But as Shar-ti watched him closely, he relaxed his fist.

“Maybe it’ll take a day. …Yeah.”

“…?”

“I’ll probably have to fix not only the way I talk but also my attitude. …Yeah.”

Ren’s attitude was certainly just right for picking a fight.

Moreover, now that Ren was going to leave, attitude correction was especially necessary if he was going to live as a runaway slave.

Shar-ti sighed, trying to suppress her rising disappointment.

Then, Ren cleared his throat with his fist still clenched.

“I should make an effort since you’re trying to talk to me. So, I’ll consider you as a real owner for a while. No, I will.”

“……What?”
Unable to follow the flow of the conversation, Shar-ti reflexively blurted out.

Whether he liked it or not, Ren had a determined expression on his face.

It even seemed like he was enjoying it.

“Actually, from now on, Sha, you should be the one talking. …Yes. There won’t be an owner who talks up to a slave.”

Before Shar-ti could say anything, Ren bent his body and kneeled on one knee.

Then, something seemed odd, and he knelt down on both knees.

The eye level with Ren changed.

“Sha, my master.”

…!

When turquoise eyes met hers, Shar-ti caught her breath.

In front of the serious gaze, a bewildered Shar-ti clutched the blanket and turned her head abruptly.

“I-I’m, I’m sleepy now. I should sleep. Good night.”

Turning away from Ren, Shar-ti quickly lay down.

Hoping that her irregular heartbeat wouldn’t be noticed, she blindly flipped the blanket over.

“…Yes.”

Ren, momentarily confused by Shar-ti’s sudden avoidance of conversation, realized it was dawn and quickly left the bedroom.

Thud. As soon as the door closed, Shar-ti took a deep breath.

‘…Maybe, my fever is rising.’

Due to the irregularly beating heart, she felt like her body temperature was rising.

The embarrassment, awkwardness, and burden that she hadn’t felt in front of soldiers were only now coming to her.

‘Ah!’

Belatedly regaining her senses, Shar-ti realized that she hadn’t refused the title of “master.” Kicking the blanket with her foot in frustration, she brushed off the dust.

Shar-ti, who had thoroughly removed the dust from the blanket, took a deep breath calmly.

‘Wouldn’t it be better if I became the employer instead? It sounds better. If I help Grandma Bireta, I’ll meet mercenaries, so it’s better to get used to the title of employer.’

As soon as she woke up, Shar-ti didn’t want to hear the title “master” from Ren. Apart from the embarrassment, it was an inappropriate title that didn’t suit her.

After pondering about the title for a while, Shar-ti unconsciously scratched her neck.

“…?”

All her attention had been on Ren, so she had temporarily forgotten her concern about the dreadful voice.

The time she had suffered from anxiety and worry about the voice until she made the sound was strangely insignificant.

Shar-ti’s eyes became slightly red.

‘I’ve never seen anyone frown because of my voice.’

Although he didn’t show it much, Ren was undoubtedly paying attention to Shar-ti’s voice. The sensitive Shar-ti, who had been sensitive to the reactions of others, couldn’t help but notice.

But his reaction was not about suppressing discomfort caused by her voice unconsciously.

‘Instead, he paid attention only to my reaction. He might be afraid I’ll stop the conversation.’

Sniffling, Shar-ti wiped her teary eyes with the back of her hand.

Ren truly wanted to have a ‘conversation.’ He just sincerely wanted to hear her voice.

He wasn’t a liar.

‘Why?’

Could it be curiosity rather than empathy?

Was he intentionally trying to uncover one by one the weaknesses she was trying to hide?
‘I thought I knew a lot, but I still don’t understand Ren.’

Shar-ti became frightened at the thought of whether the demeanor Ren showed was sincere or false.

More precisely, it was scary how her growing anticipation for the kindness and the large, sturdy figure embedded with awkward concerns, seen within his nonchalance, and the turquoise eyes, were gradually becoming expectations.

Shar-ti was not accustomed to loneliness.

She was engulfed by loneliness. She was merely someone waiting for someone to rescue her, someone who had been caught by loneliness someday.

‘Ren…’

As thoughts and emotions sank, her heart beat rhythmically.

Curling up under the blanket, Shar-ti slept.

Now, there were only two days left.

Until Ren left.

Early in the morning, Shar-ti yawned while massaging her swollen face with her fist.

It was the usual time she woke up.

Her body temperature was normal, no dizziness, and she felt refreshed.

‘Now, I should try to improve the cold medicine.’

Shar-ti, remembering the not-so-satisfactory efficacy, felt motivated.

After changing her clothes, roughly combing her messy hair with her hands, and putting on her robe, Shar-ti left the bedroom.

When she slightly opened the multipurpose room door, Ren was still sleeping.

Shar-ti headed straight to the vegetable garden, harvesting vegetables.

‘I should have left some meat.’

Feeling bothered by having to feed only vegetables again, Shar-ti took the entire basket.

She had to find something that could provide a meat-like texture.

‘Let’s harvest some mushrooms.’

Optimistically stepping out, Shar-ti tilted her head at the view that looked different today.

The densely packed trees that created a hazy atmosphere looked sparse today, and the ground around the old log cabin looked messy.

‘…That can’t be all weeds, right?’

Making a disgusted expression at the pile of grass beside the warehouse, Shar-ti put the weed pile aside and climbed the mountain.

After being sick for a day and getting up, the cold air of the mountain smelled refreshing to the bones.

However, despite her enthusiasm, intentionally avoiding the villagers and going upward to avoid overlap, the mushroom harvest was unsatisfactory. After a brief contemplation, Shar-ti followed the sound of water.

‘I wonder if I can catch fish.’

Shar-ti wasn’t particularly good at fishing.

But if she could catch just one here, it seemed like today’s meal would be settled.

‘Let’s feed it properly and send it off.’

Clutching her fist with hope, Shar-ti walked toward the stream.

With no hesitation, Shar-ti found the stream.

‘Ugh, it’s cold.’

Since winter had come, the stream water was icy.

At times like this, Bireta had taught her a way to catch fish. Shar-ti looked around.

Having grabbed a large rock with a grunt, Shar-ti threw it into the stream.

Splash! When the rock successfully hit the rocks scattered in the stream, a fish caught in the gap between the rocks floated up.

‘Alright!’
She quickly caught a fish with the basket she had set aside for mushrooms.

It was only a palm-sized fish, but the flesh was quite plump.

‘I should gather some herbs to get rid of the fishy smell.’

Feeling excited with the weight of the basket, Shar-ti’s steps became lighter.

Awakened by the chirping of birds outside, Ren got up from his sleep.

As he stepped out with messy hair as usual, the familiar silence that enveloped him every morning greeted him.

“……Sha?”

Ren, who was initially looking for Shar-ti, checked the note placed on the table.