The Problem Is That the Enemy Country Is Too Warm

Charmaine’s body stiffened.

“Do you need anything else? If so then speak quickly and leave…”

“You’re really strange today. Anyway, I have to pay for the request.”

He extended a sturdy brown cloth pouch that seemed quite weighty.

Charmaine lowered her head.

“J-Just keep it. It’s—no, I’ll handle it on my behalf.”

Her voice, more rigid than when she commanded troops, flowed from her lips.

Unbeknownst to her, though she didn’t fully realize it, her voice sounded exceptionally harsh even to Charmaine herself.

Ahil’s expression subtly raised doubts.

“Weren’t you the one who said you would follow money to the ends of hell? This is really strange. Are you joking?”

“It’s not a joke. So please leave for today.”

“Well… I don’t really care. It’s just strange. Just take the money anyway, thanks.”

Fortunately, Ahil swiftly tossed the cloth pouch and didn’t linger, turning his body without delay.

He finally left.

As Charmaine relaxed belatedly and moved to close the door, Ahil turned around again.

“Charmaine Pepe.”

Oh no, please.

She groaned and tightly shut her eyes before opening the door once more.

“…What now?”

“What did you do?”

“…What?”

Charmaine’s body stiffened with tension.

“No, never mind. Why did I feel an enormous surge of mana… No, my mind must be messing up from staying up all night for a week.”

Ahil scratched his head, then disappeared in a flash-like smoke.

Finally, he was gone.

Charmaine, whose tension released belatedly, closed the door and leaned against the wall.

She was slightly out of breath from concealing her mana quickly.

After conversing with him, she suddenly realized she was in the midst of enemy territory, albeit belatedly.

If time hadn’t reversed and it was revealed that she was Charmaine, the commander of Lunteubel, she would have been torn apart on the spot. Their relationship was not good even at that time.

If she were caught with a sword pointed at her, she would have to fight back, but even Charmaine herself didn’t think she could survive in the midst of enemy territory. At least not in her current state.

She didn’t have any lingering attachments in life. She simply didn’t want to miss an opportunity to correct her mistakes.

Now there was definitely no sense of presence outside.

“Ah.”

Belatedly, Charmaine realized.

Six hours had passed since the closing time, yet she received a customer by chance.

She looked around as if she had committed a grave sin.

Even though no one was watching her, she still felt uneasy.

“What should I do?”

Fortunately, she received the money. That was a relief. If Ahil hadn’t thrown it, Charmaine would have sent him away.

The discomfort she felt now was much worse than when she missed training for a day due to her body being in poor condition.

What should I do about this?

Charmaine pondered with a face that seemed to carry all the worries of the world.

“…Huu. There’s nothing I can do.”

Inevitably, she created another small magical stone and placed it on the tray where she had placed the previous one.

I never thought that running a store would be this difficult.

When she used to walk through the city streets of Lunteubel, she thought merchants were happy because they laughed and greeted each other, but it seems that wasn’t the case.

Tomorrow, I must strictly follow the rules.

Although she hastily finished her work, she still felt more at ease than before.

“For now, it’s late, so I’ll continue tomorrow.”

Instead of going back to bed, Charmaine found herself sitting on the floor near the door, leaning against the wall, and gently closing her eyes, almost as a habit.

* * *

Flash!

Charmaine woke up at four in the morning.

It was her habit to wake up an hour early before changing shifts with her subordinates, to observe and prepare in advance.

Although there was no need for a shift change now, she still needed to prepare by doing a simple exercise and getting ready to open the store.

Charmaine stood up after a moment of organizing her thoughts.

But the next problem was clothing.

Charmaine, who had just come out of the bathroom attached to the room, opened the closet and looked inside gloomily.

“What on earth…”

All the clothes that the owner of this body had were light and colorful, reminiscent of butterflies or dragonfly wings.

It felt like they were meant to be worn by the Kenili spirits, the most beautiful spirits in the Kara Forest, as rumored.

The clothes were all bulky, not only hindering mobility but also lacking durability, to the point that they would be ruined with a single cut from a knife.

And most importantly, there were no pants to wear for exercise. No matter how hard she looked, there were only skirts of different lengths.

The most hesitant thing was that they all seemed like expensive clothes.

Of course, she had become somewhat desensitized since she realized it was before the outbreak of war, but the fact that she had to wear these clothes was still shocking.

“First, I’ll have to go out and get some clothes.”

Charmaine, who planned to change into exercise clothes, made up her mind to buy them first before going out for morning errands.

After rummaging through the closet for a while, she found the least decorated and dark-colored clothes.

Even that was a one-piece dress with white and purple frills, but it had the least decorations.

Once she put on the clothes, she felt a soft sensation against her skin and had an impulse to keep touching it.

