RTTFW CH 3.3

While Izel was lost in such complex thoughts, Ent was smiling warmly as he stroked the adorable puppy.

“A-ong…?”

“Hmm, Ion. Want some water?”

Ent had named the puppy he rescued ‘Ion.’ Since the puppy’s cry sounded like ‘A-ong,’ he had come up with the name after much deliberation by drawing inspiration from that sound.

After being healed with a potion, Ion finally opened his eyes about half a day later. The moment he saw Ent, he bit down on the finger Ent was extending toward him.

The moment Ion bit Ent’s finger, Izel tried to grab him and throw him out the window. But Ent, frozen in shock, grabbed Izel’s arms and barely managed to stop him.

Ent was so startled that he later even asked Izel to refrain from such impulsive actions, saying they made his heart pound.

It was clearly due to anxiety.

Ent comforted Ion throughout the treatment, patting him gently to help him calm down, all while Izel wore a face full of resentment. Though his hands trembled and his technique was clumsy, Ent wanted to reassure him by patting that warm, living being.

At first, Ion, bristling with hostility, refused even the water Ent offered, pushing his hands away warily. But as time passed, Ion gradually had no choice but to grow accustomed to the warmth clinging to his side.

“Little guy, it’s warmer over here, so do you want to come closer?”
“A-ong… Since you cry with an a-ong sound, how about… I call you Ion?”
“Ion, it’s okay. You can go wherever you want, just stay by my side until you’re all better.”

“… A-ong.”

Izel was a bit surprised. While he’d thought his young master had changed since that day, he’d never seen him look like this before.

Ent cherished that tiny life so tenderly it felt almost pitiable. Ion, who had been infinitely wary at first, gradually grew accustomed to Ent’s attitude.

“Now, let’s drink some water.”

His hands trembled slightly, as if afraid of making a mistake. Those hands, which seemed utterly inept at interacting with others, always shook violently whenever they touched Ion.

Thus, Ion didn’t bare his teeth at Ent, though he might have done so at Izel or Paladin. He still didn’t stay comfortably by his side, but seeing Ion instinctively seek warmth, burrowing in beside him and lying down, Ent decided this much was enough.

‘… Well, yeah. Taking a break in the middle is fine, I guess.’

Ent gently stroked Ion’s grayish fur, lost in thought. He desperately wanted to reach the capital and storm into Omb’s temple, but they’d already spent a week camping on the mountain trails.

Everyone must be exhausted.

‘Maybe I pushed too hard.’

Paladin and Izel must be utterly exhausted too.

They needed proper lodging to rest and some decent food. Ent thought, ‘Well, if it’s for their sake, I guess I have no choice.’ – thoughts that would surely frustrate the two if they knew.

“Ah, Izel. You said we were heading to a nearby village, right?”
“Yes.”
“Which village are we heading to, exactly?”

Izel recalled the neighboring estates and kingdoms near his own domain that he’d seen in the books he’d packed for the journey. Since the Harbilta Estate was quite distant from the capital, the surrounding area was fairly evenly dotted with estates belonging to noble families within the Empire and other small kingdoms.

‘Judging by the direction, it must be the Grendel southern estate.’

Ent didn’t plan to stay long anyway, nor did he expect any formal greetings or hospitality. He just wanted to avoid getting entangled in any unnecessary trouble.

“Ah, it’s called Sharo Village.”
“… Sharo Village?”

Ent’s hand, which had been stroking Ion’s head, froze. Sharo Village? That couldn’t be a noble estate within the Empire; it belonged to one of the surrounding small kingdoms. Ent couldn’t quite recall which kingdom it was.

Something important felt like it was about to surface.

‘Sharo Village… I’m sure I’ve heard that name before.’

Ent withdrew his hand from Ion, propped his chin on his hand, and fell deep in thought. Surely, the geography book he’d read had shown the locations of the kingdoms surrounding the Harbilta estate, and among them, he might have seen the village name ‘Sharo’.

‘No, that can’t be it.’

Ent frowned a bit deeper. It couldn’t possibly be bothering him this much just from seeing it somewhere like that.

Where on earth had he seen it?

Ent slowly combed through the memory that wouldn’t quite come to him. He was sure he’d heard the name Sharo somewhere.

“Sharo…”
“Lord Ent?”

Still murmuring the word ‘Sharo’ under his breath, Ent snapped his head up at Izel’s call. For a moment, it felt like the memory was coming back.

