Chapter 201: Women Aren’t as Fun as Dwarf Three-row Chess

RUSTLE RUSTLE RUSTLE~

「One mile east of the Dome Pillar.」

Following a rustle of leaves and branches, Clara emerged from the woods, torch in hand, and trotted toward the Bear Cave by the small creek.

Standing behind a pile of stones as tall as a person, she called out in a low voice:

“Furen, it’s me.”

“…Coming!”

Soon, a scuffling sound and a familiar voice came from inside the cave.

Before long, a few stones from the top of the pile were moved away, and Furen’s face appeared in the opening.

“Why did you come at night? It’s so dangerous.”

“Cersei just went to the Dome Tree looking for you. I figured I’d come tell you and bring you some food.”

“Oh? Really?”

Furen froze. He quickly removed another layer of stones, then took Clara’s hand and helped her climb inside.

THUMP~

Landing steadily on her feet, Clara took off her backpack and glanced around.

The campfire was burning low. Beside it, a small iron pot held the dregs of some congealed meat broth. A few meters away lay a fairly flat stone, upon which sat a chessboard and its pieces.

Miscellaneous items were piled in a corner, covered by a layer of banana leaves, with a sleeping bag draped crookedly over them.

It wasn’t filthy, but it was a long way from ‘tidy’.

Even Furen himself looked a bit scruffy—

His collar was dotted with bits of grass, and his golden hair was a mess.

It wasn’t his usual style.

‘He must be finding the loneliness unbearable, with no energy to tidy himself up.’

“Yes, she left about an hour ago. I came looking for you as soon as I confirmed she was gone.”

A moment later, Clara looked away from the surroundings and back to Furen. “Everyone else is asleep. Nobody followed me.”

“So what did Cersei do when she found out I was gone?”

Furen asked nervously, “And why did she come looking for me?”

“She just asked where you were.”

Clara answered truthfully. “We all said we didn’t know, and she didn’t press the matter.”

“Probably another one of my sister’s schemes.”

Furen sighed in relief. “Good thing I hid ahead of time.”

“So, have you been all right these past two days?”

Clara asked with concern, “Have you run into any danger?”

“Don’t worry, I’m doing great here!”

Furen suddenly grew inexplicably excited, his voice rising. “Every day, besides eating and sleeping, I spend all my time playing chess. It’s incredibly fulfilling!”

…

‘How is that fulfilling in any way?’

Clara froze. She glanced at the scavenged chessboard by the fire, completely unable to comprehend what fun could be had in playing chess against yourself.

However, seeing that Furen seemed genuinely happy, she relaxed, crouched down, and started taking things out of her backpack.

“I brought you salt, crackers, and bread.”

“And a piece of cured meat, a few sausages, some cheese…”

As she spoke, Clara pulled out one bag after another, quickly forming a small pile.

Furen helped move the items to a corner of the cave, asking with a hint of anticipation,

“By the way, have you heard anything from Lu Wei?”

“Not yet.”

Clara shook her head, retying her now-empty backpack. “But it’s only been two days. Let’s just wait a bit longer.”

“Oh, right. No rush. As long as I don’t have to go back, I could stay here forever.”

Furen scratched his head, looking completely content. “I’ve got food and drink, and I can play chess. There’s no way I’ll get bored.”

“Ugh…”

‘Here we go again!’

‘Is playing chess really that fun?’

‘Is it more fun than me??’

‘I’ve been here all this time, and you’re not even a little bit excited to see me!’

‘All you can talk about is chess!’

‘Fine, I’ll leave!’

‘You can spend the rest of your life with your Dwarf Three-row Chess!’

With her hands on her hips, Clara glared at Furen. Being a straightforward person, her annoyance was written all over her face.

But Furen was not only completely oblivious, he was even digging his own grave by continuing to ramble on:

“I suddenly realized how fun it is to play chess against myself.”

“At first, I imagined my right hand as myself and my left hand as Lu Wei, but I could never win.”

“Then I imagined my left hand was Bai Ya, but I still couldn’t win.”

“After that, I suddenly realized it wasn’t that I couldn’t win, but that I couldn’t deceive myself.”

“So I started trying to play without assigning any identities…”

Like a ‘Dwarf Three-row Chess Master’ living in seclusion, Furen must have been desperate to share his joy, because he suddenly began to hold forth.

His behavior was like meeting your long-distance girlfriend, getting a hotel room, and then launching into a detailed lecture on the finer points of executing a four-hit combo in a video game—

Either his brain wasn’t working right, or his other head wasn’t.

In any case, one of his heads definitely wasn’t thinking straight.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t pull a stunt like this.

And naturally, Clara was absolutely fuming.

‘Do you even hear yourself talk?!’

‘What’s all this about your left hand and right hand! Are you really just playing chess?!’

“Since playing chess is so much fun, why don’t you just keep playing!”

“I’m leaving!”

A few minutes later, Clara finally couldn’t stand it anymore. She turned and stormed off, leaving Furen to stare after her in astonishment.

“Huh? You’re leaving already?”

Furen froze, then hurried after her. “Let me walk you back. It’s late, and the forest is too dangerous at night.”

…

‘So you *do* know it’s late!!!’

‘Why don’t you take a wild guess as to why I came all the way out here to find you so late at night?!!’

…

…

“I understand.”

「Silver Moon Corridor, Reception Hall.」

Freya slowly set down her teacup, the porcelain making a soft, crisp clink against the silver tray.

She showed little surprise upon hearing the news of Furen’s disappearance.

It was entirely predictable.

She could even guess where Furen was hiding—

It had to be near the Dome Pillar, no more than two miles away at the farthest.

Of course, even in such a small area, it would be difficult for Gante and Cersei to find him on their own.

They could post a request and have other Adventurers search for him.

But Furen wasn’t an idiot. He would surely move to a new location the moment he was discovered.

So, she would have to talk to Lu Wei.

After all, from the looks of it, they would have a hard time taking Furen away without Lu Wei’s approval.

“Does Heitai Town have a bank?”

After a moment of thought, Freya turned to Gante.

“No.”

Gante answered immediately. “The Adventurer Association can exchange promissory notes and bills of exchange from the Caluns Duchy’s bank, but only for denominations of 5 Gold Coins or less.”

Freya asked again, “How much cash did we bring this time?”

“About 30 gold left.”

“Why so little? Didn’t I tell you to bring more?”

Frowning, Freya’s tone turned noticeably icy.

Gante quickly lowered his head and explained, “My Lady, we originally brought 50 gold, but renting out the entire inn cost a portion, and then to ensure they took good care of Young Master Furen, I…”

“Enough. Say no more.”

Freya waved her hand impatiently, unpinned the family crest from her chest, and tossed it onto the table with a cold expression.

“Tomorrow, go to the Adventurer Association and borrow 30 gold from their president. Tell him it will be returned within a month, and I will pay interest at the highest legal rate.”

“Ah, yes!”

Gante quickly picked up the crest. “I’ll go first thing in the morning!”

“Also, post a secret request. Find a few people with Stealth Skills and have them come see me.”

“Hmph. I’d like to see what secrets he’s really hiding.”

Freya narrowed her eyes and turned to look out the window at the deep night.

Outside, the lights of Heitai Town twinkled like stars in the darkness.

The corners of her lips curled into a faint smile, as if mocking her own absurd speculation.

“The Dusk Shadow Association?”

“How could that be possible.”