Unaware of If’s thoughts, Ethan was busy plotting a route. Using his memories from his days as a mercenary, he plotted a path to Rigo through places where there were no people.

“I’d rather take a road full of beasts.”

If attracted attention in many ways – not only because of her appearance, but also because of her abilities. Since she also had conspicuous means of escape, it would be better to hide in a deserted place and fight more comfortably.

Ethan remembered the places where he used to hunt monsters and began to mark out the path.

Apart from Belphirn, there weren’t many areas overrun by beasts. Inevitably, he would have to pass through towns and cities.

Looking down at If in his arms, Ethan pulled a hood over her. As expected, her long hair caused some strands to fall out.

Suddenly a hood was pulled over her head and she tilted her head in confusion, not understanding why. Feeling suffocated by the restricted view, she tugged at the hood. Her hair slid down with a gentle rustle, covering her face.

Ethan, who had been quietly watching her, lowered his gaze. There had been a few women among the mercenaries, but rarely. Those who valued practicality usually cut their hair short like men or tied it back so it didn’t get in the way.

‘Not that I’ve ever done it myself.’

Ethan took off his gloves and gathered her dishevelled hair in his hand. Rare as it was, there were even some men who wore their hair in braids.

‘How did they braid it again?’

Ethan frowned in frustration as he tried to remember.

Why would a man bother to look at the way her hair was braided? The same went for women. No matter how hard he tried to remember, nothing came to mind.

Finally, Ethan shifted his focus and thought of rope instead. Twisting it into two strands would come undone, so three strands it was…

Carefully, Ethan began to divide and weave her hair. The long strands formed an uneven, jagged braid as they intertwined.

Grasping the end that was now shorter than his thumb, Ethan looked up – only to find a pair of green eyes quietly watching him.

“Why?”

The first attempt, made clumsily by unskilled hands, had been a complete mess. Ethan lowered his head to avoid those clear, questioning eyes.

“It’s my first time tying someone’s hair.”

The people If knew had little interest in dressing up. On the contrary, they found it uncomfortable to wear anything on their bodies. If Ethan hadn’t said anything, she would probably have taken off her clothes without a second thought.

Without answering, Ethan quickly pulled the hood back over her head. With her hair now braided into three strands and reduced in volume, the hood fit snugly, covering not only her face but her hair as well.

Seeing this, he let go of the hair he had been holding. Her straight hair, even though he hadn’t undone it himself, unravelled on its own. Despite all the effort he had put into braiding it, more than half of it had come loose, making his work seem pointless.

“Why did you undo it?”

“It was a mess.”

“Was it?”

‘I’ve done it once, I’ll do it better next time.’

Ethan tried to justify himself as he pulled If into his arms and lay down with her.

“Are you going to sleep now?”

“Yes.”

If rolled her eyes at his reply. In Belphirn, she had always slept in caves, so when she looked up, all she saw was hard stone or dirt.

But now a bright white moon shone clearly in the dark sky above. The stars around it twinkled more vividly, perhaps because of the surrounding darkness.

A cool breeze brushed against her cheek, exposed outside the cloak, making her skin flush with warmth.

“What’s there to see, really?”

Ethan pressed the back of his hand against her flushed cheek. It had already cooled.

“It’s just… weird.”

If’s way of speaking, no matter how generously scored, was hardly average. She had hardly ever had any real conversations, and most of her limited communication had been with machines, so her tone was stiff and her sentences short.

“What’s weird?”

“Sleeping in a place with a sky.”

“Huh? You’ve been sleeping outside all this time?”

Apart from the times he had passed out, he had never slept in a house with a roof. In the last village they had only just managed to lie down on a bed – so what was there to find strange about it?

“You couldn’t really see the sky.”

Because it was a cave.

Ethan scoffed, as if he found it absurd that such a thing could be fascinating. Still, the entrance to the cave had been wide open – it wasn’t like the outside was completely blocked off. Either there or here.

If anything, their current situation – unable to even light a fire and being hunted – was far worse. It was almost laughable that this felt even worse than Belphirn.

“More than that, I found it strange that I could watch the soldiers inside the inn while standing outside.”

No matter how sharp Ethan’s ears were, there was no way he could know exactly what was going on inside. At most, he could tell which way the people were moving.

“When it’s dark, you just have to adjust your eyes a bit.”

“Huh?”

First she changes her eye colour, and now what – adjust her eyes? Like she could swap her eyeballs or something.

If pulled her hand out from under her cloak and poked at the corner of her eye.

“I don’t see people by their shape. Anything that gives off heat gives off infrared, so I see that instead.”

“What?”

“Hot things look red, cold things look blue. Buildings that block the view don’t matter. Even if there’s something in the way or it’s dark, the heat people give off doesn’t just disappear.

