Future Knight

Chapter 71

“If possible, keep infusing mana. Unless you want to become half-human.”

“Grrk!?”

Loki, startled by the idea of becoming half-human, infused the belt with mana with all his might.

Then, a bright light engulfed Loki’s entire body, and his brightly glowing body began to shrink gradually.

Kang Chan watched in amazement, alternating his gaze between Loki and Zikyon.

After about a minute, the dazzling glow gradually subsided, and when the light completely disappeared, Loki, who looked entirely different, sat in front of Kang Chan and Zikyon.

He looked completely different from the ogre image.

“What, what happened to me?”

The voice that came out of Loki’s mouth was as beautiful as a jade marble rolling.

The appearance of Loki, who had been an ogre, turned into a delicate pretty boy who looked like he could break at the slightest touch.

Kang Chan was momentarily at a loss for words at Loki’s distinctly changed appearance. Then he looked at Zikyon and asked.

“Is that your preference?”

“How is it? Do you like it?”

“……”

An ogre, a symbol of strength and destruction, now looked like a delicate pretty boy… It was an incredibly perverse taste.

Loki cautiously lifted his hand.

Instead of the large and rough ogre’s hand, it was now transparent and delicate.

“This, is this, am I human…?”

Loki slowly looked around.

Everything felt enormous.

No, he had become smaller.

Loki jumped up from his seat and looked down at his body in amazement.

The body he saw was naked.

The underwear he wore as an ogre had now become too large.

The only thing the pretty boy Loki wore was the belt that Zikyon had given him.

However, Loki didn’t seem to find this embarrassing, and he jumped up and down on the bed, shouting with excitement.

“I became human! Hahaha!”

Loki’s excitement was contagious, but Kang Chan frowned at the sight of something bouncing wildly up and down with him.

“Hey… could you cover up?”

“Huh? Oh? You mean my thing?”

“Y-yeah, that damned thing…”

While Loki wandered around naked looking for something to cover himself, Zikyon, who had been pondering, called Loki.

“Hmm, you ended up naked due to the size difference… I didn’t consider that. I need to add a function. Hey, ogre! Come here.”

Loki, roughly covering himself, approached Zikyon at her call, and she began to unfasten Loki’s belt.

It looked a bit awkward, a woman like Zikyon unfastening the belt of the almost naked Loki, but no one seemed to mind.

When the belt was removed, Loki was once again engulfed in a glow and soon returned to his gigantic ogre form.

Loki, who had been so excited, spoke in a downcast tone.

“Grrk… So the magic is undone when the belt is removed?”

“Even a dragon can’t permanently change species with magic. That’s something only a god can do.”

Zikyon responded in a cold tone and added a clothing creation function to the belt.

“Here, put on the underwear and transform again.”

“Grrr, understood.”

Loki put on the leather underwear he originally wore and, placing the belt on his finger, infused it with mana, transforming back into the delicate pretty boy.

This time, he was not naked but clothed.

However, the clothes Loki wore were not male attire.

“Hey, Zikyon! What did you make him wear?”

“Why? Doesn’t it suit him?”

“……”

The clothes Loki wore were very similar to Zikyon’s female attire.

There was no need to mention that the style was revealing.

Unfortunately, the slender body Loki transformed into somehow made the clothes look good on him.

In fact, he looked better than if he had been wearing men’s clothes.

But regardless, the expression on Kang Chan’s face as he looked at Zikyon was singular.

“My friend is a pervert…”

—

22. The Merchant Myu Kalina

Traditionally, the ones who profit the most during wars are undoubtedly the merchants.

Of course, there are cases of unavoidable losses due to issues like rampant thieves exploiting lax security or forced requisitions, but those are stories of small trading companies.

The larger the trading company, the more endless methods they had to bear such losses and reap even greater profits.

It was nearly impossible to get what you wanted during wartime.

This was because almost all production across every sector had nearly ceased.

So, the first thing people did before war broke out was to hoard supplies.

However, the longer the war dragged on, the more the meaning of hoarding faded, and eventually, a time came when everything dried up.

At that time, the prices of food and medicine skyrocketed the most.

This was because food and medicine were the most necessary items during the war.

Merchants waited for this exact moment.

With capital and intelligence far beyond that of civilians, they started hoarding large quantities of food and medicine in advance.

After the war, the prices of their goods soared tens to hundreds of times, but people were just grateful to be able to buy them, so they all bought up whatever was available.

If that still wasn’t enough, they organized large merchant groups to move to other regions untouched by war to procure and sell goods.

It was only a matter of time before they sat on piles of money.

Some merchant groups even made money dealing with the state.

Such groups were renowned on the continent, supplying weapons, horses, and provisions to make money.

Of course, doing business with a warring nation meant they had to align themselves well.

A wrong alignment could not only mean no profit but also jeopardize the existence of the entire merchant group.

However, the greater the risk, the greater the potential profit compared to trading with civilians.

This was because wealthy kings and nobles did not have a clear sense of money.

Additionally, there was a way to make a lot of money through illicit means.

That was human trafficking.

Even during war with weakened security, the merchant groups had the most powerful forces aside from the military.

They spared no expense in gathering private soldiers and mercenaries.

