Perhaps due to a century of diligent living.
Doah woke up just as dawn was breaking.
She unbuttoned the double-layered window cover of her tent and looked outside.
It was still dim, but there was enough light to move around.
Doah changed clothes behind the partition and then peeked over it.
Berry was sleeping soundly, sprawled out.
His small fangs, visible through his slightly open mouth, were incredibly cute.
‘So adorable.’
Doah suppressed the urge to go over and pet him.
She noticed that Khunak’s spot next to him was empty.
She carefully opened the door and stepped outside, making sure not to wake Berry.
The morning air was still chilly.
Doah took a deep breath of the cold air.
She rekindled the fire at the spot where they’d had a campfire the previous night and sat in front of it to begin her breathing exercises.
It was a basic routine for a warrior to consistently accumulate mana, expel impurities, and check their physical condition every day.
When Doah finished her morning meditation and opened her eyes, she saw a kettle boiling over the fire.
Turning her gaze, she found Khunak sitting beside her, his expression slightly off.
“Doah, if you continue meditating like that, you’ll be defenseless if someone attacks you,” Khunak remarked.
“Well, you’re the only one around, Khunak.”
“What if I were to do something?”
“Wow, are you planning something bad?”
Doah asked with feigned innocence, her face full of curiosity.
Khunak smiled elegantly.
“Indeed.”
“You do bad things?”
“Of course.”
Doah, pretending to be interested, asked,
“Wow, what kind of bad things do you do?”
“Shall I show you?”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Khunak leaned toward her.
His gaze slowly swept over her face, lingering on her rounded forehead partially hidden by her bangs, her white, soft cheeks, and her full lips before finally meeting her eyes.
In her eyes, swirling shades of green could be seen, reminiscent of sunlight streaming through summer leaves, with occasional golden flecks sparkling like dust. Her eyes turned from an emerald-like transparency to a jade-like depth and then back to the green of a summer forest.
Azure Nazac.
Her eyes were blessed by the World Tree, holding within them a vibrant green that constantly shifted like a living forest.
After teasing Khunak with a challenging ‘What bad thing are you planning to do?’ she looked at him with an innocent expression.
It had been a long time since Khunak had met someone who could hold his gaze without flinching, and he found that he enjoyed just looking into her eyes. As he mentally listed the bad things he could do, he ended up discarding all but a few.
He could suddenly bite her nose. Or pinch her cheek. He was upset that she didn’t remember him at all.
After staring at her for a long time, he finally realized that he couldn’t actually do anything bad to her.
Seeing his expression, a triumphant smile began to appear in Doah’s eyes.
Even that, Khunak thought, was cute. But then something else caught his eye.
‘Ah.’
Khunak neatly tucked her hair behind her ear and adjusted her collar before snatching the coffee pipe from Doah’s pocket.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
“I’m going to prevent you from consuming caffeine and have you drink herbal tea instead, starting from this morning.”
“That’s ridiculous! How can I work without my morning coffee?”
“Caffeine is bad for you.”
“Ah, seriously. Khunak!”
Doah grunted as she stretched out her hand, trying to snatch the pipe back from him, but it was no use—he was much taller than her.
Khunak handed her a cup and poured some tea.
“Ew, what is this?”
“It’s tea made from the bark of the Kukka tree, brewed for a long time.”
“Oh my gosh, I can’t even have coffee in the morning, and now this?”
“It’s good for clearing your mind.”
Doah grumbled as she took a sip of the tea, shivering from the taste.
“If I have to wake up to this awful taste, I’d rather eat something else.”
“They say many mages drink it.”
“No way. The mage I know is an excellent chef, and there’s no way they would drink something this terrible.”
Doah continued to grumble, but she kept drinking the tea slowly.
Khunak found it amusing and chuckled softly.
She might complain, but she wasn’t the type to waste the tea in front of him.
“Ew.”
Doah stared at the horrible Kukka tree bark tea.
She was familiar with the bark as it was often used for medicinal purposes, but she never imagined drinking it as tea.
It was used for purifying contaminants.
