After the long ordeal they had been through, the sun slowly rose from behind the mountains. For the first time since they had left the forest, their journey felt a little more peaceful.
But that peace didn't mean all their problems were over.
Raven still held too many secrets, and that morning, for the first time, he intended to reveal one of them.
Raven let out a soft sigh. His gaze shifted from one person to another.
"I… actually—"
"Jinn!"
Seo - rin voice rang out from a distance, cutting him off.
"The train is ready. We'll be leaving shortly."
Raven closed his mouth again.
Seo - rin waved her hand, signaling for them to gather quickly.
Kyle, who was standing not far from Raven, immediately approached him and patted his shoulder.
"I don't think you need to explain it right now, bro. Just relax."
Raven glanced at him briefly.
Karin joined them.
"We're curious," she said, "but you don't have to force yourself. Tell us when you're really ready."
Lisa gave a slight nod.
"We trust you, Raven. So… whenever you're ready to talk, we'll listen."
Kevin, who had been standing with his arms crossed the whole time, just snorted.
"I don't care who or what you are."
His expression remained impassive.
"As long as you don't put us in danger, that's enough."
Raven fell silent for a moment.
Then his gaze shifted to Hana.
The girl had been standing there silently all this time, watching him without interrupting. After a moment, she stepped closer.
"Raven..." Her voice was soft.
"When you're truly ready, tell us everything."
Hana gave a faint smile.
"We'll wait."
Raven looked at her for a few seconds before finally nodding.
"All right."
She stood up straight and looked at each of them in turn.
"I promise. I don't know how long it will take... but when the time comes, I'll tell you everything."
A small smile appeared on her face.
For a moment, there was no one else behind that gaze.
Not Yeomra Jin-Cheon.
Not someone who harbored powers and a past that even he himself did not fully understand.
Just Raven.
Their friend from the modern world.
A brief silence enveloped the group. No one pressed Raven for further explanation. They simply accepted the promise and let it remain a secret for the time being.
"Hey! Are you guys still going to stand there?"
Seo - rin voice rang out again from ahead.
Raven turned her head.
"Let's go," she said briefly.
They began walking toward the carriage.
Eunha's soldiers were busy loading goods and checking equipment, while several servants made sure all the supplies were on board. The horses whinnied softly in the crisp morning air.
Seo - rin stood in front of the main carriage, her dress fluttering lightly in the breeze as she made sure everything was going according to plan.
One by one, they boarded the train.
Raven was the last to board.
She paused for a moment, gazing at the road stretching out before them before finally stepping aboard. The journey to the Eunha family's residence had begun.
And for the time being, no one brought up Raven's secret again.
A gentle morning breeze blew, sweeping past the procession of three carriages moving slowly along the dirt road. Vast grasslands stretched out on both sides, occasionally punctuated by sparsely scattered trees. The shadows of the leaves moved with the wind, while the rhythmic clopping of horses' hooves could be heard throughout the journey.
Inside the Eunha family's main carriage, the atmosphere was much quieter.
Raven sat on one side of the carriage, while Seorin sat across from him with Han-Minji. On the other side, Hana, Lisa, and Karin sat close together.
The three of them didn't understand a single word of the Murim-language conversation that might be taking place between Raven and Seo - rin.
The same was true the other way around.
Since the journey began, they could only sit in silence, occasionally glancing at one another because they didn't know what to do.
Hana tried to smile at Seo - rin.
Seo - rin returned the smile politely.
After that, the two fell silent again, and no conversation could take place. Raven, sitting between the two groups, finally realized something.
Seo - rin had been watching him the whole time.
At first, it was just once in a while.
Then it became more frequent. Until finally, Raven let out a small sigh.
"Is there something you want to ask?"
Seo - rin startled.
She pointed at herself.
Raven nodded.
"You've been staring at me this whole time. For about… thirty minutes since we started our journey."
"Uh—you noticed?"
Her face immediately flushed all the way to her ears.
"S-sorry. I wasn't… I mean, I didn't mean anything weird."
"It's okay."
Raven remained calm.
"So, what did you want to say?"
Seo - rin took a breath.
The blush on her face slowly faded. Instead, her eyes began to sparkle.
"I'm actually curious."
Her tone sounded much more enthusiastic.
"The things you guys are carrying."
Seo - rin glanced at Karin. Specifically, at the backpack resting on the girl's lap.
"Ever since we first met, I've never seen anything like that."
She pointed at the backpack.
"It does have a somewhat strange shape, but it looks very practical. The material is also different from anything I've ever seen. I don't even know where a material like that comes from or how to make it."
Seo - rin looked back at Raven.
"It's from where you guys are from, right?"
"Yes."
That brief answer piqued Seorin's curiosity even more.
"I've often accompanied my father on trading trips to various regions in the Central Plains," she continued. "During those trips, I've seen so many items from all over. But something like that..."
Her gaze fell once more on Karin's backpack.
"...is completely new to me."
