Blood Moon Rising Over The Plains - Chapter 4: Overpowered (5)

“You’re late.”

“…Isn’t this fast enough?”

His hair, which had been neatly braided and tied, was disheveled and tangled with clumps of dirt, a complete mess. The ragged clothes draped over his lean but muscular body made him look like a beggar.

Buka threw down a sack dripping with blood onto the ground, protesting against Temujin’s nagging.

“I rushed over and took care of it quickly when you were going to go the next morning at dawn.”

On the very day the order to strike Daedong was given, he had ridden alone, swiftly beheaded the lord of Daedong and his generals, and even the deputy generals below them. Yet, all he heard was, “You’re late,” just one sentence.

Whenever he heard it, his Khan’s standards were harsh. Buka had already given up on praise and was grateful if he didn’t get nagged like this, but even that failed today.

“You didn’t make a ruckus, did you?”

“Do you think I’m the Khan? Of course, I took care of it quietly. If you go tomorrow, you’ll be able to receive their surrender quickly.”

Originally, a unit scraped together from commoners would quickly scatter once its leader disappeared. He had taken care of not only the generals but also the deputy generals below them, so they wouldn’t be able to change the course of this war or proceed as planned.

“Good.”

“Let’s roughly accept their surrender and cross over to Zhongdu. Huchite and Bayan are waiting with bated breath.”

“Those guys don’t have much patience.”

No matter how impatient they are, they can’t be as bad as the Khan… If they knew that they had heard these words from the Khan, they would surely be dumbfounded.

“But what about the Khatan (title referring to the Khan’s wife)? Why are you out here like this? You were so eager to be with her every moment.”

“I put her to sleep and came out. Wasn’t I unable to go in because I was waiting for you?”

No wonder he was so harsh today. At first, he was debating whether to take her as a wife or a concubine, but now he had changed completely, as if he were ready to offer her the country. It wasn’t strange that he was reminded of the kings who had ruined their countries by being blinded by legendary beauties.

“…You haven’t even had a proper conversation with her yet, and you’re already so smitten. Are you going to offer her the country?”

Mongols don’t know how to beat around the bush. Even Buka, who used his head instead of strength like a mutant among them, was no exception.

“Hmm, isn’t the country not enough?”

“……”

Like most Mongols, Temujin, who came from nomadic origins, wandering without settling land, had no attachment to land or country. He simply swept away anyone who got in his way, and as a result, he was praised as Khan and then Great Khan, and came to possess the land called Mongolia.

“Yes, give her your liver or your gallbladder, do as you please.”

Perhaps it was fortunate that the foreigner had no greed. She was different from the tenacious women who approached the Khan under the orders of their fathers.

The clear blue eyes shining brightly on her delicate face, which rarely showed any expression, resembled the water of a river. They were different from the eyes that had caused the Khan to be abandoned at once, cursed.

A woman whose slender waist was more prominent, slightly different from the delicate beauty standards of the Jin.

She had no interest in flashy gold ornaments, and the only things she seemed interested in were fruits. At first, she was afraid of the Khan, but now she even took refuge behind his back. That was the Khan’s woman as Buka saw her.

“Well, at least the Khan’s clothes will become more splendid now.”

It is the wife’s role to embroider and decorate her husband’s clothes. And the husband proudly cherished and wore them as if showing them off.

“Umm.”

The Khan groaned at Buka’s words. Would the fairy who claimed to have done nothing really know how to embroider…?

Buka, unaware of this fact, expressed doubt, while Yeojin, the subject of this story, was quietly fast asleep inside the ger.

***

Was war originally supposed to end this quickly? I was dumbfounded as I was held by Temujin, who had confidently arrived in Daedong, and entered the castle along with him.

The seat where the highest-ranking person would sit. Temujin strode towards the only chair placed above a few steps in the center of the castle, spread his legs wide, and sat down with a thud. He sat me on his lap, and my eyes trembled finely at this situation.

Following Temujin, hundreds of subordinates knelt on one knee in the large hall and prostrated themselves.

He had clearly said that he would strike the stronghold of Daedong before heading to Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin, and I thought that the real war would now begin. So, I was nervous and had set the safety alarm to Auto.

But when I actually arrived in Daedong, white flags were waving, and the castle gates were wide open. I thought it might be a trap, but Temujin and Buka, who were leading the way, confidently turned their horses into the castle as if this situation was not strange at all.

Really, it was an incomprehensible matter.

“[Prepare a meal for now. Full of various foods. Bring soldiers or whatever and have them eat it to see if it’s poisoned, and then bring it to me.]”

“[Yes, Khan.]”

“[Where is the lord’s room?]”

“[I will guide you.]”

Buka got up and moved somewhere. Temujin was about to move as well, so I gestured for him to put me down, but he ignored my gaze and didn’t let go of the hand holding me.

Thin, airy silk fell generously over Temujin’s arm. The fabric of his sleeves also covered Temujin’s shoulders, covering half of his drab attire with a contrasting, flamboyant color.

It was probably over a meter. I felt it was big, but sitting on his arm like this made Temujin’s tall height feel even more real. I wonder if the scan will show his height?

I didn’t dislike being raised higher than Temujin’s line of sight. Rather, I found it fascinating. Even though I had often flown on maglev trains or one-person aircraft. Even though I could fly with gravity shoes right now.

