Chapter – 13
Then the fox dropped the paper it had been carrying in its mouth into Kyle’s hand. Kyle, puzzled, unfolded it.
[The Western Priestess is imprisoned by Giyon, the lord of Gotins.]
Kyle stared at the letter for a long moment, then rose to his feet.
He told the officials he would return tomorrow, then immediately mounted his horse. For someone of Kyle’s skill, the distance was easily a day’s round trip on a fast horse.
When the king left the castle, a knight assigned as his escort followed after him.
“Your Majesty. Where are you going?”
“To Gotins.”
“Yes, sire. I will provide cover.”
“No. I’m going alone—stay and guard the royal castle. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The knight fell back. After all, they were called royal guards, but it was Kyle’s own strength that protected everyone.
Kyle rode hard toward Gotins.
* * *
Amilla and Dee had climbed up the northeastern hill searching for a cave. The mountain was much more rugged than they had expected, making the task extremely difficult.
Dee collapsed onto the ground, panting.
“Let’s eat lunch first, Amilla.”
“Do as you like.”
Amilla replied curtly.
Their lunches were completely different. Amilla, because of the expectations people had of a priestess, never ate meat in public. Dee, on the other hand, was a committed carnivore.
“Amilla, what kind of food do you like?”
“……”
“Amilla?”
“A priestess of the god Roxand eats only cold food.”
“What? That makes no sense.”
“I’ve always done it.”
Dee froze at her words.
Raised as a priestess of Roxand, Amilla had pushed herself desperately to live up to the image of a figure straight out of legend. She spent her days praying, never played, trained tirelessly with her bow—and would not eat warm food.
Dee scraped together her remaining strength and stood up, gathering dry twigs. She built a little stone wall around them, lit a fire, and began to heat the stew Rita had sealed in a container. The stew was full of large chunks of lamb and vegetables, and soon an incredible aroma filled the air. Dee said:
“Oh no, it cooled down. Completely cold now.”
“Don’t lie.”
“I’m serious. Oh—so cold. Ice cold!”
After boiling the entire container, Dee extinguished the fire with sand, poured the stew into a cup, and handed it to her.
“It’s chilly up here in the northern woods. Have a nice cool drink.”
“……”
“Just one sip. Hmm? One sip.”
When Dee cajoled her, Amilla lifted the stew to her lips. No wonder she’d turned into a bit of a sociopath—she’d eaten cold food all her life. Dee watched her with her chin resting on her hand as Amilla murmured:
“…It’s delicious.”
“Right? Amazing, isn’t it? Want more?”
When Dee offered the rest, Amilla grabbed the entire bowl—oblivious to the heat—and gulped the stew down. The lamb, long simmered, melted in her mouth before sliding down her throat.
After sharing stew and fruit, the two stood up again. With warmth in their stomachs, their strength returned. They pushed on toward the cave.
The cave entrance was pitch-black. Yet strangely, deeper inside, a faint, beautiful blue light glowed.
Dee gasped.
“Amilla, what is that?”
“Gotins is famous for its luminescent material. They never tell outsiders where it comes from—looks like it was here.”
“Oooh, really? Is it like fireflies?”
“No. Gotins has hundreds of kinds of moss. Some contain luminescent material. The snails living in this cave eat that moss and produce glowing mucus.”
“Our Amilla is not only pretty and strong—she’s smart too.”
Dee praised her lavishly, then smeared a little glowing substance from the cave wall onto her face.
“How do I look?”
With a round glowing nose and whisker-like lines, she looked like a strange cat. Amilla’s lips twitched, but she quickly regained composure. Dee walked deeper in.
“Amilla, you were born with a star that shines when you smile.”
“I’m always pretty.”
“Damn it, it’s infuriating when a truly pretty girl says stuff like that.”
The two walked in, closer than before. The deeper they went, the brighter the glowing material shone.
Then—it happened.
Dee froze and swallowed hard.
“Amilla.”
“Mm.”
“I’ll count to three. Then turn around and run.”
The rumor about the ghosts wasn’t a lie.
More than that—
No ghost in the world could look more ghost-like than these ghosts.
Inside the cave, dozens and dozens of ghost-like creatures—like white sheets floating—were humming as they flew around.
Amilla expressionlessly drew her bow.
“We catch them.”
“You can’t shoot ghosts with a bow!”
But she had already released the arrow. It shot forward, struck one ghost—whose form scattered, then reassembled immediately.
Around a hundred ghosts simultaneously turned toward the source of the arrow. Realizing arrows were useless, Amilla’s face tightened, and she spun around.
But as she stepped, the crunch of gravel echoed. The ghosts swarmed toward her, surrounding her. Amilla looked at Dee.
“…When are you going to count to three?”
Don’t rely on me like that so calmly!
Dee couldn’t even speak; she put a finger to her lips, signaling silence.
