Thinking back on it now, Archer's remark sounded completely different.
At the time, I just thought he was arbitrarily disappointed because he had expected the unrealistic female body proportions you’d typically see in a video game.
But what if that wasn’t the case?
What if Archer said that because he had genuinely noticed a strange discrepancy?
Remembering how exceptional an archer's eyesight must be, I sprinted straight to the inn where he said he was staying.
"I apologize for thinking you were a pathetic otaku who confused comic book girls with reality."
The moment I found him, I clung to him and tried to win him over.
"Wait, what...? What did you think I was? What are you apologizing for?"
Utterly baffled, Archer shot me a glare and bombarded me with questions.
"You said you saw Persephone in person, right? Didn't you say something was off? That she was too big and felt out of place?"
"Huh? Uh, yeah. But wait, what did you think I was just now?"
Completely ignoring his protests, I fell deep into thought.
Hypothesis. Persephone usually dresses as a man. And she met Belsus while in that disguise.
I narrowed down the suspect, the one who did something so ridiculous to Belsus, to Persephone.
If Persephone disguised herself as a man and harbored ill will toward Belsus, everything makes perfect sense.
Though it was a little strange that Belsus, who was usually highly observant, wouldn't have noticed the disguise...
I grabbed Archer's arm tightly. He looked at me with an expression that had moved past annoyance and straight into fear.
If I utilized Archer, I could track people down much faster than I could on my own. The decision now was whether to prioritize finding Belsus or catching Persephone.
I made my choice.
I'll trust Belsus.
Even though I was just someone who only knew how to grow vegetables and cook meals, Belsus was someone I had raised by pouring the full might of the #1 Life Skill Ranker into him...
He wouldn't be out there somewhere getting beaten up or scammed.
Finding Persephone to break the curse is far more urgent.
Above all, I had a way to find Belsus without needing Archer's help.
Because the second regular dungeon is just a few days away.
Even if he was currently out of contact, Belsus would definitely return for this dungeon. He wasn't the type of guy to run away just to get out of paying the boarding fees he owed me.
"Find Persephone and give her this note."
I pulled my farm notebook and a pen out of the pocket of my overalls. I ripped out a page and scribbled a note right on the spot.
Despite my clear instructions to deliver it to Persephone, Archer unfolded it the second I handed it to him.
[You son of a bitch, let's fight. Come out to the front of the theater at 19:00 on May 6th.]
"Are you serious?"
Archer looked absolutely dumbfounded. Unfazed, I just shrugged my shoulders.
"I wrote that because I knew you'd open it. That one's a fake; deliver this one."
I handed him a second note I had written in the meantime. He glanced at me suspiciously before eventually opening the second note to read it as well.
[Come to the front of the theater at 19:00 on May 6th.
If you don't show up, I'm going to tell all your fans around the world that Persephone is dating a man 20 years older than her.]
"A man 20 years older? Who?"
"None of your business."
Instead of putting the note in his pocket, Archer suddenly stared at me intently.
"By the way, when did I ever say I'd do you a favor?"
He smirked, looking like he finally had something over me.
"Ah~ My feet just won't seem to move. I think I might be able to get going if you asked a little more politely, though."
"Oh great and magnificent Archer, the incarnation of Jumong. I beg of you."
I gritted my teeth and humored him. Archer cupped his hand to his ear and mouthed, 'What was that?' So, I repeated the same words two more times.
"Hey, Farmer. Am I your older brother or your younger brother?"
"You're my older brother. Hyung-nim, please do this for me."
"Alright. Treat me as your Hyung-nim for the next week."
Archer grinned from ear to ear, lifting his chin in smug satisfaction.
"But if I head to the theater, how are you going to get there?"
"I'll have to walk diligently. If I walk non-stop until the day of the appointment, I'll probably just barely make it in time."
Archer burst out laughing. Then, he shot me a look of profound pity.
Imagining the grueling march I was about to endure seemed to make his day infinitely better. He carefully folded the note, tucked it away in his jacket, and with a face full of vibrant energy and a goofy grin, he bounded off, disappearing from my sight.
Once I confirmed he was completely gone, I dropped my act.
The humiliating expression I had been faking vanished, replaced by my usual, emotionless deadpan.
What an idiot. Words don't cost a dime.
He was running a cross-city errand for me without charging a single penny. I wouldn't lose a thing even if I called him 'Hyung-nim' for the rest of my life.
