The next morning, Khunak, with an excited expression, came to the inn and found Robern.
He pressed his temple firmly.
“Why is that person here?”
Doah said,
“If Khunak doesn’t like it, I’ll tell him to leave.”
At those words, Khunak looked at Doah.
Next to them, Robern, with a curious look on his face, watched Khunak and then looked at Doah and asked.,
“By any chance, do you know what the purpose of the party is, Cursed Sword?”
“No, not yet.”
“Oh, so that was your first whisper to me. There’s something cute about it, B-rank.”
“Oh, stop it.”
“The purpose of the party, you say?”
Miss Doah?
Kunak called out to her.
She replied, waving her hand dismissively.
“His Majesty asked, so I just answered. Of course, I planned to tell you too,”
“So, what is it?”
“The goal is to conquer the ‘Shining Spring,’”
“……..”
Khunak remained silent for a moment before asking,
“I don’t understand why that is leading to a public showdown between me and Miss Doah.”
“That’s because I, as a B-rank, must reach S-rank first,”
Robern chimed in.
“The fastest way to gain fame is by challenging the existing strong figures,”
Kunak frowned.
He looked at Robern as if he wanted to say something, but Robern only smiled mischievously, seemingly enjoying the situation.
After some thought, Khunak finally answered,
“Understood.”
Doah cautiously watched Khunak’s reaction.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, because it’s true that it’s the quickest way,”
He said, standing up. Doah also quickly followed suit.
“A battle between Azure Nazac and the wielder of the cursed sword would be even more thrilling,”
Khunak said coldly, starting to walk toward the door. Doah hurried after him.
“Are you mad, Khunak?”
“No.”
“You’re mad, aren’t you?”
“No,”
Doah clenched her fists in frustration.
‘How did Josephine manage to calm down Elibas when he was angry?’
She wondered. Then, suddenly, she grabbed Khunak by the waist with both arms.
“Miss Doah?”
Khunak looked down at her in surprise.
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault. Please forgive me,”
Josephine used to cry and cling to Elibas, begging for food, wrapping herself around his waist.
Elibas, with Josephine hanging onto him, would drag her around until he eventually forgave her.
Although Doah was too embarrassed to cling to Khunak like Josephine, she tried her best to hold onto him.
“Next time, I’ll consult you first, Khunak,”
She promised, looking up at him.
Khunak, with a complicated expression, looked down at her before sighing and running a hand over his face.
He gently removed her hands from his waist and smiled.
“I understand. And no, I’m not angry.”
Doah stared at him, then slowly withdrew her hands and stepped back.
“Alright.”
Khunak smiled at her again and said,
“Let’s discuss the schedule later. For now, we’ve finished the basic preparations, so shall we go?”
“Ah, have you finished your preparations already, Khunak? I haven’t―”
Before Doah could finish, Khunak shook his head.
“No, I just meant I’m ready to talk. By the way, I’ve already purchased a house in Gran in your name. Let’s head there.”
“What? Purchased a house?”
“Yes. Since you’ve come from the southern continent, you’ll be wandering around without a proper base, but having at least one house will be convenient.”
Khunak spoke softly as he looked at Doah.
“You shouldn’t take S-rank gratitude lightly, Miss Doah.”
Robern chuckled and said, ‘I have some urgent business, so I must leave.’ He then bid farewell.
“Invite me to your house next time,”
Then, he kissed the back of Doah’s hand and left.
It seems that the polite greeting among men here is a kiss on the back of the hand.
If anything, it’s quite aristocratic, Doah thought as she lightly pressed her cheek.
Still, she was less flustered than she had been yesterday.
“Shall we go now? Is this all your luggage?”
Khunak asked.
“Ah, yes,”
Khunak picked up her backpack.
Though it fit her perfectly, in Khunak’s hands, it looked like a children’s bag.
Feeling dazed, Doah took Berry’s hand, held the reins of the Sea King, and followed Khunak.
Thanks to the purification stone, Berry whispered to Doah that he no longer found Khunak frightening.
Gran was quite a large city.
It wasn’t a country, but still a city big enough that it took about five or six hours to walk from one end to the other.
