Kayla knew why she was disliked.
Because of her, Seo-Hyun and Erina faced great danger.
They were almost killed by numerous hordes of monsters.
That’s why Kayla tried to endure everything.
Even when Erina showed a dismissive and prickly attitude, Kayla tried to approach her with a smile.
‘Please leave on your own before I have to force you out.’
But Erina didn’t accept her.
Instead, she insisted on leaving.
Kayla also thought she didn’t deserve to be their comrade.
She thought it was shameful to expect any more help when they were being chased by the Demon King’s army.
But last night, the situation changed.
Erina committed murder. And she argued with Seo-Hyun.
Kayla could sense it while watching them.
Seo-Hyun was wary of Erina.
Though they were comrades, he could not express his anger recklessly and only tried to scold her.
Kayla didn’t like Erina’s audacious attitude.
She quietly observed her.
There was nothing she could do since she wasn’t recognized as a comrade.
‘I want to help him.’
If she couldn’t gain Erina’s trust, she would be expelled from the party without any choice.
She needed to find a way to gain her approval and stay in the party.
But could she get permission from Erina, who clearly had enmity towards her?
No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t find a way.
Kayla couldn’t find an answer even after pondering all night.
She went to bed with a heavy heart without reaching a conclusion.
And she was tormented by nightmares all night.
‘We don’t need a leader like you. Useless b*tch…!’
The officer who always claimed to respect her betrayed her like that.
Her wings were torn by a comrade she trusted.
‘Now you want help? You idiot.’
The Queen of the Elves spat on her face.
Numerous elves aimed their bows at her.
‘Yes, just cutting off the limbs and pulling out the scales will make a lot of money.’
The voice of the human who had helped her was heard.
At the same time, a feeling of extreme exhaustion swept over her entire body.
Only then did she realize that there was poison in the water.
At that moment, Kayla woke up from her sleep.
Her body trembled with fear as soon as she opened her eyes.
No matter how hard she tried to breathe calmly, she couldn’t calm down.
She couldn’t shake off the overwhelming loneliness.
Then, Seo-Hyun opened his eyes and got up.
Perhaps he woke up from the sound of her tossing and turning.
Seo-Hyun looked at her trembling with anxiety.
For the first time, an uncontrollable emotion bloomed in Kayla’s heart at the warm comfort she had never heard before.
‘I don’t want to part with him.’
A simple comradeship wasn’t enough.
She desired a deeper and stronger bond.
Dragon Knight. A master-servant relationship bound by the oath of the dragon.
There was no better picture than that.
It matched the ideal image she longed for.
So Kayla asked her master to become her Dragon Knight.
To take responsibility for her life. To allow her to be with him for a lifetime.
Unable to gain permission from Erina, she chose a cowardly method.
While proposing a contract to Seo-Hyun, Kayla felt a pang of conscience.
If he refused her proposal, she had nothing to say.
However, Seo-Hyun decided to embrace Kayla.
The memory of being embraced by him after accepting the oath still vividly remained with her.
‘Master…’
As the two fought, Kayla waited outside the lodging according to Seo-Hyun’s orders.
Through the cracks, Kayla could hear Erina’s pleading voice.
‘But why did you make such a strange contract with that woman…’
‘No! There was no need for it at all! I could have protected you forever!’
Upon hearing the truth from her mouth, a surge of discomfort rose in Kayla’s heart.
She could endure restraint and disrespect. She was accustomed to criticism and slander.
No matter how much she was ignored, she could understand.
However, she could not tolerate the words and actions that ignored Seo-Hyun.
Erina looked down on Seo-Hyun.
She insisted that he was someone she should protect.
Muttering to herself as she heard Erina’s crying voice, Kayla said.
“My lord is not weak.”
My lord is stronger than anyone else.
He is far more magnificent than her and Erina can ever compare.
Even if he may seem weaker than Erina now, it will change in the future.
‘I will help.’
She will make him a hero who cannot be defeated by anyone, like the legendary Dragon Knight.
“Kayla.”
Finally, the voice Kayla had been waiting for was heard.
Seo-Hyun came out of the room with a tired expression, looking for Kayla.
He listened to her story since dawn and even took care of the aftermath of the fight that broke out in the morning.
From calming Erina down to taking care of whether they were injured or not, he did everything.
Seo-Hyun hadn’t had a moment’s rest from dawn till morning.
He was squinting his eyes, probably because he was very tired.
Seeing him like that made Kayla’s heart heavy.
It had only been a day since she swore to help her master.
Kayla was partly to blame for the situation turning out like this.
‘It’s shameless of me, but can you accept her apology?’
Because of this, Kayla accepted Seo-Hyun’s request.
A composed Erina came out.
Unlike before, she looked deflated.
Her eyes were swollen and her hair was matted.
Her face was covered in tears.
Erina and Kayla made eye contact.
She slowly lowered her head and said in a small voice.
“I’m sorry…”
In response to her words, she smiled and bowed her head.
‘No, I should apologize as well.”
It wasn’t an apology to Erina but to her lord.
She might never know that.
