TOPWL 92

Even just glancing at the other guests’ tables made it clear they were receiving only the bare minimum of hospitality. Their breakfast consisted of rough slices of rye bread, goat’s milk, and soup served in dull wooden bowls. In contrast, Khalid’s table bore dishes that clearly did not belong to the inn—glassware so old the patterns had almost faded, likely brought from the owner’s own home. Upon them sat scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and rye bread—an array of preserved foods. There was also a stew made with carrots, onions, and potatoes, and deformed little loaves of bread adorned with jam and cheese. It was a pitiful yet earnest attempt at embellishment.

It was obvious to anyone that this was special treatment. And yet, not a single guest raised a word of complaint. The only thing they wanted was to eat quickly and leave even quicker.

At this point, even eating had begun to feel burdensome. But Khalid and Shane showed no such hesitation. Yudit, too, decided that for the sake of the guests’ digestion, it would be best to finish quickly.

As Yudit brought a spoonful of stew to his lips and tore into the bread, a young boy entered through the front door. It was Kennan. In one hand, he held a bottle of goat’s milk, and in the other, a large bundle of wildflowers. He looked like he’d grown a little since the last time they saw him.

“Sis, I brought the goat’s milk and the wildflowers. But why’d you want wildflowers this early in the morning?”

“Kennan, shh.”

Perhaps sensing something odd in his sister’s tone, Kennan turned his head. His eyes immediately widened.

“Whoa! That guy’s super handsome.”

“…”

“…”

A suffocating silence fell over the dining hall in the wake of Kennan’s words. The already tense air seemed to freeze solid. Hess looked as if she might cry. Everyone lowered their eyes, stealing glances at Khalid’s expression. Hess was caught between dropping to her knees in apology or forcing Kennan to flee the scene—when Khalid spoke first.

“Kid, you got one part right, and one part wrong.”

“Which part’s wrong?”

“K-Kennan…”

Hess called out to him in a strangled voice, as if someone had gripped her throat. But Kennan, now fully intrigued by Khalid, easily brushed off his sister’s mosquito-like whisper.

Khalid slipped a hand into his jacket. Once again, the room froze. Even a single bite of stew now threatened to come right back up.

What Khalid pulled out was not a weapon, but a coin. A glinting ten-thousand kes coin flicked from his fingers and sailed in an arc, landing neatly in Kennan’s palm.

“Now do you see which part was wrong?”

“Yes, brother!”

“Good. That’s the correct answer.”

Khalid flicked another coin Kennan’s way. Kennan mouth fell open in awe—he’d just made twenty thousand kes off a single exchange.

“I’m terribly sorry. He’s just a child, too young to understand what he’s saying. Please, allow me to apologize on his behalf.”

“No need. It’s already been settled. Bring us two glasses of that goat’s milk.”

“Y-Yes, of course!”

Despite his sharp features, Khalid’s generous gesture noticeably eased the tension in the room. Even Hess, who had been moving like a stiff wooden puppet, seemed to regain her composure. With practiced ease, she poured the goat’s milk and handed it to Yudit and Shane.

“Drink up. That’s how you’ll grow tall.”

Khalid said it with a playful smile. Yudit cast him a sideways glance and drank. The freshly drawn goat’s milk was warm and sweet—a living warmth that spoke of the life it had come from.

“Not bad, is it?”

“It is.”

“You’ve chosen your inn well. It may be shabby, but the food’s quite good.”

Yudit looked at Khalid in surprise.

“Why that look?”

“Well, I just thought… you’d prefer somewhere more refined. More elegant.”

He didn’t seem like someone who belonged in a crumbling inn like this one. At Yudit’s words, Khalid let out a low chuckle.

“Sleeping among corpses on the battlefield was routine for me. Compared to that, this place is practically luxury.”

Now that he thought about it, Khalid had indeed earned quite a name for himself on the battlefield. In his house’s affairs, in war, in business—he had lived an intense life, even in its brevity.

Yudit looked at him in silence. Beneath those deeply set eyes lay the cool gaze of someone who had seen countless battlefields—a sharpness honed through fire. Their eyes met in the air. Embarrassed, Yudit cleared his throat and looked away.

“The road’s construction seems to be advancing smoothly.”

The scent of dust from last night, and the fervor of the people, still lingered vividly. He’d heard the roadwork was progressing quickly, but he hadn’t expected it to be quite so extensive.

“Yes. They’re working hard.”

“The road is very wide.”

“To accommodate two carriages and a proper pedestrian path, it has to be.”

