Chapter 20:

Chapter 20:

TL/Editor: Raei

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"Got a question."

"What is it?"

While going towards an inn, Lucy threw a simple question.

"Why does Ian use formal speech with commoners? What's the reason?"

To Lucy's eyes, Ian's behavior was odd.

A wizard of the empire is like a noble, so why use honorifics toward lowly commoners?

Lucy had seen a wizard only once before in her life, and that person had used honorifics only towards her noble parents, speaking down to the servants.

That's why Ian was peculiar to her.

And indeed, Ian was peculiar.

"Well, I'm a commoner. Ian, a farmer's son."

"But you're a wizard."

"So what."

"..."

As a wizard of commoner origin, Ian became an existence detached from the usual social norms.

It didn't matter whether he used honorifics or not.

"There's no particular reason. Just imitating my master."

"Ian's master... Eredith?"

"Damn it. Call her Master Eredith. Don't be rude."

"... Sorry. Master Eredith is like that?"

Wizard Eredith was down-to-earth and polite.

So much so, that she even used honorifics with Ian's serf parents.

Ian admired such character.

And having not fully shed his modern sensibilities, he found it uncomfortable to be rude to commoners.

Of course, he'd naturally adjust once he got used to the ways of the empire.

"And. Is it a problem if I use honorifics? I want to."

"No. Well... There's no issue."

If a noble used honorifics towards a commoner, they'd be treated as if they were insane. It's against the universally accepted rules of this world.

Like Lucy's reaction, a wizard using honorifics was indeed strange.

But for a wizard, that's okay. In fact, it was preferable.

Wizards are regarded more highly the stranger they appear!

The more normally one acts, the more likely people are to underestimate a wizard's power.

'Tsk tsk. Lacks skill, so he's pretending to be modest!' they'd say.

But the stranger the behavior, the more they wonder, 'Wow! How amazing must he be to act so crazily!'

In an era where myths and rumors were indistinguishable from truth, sometimes, even false tales had to be accepted as truth.

Look at Wizard Eredith.

Despite her down-to-earth nature and using honorifics towards commoners, no one criticizes her!

They only admire, 'Wow! She uses honorifics towards commoners! Truly strange!'

Lucy decided to stop caring about Ian's way of speaking.

If the wizard himself wants to, then...

"This must be the inn."

"Oh. It really looks like an inn."

The inn in Riverville resembled the medieval fantasy inns Ian was familiar with.

Brick walls and open windows. Even the height of being two stories tall.

Upon entering, a warm welcome greeted the visitors. It was the warmth of a fireplace that also served as an oven.

Fireplaces were why Western buildings commonly had two stories. The heat from a fire on the first floor could rise to warm the second floor, making heating feasible even in taller buildings.

However, in the East, and specifically in Joseon buildings, this was impossible due to the ondol [1] heating system, which couldn't effectively heat buildings taller than one story.

Therefore, Joseon's inns were wide and flat, while Western fantasy inns had multiple floors.

"Welcome!"

The innkeeper greeted Ian and his party.

It wasn't the bushy-bearded man Ian had hoped for; he was a bit disappointed.nove(l)bi(n.)com

The innkeeper was a middle-aged woman.

"Will you be staying the night?"

"Yes, for a day or two..."

"The beds are on the second floor. Beware of thieves."

The innkeeper proficiently delivered her welcoming spiel.

Riverville, being by the river, saw frequent visits from outsiders.

Merchants from the outside, like the Rabbit Foot Company, came often. To the innkeeper, the presence of travelers was nothing unusual.

"Ma'am, is bathing possible?"

"Bathing? It's not impossible, but..."

When Ian asked for a bath, the innkeeper naturally asked for an additional fee.

Should he just abandon her?

He felt like he was stuck taking care of a disobedient little sister.

...

Too busy glaring at Lucy, Ian failed to notice.

A few men were eyeing Lucy, their gazes gleaming.

---

---

In a dark alleyway, Riverville's troublemaker, shaggy-haired Willy, was excitedly chatting with his friends.

"Are you lying again?"

"I swear it's true! That chick! She's f*cking gorgeous!"

"How pretty can she be..."

Shaggy-haired Willy was a troublemaker.

Meaning, being a troublemaker was his job.

Willy spent most of his time lazing around, indulging in idleness.

He didn't work or help anyone.

He was somewhat good at fighting, though, earning money by beating people up for others.

He was a professional troublemaker who rarely got dragged off by the city guards for brawling.

He boasted a very high customer satisfaction rate.

Thanks to that, he managed to scrape by with just enough to eat.

Everyone around him pleaded for him to grow up and find a job, but Willy, inherently lazy, would rather bolt from the village armed than stoop to do farm work.

"That chick, she only has one companion. And it's some fuckwit of a guy."

Willy recalled the travelers he had seen at the inn.

The woman with hair as dark as the night sky was more beautiful than any other woman Willy had ever seen.

It was like seeing a noble lady in person, so breathtaking she was.

On the other hand, her male companion looked like a total loser.

His head was as black as hers, suggesting they were relatives.

But the guy's face was pale as flour, looking like he'd never seen the sun, a total wimp.

How weak must his body be for his face to be so pale without doing any farm work!

Definitely a f*cking loser.

"But it didn't seem like they were staying for long."

Travelers without luggage or company wouldn't stay in a village for long.

Within a day or two, the woman would leave.

The thought of the woman disappearing as soon as tomorrow made Willy unable to contain his excitement.

"So, here's the thing..."

As Willy's eyes sparkled, his friends understood his intention.

A wordless understanding. It was telepathy.

"Are we going to f*ck her?"

"Exactly that!"

Slap!

A high-five that sounded like an explosive.

As if Kang Baek-ho[2] and Seo Tae-woong were nothing compared to them.

However, their passion was for r*pe instead of basketball, making them nothing but f*cking scumbags.

The beauty with dark blue hair, Lucy Talian, was an appealing target for Willy.

First off, she was an outsider.

Messing with her meant no local backing to worry about.

Sure, a backer might appear later, but by then, they could just run away.

To Willy, a medieval era unemployed, running was nothing.

Even as a troublemaker, messing with a girl from the same village would bring the wrath of her father, brother, younger brother, uncle, brother-in-law, the guy next door, and so on, rising up like a swarm to uphold justice in Riverville.

But Lucy was an outsider.

Dragging her to some dark place to f*ck, who would stop them?

And even if she cried injustice, who would listen to her, especially against Willy, known for his miscreant ways?

Besides, it's not like the woman would go around saying, 'I was raped!'

Even in the civilized 21st-century Earth, it's common sense to dissuade a woman from venturing alone into the wilderness.

It's not for no reason that women are cautioned to be careful when traveling to countries with poor public safety (like India) with other women.

"F*ck, if she's that pretty, should we give it a go?"

As his friends were persuaded, Willy grinned.

"Exactly why you're my friends!"

---

[1 raei: Ondol in Korean traditional architecture is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor. (wikipedia)]

[2 raei: two characters in a basketball manga called Slam Dunk.]

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