At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 100
As much as they could sense Jiwoo’s emotions without words, Jiwoo could roughly understand their moods. Just as they were sensitive to sounds, Jiwoo was more visually sensitive than them.
Especially Enci, who was better at using his ears than anyone in the village. Unlike his almost expressionless and cold face, his ears moved quite a lot.
“The owner of El Ragneil is not us. We live by listening to the sounds of trees breathing, the sounds of water lingering, and the sounds of the wind walking, harmonizing with them.”
Enci explained pragmatically, yet romantically.
It was nothing special, but Jiwoo’s heart began to flutter.
They often seemed to use their ears to prioritize the sound of her own heart over the sounds of nature. It was the same now.
As Jiwoo’s heart started beating a little faster, Enci’s ears, which had been listening to the sound of the letters, turned towards Jiwoo.
The sound of the tree. The sound of water. The sound of the wind. As if saying he would put aside all of that and listen to Jiwoo.
“…I don’t really know. Whether to say this is good or not. But one thing is for sure…”
A small smile appeared on Enci’s lips.
“Even if you live like this, you will be happy. With us.”
Jiwoo impulsively kissed his cheek.
Kiss.
“Wh, what!”
Enci jumped, covering his cheek with both hands.
“I, I don’t know too…”
It seemed unexpected even to Jiwoo. Well, Jiwoo didn’t know that she would suddenly do something like this.
“Really, why, why are you seducing all the people! Even the female!”
“…Th, that… Stop teasing.”
Enci continued to grumble with a flushed face. Jiwoo’s face also heated up because she didn’t expect Enci to bring up that incident all of a sudden.
As they avoided each other’s eyes and fell into silence, only the sound of the swaying wind chimes echoed.
Jiwoo didn’t know what to say after being embarrassed more than Enci’s surprise. Enci tried to maturely redirect the conversation like an adult.
“Let’s, let’s just finish what you were saying. How about we learn your language?”
“Oh… If I use that, I might not be able to forget where I originally lived. I have to live here from now on.”
“You miss it?”
“Maybe not…”
“Well, well… alright. Take your time to think. Now that you have that option, you can return alone if you want.”
Enci pointed to Jiwoo’s shoulder, and the bird sitting on Jiwoo’s shoulder flapped its wings. When Jiwoo placed a finger near its beak, it pretended to peck as if receiving food.
“I can go back alone?”
“Yes. Originally, Akarna could do it. You were weakened by those Carnazion guys.”
After thinking for a moment, Jiwoo sighed and smiled.
“Well… It seems like there’s nothing good waiting for me there.”
“Why?”
“It feels like I’m already considered dead there. In the place where I used to live, if a person has been missing for five years, they’re declared dead.”
“Then just go back to before you went missing.”
“…Huh?”
“Since you can transcend time and space… If you have a specific time period you want, you can just go there.”
“Is that… possible?”
“It is.”
There were times when Jiwoo harbored expectations and hopes of returning. However, after living here for just one year, resignation had taken over.
Practical reasons played a significant role. Going back would mean appearing as a missing person, and adapting to a world that had changed over the long period of six years.
But if she could truly go back, and if she could return to the time she desired, wouldn’t that imply there were many things she could do in the past?
When people think about going back in time, they often fantasize about living a different life, memorizing lottery numbers, investing in stocks, and so on. Jiwoo was essentially given such an opportunity.
However, could she truly seize every opportunity presented?
Jiwoo had completed the first night here, accepted the proposal, and started thinking deeply about these people, gradually immersing himself in their ways….
“Th, then… Is it possible to go and come back for a short while?”
Even so, the reason she couldn’t completely let go of that opportunity was due to the lingering attachment to her hometown.
Enci smiled, as if expecting Jiwoo’s question. It wasn’t a refreshing smile.
“No, that’s not possible.”
“No cases before?”
“Rather than that…”
Enci sighed lightly as he looked at Jiwoo, who feigned indifference but couldn’t shake off her interest in her hometown.
“The life force in Akarna is close to a condition tailored to live in this world. If you go back, Akarna’s power will disappear. Instead, the time spent here will be intricately woven into the causality of that world.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well… if you’ve been sick, you’ll recover, and if it’s a place where magic is available, your abilities will improve by a few levels. That kind of beneficial type.”
“There’s no magic there. I was healthy.”
“Then something similar… suddenly getting lucky or unexpectedly acquiring wealth. Instead, you won’t be able to cross dimensions again, as your body will become immune.”
Getting lucky suddenly or unexpectedly acquiring wealth?
“…Are you saying I could win a ‘lottery’ or something?”
Enci tilted his head as if unsure what that meant, then continued to explain.
“The memories from this place will be like a bad dream, bothering you at first, but they’ll soon disappear. If you return to the original world at this point, your position will also change.”
Memories from here will be like a bad dream.
Enci dismissed everything Jiwoo experienced here as ‘something bad’. It was a bit off to discuss with a soon-to-be-married couple.
“A bad dream….”
“You haven’t had only good things happen here, right?”
“….”
Jiwoo’s expression tended to darken when lost in thought. Although she recently smiled brightly, such expressions were more familiar, especially in the past few years.
Enci, hearing the irregular beating of Jiwoo’s heart, decided it was time to clear Jiwoo’s mind.
“….But what’s a ‘lottery’?”
“Oh, that’s when various scenarios are created, and you draw one to receive prizes. For example…”
Jiwoo gave a few examples, and Enci quickly understood, nodding his head.
“Curious? Shall we create one?”
“I guess…”
Thinking briefly about what to use as a ticket for the lottery, Jiwoo took off the accessory around her neck.
A necklace with small threaded rings. Even though it looked like pearls, they weren’t real. After Asillion’s Ellandos was revived, another sapling grew in front of it. The small and delicate stem was carved into a round shape.
Perhaps due to the faint lingering power of Ellandos, occasionally, if she stayed still, tiny light beads would gently emerge. Like a small fairy.
“Is it okay to use this to make one?”
“This is precious… Where did you get it?”
“I treated the tree from a different region and received it. If it’s good, I’ll give it to Enci.”
“…they made this, considering that you might lose power again.”
Even saying that, Jiwoo didn’t know its exact value. She could only feel that they had thought a lot about Jiwoo’s situation.
Scratching the back of her head, Jiwoo awkwardly said.
“I said I’d bring a gift when I come back, and it bothered me that I couldn’t bring one.”
“What is a gift for when you come back in such a hurry…”
Despite grumbling, Enci’s ears were perking up, suggesting that he liked the idea of a gift.
Enci untangled the necklace and took several beads, and Jiwoo colored one of them. Placing it in a small box and shaking it, Jiwoo handed it to Enci. As Enci reached into the box, he asked.
“What’s the prize?”
“Do I need something like that?”
“It’s a lottery.”
“I don’t have anything to give.”
“…It’s okay to just do what you just did.”
Enci avoided eye contact and mumbled at the end of his sentence. Seeing a blush around his cheekbones, Jiwoo asked subtly,
“A ki, kiss?”
Enci didn’t answer and just flicked his ear.
“Well then, draw one.”
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