The Servant in the Horror Game is Suspicious Chapter 62

The carriage drove on without rest. Jade pushed the crates around to carve out enough space for a person to lie down. When he squeezed into the narrow gap, Buster and Bluey lay down beside him.

After traveling for a good while, hunger began to set in. He had exhausted his energy fighting the intruder, and searching for a carriage after reaching the temple had drained the last of his stamina. Since he was in the cargo hold, his body had been tossed around the entire way, leaving him with no energy left.

“Hey, kid. Eat this.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Just before his stomach started sticking to his spine, Dan, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, tossed a loaf of rye bread into the back. Jade tore off small pieces of the bread to feed Bluey first, then shared some with Buster.

“Myauuu.”

“Eue.”

Buster and Bluey were in the same boat, having not eaten a thing. The two of them devoured everything they were given, not leaving a single crumb behind.

Since the three of them shared one loaf, it wasn’t enough for anyone, but neither Buster nor Bluey complained. Bluey was especially well-behaved. He was usually the type to whine easily, but perhaps sensing the situation, all he did was ask to be held.

“Sigh.”

Jade let out a long sigh that felt like it would sink the floor of the carriage.

The remaining 2 silver pence had all been spent on travel, and now he was truly penniless. He had arrived with the ambition of finding work in the South, but he knew it wouldn’t be as easy as he hoped.

Most of all, the one-month duration weighed on his mind. Dan said it would take a month for this carriage to reach the South. Dan had provided bread today, but it was uncertain if his kindness would continue for a month—or even just tomorrow.

Where was he supposed to get money or food? He had managed to get a ride in exchange for helping Dan with his work, but what came after was the problem. If it came down to it, he might have to get off at the carriage’s first destination and resort to begging.

“Sighhh.”

With no plan in sight, the more he thought about it, the more he sighed.

Actually, when he was on his own, he had a groundless confidence that things would work out somehow. But now he had two more mouths to feed. He couldn’t just ignore the little ones who had followed him.

Buster and Bluey, having finished the bread, burrowed into his arms. Along with a heavy sense of responsibility, Buster’s purring and Bluey’s sleepy fussing provided a strange sense of stability.

While Jade’s worries deepened, the morning dawn broke outside the carriage. Only when that dawn tilted west again and was hidden by the black night sky did the carriage finally stop.

Jade, who had fallen asleep for a moment, woke up to a dull pain in his backside. When he opened his eyes, he saw Dan clicking his tongue and tossing an apple at him.

Startled, Jade jumped up, hid Buster and Bluey first, and then stepped down from the carriage. He didn’t forget to grab the apple rolling on the floor of the cargo hold.

Perhaps because he had slept in the back, his body felt stiff and his fatigue wouldn’t lift. Yet Dan, who had been driving the carriage the whole time, looked energetic without a trace of tiredness.

To be able to drive a carriage all day without resting… his stamina was truly incredible.

And he was a fairly cool and open-hearted man.

“Where are those two things from earlier? Weren’t they alive?”

Dan, who was starting a campfire, asked nonchalantly as if just inquiring about daily life. A flustered Jade stammered.

“Ye—yes?”

Jade had certainly hidden Buster and Bluey. As soon as he woke up, he had wrapped the two of them in his coat and tucked them away behind the crates.

A half-asleep Buster had groaned and tried to cling to him, but Jade had unceremoniously shoved him into the corner. He did this because he was afraid Dan might discover them and kick them out.

“What, did you throw them away?”

“Oh, no. It’s not that.”

“If you have them, just bring them out.”

But Dan seemed to already know. He had probably seen Buster and Bluey while waking the sleeping Jade.

With a sigh, Jade brought Buster and Bluey out of the cargo carriage. Fortunately, Dan’s reaction wasn’t particularly negative.

“So, you’re saying this is a magical beast?”

“Myang…”

Dan, sitting casually on a log in front of the campfire, pointed at Buster.

Buster slowly hid behind Jade’s back. Looking at the tail that couldn’t be hidden, Dan wore a suspicious expression as if questioning if that was really a magical beast.

“Haha… their reputation might not be great, but he’s a good fellow.”

“I don’t care about that, does that mean he’s also been freeloading on my carriage?”

“Well, things just happened…”

Jade laughed awkwardly and tried to defend Buster, but Dan only snorted.

Even so, he didn’t show the typical reaction of being shocked or telling him to get rid of the beast. He just looked displeased with the uninvited guests who had crashed his carriage. That consistent reaction actually made Jade feel more at ease.

“Tsk, a guy with only 2 silver pence dragging around two pets. No, is that a companion beast?”

“Haha…”

Dan chewed on some meat and pointed at Buster with a bone. Then he slowly waved the bone from side to side, and Buster’s head followed the movement. Drool even began to leak from his mouth.

“Tsk, you eat too. Give some to that guy as well.”

“Th—thank you.”

“Myang!”

Clicking his tongue, Dan handed over a fresh piece of meat on the bone. Jade’s stomach was also in an uproar, so he couldn’t have been more glad for that single piece. It was even meat. The kind of meat he only got to eat on days he went down to the village.

The meat, frozen since leaving the North, had a deep smoky flavor from being grilled over the campfire, which whetted his appetite.

“Myaaang!”

Buster urged him to give him some quickly. Beside him, Bluey was also hopping up and down, flailing his short arms. Jade tore off a bit for Buster and shredded some finely for Bluey, who had a small mouth.

Watching the scene, Dan let out a hearty laugh, wondering what kind of magical beasts they were. Contrary to his rough first impression, he seemed like a man with a lot of heart. Giving them meat was one thing, but he also didn’t seem to have any prejudice against magical beasts.