Wasn't he the real pushover here, not Belsus?
Well then. Should I start walking diligently now? With this slow, sluggish body...
I immediately headed to the city's main thoroughfare and hired a carriage and a driver. After giving him the destination and paying the fare upfront, I climbed comfortably inside.
Archer was probably out there sprinting his heart out right now. Meanwhile, I sat back in the carriage and enjoyed a late meal of dried fruit and jerky.
Archer was much faster than a carriage, after all. Thanks for delivering the note, buddy.
---
The man was back to being a wanderer.
Though many things had changed since his past, the moment Belsus stepped onto the surface world without the farm key, he felt as if the last few months had been entirely erased from his life.
He had money, but he couldn't step foot inside an inn.
The memories of innkeepers colluding with bounty hunters to sell him out were far too vivid.
Despite having a strong, towering physique, ample travel funds, and a well-fed body, despite possessing so much now, Belsus had essentially become a beggar once again.
It started to rain. Belsus sat under the cover of a tree to take shelter from the downpour.
He pulled a cold packed lunch from his inventory and ate it slowly, cherishing it. He savored every single bite.
Heean, you packed way too many meals for the last dungeon. No matter how much of a big eater I am, this was overkill.
It was such overkill... that he still had plenty left to eat.
And even eating it cold like this, it was still... incredibly delicious.
As he ate the tear-soaked meal, memories of Heean's face, his voice, and the way he used to gently pat his back surfaced one by one.
Heean had undoubtedly seasoned the food perfectly, yet strangely, the more Belsus ate, the saltier it tasted.
—"This is a cooling artifact, and this is a warming artifact. Keep the cooling one active in your inventory, and leave the warming one off. When you take out a meal to eat, activate the warming artifact to heat it up."
Thanks to those instructions, even though the food had cooled down, it hadn't spoiled after all these days.
Heean always gave his absolute best. Whether it was the fabric of the clothes he made for Belsus or the precise, inch-perfect placement of furniture, he never treated anything half-heartedly.
He did it all as if that was the only thing he could do, as if he was born and existed solely for that purpose.
He swept and scrubbed the house, furnished Belsus's room with better pieces, tended the crops in the fields, and cooked warm meals.
Heean's eyes were the eyes of a survivor.
Honestly, seeing that survivalist look in his eyes, it was hard to imagine that someone like him could ever harbor feelings for someone like Belsus.
But whenever Belsus ate well, Heean smiled. A faint smile he didn't even seem to notice himself would tug at the corners of his lips.
He didn't look nearly as happy when others ate the food he made. For example, when the one called 'Bard' tried his cooking, Heean looked as though he were chewing on rocks. When the one called 'Archer' was eating and clearly enjoying the meal, Heean just looked annoyed by his presence.
For the last time, Belsus wanted to believe it. Just once.
That Heean actually thought of him as someone special.
But now, he couldn't. He could no longer stay by his side.
He packed up the lunchbox, having licked it clean without leaving a single crumb of fried food behind. The man brushed off the drizzling rain, his eyes now shining with a fierce, chilling intensity unlike before.
Belsus was currently tracking Bard.
He still had no idea who the beautiful man that had directly cursed him was. Therefore, his only lead was Bard.
The fact that he mentioned Bard's name means he set a trap and practically lured me into following him.
No matter what dangers lay ahead, Belsus didn't care.
The theater troupe Bard belonged to had recently left the city and moved to another jurisdiction within the Demihaad Kingdom. Relying on sheer physical stamina, Belsus had managed to catch up to the troupe's tail.
But the person blocking the entrance to the theater was none other than...
Why is that knight...?
Belsus concealed himself and peeked at the theater's entrance. He couldn't believe his eyes; a man he never expected to see was standing there, reduced to acting as a mere guard for a traveling troupe.
Do royal knights stand guard for theater troupes these days? For a foreign troupe, no less? Isn't that a job for petty mercenaries?
Standing in front of the theater, utterly failing to hide his sheer humiliation, was Calain. the very man who had once relentlessly pursued Belsus.
He had tracked the troupe to find Bard, but out of everyone in the world, his nemesis Calain was guarding the front.
Belsus felt briefly confused by this bizarre sequence of events, but his expression soon turned cold as a chilling assumption crossed his mind.
It's entirely possible that Bard knows about me and intentionally recruited Calain to stand guard out there just for this.
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