24 Hearts

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The twenty-fourth fragment, Carpe Diem

Jeanne was dumbstruck at Tia’s ability to see right through her. Indeed, like a true mercenary of Baek Eun-pae, there was more to her than what met the eye.

“That’s amazing… You’re right. With your help, I wish to find the fragment that was said to have fallen here.”

Jeanne answered truthfully. Judah, simply listening all this time while cutting their apples into the figures of rabbits, only tilted his head at their exchange. Carpe Diem, the twenty-fourth fragment that fell on Serenia Castle, was already in his possession.

However, it was a fact that no one knew except Xian and himself. Of course, it was correct to think that it will be in the western forest, but why head to the eastern forest? Judah couldn’t grasp why, and Tia thought the same.

“It’s been said that the fragment fell in the western woods, but why would you want us with you in the eastern and southern woods?”

“Well, I’d like to think differently. I wonder if the word of the fragment’s whereabouts is false. Maybe it isn’t in the western forest, but rather, it lays in the eastern forest or on the other side?”

Not a hint of it was discovered for nearly 150 years, so to think of such a possibility was not unreasonable. Jeanne used to believe the old whispers, but overtime, her trust in it had changed. And in a way, she was right. It was in the east woods. The only detail she missed was that it already had an owner. Tia sat back deep in thought, looking at Judah, who was as absorbed as he.

“What do you want to do?”

“I get to decide?”

“Well, you’d be the one to handle the wolves anyway.”

She didn’t need to say it, but basically, Jeanne was only to watch him from behind. And considering her level, she could hinder their success rather than help. Judah checked her status, confirming her level that sat at 16, missing just a single point. Despite this, it wouldn’t be so bad to hunt with her.

“And if you can’t find the fragment? What then?”

“It doesn’t matter if we can’t find it. It doesn’t matter since we can’t expect it in the first place. Try thinking bigger. These fragments, as the Lord said yesterday, will show themselves to those who led by fate. Don’t worry, finding it is of no pressure.”

“…If you say so. Well, then, we’ll go with you.”

Judah nodded to her request that made Jeanne lit up at his acceptance.

“Thank you.”

[Apprentice Blue Spear Knight “Jeanne Art Loire” is shifted as a temporary companion.]

[You can check the status of her while she is a colleague.]

[Jeanne Art Loire’s credibility has increased by 5.]

As Judah scanned the holographic message in front of his eyes, Tia tapped him from the side.

“Go wash the dishes. As for you, Miss Jeanne, shall we talk briefly about the commission and future work?”

“Oh, yes, go right ahead.”

Judah stared at the ladies as they left the kitchen to discuss affairs in the living room. After washing the dishes thoroughly, he stumbled upon them, already coming to an agreement.

It was decided; they were to receive advanced pay, and they were to meet in front of the east gate at 7 am every morning, excluding the weekends. Judah discussed the plan of action to be followed when they entered the forest and decided to give away some of their proceeds from hunting black wolves.

+ + +

The next day, Judah and Tia headed for the east gate before 7 am. They were a little earlier than the promised time, but Jeanne was already there when they arrived. To their confusion, all she had worn was a simple outfit and a backpack. Although underdressed for hunting, Judah and Tia made no mention of it. It wasn’t a requirement, and being the blue lancer that she was, they figured she could simply use her magic should she need it.

As they entered the forest away from civilization, Judas asked Jeanne for the backpack she had been carrying. She handed it over to him despite her hesitation. Judah, on the other hand, simply put it in his -bag-. Just like Tia the first time she saw it, Jeanne was as bewildered with Judah and his talk of subspaces.

They reached the southern forest by taking the path through the eastern forest. As soon as a group of black wolves appeared, silver particles appeared on Jeanne’s body that wrapped her entire figure. Judah could not help but stare, as it was a transformation straight out of a cartoon that he used to watch as a child. The silver particles engulfing her frame became a shining full-length armor and helmet, and in her grasp, brandished a bluish cone-shaped jousting spear and a rectangular tower shield.

According to plan, they launched into action; Tia hid through invisibility while Jeanne acted as a distraction for the wolves. Her shiny silver armor successfully snatched their attention, most going for her, and only two out of the five galloped for Judah.

They weren’t spared from the prowess of a Blue Spear Knight. She stopped the first wolf with her shield without difficulty, striking with her jousting spear like a blunt flag. The wolf was beaten like meat, and soon it found itself paralyzed as if its bones were broken and strangled. When Judah dealt with the ones that attacked him, they received the same excruciating fate. Before Judah turned, Jeanne stabbed her spear at the last remaining black wolf. The spear pierced the black wolf’s body with ease.

Their combat method proved to work in their favor. After skinning and collecting the gemstones, their hunt continued in the same way. Of course, it wasn’t just hunting.

As Jeanne requested, they were to look around, and on the next day, she dragged them somewhere even farther away. Deep into the woods, packs of black wolves beyond their capacity appeared, that Tia had to join the battle to defeat them.