To see beyond walls, she had to use thermal imaging lenses. But because changing lenses made her vision uncomfortable, she rarely used them. For the same reason, she didn’t often use night vision goggles.

“You mean you can use these things freely?”

“Yes. I also have lenses that allow me to see in the dark.”

Wasn’t this practically a collection of magic?

Among the famous spells that nobles possessed, there were some that were so well known that even commoners and mercenaries knew them. In fact, they were so famous that people could tell what kind of magic a noble used just by hearing his title or family name.

Healing spells and elemental attack magic were the most common, but magic that allowed one to see in the dark was also widely known – a power particularly useful for ambushes.

But when he heard her say that she had all these abilities, he was speechless.

“Ha…”

“Why?”

“Don’t tell anyone about that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’ll be a hassle.”

“This too?”

She couldn’t fly, she couldn’t let her hair show – there were just too many things she wasn’t allowed to do when she was with Ethan. She let out a deep sigh.

“See, that’s why I told you not to follow me.”

“But I like being with you, Ethan.”

She said this with a face full of complaints.

Ethan smiled crookedly and pulled If closer, tugging at her cloak.

If shifted her eyes again and stared at the body that blocked her entire view. Like a wall standing firmly in front of her, his body was so large that no matter how much she rolled her eyes, she couldn’t see anything else.

As she buried her face against him, her cold cheek quickly warmed. Tucked in where the cloak folded, not a breath of wind reached her.

If blinked softly, and soon her heavy eyelids fell slowly shut.

***

A green ribbon was tied at the top of her hair, coloured by the glow of the hologram light.

The braid, messy and uneven, hung from the string – which, barely tied, held a single loop like a makeshift bow.

Once the hood was pulled over her head and the strings tightened to secure it, there was nothing left to attract attention.

She should be able to move about even in crowded cities without too much trouble.

If he’d known it would be like this, he would have chosen a city far away from Belphirn to go to first.

Although he had no choice – he needed to stock up on maps, emergency rations and other essentials – they now had unnecessary pursuers on their trail.

‘Maybe they’ve already told the higher-ups that I’m alive.’

His face was known to the royal family and some of the soldiers. If an order were given now, it would be a huge headache – but to admit that they had let a man they had already executed escape would be an even bigger problem.

Since his execution had been carried out in public, he would now be officially dead, and their pride would not allow them to admit that they were hunting someone they’d already executed. So they would probably try to deal with it quietly, using as little force as possible.

Ethan could easily guess what they were thinking.

He wrapped the cloak around himself and slung a rucksack over one shoulder. The weight and sensation of his right arm was alive. He clenched and unclenched his fist, checking its condition for no real reason.

It was known that he had been captured with his arm cut off. No one would believe that his arm had been reattached. So it might be a good idea to make sure that people noticed that his right arm was completely intact. Even if someone spotted him from a wanted poster, seeing his arm might disabuse them of their suspicions.

Ethan deliberately pulled out his right arm and used it to pull If, who was standing idly by, into a hug.

Because he was holding her with his right arm – the opposite of what he usually did – If squirmed uncomfortably.

Back in Belphirn, he had to keep his right arm free to fight monsters with his sword, so he always carried it with his left. But here, there weren’t many opponents he couldn’t handle with his weaker left arm, so it was better to keep using his right arm to avoid suspicion.

Ethan’s head, which had always been on If’s right side, was now on her left.

If twisted her waist slightly and let her head rest on Ethan’s chest with a soft thud.

“If we meet anyone, don’t say a word. If you have to, whisper in my ear.”

The next town was still a long way off, but with only one road, there was a good chance they would meet other villagers or merchants along the way. Ethan preemptively silenced her.

“Why?”

“Because we can’t let anyone find out who we are. I’ll think of something that sounds reasonable. Unless they offer us some kind of amazing deal, we won’t be travelling with anyone, so it’ll only be for a short while. If you’re curious about anything, just save it and ask me later when we’re alone.”

Maybe he’d pretend to be a mercenary travelling with a sickly, shy woman. A woman he was bringing back from another continent after treatment – that way they could explain why they couldn’t take on any side jobs along the way.

And if she happened to speak, they could cover it up by saying she was either ill or a foreigner who didn’t speak the language.

Thinking of a few excuses, Ethan tore the soaked jerky into small pieces with his teeth and held one up to If’s mouth.

Even though it had become bland from sitting in the water too long, he had added some light seasoning to make it at least somewhat palatable.

Munch, munch.

The long strip of jerky slowly disappeared into the shadow of her hood. Ethan burst out laughing as he watched her slurp it down like noodles.

Since it wasn’t unusual for Ethan to suddenly laugh for reasons she couldn’t understand, If just tilted her head slightly before returning to her busy chewing.

The jerky, softened by the soaking, got sweeter the more she chewed, so If kept working her jaw, determined to eat it properly.

Seeing this, Ethan laughed again, unable to hold it in.