Night Walk
After finishing their dinner leisurely, they stepped outside the building. The sun had almost completely set.
Claire asked,
"What are you going to do now?"
"Well… the sun's already going down. Maybe we should take a walk and look around the area."
When he said that…
Arwen, who had been quietly watching beside them, subtly stepped back while holding Coco in her arms. Woojin noticed and spoke.
"Where are you going?"
"We'll head back to the lodging first."
She said she was tired and wanted to sleep.
Arwen yawned comfortably as she said that. Woojin looked concerned.
"Can the two of you find the inn by yourselves?"
"Yes. It's written here."
Arwen showed the room key.
The name of the inn and the room number were engraved on the key. Even if they didn't know the way, they could simply ask nearby citizens and find it easily.
"See you tomorrow."
"Bye."
As Arwen greeted them, Coco—still in her arms—also waved its little paw. With the two of them doing it together, it looked almost like a puppet show.
The priestess and the squirrel soon walked away. Watching their backs, Woojin thought,
They're definitely not tired.
The magic city had been quite far away.
When they first set out, Arwen and Coco had been excitedly looking at the scenery outside, but before long they grew bored and both fell asleep.
Since they had napped the entire carriage ride, there was no way they were actually tired… it seemed more like they were tactfully giving them some space.
"So where should we go first?"
Claire, standing beside him, asked. Her voice sounded more excited than before.
Woojin thought for a moment and asked back.
"Where would be good? You know this town better than I do."
"Then I'll guide you!"
They began walking together.
The sun hanging on the horizon cast a dim glow. Twilight spread across the world, and the shadows of the lined-up buildings grew darker.
But the night of the magic city was still bright.
Blue amethysts glowing like streetlights shone from various places. In the central plaza, apprentice mages were performing tricks with flames. They weren't particularly practical spells, but they looked flashy.
"That's pretty impressive."
"Right?"
They stopped and quietly watched the street magic performance together.
They didn't watch for long.
Those low-tier spells were something Woojin could also use. After a while his interest faded and his attention drifted.
Where did I put my small change…
Woojin rummaged through his pocket, took out a copper coin, and tossed it into the hat placed at the young mage's feet.
Then they continued their night walk.
The entire plaza was bustling. Laughter and cheers erupted everywhere. Seeing that, Woojin muttered,
"The atmosphere feels like we walked into a festival."
"It actually is a festival today."
"Really?"
He had no idea until just now.
Thinking back after hearing that… the lodging fee at the inn had been strangely expensive, and he had also paid quite a bit to rent the baggage wagon.
Woojin asked curiously,
"What festival is it?"
"Have you ever heard of the Night of Baba Yaga?"
Of course he hadn't.
"Explain it."
"It's nothing special. It's a festival commemorating the burning of an evil witch called Baba Yaga."
"That's… pretty brutal for a festival."
It felt somewhat similar to Halloween.
The Night of Baba Yaga was a festival that lasted for four days, and today was the second day.
Claire gestured toward the plaza.
"See that wooden hut over there?"
"Yeah, I see it."
"It's supposed to be the witch's hut. I heard they set that building on fire at midnight. There's also a big fireworks display."
Instead of a campfire, they burned the hut to wish away misfortune. That seemed to be why so many people had gathered in the magic city.
Where people gathered, money followed.
Street vendors all around sold souvenirs and food, and several small events could be seen here and there.
"That looks fun."
Claire pointed as she said that.
There was a scarecrow dressed in witch clothing. Standing some distance away was a young man carefully aiming a dart in his hand.
Various scoring plates of different sizes were attached across the scarecrow's body. It looked like a game booth where you could win prizes by scoring enough points.
"Should we try it?"
"Sure!"
They walked up to the dart booth. Woojin asked the shop owner for the price.
"How much per game?"
"Nine copper coins."
It cost more than expected.
But Woojin's pockets were heavy after taking plenty of money from the Noll Queen. He handed over half a silver coin and casually took the change.
The owner handed him ten darts and spoke cheerfully.
"See that? If you score more than forty-five points, you'll win that necklace."
Woojin glanced sideways.
A necklace with a pure white gem. It didn't seem extremely valuable, but it would probably cost six or seven silver coins.
So the maximum score per throw is five points.
There were ten darts. To exceed forty-five points, he would need to hit the maximum score at least nine out of ten times.
A pretty tight condition for a simple game.
But Woojin didn't care.
To him, this was basically money lying on the ground.
Thunk! Thunk!
Without even aiming properly, he casually tossed the darts one by one. The darts clustered together as if bombarding a single spot.
The score rose instantly.
The shop owner watched in stunned silence.
Soon the score reached 50 points.