“I know this is your domain, Khalid, but… what do you plan to do with roads like that in a village like this?”

District 3 of Bern was Khalid’s territory. It wasn’t a bad thing to develop his lands, but he had all but neglected this area until now. What meaning could such development have for him?

“I wanted to win someone’s heart.”

“…”

Khalid’s lips curled into a playful smile. Yudit blinked at his words.

“That’s the main reason. But after surveying the land, I found it’s quite suitable for shipbuilding. So I’m thinking of building a harbor—and a shipyard. It’ll be a long-term project, of course.”

“Shipyard…?”

“Yes. This is an ideal place for shipbuilding. The land is rich in iron, and the sea isn’t too deep. The capital’s nearby too, so it’s convenient to bring in materials.”

“Are you planning to build warships?”

“Warships wouldn’t be a bad idea, but I’m thinking of something else.”

“What kind?”

“Passenger ships.”

Yudit gave a small nod. Khalid and passenger ships—it suited him surprisingly well.

“But not just any passenger ship. I’m thinking of something a bit grander. The main clientele would be nobles—accommodating about two hundred passengers. A luxury liner that can travel between continents and show people that the journey itself can be part of the adventure.”

It was a concept Yudit had never considered, but in Khalid’s mind, the future already seemed fully formed. Things that didn’t yet exist—but would in a few years—stirred something in Yudit’s chest.

“That sounds just like you, Khalid.”

“When the ship is completed, be there for its first voyage.”

“That’s still a few years away, isn’t it?”

“Nothing wrong with promising ahead of time, is there?”

Khalid’s eyes sparkled as he spoke—dark eyes like a lake beneath a star-filled sky. Yudit had always had a soft spot for people who spoke of dreams. In the end, he nodded.

“All right.”

“It’s a promise.”

With a grin, Khalid picked up a piece of bread.

“This region’s especially good thanks to the abundance of wasteland. Plenty of space to build—very satisfying.”

At that, Yudit was struck by the difference between him and Khalid. He had looked at the wasteland and thought of the kinds of crops that could be cultivated there. Khalid had looked at it and thought of buildings to be raised. We’re truly different, aren’t we. Yudit watched as Khalid took a bite of bread topped with cheese and mused to himself.

After breakfast, Yudit accompanied Khalid on a round of the construction site. The village seemed more or less the same as last time, yet subtly different. A little colder, a little more desolate. Roadwork was in full swing. Perhaps because of that, the market and the streets were livelier, crowded with more people than before.

“There are quite a few more people now.”

“There weren’t enough laborers from the slums, so we hired more.”

After a moment of thought, Yudit asked, “Where are all those people staying?”

“Some are living at the inns, some renting barns… and those who can’t manage either are living in tents, I hear.”

Yudit put his hands on the window, feeling the draft seeping through the carriage. The frost clinging to the cold glass melted under his touch. Tent life in this weather, not spring but still bitter cold—it must be hard. Lost in thought, Yudit turned his gaze back out the window and spotted something.

“Huh?”

Three goblins were digging into the ground out in the wasteland. They’d likely come down in search of food. Gaunt green bodies with bulging bellies, hooked noses, and unnerving green eyes. Their movements among the bare winter trees resembled giant rats scuttling about. Yudit remembered the sensation of stabbing into one. A chill ran down his spine, and he rubbed his arm instinctively.

“We’ll start a monster hunt once the road is finished,” Khalid said.

“That’s a good idea. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“What, thinking of joining the hunting party?”

Khalid gave him a teasing smile. But Yudit looked at him with a serious expression.

“If you need my help, I’ll take part.”

“I was only joking. I’m planning to hire mercenaries into my order. A lot of them’ve probably gone to Kiara because of the civil war, but I’ll pull in as many as I can.”

“Do you need that many people?”

Khalid’s gaze turned toward the mountain range as the wind howled outside.

“The range is large. The more hands, the better. We’ll comb through it like lice, destroy every dwelling we find. It’s winter now, so they’ll likely freeze before they find a new place. It’s the best time to reduce their numbers.”

He spoke of brutal things as though they were routine. It was the cool-headedness of a man who had lived through countless battlefields.

Yudit briefly considered if there might be a way to coexist with them, but he abandoned the thought quickly. He remembered the gaze of that poison-goblin that had bit him. The goblin had clearly overpowered him. Yudit might be an omega, but he was still a grown man—and something that could defeat him could never be allowed to roam the village freely. Not if there was any hope of safely raising children here.