“I bet I could get some good money if I sold that one.”

“Hueh?!”

Bluey, who had been sitting next to Jade fluttering his leaf, moved sluggishly in shock. He had been understanding speech quite well lately.

Bluey buried himself in Jade’s palm to hide his face. Perhaps because he was still young, he seemed to think that if he couldn’t see the other person, the other person couldn’t see him either.

“He’s not for sale. I’m raising him.”

“What a waste.”

When Jade answered firmly, Dan clicked his tongue even louder than before and shook his head. His reaction felt more fascinating than offensive.

“Aren’t you surprised by a magical beast?”

“What’s there to be surprised about? This is the North.”

The mountains and forests of the North were habitats for magical beasts. Subjugation operations were carried out on a large scale every year, and there were times when beasts even came down to the villages.

Come to think of it, the coachman who had driven them from the village to the villa had a similar reaction. Though he said he was surprised and had intended to report it to the guards when he saw Buster, he wasn’t terrified by the existence of a magical beast itself.

“I’ve seen a magical beast too. A wild boar came down to the village.”

“Do wild boars count as magical beasts?”

Jade asked curiously. Are wild boars magical beasts in this world? However, his question disappeared instantly at the following words.

“It was a guy with horns. Its body was frozen solid so a spear wouldn’t even pierce it. The people struggled so much.”

“So what happened?”

“What do you mean ‘what happened’? I ran away.”

Dan laughed jokingly, saying he was quite fast at running. At his shameless display, Jade couldn’t help but laugh along.

He was a more talkative person than expected and told stories in an entertaining way. As he listened to the stories, the campfire eventually died down and only bones remained from the meat. Buster and Bluey were sleeping on Jade’s lap.

“Achoo!”

“Traveling in the cargo hold is no joke, right?”

“It’s manageable.”

A nasal sound came out from sniffing his nose. Even though he slept hidden between the crates, he had a slight chill because the cold Northern wind blew into the cargo hold.

“I thought you’d ask me to stop after a few hours, but you’re quite something. Once your shoulder heals, you’ll be useful as my assistant.”

He had worried that Dan might leave him behind tomorrow, calling him a weakling, but it seemed Dan had a fairly good impression of Jade.

Jade didn’t miss this opportunity. If things went well, he might be able to help with work later and receive some wages.

“Haha, I’m a good worker. I can do anything you ask.”

“Just make sure you’re good at math first. You’ll have a lot of work to do in the future.”

Dan said he would stop at a total of ten clients before reaching the South. He would sell half of the herbs that way and the other half in the South. But he said he struggled every time because the calculations were always wrong.

“Right then, shall we get ready to sleep?”

Time had flown by as they talked. Dan took a sleeping bag out from the driver’s seat and spread it in front of the campfire.

“Do you often sleep outside?”

“That’s right. It’s all wilderness around here, so there isn’t a single inn. When I move around and the cargo hold is empty, I can sleep in there. I saw earlier that you even managed to make a spot to lie down.”

“Haha, somehow…”

“You go in there and sleep.”

“Oh, no. Dan, you should sleep inside.”

Jade declined, waving his hands. He had already been treated to bread and meat; he couldn’t impose on him for a sleeping spot as well. But Dan waved his hand, showing off the sleeping bag.

“Forget it. I have a sleeping bag, and it’s nice to have someone to talk to, but I can’t stand a guy who’s falling ill.”

“…Then I’ll gratefully go in and sleep.”

Bowing his head, Jade hugged Buster and Bluey tightly in his arms. Even if he had to sleep outside, he had planned to ask Dan to look after the two of them, but if he slept in the cargo hold, the three of them could sleep together. It was a bit cold, but it was better than being outside.

As Dan made his bed, he added more firewood to the dying campfire. When Jade picked up a few well-dried branches fallen nearby, Dan liked that he was quick on his feet.

“By the way, how old are you? You look young.”

Dan, who asked that, didn’t seem that old either. At most, about the same age?

“I’m nineteen this year.”

Thinking about it, only four months had passed since he dropped into this world, but in terms of years, a whole year had already gone by.

The standard for an adult here was eighteen. Jade, who had become an adult both here and in Korea, cleared his throat at the newfound feeling.

“I’m twenty-one. Not much of a difference. Let’s speak comfortably. We have to travel together for a month.”

“Shall we…?”

Jade scratched his head, speaking a bit awkwardly. But Jade was also quite sociable, so they soon exchanged conversation comfortably.

“I’m heading to sleep first. We have to drive a long way tomorrow too, so you should sleep soon.”

“Oh, yeah. Goodnight, Dan.”

After a few more words of brief conversation, the two headed to their respective sleeping spots. Jade’s footsteps toward the cargo hold stopped for a moment.

‘Ian…’

Standing before the crackling campfire, the time he spent enduring in the cave with Ian came to mind. He felt strangely guilty for filling his stomach with meat alone, leaving Ian behind.

‘He’ll be fine.’

Now Ian had money and a warm place to sleep called a temple. Gregor had recognized Ian as the child of the House of Linwood at a glance. Even if Ian’s current position wasn’t good, the fact that he was the child of a noble family remained unchanged. The temple would provide him with good meals, so there was no need to worry. That’s how it had to be.

With that, he tried to clear his mind and entered the cargo hold. Tomorrow would be exhausting as well, so he had to sleep well while the carriage was stopped.

However, once he lay down, sleep didn’t come easily. Leaving like a fugitive without being honest with Ian remained a heavy burden on his heart.

In the end, Jade was only able to fall asleep after seeing the sun rise.

And, as Dan had said, the carriage arrived in the South after traveling for exactly one month.