Pathfinder
Chapter Twenty
“Wow, we hit the jackpot!
180,000 gold!”
“Huh?
Really?”
Garam attempted to reach for her gun as she noticed the thugs’ attention fixated on her pouch, but the thugs were not fools.
Meanwhile, the man who had been holding Garam’s wrist continued to maintain a firm grip.
Rather than feeling intimidated, they seemed to enjoy Garam’s frustration.
One of them chuckled and looked down at her.
“We can sell the girl as a slave and keep the money.”
“How about having some fun before selling her?”
Another thug’s suggestion received nods of approval from the others.
It seemed like they were praising him, and compliments flowed back and forth among them.
“What a great idea!
I knew you were a smart person.”
“Haha, thanks.
You’re smart, too.”
Garam watched the scene in bewilderment.
Shouldn’t they just leave her if they were content with the money?
What could they do to her on a bustling street in broad daylight?
Anyway, as they were not satisfied with just the money and showed no signs of leaving, Garam could no longer negotiate, so she screamed.
They weren’t far from the main road.
Surely someone would come to help.
“Aaaah!
Help!
Kidnappers are here!
There’s a fire!
Heeeelp!”
Startled, one of the thugs quickly covered her mouth.
Garam tried to bite his hand, but he was skilled enough to prevent her from doing so.
“Quiet down!
Do you want to die?”
“Ugh, ugh!”
The thug’s hand smelled disgusting.
In her mind, Garam swore to herself that as soon as she had her hands free, she wouldn’t spare any of those scoundrels.
‘Let go!
You bastards!
Isn’t it enough that you took the money?’
In reality, in a place where human trafficking routes were quite well-established, it was not uncommon for kidnappers to sell their victims.
However, coming from a country known for its low crime rates, Garam had no way of knowing such things.
Anyway, what could she do?
Garam pondered, but no sharp ideas came to mind.
“It must be you who want to die.”
“Who the hell are y…?”
Garam had only shouted briefly, but it seemed someone had heard her.
The voice of a man suddenly appeared at the end of the alley, like a ray of light.
The thugs were startled by it, and one of them tried to scream in surprise.
However, the thug who shouted didn’t get to finish his sentence because the man rushed in and kicked his jaw.
Along with a cracking sound, the sound of bones dislocating was distinctly heard.
Then the fight began.
It wasn’t a particularly flashy fight, but with every punch and kick the man delivered, there were loud sounds of bones breaking and flesh being crushed.
Frantically, Garam pulled out her gun, keeping it aimed as she moved cautiously, although she didn’t pull the trigger because they were still fighting.
Still, since she wasn’t sure if this man might also be a bad guy, she didn’t lower the gun.
“Why are you asking my name when you don’t even know who I am?
You guys are really strange.
Why ask about that?”
In an instant, the man who had just thoroughly beaten up the gangsters grabbed Garam’s money pouch.
His silvery-white hair scattered as he lowered his head.
Between strands of silver, streaks of black hair were scattered here and there.
His tall stature of nearly 190 centimeters along with his solid body exuded an intimidating presence.
Wearing a beige shirt that hugged his body, a dark brown vest, and black pants, he seemed like a massive obstacle blocking the way.
“Who are you?”
Garam had heard what he had just said, but she couldn’t help but ask.
Was he another thug?
The man responded with a subtle smile to Garam’s suspicious gaze.
“Long time no see.”
Garam couldn’t help but wonder what kind of scoundrel he was.
Just like the previous one, was he trying to call himself her friend?
To her, who had just been lured into the alley by the gangsters pretending to be her friends, his friendly words were not reassuring at all.
With her finger on the trigger, aiming at the man’s thigh, Garam tightened her grip.
“It’s me, Trigger.”
“Huh?
What?”
“Yeah, it’s me.
Well, I guess you still don’t trust me, huh?
You’re Garam from another world, a pathfinder.
And you were fooled by Mordred.
And you’re here in this city to stay while your path recharges. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
We even roasted some meat tree fruit on the plain.”
“Really?
Is it you, Trigger?”
“You want more evidence?
Well, let me guess what can I tell you…”
The man who had called himself Trigger went on to share more details about Garam’s secrets.
Garam couldn’t believe that the man was really him, but at the same time, she couldn’t disbelieve it either.
