VIP Chapter 241: What Do You Think of Him? Iaar
Yamik Town.
This town is a transit point to the capital. If you want to enter the capital from the eastern side, this is the only way.
Peflan’s team set off from Yamik Town towards the capital. It took them about two days to arrive here—after all, they were a rescue team with the special privileges of the Adventurer’s Guild.
But…
Strangely, after inquiring around, Peflan didn’t hear any news of anyone related to Will or Shuna passing through here.
She guessed that they probably didn’t take a direct route to get here, but detoured from elsewhere. There are many small towns near the capital, and if they were truly trying to avoid notice, there would be at least five different towns they could have chosen as their stopping point.
It was just uncomfortable that…
As a relay point to the capital, many merchants passed through, and it was difficult to find accommodation without booking in advance.
Fortunately, they could be sponsored by the Adventurer’s Guild.
But…
This Adventurer’s Guild was dilapidated, not comparable to the Adventurer’s Guild in more prosperous areas.
The weather turned cold, and as they continued north, Peflan had someone light a fireplace to prevent everyone from catching a cold.
…
Late at night.
Iaar wagged her tail, watching the flames in the fireplace.
Everyone else had gone to sleep on the spot. After getting the information that the young master might not have taken the same path as them, she found it difficult to fall asleep—this was unusual for a “canine” creature who generally had good sleep quality.
“Speaking of which, the fact that half-beasts with ‘canine’ traits have better sleep quality was also something the young master told Iaar…”
The flames reflected in Iaar’s gray eyes.
Such flames reminded her of her childhood…
Stories from when she was very, very young—
Back then, the dog named “Sanqi” that Young Master Will kept had not yet passed away. She had just been assigned to Will’s side, told that he had chosen her, and that she would be his personal maid from then on, obeying his every command.
She didn’t understand Will yet and was still afraid of the “eccentric” young master that everyone talked about, the one who was served by so many people.
It was a winter day. Will stood by the fireplace, his back to the flames, looking at her.
But…
Afraid of Will, she didn’t dare to look up.
Although he seemed very “friendly,” dressed neatly and tidily, he was indeed the young master who lived in the Hysterm Family.
“Don’t be afraid. It’s so cold today… Hmm, did you just learn to brew tea? How about this, your first mission is to make me a cup of hot tea.”
“Tea…?”
She perked up her ears. Having only recently learned to speak, she didn’t quite understand what people were saying.
Especially someone like Will, who was so young yet spoke so formally for some reason.
“Hmm, it’s this thing.”
He pointed to a cup.
“Okay.”
It was her first time brewing tea, and her skill was so poor that even now, she couldn’t bear to look at the result. The tea leaves weren’t filtered very well, and even the water temperature was wrong, resulting in a strange, lukewarm taste.
She carried the tea, terrified that the “temperamental” young master would get angry and hit her after drinking it. But she was also resigned—her life before this had been spent in suffering in the forest, and perhaps getting hit was something servants like her had to endure.
If it was something she had to go through, there was no harm in it happening sooner rather than later.
When she returned, she saw the young master sitting in a chair, seemingly reading a newspaper—it was the first time she had seen a child her age who could understand “adult newspapers.”
“Tea… here…”
Not yet able to call him “Young Master,” she served the tea she had carefully brewed. As he picked up the cup, she fearfully retreated to the fireplace.
“Oh, let me try…”
Will picked up the tea and, after a sniff, frowned. But he still drank it.
“This taste, sigh, as expected…”
“I… I… I’m sorry!”
Before he could finish his sentence, Iaar apologized and stepped back until—
Until her tail accidentally caught fire in the fireplace.
For half-beasts, surviving in the human world, the most difficult thing to avoid was their external tails. They often knocked things over without noticing, were stepped on by others, or, like now…
Got burned by the fire.
“Eek… Woof woof woof woof…”
By the time she realized it, the flames had already singed a small part of her fur, and the searing heat was burning towards her skin.
She dropped the plate in fright, fanned the flames with her hands, and stumbled forward with tears in her eyes.
*Swoosh—*
At that moment, she felt a cool sensation spread from her burnt tail.
Will had poured the entire cup of incorrectly heated black tea he was holding onto her tail.
Thinking back now, the scene was a bit like him getting angry at his servant because the tea wasn’t good.
But when Iaar looked up, it was the first time she had met Will’s gaze for so long.
He wasn’t angry. Iaar couldn’t read expressions at that age, but she could sense his calm and even worried mood from the air with her keen sense of smell.
He…
He was indeed an “eccentric.”
He would always do strange things with his hands and wear such expressions.
