At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 168

In short, when the birds and rabbits didn’t work, the mushroom instinctively presented Tevon as the next ‘meal’ for Jiwoo.

“Seo Jiwoo, listen carefully. To distinguish the fake, you have to…”

While explaining, Tevon seemed a bit awkward.

He had been picking mushrooms, and somehow, when he had momentarily walked away from Jiwoo, the illusion had appeared. The one Jiwoo had been picking mushrooms with had been the mushroom’s illusion, and the Tevon who appeared later, after the sound of leaves crunching, was the real one.

It seemed more likely that Jiwoo would have thought the later one was fake.

Tevon was unsure how to explain it as he was not great with words. Just as he was contemplating, Jiwoo spoke up decisively.

“This one is the real one.”

“Huh?”

Without needing an explanation, Jiwoo immediately chose the real Tevon, with no hesitation.

Tevon asked, still stunned,

“How did you know?”

“Mm? I just knew.”

Jiwoo answered casually, and the two Tevons exchanged a brief look before both asked,

“Are you sure you didn’t make a mistake?”

The fake Tevon seemed frustrated.

“How did you just know?”

The real Tevon was curious about how Jiwoo knew.

Though he was asking, judging by the shape of his ears, he seemed to be pleased that Jiwoo had recognized him immediately.

“I don’t know how to explain it…”

“Then, could you try again?”

“Try what?”

“Try to guess again.”

If Lanceil or Callan had been around, he would probably have gotten a smack on the back for such reckless words during a dangerous situation.

Jiwoo nodded, and the two Tevons hid behind a tree before reappearing.

“This time, who’s the real one?”

“Here, this one, right?”

Again, Jiwoo correctly identified the real one.

Then, she closed her eyes and kept identifying the real Tevon from the ones who reappeared. Or after five minutes of being apart, sometimes when they didn’t speak, just standing still.

Every time, Jiwoo guessed right without a second thought, and each time, Tevon’s ears kept rising higher, now almost reaching the top of his head.

“Ha, just one more time…”

“Tevon, stop now. Do you not trust me?”

“Well, it’s just… it feels like being chosen.”

If Enci had been present, he probably would have scolded him for such a statement, not to mention Lanceil or Callan …

While Jiwoo was worried, it seemed Tevon was simply enjoying the moment.

For Jiwoo, distinguishing between her husbands was easy. With every movement, the scent, the voice, and even the taste of their kisses were unique. She could recognize them even with her eyes closed. For her husbands who had strong body scents, she could tell immediately just by their approach from afar.

But how she had distinguished from the mushroom… that was something she couldn’t explain. The illusion created by the mushroom had been identical in every way. They looked the same, smelled the same, and even sounded the same.

If they kissed, the taste would probably be the same.

However, there was something subtly different, but how could Jiwoo express it…

“…”

The mushroom Tevon, unlike the real one who had been chosen multiple times, lowered his ears and remained silent.

“What should we do with this mushroom?”

Tevon casually drew a dagger.

“I should kill it.”

“No, don’t!”

It was an obvious reaction, but Jiwoo instinctively reached out to stop him from harming the mushroom Tevon.

The real Tevon tilted his head, while the mushroom Tevon looked at Jiwoo in surprise.

“Seo Jiwoo, it’s just a mushroom. And of course, I’m not going to kill it in front of you.”

It wasn’t really the mushroom, but rather an illusion created by it.

But Jiwoo shook her head.

“Can Tevon kill something that looks just like me?”

“…Well, that’s different.”

Understanding right away, Tevon put the dagger away.

But that didn’t solve the problem. The mushroom Tevon, now aware that Jiwoo had the upper hand, clung to her.

“Darling, don’t leave me… hic.”

“Hey! If you’re going to imitate, do it properly!”

“It seems like you’ve figured it out already… I guess I can’t hide it now…”

Jiwoo observed the mushroom Tevon. No matter how she looked at it, it was exactly like the real one, from the appearance to the scent. Locking eyes with the pitiful fake Tevon, Jiwoo asked softly,

“Does mushrooms have intelligence?”

“Not really…”

The mushroom didn’t have intelligence to create illusions. Instead, it responded to the emotions of the creatures that entered its territory, creating illusions based on what the creatures might desire.

“This mushroom shows illusions of things that the target might want to eat. If a fox comes in, it shows a rabbit, and if a cat comes in, a mouse appears. The specifics of the illusion differ for each observer.”

So when Jiwoo had first come here and thought about wanting to catch easy prey, quail and rabbits had appeared. Jiwoo thought Tevon had read her mind and chosen this place, but it was actually the mushroom that had read her thoughts. And as the ‘date’ progressed, the mushroom began showing…

“So, to put it simply…”

Tevon lowered his gaze and spoke more quietly. It was a little embarrassing to say this in the current situation.

“…What you want to eat right now is me.”

“N, no!”

Jiwoo quickly closed her eyes and waved her hands to deny it.

But Tevon’s mood seemed to improve. Hearing the rapid beat of Jiwoo’s heart, he realized that she was hurriedly denying it, meaning he had hit the mark.

“Why? Is that something we should hide between us? Haha.”

As Jiwoo and Tevon playfully bickered, the mushroom Tevon gazed at them with a hurt expression and tears welling up in his eyes.

“Darling, are you going to abandon me just because I’m the fake?”

“This mushroom must be crazy.”

Now, the mushroom Tevon didn’t even bother to hide the fact that he was the fake.

Tevon rolled his eyes.