Eventually, after hearing him talk about wiping away her tears and her runny nose with his tail, Garam admitted that it was him.
“It’s been a while.
Uh, Trigger, what’s going on here?”
“Okay.
Um, I just got to this city not long ago, but I heard a familiar voice, so I came over.
Seems like you’re always in danger.”
“And you always come to the rescue.”
“Well, yes.”
“But how did you become a human?
Do animals transform into people in this place?
Or, is it that you weren’t a tiger from the beginning?”
“Ah, it’s thanks to this.
I can’t stay transformed for long.”
After saying that, Trigger showed her a plant that was already quite familiar to her.
It had a unique scent and a familiar appearance—it was mugwort.
“This is mugwort, isn’t it?”
Garam recalled a Korean myth[footnoteRef:1] and made a peculiar expression.
[1: In this myth, a bear and a tiger desire to become human and pray to the son of the sky god who agrees but sets two conditions: they must eat only garlic and mugwort and stay in a dark cave for 100 days.
While the tiger fails, the bear succeeds and becomes a beautiful human female.]
‘So did he eat garlic too?
For a hundred days?
Was he with a bear?’
“You know, it tastes terrible and is hard to find, but when I eat it, it can turn me into a person for a day or two.
I was worried about you, so I ate this and came here.”
“If I go to a market and buy you a lot of mugwort, can you stay next to me as a human?”
“Well, I don’t think so.
The taste is too bad.”
“I see.
Too bad.”
Unable to force Trigger to eat something as unpalatable as mugwort, Garam didn’t ask him any further.
Being a human seemed to have made Trigger’s facial expressions even more expressive.
Garam couldn’t help but feel that he had become quite handsome as a human, although there was an awkwardness to it.
“But, where were you heading?”
“Oh, I was planning to buy a saddle.”
“You bought a horse?”
“Yes.”
“Well, do you know what you need to buy before riding a horse?”
“No.”
“Do you even know how to ride?”
“No.”
Trigger sighed, thinking that he had made the right decision to come along.
***
The two of them were walking back towards the main road.
The strange combination of a man with silver and black hair and an Asian woman drew quite a few curious looks from the people.
However, neither of them paid any attention to the stares.
“If I hadn’t come, what would you have done?”
In response to Trigger’s question, Garam raised her coat to reveal the handgun.
“What is it?”
Trigger looked at the gun with a puzzled expression.
It wasn’t a sword, and it didn’t seem to have any magical power.
It looked like a chunk of metal, like a toy.
Trigger couldn’t quite grasp what was so special about it.
“It’s a… gun.”
Garam replied quietly as they navigated through the crowded street.
Her voice was soft enough to get lost in the noise of the street, but Trigger managed to hear her words.
Garam was still getting used to saying that she was carrying a gun.
She had shown the weapon, but whether she would have actually used it on the group of thugs was questionable.
After a moment of contemplation, Garam concluded that she probably would most likely have used it.
“A gun?
What is a gun?”
“Don’t people have guns here?”
“No, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“So, do they have any long-range weapons?
Like a bow?”
“Yeah, there are bows.”
“It’s similar to a bow, then.”
“Where is the bowstring?
And the arrows?”
“I’ll show you later.”
Since Garam herself didn’t know much about guns, she didn’t give any further explanation.
Trigger seemed not to care, so he didn’t push the topic further.
Though he was curious, he accepted her promise to show him later.
Also, he saw that every time Garam talked about the gun, her expression darkened.
If Garam had led a normal life, she would hardly have any reason to handle something so dangerous.
Garam couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of melancholy whenever she thought about this fact.
“Here it is.”
The saddle shop was located near the horse market and was filled with the rhythmic sounds of leather work, creating a somewhat suffocating atmosphere.
The stench of horse dung from the nearby market was also quite intense.
Despite being called a saddle shop, Garam only knew a little about reins, stirrups, and the basic things used on a horse.
As she entered the shop, she was amazed by the variety and scale of the items available.
There were horse helmets with horn-like protrusions that resembled unicorns, horse armor for the back of the horse, knee guards, and strange leather and metal items whose purposes she couldn’t fathom.
Customers who entered the shop were quick to exchange a code-like word with the shopkeepers and receive their items without the need for haggling.
The rapid transactions of the customers coming and going made Garam think of the early morning markets in her world where seasoned traders made deals in a flash.
