141.
“Your mouth is the problem.”
Blando often said that to Gee.
“What did I do?”
“You want to be a knight. Then you should act like one.”
“What’s acting like a knight?”
Gee grumbled but acknowledged Blando’s words. His behavior and speech were too rough to become a knight. He tried to correct it somehow, but it wasn’t easy. It was because all he had seen and heard since childhood were such rough things. He became more careful with his words in front of San, but the habit didn’t disappear. So when he met Aksen and was toyed with, curses were the first to come out.
It wasn’t right to curse at an opponent in a fight, but wasn’t the opponent a villain? Every crime Aksen had committed was horrific and grave. So wouldn’t it be okay to curse a little?
“You’re an impolite friend.”
Of course, Aksen didn’t agree with that.
“It’s almost a shame to kill you now.”
With those final words, Gee’s vision turned black. His consciousness didn’t fall asleep and struggled, but something heavy pressed down on his body.
“I won’t let you die easily.”
Aksen’s voice, filled with anger, rang in Gee’s ears. It was an act to instill fear, but Gee’s heart didn’t waver.
Did you think I came this far without being prepared for this much? It was rather good that he said he’d keep him alive. As long as he was alive, no matter what pain he endured, an opportunity would come. Gee gritted his teeth and reaffirmed his resolve once more.
At some point, Yu Jin woke up with a start, shaking his body. He blinked at the scene before him and looked around. It seemed night had fallen while he was asleep. The forest, where light couldn’t penetrate due to the thick trees, was pitch black, giving an eerie feeling.
‘I’m scared.’
As he curled up alone in the darkness, fear washed over him. So much time had passed, yet Yu Jin was still alone. If Jinhyeon had returned to the cabin, he would surely have come looking for him. There was no trace of human presence at all. Yu Jin, unconsciously curling up even smaller, quietly listened. And he caught a sound.
“Grrrr.”
The low growl of a beast. Surprised, he raised his head to look in the direction of the sound and saw something small shining in the darkness. One, two, three, four. Yu Jin started counting but then wore a terrified expression. He didn’t know what kind of beast it was, but there seemed to be quite a few. Alone, he couldn’t even defeat a single herbivore.
Moreover, it was extremely rare for herbivores to roam at night. If those shining things were the beasts’ eyes, it meant they were quite tall animals, and among such animals that moved in packs, there was only one kind.
‘Wolves!’
Yu Jin covered his mouth with his hand and took deep breaths. It’s okay. It seemed they hadn’t noticed him yet, so if he stayed quiet, they might pass by. As he thought this, suddenly there was a commotion among the wolf pack.
“Squeak!”
The cause of the commotion was a rabbit that had jumped in from somewhere. The rabbit frantically hopped around among the wolves and then leaped in Yu Jin’s direction.
‘Don’t come here!’
He waved his hands in panic, but the rabbit didn’t change direction. Screaming in terror, the rabbit collided with Yu Jin. As both Yu Jin and the rabbit were flustered and panicking, the pursuing wolves barked.
Yu Jin’s face instantly turned pale white. Far from being caught by the enemy, he was about to be eaten by wolves. In that situation, the rabbit powerfully kicked its legs and fled again. However, no wolves followed the rabbit. It seemed they preferred the larger and more tender-fleshed human over the small rabbit. Realizing this, Yu Jin’s hands and feet began to tremble.
‘I don’t want to die.’
To avoid dying in vain, he needed to come to his senses. Biting the soft flesh inside his mouth, he regained some clarity. Yu Jin felt around on the ground and picked up a palm-sized stone. He planned to hit the nose of the wolf in front and try to escape. Since he couldn’t outrun wolves, climbing a tree might be okay. In fact, he doubted if he could even do that properly, but there was no other option.
If only he hadn’t fallen asleep earlier. He regretted it belatedly, but it was already too late.
“Grrrr.”
The wolf slowly approached. Its long, torn mouth opened, revealing sharp fangs and a drooping red tongue. Saliva was dripping from the tongue. Seeing this, Yu Jin quickly swung the stone. The stone, slipping from his weakened hand, hit the wolf’s forehead.
