GDTEA Chapter 103

Couple 

Three days before great chaos would descend upon the Great Empire of Neweiton, Sharti had arrived at an inn on the northeastern edge.

Having secured a shabby but large room at a cheap price, Sharti washed up first. Then, pushing her wet hair to the back of her head, she plopped down heavily in a single-person chair.

Sharti swallowed a sigh as she turned her purse inside out.

‘Just under 30 silver…’

It was bleak.

The cost of living in the Great Empire of Neweiton was expensive. Especially in the area where the Academy was established, prices were nearly twice as high as in Neweiton’s capital.

This was because the Academy attended by nobles only dealt with top-grade goods.

‘It was somewhat better on the way here. The real problem is what’s ahead.’

She had spent almost no money getting to the northeast.

Meals had been sufficient with the provisions she’d brought from home, and she’d been able to sleep temporarily in empty huts or stables along the way.

‘Travel costs money for every single meal and place to sleep. And it’s not just me alone.’

Sharti kept poking at her purse needlessly. She was lost in thought, chin propped up, not even caring that water was dripping from her hair, when—

A soft fragrance wafted from behind.

“The general store praised it so highly, saying the effectiveness of the medicine formula Sha created was so good, there must be people here who will buy it at a high price too.”

Having washed up at some point, Ren took the towel draped over his shoulder and gently rubbed it through her hair.

“…!”

Startled, Sharti turned around, and because of the small-sized robe, his broad chest was fully visible. Her heart pounded repeatedly, causing Sharti to rigidly fix her gaze straight ahead.

“N-no way. The general store tends to exaggerate quite a bit. Besides, I’m not eloquent, and I’m a traveler. Will I even be able to get a fair price?”

Every time Ren rubbed her hair with the towel, the scent of shampoo wafted over.

The shampoo scent was soft and pleasant, unsuited to the shabby inn.

Sharti swallowed dryly as her mind grew hazy from the shampoo scent coming from Ren, then quickly shook her head.

“Above all, this is an area with an Academy that produces skilled doctors, so I wonder if my medicine formulas will even catch anyone’s eye.”

Recognizing the dire situation, Sharti fortunately regained her composure quickly.

Compared to Academy students who had learned professionally and built up their skills, it was natural that her confidence would drop.

Ren, who had been listening silently, nodded.

“Then shall we make a bet?”

“Hm?”

“On how much will sell. We’ll each guess.”

At the unexpected proposal, Sharti snorted.

“Would that even be a bet? I might not sell any at all.”

Naturally, Sharti was skeptical.

The places she had visited for house calls and this travel destination were clearly different.

She had mainly visited a few difficult huts or small mountain villages desperate for a doctor’s presence, so there had at least been some demand there.

“If you lack confidence like that, even people who were going to buy won’t trust you and will just leave.”

When Sharti showed no confidence, Ren crossed his arms with an indifferent expression.

“The value of the medicine formula will be set by the buyer, but your value is set by you yourself, Sha, isn’t it?”

Ren struck sharply at the heart of the matter with a calm voice.

“To get a fair price, Sha, you need confidence more than humility. It suits you too.”

Ren’s words weren’t wrong.

Yet the reason Sharti lowered her own self-esteem was simply that she feared having her self-taught, briefly acquired skills evaluated so starkly.

“…I’m just afraid of getting my hopes up with false expectations and then being disappointed.”

Sharti fidgeted with her fingers as she confessed her true feelings.

“If I assume the worst, then even if I experience the worst later, the blow won’t be as great.”

This was a habit she couldn’t fix right away.

“The closer we get to the Academy, the higher the prices will be, and we’ll quickly spend all the money we have now. Then naturally there will be problems with food and lodging, and it won’t be the kind of trip Ren was expecting.”

“What do you know about the trip I was expecting?”

Ren sat directly across from Sharti and crossed his arms.

Thanks to his forearms, she could catch her gaze that had been heading toward his chest.

