As soon as they arrived at the village, they stopped at one of the top establishments, packed their goods and money, and sent them to the vicinity of the Imperial City. I wanted to get the top workers to come to me, but if I ran into Kyle, I would get too tired. I chose the next best option.
[The top of castanets is in charge of moving items to each branch.]
Thanks to the system's guidance, Kyle didn't have to lose the money he had worked so hard to keep. It didn't seem like a penny or two, but you couldn't waste hard-earned money.
"By the way, this is also done at the top." It's just like a courier service.
After that, as I diligently wandered around, the time for 'recalling' was coming to an end. I thought about it all over again, but time truly was money.
— (Got it.)
The time for the replica hamster that I had just let go of was up. As I looked at another Cashew that melted away, I felt tired and fell asleep as if I had passed out.
How much time had passed since then? When I opened my eyes, I was on a rattling carriage. It was dark around, so I thought they must have covered it with a black cloth...
— (Ugh.)
Crazy motion sickness. As I gasped against the wall, what I thought was a black cloth moved. It seemed that Kyle was sitting in the carriage and hugging the hamster house.
"Are you alright? Cashew."
— (Do you look okay...?)
"Do you get motion sickness too? He looked fine when I was holding him. Anyway, this is also similar to Shu."
What could I do? The guy inside was the same guy.
Kyle reached out into the hamster's house. Somehow, I thought this would be better than being in a rigid house, so I climbed into his palm. He had a lot of calluses, but he still wrapped his hands around me, so they were warm and fluffy.
'It's definitely better.'
I curled up in a circle and closed my eyes. The Duke wouldn't be able to hold a hamster until he arrived at the Imperial Court, so I had to sleep well now that I was lying in his palm.
Rattle, rattle.
The carriage shook. It was a day of moving from the North to the South, from winter to spring.
By the time I arrived at the city, I had a miracle figure of nearly 30 percent.
— (Is this really okay?)
"Don't worry too much, Cashew. If they are afraid of their lives, they will never do it again."
— (I suppose so.)
The whole story of the incident was as follows. On the way to the Imperial City, we stopped at several villages, and the atmosphere of one village was ugly. When I asked the soldiers, they said that there had been recent incidents of bandits coming down to the village to commit acts of violence and extort money. Unfortunately, it was a small village between the estates, and it was a poor place, so no one could help them. As there was nothing to take away from them, the bandits' tyranny became worse day by day. As a result, the villagers naturally did not welcome outsiders. They didn't have enough food to give to others, and they were often tired from the bandits who were trying to catch their 'pods' just to ask outsiders for help.
And when Kyle learned about the situation, he solved it all at once and clearly. With a fist.
"This is the fastest way to the Imperial City, so shouldn't he be beaten on his way down?"
— (Here I am.)
It was literal. Kyle stabbed a group of bandits in the village with a single fist... He dug them all up and put them together. The bandits, who had been beaten just enough to not die, gave Kyle all the wealth they had stolen and fled to the mountains. When I came back to the village, I was told that I wouldn't let him go, but unfortunately, all I heard was that I was in a hamster house. Well, I wished I hadn't killed him anyway. To be honest, they were not only stealing but also killing, so why couldn't they kill them?
"I thought I helped them."
— (Because misunderstandings are free.)
He seemed to be worried about me for giving me so much money. I mean, if you say that money-takers are everywhere, I'm worried about it.
Anyway, it was a good thing. It was good that the villagers were safe, Kyle was relieved of worries, and I was glad that I could raise my miracle numbers thanks to something that wasn't in the original. I didn't know much about it, but Kyle Jane Meinhardt seemed to be quite a terror to people outside of Blake's estate. I didn't know what happened to him when he was driven out of the Imperial City and went to the North... This incident turned fear into awe and started going viral, so it was only natural that the miracle number went up so much. In addition, every time he stopped by the inn, he took care of hamster food, which led to a rumor that he was a warm and righteous person to small animals and the poor.
"The day is getting warmer, so get some air."
Kyle opened the window of the carriage wide. I sniffed close to the window of the hamster's house. The wind that had been getting warmer as we descended to the South began to rustle with the smell of flowers as we got closer to the Imperial Fortress. The Meinhardt Empire was said to be in full bloom in March.
It's a good engagement during the flowering season. Although the other person was the other person, there wasn't much romantic feeling.
"Are you bored?" Kyle asked affectionately. I kicked him on the lip as he tried to tear the kiss apart.
Of course, man. I haven't been able to use 'load' for several days already, and I'm a hamster. I'm going to forget that I was a human being.
"When I was holding him, he was quiet without whining the whole time..."
Are you whining? Don't use such cute words. Do you know how old I am?
"Don't worry too much. I'll be back in a few days. Five days? No, he's a diligent guy, so he might come back in four days."
Even if Kyle pretended to be diligent and caught it for about three days... This meant that we had to live for three more days with this boring, 100 percent pure rat life.
