Chapter 274: Master Craftsman (4) (1/2)

“Let’s leave now. I’ll lead the way.”

“Okay.”

After extinguishing the bonfire, Jude glanced at Cordelia. She was putting the magically-washed dishes in a space expansion bag, and she seemed like normal from the outside.

‘However…’

He remembered the crying Cordelia even now when he closed his eyes.

‘Nightmare.’

A scary dream.

But she cried like that from just a dream?

‘She’s weakened.’

It wasn’t about her body. It was the mind of Cordelia, the so-called mental side.

From Jude’s point of view, Cordelia had a very strong mentality.

But having a strong mentality meant two things.

The first meant that the defense was strong, so it was not scratched by the slightest attack, and the other meant that although the defense was low, the person’s physical strength was so high that it was not shaken by the slightest mental attack.

There was a fairly significant difference between the two, which was if they could persist or not.

‘The former lasts a long time.’

The former could be compared to a warrior wearing full body armor.

No matter how much they got hit, the only thing that was damaged was the armor, so the warrior inside was completely fine.

But the latter was a different story.

A naked warrior with a very strong body.

They seemed to hold up well at first, but their body wounds increase every time they were attacked because they were naked. They gradually bled and eventually collapsed due to their accumulated wounds.

And from Jude’s perspective, Cordelia was closer to the latter than the former.

‘She must be exhausted.’

The number of times Cordelia had been in a life-or-death situation so far was more than a dozen.

Moreover, it was all horrendous when one looked back at her condition then.

Broken bones and bruises.

She used up her mana and stamina up to the point of exhaustion, and her small and thin body became a mess that she coughed up blood several times. There was also the time when she temporarily became blind.

All of her injuries were immediately treated because of healing magic, but at this stage, it wouldn’t be strange for her to show signs of trauma.

‘Perhaps it’s a symptom of PTSD…’

Post-traumatic stress disorder.

It clearly didn’t seem to be serious yet.

Even what Jude considered to be a symptom was just his own arbitrary interpretation.

However, he couldn’t help but worry.

‘Because Cordelia is an ordinary person.

Not now but in the past, in their previous lives.

Jude himself was not an ordinary person.

He had been exposed to excessive violence from an early age and became accustomed to it.

But what about Cordelia?

They had never openly talked about their past lives, but he could figure out what kind of life she had been living through their exchanges.

An ordinary girl born and raised in an ordinary family.

It was already a great thing that she had come all this way without crying once.

‘I will force her to take a break when all of this is over.’

Because people needed a break.

Let’s go to beautiful places together, eat delicious food… and take a rest for a least a month.

Jude made up his mind and nodded once before he spoke.

“Cordelia.”

“Yes?”

Having finished organizing her bag, Cordelia raised her head as she answered. She looked very lovely when she tied up her hair.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Huh?”

Cordelia suddenly blinked and tilted her head, wondering what he was talking about, but she soon brightly smiled.

“Okay, I’ll look forward to it.”

“Yeah, please look forward to it. Would you like a piggyback ride?”

When Jude showed his back, Cordelia smiled again and nodded.

“Okay, this Cordelia will rely on you.”

Having said that, she carried the bag on her back and leapt on Jude’s back. Her movement was so steady that it was like the demonstration of a skilled instructor.

“Okay, let’s work hard today and go!”

Jude spoke in a lively manner, and Cordelia hugged Jude’s neck as she whispered in a low voice.

“But Jude.”

“Yes, Cordelia.”

“You’re already doing well.”

I’m satisfied enough.

She shyly spoke before kissing Jude’s ear, and Jude flinched for a moment and cleared his throat afterwards.

And one existence.

Melissa said in a cold voice as she watched everything.

[That’s enough, that’s enough.]

You two really don’t know how to do it in moderation.

But unfortunately, Melissa’s voice clearly did not reach the two, and Jude and Cordelia continued to make kissing noises as they headed inside the forest.

***

Cassius Dalton frowned.

It wasn’t because she wasn’t hammering well or she didn’t like the work that she was making today.

“What the hell are they doing?”

Cassius was an excellent blacksmith and a powerful wizard at the same time.

Because magic was essential in producing weapons above a certain level in the first place.

In any case, Cassius was a wizard, and the Baikal Forest was her magical territory.

And a wizard naturally knew everything that was going on in their territory.

A young couple.

It was uncommon and occasional sight here.

There were quite a few monsters in the Baikal Forest, so there were people who visited the forest to kill those monsters.

But the two behaved differently from the regular visitors – the hunters.

Chu.

Chu. Chu.

Chu. Chu. Chu.

Chuuu. Chu. Chu. Chu. Chu. Chu.

The couple were so busy kissing each other nonstop.

But the strange thing was the fact that they were walking well while kissing.

“Ah, f*cking sh*t.”

Is this your bedroom?

Did you come to someone else’s forest just to do that?

Of course, there were lots of couples who looked for places with no signs of people in order to do the so-called lewd things, but this was Baikal Forest that was far from the village.

Again, it was a forest with monsters.

“You’ll experience serious pain if you continue to behave that way. No, you’ll definitely suffer.”

Cassius then cursed and turned her gaze back to the anvil to divert her attention.

She wanted to tell them to go out and get lost, but if she did, she would break the hiding magic she had done her best to create, so she endured it for now.

‘Let’s just continue hammering.’

Hammer today.

Hammer tomorrow.

Hammer several times a day.

Cassius muttered strange words as she hammered, but only did it a few times.

She ended up raising her head again.

“What the-…”

What the heck is that?

She wasn’t talking about the two constantly kissing each other.

It was the monsters.

Monsters from everywhere rushed at the couple, but none of them could even approach the two.

Because dozens of magic orbs floating around the woman prevented the attacks of the monsters as if it was a self-defense mechanism.

But that was not the only thing that surprised her.

‘They’re coming this way?’

The deepest part of her hideout.

The couple were heading straight towards Cassius’ workshop. As if they were looking for Cassius herself.

‘How?’