After a week, they got used to hunting with Jeanne to some extent.

On weekdays, they hunted. On weekends, Judah and Tia relaxed at home and goofed around. When her favorability exceeded 70, her showing of affection became even more daring. There were many times when her gaze appeared to be seductive, and there were times she would take a shower and come out without a towel to cover her. There were instances where Judah would take a bath, and Tia would come waltzing into the shower with him.

Her statements, “I’ll eat you once you’ve grown,” seemed real as she kept watching Judah like a ripened fruit. He liked her affection, but it had started to unsettle him. As if she had read this atmosphere, Tia picked up that he was burdened, so she gave them a reasonable distance. What was she to do? Was she rushing in too much? The air of uncertainty between them continued.

And just like that, a year passed by, with nothing special happening between them.

There was still no news that the fragment had been found, and Jeanne, who wandered through the eastern and southern woods searching for it, was unsuccessful either.

Whether the number of black wolves had decreased, they couldn’t tell. They hunted two to three or more groups every day, and if that number was kept steady, it could be considered strange.

Hunting a certain amount of black wolves every day and selling leather and gemstones to Serenia Castle soon made the leather price a little cheaper. On the brighter side, the anxiety within the inhabitants of the castle squandered away. Just a year ago, the crowd in the square would talk about the black wolves, but now its mention has halted.

The restriction on access to the woods was also lifted. However, the possibility of black wolves roaming around continued, so the hunters would go in groups and take the path northward. The herbalists and herb-diggers were still going out with the soldiers. However, none had seen a black wolf for several months already, so people began to roam loosely like before after a little more time.

For Judah, they carried on with their routine of hunting black wolves. As usual, he sold leather, sold gemstones, and handed out the money. Tia, who was in charge of their finances, distributed bags of the payment to Judah and Jeanne.

“You had a hard time today.”

“Indeed, but thank you.”

Jeanne seemed to stall. Her mouth hung open as to say something. For a year, working with her has proved that she was a true knight. If she had anything to say straight, Judah hoped she could say it as it is, without hiding it through layers of metaphors. But seeing her hesitate, it felt like she had something important to discuss.

“What’s wrong, Jeanne? Do you have anything to say?”

Jeanne could only stutter in surprise as she was confronted. In a moment, her head dropped.

“Well… I wished to end our quest today. I’ve been grateful for this. I couldn’t find any fragments, and it seems like the time has come for us to go in separate ways.”

Tia and Judas glanced at each other, then back again to Jeanne.

“What’s going on?”

She found it hard to explain her story.

“We couldn’t find it now, but maybe it’s going to happen in the future. You know I’m an apprentice, yes?”

“Yeah.”

“The Blue Spear Knight is given two to three years of free time during the probationary period. We are free to roam during that time, whether to work for the Empire, go on an adventure, or train. My free time is now. When it’s all over, I go back to my home country and take the test to become an intermediate knight. The time has come for me to return to my home country, and I’d like to explore the western forest a little while I still have my time.”

Judah and Tia nodded in understanding. It was so sudden, but they couldn’t help it because this was hers to deal with.

“Then, should we have a drink today before we go our ways?”

“You mean like, drink alcohol?”

Jeanne rolled her eyes in thought. The offer was tempting. While she debated, Tia threw the bait.

“It’s on me. I’ll treat you somewhere fancy.”

“That sounds like a great offer. Shall we go now?”

“Once we’ve washed and gathered ourselves!”

Their conversation continued without Judah.

“Wait a minute. Tia, am I going for a drink too?”

“I’ll buy you something delicious when I leave~ You can go wait for me at home.”

Tia laughed at Judah as she bid him farewell, leading the young boy home. Jeanne, just as amused, also couldn’t help but laugh as he watched Judah being dragged by his wrist. She bowed her head at him as her goodbye. Before they could leave, Judah followed after them.

“Wait a minute, are you really leaving me alone?”

Tia’s mischievous eyes watched him from underneath her eyelashes. Thinking about alcohol had always brought a cheeky smile to her face.

“You can’t help it. You haven’t held a coming-of-age ceremony yet. But you see, even if you drink alcohol, no one will say anything, but people will be watching. Why, can’t it without your teacher?”

Judah could only sigh as a reply to her teasing remark.

“Okay. Just… Drink moderately and come home early.”

Tia smiled and didn’t answer. Saying that to a grown-up adult like her was nothing more than pointless nagging. Judah laid on the living room sofa while Tia headed for the bathroom to fix herself up.

‘Damn it. That’s sad. I wanted to drink too.’

The liquor they had at home was not very tasty. He remembered drinking it as much as he wanted to before, but he didn’t think he’d wish to drink it again this time around. As he sat there waiting for Tia, sleep began to crawl into his senses. Judah opened his status window, checking the stats he had gathered over time.