Vol 5 Chapter 37

However, Kapros couldn't relax and respond as Je-hwan had said.

Just as Kapros was unable to open his mouth, Je-hwan casually glanced beyond the back of the house, then lowered his gaze back to Kapros and spoke with an expression as if he had just realized something he hadn't known before.

"By the way, where's your cane..."

It seemed that when he had come on his motorcycle earlier, he had thought Kapros was walking without a cane and told him to get on, but that wasn't the case. Kapros clenched and unclenched his empty right hand, feeling Je-hwan's gaze.

"I left it somewhere else."

"Then I'll help you to your house..."

"It's fine. We're right in front of my house anyway."

It might have sounded a bit cold, but Kapros didn't want to be treated like someone who absolutely needed support just because he didn't have a cane. It felt like it was denying the fact that he could walk to wherever he wanted without someone's help.

It was for that reason alone that he had gritted his teeth and endured the long, grueling rehabilitation training. As Kapros shook his head firmly, Je-hwan, who would normally have backed off at this point, remained silent for a moment before suddenly striding past Kapros.

"Then at least let me 'see you off'."

"...Huh?"

Kapros wondered if he had heard correctly, but by then, Je-hwan had already walked ahead quickly, and only the back of his head was visible a few meters in front. Kapros stared at his retreating figure in bewilderment, but Je-hwan didn't look back and kept getting further away.

As if in a trance, Kapros hurriedly followed, and saw Je-hwan standing firmly in front of the building entrance, smiling slightly. That seemingly brazen attitude reminded Kapros of Yu-wan, the swordsman with the bad first impression who had persistently followed him when they first met in MIST. Kapros smiled again, unseen, as he grabbed the railing and started climbing.

That's right. He had forgotten, but Je-hwan had an annoyingly persistent side. It was precisely that persistence that had been the main reason Kapros had been able to accept him as a friend, despite his terrible first impression.

It was when they had climbed the stairs side by side, passed through the narrow corridor, and reached the front door of Kapros's apartment.

'...Huh? Who's that?'

Someone was leaning against the door of Kapros's apartment. Judging by the back view, it seemed to be a tall man. The man, who had been hanging his arms, slowly turned around, probably having heard the loud footsteps in the corridor. At that moment, Kapros's eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected identity of the man.

The long object tucked under the man's arm was Kapros's familiar cane.

Suddenly, Kapros felt a sharp pain in his neck as if being stabbed. Swallowing a groan, he unconsciously stopped walking. Even when he tried to cover it with his hand, the pain wouldn't easily subside. He could feel Je-hwan's gaze behind him but couldn't turn around.

Jeong Seung-jo, with bruises and wounds still visible all over his face, looked down at Kapros from the top of the stairs with eyes that were even darker than three days ago.

[ Where did you say our destination was again? ]

Superior asked as they emerged from the warp gate in Torelit, which Kapros was revisiting after a very long time.

"Towards the western mountain range from here."

As Kapros answered, feeling somewhat nostalgic about Torelit's ever-peaceful scenery that he was treading again, he heard Superior make a sound of acknowledgment.

The whitish wooden stick containing Superior was still loosely hanging at Kapros's waist. Fortunately, despite its seemingly careless appearance, no one paid attention to it even though it flickered with a faint blue light every time Superior spoke.

Torelit was still bright in atmosphere. It was pleasant to see the beautiful natural scenery in the distance and the people leisurely walking around, full of vitality. As Kapros walked and looked around, he saw familiar places here and there, even though he hadn't stayed here long.

'Come to think of it, weren't there NPCs who picked petty fights around here? Ah, that's the pub Kran took me to.'

Seeing the sign of the pub from his memories where he had passed out after one beer and woke up to find he had somehow become friends with Kran, Kapros felt a strange nostalgia along with the bewilderment he had felt at the time.

[ You seem to be in a good mood. Have you been here before? ]

"Once before."

Kapros answered lightly to Superior's question, and heard a buzzing sound a few times. Based on his experience so far, this sound was close to a gesture of nodding in agreement.

[ May I ask when you're planning to depart? ]

"We'll go right away. I don't have much time. But before that..."

Kapros grinned as he scanned the many people passing by through the gap in his robe that obscured his vision.

"I need to find out exactly what kind of place I'm going to."

At the same time, a suitable target came into view.

Someone who would likely know this city and its surroundings well would be someone who was always hanging around here. It would be easier to get the desired information directly from users rather than NPCs. When combining these two conditions, what came up were merchant users who had settled in the city and were always doing business.

As Kapros scanned the merchant users who had set up stalls here and there on the street or opened small shops to do business, someone suddenly caught his eye. It was a street vendor who seemed to be doing poorly, with an unusually unremarkable impression and only miscellaneous items laid out.

'That should be good enough to ask.'

The man, who had been lost in thought even though there was someone right in front of him, belatedly noticed Kapros and stood up abruptly, looking startled as if he might fall over.

"Oh, oh, oh. A-are you a customer?"

"Ah... yes."

Faced with that face that seemed frightened yet so brightly pleased, Kapros, who had initially intended to say he had come to ask something, had to change his words after a brief pause.

"Um... well... Do you have anything a mage could use?"

As Kapros stared intently at the items that looked like nothing more than a pile of junk no matter how he looked at them, the man began to rummage through them frantically.

"Ah, what I sell is, well... it might look like junk, but you've come to the right place. Yes indeed. If you're looking for unique and interesting items, you've really come to the right place. But, a mage, you say?"

"..."