As she stared at the dark brown tea, she glanced at Khunak and asked cautiously,
“By the way, Khunak.”
“Yes, Miss Doa? What is it?”
“The green eyes… Are there others like me?”
Khunak chuckled at her question.
“Do you mean to ask if you are the only one in this world with green eyes?”
“Uh, no. I mean…”
Doah hesitated, trying to find the right words.
“My mother used to say, ‘You’re my daughter, that’s why you have green eyes.’ So, I was wondering if there was a family lineage that commonly has green eyes…”
Doah almost mentioned the sacred lineage of the World Tree but held back. Her masters were from such an ancient time that she thought it wouldn’t be relevant now.
Khunak looked at her for a moment and then said,
“Yes, there is.”
“Really? What kind of family is it?”
“For one, there’s the royal family of Narka.”
Pffft.
Doah couldn’t help but spit out her tea.
“Oh dear, Miss Doa.”
Khunak patted her back as she coughed. Doah wiped her mouth and stared at Khunak in disbelief.
“Royal family? You’re joking, right?”
“Well, the Narka royal family claims to be descendants of the World Tree.”
Doah squinted her eyes.
“Descendants of the World Tree?”
“They refer to the three families blessed by the World Tree. They are often called ‘The Great Three.'”
“!!”
This was something her master had mentioned.
“And so?”
Doah leaned closer to him, eager to hear more.
“Well, that’s a story from long ago. Nowadays, many royals and nobles claim to be descendants of ‘The Great Three.'”
“Oh.”
Doah quickly grasped what he meant. Suddenly, she remembered all those people who claimed, “I am Anastasia,” or “I am Prince Lee.” It was similar to how many Koreans claim noble or royal ancestry based on their family names.*
*In the passage, the speaker is drawing a parallel between people who claim to be “Anastasia” or “Prince Lee” and Koreans who claim noble or royal ancestry based on their family names. It’s a way of pointing out how people often associate themselves with historical or prestigious figures, sometimes without any real evidence.
Doah frowned slightly.
“So, does that mean everyone in those families has green eyes?”
“No, not everyone. Green eyes appear occasionally.”
“Oh, then it’s not them. There’s no family where everyone has green eyes?”
“Well, if there is, it’s very rare, only a handful.”
Doah suddenly lifted her head.
“Where is it? Where do green eyes appear 100% of the time?”
“It’s not 100%, but there’s a family where they appear quite frequently.”
“It’s not the Narka royal family, is it?”
“No, it’s not.”
Khunak smiled slightly and held up three fingers.
“There are three such families.”
“Only three?”
“Yes. All three have been around for over a thousand years.”
“Wow…”
“The first is the Carasel family from Hudan. The second is the De Blanc family from Prond. And lastly, the third is the Tuazit family of the Wanderers.”
Khunak counted them off on his fingers as he spoke.
“All three families are renowned, with a reputation that surpasses that of most royals.”
“Why is the last one called the Wanderers?”
“Because they literally wander without a fixed home. It’s a mysterious family, shrouded in secrecy.”
“Hmm…”
Doah wondered if her mother could have been from one of those families.
‘But I don’t even know my mother’s name. No, wait, it was Kim Jang Mi. Her name must have meant Rose in this language.’
Doah clenched her fist.
Green eyes seem to be rare, so if she had green eyes and the name Rose, it might be possible to find her.
‘But what if she was from a very long time ago?’
Doah shook her head.
No.
It doesn’t matter if I can’t find her right now.
What matters most is the main quest.
The rest can wait until later.
‘I still have ten years left.’
Doah took a deep breath.
Khunak asked,
“Weren’t you from the southern continent?”
Doah chuckled.
“Yes, that’s right.”
There was a brief silence between them. Doah just sipped her herbal tea.
Khunak, as if talking to himself, asked,
“If someone met another person when they were young, talked about how much they liked them, and how they’d meet again someday, but when they finally met again, the other person didn’t even remember and called out another man’s name at night, what do you think happened?”
Doah looked at him, unsure how to respond.
