[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Chapter: 161
As I walked towards the village chief's house, I felt eyes on from others houses as I passed. I turned my head to look, but the feeling vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“They’re wary of ,” I said to Jawoon.
He replied without looking at ,”They probably think I’ve found a fugitive and brought them in.”
I pursed my lips.
A fugitive? A criminal? Is that what I look like? How ridiculous.
“As if a fugitive would let themselves be captured so easily. You worry too much. You can tell just by looking at that I’m no criminal. Here I am, following an old man’s orders as ek as a lamb.”
Jawoon chuckled.
“That’s a given. What else would a fugitive do?”
“Escape, of course. It’s an obvious answer. After being threatened with death, why would I let myself be captured?”
“Ah, so you’re saying you’d run back into that forest with the demonic beasts?”
“Of course…”
It was better to run than to sit here and be accused of sothing I didn’t do.
Jawoon sighed.
“Ah, I forgot you claid to have slain a demonic beast.”
He seed troubled.
“But it’s rare for anyone to survive more than a day in the Demon Realm. Of course... fugitives are rare too. From the mont they cross the border…”
“Border?”
Border? Did he say border?
When I reacted, Jawoon quickly clamped his mouth shut as if he’d made a slip of the tongue.
“Old man, didn’t you just say border?”
“It’s nothing. I misspoke.”
“Misspoke? I want to hear it. Tell .”
“I told you, it was a mistake.”
“Is there any reason you can’t tell ?”
It’s not like it’s difficult. He clearly knows sothing, but Jawoon remained silent. He simply replied, “I can only tell you after you’ve t the village chief. Not before.”
He refused again, then glanced at Aro, who was following us closely.
I thought she’d lost interest in , but her curiosity seed to linger.
It didn’t seem like she was just interested because I was an outsider. I don’t know why, but that’s how I felt.
And sohow, I got the feeling she wasn’t just curious; it felt more like she was watching .
“...Is that a village rule?”
“You could say that,” Jawoon nodded.
“Alright, if that’s the case, then I can’t argue.”
When I agreed, Jawoon said nothing more and quickened his pace. As we approached the village chief’s house, I noticed a row of simple flowers.
A few bare trees stood in front of it, with strange patterns carved into their bark. And there was a strange but familiar aura around them...
“It seems the village chief is a shaman.”
I thought of the dagger Jawoon had taken. The spell Soldier Do had cast was nothing compared to this.
Even from dozens of paces away, I could feel the power of the spell, but the aura surrounding the village chief’s house was much fainter.
Whether that was because the power was weaker or because the chief had intentionally hidden the traces of magic, I couldn’t tell.
Jawoon stopped and looked at . In his eyes, wariness and curiosity were intertwined.
I turned my gaze to Aro, who was a few paces behind . The child had a carefree expression, but she still wouldn’t take her eyes off .
“Are you coming in?”
When I asked, Aro’s curious eyes widened. She seed to be asking how I knew.
How did I know? It was obvious. If the village chief was a shaman, he could explain why a child as young as Aro was wandering around the Demon Realm alone.
Sothing was bound to happen if she was touched, and that's why old man Jawoon could leave Aro alone in the house.
She followed to the village and even to the chief's house. Plus, her behavior of seeming to watch all explained if Aro was close to the chief.
“You're quick,” he said. “With that child here, there's no need for to see the chief. I'll stay here. You go in.”
I took a mont to catch my breath in front of the chief's thatched house. Passing through the strange, familiar purple-leaved shrubs that surrounded the house like a gate, I pushed open the door and peeked inside.
A delicate fragrance filled the room.
“Grandma, Grandma!”
Aro ran inside ahead of . So the chief was the child's grandmother. Soon, an old woman appeared from the inner room.
She seed even older than Jawoon. Her snow-white hair betrayed her age more than her withered face. She shared a similar eye shape with her granddaughter Aro, but her eyes were completely different.
The vibrant energy of youth had completely disappeared, leaving only a cold intensity that made others nervous.
