For Alcate, humans were far more difficult creatures than he had ever imagined.

He thought he knew himself well, but being here made him realize how many things were beyond his understanding.

Although he enjoyed watching Ethan’s ever-changing expressions, she couldn’t figure out why they changed.

She knew only a handful of human expressions, but Ethan’s face showed dozens.

If she kept watching, would there be more?

Ethan’s face, looking straight ahead over her own head, changed without pause.

Their conversations were long, and every reaction was different.

Eyebrows, corners of the mouth, eyes, nose, cheeks, forehead – all the different muscles of the face moved in their own way.

A face she could never see when they were alone together.

Even if there had been other men Ethan had met in Belphirn, it had only been for a short time, and this was the first time he had spent so long with someone else.

The ones Ethan saw always had eyes that resembled a lush, vibrant green, filled with deep affection – eyes that held only her, that looked only at her.

Whenever Ethan looked directly at her and pressed their lips together, If felt a ticklish sensation in her chest, but it was never an unpleasant feeling.

In fact, it made her want to stay even closer.

Even though she had often looked at Ethan’s face, when her eyes met his, they always stole her own.

And when she saw her own reflection in Ethan’s eyes, she often wondered if Ethan’s image was also reflected in her own eyes.

Like looking in a mirror, her own face was reflected in those clear, crystalline eyes, and a fierce heat burned within them.

Even if Ethan was reflected in her own eyes, it would be completely different from those eyes – because she didn’t have that kind of heat in her.

But now that look was gone.

Even when Ethan looked at her, it was only for a brief moment.

She hated those fleeting, passing glances.

When that merchant was around, Ethan acted like a completely different person – not the one she knew.

Even his laugh had changed, and the way he drank the beer without offering her a sip, finishing it all by himself – that too.

He always shared with her before.

If she had known it would be like this, she wouldn’t have been curious about other people at all.

“I like it when it’s just the two of us.”

If let out a deep sigh.

Ethan wondered how such a small head could hold such heavy sorrows to warrant such a sigh.

Watching him, Ethan had to stifle a laugh, afraid that Deverick would wake up.

“It won’t take long anyway.”

Since If’s reaction wasn’t exactly welcoming, the idea of adding someone to their group – even for a short time – became impossible. Not that Ethan had planned on it in the first place.

Ethan rekindled the dying fire and began to prepare an early breakfast.

The world, slowly brightening with the dawn, was gradually tinted with soft shades of blue.

Ssshhk – as the meat sizzled, the fragrant scent of herbs filled the air.

Ethan flicked his wrist to turn the meat in the pan.

A piece of meat spun once in the air before falling neatly back into the pan.

If’s eyes sparkled as she watched.

Back in Belphirn, they had always roasted everything by sticking it on branches, but this was completely different.

Curious about the cooking tool she had never seen before, If scooted right up to Ethan and leaned in to get a closer look.

“You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Ethan held If back with one arm, preventing her from getting too close to the campfire and the hot pan.

“But I want to see it up close.”

“It’s too hot, so no.”

If her body was like her arm, she wouldn’t get burned.

But since she could adapt to being cut by a knife, it was better to be careful – just in case.

Ethan cut the lightly seared beef and asparagus into small pieces.

At the sight of food she had never seen before, If grabbed Ethan’s arm and opened her mouth wide.

As she chewed, blood and meat juices dripped around her mouth.

Ethan took out a cloth he always carried with him and wiped the corners of If’s mouth as if it was second nature.

A cloth he had never carried as a handkerchief in his life had now become an essential item.

Ethan picked up another piece of beef and brought it to If’s lips.

Though she chewed slowly, If ate well.

Ethan sat with his legs crossed, his elbows resting on his knees.

His chin rested on the back of his hand, his body leaning slightly to one side.

Green eyes watched him quietly as he chewed diligently.

It was better that no one knew about If.

At first, Ethan had thought it was just a difference in knowledge between them, but as time went on and they talked more, he realized the situation was worse than he had expected.

Her knowledge was vast – beyond anything he could imagine, including technologies from ancient times that defied belief.

But that knowledge didn’t extend to understanding humans.

Perhaps it was because she had lived with that iron doll.

Having spent decades in such a utopia-like place, even her natural instincts must have faded.

It made sense that she lacked a survival instinct.

The problem wasn’t just the lack of survival instinct – she had no emotions, no thoughts, nothing.

Sure, now that she was spending time with him, her expressions had become more varied, but it was no different than a newborn learning facial expressions by watching its parents.

