11 – I saw a girl

What was in the bottle the girl showed me was a ring made of blue, translucent flower bud stems.

The full ring, which had weak magic and gave off a soft glow in the dark, was definitely something Chaejin made herself.

‘That… ….’

Suddenly, memories of the past come to mind.

[ Isn’t it wonderful that there is a place like this in a dull looking cave? ]

[ That’s right, warrior. It’s a flower that can’t be easily seen, but I didn’t think there would be a cluster like this. I’ll have to come back again later. ]

Mysterious and beautiful scenery of nature encountered in a moment of peace.

Standing amidst the softly glowing stems of translucent flower buds on a black stone, it was like walking on a beautiful universe.

At that time, Chaejin cut off one stem and made it into a ring to keep the memories of this time.

And he gave it as a gift to his lover, Elua.

[ What, what…… It’s hardly a gift, but I made it anyway. I think it would suit you pretty well. ]

[ Thank you very much, warrior. It’s so pretty. ]

After saying that, she put the full ring that Chaejin had made on her left ring finger and smiled broadly.

[ How is it? Will it suit you? ]

[ …… Yes. It really, really suits you. ]

[Come to think of it, this is the first gift from the hero. I want to cherish it for the rest of my life. ]

[ Huh? There’s no need for that. When it’s all over and I go back, I’ll give you a gift again with a proper one. ]

[ Still. Somehow it touched my heart…… Happy. hehehe, I expect something right, right? ]

… ….

[ Oh, please, at least close the door…… ! ]

“Wook.”

While reminiscing about her memories, a very bad memory came to mind.

‘Damn it, just thinking about this makes me nauseous.’

The memory of that day is a deep trauma for Chaejin.

Suddenly covering her mouth and turning her face, the girl startles in surprise.

“Gwa, are you okay?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Than that…… How do you do this?”

I really had no one-on-one relationship with this kid.

What was the reason for this mean and scruffy girl to come here with something like this?

There are probably few things in the world that are more curious about Chaejin now.

“This is something my mother really cherished.”

…… Mother?

Chaejin had to think about the meaning of the words for a long time.

That must be something he gave to Elua

If ‘Mother’ was cherishing this… ….

That girl is Elua’s daughter?

‘When were you born and raised like that… No, common sense doesn’t make sense.’

Elua is young.

She will probably turn twenty-three this year.

To be honest, the age difference between me and this kid is not that much.

It takes about five or six hits.

She couldn’t have given birth.

‘Then, the other way.’

Adoption.

Apparently, that’s all there is to it.

But why are you such a beggar?

Still, Elua is an aristocrat and a skilled wizard, and she should have some wealth, but she didn’t think she would let her walk around like that without shoes.

There are more than one or two questionable corners.

Perhaps reading the atmosphere from my expression, the girl spoke up first.

“My name is Irill. Originally, it is correct to call her mother Neil unnie, but since she picked me up from dying on the street, I am calling her mother. All of my younger siblings call me mother, but just because I’m a bit older, I can’t call her differently.”

Standing in front of Chaejin, it was clear that she was nervous, and her harsh voice showed that she was very tired, but she seemed to be trying to speak as clearly as possible.

‘They picked up what was dying on the street…… Are there any siblings there? What were you doing while I was gone?’

Elua said she broke her engagement with her own mouth.

Then they run an orphanage or something?

She disregarded her orders and betrayed her hero, and something went wrong with her fiancé who died and couldn’t live.

“Did Elua tell you to come?”

She shook her head loudly, as if it wasn’t like this at all.

“Her mother would secretly go somewhere unseen late at night and she would hold this bottle in her hand and cry. She seemed to remember something very sad. She was weird She wore it around her neck all the time except when she went to see her nobles with such a sad and distressed expression on her face.”

“… ….”

The more I listen to her story about Elua, the more questions I have about her.

‘What the hell did she want to do? She couldn’t give up on love, but she cherished me? She’s disgusting.’

Iril’s words continue.

“By the way, he returned home a few days ago and buried it in front of the yard. It was night for her, but by morning she was on her knees crying in front of the spot where she buried this. I’m curious. She said what the hell is this. She wondered what it was that made her mother so sad… ….”