“A stranger,” the chief said softly, looking at . Her voice was not loud, nor was her tone particularly high, yet it seed to echo throughout the room.
The chief was pretending to be calm, but in reality, she was examining .
“You seem familiar…” The chief muttered. But contrary to her opinion, I had never seen her before.
“I... I hope not in a bad way,” I said, glancing at Aro. The child was clinging to the chief's leg as if she was a fly on an old tree.
“What's that?”
The chief suddenly pointed at the injury on my arm. I rolled up my sleeve and replied, “I got hurt fighting a beast.”
It seed better to show that I could defeat a beast rather than appear weak. Then maybe they would take in as a guard.
“It's nothing serious. And I won.”
“...Of course. If you'd lost, there would be no other way but death, right?”
The chief smiled faintly and gestured towards my hand.
“It seems I have a welco guest. Co closer. I have much to consider.”
Honestly, the chief looked very old. She was so thin and frail, it seed like one punch could end her life. Yet, a single word from her was enough to make nervous.
I had never t anyone like her before.
As I approached as she instructed, she placed her fingertips on my hand. Her cold, dry fingers felt like frozen branches.
At that mont, a sharp pain spread from where her fingers touched , as if I had been stung by a bee.
“Chief?”
“Be quiet,” she said, closing her eyes. She didn't say anything else.
I kept my mouth shut as she instructed and waited for her to open her eyes. The pain had subsided, leaving only an awkward silence.
I glanced at the chief. She was frowning as if deep in thought.
What is she doing...? Is she checking my pulse? But... can she really determine if I'm a good or bad person just by checking my pulse?
I wondered how that was possible.
If this wasn't a scam, I could gather all the doctors in the village who claid to be able to read pulses and use them to catch scamrs.
While I was thinking those thoughts, the chief finished her examination. She opened her eyes and looked at .
“...Why?”
She opened her mouth slightly as if she couldn't believe it.
Without saying anything, she just stared at with a strange expression.
I felt increasingly nervous as I wondered what she would say next.
"Why are you doing this, Chief? I'm not a bad person."
...Am I about to be sent to the gallows? Surely they don't think I'm the worst person in the world.
"If you're thinking I've co here because I'm involved in so kind of treason, I can absolutely assure you that's not the case. I can even prove what I've done in the past. Of course, that might be a bit difficult here..."
A mont ago you were calling a welco guest, so why the sudden change of heart? With pleading eyes, I turned to Aro for help.
Aro sighed dramatically as if doing a favor and looked up at the chief.
"Grandma, Grandma. Is Uncle Baek Yeon a strange person?"
The chief slowly shook her head. Thanks to that, I could relax a bit.
"As long as you don't an to kill ."
I wouldn't even mind not having a house. I've been holess for so long, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"Harm you? How could I?"
The chief had a strange expression. Her eyes, which had been cold and dry, were now filled with tears. I was increasingly confused because I didn't know why.
"How could this be..."
I couldn't understand the chief's words, but I could tell she was surprised.
So, she'd checked my pulse and realized I was so kind of extraordinary being? I never knew my pulse was so fascinating.
Maybe the monster at I ate the other day was bad. I quietly checked my own pulse. Of course, since I didn't know anything about dicine, it was useless.
"I have a lot of questions. If it's not too rude..."
"Questions? Well... that's not difficult."
"I really want to hear. Who you are, where you ca from, what you've been doing... You've beco a more precious connection to than a million gold coins."
"A million gold coins?"
"Yes. I'd only dread of eting soone like you before I die. It's like a dream co true."
"...Is that a good thing?"
"Of course."
I rolled my eyes and looked around the chief's room. Then, I rubbed my stomach. I hadn't eaten since yesterday and was hungry, but I couldn't bring myself to ask for food.
I was too embarrassed to ask Old Man Jawoon , who had saved when I was unconscious on the ground, for food as well.
But if I was as important as she said...
I asked cautiously, "Can I have so food? I'll eat anything. Even leftover rice..."
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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