large carriages were coming and going, and employees were moving busily in the largest building. On its signboard was written the name of the place I was looking for.

“Hello.”

“Your daily companion, the Filia Caravan. How may I help you?”

As I entered, the employee at the counter greeted me brightly.

“Yes, I’d like to leave a small request with Renasso.”

“Ah… You mean Renasso.”

The employee glanced at the clock with a slightly troubled expression.

Muttering that he wasn’t sure if that fellow would still be there, he furrowed his brows and pointed to one of the corridors.

“Renasso’s business hours are almost over, so I’m not sure if they can take your request right now. If you go straight down that way, you’ll find the request room—would you like to try? If not, I can help you from my side.”

“Oh, yes. I understand. Thank you.”

I followed his directions and entered the narrow corridor.

Unlike other areas bustling with people coming to see goods, this place was quiet.

It wasn’t difficult to find the place marked ‘Renasso’ in elegant lettering.

I parted the thick cloth door—instead of wood—and carefully entered.

“Excuse me. Are you still open?”

What I saw upon entering was this:

Two desks—presumably for reception and work—three chairs, one coat rack with robes hanging on it, and various magical artifacts adorning the walls.

And the back view of a man removing the half-mask worn by Renasso employees.

The black-haired man was tall, appearing at least a head and a half taller than most at a glance.

His movement as he turned around at the sound of my presence reeked of annoyance. It seemed I was indeed late.

“Business hours are over—”

But the moment our eyes met in midair.

Suddenly, he began showing strange symptoms.

As if time had stopped, he couldn’t continue his sentence, and the mask dropped from his hand, but he didn’t even glance at it.

His blue eyes simply fixed on me.

Just as I was flustered by his sudden behavior and about to feel uncomfortable under his gaze—the man smiled a picturesque smile.

“…You came just before I closed. Welcome. What brings you here?”

A flicker of unease passed through my gaze as I looked at his beaming face, but it soon subsided.

I didn’t know why he had flipped his attitude like turning over his hand, but since he was willing to take my request, it was good for me.

“I’m looking for an inn to stay for about a week, but it’s been hard to find one. Do you take this kind of request?”

“Of course.”

The man, not even finishing his sentence, picked up a robe from the coat rack. A plain hood covered his black hair.

“It’s not a difficult request, so I’ll accept it. Let’s go.”

“Right now, just like that?”

“I happen to know a good place.”

I looked up at the man who had come right before me in deceptively leisurely steps.

Perhaps due to the shadows cast by the backlight on his features, just meeting his eyes felt like being deep underwater.

Up close, he was a neat and handsome man, enough to offset the intimidating presence his large frame gave off. To be honest, I was momentarily mesmerized.

“One issue is that it’s a bit far from the center of the square. Is that alright?”

“Oh, that’s fine.”

“Good.”

The man smiled so brightly that his blue eyes were barely visible, and gestured toward the entrance.

“Then let’s go.”

“Um, but…”

There was one small problem with leaving like this. I reflexively raised one hand halfway.

“Yes.”

As the man tilted his head, I pointed to the floor near his desk. There lay the white half-mask he had dropped.

“Aren’t you going to pick up your mask?”

“…Ah.”

Pure embarrassment rose on his face, which had until then been filled with a relaxed smile and a peculiar slyness. He seemed to have genuinely forgotten about his mask.

He picked it up as if nothing happened, and I found it so amusing that I bit the inside of my cheek.

The employee, having returned to face me, brought the half-mask up to his nose and then stopped.

After looking down at me through the eye holes for a moment, he tucked the mask into the pocket inside his hood. Then, as if nothing had happened, he gave a faint smile.

“Now, let’s really go.”

**03. The Dreamer**

After entering a back alley and changing directions a few times, we came upon a small but well-maintained inn.

“Here you go. Please take your room key.”

“Thank you.”

And I had succeeded in securing lodging.

At a very reasonable price, at that!

Thinking of the hardship of running around without even having dinner properly, my eyes grew moist.

“Is it all done?”

I spun around at the question from behind. There stood the man who had guided me here.

Thanks to exchanging names on the way, I now knew this angel’s name. I called out to him, full of joy and gratitude.

“Jun!”

“Yes, Thetis.”

“You saved my life. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Facing his gently spreading smile, I beamed as well.

“How should I pay the commission fee?”

Since no one could guarantee how a request would turn out, Renasso operated on a post-payment system.

But my request to find lodging was simple in terms of success or failure, with few variables.

So I had asked on the way how much the fee would roughly be, but Jun kept avoiding the answer, saying he’d tell me when we arrived.

So I honestly asked if he was trying to rip me off, and he suddenly burst out laughing alone in the middle of the street, which was quite awkward. I still don’t know what was so funny.

Perhaps remembering that moment again, he twitched the corners of his mouth and asked.

“Are you busy tomorrow?”

Tomorrow, all of a sudden?

I had been planning to rest from travel fatigue and wander around the area to learn the geography. Wondering what he might want in return, I spoke a bit reluctantly.

“I don’t have any specific plans tomorrow, but—”

“Ugh, COUGH! Hack, cough, KAACK!”

Suddenly, a sound almost like spitting blood came from behind.

Startled, I turned around to see the innkeeper hunched over under the counter, coughing violently.

I looked around, thinking of getting him some water.

“…”

And then I saw it. For a brief moment, a chilling sharpness flashed across Jun’s expression as he looked at the innkeeper.

While I was dumbfounded, the innkeeper straightened up again. A hint of horror briefly appeared in his light brown eyes as he looked at Jun.

Only then did I realize what had passed between the two. It was the revulsion one feels at a close acquaintance’s coyness.

Thanks to that, I understood the situation a bit more.

‘Hmm. No wonder he found lodging without any hesitation. Seems like he’s close with the innkeeper.’

I could also understand the innkeeper’s intense reaction. Yes, I remembered feeling utterly disgusted myself when I once witnessed a friend acting coquettishly.

“Are you alright?”

“Hack, hmm, ah, yes, yes. I’m fine. Just got a bit of a coughing fit.”

When I asked out of courtesy, the innkeeper replied in a voice so pleasant it made one forget the earlier coughing.

After drinking some water and calming down, he told us to continue our conversation and left through the back door entirely.

“Thetis, don’t mind him.”

I watched his retreating back and turned my head toward Jun.

He wore a harmless expression, as if he had never made such a harsh face.

Seeing that, I fell into thought for a moment.

No matter how much it was a service job, people don’t usually go this far for a client. If I were Jun, I would have taken the money and left long ago.

Since I’m not one to believe in love at first sight, I found it difficult to understand his reaction.

“Have we met somewhere before?”

So I ended up asking such a question. I really never thought I’d be saying this line myself.

But Jun merely wore an enigmatic smile and didn’t give a clear answer. Instead, he naturally picked up my luggage from the floor.

Before I knew it, I was walking alongside him up the stairs and down the hallway to my room.

“Hmm…”

Throughout that time, he kept making thoughtful sounds.

But it sounded contrived, making me think Jun was deliberately drawing it out.

As expected, upon reaching my room, he returned my luggage and immediately spoke.

“If you’re curious, how about we have the commission fee as lunch tomorrow?”

I’m not that curious.

Whether my thoughts showed on my face, Jun let out a small laugh.

“11 a.m. at the square clock tower. Does that work?”

And he made the appointment regardless.

Even as I looked up at him without hiding my bewilderment, not a crack appeared in his smile.

“Since you’re staying for a week, it’s good to find at least one decent restaurant nearby. If it really bothers you, you can think of it as part of the service.”

“Is your service always this generous?”

“It’s a secret.”

I was completely at a loss for words.