Chapter 3

A man appeared from somewhere and sliced through the monster with flawless, clean movements.

The sight of his massive, heavy body—something that couldn’t have been built with mere training—moving at an unbelievable speed to cut down the creature was truly a spectacle.

Even Captain Istar rarely displayed such discipline and efficiency.

Judging by how skillfully he dealt with the monster, he was likely either a monster hunter or a mercenary…

‘What a waste.’

No, seriously. He was a waste.

Someone like him was exactly the kind of talent the Holy Knights would scout.

‘And that face?’

Even though he wore rag-like clothes carelessly draped over him and was covered in mud and soot, he still somehow shined.

His nose, over which filthy water flowed, was straight and elegant like a sculpture, and the tendons that ran along his neatly defined jaw drew one’s eyes.

Through his dark blue-black hair, reminiscent of bronze, his golden eyes shone with an eerie coldness that didn’t seem human.

‘They say Saint Portu is a paradise of handsome men and beautiful women… maybe it’s true.’

I’d always thought that was just the capital’s gossips joking around.

But now it seemed credible.

‘So even beggars can look like sculptures.’

As I stood there purely admiring him, the man finished off the remaining monsters and then wore a serious expression all by himself.

‘Even beggars can look melancholically handsome, huh.’

While I was still mentally adding to my review, a small, wrinkly old man approached the man, who had been silently staring down at the monster corpses.

The old man looked like he’d rolled around in a swamp all day.

“…Why… come all this way?”

“…The power is weakening…”

“…Mutation…”

They were having some serious conversation in a grave tone.

I stared at the two for a while before Beth called to me from behind, snapping me out of it.

“What’s with those people?”

Beth gripped my waist and started pulling me backward.

Then, when she noticed the ripped side of my dress, she gasped in horror.

“Miss! Your dress—!”

I waved her off casually and raised my voice.

“Hey, excuse me!”

“Miss!”

Neither the man nor the old man seemed to hear me.

I stepped down from the carriage and began walking toward them.

Up close, the man was truly massive. I had to tilt my head up to even see him properly.

“I have a question.”

Tap.

As I spoke, I placed my hand on his shoulder and flinched slightly.

‘How is a human body like this?’

His physique was so clearly pure muscle that I could feel it through my fingertips.

‘Even after thirty laps around the training grounds, I never built a body like this.’

Without thinking, I applied slight pressure to his shoulder, curious about the texture of his muscles. The man furrowed his brow and looked at me like he couldn’t believe what I was doing.

‘Even when frowning, he’s good-looking.’

The old man behind him finally noticed my presence and cried out in alarm.

“How dare you—!”

But just then, the man casually clicked his tongue and covered the old man’s mouth.

“…?”

The two exchanged a meaningful glance.

Unfortunately for them, I saw it all.

It was probably something like, “A suspicious person just showed up.”

The man finally turned toward me.

“What would you like to know?”

“Well—”

“Please remove your hand first.”

Ah. Right.

Only then did I realize my hand was still resting on his shoulder.

The sensation of his densely packed muscles made me feel almost jealous, even sick to my stomach.

‘Still so envious…’

Maybe I was too reluctant to let go, because I absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder as I lowered my hand.

The man looked down at me with a stunned expression.

‘What? Why’re you looking at me like that?’

Whatever. I let go. That’s all that matters.

Ignoring his gaze, I got straight to the point.

“How much farther is it to Saint Portu from here?”

“…Saint Portu?”

“I heard it’s nearby.”

“…What business do you have there?”

His gaze dropped to my face and tattered dress, a mix of wariness and curiosity flickering in his eyes.

I brushed off his suspicion and replied plainly.

“I’ve got some business to attend to there.”

“Business?”

“Yes.”

“Did you come from the capital?”

“That’s right.”

The man’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

His gaze slowly swept over me.

“A noble from the capital, like you…”

He trailed off when his eyes landed on the torn edge of my dress and the bony thigh peeking out.

‘Yeah.’

Even I had to admit it.

With my dress ripped up like some wild animal had clawed at it, I didn’t look all that different from the raggedy man in front of me.

‘Still, it’s not like I could’ve fought in a tight dress.’

The man, trying to maintain some semblance of courtesy, continued politely.

“…Someone so well-dressed, visiting such a place…”

“It’s an important matter.”

“It could be dangerous.”

The conversation continued in circles, dodging around the real topic.

He clearly didn’t trust me because I was an outsider.

Well, Saint Portu wasn’t just famous for its beautiful people.

---

‘Elaine, that place is known for hating outsiders!’
‘All rural places are like that to some degree.’
‘They’ll hate someone from the outside even more if she’s a prospective bride!’

I remembered Reina trying to stop me through tears.

To be fair, if I hadn’t insisted on going, she would’ve had to go herself—and all because I sent off the princesses.

‘Seriously, she’s just too kind.’

Anyway, not only Reina but everyone else had warned me about Saint Portu: it was filled with gorgeous but terribly rude people.

They always drew a line first with outsiders. Proud and stuck-up.

‘Still, it’s not like I have a choice.’

Just then, seeing the man’s muscles gave me a brilliant idea.

“If you really think it’s dangerous, could you escort me to Saint Portu?”

“…”

“Our coachman looks like he’s about to die from fear of monsters.”

I pointed toward the old coachman, who was trembling pitifully on the roof of the carriage.

He was an old man who’d come all this way just to take me safely.

Honestly, it was a bit much expecting me to protect both Beth and the coachman by myself—even if I was a trained sniper.

‘Unless I had a nice meat shield to distract the monsters for me.’

And that man would make the perfect handsome meat shield.

‘He looks skilled enough not to die easily, too.’

So I wouldn’t even feel guilty.

Hiding my true thoughts, I said sweetly,

“I’m not asking for free. I’ll hire you.”

At my words, the old man’s forehead turned an angry shade of blue.

He was probably thinking “how rude of this outsider.”

The man, on the other hand, looked intrigued.

Faced with the two opposing reactions, I simply shrugged.

“If you’re not interested, that’s fine. But I’ll pay more than your current employer.”

“How much are you offering?”

“More than a monster hunter’s daily rate.”

“Monster hunter?”

“Aren’t you one? You don’t look like a slash-and-burn farmer.”

The old man behind him flinched again.

This time, he looked like he really couldn’t hold back, but the man calmly held him back with one hand and looked at me.

“Apologies, but we do have certain standards for clients.”

“Standards?”

“To determine whether the person is worth guarding. Whether they can even take care of themselves…”

What nonsense.

“Why would someone who can take care of themselves even hire a guard?”

“Exactly.”

“…”

“People too weak to survive on their own—how would they ever make it to pay us?”

He was speaking in circles, but the message was clear.

He didn’t want to escort me.

Unfortunately for him, he picked the wrong opponent.

“So I just have to prove myself?”

Even before he finished speaking, I moved.

The man’s expression shifted to “Oh?” and he quickly dodged with impressive reflexes.

But he wasn’t my target.

“……!”

The musket hanging from the old man’s back flew into my hand like magic.

I spun it once, loaded it in one fluid motion, and fired behind me without hesitation.

Bang!

Screeech!

The monster that had been silently creeping toward us took a bullet between the eyes and collapsed with a dying shriek.

It had been lurking for a while, and it was starting to get on my nerves.

The man and old man slowly turned to look at me.

I handed the musket back onto the old man’s hand and said,

“Is that enough proof?”