Chapter 8

Chapter 7: A Night in the Hut

As the sun began to set, the open space beside the hut was littered with bones picked clean. It was astonishing how thoroughly they had been eaten; not a single small bone had any flesh left on it.

Shalik skinned the rabbit, plucked the bird's feathers, and skewered them before roasting them over the fire. While waiting for the meat to cook, which was a torturous wait for Miu, she managed to endure the 20 minutes by savoring the boiled potatoes one by one.

Finally, when the meat was sizzling and the fat dripped like a river, Miu's mouth watered, and she could finally enjoy the perfectly cooked skewers.

When living with her grandfather, Miu occasionally tasted meat, but since living alone, she rarely had the chance. The skewers were incredibly delicious, and she didn't realize that Shalik had taken special care to cook them well.

After the satisfying and hearty dinner, Miu went into the forest to gather wood for the night's fire. She returned with a bundle of appropriately sized logs, free from snow, suitable for the hearth.

Beside the hut, Shalik was washing her face with melted snow and drying her feet.

She had taken off the elaborate armor with fur attached that she wore during the day and removed her leather and metal boots, revealing her smooth, bare legs, which she was washing thoroughly with water.

Though it was a simple act of washing, Miu felt she shouldn't keep looking at the noble knight's legs and turned her head away.

'Those are a woman's legs... Wow, they're really beautiful.'

While tending to the fire to make charcoal for the hearth, Miu couldn't help but glance at Shalik's bare legs out of the corner of her eye.

"So beautiful! Even in the dark, they seem to glow!"

The sight of the beautiful woman's bare legs made Miu's heart race, but she couldn't let it show. If she were caught peeking at the knight's legs, she feared she might lose her eyes or face some other severe punishment.

—Glance

'Ah! No! I can't keep peeking! Miu, get a grip! Come on!'

Miu took a deep breath and gathered the wood that had started to catch fire.

—Glance

'Ahh! You, you have such little self-control?'

—Glance, Glance

'Sniff... I'm wrong... I'm corrupt...'

Miu, lamenting her weak self-control and berating herself, didn't realize that Shalik, who was strangely taking a long time to wash her feet, was smiling at her.

While Miu was berating herself for losing the battle with her own self-control, Shalik put on her socks, sat cross-legged on a rock, and began to channel mana for a short while. This wasn't the usual mana circulation she did at the end of the day but for magical communication.

A moment later, the bracelet on her left wrist began to emit a faint blue light. This was a magical communication bracelet, connected to the magical communication devices of the two squad leaders, Brick and Jenner.

—Hum~ Hum~

"Why won't they answer?"

Though Shalik's tone was slightly irritated, she was inwardly smiling because Miu was looking at the bracelet with wide, amazed eyes.

—Hum

"Yes, Commander. This is Brick."

"Commander, this is Jenner."

Miu was startled to hear other people's voices coming from the faintly glowing, humming magical bracelet. It was the first magic she had ever seen.

"Hey, did you all set up well?"

Shalik held the magical bracelet to her mouth and communicated for about five minutes, reporting today's events and discussing tomorrow's search plans. Then she infused mana into another magical bracelet on her left wrist.

—Hum Hum

The bracelet emitted a green light and hummed.

"Yes, Commander Shalik."

This time, a woman's voice came from the bracelet. She was the on-duty mage responsible for communication with Lord Roman.

"Hey, reporting to Lord Roman."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

A short while later, Shalik reported on the witch hunt to Lord Roman. After discussing a few other matters, she ended the communication. Shalik, who had been holding her left hand near her mouth for the communication, looked at Miu, who was still in shock.

"Why? Is this your first time seeing something like this?"

"Yes...! It's my first time! Is this... magic?"

"Yes, it's called magical communication."

"Wow, it's so amazing. Wow~~~"

Miu was truly amazed by the magic she had just witnessed.

The magic her grandfather had only described to her seemed dubious—whether it was real or just a story. The healing magic of the priests, the powerful fire and water magic of the battle mages, and the golems made of stone were all astonishing and mysterious, but she couldn't believe them.

However, Miu had just witnessed the magic right before her eyes. The bracelet glowing and making strange sounds was already fascinating, but the ability to talk to people far away was even more incredible!

She realized how amazing and wonderful the world could be.

Still in shock from the magic, Miu remembered the conversation Shalik had with her subordinates. It was about the witch hunt. She secretly hoped Ariel had escaped safely and wanted to ask Shalik about it.

"Um... Commander."

"Heh. Commander? You're not my subordinate. Just call me Shalik."

"Ah, yes... then... Lady Shalik."

"Why?"

Shalik looked at Miu, who was hesitating to speak, with a curious expression.

"About that witch. Can you find her?"

In response to Miu's question, Shalik stretched her back and answered.

"That witch?"

"Yes."

"Can't find her."

To Miu's surprise, Shalik was very firm in saying they couldn't find her.

"Really?"

Miu was relieved to hear that they couldn't find Ariel, but she quickly realized her reaction might seem suspicious.

"Can't find her... Why?"

Whether she noticed Miu's suspicious reaction or not, Shalik looked up at the night sky and answered.

"That witch killed a guy named Luke, the baron."

Miu was startled when Shalik referred to the lord of the place she lived as "that baron."

