Chapter 41]
“Is your wrist okay?”
“Yes. It’s getting better bit by bit.”
The last time I saw him, his expression seemed a little dark, but maybe I was mistaken—Ian was back to his usual self, like nothing had ever happened. Still, something about him had definitely changed. Normally, if someone’s been cooped up in their room for days, they’d show up at least once—but Ian hadn’t approached me at all.
“And why are you comparing pain to someone else’s? Pain is pain.”
I was a bit curious. Honestly, his words, which could’ve sounded like a scolding, actually came across as comforting. For a moment, it was enough to crack the preconceived notions I had about Ian. But whenever we ran into each other after that, he’d simply ask about my wrist and end the conversation with a soft smile.
And he wasn’t the only one acting out of character.
“Pain.”
It was Deon. The man who once claimed to hate me to the core had started visiting me two to three times a day.
“It’s gotten better.”
“And here?”
“It still hurts a bit.”
Our interactions mostly went like that.
Whenever he had a spare moment, Deon would press my wrist to see how much I could handle. Sometimes right after target practice, sometimes on rest days. Once, he pressed it after Cedric had hurriedly used divine power to alleviate the symptoms when he noticed my condition.
Through these forced “experiments,” we confirmed one hypothesis: I was more likely to feel pain when my condition wasn’t good.
“It wasn’t always like this.”
His red eyes, slightly sharper than usual, stared at me.
“It’s only started recently.”
I didn’t know Lemoni’s full history, but judging from Deon’s certainty, it seemed the original Lemoni couldn’t feel pain no matter how injured she was. If that was true, then the point I began feeling pain was probably when I became accustomed to Lemoni’s body.
Could possession be the cause?
I wanted to discuss this with Deon too, but unfortunately, I had to ponder it alone. I couldn’t exactly bring up possession again to a man who demanded I prove I wasn’t Lemoni. If possession was the cause, the situation was more complicated than I thought. The longer I stayed in this body, the more sensitive it might become to pain.
“It just hurts a little.”
My thoughts were interrupted by the faint sting in my wrist. As usual, he was here again, fiddling with my wrist. The pain wasn’t severe—nothing worth wincing over.
“Then right now?”
“It hurts!”
But as soon as he applied just a bit more pressure, a jolt like an electric shock shot through my wrist, and I yelped. I pulled away instinctively, my expression already twisted in pain from the unfamiliar sensation.
“…If you’re hurting, then I should be happy. That would make more sense.”
…What?
I hadn’t caught what he said properly in my flustered state and asked again. Deon stared at me, red eyes unreadable. Something seemed to bother him; the clarity in his gaze wavered. But only for a moment.
“Try a cold compress or something.”
A glass filled with cold water was pressed against the back of my hand, sending a chill deep into my bones. My brows knitted instinctively, and Deon returned to his usual indifferent expression.
“You really go through it. Keep it on for ten minutes.”
Deon and Ian—both were impossible to read. Still, thanks to Railia and Cedric, I managed to maintain a somewhat normal routine during the rainy days. In the mornings, when everyone was awake, I practiced shooting. At first, I could only hit large rocks, but gradually, I began hitting smaller ones too. My wrist hurt, but as long as I wrapped it, the bandage worked like a brace, and I could manage.
Feeling more confident, I tried using a pistol, which required more precise aim than a shotgun. Rainy days held special meaning for me. Though I couldn’t move forward in my escape plan, my survival skills were steadily improving.
And now—
“Gather around, everyone.”
The sky had turned a clear, vivid blue, as if the rain had never fallen. Finally ready to depart, we gathered around a large circular table, presumably in the office of a first-class warden, and spread out a map. I could feel Deon and Ian sneaking glances at my wrist from across the table, but neither said anything.
“Ah, and don’t worry about those vine-like things. They won’t attack unless you touch them first.”
Railia’s comment seemed to distract them from their scrutiny.
“…Would’ve been nice if you’d told us earlier. Maybe then the three of us wouldn’t have crammed ourselves into a tiny storage room. Thanks for the last-minute info, really.”
Ian rested both hands on the table and let out a sharp laugh. Railia blinked innocently and shrugged.