“First, let me point something out—I don’t have a single penny. With that being the case, do I even have the right to react sensitively to the financial problems of this trip? Of course, I’d want to contribute to the travel expenses and would step up to do something, but from the beginning, Sha, I followed you on this trip looking only at you.”

“Uh…”

Ren snorted sarcastically.

“There was only one thing I expected from this trip. That wherever we go, Sha, I can be by your side. That I alone can watch from the closest distance as your eyes light up in those moments. That was the one thing.”

Thinking about it, for Ren it would have been better not to travel at all and just stay cozily together in that small log cabin. After arriving at Sedipia Village following Sharti on the pretext of house calls, hadn’t the time he spent alone with her decreased and even a nuisance named Ashu appeared?

So it wouldn’t have been bad to follow Sharti around using winter preparations as an excuse and learn household chores from her.

“And isn’t even the worst case scenario relative? Day laborers are needed anywhere, and I’ll soon have ordinary status, so at the very least I can secure a warm bed for Sha, with my own strength. For me, as long as Sha is by my side, any worst case scenario has no problems.”

At his candidly revealed inner thoughts, Sharti was left speechless.

Then, contrary to his shameless attitude, when she discovered his reddened ears, her face flushed hotly for no reason.

Noticing Sharti’s gaze, Ren cleared his throat and fidgeted with his ear.

His large hand covered and hid his ear burning with embarrassment.

“To be more honest, all that’s in my head are lewd and reckless expectations.”

Ren, who had been grumbling and pouring out words, paused briefly.

No matter how much he laid out his thoughts in detail, it only seemed to lower his score and not reach Sharti’s heart at all.

As Ren swept back his still-damp bangs, his furrowed eyebrows were revealed.

This trip had just begun. He couldn’t bear to see those bright crimson eyes grow dark from being hurt by low self-esteem.

“…It’s a trip with someone I like, so what is there to calculate and worry about?”

“…!”

At the confession so direct it was unfamiliar, Sharti’s mouth fell half open.

Even the way he avoided her eyes, embarrassed after speaking, made her heart tremble.

“I’m also on a trip with someone I l-like, so I’m more worried about it.”

With a blush blooming on her cheeks, Sharti lowered her gaze and tucked her side hair behind her ear.

Glancing at Sharti’s shy reaction, Ren stroked his nape and slightly exposed his shoulder line.

Sharti, who had unconsciously lifted her gaze, was startled by the further opened front of his robe and awkwardly rolled her eyes.

Sharti’s fingertips trembled finely at the major problem she hadn’t been conscious of until now.

‘I’m traveling with Ren right now, with a man who even confessed to me!’

From now on, to save on lodging costs, there would be even more times when they’d have to get only one room, and to avoid getting lost in crowds, they might hold hands tightly and stick close together.

Could she possibly not assign meaning to each and every such moment?

“—Come to think of it, just now, one worst case scenario came into being for me.”

“Mm?”

In that confusing moment, Ren leaned his upper body forward slightly and tilted his head a bit.

Somehow his eyes seemed slightly red.

Just as even that expression made her heart tremble and Sharti swallowed dryly—

“Sha, during the trip, do I have to remain as an assistant?”

“Hm?”

“…What about hands? Will you let me hold yours? Or, will you hold mine?”

With eyes so earnest they were almost pitiful, Ren slowly extended his hand.

It’s just holding hands, what’s the big deal? Just as Sharti, with her softened heart, was unconsciously reaching out her hand—

Thunk. A cute small hand popped out and firmly grasped Ren’s hand, and with the other hand, firmly grasped Sharti’s hand.

“I’ll hold them!”

It was Tein.

****

On the day of departure, Sharti, who had visited Virena’s house at the crack of dawn to say goodbye, had met Tein, who had been waiting for her all along.

Tein, carrying a large bag as big as his body, looked up at Sharti and Ren with bright, twinkling eyes.

[I want to travel with Teacher!]

[Huh?]

