Under the Oak Tree - Chapter 275

As he turned the horse’s head, the reddish-brown military horse purred with a strong sniff as if showing a belligerent temper. Mack watched as Cuahel came slowly, firmly overpowered the angry horse with a restrained gesture.

“The horses must be tired, so let’s take a rest here first.”

As soon as his horse fell, the wizards quickly descended from the saddle. Mack also jumped from REM’s back with joy.

Horseback riding was a habit because I spent more time on horseback than on the ground over the past few weeks, but it was inevitable that my whole body would become stiff if I balanced on a running horse for a long time.

She rubbed her throbbing thigh and unloaded the luggage and saddle from REM’s back. Yuri Zion, who approached to take care of her, sighed dissatisfied at the sight.

“You rarely give me a chance to do anything like a guard.”

“You’re busy just being wary of your surroundings. I’ll take care of this.”

Mack put his luggage aside and led REM to the wagon before he could say anything more. Yuri Zion came after her with a small grunt.

They pulled a bag of fodder from the wagon, fed the horses full, and then went behind the windshield installed by the drivers to rest. Even though the weather was very cold, sweat formed on my forehead while taking care of the horses. Traveling through barren northern land in the middle of winter, when neither pasture nor water is found, was harder than expected.

“Muddy girl, stop it and come here and rest.”

Royald, who was warming up in front of the bonfire made by the knights, talked to him. Then, he coughed harshly at Yuri Zion’s fierce eyes and added in a more polite tone.

“You have to go on the road again after lunch. What if I’m exhausted before that?”

Fellow wizards still seemed a little awkward about the fact that the motive for teasing and eating mud to their heart’s content was a high-ranking nobleman with the continent’s strongest knight as his husband. Mack gave him a rough nod, tied the reins in front of the windshield, and sat down in front of the fire. Yuri Zion, who ran quickly to get her meal, grumbled irritably.

“Why do they keep calling you mud?”

“It’s because of my… attributes. I have not only the property of the earth, but also the affinity of some property affinity. It’s a rare combination… It’s a light prank.”

Although it was a nickname that he usually disapproved of, Mac replied in a light tone because he didn’t want to cause trouble. I was worried that Yuri Zion would argue for no reason. She smiled a little soothingly, and tossed the thick stew he had brought her into her mouth. The feeling of hot soup spreading from the stomach was so fascinating.

Due to the cold weather, bread, meat, cheese, and butter were all frozen hard and could not be eaten as they were, so it was just boiled in a pot, but it tasted pretty good.

“What are you doing, Riftan?”

She munched on the meat in the stew and looked around. When they stopped marching, the knights took out the brazier in a orderly fashion, made fires everywhere, installed windbreakers around them, and looked for any signs of evil nearby. Only when eating, he seemed to be sitting down and taking a full rest.

Mac was worried that Lipptan was resting properly, so he rolled his eyes to the place where people wearing Remdragon’s armor gathered. Then, behind his back, the voice of Hebaron came.

“You’re fighting a war of nerves with the Holy Knight over there.”

He pointed with his thumb to either side, chewing on the hard-looking jerky. Mack squinted at the place. Riftan and Cuahel were sitting opposite each other, spreading a map on the table.

Even though it was quite a distance, Mac could not have guessed that they would be fighting a silent war of words with a knife in their mouth. Garow, who followed Hebaron, shook his head.

“You’re fighting over the route, and it’s really bloody. I didn’t know they were so close.”

“That voice knight is unilaterally picking a fight with Lord Calypse.”

Yuri Zion immediately sided with Riftan.

“I’m sure he’s still breaking it down with what he lost in the past. You’re a narrow-minded little prick.”

Mack blushed as he recalled the words he had poured on Lipptan. However, Yuri Zion added coldly, as if he had just spit it out without much meaning.

“A dog who loses a fight barks loudly.”

“Again, you’re being vitriolic.”

Hebaron stuck the leftover jerky in his mouth and kicked his tongue.

“Don’t be so mean. There’s a reason why Sung-gum does that. Originally, their personalities were not compatible to death, but when our leader thinks he is right, he doesn’t listen to others even if he dies. That Paladin has turned its head three times because the Knights of Remdragon broke the plan they had agreed to beforehand and committed a crazy act.”

Hebaron showed three thick fingers.

“Well, as a result, our leader was right in his judgment, but for the general command, the Knights of Remdragon, who repeatedly acted unexpectedly, was an eyesore.”

“As expected, you’re a narrow-minded little punk. How dare you question Riftan Calyp’s judgment, that’s where it’s wrong. I wish I had obeyed Lord Calyp’s instructions from the beginning….”

Mac rolled his eyes at Yuri Zion’s cynical snort. While she was away, Yuri Zion’s loyalty to Lipptan seemed to have developed into a blind obedience. He seemed to truly believe that there was no greater knight than Riftan in the world.

She also fully agreed with that opinion, but since she has to cooperate with the Holy Knights for the next few months, shouldn’t she be too explicit about it? In any case, they were right to show respect because they were God’s agents.

Just as she was about to warn Yuri Zion so, Hebaron opened his mouth first.

“If you leave him alone, he’ll be like that until he’s about to leave, so why don’t you go and stop him?”

“Me? Me?”