'...I'm tired, I'm tired.'
As I grumbled excitedly, the carriage slowly stopped. Finally, I arrived at the destination I had been waiting for. I tilted my head and looked out the window. The white bricks lined up on the main road that could easily fit one or two carriages, and the garden was full of spring flowers that surrounded the roadside. There were lights and structures here and there, and they glistened noisily in the sun, whether they were spread with gold.
'I don't think anyone is Hwang Sung.' Gorgeous is filthy gorgeous.
Of course, the most eye-catching thing was the Imperial Castle, which was more luxurious than any fairytale palace I had seen in my life. Blake Castle was not small, but it was indeed the palace of the imperial family.
'It's too far to see it here.' Let's go out too, too.
I quickly grabbed Kyle's fingers with both hands and clung to them. Do not put it in the hamster house, put it on the palm of your hand. It hurts a little... It's frustrating!
"Yes. Let's go together."
Kyle looked at me cutely and squeezed me carefully in his hand. Fortunately, there were many people waiting outside, so instead of kissing or hugging me, he put me in the front pocket of his jacket with a very careful hand. I looked around with my head sticking out.
"I see Archduke Blake."
Sen led the maids out himself. She had a neat and tidy look, but she was wearing a no-frills dress, so she really looked like a young lady from an aristocratic family. When Sen, who had his brown hair tied up high, bowed down with his skirt up, Kyle also bowed lightly.
"Thank you for your hospitality."
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Your Highness."
"Yes." Kyle's expression was quite soft.
"How are you?"
Sen replied with a small smile.
"How many people don't get along in the Imperial City? It's a place where everything is plentiful."
Sen's expression was so calm as he said that, that there was a chill in his face rather than a warm happiness. Kyle shrugged instead of answering as if he understood. Maybe it was because he didn't do well in the Imperial City and was driven to the cold land.
"Well, there were more than I thought."
Sen covered his mouth with a puzzled expression, and quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
There was an awkward silence for a moment. Sen rubbed his fingertips lightly against the nape of my neck, then smiled slightly with a look I knew.
"Did you come with Cashew?"
"I think I should consult the Emperor's mathematicians or wizards."
"Oh, where does it hurt?"
"It's not sick."
"That's a good thing. What about Shu?"
She looked around. Of course, I would have thought that I would have accompanied them, but I was a little disappointed to see that I was not among the people unloading the wagon.
"I decided to stop by my hometown. It will arrive in a few days. I wish you could set up his room next to mine."
"I already did that. There is no place for Cashew to stay yet... Don't worry, we'll have it ready by tomorrow."
"Yes. Please."
After that, Sen walked calmly to the castle. His skill in guiding rooms or asking maids to work was not ordinary. The maids didn't seem to have any difficulty with Sen either.
'You got used to it quickly.' But he's smart, so that's enough.
After parting ways with Sen, we entered the prepared room. The luxurious furniture and the panoramic view felt the opposite of the North. Maybe because I was used to the North, I felt like I was in a foreign country. I should say more delicate and sophisticated. It's amazing. It's even strange that there are no eyes outside the window.
"You must have had a hard time coming, so eat this first."
Kyle set me down on a finely folded handkerchief and rummaged through my bag. Sunflower seeds and roasted peanuts, yellow pollack cubes, shredded duck... No, did you bring something like this?
As I was eating, a hand stroked my forehead and back. It's a burden, man. Still, I was scared to get used to it, so I didn't feel like saying no. It seemed as if his affection for him had become commonplace.
When I looked up at him after I had filled my stomach properly, Kyle flashed me up and kissed me about five times on the forehead before placing me in the middle of the bed.
"Sleep here today. Tomorrow morning, we'll have what we need."
— (I don't care because I'm a bed person.)
Shall we ask for a hamster bed or something? You don't have to use such a large bed by yourself, just the size of the palm of your hand...
'Wait a minute.'
Why do I use this bed by myself?
Slap.
Kyle untied the sword on his back and hugged him. Then there was a clattering sound of armor... Isn't he sitting with his back to the bed with a knife in his arms? Do you sleep like that? Oh, really?
"Sleep well." He spoke quietly and closed his eyes.
—...
I looked at him with a slightly complicated gaze as he slept motionlessly.
I knew. Kyle didn't trust anyone here. It was here that he miserably killed his mother and cast him into the cold land. Not only would he be life-threatening, but he would have been on the verge of dying. Because of those countless memories, he was not as weak as he was back then, and he couldn't rest his mind even though no one could treat him badly. The things engraved in your mind eat away at you for longer than you think. Even if you think you've overcome everything, I knew that memories are the ones that come to mind unconsciously. I'm tired of it.
'...I can't wait to come back.'
I wanted to be by his side as Shu, not as a Cashew. At least he wouldn't feel alone in this spacious Imperial Palace. I stared at Kyle's cold, hard, and lonely face for a long moment before closing my eyes. I wished the time would pass a little faster, and I prayed.