The Mist Vol 1 Chapter 39

Vol 1 Chapter 39

As their communication became more effective with shorter and more direct exchanges, when Yu-wan occasionally pondered longer than necessary while trying to speak at length, Kapros began to wonder if his initial impression of suspiciousness might have been a misunderstanding of actions that were actually without much thought.

Moreover, for Kapros, who had been teased quite a bit by Seung-jo for not visibly gaining muscle even when he was actively practicing kendo, Yu-wan's well-defined muscles, visible even under his armor, were quite enviable.

"For now... I think we're not far from my destination, the big city of Torelit. I heard there are quite a few dungeons around there, so I was interested."

As Kapros answered, Yu-wan brushed up his bluish hair.

"Is that so? We'll arrive soon then."

"I guess. There are more and more signs of people traveling on the road."

At Kapros's words, Yu-wan blinked and looked down. Realizing that they had indeed left the narrow mountain path and were now on a wide, well-trodden road, Yu-wan nodded.

"You're observant."

"It's nothing much."

As he talked with Yu-wan, Kapros felt like his old personality was coming out a bit.

When Kapros said this nonchalantly, Yu-wan looked at him and smirked. According to what Yu-wan had said when they exchanged information, he disliked noisy surroundings and didn't like to speak or act in a way that stood out. But seeing this, it seemed that might not be entirely true.

The situation of walking together, rather than Kapros leading and Yu-wan following as before, had now become somewhat familiar. As Kapros was walking, looking straight ahead without paying much attention, he suddenly felt a gaze on his profile.

Yu-wan had been looking at Kapros's face from time to time since he started walking beside him. In a situation where he couldn't understand the reason, asking what Yu-wan was looking at felt somewhat self-conscious, so Kapros just pretended not to notice, but it was actually a bit burdensome. He had never particularly been dissatisfied with his own face before, but the guy walking beside him had such a refreshingly well-defined face that it could even make another man feel jealous.

Could it be that the reason Yu-wan was staring at his face every chance he got was because he found Kapros's appearance, which fell far short of his own face, fascinating?

It was a foolish thought, but at this very unpleasant hypothesis, Kapros slowly turned his head, and saw Yu-wan quickly shifting his gaze forward, pretending not to have been looking.

'Could it really be true?'

With only this suspicion in his heart, they walked for some time. Finally, a huge city wall that filled their entire view appeared in the distance.

"That must be Torelit."

"Hmm..."

As Kapros nodded, his eyes met Yu-wan's. He saw Yu-wan's lips curl up. Although Kapros was equally happy, recalling their hardships along the way, he didn't feel the need to point out that when a good-looking guy tried to smile awkwardly, it only resulted in an extremely unpleasant expression. So he started to walk ahead.

They passed through Torelit's city gate. Kapros was momentarily overwhelmed by the sight before him, not even realizing that he had stopped walking.

The crowd that seemed at least twice as large as in Asgar, and taller, better-constructed buildings. The beautifully organized urban environment was comparable to modern cities. When they entered the seemingly endless shopping district, jostling through the countless crowds, it was even more impressive.

"Wait. I think I saw something I wanted to buy in a place we just passed."

Kapros had been sightseeing, almost forgetting that Yu-wan was beside him, when suddenly Yu-wan's voice came from right behind him. Trying not to show his surprise, Kapros nodded.

"Ah, okay. Then I'll wait in front of the alley inside here."

As Kapros quickly scanned the surroundings and pointed to an alley between buildings next to the general store where they were standing, Yu-wan glanced at the spot, carefully observed the surroundings as if trying to memorize the location, and then nodded.

"I'll be back soon."

He soon disappeared, melting into the crowd.

Watching the black armor vanish, Kapros slowly walked to the front of the alley and leaned against the wall. He wasn't sure what Yu-wan suddenly needed to buy, but with the guy who had been following him constantly now gone, he felt a strange sense of liberation.

'It might be okay to just go somewhere else, though it would be a shame for him.'

After thinking this half-jokingly, Kapros looked at the street vendors in front to see if there was anything he wanted to buy, but nothing particularly caught his eye. Instead, when he unconsciously opened his inventory window, he noticed the single red earring in one corner.

"Ah."

Right. This was here.

Kapros entered the general store next door. The owner, who had been dozing off while sitting, suddenly woke up startled.

"Oh, welcome."

Kapros didn't respond and placed the earring on the counter. The middle-aged shopkeeper wearing round glasses naturally looked down at it.

"What's this?"

"Can you appraise items here?"

"Ah... Well, I can to some extent... This?"

At this implicit question of 'You mean this earring?', Kapros nodded, and the shopkeeper picked up the earring with tweezers he took out from under the counter and went into the back room.

The earring was a red gem shaped like an elongated teardrop, with a simple but natural beauty. Even just its color made it quite an eye-catching accessory.

A moment later, the shopkeeper came out from the back and handed the earring to Kapros with an interested look.

"Where did you get this earring? It's quite a nice piece."

At those words, Kapros took the earring back in his hand and checked its information again.

"Hmm..."

Although the options were quite tempting, without the full set it didn't mean much, and for him to wear an earring was a bit...

"Will you be wearing it, sir?"

"No."

Kapros replied to the shopkeeper who seemed to have read his mind, paid 20 ronds (100 ronds = 1 silver, 100 silver = 1 gold) for the appraisal fee, and went outside. As he was about to head back to the alley, his shoulder lightly bumped into someone.

"Aaaang? What's with this guy!"

The man who turned around had two more companions with him.

"I'm sorry. We bumped into each other."

As Kapros calmly apologized, the guys suddenly snickered and pushed him into the alley.

"Sorry? If you're sorry, there should be compensation!"

Ding.

- Hans and Friends' Extortion Event has been created.

"..."

For a moment, Kapros was at a loss for words, dumbfounded.