Then Iril closed his eyes and opened the bottle with both his hands.

“So I dug it up without her mother’s knowledge and held it in her hand. Then I felt something like a strong presence somewhere. For some reason, it felt very warm and cozy, so I was even more curious about it. Who is the place that the object in this bottle tells you? Who is it that exudes such warm energy? Therefore…… I walked. I really want to meet you.”

I couldn’t see her face well because of her tousled hair, like her ghost, but I could see that the corners of her mouth were raised.

“The true identity of that energy was the hero! Awesome. I, I heard a lot about her mother. She is very strong, kind and wonderful. It’s such an honor to meet you…… ! Glory-“

Fluff.

Iril suddenly collapses without continuing her words.

When I looked at her startled state, she was fainting.

‘She said it was a few days ago. She says she’s been walking all along since then?’

Chaejin laid the girl down on the soft grass and brushed her hair to see her face.

Her skin color itself is pale even in the midst of dirty soup.

Contrast that with thick dark circles.

Apparently, she didn’t sleep and just walked.

‘The condition of the feet doesn’t make sense either.’

She came barefoot without her shoes, and her feet and legs were scratched and dented here and there, full of scratches and bruises.

‘Why did you do this?’

It was like someone who had been chased by a monster.

‘I’ll have to ask when I wake up… ….’

But she felt that she had to do something before that.

About 6 days have passed since I came here.

In the case of Chae-jin, whose body has been reconstructed with mana while receiving divine protection, there is no big problem even if she doesn’t put anything in her mouth for up to a week.

If you sit down without consuming anything like a mangbuseok without consuming energy, you can survive for years without eating.

But this girl wasn’t like that at all.

If Elua returned that day and soon after she returned, it is said that if this girl had set out on her way, she would have walked nonstop for at least five days and nights…….

It’s not impossible.

It’s not impossible, but it took a lot of tenacity and willpower.

‘It’s hard to believe that this kid did it. But this physical condition.’

Chaejin put her hands on her arms, legs, her face, etc., And diagnosed her girl’s physical condition in detail.

His body, which had no trace of training, was considerably damaged, as if he had done a ridiculous amount of work, and he was skinny and had no energy, perhaps because he hadn’t eaten for a long time.

Death from overwork is not so called because you are really exhausted and your vitality has been exhausted.

Death from overwork is the death of a disease caused by the accumulation of fatigue.

But in the case of this girl, she was really in danger of dying from exhaustion and stress.

If left unattended, it may be difficult to expect to wake up next time.

‘I still have more questions to ask. No matter what, I have to live.’

Chaejin moved her place after protecting her from wild animals and the like by spreading her aura around her.

This is a deep forest.

There were also many dangerous wild animals.

The fact that the girl reached this point through the forest was due to considerable luck.

She moved quickly to find wild animals, hunted and groomed them, then sold the by-products in the nearest town.

Then, at her clothing store, she bought two deep-hatted robes that completely covered her face to hide her identity.

She bought ingredients and medicines and returned to her original place.

‘I wish I had bought a better potion… ….’

She hurriedly hunted wild animals and sold them to a sudden wife. With the money she sold, she couldn’t buy a proper potion.

It was fortunate that the dwarf even left her backpack behind.

“Ugh, ugh… ….”

The magic learned at the level of education, Cleanse removes germs, etc., Then applies medicine to the injured area, and pours cheap potions into the mouth.

After that, I washed her face and hair in a clean stream near her.

‘Someone has to wash up. Even if her face is clean, the character comes alive. So is her hair It’s much prettier to show off your forehead than to walk around like a ghost.’

She smiled and thought about it, and soon after, the girl woke up with a flinch.

“Aww… ! Aww!”

As soon as she wakes up, her whole body screams or she turns over in a fit like someone who has been paralyzed.

At that time, touching it could have the opposite effect, so it was better to just watch calmly from the sidelines.

“You should have moved your body a little more gently.”

“Haa… Sigh… ….”

Chaejin waited for her while preparing her meal until she could get her body under control.

