At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 182
“You’re so weak, that’s why you couldn’t protect the tree from the miasma!”
“What did you say?”
Lanceil scowled as if he had been insulted, and Jiwoo was equally taken aback by the comment.
Not protecting the tree from miasma? That meant the tree was sick. And worse, it was directed at Lanceil.
Though it was familiar information, it didn’t apply to the current situation Jiwoo knew.
The tree in Lanceil’s care had already been healed by Jiwoo long ago.
‘No way…’
More importantly, it seemed like their argument was escalating, so Jiwoo nervously glanced at them.
Then,
Woof!
Everyone turned their attention toward the familiar barking sound.
Standing there was the snowdrop wolf that Jiwoo had saved the previous night and spent the night with.
It looked at Jiwoo for a moment, then barked again.
“…Is it Raelan?”
“Today’s been quite the rare sight.”
It seemed that the wolf was Raelan, a name Jiwoo didn’t recognize at first, since it was her first time seeing it.
At any rate, the significance of encountering Raelan seemed enough to make them lower their weapons.
“…I’ll apologize for what I said earlier, Lanceil.”
“You’d better not cause any more trouble.”
As they lowered their weapons, the snowdrop wolf, having completed its purpose, crossed over the bushes and disappeared.
“Did that Raelan just say to leave the outsider alone?”
“…I can’t believe it.”
They shot Jiwoo a glance before clicking their tongues.
“Hmph. Lanceil, you’re so stiff.”
“Then you take responsibility for this outsider.”
“What?”
Though they’d spared Jiwoo’s life, outsiders were still a source of discomfort to them.
It was natural for no one to want to take responsibility, so this response was expected.
“You were the one insisting on keeping her alive, talking about the tree.”
“Well, you guys are moving beyond the great vortex soon, right? Isn’t it a good thing? You probably couldn’t find a way to fix things anyway.”
“…”
Lanceil couldn’t respond.
“Well, then.”
With that, they turned and left, leaving Lanceil and Jiwoo behind.
‘Their attitude has really changed…’
When they first realized Jiwoo was Akarna, they had wanted to take her with them, but now their attitude was entirely different.
They hadn’t treated her this way when they learned Akarna could heal the trees and care for them like a female manifestation could.
No, in fact, it seemed they wanted Akarna even more than the female manifestation. The female was a powerful being who ruled over them, and for them, she was both difficult and sometimes even terrifying.
But Akarna, in other words, was… more approachable.
Easier to deceive and use. A being that could be manipulated more easily in some ways.
But since they didn’t understand that, they treated her like a useless burden.
—You wouldn’t know, would you? How calculating and insincere they are.
Callan had often said that, but Jiwoo hadn’t fully understood it, since she had only lived as a useful being.
Now, she felt like she had seen that side of them for the first time.
“Ha, damn…”
Lanceil, who had been reluctantly saddled with Jiwoo, spoke roughly as he brushed his hair aside.
In a way, it was a relief. Jiwoo preferred being alone with Lanceil rather than with those other people.
She wanted to understand what was going on. She instinctively reached for Lanceil’s arm.
Thwack!
But Lanceil swatted her hand away, causing Jiwoo to stumble and sit on the ground.
‘Did… did he just push me?’
She was so shocked that she couldn’t even get up and just stared at him.
“Hey, I didn’t mean to….!”
Lanceil quickly tried to explain but then cleared his throat.
“Well, I did.”
He did? He really did push her on purpose?
Seeing Jiwoo’s betrayed expression, Lanceil flinched in surprise.
“What, why are you looking at me like that? If you touch me, you could die.”
The shock of being pushed by Lanceil left Jiwoo sitting on the ground, still staring up at him.
“What’s the matter? Get up.”
Jiwoo reached out a hand for him to help her up.
“Hey, I told you, if you touch me, it could hurt, right?”
But as Jiwoo kept reaching for his hand, he sighed, took her hand, and helped her up.
“Hah, this is ridiculous.”
Lanceil seemed to feel some self-disgust for accepting an outsider’s demands.
Then, noticing Jiwoo hadn’t spoken a word since, he spoke to her.
“You’re an outsider, and I could have poison in me. Do you understand?”
That was already information Jiwoo knew. She nodded to acknowledge it, then shook her head. Even if they had poison, it would just feel like a sweet stimulation to Akarna.
At first, Lanceil didn’t understand the concept of Akarna. The only ones who really knew about it were Enci and Helka, who either had an interest in Caranazion or were highly knowledgeable.
Even after Jiwoo demonstrated her healing abilities, Lanceil didn’t fully understand the source of the power, so he used to lecture her about it, even thinking ‘Akarna’ was just her name.
Jiwoo touched his hand to show that she was fine. Lanceil frowned and tried to pull his hand away, but after realizing she wasn’t in any trouble, he relaxed his expression.
Then, realizing how long he had let her hold his hand, he pulled it away abruptly, though it wasn’t forceful enough to hurt.
“Can’t you speak?”
“…”
Jiwoo was able to move her head to express that she couldn’t speak, but she still couldn’t say anything.
Lanceil, sighed, clearly frustrated.
“Hah, seriously…”
She wasn’t exactly a burden…
“Follow me.”
Somehow, Lanceil had ended up as her temporary protector. As they walked, Jiwoo pieced together what she had learned.
Lanceil’s tree had gotten sick.
They were about to move to another continent.
‘So… this is the past.’
This was El Ragneil, but it wasn’t the time Jiwoo was familiar with.
Reveuse
what happen ?