“I made the oath without your permission, Erina-nim.”
“…”
“I’ll make sure this never happens again. So…”
Kayla once again reached out her hand to Erina.
She requested the handshake that had been rejected before.
“Will you please accept me as a comrade?”
Erina looked at her silently.
After hesitating for a moment, she slowly took her hand.
The handshake didn’t last long.
Before applying any pressure, she quickly pulled her hand away.
“Thank you again. Erina-nim.”
Erina didn’t say anything.
She deeply bowed her head and avoided eye contact.
And that’s how the fight between the two ended.
The winner of the battle was clear.
Although Erina won the fight, it was no different from Kayla’s victory.
Erina acknowledged Kayla as a comrade.
She wouldn’t push her away anymore.
But the animosity lingering around didn’t disappear.
Erina hadn’t given up yet.
She would find an opportunity to push Kayla away one way or another.
Kayla was no different.
She swore to protect her master by any means necessary.
‘Even though I lost this battle.’
But if her master was with her.
If Seo-Hyun and Kayla stood against Erina together.
‘We will definitely win.’
Hiding her smile, Kayla descended the stairs to find her lord.
***
They couldn’t stay at the inn any longer.
There could be some secrets, but there were no secrets like this.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they literally wrecked the inn.
The fight in the tavern could be understood, but they turned one room into a mess.
Even the most good-natured innkeeper couldn’t forgive them.
Eventually, after emptying their wallets, they apologized and left the inn.
“I need to gather money first.”
There was no money even for finding a place to sleep today.
They were on the verge of sitting on the street like beggars.
They needed to find a way to make money urgently.
“What about taking on some quests? Or working as a clerk at an inn?”
Kayla advised beside me.
Despite the unfavorable situation, she remained composed.
In contrast, Erina was still trembling with anxiety.
“Erina.”
“Ah, yes…?!”
From a glance, there was a distance between Erina and me.
But upon hearing my voice, she immediately closed the gap.
However, her steps were noticeably slower than before.
Occasionally, she glanced at my complexion, a behavior showing her concern.
“I-I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment…”
Since earlier, Erina seemed to be absent-minded as if her mind was elsewhere.
With a gloomy expression, she barely followed me.
It seemed like she felt guilty for what she had done wrong.
“We need to go out for quests right away. Can you do it?”
Erina’s expression changed instantly.
With a serious expression, she put her hand on her sword.
“Yes. I can go right away.”
“Okay. I’ll trust you.”
“Yes…!”
“Let’s go to the inn first. And then let’s find a quest we can finish today.”
Approaching her, I smiled and patted her back.
A red flush appeared on her pale face.
“Seo-Hyun. According to passersby, there’s an inn over there.”
Suddenly, Kayla carefully placed her hand on my back.
And she carefully intervened between me and Erina.
The distance was closer than before. It meant we became closer.
“Okay. Let’s find a room and unpack, even if it’s just on credit.”
On the left was Erina. On the right was Kayla. They were my reliable companions.
As long as I had them, I wasn’t worried about the future.
Although the two did not get along well, he was stronger than anyone else in terms of power.
“Now we’re comrades.”
“I know…”
“I understand.”
Both of them answered simultaneously.
Erina still couldn’t lift her head.
It would take a long time for her to suppress her emotions.
Kayla’s face was also stiff, as if she wasn’t feeling well.
I wanted to give them time to calm their hearts.
But unfortunately, we didn’t have time.
If we didn’t move right now, we would be at risk of sleeping on the street.
“I hope you get along well. Let’s never fight.”
“I understand.”
“Yes…”
Erina nodded with a bitter expression at my words.
Although she agreed, it was clear she wasn’t fully accepting it.
Nevertheless, for now, we decided to let it pass.
“Then let’s go. We have to move quickly today.”
We hastened our steps.
There was much to do before the sun went down.
Fortunately, we found a new inn quickly.
Although it was a bit more expensive than before, we managed to get a room.
Since we didn’t have money, we naturally put everything on credit.
It was possible because I promised to pay it back tomorrow.
But there was one problem.
“A single room only.”
Although there were three of us, there was only one bed.
This was the only room that could be rented on credit.
I requested at least a double room, but the innkeeper shook his head.
We had to sleep here tonight without a choice.
“We need to earn money quickly to get another room.”
“The problem is, we have to sleep here tonight.”
Even if we solved the quest right away, it would take time to get paid.
This meant that three people had to sleep together in one bed.
Fortunately, the bed was large enough to accommodate two people.
The answer was clear.
“I’ll sleep on the floor.”
How could I make two girls sleep on the floor?
I should give up the bed.
But both of them protested vehemently, reaching out their hands.
“No! I’ll sleep on the floor!”
“I’ll go down to the floor. Please, Seo-Hyun, sleep on the bed.”
After a slight struggle, we all decided to sleep on the same bed.
Although it was too cramped for three people, none of us could reach a consensus.
I never expected that merely sleeping would be this much of a struggle.
‘We have to earn money somehow and get a new room.’
I could feel how hard it was to scrape by.
This time, I vowed to succeed in the request no matter what.
