Chapter 11
When the next morning came, Jess woke up but Shad was nowhere to be found.
She had noticed that all of his belongings had also been gone overnight. As if they were never there.
Everything had went back to when they hadn't met yet.
'Huh? Why?'
Jess did not understand. More than how things were gone overnight, he actually left already. Without saying anything. No notes. No goodbyes. It was like last time again!
How could he?
She was distraught when she saw things taking place outside. In the empty lot behind Shad's fields.
He even left his precious fields. He really did. If not, how could people just go there? If he was there, no one would've dared close. Now, they were building a house.
Jess was almost on tears.
"Ahoy, Ms. Jess!" the cheerful hunter, Grab, was then there, building that house.
He was slapping together a wooden plank and some bought hinges. Nearby, there was the old hunter Joseph, wearing a hat, along with his apprentice, hammering nails on wooden planks.
Carrying woods from afar, men soon arrived. There were several familiar faces that were workers in the chief's flour shop.
They were building a cabin.
"Mr. Grab, what are you guys doing here?"
The square face middle-aged hunter turned toward her, sweat on his brow, and the same huge grin of his face. He held his hammer like it was prized sword. Oddly, this fit him better than that of a hunter.
"Oh! Building a house!" he said cheerfully, but Jess could not tell the real intentions behind his words.
A house? Jess knew the lot was not for sale. But seeing that a house was already being constructed, the chief must have been informed already. With all the things lately, she would not be surprised if someone rich had bought it.
After merely flashing a smile at the others, Jess asked.
"Have you seen Shad?"
"Shad? Of course, he was just here earlier."
"Really?"
"Yes, ms. Jess. He just went somewhere."
Just then, on top of a carriage carrying stacks of wood, drawn by bulls, a young man could be seen.
Jess squinted, wiping her eyes quickly, trying to hide any trace of her earlier distress.
At first, she thought it was Shad—something about the height, the confident posture. But as the cart came closer, her breath caught.
It wasn't Shad.
It was someone else.
The young man jumped down lightly from the cart, brushing sawdust from his coat.
He wore traveler's tunic—not too rich, not too poor—but there was something polished about him now. Jess blinked in surprise.
"Wait…" she whispered. "Is that…?"
The young man noticed her immediately. His face lit up with recognition and gratitude.
"Ms. Jess!" he called out, striding over. "You remember me, don't you? My name's Raife."
Jess's eyes widened. It was him. The boy that almost died in the dungeon incident. Back then, he'd been pale, trembling, on the verge of death.
Now, he stood tall. Broad-shouldered. Hair neatly tied back. A shortsword on his hip, though it looked barely touched. They said the man was an adventurer, and had left.
But it seems he had decided to stay. Maybe due to the economic boom lately.
'I did not expect him to this extroverted though. I thought he was rude.' Jess thought, since she learned that he left without any words. Just like someone she knows.
"I didn't expect you to recognize me," the young man said with a chuckle, almost sheepish. "I barely recognized myself when I saw the mirror. But—thanks to Shad—I lived. So I came back."
Jess's thoughts raced.
But she cannot be bothered for now.
"Are you working here too?"
"Yes, maam. I decided to help my savior!"
The young man looked over to the construction site, then back to her.
Just then, Shad finally came into view who was arriving, talking to the Chief.
Just then, Shad finally came into view—approaching from the other side of the path, talking to the Chief.
Jess froze. Her breath hitched.
He looked the same—calm, unreadable, composed.
The sun caught faint glints in his hair as he gestured mildly toward the cabin's frame.
Jess smiled, her stomach twisting. 'So he didn't leave for good…?'
Shad and the Chief parted after a few more words, and then his gaze swept across the field—calmly, until it landed on her.
The blonde young man—Raife—quietly stepped aside, sensing the shift in mood.
Shad stopped in front of Jess, just a few paces away.
"…Good morning," he said, voice neutral.
Jess's hands clenched. Her lips parted, then closed again.
"So what do you think?"
"Eh? What do I think about what?"
"About this. I decided to move out." A soft smile as Shad glanced over to the cabin rising from the field.
"I'm sorry I did not tell you in advance. I did not want to wake you up. I had to meet the carpenters before sunrise. Those guys then tagged along."
Jess's was confused.
"You are no longer leaving?"
Behind them, the workers called out to one another, planks thudding, nails clinking, laughter rising in the distance. Shad groaned. "Yeah, yeah. I will now be permanently living here. Don't worry I already paid the Chief and would be settling the necessary documents. I even moved out my stuff already."
She gave him a sidelong glare, but there was less heat in it now. Her voice dropped. "So… this house… it's yours?"
Raising his eyebrows, Shad nodded.
Just then, Raife ran up to them, drenched in sweat, eyes shining with energy.
"Sir Shad! Ms. Jess!" he called out. "I forgot to tell. The construction company said he'll be sending more supplies by noon! We might even finish the roof by tomorrow if we don't slack off!"
After he relayed the order, he returned to his work.
"Should I also pay that boy labor? I really did not invite some of the people here."
Jess giggled.
"You. You should, we also need to give them food and water, lunch and an afternoon break."
"Ugh."
Shad had qualms, but he chose not to say them.
"Hey, less talking, more hammering!" Behind them, old man Joseph was directing the workers, eager and animated.
Along with the workers, Grab hoisted a roof beam with a low grunt, Joseph barked orders, and Raife laughed as a hammer slipped from the weaponsmith's apprentice's hand and hit another's boot.
Soon, Shad also joined in, hopping to the ladder to balance the frame of the cabin. For the succeeding days, the sound of hammering seemed to be only thing Shad've heard.