Chapter 34
“It looks like no one else lives here but you, so I was curious—do you have any friends to play with?”
Even to me, that sounded like an incredibly rude question. But the young girl’s expression was filled only with pure curiosity. Naturally, the boy, who looked like he obviously didn’t have any friends, turned bright red. Swallowing his frustration like he was about to snap, he couldn’t seem to come up with a retort and just shouted instead.
“What business is it of yours whether I have friends or not?! Are you making fun of me?!”
“…So, you don’t have any?”
“I do! I have tons of them!”
My jaw dropped.
“How many?”
“Uh… about ten.”
“Really? How did you meet them? What do you guys play?”
Why was I so full of questions? My head was spinning from the overwhelming curiosity, and as if my body were acting on its own, I moved closer to him and continued probing.
“Am I one of them?”
But at that question, the boy froze, and the red in his ears gradually faded.
“…Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You are.”
“Thank goodness. I was asking because you’re my only friend. But I guess you’re pretty popular, huh? Maybe it’s because you’re cute.”
There was a brief silence. I hadn’t meant anything by it, but the boy stopped in his tracks with a shocked look. Honestly, I was just as stunned. The version of me in this dream had created an awkward atmosphere with an innocent face.
“…Hey. Do you know how hard it is to become my friend?”
“There are conditions?”
“Of course.”
When I widened my eyes, the boy crossed his arms smugly, clearly pleased with my reaction.
“To be my friend, you have to come visit me at least once a week.”
That was a pretty strict condition. I bit my lower lip in worry, wondering if I’d be disqualified from being his friend.
“…That’s too often. My parents wouldn’t allow it.”
“Then for you, I’ll make an exception—once a month.”
“Hmm, but if they find out I was kidnapped, they might not let me out of the Southern Empire for years.”
The boy pouted. He was clearly displeased, but at the mention of kidnapping, even he seemed to understand the gravity of the situation.
Our conversation naturally came to a halt, and we walked in silence for a while. Then, a faint ripple broke across the surface, and the hem of my shoe dipped into the water. This place was truly mysterious. They said divine beasts came here to rest, but where and how did they find rest here?
Soon, blades of grass began to sprout in the calm stream. Following behind the boy absentmindedly, I suddenly realized we were standing in a familiar forest bathed in sunlight. It was the place where I had first met the boy.
My eyes slowly widened as realization struck. I had a strong feeling that leaving this forest meant parting ways with him.
“…Maybe when I grow up, I’ll be able to come find you.”
“Grown up? What’s the standard for that in human terms?”
The boy, who had been silent, suddenly showed interest. Excited, I began counting on my fingers like maple leaves.
“Sixteen, I think? Or maybe not. If I want my parents to let me travel abroad, I’d have to be legally an adult in both the Southern and Western Empires, so maybe not sixteen.”
Seventeen, perhaps? No—some places held coming-of-age ceremonies at nineteen.
‘No, it’s definitely sixteen!’
Possessing the girl’s body, I shouted in my mind while recalling the original story. But the girl began whining, saying she only had ten fingers, and started counting again. She got to five when something suddenly struck my forehead.
“…You need to go now.”
“Huh?”
It was the boy’s back. His voice suddenly dropped into a threatening tone. He wasn’t even looking at me—he was staring somewhere else, eyes dark with an expression I’d never seen before. Frightened, I took a step back.
“…By myself?”
“You were planning to go alone anyway. Look. See that white castle over there?”
The boy pointed at something in the distance.
“Yeah.”
Just as he said, I could see a thin white bell tower rising like a needle between the evergreen trees.
“That’s the White Bell Tower. It was built at the center of the Northern Empire’s capital when it was still prosperous. The empire’s gone now, and the nobles with it, but there’s probably a small village nearby.”
“…Why?”
“The Northern Empire fell due to monster attacks. Now it’s called the Borderlands. Neither the Western nor Southern Empires can claim this land because of the monsters, so no one really dares to come here. Just head toward that tower. You’ll find a main road from there. If you’re ever lost, always go toward the white castle.”