'Wow! This woman is really strong...! It's just us here. Phew, I got nervous for nothing.'

"That guy wasn't weak. He had knights guarding him. Luke was probably... stronger than Melvin? But even if they all attacked me at once, it wouldn't matter. Haha."

Shalik's brief moment of boasting.

"That witch, who killed them all and survived, is probably around the rare 4th or 5th circle level."

Shalik's cold assessment made Miu realize that Ariel was a powerful witch.

"Given her level, if she fled into these vast mountains, we probably won't find her."

"Then why are the knights... "

"Ah, it's good training, right? How often do you get to hunt a witch of that caliber? If we can't find her, we can at least give them a good scolding. Hehehehe~"

Shalik's eyes gleamed wickedly. If anyone else saw her, they would think she was the witch.

'She really is a scary woman...! Did she catch me peeking at her legs?'

Miu was once again reminded of Shalik's frightening presence.

"But, the trail disappeared after we passed your hut..."

"!"

Miu's heart sank at Shalik's words.

Indeed, Shalik was suspicious of her.

After all, a severely injured Ariel, bleeding profusely, had fled, and the trail disappeared completely from Miu's hut. It was natural to be suspicious.

"..."

Miu couldn't say anything and just kept adding wood to the hearth, trying to manage her expression.

"We're just sightseeing, really. Starting the day after tomorrow, since we can't catch the witch, we'll give them a good run for their money on the way back. Hehehehe~"

Miu, who was anxiously waiting to see what Shalik would say, let out a quiet sigh.

'Ah... If this keeps up, I'll die from anxiety before I starve to death!'

* * *

The night of winter.

Especially in the forest, night fell early.

—Hoot—Hoot—

An owl was hooting from somewhere in the high branches of the snow-covered trees, and the moon was half-obscured by thin clouds, casting the outside into darkness.

Inside the hut.

The hearth between Miu and Shalik was glowing with red-hot charcoal, and thanks to the warmth, they could manage to fall asleep.

Miu was lying by the entrance, staring blankly at the hut's ceiling.

Thinking about it, or rather, without even thinking about it, it had been a series of unbelievable and incredible events since last night.

Meeting the witch, having her life force drained, learning how to regain it, nearly dying at the hands of the witch-hunting knights, encountering even more terrifying knights, almost dying at Shalik's hands, and finally, eating delicious meat for the first time in a long time, and seeing magic for the first time...

And the most thrilling experience was spending the night with a woman for the first time.

Miu thought that after lying down, she would fall asleep immediately, especially after the exhausting and shocking day of hiking in the mountains. She was sure of it just a moment ago.

However, once the hut's door was closed, the oppressive darkness and the presence of Shalik made it impossible for her to fall asleep. Despite her being so terrifying and violent, there was a strange warmth, similar to last night's Ariel.

It was an inexplicable feeling for Miu.

'But once this search is over, Lady Shalik will leave, too.'

Shalik, like Ariel, would leave after the search was over and continue on her own path. Miu felt a deep sense of emptiness, but it was inevitable.

'Sigh, I should worry about myself. Even if I return to the hut, all the food will be gone. What will I eat now...?'

Thinking about her future, she was filled with worry. With no food left in the winter, she would surely starve to death.

'Forget it. Worrying won't help. There's no solution anyway... Still, hiking in the mountains today was so tiring. I have to keep hiking tomorrow, and I might collapse halfway through.'

Shalik didn't show any signs of fatigue or exhaustion. It seemed knights were all physically trained. In contrast, Miu had nearly collapsed several times today.

She had managed to keep going due to the fear of Shalik. But she didn't know how she would manage tomorrow.

'That won't do... Hmm... Ah!'

While worrying about her stamina for tomorrow, Miu suddenly remembered the method Ariel had taught her to absorb life force. It involved absorbing a small amount of life force from a much stronger individual of the opposite sex and making it her own.

Ariel had said that if used on a very strong woman, it would allow Miu to recover a little of her life force without harming the other person.

If there was no harm to the other person, Miu wouldn't feel guilty or overly sorry. And she thought Shalik was a woman with a very strong life force and energy.

'If it's Lady Shalik, it should be fine to absorb a little life force... She said I could only get a little, so it should be okay.'

Miu slowly turned her head to look at Shalik, who was lying beside the hearth, without making a rustling sound. In the red glow of the charcoal, she could see Shalik's figure.

She was lying straight, covered in a cloak, and breathing steadily.

'Lady Shalik, I'm sorry, but I'll just borrow a little. It won't harm you.'

Miu straightened her head and lay down, determined.

Following Ariel's instructions, she slowly focused her mind and began to vibrate her life force.

* * *

A Harem Knight's Owner

Author: Shinnaeun Jaka

Cover: Bbal

Planning/Editing/Proofreading: Shinnaeun Jaka, Jung Jae-hoon, Jung Jae-hoon

Publication Date: August 17, 2020

Publisher: Cheongha Books

ISBN: 979-11-970944-0-8(8)

E-mail: [email protected]

Price: Non-commercial

Copyright 2020. Shinnaeun Jaka. All rights reserved.

This work is a legally protected and legitimate work under contract with Cheongha Books and is protected by copyright law.

Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or any form of reprocessing, including compensation for damages, may result in legal penalties.

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