The landscape changed quickly as they walked, with the surroundings morphing in just a few blocks.
Before long, they found themselves surrounded by luxurious mansions lining both sides of a wide street.
Khunak naturally stopped in front of a house as though he had found the perfect place.
He opened the wrought-iron gate.
There was no one inside, and it was silent.
“This is it,”
Khunak said as he stepped inside.
The garden was surrounded by hedge trees, providing privacy from the outside.
It was a medium-sized garden, large enough to seem big but small enough to be cozy.
A small fountain, a stone-paved area, and a space under a parasol for a tea party led up to the mansion.
The mansion itself, built in the shape of the letter ‘I’, appeared to have at least six rooms on each floor.
Khunak spoke,
“I had to find it in a hurry, so this was the best I could do.”
He pushed open the heavy front door.
“You can use it for now, and later we can find a better place when we have more time.”
“This house is more than enough!”
Doah exclaimed.
“No, really, this house is too much. I can’t accept it. I don’t even know how long I’ll be staying in Gran, and besides… I don’t need such a big house,”
Doah said, though she continued to glance around the place.
The wooden floors were made of various types of wood, creating beautiful patterns. Delicate wallpaper adorned the walls, and the furniture was all elegant and tasteful.
“Don’t you like it?”
“It’s not that I don’t like it. I just can’t accept it. I’ll be leaving Gran in three or four days.”
“But you’ll come back someday, won’t you?”
“Yes, but when I do, staying at an inn will be fine. I’ll be happy with just the Silver Horseshoe Inn.”
“I don’t like that,”
Khunak responded bluntly.
Doah swallowed a groan and asked,
“What about you, Khunak?”
“What about me?”
“Do you have a house in Gran?”
“…Yes.”
“That’s a lie,”
Doah quickly caught his slip.
“No, I really do have a house.”
“If you do, let’s go there right now. To Khunak’s house,”
Doah insisted.
Khunak blinked before quickly answering,
“Yan’s house is my house, you know.”
“That’s just an excuse you made up. So, Yan has a house, but Khunak doesn’t?”
Doah said, pointing at the floor.
“Then let’s make this house Khunak’s house,”
Since Khunak had purchased it, it was a natural conclusion.
But Doah stated the obvious with confidence.
“Then I’ll stay here every time I visit Gran,”
Khunak handed her the key, saying,
“Then let’s share it fifty-fifty.”
Doah accepted the key, a large golden one that glittered in the light.
She looked at Khunak and smiled.
Now that she had accepted the house, she spoke honestly.
“This is the first time I’ve ever been given a house as a gift, so I was really surprised. It’s so beautiful, and I love it. The floors are beautiful, the wallpaper is lovely, and the windows must be expensive, right? Honestly, having a house with a garden has always been a dream of mine.”
Doah began to chatter excitedly, her words flowing as she climbed the stairs.
“Can I pick my room first?”
“Of course,”
The sound of her running up the stairs filled the house.
“Berry, Sea King, hurry up!”
“Yes, coming!”
“Woof, woof!”
Their cheerful laughter echoed through the house. Khunak stood still for a moment, savoring the sound of life filling the space.
Doah went upstairs and peeked into each room. Berry, just as excited, followed her, looking around as well.
“Miss Doah, this room looks the best,”
“Really?”
“Yes, it has a sitting room, a bedroom, and even a servant’s room where I can sleep. Plus, it has a great view of the garden.”
Doah nodded in agreement as Berry, standing by the window, happily described the room.
“Alright, let’s make this our room,”
“Yes!”
Berry rushed out to fetch their things and bumped into Khunak, who was standing by the entrance to the room, holding out their backpack.
“If you need anything, just let me know,”
“But there’s already a bed and everything we need,”
Indeed, all the necessary furniture was there.
The bed’s wooden canopy had elegant carvings, gilded in places.
The sheets were cool, smooth, and looked like they were made of at least 300-thread-count fabric.
The floor was covered with plush carpets, and the room had an intricately carved rosewood vanity.
There was no shortage of anything, in fact, there was more than enough.
Just then, a thought popped into Doah’s head.
‘In a house this fancy, the kitchen must be amazing too, right?’
Her hands itched with excitement.
