“Elena, you there?”
‘Huh?’
The hushed voice was familiar.
“Geez, the light’s on, but did she fall asleep already?”
Hearing the muttering, she finally recognized the voice.
Elena opened the door.
“Mister Paul?”
“Elena!
You’re still awake!”
Her neighbor’s face lit up in relief.
Elena, however, was not pleased.
“What brings you here?”
“Hahaha.”
Mister Paul let out an awkward laugh at her sullen tone.
He glanced around nervously.
“Sorry to ask, but can we talk inside?”
He was clearly worried about being seen.
“If you were so concerned, why did you come?”
“Well, I need something….”
Of course.
She’d suspected as much.
There was no way the villagers could completely shun the owner of their only general store.
Still, she found Mister Paul’s audacity infuriating.
He was a middle-aged hunter.
He was the one who had refused to sell her meat just a few days ago.
‘When it’s inconvenient for him, he just plays dumb and looks the other way.’
“And why should I sell you anything?”
“Elena….”
“Even you can see there’s no reason for me to, right?”
Sweat beaded on Mister Paul’s forehead.
“Look, you know I couldn’t help it….
But please, Elena, I’m really sorry.
Can we just talk inside?”
Mister Paul was practically begging, his eyes darting around anxiously.
For a hunter, he was remarkably timid.
‘Well, that explains why he’s so afraid of Hans’s father.’
“Fine, come in.”
As Elena stepped aside, Mister Paul entered with a broad, ingratiating smile.
“Oh, thank you!
I knew I could count on you.
Huh?”
Hearing Mister Paul’s flustered exclamation, Elena realized she’d forgotten about Jayden.
With the entire village boycotting her store, Jayden’s presence had remained a secret.
“You… you have a guest?”
“Yes, I do,” Elena replied, too tired to bother with an excuse.
“When did a visitor come to the village?
I didn’t hear anything about it.”
Mister Paul eyed Jayden warily.
Jayden, for his part, simply stared back from his seat.
His posture was strangely familiar.
‘He looks just like he did when we first met.’
“So who is he?
A relative?”
She had no simple explanation for Jayden.
If she told him the truth—that she’d found him in her garden and he’d refused to leave—everyone would think she was insane.
“Is it important who he is?
Just state your business.”
Mister Paul hesitated for a long moment.
“Well… could I buy a pot?”
Elena stared at him.
“I dozed off and burned mine.”
“If you were in my shoes, would you sell it?”
“I’m really sorry.
But you know my hands are tied.
I can’t go against Jack’s orders.
If I get kicked off the team, I’ll starve.”
“You could have sold me some meat secretly.”
“I live alone!
They know exactly how much I eat.
How could I possibly sneak any out?”
The village was so small that everyone knew who got what from every hunt.
“I’ll share my portion with you for a month.
Please, just try to understand, huh?”
Knowing his situation, she couldn’t stay angry.
Hunting parties were a necessity here; the surrounding wilds were too dangerous to face alone unless one was exceptionally powerful.
Mister Paul couldn’t risk being ostracized.
Besides, he was the closest thing she had to a friend in the village, even if he was a coward.
‘At least he doesn’t treat me like a monster.’ Mister Paul was timid and followed the rules, but he wasn’t deeply prejudiced.
‘Compared to those who openly despise and fear me, his behavior is…’
And besides, a perfect opportunity had just presented itself.
“Alright.
I’ll give you the pot for free.
You don’t have to give me any meat, either.
Instead, I have a favor to ask.”
“…Suddenly, I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”
He was old enough to know nothing was free.
Mister Paul took a nervous step back, but Elena wasn’t about to let this chance slip by.
“Teach that man how to hunt.”
Mister Paul’s expression hardened.
But the first reaction came from Jayden, who had been listening quietly.
“Hunt?”
“Yes.
From now on, you’re going to learn how to hunt.”
“Elena, I never agreed to this!
No way!
I can’t teach him!” Mister Paul shouted, finally finding his voice.
“Why not?”
“He sounds like a complete beginner!
How am I supposed to take someone like that hunting?
And nobody knows he’s living here, right?
I’d have to teach him in secret!
I can’t hunt alone!
If he’s so desperate to learn, find someone else to go with us!”
Mister Paul protested, practically bouncing with agitation.