The scenes of the veterans’ transactions somehow intimidated Garam.
Meanwhile, Trigger, who had been inspecting the saddles, looked satisfied.
The saddles seemed quite nice.
“What kind of horse is it?”
“Just a big one.”
Trigger frowned at Garam’s answer and then sighed.
It was a large horse, not a pony.
That was all she knew.
Moreover, it was obvious that she had no knowledge of the horse breeds in that world.
“Is it a warhorse?”
“I bought the horse for about 3,000 gold.
They said he was a very good one.”
Trigger raised his eyebrows and then let out a sigh.
Had she been swindled?
No, more importantly, where did she get that 3,000 gold?
As far as Trigger knew, Garam was penniless.
They had only met a week ago, and she was saying she had paid 3,000 gold for the horse.
Garam explained the events of the past briefly to Trigger, who had a bewildered expression.
“It’s fortunate that you’re not short of money.”
“Trigger, if there’s anything you want, just tell me!
I’ll buy it for you.”
Trigger chuckled as Garam enthusiastically offered to buy him anything he wanted.
Garam’s face, which had been sulking when they parted earlier, now seemed to have regained its vigor, despite the recent incident with the thugs.
Trigger found it admirable and affectionately ran his fingers through Garam’s hair.
Garam was taken aback at first by this gesture, but then she softly asked a question.
“Trigger, about the mugwort…
I’ll keep buying it for you, so can you please stay in human form?”
“No, I can’t…”
“Why not?
Is it because it tastes bad?
Can’t you endure it for a little while?
In our world, we use them for cooking, and they taste good!
I can cook something for you, and it will be delicious!”
Garam knew she was pushing it, but she couldn’t help herself.
If taste was the issue, she could hide the flavor by giving him candy or something sweet.
She didn’t want Trigger to leave her side; he was one of the few people she could rely on in that unfamiliar world.
“No, I can’t.
To me, it’s as disgusting as it is for a human to eat feces.
I’ll think about it if you try eating feces.”
Seeing how genuinely Garam was contemplating his joke, Trigger clicked his tongue.
Did she really want him to stay with her that badly?
Obviously, knowing that she had lost her friends, her way of life, her family, and everything else in an instant, Trigger didn’t think that her sense of loss and loneliness would be small.
As he observed her, a pang of sympathy tugged at his heart, and he gently tapped her forehead.
“I said I’d think about it; I didn’t say I’d do it.
Anyway, I can’t go with you, even if you leave to search for that path thing or whatever.
“Why not?”
“I have my own life to live.
I can’t stray too far from the Beast plain.”
Trigger’s words surprised Garam.
She had assumed he would stay with her even if he turned into a tiger.
What was he talking about?
As Garam stood there in shock, Trigger returned with several items from the shopkeeper.
Only when she belatedly tried to pay did Trigger briskly walk away, carrying the saddle as if it weighed nothing.
“Hey, how much was it?”
“Not much.
Which way is your inn?”
Garam pointed out the direction, taken aback by Trigger’s sudden departure.
“Hey, you really didn’t have to pay.
I have a lot of money.”
“I know you have a lot of money.
I just wanted to buy it for you.”
Trigger was sorry that he couldn’t accompany her, despite being aware of her situation.
He knew how much Garam relied on him in that undoubtedly unfamiliar world.
Wasn’t the fact that Garam followed him like a duckling following its mother proof of this?
Originally, he neither liked nor disliked people, but seeing her following him like that was quite adorable, so Trigger wanted to help her in any way he could.
In response to Trigger’s resolute face, Garam smiled subtly.
Even though he currently looked like a human, it seemed like he had the determined face of a tiger, almost as if his fangs were overlapped with his own face.
“Alright.”
“Ahem.”
With that, Trigger, who had cleared his throat for no reason, headed to the inn with the horse equipment.
Garam was staying at a decent inn.
Just as he had described earlier, it wasn’t too expensive, nor was it of poor quality.
It was just the right inn.
Moreover, although the horse didn’t seem to be worth 3,000 gold, it was a pretty good horse.
He looked quite smart, not getting scared even when he saw Trigger, and his black eyes sparkled.
Furthermore, his hind legs looked juicy and chewy.
“Trigger?
What are you thinking?” Garam asked.
“Eh, nothing.
This horse looks quite delici- delightful.”