She had always missed the large kitchen at Elibas’ place—a spacious kitchen with a giant oven for baking fragrant rolls and a wide cooking surface.
The stove had multiple burners, enough to cook several dishes at once.
When she finally reached the kitchen, Doah let out a satisfied sigh.
The large, black iron oven gleamed brightly, and next to the solid wooden counter hung various copper cooking utensils.
It was a huge kitchen, perfect for easing all her pent-up culinary cravings.
There was a massive oven big enough for roasting a whole pig, and a separate oven just for baking bread.
“I can’t resist this,”
Doah said with a bright smile.
“Everyone’s invited for dinner tonight,”
❖ ❖ ❖
Yan stepped down from the carriage, holding an expensive bottle of wine in one hand.
‘So, Khunak bought a house,’
His younger brother had bought a house in Gran. A strange, indescribable feeling came over him.
And on top of that, there was the dinner invitation.
Talking about preparing for the future was always a taboo topic for Yan and Khunak.
Yan paused for a moment to look at the luxurious mansion with its garden.
Lights could be seen shining through the trees, but there was no sign of movement at the front door.
The wrought-iron gate was wide open.
Yan crossed the garden awkwardly and knocked on the door.
When it opened, he looked down to find Berry greeting him.
“Welcome, Guild master.”
“Hello, Berry,”
Yan replied with a smile.
“Shall I take your cloak?”
His pronunciation was a bit off, but it was clear he had been practicing a lot.
He was trying very hard to play the role of a diligent butler.
While most people wouldn’t entrust their clothes to a catfolk because of the fur, Yan decided to ignore that convention.
He was glad he had worn light-colored clothing and handed his short cloak to Berry.
“The drawing room is over there. Please wait a moment.”
With the typical silent footsteps of the catfolk, Berry quickly disappeared.
He had likely gone to hang the cloak.
When Yan entered the drawing room, he was surprised to see someone unexpected.
Sitting on the sofa, Robern raised his hand in greeting.
“Were you invited too, Guild master?”
“Why is His Majesty…?”
Yan’s question, though unspoken, was clear: ‘Why are you at my brother’s house?’
But Robern showed little interest in answering that.
“Dinner is being prepared by a B-rank. I wonder if it’ll suit my taste,”
“Miss Doah is cooking?”
Yan was even more perplexed.
Just as he was trying to piece things together, Khunak appeared.
“Yan, welcome!”
“Khunak. Congratulations on buying the house. It was a bit sudden, though. You didn’t tell me anything about it,”
Yan said in a half-joking, half-serious tone. Khunak just shrugged.
“It’s not my house.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Anyway, dinner is ready, so let’s go. You’ve arrived just in time,”
Khunak said, gesturing toward Robern, who slowly stood up.
Yan, still confused, followed them to the dining room.
A large table, seating ten, was covered with food. There was a literal mountain of bread rolls, and to one side, perfectly roasted birds were neatly arranged.
‘Are there… twenty birds?’
There was also a pot of wine-braised meat, seemingly cooked in an enormous cauldron, and a variety of grilled meats, including a dish that looked like barbecue.
The quantity was overwhelming, and the aroma was mouth-watering.
“Everyone, please take your seats,”
Doah said as she appeared, casually removing her apron.
Yan greeted her lightly, and she greeted him in return.
“Since we don’t have any servants or maids, just help yourselves to whatever you’d like,”
Doah added as she sat down.
Yan, still feeling dazed, also sat down.
Berry struggled to carry in a basin of water for handwashing, but he managed.
After washing their hands, Berry took his seat as well.
“How about trying some of the rolls first?”
Doah suggested, passing the bread around. Soon, everyone had a roll on their plate.
Yan filled his glass with water and examined the roll.
The perfectly baked golden-brown surface glistened, and the air was filled with the sweet scent of butter.
When he touched it, the roll was still warm, and its crispy exterior gave a satisfying texture.
Unable to resist, Yan tore the roll open.
The inside was soft and fluffy, releasing steam as he did so.
Taking a bite, he was met with the delightful crunch of the crust and the rich, moist interior that seemed to melt in his mouth.
“!!”
It was the most delicious roll he had ever tasted.