Why was he suddenly telling me to leave alone? Anxious, I tugged at his sleeve.
“…Can’t we go together? I don’t even know how to get back here.”
“I’ll come find you later. Now go.”
He said it so nonchalantly—it was clear he had no plans for later.
“Why?”
“Just hurry and run!”
With an urgent shout, his strong hand pushed me away. He wasn’t kidding. If I didn’t move, he looked ready to explode. Startled by his urgency, I quickly nodded and opened my eyes.
But this wasn’t the same forest I remembered.
It was a wild jungle, not a field of trees. Thick foliage trembled in the wind like a tropical rainforest. The sunlight filtering through the leaves was so bright that I squinted as I slowly sat up. A jacket with frills slid off me. It was unmistakably the warden’s.
“…Deon?”
I didn’t know why I called his name. It had become instinct, my go-to response when I didn’t know what to do.
“Warden.”
At the sound of that, the man leaning against a nearby tree opened his eyes. When he saw me awake, his red eyes flickered.
“I’m not dead?”
He let out a faint, incredulous chuckle. Then he immediately grabbed my chin and looked into my face.
“…Starting off with a bold question, huh?”
His words were indifferent, but his gaze was intense. He seemed oddly unsettled. After silently staring at me for a moment, Deon suddenly called my name, as if testing something.
“Warden.”
“Yes?”
His red eyes widened slightly at my response.
“…Lemoni.”
He said it again, this time softer, more intimately, leaning toward me.
His sharply defined face moved closer, the red in his black hair seeming darker than usual.
“Answer me.”
Uneasy, I tried to turn away, but he caught my chin again.
“…Why do you keep calling me?”
My voice trembled without me realizing it. As his features became clearer, I could hardly breathe, let alone speak.
“I just want to see your eyes. You only look at me when I call you.”
“…That’s how most people are.”
“I’m not like most people.”
His lips twisted slightly.
“I stared at you for five years, Lemoni. Thinking of ways to make you cry. How to make you suffer.”
Here we go again.
“I already cried a lot because of you.”
“You make it sound like you did it for me.”
“It’s almost true.”
“Then cry more.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean?
“…What do you want from me?”
Wary that he might say something weird again, I narrowed my eyes at him. But he paused before answering. As if he didn’t know what to say himself, Deon backed off, furrowing his brows.
“Just… check your body.”
“Huh?”
“Check the back of your neck.”
I reached back and found it bandaged. No way. The events before I fainted flashed through my mind like a movie. I’d been bitten by the monster. At the time, I was sure I was dead.
“…Did I start to transform?”
“Took you long enough to ask.”
“Lemoni? You’re awake already?”
It was just then.
While Deon and I were locked in an intense stare, someone not far away seemed to notice me. It was Ian. Carrying an armful of fruit, he dropped it all and came bounding toward me like a puppy.
“Are you feeling okay? You don’t feel like biting me or anything?”
“…What about you?”
Ian grinned cheerfully.
“I always want to bite you, Lemoni.”
“Then I guess we’re both normal.”
Even the warden knelt in front of me and met my gaze.
“Are you all right, Lady Lemoni?”
His expression wasn’t good. He probably blamed himself for my injury. But that wasn’t it. I mustered all my strength to smile for his sake. Even without the warden, I would’ve been bitten. He’d saved me by pure chance.
“I’m fine.”
But he didn’t seem to believe it, and wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“We’ve managed to suppress the monsterization for now, but it’s best you don’t handle firearms for a while. Your body suffered a lot of invisible injuries.”
Huh?
“…Suppress what?”
The warden lowered his head like a guilty man and mumbled while glancing at the others.
“My body doesn’t contain magic. In other words, I’m a Saint.”
“…A Saint who can use holy power?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, so that’s…”
So that’s why he’s so weak.
I held back the rest of my thought and clamped my mouth shut. His explanation answered many of my questions, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud.
“Yes. That’s why I’m weak.”