This was because there were many thieves targeting their goods.

Among the many ways for these powerful groups to make money easily was human trafficking.

This place did not follow the logic of human rights like the future Earth.

No one guaranteed the human rights of those kidnapped and sold.

The chance of someone kidnapped and sold to another region returning home was almost zero.

Even as a corpse, that was the case.

* * *

On the fifth day of departure.

Thanks to Loki’s help, Kang Chan and his party left the forest in just two days and finally arrived at a village.

It was the first human village they reached.

The feelings of Kang Chan, Erika, and Loki upon arriving at a human village were unique.

For Kang Chan and Erika, it was their first time leaving the Elven forest and arriving at another race’s village, making it a new experience.

For Loki, the fact that no one screamed or feared him was enough to bring tears of joy.

Only Zikyon silently sneered at Kang Chan, Erika, and Loki as he watched them.

“They look just like country mice coming to the city…”

Zikyon, looking disdainfully at the group staring blankly at the village, raised his voice.

“Hey! Hey! Why are you all making those faces at this country bumpkin village? Stop embarrassing yourselves and let’s go eat.”

“Yeah, lead the way, Zikyon.”

With Kang Chan in the lead, Erika and Loki lined up behind Zikyon.

Zikyon was the only one who had experience in the human world.

Zikyon, with an exasperated look, opened his mouth while staring at the three.

“Am I your nanny?”

“Oh great and mighty one, please guide us foolish ones… happy now?”

“……”

The thought of a grand dragon like himself having to take care of such pathetic beings made Zikyon’s head ache once more.

* * *

Arwen Village, located on the border of the Montana Mountain Range, was a small village with a population of fewer than 200 people. However, it was situated on the trade route with the Dwarves, so wealthy merchants constantly visited.

Such a small village suddenly became bustling.

“Hey, look over there! They’re all really pretty!”

“Where? Wow! They really are pretty! Hey! It’s an Elf!”

“An Elf?!”

“Look at the ears! The ears!”

“Wow! It’s really true!”

The young men of the village were mesmerized by Erika as they looked at Kang Chan’s group entering the village.

Elves were not common in the human world.

In terms of appearance, Zikyon was not inferior to Erika, but just the name ‘Elf’ alone was enough to make Erika the dream of young men.

“Oh, the green-haired woman next to her is stunning too…”

“She really is stunning.”

Afterwards, the men’s gazes fixed on Zikyon’s chest.

Annoyed by the sticky stares of these human males, Zikyon snapped at the nearest one.

“What are you looking at? Got something to stare at?”

“Whoa! Pretty face, but a terrible personality.”

“What did you say? Try saying that again!”

As Zikyon tried to charge at the muttering man, Kang Chan hurriedly grabbed her.

“Hey, calm down!”

“Let me go! Aren’t you letting go? Hey, you! Stop right there!”

Kang Chan clung to Zikyon, barely holding her back. If left unchecked, something serious could have happened.

“Please, don’t cause any trouble and just let it go, Zikyon. I’m begging you.”

“Ugh! My temper’s really calmed down! If this were before, I’d turn this trashy village to ashes in a second.”

“You can come back and destroy it next time. Just hold back for now.”

“I’m holding back because of you! Ugh!”

Kang Chan managed to calm the highly irritated Zikyon with difficulty, ignoring the stares of the onlookers, and headed to the nearest inn.

However, as soon as they entered the inn, Kang Chan’s group once again attracted everyone’s attention.

Even the usually indifferent Kang Chan felt uncomfortable.

But they had to ignore it.

Since they weren’t planning to stay long in the village, they couldn’t afford to cause trouble and delay their journey.

“What are they…?”

Kang Chan quickly covered Zikyon’s mouth as she was about to snap again.

“Zikyon, just hold on. Let’s eat, get the horses, and leave as soon as possible.”

“Fine!”

Zikyon’s slightly angry expression made her look even more attractive.

“Welcome. Are you just here for a meal, or will you be staying?”

“Just a meal.”

“Yes, yes. This way, please.”

As they followed the staff to an empty table, whistles sounded from various corners.

The atmosphere of the people in the restaurant seemed different from those in the village.

They all had rough faces and were dressed as travelers, indicating they were not locals.

Judging by their heavy armor, they didn’t seem to be ordinary people.

After placing their orders, Kang Chan asked the staff.

“Is there a place nearby where we can get horses?”

“You’re looking for horses?”

Kang Chan nodded, and the staff made a troubled expression.

“Well, you probably won’t be able to find horses in our village right now.”

“Why not?”

“Two large merchant groups are staying in our village right now, and they’ve bought all the horses. If you need horses, you’ll have to speak to them.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re right in front of you…”

The staff cautiously pointed to the rough-looking people at another table, and Kang Chan nodded.

“Hmm, thanks. You can go now.”

When Kang Chan waved his hand dismissively, the staff, who had hoped for a tip, frowned and returned to his place.

“Zikyon, what should we do? They’ve bought all the horses.”

“Then we’ll just take them. What’s the problem?”

That was a very dragon-like mindset.

Living with Zikyon seemed to be making Kang Chan more like her, as he found himself accepting her way of thinking more positively.

“Right, let’s eat first.”