Raven just gave a slight nod, but Seorin didn't seem satisfied yet. There was one other thing that had been piquing her curiosity all along.
"And also… last night's food."
Seo - rin turned to Lisa.
"That thin, oval-shaped dish… it tasted amazing. I've actually wanted to ask what it's called since last night, but I realized your friend couldn't communicate directly with me because of the language barrier."
Seo - rin then enthusiastically described the food she'd tasted the night before—the perfectly balanced saltiness, the crispy texture, and the savory flavor that still lingered on her tongue. Just from the way she spoke, it was clear that this simple dish had truly captured her attention.
Raven just smiled slightly as she listened.
Meanwhile, Karin, Lisa, and Hana could only exchange glances. They didn't understand a word of what Seorin was saying, but seeing the girl's enthusiastic expression made them realize that their conversation wasn't anything bad.
"Wow… what is she talking about?" Karin asked softly.
"Ugh, I wish we could communicate with them as soon as possible," Lisa sighed.
"Yeah… it would be nice if we could understand each other," Hana replied.
Hana then moved a little closer to Raven.
"Raven, what exactly are you guys talking about?"
Raven turned her head briefly.
She answered in a low voice, just loud enough for the three girls to hear without interrupting Seo - rin, who was still engrossed in her conversation.
"It sounds like she's talking about something she ate last night."
"Food?" Hana repeated.
"Yeah. It sounds like something thin and crispy."
Lisa suddenly looked up.
"Um… I think I know what she means."
Hana, Karin, and Raven all looked at her at once.
"Those were the chips I took out of my bag last night."
Lisa chuckled softly.
"It's my habit before bed to read a book while snacking."
She thought for a moment, then continued.
"So it seems like Seorin came into the tent last night. I think she wanted to give me some kind of perfume. She saw I was still awake, reading a book while eating chips… well, I just gave her a little."
"Huh…"
Raven just let out a short sigh.
Now she was beginning to understand why Seorin was so excited to talk about that food.
In front of her, Seo - rin kept talking.
But a few moments later, the girl finally stopped. She was breathing a little heavily, with a thin sheen of sweat on her temples. She leaned back and folded her arms across her chest, her face looking satisfied as if she'd just vented all her curiosity.
A few seconds passed.
Raven looked down, taking in the scenery outside the train before turning her gaze back to Seorin.
"That's right."
Her voice was calm.
"Those items come from our place. And most of them aren't things that have ever existed in the Central Plains. So it's only natural that you've never seen them before."
Seo - rin eyes immediately lit up.
"I'm truly amazed."
He glanced at Karin's backpack again.
"The way the artisans back home make things like this is truly impressive."
His smile seemed sincere.
"To be honest, I'd like to meet them someday. I want to know how they make them."
Raven studied his face for a moment.
Then a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"In that case… how about we make a deal?"
Seo - rin fell silent.
The change in her expression was almost instantaneous. The curiosity that had previously filled her eyes vanished. Her smile disappeared as well, replaced by a sharp gaze that seemed to be calculating something.
Even her posture changed, and her back straightened again. Her gaze no longer resembled that of a girl discussing food and foreign goods. Now, sitting across from Raven was the daughter of a merchant family.
Han-Minji, who was sitting next to her, also began to look at Raven more seriously.
Karin, Lisa, and Hana certainly didn't understand what they were talking about. But they could sense the shift in atmosphere from the expressions of the two people in front of them.
"She changed so quickly."
Raven almost smiled.
"An interesting little girl."
"A deal?"
Seo - rin repeated the word slowly.
"It's not impossible."
Her gaze fell back on Karin's backpack.
"Especially if your items really have the potential I imagine they do."
She paused for a moment.
"But profit alone isn't enough."
Her tone grew more serious.
"Your products are truly foreign to the Central Plains. Their shapes are different, and people might not immediately understand how to use them. It takes time to convince buyers to accept something completely new."
Seo - rin raised one finger.
"Labor."
She raised a second finger.
"And then there's production."
Her gaze returned to Raven.
"Just from the shape alone, I can tell that the materials and manufacturing methods aren't simple. If techniques like that aren't known here, there's no way we could just start making them ourselves right away."
Seorin shook her head slowly.
"If we force production without understanding how they're made, the risk is too great."
She paused for a moment.
"And if we're the ones bearing all the risk, this deal won't be profitable for us."
Raven smiled faintly—her calculation was spot on.
That was exactly the answer he'd been hoping for.
"Good."
Seorin frowned slightly.
"Good?"
"At least you weren't immediately tempted just because you saw something new."
Raven leaned back calmly.
"In that case, we can start discussing the actual deal."
Seorin fell silent.
Their eyes met in the middle of the train, which continued to sway along the tracks. Just a moment ago, they had been talking about foreign goods that Seorin had never even heard of before.
But now, that conversation was slowly turning into a much bigger negotiation. And neither of them realized just how far that agreement would take them.