At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 157

“By ratio, one out of five of us are active at night, but we’re actually on the lower end of the scale.”

“What about Helka?”

“The old man is rarer. He wakes up at dusk or dawn.”

As Helka hesitated to explain, Tevon quickly answered.

“You know, like fireflies.”

Helka wakes up at the same time as fireflies, around dusk or dawn. The scene almost seemed like something out of a fairy tale in the forest, and Jiwoo couldn’t help but laugh at the thought.

“That suits Helka. Ah, it’s gone.”

As soon as the bug fell out, Tevon jumped up and hugged Jiwoo tightly.

“Ahh… I almost died without Seo Jiwoo!”

Tevon rubbed his forehead against Jiwoo’s shoulder, exaggerating for effect, and Jiwoo couldn’t help but smile at how cute he was.

Jiwoo asked, still a bit worried.

“Does that mean you’re relatively weaker at night?”

She was getting more concerned after what had just happened. Tevon, who had been playfully cuddling with her earlier, spoke seriously.

“Seo Jiwoo, don’t worry. If there are any guys like that again, I’ll go beat them up myself.”

“I thought we were going to have a real problem this time.”

Jiwoo thought about what would have happened if Marron and Night weren’t here, so she felt a bit down again.

“Umm. About those guys… They deliberately spilled magic energy here. That’s usually the most dangerous thing. They used the fact that our tree was once diseased to their advantage.”

Jiwoo had felt an odd wind around them, and it seemed that it was deliberately caused by those people, even mixing in dark magic. If Helka hadn’t been in his current state, it might have been a lot more dangerous. Normally, it would have only been painful, but now it was a major strength instead.

“So, as long as we have Helka, we’re fine. It’s our duty to make sure you don’t have to worry about anything.”

That was their way of saying they would handle it. Marron and Night had come here, and everything had been prepared by a female manifestation who could think several steps ahead. Things were under control. In truth, even if it had just been Helka, there wouldn’t have been a major problem.

Jiwoo, however, had always been someone prone to worry…. This was something that Tevon, with his more carefree nature, was better at calming.

“Think positive. What’s the big deal? You got a nice gift out of it.”

“That’s true.”

And that’s why they were all together, preparing things like this. While grand feasts were enjoyable, it was also quite fun to work together to serve others.

Marron, already peeling the soaked chestnuts and stacking them, spoke up.

“That’s right. Honestly, we didn’t expect you to take care of us too.”

“The tree gave the right amount.”

Marron shook his head.

“No, the tree communicated with you, so it was really your intention.”

Tevon, overhearing their conversation, casually remarked.

“You guys are lucky. You’ve been married since birth, it seems.”

“Huh? No, that’s not it.”

Jiwoo immediately denied it, causing Marron and Night to perk up their ears and stop peeling. The rapid sound of chestnut shells being peeled stopped suddenly, and the room became eerily quiet.

“I accepted that wedding, too, and I knew what I was getting into. Do you know how hard it was?”

But, despite that, they had grown closer. On their wedding night, there were even some who were complete strangers, but Jiwoo had still easily accepted them as her husbands.

While some of the husbands were still a bit distant, the fact that they had all shared their wedding night together seemed to help break down the barriers between them.

“So, does that mean we’re not husband material?”

Night asked with a cold expression, his eyes narrowed and a cynical smirk on his face. His expression was intimidating, but his ears were drooping sadly, showing that he still couldn’t fully hide his emotions through them. If Jiwoo hadn’t been accustomed to her husbands, she might not have noticed this.

Night seemed a bit like Enci, with a similar tendency to show his feelings openly. Jiwoo, finding this cute, couldn’t help but chuckle behind her hand.

“No… What I meant is, if there were new husbands, we’d have to go about it in a similar way.”

“Then should we set a date?”

If that were the case, a date would indeed need to be set. But the timing was something to think about carefully. She would need to consult with her current husbands too.

“They’ll probably agree, since they’re quite useful.”

“Don’t say things like that.”

When Jiwoo disagreed, Marron and Night both tilted their heads in unison, like twins.

“While it’s true that you’ve been helpful, we can’t just marry based on usefulness. I wouldn’t be happy with that either.”

If usefulness were the only factor, it would be fine to just stay as neighbors. Jiwoo herself didn’t need to settle here based purely on practicality. She hadn’t come here to be useful or to gain a prestigious position, and she hadn’t come expecting to cause some kind of revolution.

This was about emotional matters. The marriage, and her life here, was about something deeper than just practicalities.

“So, let’s try to get closer in other ways, beyond just usefulness.”

“It might take a while.”

“It’s okay. We’re going to live a long time.”

Marron and Night exchanged a glance before falling silent. Jiwoo seemed to prefer this approach, thinking that building a bond through genuine closeness was much better than focusing on practicality.

“Ah, old man! If you’re going to do it like this, don’t!”

Suddenly, Tevon raised his voice.

Marron and Night had expertly peeled not only the shells but also the soft inner skin of the chestnuts, while the ones Helka had handled were a mess, crushed and broken. Fortunately, Helka had been assigned fewer chestnuts, so the damage wasn’t as bad.

Helka really doesn’t have good hands…

“It’s fine. We can use these for something else.”

Jiwoo reassured Helka, pulling him into a comforting hug.

Anyway, half of the ingredient preparation was nearly finished.

“Ah, well, since we need to make the table, could you two handle the invitations while I finish the preparations? We can introduce your names then.”

The date would be a few days after the food was prepared, and the village square seemed like a good location.

“What I’ve prepared is a secret, though. I want to surprise you too.”

Everyone seemed genuinely pleased with the gift Jiwoo had brought and the idea of cooking and giving it to her husbands. They were all excited to help with the preparations as well.