“… Izel.”
“Yes?”
“That village, Sharo… is it perhaps a village in some kingdom…?”

Ent felt an uneasy flutter in his heart. Just the name ‘Sharo Village’ wasn’t enough to be certain it was the right place. Ent desperately hoped the name of that kingdom wouldn’t slip from Izel’s lips.

“The Kingdom of Kerban.”
“…”
“A-ong…?”

Thud.

Hearing that, Ent dropped the book resting on his lap onto the floor. Izel picked it up again, but Ent remained staring blankly at the floor.

“Lord Ent?”

‘Screwed.’

Izel called out to Ent, but this wasn’t a time for a leisurely response. Something vividly surfaced in Ent’s mind.

The words ‘Kerban Kingdom’ brought back unpleasant memories for Ent.

“Lord Ent. Are you alright?”
“A-ong!”

Ent snapped his head up at Izel’s voice. Izel frowned slightly. Ent looked pale, as if he’d suddenly taken ill.

“Shall we stop the carriage?”
“No, no. Um… I’m feeling a bit queasy. I’ll just rest my eyes for a moment.”

‘Let me think this through alone.’

Ent forced a reassuring smile at Izel, who was looking at him with obvious concern, then leaned his head against the carriage wall. He closed his eyes, but sleep was impossible.

Why had Ent decided to visit the capital? To meet that god of time, Omb.

Then why did he want to meet Omb? Naturally, to ask about the contents of the book ‘Emperor Fedrian’ he had seen through Park Jaeyoon’s body. Was that truly this world’s future? And if so, what would become of him?

In that book, Ent Harbilta dies at sixteen by Fade’s hand. Because he was a terrible, demonic pig of a young master who committed atrocities, perpetrated evil deeds, and even collected slaves.

After that, Fade was adopted into the Harbilta family, gaining entry into the empire’s noble houses. He met the Crown Prince, and through various events, ultimately saved the world. In such a splendid heroic saga, wouldn’t a splendid comrade-in-arms naturally follow as a bonus?

And within this damn book, ‘Emperor Fedrian’, among those who aided Fade in saving the world, two figures remained particularly etched in Ent’s memory.

One was the genius mage ‘Abril’, who, after joining forces with Fade, destroyed the rotten old Mage Tower and became the master of the newly built one, reigning as the King of Mages.

“Lord Ent, you may be concerned by the unfavorable rumors about the Kingdom of Kerban, but…”

The other was the empire’s sole Swordmaster, Hwian Perkina, whom even the hero Fade requested to teach him swordsmanship.

“There should be nothing for Lord Ent to worry about.”

Both men were once slaves, captured by the demonic pig young master, Ent Harbilta, and gathered throughout the Kingdom of Kerban. They were rescued by Fade and became his companions.

Yes, the news was that a slave auction was being held in the Kingdom of Kerban, where the village of Sharo was located, and Harbilta’s carriage was now racing towards it.

“We’re not heading to the capital of the Kingdom of Kerban, so we won’t run into slave traders or the like.”

‘Please, just stop talking about it?’

Ent, who had been pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them wide. For the first time, he thought he wanted to quietly tell Izel to shut up.

Of course, Ent, who knew his own life was precious, kept pretending to sleep until the end.

He wanted to avoid any place connected to that book as much as possible. Ent swallowed a sigh.

Yeah, when had the world ever gone according to his wishes?

The village of Sharo in the Kingdom of Kerban.

Ent hadn’t just waited quietly to arrive there. He had tried persuading Izel and Paladin, grabbing hold of them, suggesting they go somewhere else instead of Sharo Village.

“Is there a reason?”
“Uh, well…”

But Ent remained silent at Izel’s question. He did have a reason, but he had no way to explain it.

There was no reason not to go, but there were many reasons to go. They had already turned the carriage toward the Kingdom of Kerban and traveled quite a distance. Sharo Village was a good place to buy high-quality potions, magical supplies, and weapons, as there was a resident mage there.

“… If you truly wish not to go, Lord Ent, we could turn back. But doing so would mean wasting about three days’ worth of travel time we’ve already covered.”
“Ah…”

Having failed to persuade Izel and Paladin, Ent, feeling nothing but regret towards the coachman Paladin at Izel’s words, finally nodded and agreed to proceed as planned. Ent simply didn’t possess the strength to withstand Izel’s eloquence.

Unaware of Ent’s burning frustration, the carriage raced joyfully towards the Kingdom of Kerban.