"…C-congratulations."
The owner forced an awkward smile and handed over the first prize. Woojin took it and immediately placed the necklace around Claire's neck himself.
"It suits you pretty well."
"Really?"
Claire tilted her head side to side to look at the necklace on her neck. Then she smiled brightly, clearly satisfied.
"Let's try the other booths too!"
That was bad news for the merchants.
Woojin swept through the nearby stalls. After winning a prize in the ring toss game, he entered an arm-wrestling competition and, as expected, won easily.
"Here, take it."
Woojin placed another prize on Claire's head.
It was a flat cap made of expensive deer leather.
"The hat might be a little big."
"Really?"
"Wait here. I'll go change it for another one."
"No, it's fine…"
Claire made a strange expression.
At some point, she had ended up wearing prize items all over her body. With so many valuables hanging off her, she now looked like some nouveau riche flaunting their wealth.
"I feel a little self-conscious with everyone watching."
"Yeah, I guess."
Since they kept winning prizes, it almost felt like they were ruining the fun for everyone else who had come to play.
There was nothing particularly worth paying attention to anyway. If Claire wanted to, she could cast spells far more impressive than the performers on the street.
From the moment that thought occurred to him… the meaning of the festival faded surprisingly quickly.
The two of them sat in a quiet spot, watching the scenery around them.
"…I think I understand why you went to the Demon Realm, Jin."
Claire suddenly murmured. Woojin, sitting beside her, asked,
"What kind of reason do you think it was?"
"Well… how should I put it? Everything probably ends too easily for you now, so it doesn't feel very exciting."
Easy entertainment is boring.
Woojin had accumulated such overwhelming power in the Demon Realm that things in everyday life probably wouldn't move him much anymore.
"To be honest… festivals like this must be boring for you, right?"
Claire asked carefully. Woojin answered without much thought.
"That's not necessarily true."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm not here alone."
What you do is important, but who you're with is even more important.
If that weren't the case, Woojin wouldn't have bothered coming south to a city. He would have lived his whole life deep inside the Demon Realm.
When he said that, Claire smiled.
"If I summarize what you just said… it means you're happy because you're here with me, right?"
"…Something like that."
He replied vaguely. It felt a bit too embarrassing to say outright. Woojin took a sip of his drink and looked away.
He thought about it often… but whenever he was with Claire, something inside him seemed to change.
He became more impulsive, more childish.
It felt almost like the genre of his life had changed. Trying to shake off that strange feeling, he casually brushed his bangs back.
Just then—
Boom!
A large firework exploded in the sky. Colorful bursts followed one after another.
The Night of Baba Yaga had reached its finale.
As if by agreement, the tourists all cheered at once, and couples began openly showing their affection to each other.
Watching them, Claire murmured,
"Everyone's quite wild."
"Yeah."
Claire stared at him.
Her gaze seemed to demand something.
A provocative smile hung on her lips. It almost looked like she was mocking him—like she was asking what he was doing while everyone else had already moved ahead.
…I'll think about the consequences later.
Woojin pulled Claire's head toward him.
The two shared a long kiss.
Outside the window, fireworks continued exploding in the sky. Because of that, someone else was having trouble sleeping.
Arwen grumbled,
"Ah… I can't sleep."
Muttering to herself, she sat up in bed. The curled-up squirrel Coco jumped up and landed on her shoulder.
Arwen walked over to the window. After glancing outside, she pulled the curtains closed so the light wouldn't come in.
It immediately became quieter.
Satisfied, Arwen lay back down on the bed.
"Be-ya."
Coco suddenly made a sound. The silver squirrel gestured in the air as if saying something.
Arwen roughly understood the meaning.
"You're asking why I backed off so easily?"
"Be-it."
Coco nodded.
For some reason, Arwen had stepped back without any regret. If that strengthened the bond between Woojin and Claire, wouldn't that be bad for her?
Arwen smiled and replied,
"I can't try to monopolize someone great all by myself. That would be too greedy."
Just like a dominant lion surrounded by many lionesses, great beings naturally attract many butterflies around them.
The relationship between Woojin and Claire was clearly special. Interfering at a time like this wouldn't be a good thing.
"When it's time to yield, you should yield properly."
That way it's easier to secure your own share. After all, the number of butterflies would only keep increasing in the future.
Which reminded her—
…Cindy, was it?
I should pay close attention to what that younger sister is like.
Woojin had casually dismissed her as just a younger sister, but that was only his perspective. How the other person felt was another matter entirely.
They called her his sister… but they weren't even related by blood. And since she apparently ran a rather large business, she probably wasn't some naïve child either.
What kind of person could she be?
She would find out soon enough.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://beastnovels.com/