He wasn’t dismissing Jayden so much as stating the impossibility of the two of them hunting together.
He was truly the village’s biggest coward.
“Are you a hunter?”
The moment Jayden spoke, Elena felt a chill of foreboding.
He hadn’t shown that dangerous edge since they started living together, and she had almost forgotten it.
That flat, indifferent gaze.
The violence simmering just beneath the surface.
Mister Paul, too caught up in his panic, failed to sense the shift in the air.
Or perhaps he was just incensed by Jayden’s insolent tone.
“Yeah!
I’m a hunter!” he shot back, jabbing a finger at Jayden.
In that instant, Jayden’s eyes flashed, and his fist shot forward with blinding speed.
Elena reacted just as fast, throwing out her hand.
‘THWACK!’
Jayden’s fist stopped inches from Mister Paul’s nose.
‘I-I blocked it.’ She’d been on guard, but she hadn’t truly expected him to attack.
Even she was stunned.
Jayden’s gaze shifted to her, his expression asking a silent question: ‘Why did you stop me?’
“Wh-what… what was that…?” Mister Paul stammered, completely frozen.
He hadn’t even seen the punch coming.
For all his cowardice, he was a seasoned hunter.
He knew exactly how dangerous that attack had been.
“Why did you just attack him?” Elena demanded, turning on Jayden.
She couldn’t understand why his dormant violence had suddenly erupted.
She thought he’d been happy here; his entire demeanor had been softening day by day.
This sudden aggression infuriated her.
Her goal was a peaceful life, and she couldn’t tolerate such a volatile person.
“Why are you angry?” Jayden tilted his head, a look of genuine confusion on his face.
“You just attacked Mister Paul out of nowhere!”
“But you said hunters are worthless.”
It was the last answer she expected.
“Bad people need to be punished.”
‘That punch was far beyond a simple punishment.’
“If that had hit me, my head would have exploded…” Mister Paul muttered, the reality of the danger finally sinking in.
“Jayden, you don’t punish everyone who’s ‘bad’ like that.”
“If you don’t punish bad people, you’ll regret it later.”
What kind of life had this man lived?
For a fleeting moment, she considered pressing him for details about his past.
But only for a moment.
She had no desire to get entangled in his complicated history.
If it seemed he would drag her into his troubles, she would send him away.
For now, however, they were living together, and she couldn’t let this behavior continue.
“There are degrees of bad, Jayden.
There are people who are a little bad, and people who are very, very bad.
You go easy on the ones who are a little bad.
You only use your methods on the very, very bad ones.
Understand?”
She explained it as simply as she could.
“How do I tell the difference between ‘a little bad’ and ‘very, very bad’?”
“Well, that’s not something you can know right away.
We’ll learn it slowly, together.”
He nodded slowly.
Just as she thought he understood, he spoke again.
“But I don’t want to have regrets.”
Apparently, he didn’t understand at all.
“You won’t have any regrets this time.
So do not attack Mister Paul again.
Understood?”
He didn’t answer, which was an answer in itself.
It meant he was reserving the right to attack again at any moment.
“Mister Paul,” Elena said, turning to the terrified man and giving him a pointed look.
“You’re not going to harm Jayden, are you?
You have no intention of attacking him, now or in the future.
And you won’t do anything bad, right?”
The man’s eyes darted between them before he finally responded.
“R-right!
I’ll never, ever attack him.
And I won’t do anything bad!”
Jayden watched him with that characteristic, flat stare.
The aggression hadn’t faded.
“He has promised,” Elena said, her voice firm.
“Now, relax your fist.”
Mister Paul flinched, his gaze snapping to her.
She gave him a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
‘The moment I let go of his wrist, he’s going to attack again.’ She could feel the muscles in his arm twitching, coiled and ready.
Reading her signal, his face went white.
“I told you, I won’t attack!
I have no intention of being your enemy!
I’m a very good person!”
“But hunters are worthless.”
“Jayden, Mister Paul is a hunter, which means he’ll be a great help to us,” Elena interjected smoothly.
“Help?”
“Yes.
Because he’s going to teach you how to hunt.”
“Elena, I never said I would teach him—”
“Jayden, think about it,” Elena cut hi off.
“If you learn to hunt, we can eat all the meat we want, right?”