Chapter 6

Chapter 005. Whose Hand Is It?

Shalik was flabbergasted.

Mura seemed quite naive and had been following her, trembling with fear, so she thought it would be fun to play a prank on him... but he fainted right away.

‘What the heck, why is this guy so weak? He collapsed more easily than a paper doll.’

Though she found it absurd and ridiculous, Shalik couldn't help but chuckle. Since things had turned out this way, she decided to take a short break. She walked over to a large rock nearby, wiped her eyes with her gloved hand, laid out her cloak, and sat down.

She then scanned the surroundings of the hill where she was sitting.

The wind was chilly, but as noon approached, the sky was bright and warm.

The scenery she had been seeing while walking was rugged mountains, bare trees, white snow, and rocks and soil exposed here and there.

Even when she focused her mana and looked far into the distance, there was no sign of the witch's escape.

“Not bad, Miss Witch.”

If she had done it properly, she would have been using her mana to run at full speed, thoroughly searching every hill and mountain. Although snow tigers were the most agile and fast in such snowy mountains, to Shalik, who had fully channeled her mana, they were no more than puppies about a month old, prancing around.

However, Shalik was walking at a leisurely pace and was now comfortably sitting and resting. Strangely, she was acting carefree.

‘Hmm, where’s the water... Ah~ it’s with him.’

Shalik was rummaging through her waist for water when she realized that Mura had put her water flask in his backpack and was carrying it. She looked at Mura, who had collapsed and couldn't get up.

She pondered whether to endure it or walk over to dig through the backpack and get the flask, but then she abruptly got up and walked over to Mura.

She then kicked Mura, who was lying on the ground, to flip him over.

- Thud.

“Sigh...”

She squatted next to him and tried to open his backpack.

“Ah~ Really! What kind of knot did this guy tie so tightly!”

She eventually gave up on untying the knot. Grabbing the backpack, she dragged Mura along with it to the rock where she had been sitting. She sat on the rock and laid Mura, who had been dragged over, back down.

“Hey! Hey! Wake up! Wake up!”

- Slap! Slap!

“...”

When Mura still didn’t respond to her slaps with her gloved hand, Shalik took off her right glove.

“Tsk!”

- Slap! Slap! Slap!

* * *

In Mura’s dream.

Mura was lying on his bed in his cottage.

The door was securely locked to keep out beasts, and the hearth was piled high with wood to keep him warm through the night. The smoke vent in the ceiling was slightly open to prevent suffocation, and he was covered with the fur blanket his grandfather had made, sleeping peacefully and warmly.

The cold winter wind outside was howling and hitting the cottage, and some of it whistled through the cracks in the wood, but the warmth inside the cottage was enough to withstand it.

Although the potatoes were scarce for winter, he had somehow eaten his fill and wasn’t hungry. It was a peaceful and calm night without any worries...

“Mura, can you give me some water?”

“...Huh? Sis... Sis Witch?”

Ariel, the witch, was sitting on his bed, which was unexpected.

Mura wasn’t strangely curious about how she got in, and he was just incredibly happy and relieved to see her sitting on his bed.

“Sis.”

Perhaps because he had been living alone and longing for human connection, seeing Ariel and hearing her voice made him incredibly happy.

“Mura, can you give me some water?”

Ariel asked for water and gently stroked Mura’s cheek with her right hand.

Mura, still half-asleep, felt his heart race and flutter. He loved the feeling of Ariel’s hand caressing his cheek so much that he reached out and held it with both hands.

‘So soft...!’

Mura rubbed his cheek against the back of Ariel’s hand, which he held with both hands.

“Sis... I’ll give you water. Just... just a little longer like this.”

* * *

- Clop clop clop clop

The rough hooves of the horses kicked up snow and mud.

Despite the immense weight of the knights’ full plate armor, weapons, and horse armor, they galloped fearlessly through the mountain paths, exhaling heavy breaths.

The knights, who were part of Shalik’s squad led by Brick, were turning the white snow-covered mountain paths into dark brown mud trails as they galloped hard. They were the first squad, and Brick was leading them.

The squad, which originally had nine members, had already lost four on the way and was now deploying two more knights into the mountains.

“You start from here! Don’t spare your mana, search thoroughly! Remember, if we don’t find the witch this time, we’ll receive even more terrible treatment than the witch! Understand?”

“Yes, Squad Leader!”

“Let’s go. Come on!”

- Neigh!

- Clop clop clop clop

Brick gritted his teeth and spurred his horse.

It wasn’t because wearing full plate armor and galloping through the rough winter mountains was difficult.