“Oh? I must’ve forgotten to mention it since I couldn’t see it myself. Sorry.”
Her blue eyes folded like crescent moons, and her lips curved into a naturally sweet smile. Her white, even teeth added to her fresh, gentle charm. She looked like someone who would smell faintly of soap when she smiled.
So this is what the female lead is supposed to look like.
Even as a fellow woman, I had to admit she made you stop and stare. I’d thought Lemoni wasn’t bad-looking either, but the moment Railia smiled, it made complete sense why she was the heroine.
“Ugh. One crazy bastard’s enough.”
Ian twisted his lips in annoyance.
Railia definitely wasn’t easy to deal with. Even in the original story, she carried the label of “chaotic heroine.” She never hid her dislike when running into Deon or Ian, like during the vine incident.
So, in this situation, I figured I should be the one to mediate.
“Anyway, now that we’ve got all three keys, we can head straight for the main gate, right?”
“The buildings are arranged in a circular formation, so if we go from Block E to Block A, we’ll reach the front gate.”
Deon, who had been quietly listening, chimed in, and others turned their attention to us. Thankfully, the topic shifted.
“By the way, what’s in Block E? Each building seems to have different characteristics.”
Cedric asked, and all eyes naturally turned to me. Of course. Everyone assumed I’d know since I was supposedly a warden. I wasn’t a real one, but I did know the original story, so I gave a hesitant reply.
“Block E is… a bit complicated. If possible, I’d prefer we didn’t go inside the building at all and just passed by.”
“Why? What’s in there?”
Railia asked as she tied her hair up.
How was I supposed to explain this? Each building was marked with a symbol on the map. Block A had a cross. Block B, chains. Block C, gold coins. The deadly plants we encountered were in Block D. And the symbol for the final block, E, was an eye.
An eye. Its meaning could vary. But the issue was that the beings confined in Block E were invisible.
* * *
“From here on, let’s go single file. Stay alert—we don’t know what might jump out.”
Having once led monster-hunting squads and knight orders as a key figure of the Khan Federation, Deon naturally took the lead. We filled our canteens at the stream near Block D and began our journey toward Block E.
They said monsters in Block D couldn’t speak. That included trees, soil mounds, and even the colorful poisonous plants, so we had no choice but to stay on high alert as we walked.
I tied my hair back with the string Railia gave me and rolled up the sleeves of the oversized prison uniform Ian had reluctantly handed over. The body was loose, and the sleeves were too short, making it look awkward, but I had no choice. I needed minimal distractions to focus on my aim.
Walking with both hands on my shotgun, the atmosphere was silent. Everyone here had encountered monsters before—we all knew idle chatter wasn’t helpful.
And then, right at high noon, it happened.
“Stop.”
Deon’s low voice broke the stillness.
“There are two up ahead.”
Ian, who had been trailing behind, picked up on the tension and moved past me to stand beside Deon. I flinched at the sound of his voice, which I hadn’t heard in a while, and took up a sniping stance.
“They’re just standing there.”
“Yeah. Doesn’t seem like they want to attack.”
The two acted like there was definitely something there. From behind them, I peered ahead—but saw nothing.
“…Are they far away?”
Fear of the unknown can be stronger than fear of reality. Even though I knew Ian and Deon were in front of me, I still wanted to confirm it myself.
“They’re right in front of you. You should be able to see them now.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“Can’t you see those black leaf-looking things stuck to the tree?”
“I see those, but—”
I squinted, curiosity getting the better of me. Stuck to the tree was something shaped like a giant black leaf, about two meters long. At first, I thought the tree was diseased, but now that Deon mentioned it, its texture was nothing like the tree bark—smooth like a snake’s skin, but not shiny. Like it was covered in tiny invisible hairs that dulled its surface.
“That’s a living thing?”
“It’s been moving this whole time. Blink and you’ll see it shift from one tree to another, slowly getting closer.”
I suddenly realized how dumb my question had been. We were in Block D, after all.
“Like some mutt hiding its head and thinking it’s invisible.”
Ian chuckled wryly.
Hide its head? I looked again at what he’d pointed out and finally understood. My whole body tensed.
That two-meter-long black leaf?
It was a wing. More specifically, a bat’s wing—curled to hide its body.