She carefully picked up a stone and tossed it aside. The ghosts, hearing the sound, drifted toward it. Then, as if disgusted by something, they shrieked and recoiled.
The sound was horrible—enough to give someone a heart attack.
Why are they all gathered here?
Dee recalled Jin’s earlier words.
That Gotins had been unable to harvest the glowing material recently.
Does that mean these ghosts have occupied the cave for a while? And that they can see the glowing material?
Dee wiped glowing material on one of Amilla’s arrows, then waved it in the air. A ghost followed it, entranced.
She coated the arrow thoroughly and whispered so quietly her mouth barely moved:
“Amilla, when I tell you to shoot, aim toward the cave entrance. Then lie down and stay silent.”
Amilla nodded and took the arrow.
Dee rolled another stone, and when the ghosts shifted slightly, she signaled Amilla.
Amilla fired and immediately dropped to the ground. The ghosts shrieked, swarming overhead and chasing the glowing arrow toward the cave entrance.
The entrance filled with writhing ghosts.
As the sun began to set, they slowly drifted out one by one. They seemed to dislike sunlight.
They weren’t particularly aggressive—just terrifyingly loud.
Huddled inside, Amilla said tensely:
“I have to get to Gotins square before sunset.”
Dee whispered back:
“Amilla, you don’t feel fear. Just run out.”
“It’s too loud. They scream.”
Amilla muttered. She especially hated loud noises.
Dee sighed dramatically.
“If you tell me what you’re going to do in the square, I’ll try running through them.”
“…Tell you when we’re out.”
“You know how to negotiate now. Fine. I’ll try. Follow if it’s safe.”
Dee took a deep breath. She had never imagined she’d become this brave. She’d been a normal civilian not long ago—and now she had to sprint through ghosts?
Closing her eyes tightly, she bolted toward the exit.
A deafening shriek filled the cave. Dee turned—she’d made it outside. But the ghosts clung to the cave walls, pulling away from her.
When Amilla tried to step forward, the ghosts surged toward her.
Dee grumbled:
“They’re basically blind. Why do they discriminate between people?”
Since Amilla couldn’t pass, Dee went back in. The ghosts withdrew again.
Dee untied her long hair ribbon.
“All right, until the sun fully sets, let’s play string figures. I’ll make a star.”
“Star?”
She tied the ribbon into a loop and wove her fingers, forming a star shape. Amilla blinked rapidly.
“This one’s a twin star.”
There were two.
It was the first time Dee had seen Amilla look so dazed, and she became even more enthusiastic, teaching her how to play. While they focused on the string, Dee whispered:
“How could Kyle make just the two of us deal with something this scary?”
When Dee blamed Kyle, Amilla replied icily:
“If you insult His Majesty again, I’ll kill you here.”
“…Huh?”
Dee, taken aback, reconsidered.
No way. A sociopath can’t like someone. I almost thought she liked Kyle… Wait—does she?
Amilla continued, weaving the string coldly:
“High Priest Bernadoc insisted Gotins was dangerous and that priestesses must be sent. His Majesty had no choice. The High Priest said if he couldn’t determine which of us was the real priestess here, he should execute you immediately since you can’t shoot a bow.”
“…Really?”
Dee remembered Kyle telling her, If you back out now, even I won’t be able to save your life.
He seemed hot-tempered, yet strangely self-restraining.
Dee asked:
“So. What exactly do you have to do in the square?”
“Keep shooting arrows. Into the sky.”
“I see.”
She nodded knowingly.
Just then, noise came from outside.
Peeking out, Dee saw masked men waving sticks coated with glowing material. The ghosts drifted toward them, mesmerized.
Alarmed, Dee clamped Amilla’s mouth shut and pressed against the wall.
One man said:
“Anyone here?”
Another replied:
“If there were, those things would be harassing them by now.”
“True. All right, light it up.”
A man set the glowing-coated stick on fire. Blue flames erupted—and a ghost dove into it, vanishing in a burst of fire.
All the ghosts shrieked and fled toward the village.
That’s it.
Dee swallowed hard, hurried back inside, and started filling their lunch container with glowing material. When Amilla approached, Dee squinted at her as if seeing a blur.
“Amilla. You know I have divine power, right?”
“You don’t.”
“I do. And I think this isn’t the first time you’ve met Giyon, the lord of Gotins.”
“……”
Amilla stared coldly.
Dee suspected Bernadoc had used Giyon to imprison her—and engineered all of this to force Amilla to resolve the situation alone.
In other words, Bernadoc might have orchestrated everything.
“Let’s go. We need to return to the village.”
Dee said, rushing out. Amilla followed—she had grown to trust Dee, if only a little.
The two burst into the center of the village square, breathless.
Dee, barely able to speak, gasped:
“Okay—we split up here. Do your thing.”
“What thing?”
“You don’t need to know!”
And Dee sprinted off.