He was gritting his teeth in fear of receiving special training from Shalik to improve his skills if they failed to capture the witch.

In fact, his rational mind couldn’t distinguish who was closer to evil: the witch who had murdered the baron or Shalik. Perhaps the woman, the witch, was more human, affectionate, and closer to good. Brick thought so.

And not just Brick, but Jenner and the other squad members were all thinking the same thing as they galloped at full speed.

* * *

“Ugh...”

Mura opened his eyes. He didn’t know how long he had been lying there. When he came to his senses, he was leaning against a large rock, his legs stretched out.

‘Hmm, was this my last position...?’

Mura was amazed that the warm and soft touch of Ariel’s hand on his cheek was still vivid, but he was very disappointed that it was just a dream.

As he turned his head to quickly find Shalik, Mura was startled to see her sitting right above the rock he was leaning against.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Ah?! I’m sorry.”

Mura remembered that he had fainted, so he didn’t know how to respond to Shalik’s question about sleeping well and just apologized. He thought it would be better for his survival not to upset this violent and strong woman.

- Hiss... Click.

Shalik, sitting quietly and taking a sip of water from her wooden flask, had taken off her fur hat and let her fine blonde hair fall to her elbows.

“Do you want some water?”

Shalik offered her wooden flask to Mura.

“Huh? Oh. I have my own flask...”

- Rustle rustle.

As Mura rummaged through his backpack to find his own flask, Shalik pushed her flask right in front of his nose.

“Just drink it. Why make it complicated?”

Mura, fearing that another refusal might lead to her drawing her sword, quickly took the flask.

“I’ll drink it well.”

Mura, about to carefully take the flask and put it to his lips, suddenly remembered a precious lesson his late grandfather had taught him.

“Mura. You might not know this because you live in the mountains, but in the outside world, there’s something called manners. Ahem.”

“Manners?”

“Yes. They are especially important when you meet someone of high status. Ahem. For example, when drinking alcohol or other beverages, you should do it like this~”

Mura was grateful and fortunate that he remembered his grandfather’s etiquette lesson at such a critical moment.

Following his grandfather’s instructions, he carefully turned his head to look at the distant mountains and put the flask to his lips.

- Sip sip sip gulp gulp gulp

Perhaps because he had fainted and was now awake, or because he was too nervous next to the outlaw, his throat was very dry. So, despite it being Shalik’s flask, Mura kept drinking a few more sips. Then, his grandfather’s gentle voice echoed in his mind again.

“Mura, Inseok! This isn’t your own flask, so why are you drinking from it like that? Oh, you dirty boy~! Tsk tsk tsk.”

- Cough!

- Drip drip

Mura was truly resentful that his grandfather’s precious lesson came to mind with a delay, but by the time he realized it, it was too late.

Moreover, his sudden shock caused him to choke, and the water he tried to spit out ended up going back into the flask.

- Cough! Cough!

Mura couldn’t tell if the tears streaming down his face were from choking or if it was just a bad day. All he knew was that his vision was blurry, and the snowy mountain in front of him was getting hazy.

“...Here, take it.”

Shalik’s heavy voice, heard clearly right next to his ear, made Mura flinch.

But after that, Shalik didn’t move and just sat there, looking at the distant mountains. Mura, realizing that the terrifying reaction he had feared didn’t happen, felt his heart, which had been tightly clenched, start to beat again.

As Mura hurriedly found the cap of the wooden flask and put it back in his backpack, Shalik spoke.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes!”

Mura, fearing that he might be picked on and suffer some misfortune, quickly and forcefully answered.

“Are you not hungry?”

“I’m fine.”

Although he was hungry, Mura thought that moving quickly would help him forget the incident with the flask, so he got up first and put on his backpack.

“Huh.”

As Shalik got up, the sound she made was either a strong exhale, a chuckle, or a preparation to draw her sword. Mura, unsure which it was, stood at attention with his backpack on.

Shalik, standing up from the rock, looked straight at Mura and dusted off her buttocks and cloak with her gloved hand.

- Chuckle

Mura, who was intensely nervous that Shalik was smiling at him before beheading someone, was relieved when she just started walking ahead.

“Let’s go~”

- Crunch crunch crunch

“Okay!”

Mura eagerly followed Shalik, who was stepping on the snowy path ahead.

Shalik seemed to be walking along the mountain ridge, carefully observing both sides as she went.

Her mana-aided eyes could see very far in great detail. Walking behind her, Mura was worried that she might find any trace of Ariel.

Although he had shortened his lifespan by 30 years, there was a good reason for Ariel. And after healing his wounds, she had treated him well, so Mura secretly hoped that Ariel wouldn’t be caught and would escape safely.

