At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 167

‘It would be nice if I could catch something easy too.’

But since she was planning to prepare everything for her husbands, she hoped that something she could catch on her own would appear.

Flap, flap.

At some point, Jiwoo heard the sound of wings and quickly came to her senses. Before she could even turn around to look, birds were already swooping down around her.

“Huh? What’s this?”

The birds were so close that Jiwoo reached out with both hands and easily caught one. It was a plump quail. The quail tilted its head and stared at Jiwoo curiously.

Surprised and fascinated, Jiwoo called out to Tevon, who was walking ahead.

It seemed like the birds had led her right to an easy catch, almost as if they had read her thoughts about wanting to handle things herself.

“Did you come here to hunt birds? They’re so cute and tame. I’ll be able to catch them too.”

“That’s not it. Do you think I’d hunt something like that without any thought?”

“Isn’t it for eating?”

“You just said it was cute.”

He wouldn’t kill or harm a cute or beautiful creature, especially not in front of Jiwoo. The same went for anything involving blood, internal organs, or the dissection of animals.

While the others might have acted differently, Tevon was the one who would avoid ruining the atmosphere with such acts. It was a bit ironic considering how often the others pretended to be masters of seduction, yet failed at relationships.

Callan was a prime example, as were Solmih and Kaman, whom she had just left. If it had been Tevon, he would never have let that opportunity slip away.

Jiwoo quickly understood and smiled.

“So, it’s just a date, then?”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

Even though Jiwoo had no aversion to hunting, the reason they had come out together was to have a peaceful outing. But now, it seemed that, despite the others trying to create a romantic atmosphere with her, it had been interrupted by a hunting trip instead.

“Still, we’ll get some ingredients for food.”

The bird, which had come so close, quickly flew away. Jiwoo hadn’t even seen its wings flap, and it disappeared so seamlessly.

Next, a white rabbit, about the size of a fist, suddenly hopped toward them from the underbrush. It didn’t seem afraid of predators at all. To Tevon, it looked like the rabbit was almost begging to be caught, but to Jiwoo, it was just a natural, adorable display of a wild animal’s behavior.

Tevon was right. When an animal approached like that, Jiwoo wanted to keep it as a pet rather than harm it.

“You’re so cute… Why aren’t you being cautious?”

“It’s just how they are.”

“If it keeps this up, it’ll be easy prey.”

Jiwoo was still petting and playing with the rabbit, wondering if she should take it home when it suddenly hopped out of her hands and disappeared back into the brush.

“Want to see more? Come this way.”

“Is there more?”

Jiwoo followed Tevon, hoping for something a little bigger. They ventured into a shady, damp spot where the light didn’t reach, and the smell of decaying leaves filled the air. Tevon began digging through the leaves and soil, revealing something.

“Mushrooms?”

“These are the same as the ones we saw earlier.”

Tevon picked a mushroom and showed it to her.

The mushroom had a blue cap shaped like an umbrella, with the center a dark navy blue, and the color gradually lightened toward the edges. It looked as if someone had dropped blue paint into a cloudy white drink. The stem was very white, and just looking at it was enough to make it seem like a beautiful mushroom.

“It’s beautiful. It looks like a gem.”

“It’s dangerous, though. It creates an illusion of delicious, docile animals, and when those who fall for the illusion eat them, the spores spread over their dead bodies.”

“Illusion?”

Jiwoo recalled the unusually friendly animals she had encountered earlier—those that looked delicious and tame.

“So, the animals we saw earlier were all mushrooms?”

“Not exactly. It’s the mushroom creating the illusion. It uses it as bait.”

“The fluffy ones I touched…”

They had even felt soft and warm.

“It’s temporary, but it has a physical form too.”

“So, I shouldn’t have caught one of those earlier?”

“Exactly. They disappear quickly anyway. And they’re poisonous. You get lured in by the illusion, eat the poison, and die.”

Tevon started picking the mushrooms and tossing them into a small sack. The mushrooms were strong enough that they could be put into the sack just by brushing off the dirt.

“But these mushrooms don’t have poison and taste pretty good. Perfect for snacks.”

“Can we eat them raw?”

Tevon demonstrated by eating one. He peeled off the skin, like peeling a banana, and inside was a smaller, more delicate core.

Jiwoo followed suit and tried it too. The texture was like cotton candy, but with sparkling candy inside, popping in her mouth. It was fine to eat just like that.

“It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

They continued to gather mushrooms here and there. They were drawn in by the sweet, addictive taste and would eat as they collected. Jiwoo suddenly laughed aloud, realizing something.

“Tevon? But you said you like meat, so why are you showing me these?”

“Ah, right? I forgot. But honestly, it’s better than hunting animals with you.”

“Hehe…”

It seemed like this place was a hub for mushroom colonies. No matter how far they walked, they quickly found more patches of the same mushrooms. Excitedly, Jiwoo continued picking them up with Tevon.

“Tevon, there are more here.”

“Let’s gather them all.”

As they continued to collect the mushrooms, something suddenly made a rustling sound on the opposite side of the clearing.

Tevon, who saw it first, was startled.

“What’s that?”

“What’s going on?”

Jiwoo was even more surprised.

There were two Tevons.

The Tevon that appeared from the other side of the clearing had a twitching smile on his lips as he spoke.

“…Has this mushroom gone crazy?”

“Ugh, seriously.”

Even their tone and behavior were exactly the same.

“…What’s going on?”

Jiwoo took a step back in confusion.

“I think the illusion didn’t work, so it’s showing something that might be easier to catch.”

She recalled the easy-to-catch animals she had seen earlier—the gentle quail and rabbit. But that hadn’t led to a hunt. Now, the next illusion had brought this.

“So… you’re telling me it’s trying to feed me Tevon?”