“Yelp!”
While the wolf hesitated for a moment, Yu Jin quickly pulled his body away. And just as he grabbed the trunk to climb the tree, the wolf had already regained its senses.
‘Am I really going to die like this?’
It was a futile end. Perhaps this was also an event to eliminate Yu Jin, who should have already died in the novel? As he hopelessly sat down, suddenly the wolves’ sounds grew louder.
“Yip! Yap!”
The wolves spun around in circles, raging madly. All the wolves were doing the same, which only increased the fear. Not knowing what was happening made it even worse. Although it seemed he had gained some time, as he belatedly tried to climb the tree, suddenly a figure emerged from the darkness.
“Ah!”
As he screamed in surprise, the figure grabbed Yu Jin’s hand.
“It’s alright.”
Yu Jin, breathing heavily, examined the figure. And the face illuminated by the moonlight falling through the leaves was familiar.
“Greyardin.”
It was Greyardin, the leader of Leviathan. Yu Jin blinked slowly, breaking out in a cold sweat.
“It’s okay. I’ve chased away the wolves.”
At those words, looking behind Greyardin, the wolves that had been raging madly until just now were nowhere to be seen. They had disappeared without a trace, as if they had sunk into the ground.
“You’re safe now.”
What safety is this! The wolves may have disappeared for now, but now Greyardin was right in front of him. It was just a difference between being eaten immediately or dying later; the dangerous situation hadn’t changed. However, since he couldn’t reveal that outright, Yu Jin smiled awkwardly.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I only did what I had to do.”
Greyardin smiled quite kindly.
“Shall we move to a different location? This place is dangerous after all.”
“…It’s okay. I can find my way alone.”
“I don’t know where you’re trying to go, but the wolves might appear again.”
To Yu Jin’s ears, those words sounded like a threat that if he tried anything else, Greyardin would call the wolves. If Aksen was around, it was entirely possible.
“So, come with me.”
This time, Yu Jin couldn’t refuse Greyardin’s offer. In the dense forest, Yu Jin walked holding Greyardin’s hand. It was still dark around, but Greyardin walked as if he could see everything. He occasionally supported Yu Jin when he stumbled. After walking for quite some time, they arrived at the cabin Yu Jin had initially left.
‘I don’t understand his intentions.’
Yu Jin bit his lip, looking at the unchanged cabin.
“There’s a cabin here. Shall we go in and rest for a while?”
Yu Jin nodded at Greyardin’s suggestion. Since he couldn’t do anything immediately, he planned to rest a little. Maybe it would be better when his strength returned. Greyardin opened the door first and let Yu Jin inside. The interior was unchanged, just like the outside.
“Would you like to eat first? Or…”
“I’ll sleep.”
As soon as he answered, a thunderous sound came from his stomach. Hearing this, Greyardin smiled, raising the corner of his mouth.
“Rest by the stove, and I’ll bring something to eat.”
As Yu Jin sluggishly settled in front of the stove, Greyardin went outside the cabin. Only then did Yu Jin, left alone, start to think. Let’s think from Jinhyeon’s perspective. Even if it was a cabin in a remote location, would Jinhyeon have left Yu Jin alone and gone?
‘No.’
When leaving the cabin, he had heard someone fighting outside. Since a fight couldn’t happen with just one person, the fighters must have been divided into two. And one of them must be Yu Jin’s ally. Since Jinhyeon’s means of action were not as many as one might think, Yu Jin’s ally was likely someone from the back alleys. Then what happened to those people?
Just as he finished organizing his thoughts, Greyardin entered the cabin carrying a tray. On the tray were bread, soup, and water. It was a simple meal, but it looked very appetizing to Yu Jin in his current state.
“Please eat.”
Can I eat it? He had such thoughts, but the hesitation didn’t last long. In his current situation, practically captured by Leviathan, he was in danger no matter what he did. If they wanted to brainwash Yu Jin, they were the kind of people who would forcefully pour a potion into his mouth. So he decided to eat quietly for now.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
