At The End Of The Hidden Greenery

man, she couldn’t pretend that she couldn’t hear such hair-raising shrieks.

“Kuuhkk! Hwaah!”

As she pondered, the screams grew louder.
It seemed like there were multiple people in danger near this place.

The moment she erased it, she remembered what Lanceil said when she accepted his hand.

ㅡBear with it, I will send you back after you recover first.

ㅡYou’ll send me back?

ㅡYes.
I will send you back to your hometown safely.

The only thing she could believe in was Lanceil’s promise.

Jiwoo always expected people and got disappointed in the end, trusting people made her miserable.

She was becoming more and more miserable because she was a person who could not lose her expectations despite repeated disappointments.
She couldn’t let go of that character in her even though she knew it, so she was always taken advantage of.

She was sure she’ll make the same mistake again this time.

ㅡI’m so happy, Akarna.

However…

‘Lanceil.’

If she’s only been disappointed with people a couple of times in her life while living as the Akarna, she would need to be prepared this time, too.
But if a person who’s been disappointed a thousand times got disappointed once more, it won’t be a big deal.

It’s okay.
Be it 1000 times or 1001 times, it’s the same.
Let’s go.

Her worries were brief.
Jiwoo kicked the door open and went out.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It was dark all around, not even a torch was lit.
Fortunately, there was something like a glowing flower bud that was illuminating the way, but it wasn’t as bright as a torch.
Relying on the moonlight, Jiwoo walked to find the epicenter of the shrieks.

“Aack! AAAH!”

As soon as she thought she had lost her direction, she heard another piercing shriek again, so Jiwoo quickly turned her head in that direction.

She must have walked for some time at a brisk pace.
In the distance, Jiwoo saw people gathering with torches.
And there was something big and black over there…

‘Is it a beast?

Jiwoo moved her steps towards it.
But it was then.

The black figure, which was surrounded by people, began to wriggle and move, and then quickly approached this way.

Tak.
Tak.
Tak.
Tak-tak-tak-tak!

“…..!”

She was so startled that she couldn’t even scream.
Without even having a moment to defend herself, it approached Jiwoo.
It was when Jiwoo was going to be attacked.

“Kyaah!”

It was as if a huge beast the size of her ran up to her, so Jiwoo screamed, devoured in fear.

Jiwoo, who could not hold her body, collapsed to the ground and slammed the back of her head hard.
She clutched her head and groaned.

It was a miracle she didn’t faint.

[ Stop! Don’t shoot! ]

Before she could ascertain what had hit her, she heard someone shouting urgently.
Their footsteps also hurriedly headed this way.

[ It’s the outsider! ]

[ Why is the outsider here! ]

A roar was heard from all sides.
It must have been the people who were holding the beast.
And Jiwoo later confirmed the identity of what attacked her.

“A p-person?”

She was shocked.
It wasn’t a beast that attacked her.
It was a person.

Someone who was seriously injured, too.

The arrows in his back were dripping with blood and miasma.
It was so dense that it seemed as if his entire body was surrounded by a black mist.

“Kuhk.
Uugghh…”

Of course, the person hanging on to her seemed out of his mind.
In the meantime, he instinctively looked for a way to live and seemed to cling to her.

“Kku-ugh… Kuuhhkk”

While Jiwoo was trying to judge the situation, someone approached her.

“Get away, stranger.
You know it was dangerous, so why are you here?”

He was pulling a bow.

“What are you trying to do?”

“I’ll kill him before dawn.”

Jiwoo frowned.
A feeling of disgust arose.

“Are you killing the weak in this way?”

Jiwoo, who used to be short on words in this world, spoke everything straightforwardly.
When she said that, everyone around her was furious.

[ Weak? ]

[ Nonsense! For you to say that Helka is weak—!]

“When she is a stranger who knows nothing!”

Someone shouted.

“I’m offended by what you’re misunderstanding! Helka is the most important person to us!”

“This is his dying wish! We’re doing this at his request!”

[ Do you think that we are doing this because we like it? ]

The imperial language and the language they spoke mixed.
It didn’t seem like the situation Jiwoo had envisioned.

“Then that’s enough.
I apologize if I misunderstood.”

“You still don’t understand? He decided to die this full moon…! If it’s too late…”

“Because I can treat him.
Stop it.”

Everyone was set abuzz.
Their reactions were full of incredulity.