When she had killed the abandoned noble in Belphirn, she hadn’t even blinked.

Although she had been distracted by her injuries, when she thought about it, she had been indifferent to everything.

Even if someone died in front of her, she would turn away without a second thought.

And if she was told to stab a living person standing in front of her, she would do it without a shred of guilt.

Ancient humans were a headache.

Left alone, she was like a bomb that could explode at any moment – and not just any bomb, but one powerful enough to sink an entire continent.

Would it have been better to leave her behind

It was a question he had asked himself dozens of times, and now it crept back to the surface.

But in the end, Ethan shook his head.

With that level of curiosity, even if it hadn’t been him, she would have met another human eventually – and who knew what that person might have done?

Not every person sent to the gallows is innocent, and even if she had met an ordinary man, one look at her appearance would have been enough to make him lose his mind.

And if her power were revealed, there’s no telling what people would try to make her do.

She, who didn’t know the difference between good and evil, would do whatever was asked of her without hesitation.

Her sense of right and wrong – everything she knew – had been given to her by Ethan.

Or, more accurately, she had adopted Ethan’s sense of morality as her own.

What Ethan did was considered acceptable; what Ethan didn’t do was something she wasn’t supposed to do.

And even that was rigid – lacking any flexibility of thought – so she couldn’t apply it to anything else. If Ethan didn’t show it to her, she treated it as if she had no way of knowing.

Ethan ran his hand roughly through his hair and finished the food left in the bowl.

His mouth was filled to the brim with meat and fried vegetables, mashing and mixing as he chewed.

His mind was as confused and chaotic as the mess in his mouth.

He would have to go to Rigo to find out for sure, but even from what Deverick had told him, the situation there didn’t look good.

The mercenaries were avoiding all contracts for the time being.

Sure, they might be able to survive without income for a while, but for people who were already at the bottom of society, turning their backs on the world would do them no good.

For now, they could hang on thanks to the merchants and guilds that still came to them, but if pressure came from above, those merchants and guilds would have no choice but to cut ties with Rigo as well.

The guild itself might not betray them, but most of their employees were commoners who could read and write.

And really, how much loyalty could they have to the guild?

If their livelihood was cut off, they would have no choice but to leave, and then the guild would begin to fall apart, riddled with gaps from lack of manpower.

All the damage would fall on the mercenaries.

Sure, they could hunt magical beasts and sell the by-products to make money, but even that required someone to buy them.

If those at the top directly blocked the trade, it would be useless.

Of course, the nobles also needed those by-products, so cutting them off would hurt, but if the higher-ups ordered it, even the nobles would have to comply, whether they liked it or not.

The reason the nobles made the people at the bottom do the work was not because they couldn’t do it themselves – it was because they didn’t want to get their own hands dirty.

And for their own convenience, they would surely find another alternative.

No matter how you look at it, it was a losing battle for the mercenaries.

No matter how much power the mercenaries gained, they could never win against the nobles, who had magic, and the commoners, who made up the majority of the population.

That’s what a hierarchy was – something unchangeable, a relationship where no matter how much you fought, it was useless, and you had no choice but to do as you were told.

“……”

And yet, they had begun to fight.

Even if they had to know everything he knew, there was no way they wouldn’t.

The outcome of this fight could only be one of two things: either the mercenaries would surrender after a long, drawn-out war and become slaves, or a civil war would break out, led by those mercenaries who chose to fight.

There was no third option.

Either way, if Ethan went to Rigo now, he would inevitably get caught up in the conflict.

As soon as he finished eating, If climbed into his arms, and Ethan let her settle into his embrace.

Her slender body was covered by a heavy fur-lined hood.

Nestled in Ethan’s broad frame, her body curled up as if it were the most natural thing in the world, quickly finding a comfortable position.

‘Do you just want to go back to Belphirn?’

The question rose in his throat, but never made it out.

Since it hadn’t been long since they left the village, they could probably get back to Belphirn in about five days if they walked diligently.

“I want to stay by your side, Ethan. Is that okay?”

Ethan rubbed his face several times.

As he wiped his face, trying to clear his mind, If looked up at him, puzzled.

Considering how things had turned out, the idea of leaving this woman in the care of someone else in Rigo had completely slipped his mind.

There wasn’t a single person in Rigo he could trust.

Not for this matter, not even for the coming war – because no one would pass up the chance to use a tool like her if it meant winning.

If they reported her to the Imperial Palace…

She would be treated well – because she was an Ancient.