It was rare for my line of sight to be raised without any of my own will.

Buka walked ahead and showed Temujin a very ornate door. Gold decorations were attached to the elaborately carved wooden door in abundance.

“[It’s plastered with gold.]”

“[That’s exactly what I thought when I saw this.]”

Buka shrugged, muttering something.

Buka opened the door, and Temujin stepped into the room with me still in his arms.

Thud, the heavy door closed. Only after the interior became quiet did Temujin put me down on the floor. I immediately looked around.

Ornaments made of blue jade and furniture decorated with gold, silk fabrics hanging everywhere. So, this was the style of decoration at this time.

I was amazed by how the white porcelains were drawn, with detailed depictions of ascending dragons, and the bedding of the canopied bed was also fascinating.

I sat down on the soft bedding as if throwing myself onto it. The fluffy bedding that supported me felt very smooth to my touch.

The red cloth, with only a glimpse of its silhouette, was tied well to the canopy’s pillars, but it was soon untied by my hand and smoothly wrapped around the bed.

In the future, all there were were round sleep capsules, so this was the first time I had used a bed like this. I took off my shoes and placed them on the floor, sent the swaying pouch from my side above my head, and rolled around on the bed with both legs up. It was something I couldn’t do in the capsule, which was only for one person.

Rustle—

The red cloth spread smoothly, as if expressing its soft texture just by hearing it. Temujin revealed himself through the gap.

“Is it fun?”

“Yeah. It’s wide. Do you want to come too, Temujin?”

“It’s good to enjoy yourself, but you have to eat.”

I didn’t need a separate meal time before. The fruits here are delicious, but it’s also annoying at times like this. Temujin hugged me and moved away from the bed to the square table in the center of the room.

Whether someone had brought it while I was looking around, the table was full of plates containing various foods. In addition, there were several bottles of alcohol.

“Why, do you want to try drinking?”

“No. I don’t drink alcohol because it tastes bad.”

“You have a child’s palate.”

Temujin chuckled and brought an unfamiliar fruit to my mouth. I chewed and swallowed it, shaking my head.

“Where I was, people don’t drink much alcohol. Because they don’t get drunk.”

“They don’t get drunk?”

“Yeah. I don’t get sick. So, alcohol is useless.”

“What does sickness have to do with alcohol?”

Ah, these people don’t know about alcohol detoxification ability or antibodies. I racked my brains to make Temujin understand.

“Umm—people who get drunk, this is weak.”

I raised my hand and pointed to the location where the liver would be.

“And?”

“Alcohol—bad thing? This gets rid of the bad parts. We like that. Here, it gets rid of the bad things from other things, and here, other bad things can’t come.”

I pointed to several organs in a row. I wonder if he understood this much? When I stared at Temujin, Temujin soon nodded.

“I understand what you mean. You’re saying [poison] doesn’t work?”

“[Poison]?”

“Dangerous, bad things that you eat.”

Ah, is he talking about things like poison? Viruses and poisons are different. But in the future world, there was no need to check for antibodies to poison, so I didn’t know for sure about this part either. Would I know if I checked with Noah?

“I don’t know.”

I hesitated and honestly shook my head. Temujin didn’t ask any further and passed me the white flesh of grilled fish. I hate the fishy smell. When I pushed away the chopsticks, Temujin didn’t urge me any further and moved it to his own mouth.

Next was brown seasoned vegetables. I sniffed and smelled it before putting it in my mouth. This is okay. Soon after, white rice entered my mouth.

The body, which had only eaten meal capsules every day, had somehow gotten used to the food here. Even when eating rice and meat, the queasy feeling in my stomach was less than before. Still, I felt a bit of resistance.

With a few flicks of my chopsticks, various foods entered my mouth and filled my belly. Soon, feeling bloated, I covered my mouth with my hand and shook my head vigorously. Temujin, with a dissatisfied look, stared down at his chopsticks before picking up a fruit basket.

“If you don’t like rice, at least have some fruit.”

“Um, you don’t have to make me eat so much…”

“What are you going to do with that skinny body?”

I didn’t think I was that skinny. I’d maintained an average weight until now. The last body scan also came back normal. Though the nutritional imbalance remained.

Still, I should eat this since it’s delicious. I swallowed the juice filling my mouth. Ah, I spilled some. I reflexively raised my hand to the juice running down my cheek, but Temujin moved faster.

“Mmm.”

Tilting my head back at the warmth on my neck, Temujin unhesitatingly sucked up the juice on my skin. The strong suction felt like it would devour me, and my skin tingled, but the ticklish sensation was greater.

“Ugh, ah…”

As my body leaned back in the backless chair, a firm arm came behind me to support me. We were together every day, but he always pressed close as if it wasn’t enough. If I didn’t have the contraceptive patch, I might have been pregnant a hundred times over.

After sucking up all the juice, his lips moved down my neck again, parting my collar and caressing the soft skin inside. Temujin raised his head at my small voice.

“Is there something you want to ask?”

“Do you like doing this?”

“…Are you saying, Yeojin, that you don’t like [lovemaking] with me?”

Temujin, his face stiff, asked something in an uncharacteristically insecure voice. The subject was missing again here. But from the surrounding sentences, it wasn’t hard to guess what he wanted to ask.

“No, it’s the best so far.”

“…So far?”

“Yeah.”

“Were you perhaps married?”

“No.”