“Uh… if they met when they were young, was the other person also young?”
“Yes.”
“Well then, hmm… Sometimes people don’t remember things from when they were young. That might be the case here.”
“Forgotten,”
He replied in a low voice. Doah nodded.
“Even if something was precious to you, it might not have been as significant to the other person. Memories can be like that. I can understand why you’d be upset, though. It makes sense.”
Doah offered her words of comfort.
“It’s frustrating when a precious memory only holds meaning for you.”
Khunak let out a soft laugh.
“Why don’t you talk to that person? It might jog their memory.”
Khunak stared at her for a moment and then shook his head.
“No, it’s fine. I was warned about this before, and now I realize I was holding on to false hope.”
“A warning?”
She was about to ask what kind of warning he meant when a voice came from behind.
“Miss Doah, are you already awake?”
She turned to see Berry, holding a ‘Purifying Glass Kettle.’
The clear, pure kettle could turn any liquid inside it into clean, pure water. It was an essential item for travelers who frequently suffered from stomachaches.
It seemed he had come out to fetch water.
“Yeah, I woke up a bit early.”
Berry, looking flustered, approached her and said,
“I, I usually get up very early too. I wake up well. I’m not lazy like this.”
“Laziness? Waking up at this time isn’t lazy. We’re just waking up way too early. And besides, both warriors and mages are like this.”
Finishing meditation at dawn was the most efficient way to use the day. Doah quietly set down the Kukka tree bark tea and stood up.
“Can you fetch some water? I’ll start preparing breakfast.”
“Yes!”
Berry ran off toward the valley and disappeared.
As Doah watched Berry’s retreating figure, she remarked,
“I’ll need to buy him new clothes when we reach the next city.”
“It would be better to wait until we get to Gran.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not easy to find a store run by Thule in Narka.”
“Oh.”
Doah nodded.
Mrs. Danvers had washed and mended the clothes neatly, but they were still visibly worn.
‘Just hang in there a little longer, Berry.’
Doah resolved that she would definitely buy Berry new clothes once they reached Gran.
❖ ❖ ❖
High flags fluttered on the towering city walls.
“Welcome to the Free City of Gran!”
Berry stood up straight from the bamboo basket, raised his hand, then placed it on his chest, bowing politely. He spoke as if he were the owner of Gran.
Doah laughed and replied,
“It’s an impressive city, just like you said, Berry.”
“Isn’t it?”
Berry’s fur had become sleek and glossy, likely due to good food and rest.
Doah wondered if he groomed himself like a real cat, but it seemed he didn’t.
However, he had loved the brush they bought in the last village, spending hours brushing his fur with it.
‘Is that grooming too? Not with his tongue, but still.’
Anyway, Berry, now shining like a bright yellow daisy in spring, grinned.
Thanks to Doah’s diligent efforts to correct his speech, his pronunciation had improved a lot since they first met.
“I’ve never been to Gran before either.”
Although they had passed through several villages, Gran was indeed different.
The outer wall was grand, and the guards at the entrance were well-equipped.
Despite the high level of security and the crowd of people, the guards were also polite.
Of course, they stared intently at Doah, but it seemed like they were used to seeing travelers.
“You must be from the southern continent,”
One of the guards remarked, nodding as if it was no surprise.
But when they saw Khunak, they became more cautious.
“Welcome, Adventurer Shendel.”
Doah, surprised by the calmness of the welcome, raised her voice in awe,
“Wow, it seems your fame isn’t a big deal in this city.”
Teasing, she spoke to Khunak, who smiled.
“To the entrance guards, my fame might not mean much.”
After hesitating slightly, he looked at Doah and said,
“Miss Doa, if you travel with me, it might be very tiring for you, so—”
Before he could finish, a cheer erupted from one side.
“Khunak Shendel!! It’s the S-rank adventurer!”
“Shendel is back!”
“Whoa!!”
“What quest did you complete this time?”
“Khunak! Look over here!”
Suddenly, people started waving their hats and hands, cheering and calling out to Khunak, drawing everyone’s attention.