“Sorry, your first cup of tea was used like this—but honestly, it tasted as bad as I expected.”
He suddenly smiled, a happy smile, and reached out to ruffle Iaar’s ear tip, making her tremble.
“You, as I expected… are very afraid of me.”
“It’s okay, we have plenty of time for all of that. We have a long time.”
…
“Can’t sleep? Why are you warming yourself by the fire?”
Iaar, who had been lost in memories while watching the flames, was called back by Peflan’s soft voice beside her.
“I’m very sleepy, but I really can’t sleep…”
“Are you worried about your young master?”
“Mhm…”
Peflan found this little maid’s thoughts very easy to read. Just by looking at her gaze at the flames, she could guess she was reminiscing about something interesting.
“I’m actually quite curious. Is that Will, Will Systom, really that charming? Not to mention you… even the princess who posted a wanted poster for him, and even Shuna, whom I consider very independent, seem to like him quite a bit.”
Iaar’s ears perked up.
“Yes… that’s how the young master is!”
“Shh… Everyone is sleeping…”
Iaar lowered her ears.
“Maybe it’s because he’s indeed very strange, but he has clear goals, is very proactive, and can arrange everything, which brings a sense of security.”
Iaar gently touched the collar around her neck.
She had actually worn many collars, but each one was personally given to her by the young master. She cherished them all and secretly kept them in her room—even though Will had told her to throw them away.
“I don’t know what he’s like to others. But he has the power to change me. Following him step by step, I can see my own progress and a better future.”
“Looking back, even though I’ve become a better version of myself, my trust and reliance on him have only deepened.”
“The sense of security he brings, like foreseeing ‘destiny’ and changing foundations, is… something I can’t let go of…”
Iaar rubbed the collar, not looking at Peflan as she said these words, but instead staring at the flames in the fireplace.
It was as if she was still lost in her memories.
“Oh? That’s quite unexpected. I thought perhaps he might get a review like ‘gentle,’ which is the kind of thing I’m tired of hearing from scumbags.”
“…Of course, the young master is gentle…”
Iaar pondered. While he would care for her after her strenuous training and provide her with good equipment and food.
However, the act of sending her to harsh training itself couldn’t be considered “gentle,” could it? Especially when he directly aimed the Extreme Flame Meteor at her.
“…Alright, maybe not…”
“That’s interesting.”
Peflan also sat down and took off the shawl draped over her shoulders.
“Then I can probably guess why Shuna is following him.”
“To harm the young master! Shuna, with her strange background, must be up to something!”
Iaar lowered her voice, but her words were very heavy.
“Hmm… Although I was the one who told you about Shuna’s somewhat odd identity, I don’t think she would harm your young master.”
“I don’t believe it!”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore. Your young master sounds quite interesting. Hmm… Don’t you think he has just as many questionable aspects as the dangerous Shuna we were talking about?”
“Huh?”
Iaar tilted her head.
She just realized it as well. Perhaps it was because she rarely interacted with anyone other than the young master—or rather, she rarely interacted with people who didn’t know Will—so this was actually…
Her first time “evaluating” Will.
Telling others about Will through her words, through her impressions.
“I’ve been a captain for many years and have led many team members—or rather, trainees. Honestly, changing oneself is difficult enough. To stably ‘change’ others, isn’t that even harder?”
“That…”
“To change others means you understand them very well. To foresee everything means you understand the future very well.”
“The young master often mentions words like ‘destiny,’ but… I always feel like he’s very pessimistic.”
“He… he often writes something in a red notebook, or flips through it, but he’s never shown it to us…”
“He always seems to know the turning points of certain events…”
Mentioning this, Iaar suddenly sensed something.
“Destiny… pessimism…”
“See, doesn’t he seem like someone who can see through your ‘future’?”
“…The young master wouldn’t harm Iaar!”
“No, no, no, sometimes suspicious points don’t necessarily mean harm—just like Shuna.”
“Hmm… Iaar thinks she understands what you mean. Although… she can’t quite express it…”
Iaar looked at the flames.
Perhaps because she had always been by Will’s side, using her canine intuition towards her master, Iaar could imagine the young master’s current state.
“Young Master… are you going directly to the capital… also because of the ‘destiny’ you always mention?”
Although Iaar was a bit slow, judging by the fact that she hadn’t received a reply to her letters and that so many ‘wanted posters’ had been put up, Princess Treya was probably also having a very difficult time.
Then…
Will, who knows about the “future” and “destiny,” the young master who had always changed them, would go to “save” her.
After all, that’s the kind of person he was.
But…
Why…
Iaar brought her tail around and slowly stroked it.
She felt…
A bit worried and uneasy.
