Chapter 55 : Chapter 55
Volume 1
Chapter 55 : The Invitation
“So, you are already married.”
Muen glanced at Eluka’s ring finger. He had not noticed it before, but now he saw a diamond ring glittering there.
“Yes. We got married just last night.”
“Last night?”
Muen froze for a moment.
Do people get married at night?
“There must be a difference in customs.”
After thinking it over, Muen did not dwell on it.
After all, this was another world.
He had already met a gay bandit who robbed people while searching for true love, so what else could possibly be impossible here?
“Congratulations on your marriage, Eluka.”
“Thank you.”
“Come to think of it, on the very first day of your marriage, you came all the way out to a wilderness like this?” Muen asked in confusion.
“I went to Belland to take care of something related to my husband’s work, and to buy a few things while I was there.” Eluka pointed at the small backpack behind her.
“Work...”
Muen looked Eluka up and down, taking in the way she was dressed as well as the badge with the sword emblem pinned to her chest.
“You are an adventurer, right? Is your husband one too?”
“Yes. But since we just got married, neither my husband nor I plan to take on any adventures for the time being. So I went to inform the guild, just in case they thought we had disappeared for too long and something had happened to us. Every year, the guild has quite a few ridiculous mix-ups like labeling people dead by mistake.”
“I see.”
Muen smiled. “You have to deal with so many things on the very first day of your marriage. You really have it rough.”
“It is not hard at all.”
Eluka’s cheeks reddened slightly.
“If I want to have a better married life, then all of this is necessary.”
“Haha, it sounds like you and your husband are very much in love.”
Muen said, “I am a little curious what kind of person your husband is. After all, if someone as beautiful as you has given him your heart, then I imagine he must be an outstanding man.”
“You really do have a sweet tongue. I bet you have fooled quite a few women with it.” Eluka covered her mouth and laughed. “My husband is just an ordinary man, really, but it is true that he loves me very much.”
“That is nonsense. I do not even have a girlfriend right now,” Muen said with a solemn sigh.
“It is a pity I did not meet you sooner. Otherwise, I could have gone to your wedding and maybe met one of the bridesmaids.”
“As if I would let you crash my wedding.” Eluka teased him.
“How cruel...”
“Speaking of which, my home is by the lake at the end of this river. Would you like to come and sit for a while?” Eluka suddenly asked. “After all, you do count as the benefactor who rescued me from those bandits.”
“How could I count as your benefactor? In the end, I still had to rely on you.”
Muen scratched his head awkwardly.
If Eluka had not stepped in to help him, he probably really would have been carried off by Scarface and made into his bandit bride by now.
“As for visiting your house...”
Muen thought about it.
Under normal circumstances, it would not be a problem.
But the couple had only just gotten married.
This was exactly when they should be enjoying time alone together, and if he barged in and played the third wheel, it would seem a bit inappropriate.
“I think I will pass. I should—”
Grrr—
Just as Muen was about to decline, his words were interrupted by a deep rumble.
“Huh? Was that thunder?”
Startled, Eluka lifted her head to look at the sky.
Only to find that the weather was clear and the heavens cloudless.
Then she noticed that Muen’s face had gone bright red, like someone who had just had his stash of dirty books discovered under the bed.
“You...”
“Haha...”
Muen let out an awkward laugh.
Damn it. I completely forgot I have not eaten anything for a day and a night.
And after all that intense movement, he was already so hungry his stomach was practically stuck to his back.
“I see.”
A mischievous smile curled at Eluka’s lips.
She touched her cheek and sighed in mock regret.
“Well, if Mr. Muen does not wish to come, then there is nothing I can do. I cannot force you, after all. It is just a pity that I was planning to make a feast tonight, and now only my husband and I will get to enjoy it.”
“A feast...”
“That is right. Roast the whole lamb.”
“Gulp... roast whole lamb.”
“Sigh. It will be a little difficult for just two people to finish an entire roast lamb, but it cannot be helped. After all...”
“My sincerest apologies, Miss Eluka—no, Lady Eluka.”
Tempted beyond all shame by the thought of roast whole lamb, Muen clasped his hands together and pleaded shamelessly,
“Please let me intrude and mooch dinner from you!”
“Oh? But were you not refusing to come?”
“Who said that? With Lady Eluka’s cooking, even if I have to turn into a thousand-watt light bulb and glow brightly as the third wheel all night, I still absolutely must taste it!”
“You certainly know how to talk.”
Eluka smiled faintly. She had not truly intended to tease Muen too much.
“Then let us go.”
“Thank you, Lady Eluka!”
Overjoyed, Muen leaned on a wooden stick he had casually picked up and followed Eluka toward the lake at the end of the river.
...
I love you.
...
Hm?
Muen suddenly frowned and looked around.
Strange. He could have sworn he had just heard someone speak.
“Um... Eluka?”
“Hm? Is something wrong?”
“Did you say something just now?”
“Say what?”
Eluka turned her head and looked at him strangely.
“I did not say anything.”
“That is odd. Did I start hallucinating because I have been hungry for too long?”
Muen scratched his head and did not think too much of it.
So the breeze drifted by, and the rustling leaves swallowed every discordant sound.
...
“This is my village.”
Following Eluka all the way, Muen arrived at a small fishing village by the lake.
“Oh? This place is pretty nice.”
Muen looked up.
From the entrance of the village, he could see the clear lake waters and the pleasant scenery.
And he recognized it as well.
This was actually Lake Bepol, the same place he had come to visit with his family last year.
“Living in a scenic place like this, where you can enjoy such beautiful views whenever you want, is really enviable.”
“It is not that exaggerated.”
Eluka smiled shyly and said, “No matter how beautiful the scenery is, if you look at it long enough, it starts to seem ordinary. And living by the lake brings a great deal of inconvenience as well.”
“But it still makes people feel good, does it not?”
Having recovered a bit of his strength, Muen tossed aside the wooden stick and clasped his hands behind his head, letting the breeze off the lake brush against his face as he enjoyed this hard-won moment of peace.
Thinking carefully about it, ever since he had transmigrated into this world, all kinds of troubles had been chasing him nonstop.
It felt as though he had never truly relaxed even once.
And perhaps because of that, he treasured this peaceful beauty all the more.
“Let us go.”
Once she felt the time was about right, Eluka led Muen deeper into the village.
“It is so quiet.”
Muen looked around and found that every house had its doors tightly shut.
There was not a single sign of life anywhere.
“That is because everyone is busy right now.”
Eluka explained,“The autumn fish are at their fattest, and the autumn harvest is about to begin, so almost all the villagers are busy working outside. It is perfectly normal for them to stay overnight on their boats or in the fields.”
“That really is hard work.”
“Yes. Everything piles up at once, and even the children do not get a chance to rest. But that is what harvest season is, after all. Once this period passes, all that remains will be joy.”
Eluka suddenly stopped in front of the gate of a small courtyard and said with a hint of delight,
“We are here.”