Mac faltered a little. After that day, Riftan stopped acting as if he had been blatantly ignoring him. But that didn’t mean to be as friendly as it used to be. She spoke with her partner, but she still remained distant. The figure was strangely more hurtful.

Does that mean you’re not all warmed up yet? Or does it mean that even if you still have feelings for yourself, it’s not exactly the same as before? In such melancholy thoughts, Hebron’s coaxing voice came.

“I’ll listen if you stop me. I’m going to miss my meal at that’

As soon as Mac heard it, he rose from his seat and ran to Miriam’s front, who was serving. When I asked her for another bowl of stew, Miriam filled the bowl silently. Mac, who took it and stared down, said, sticking out the bowl.

“Please add a little more ingredients.”

Miriam gave me another ladle with an annoyed look. Mack picked up the bowl and went straight to the place where the liftan was. Lipptan, who was staring at Cuahel with her arms folded around her chest, caught a wrinkle in her forehead when she saw her.

Why do you frown when you see me? She went and stood beside him, grumbling inwardly.

“I heard you haven’t even eaten yet… I brought some food.”

“I’m fine, so you go first. The story isn’t over.”

He spouted bluntly and turned his head back to Cuahel. Mack followed him with a glance at the head of the Order of the Sacred Knights and stuck the bowl out stubbornly in front of the Lipptan.

“Hey, we can talk later. I ate already. Riftan, you have to hurry up and eat. You must be hungry because you haven’t eaten anything since dawn..”

“I’m fine…”

“If you don’t, I do.”

Cuahel burst in. Mac looked back at him with a puzzled face. The voice knight looked at the Riftan with a provocative look and turned his head toward her and asked her in an unnatural but polite voice.

“Do you mind if I do you mind?

Mack couldn’t bear to say no, so he nodded. Leftan grabbed her arm as she flung the bowl at him.

“I changed my mind. Give it to me.”

Riftan growled and said. Mack looked at Cuahel with an embarrassed look on his face and turned the bowl gently toward the Riftan. I was a little embarrassed because I thought I should have brought two bowls from the beginning. However, Knight Seong rose from his seat with a grave face as if he had not really coveted the meal.

“You’re going to have to eat now, so let’s wrap up this useful conversation here.”

“Hey, the conclusion is still….”

“The conclusion remains the same. I have no intention of changing course. If you don’t like it, you go in the direction you want to go. I never asked you to follow me in the first place, but you’re talking a lot about this is a lot of talk.”

“You damn….”

He was twitching around his mouth as if he were trying to make a harsh sound, then looked at the pulse and shut his mouth. Cuahel, who was looking down at the figure, soon walked to the place where the Holy Knights were gathering and eating.

Mack turned his head back to the Riftan. A liftan glaring at Cuahel’s back hurriedly released her arm as if it had touched the fire. Then, he took the bowl and walked to the place where the knights gathered. Mack stalked after him and spoke nervously.

“If you’re interrupting an important story… Me, I’m sorry. Sir Nerta said he hadn’t eaten yet, so….”

“Never mind. It wasn’t a big deal.”

Lipptan, who threw a sharp look at Hebron, pulled a bucket in front of the campfire and sat down. Mack quickly brought another chair and sat close to him.

“Do you want me to bring you some beer? Hey, they’re baking bread and bacon over there. Do you want to eat that, too?”

“This is good enough.”

“But… you usually eat a lot more than that.”

“If you eat too much during promotions, you get tired quickly. It’s better to eat just enough to fill your stomach.”

“Oh… I see.”

There was an awkward silence. He stuck his nose in the bowl and quietly teased the spoon. It was almost like this if she didn’t talk to me first. Mack looked down at the floor and scratched his eyes with his feet to hide his disappointment, then raised his head again. Before I knew it, my bangs were poking his eyes.

Mac, who had been hesitant for a while, reached out and rolled up his hair from his forehead. Then Riftan jumped back in surprise. It was a reaction as if she had pushed a dagger.

He looked surprised by the overreaction, and the leaftan swept his hair with a stiff face and silently ate again. It was a speed that showed his willingness to eat up as soon as possible and leave this place. She bit her lip.

“Hey… I’ll have to go over there. Che, take your time to eat.”

Mack, concealing a sign of hurt, let out an envious, bright voice and rose from his seat. For some reason, Hebaron, who was watching the scene not far away, giggled and burst into laughter. What’s so funny? Mack glared at him with a frown and moved to where REM was tied.

Since then, Riftan’s equivocal attitude has continued. I didn’t shy away from her as blatantly as I used to, but I didn’t take it completely.

Mack grew impatient. I tried to narrow the distance with him, chasing him whenever I had a chance, and trying to take care of him, but somehow Lipptan’s expression became more and more difficult.

If I had had a little more courage, I would have asked why I had such a face. However, I was afraid of what answers would come back, so I didn’t dare say anything. She just naturally acted as if nothing had happened to her, hoping that his attitude would.

Once, he said he would take courage and put a magic spell on his recovery. However, Mac blushed as only ridiculous eyes returned.

She knew that he didn’t need healing magic or recovery magic. But even with that excuse, I couldn’t control my desire to touch him.

At the end of the day’s kiss, Riftan never touched her, and never came closer than necessary. It was now on her side to fret. The desire to contact him was so great that he even thought evilly that he wished the liftan had been hurt only a little.