The clothes she had been wearing until now, such as metal or leather armor and uniforms, were far from the soft texture.

“It’s not as bad as I thought…”

Charmaine uttered absentmindedly but stopped as soon as she felt her face heating up.

She reviewed the store rules that were attached to the wall while stretching her body, once again firmly imprinting them in her mind.

“10 a.m. in the morning, 6 p.m. in the evening. Don’t recommend items, one per person. Requests are once a week, buying and selling are separate. Exchanges are strictly prohibited.”

She couldn’t understand why it was so difficult to follow these simple rules yesterday.

Charmaine looked for a clock to keep track of time. Fortunately, there was a table clock thrown carelessly near the bedside.

It didn’t seem like an antique, so Charmaine took the clock and headed out.

Even though she moved leisurely, the surroundings were still dimly lit with the faint light of dawn.

“Ah.”

It was a fragrance that made her feel the scent of fresh life, not the pungent smell of death.

When was it? The last time I encountered such fresh air.

Charmaine reminisced about the distant past, taking in the fresh morning air deeply into her lungs.

And like she did every day, she began to stretch her body as usual.

Crack—

“…?”

I only bent my waist, so why did I hear such a sound?

Charmaine felt a slight difficulty and bent her waist in the opposite direction.

Crackle

Once again, the sound of bones readjusting pierced her ears clearly. Her face was already flushed.

No, what is wrong with this body…?

Charmaine couldn’t hide her astonishment.

It was the first time she experienced such a phenomenon where her bones seemed to readjust every time she moved.

“No, how long must she not have exercised to…”

Is it even possible to be like this?

How could it be this bad?

Since then, for quite a while, Charmaine had to stretch her body to the eerie sounds of popping and cracking.

She decided to skip the sword training she did every day until she bought new exercise clothes.

Not only was her body in poor condition and lacking a sword, but she also worried that this dress might get ruined.

As the sun rose and darkness receded, unseen scenery from the previous day came into view.

The first thing that caught her eye was the store run by the owner of this body.

The shop, with the grand name of <Charmaine’s Secret Antique Shop>, was more adorable and charming, resembling its owner, than its name.

The wooden signboard that seemed to have been made by someone was haphazardly stacked on a pile of stones, and there was no calligraphy as impressive as the name.

The roof was green, the walls were darker and redder than the color of the sun, and the inside was clean, but the four windows on the outside were still dirty.

And next to the door, there was a large cat statue that seemed like a guardian of this house, sitting prominently.

Surrounded by flowers and grass, it even looked like a small house that could come out of a fairy tale.

Charmaine walked out as if enchanted, following the path illuminated by the sun.

She also saw a store with a flower shop sign nearby. It seemed to be the store that the half-elf, who introduced herself as Miya, mentioned.

Passing by the nearby stores, elegant buildings and roads appeared, although not as grand as Lunteubel.

The shop owned by the owner of this body was located in one of the alleys in the heart of the capital.

As she emerged from the narrow alley that was wide enough for only one carriage to pass, a road appeared that seemed three times wider than that.

Charming shops and carriages bustling even in the early morning.

And at the end of her gaze, she could see a large clock tower.

To the people here, it would just be a mere milestone indicating the time.

But Charmaine was familiar with that clock tower.

A protective barrier was installed in it to protect the capital, and when the activation word was shouted, a protective shield would be created.

It indeed served the purpose of protecting the people of the capital.

She also knew who built it.

It was the protective barrier that the Magic Tower Lord, Ahil Duff, installed himself upon the king’s request.

And the one who shamefully destroyed it was none other than herself.

Not only did she attack without hesitation as soon as she received her orders, but she also brought the victory that Rakan desired. And…

‘Charmaine Noelle Kenders. At last, I order you to die.’

Charmaine gritted her teeth, then a sudden headache tormented her. She was out of breath again.

She could hear voices in the distance.

Thanks to that, she quickly snapped out of her reverie and hurriedly turned around and returned to the store.

The store had no front yard, but there was a small and charming backyard behind it.

It was a perfect space with a chair to sit on and spend time alone.

However, it seemed to have been neglected. Summer was approaching, but the backyard was still covered in fallen leaves that seemed to have fallen in the last autumn or winter, numerous spiderwebs, all kinds of trash and dust, all of which welcomed Charmaine.

There was also a small stone wall, which would look beautiful if it were clean.

“I should clean up here as well.”

Although she was supposed to do her morning training, she had no sword, and with the current condition of her body, she decided to replace it with cleaning.

Charmaine found a broom that seemed to have been abandoned nearby and started cleaning once again.

Rustle

Swish!

In an instant, Charmaine swiftly moved the broom she was holding and aimed the end of the broom toward someone.