[I will protect Teacher! Three is better than two for travel. It’s safer!]

At Tein’s pure yet meaningful statement, only Ren coughed softly.

While Sharti briefly left to find Virena to get a proper explanation of the situation, Tein stayed behind to persuade Ren.

Tein stuck out his stomach slightly and looked up at Ren confidently.

[I’m smarter than Ren, so I can help Teacher.]

[So you’re going to follow along? Do you even know where we’re going?]

[I heard from sister. Teacher is going to study. So I’m following along.]

[You know it requires a lot of walking and it’s dangerous?]

[Don’t have to walk a lot. We’ll rent a carriage. Even if it’s dangerous, if Ren is there, it’s safe.]

[A carriage?]

Just as he was about to respond about the cost of a hired carriage, Tein fumbled his hand into his front pocket.

[I saved a lot of allowance! I have more money than Ren!]

Having saved up as much as 10 silver, Tein proudly pressed 5 bronze into Ren’s hand.

At the 5 bronze handed over as if doing him a favor despite being penniless, Ren had no choice but to be left speechless.

[During travel, bandits steal money too! But I’m going with Ren, so it’s safe!]

He was incomparably more knowledgeable about worldly matters than Ren.

Unconsciously, Ren thought of the supplementary benefits of having Tein along on the trip.

Tein stared silently at Ren, then tilted his head.

[Does Ren not like me coming along?]

[…That’s not it.]

[You answered 5 seconds late.]

[…]

Ren really felt like he became a bear with only a big body every time he dealt with the sharp Tein.

With ordinary arguing, he could never beat the innocently cheerful Tein.

Ren first bent down to meet Tein’s eye level.

[You’re my doctor, so I’ll speak honestly. Through this trip, I absolutely want to become Sha’s lover. I’ll work hard to be acknowledged and clearly work to be loved by Sha.]

Tein nodded.

[For that, a doctor smarter than me—]

[—Must! Must! Come along!]

Cutting off Ren’s words, Tein shouted confidently.

At Tein’s confidence that was not just firm but certain, Ren raised his eyebrows.

Tein glanced at Sharti and whispered in Ren’s ear. The more Ren heard the conditions the child proposed to persuade him, the more a satisfied smile appeared on Ren’s expressionless face.

[…Good.]

With determined eyes, Ren shook hands with Tein and welcomed the child’s joining.

And Tein was a child who properly kept his word.

Tein, who had come out with Ren after washing their faces until they were fluffy, had actually just gone down to the inn’s first floor and returned.

“All along the way, Ren held the left hand! And I held Teacher’s right hand!”

“R-right.”

Tein, who had cheerfully inserted himself into the adults’ atmosphere, giggled while receiving Sharti’s affection.

Tein, looking at Ren who seemed to have much to say, shook his hand vigorously.

“Ren! Someone came! Ren needs to go out.”

“…?”

As Ren stood up puzzled, Tein holding his hand, and Sharti too, walked toward the door in a line.

Knock knock—. At the sound of a soft knock, Ren opened the door.

The innkeeper was waiting in front of the door, giving off a savory smell.

“My goodness, they said you were newlyweds, but how can you make the child do this?”

“Pardon?”

“…”

The innkeeper glanced at the flustered Sharti and handed the food she was holding to Ren.

“Take it. The child said his mother has weak stamina, so I specially added a bit more.”

“Wh-what?”

Whether Sharti was surprised or not, Ren silently accepted the food.

“Thank you!”

When Tein clasped his hands together and bowed deeply at the waist, the innkeeper smiled warmly, chuckling.

“There’s no need to charge separately for the child’s portion, so feed him well. He’s working so hard to look after his mother instead of his immature father.”

Thud. The innkeeper closed the door and left just like that.

“…”

Behind the dazed Sharti, Ren and Tein gave each other thumbs up.

[If I come along, Ren will look like a married couple with Teacher.]

It was a deal between just the two males, unknown to Sharti.