Whether Shalik knew that Mura was hoping for Ariel’s safe escape or not, she asked him while walking ahead.

“Do you come here often?”

“Yes, I do!”

Although the mountain behind his cottage was high and rugged, it would be hard to believe if he said he had never been there.

Thinking that Shalik might beat him up if he lied, Mura answered truthfully.

“Then you must have a hideout around here, right?”

“A hideout?”

“Why, when you go hunting and it gets dark, you stay temporarily and spend the night, right? Hunters usually have a few such hideouts.”

Shalik seemed to be talking about a hunting shelter.

When his grandfather was alive, they had a shelter on this mountain where they would sleep during their hunting trips. It was probably in bad condition due to lack of maintenance, but it was still livable.

“Yes, but we have to walk a bit to get there.”

“How long will it take?”

When Shalik asked how long it would take to get there, Mura thought for a moment and pointed to the sun.

“When the sun is about to reach the top of that mountain peak, we should arrive.”

“Huh. The sun will be at the top of that mountain peak? Ah, I see. Hahaha.”

Shalik chuckled at Mura’s time expression.

Mura, who had lived in the mountains with his grandfather, didn’t have an accurate sense of time. He thought he was being as precise as possible, but it seemed funny to Shalik.

“Hey, lead the way.”

After laughing for a while, Shalik stepped aside and instructed Mura to lead the way. Mura adjusted his backpack and started walking to find the hunting shelter he remembered.

After about an hour of walking in silence, Shalik started asking Mura various questions as he searched for the hunting shelter.

“What’s your name?”

“Me? My name...? Yes, I’m Mura. Mura.”

Mura thought he would have to introduce himself a lot since Ariel’s unexpected visit last night.

“Mura. Mura... Is that my name?”

Caught off guard by Shalik’s question, Mura tried to recall.

He remembered that the leader of the knights who came to the cottage earlier had called her something, but he couldn’t remember it clearly at the time.

‘I have to remember! This rare chance to talk to the violent knight, I don’t want to ruin the mood and make it worse again! I have to remember! I don’t want to put my life in danger again! ’

“Sh... Sh... Sh...”

“Ooh, how did you know it starts with Sh? Ah, did you hear Melvin say it earlier?”

“Sh... Sh... Sh...!”

“Hahaha. Shashashak~? Hahaha!”

Mura, without realizing it, stopped walking and turned around to look at her, thinking that seeing her face might help him remember better.

‘I have to remember! The mood is finally good! I don’t want to put my life in danger again! I have to remember! I don’t know when I might die again! ’

“Sh...! Sh...!”

Seeing Mura, who was staring intently and furrowing his brows, trying to remember her name, Shalik couldn’t help but laugh.

“Hahaha! Why are you so funny, really. Hahaha!”

Shalik was laughing, holding her stomach.

‘When I try my best, it’s funny...’

“Hahaha. Oh, my stomach. Ah, really... Shalik, Shalik Louis.”

After laughing for a while, Shalik kindly told him her name.

“Ah, Shalik... Shalik Louis...”

“Louis. Shalik L. O. U. I. S.”

“Ah... Shalik L. O. U. I. S.”

Shalik repeated her name slowly and then asked another sharp question.

“Can you read?”

“Huh!”

Mura gasped as if he had been caught stealing.

“Can you count?”

“Aah!”

“Hahaha! What year is it now?”

“Ah!”

“Hahaha. Do you know how time is divided? Hahaha.”

“Ugh...!”

Unable to bear the relentless verbal assault, Mura, overwhelmed with self-loathing and embarrassment, covered his head with his hands and ran away. Even though he was being teased by a high-ranking person, being mocked for his ignorance was too shameful to bear.

Shalik, following closely behind at an incredible speed, continued the verbal assault.

Occasionally, the Owner of the Harem Knights

Author: Shinnaeun Jaka

Cover: Bbal

Planning/Editing/Proofreading: Shinnaeun Jaka/Jung Jae-hoon/Jung Jae-hoon

Publication Date: August 17, 2020

Publisher: Cheongha Books

ISBN: 979-11-970944-0-8(6)

E-mail: [email protected]

Price: Non-commercial

Copyright 2020. Shinnaeun Jaka. All rights reserved.

This work is a legally protected and legitimate work under contract with Cheongha Books and is protected by copyright law.

Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, and sale, as well as any form of reprocessing, including compensation for damages, may result in legal sanctions.

To use all or part of the content of this book, you must obtain the consent of the copyright holder and Cheongha Books.