For some reason, as soon as Ilil came to her senses, he covered her eyes with his thick bangs.

“Are you okay now?”

“Yes, yes. Did the hero heal you?”

“Yes. If I had left it alone, it would probably have stayed asleep and died.”

“Thank you! Thank you! The hero is my lifesaver!”

“If you hadn’t come to me, your body wouldn’t have been like that.”

Bubble Bubble….

Chaejin, who was stirring the porridge until the vegetables she added were crushed and soft, asked Irill again.

“Did you keep walking without sleep?”

“Yes?”

“On my way here.”

“Ah…… On the first day, I rode a carriage with my pocket money, but it ran out…… From the next day, I just kept walking.”

“You could have come a little slower. Did you really have to come in such a risky way?”

“But I really wanted to meet you. The warrior who saved the world. A kind, nice and great person. A warrior with such a warm energy.”

“… ….”

Chae-jin just laughed bitterly, probably because she was tired of saying that she wasn’t such a great person anymore.

“If I don’t go quickly, I might leave. It seemed like if it wasn’t now, we’d never see each other again.”

“With that, you would know where I am.”

I don’t know if it’s because of the divine protection, but the hero’s presence sometimes dwells in people around him or things that have been by his side for a long time.

That’s why party members such as Juri and Trisha knew Chaejin’s exact location.

The full ring that Elua always carried also had the presence of a hero.

“So, hehehe…… Anyway, from the middle, it seemed that I would not be able to safely walk or go back. So I just wanted to keep looking straight ahead.”

“You are very reckless and have no countermeasures. Have you heard that you can’t dry normally? Even ten lives would not be enough.”

“Ahahahaha… ….”

“What about clothes and shoes? Doesn’t Elua give you that too?”

“Ah, it suddenly rained in the middle of the day, and I spread my soaked wet thing on a sunny rock-.”

“Perhaps a strong wind suddenly blew everything away.”

“Eh heh, heh heh heh.”

“I’m glad I found that.”

It seems like the cooking is finished while we are talking.

Dalgrak, Dalgrak.

“Eat. I want to eat something more delicious, but I can’t help it because if I eat something stimulating when I’m starving for a long time, I could suddenly die.”

“Ah…… No! I am so grateful and happy just to share the food…… !”

Chaejin took a bite of the vegetable porridge she had made and served it to Irill in a tableware she bought along with the ingredients.

Moderately salty, you can feel the savory taste of vegetables and rice.

It felt pretty boring, but it was still worth eating.

“After— after—.”

Hurup.

She blew hard and her eyes widened as she ate a spoonful.

“You, too… It’s delicious…… ?”

“What wouldn’t taste good if I starved for five days.”

“Your hero is good at cooking too…… !”

“Okay. There are plenty of them, so eat a lot.”

After her one-time meal, it was time to get some information from her.

Chaejin asked Iril.

“What is Elua doing?”

“Her mother taught magic at the Solar Academy. After the world turned ugly, she stopped and focused on taking care of us. Now is…… Perhaps she went to the battlefield.”

“A battlefield?”

“Yes…… She was given an official letter by the emperor. I will give half of the empire to any hero who can remove the disaster that has fallen on the world…… So many people are heading to the battlefield. Besides, my mother was also a member of the ex-hero party…….”

“It looks like he was dragged away.”

“…… Yes.”

Half the empire, only half.

It seemed that they hadn’t come to their senses yet.

Even if, like a miracle, there is a hero who can really do it, he won’t be paying a real reward.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Me, me?”

“Yes, you. Because I can’t stay here all the time.”

“I…… Well, I guess I should go home now, right? I met the warrior like this…….”

“What are you going to do after you return home? You know that. This world will perish maybe in 2 years. Everyone will die.”

“Ugh, hmm. I’m not sure about that. There won’t be anything I can do…….”

Iril, who hesitated and blurted out her words, continued cautiously.

“Stir…… Hero, aren’t you going to save the world?”

“Yes, I am not going.”

“Uh…… Why? Hero, isn’t that right?”

“I just hate it. Destruction doesn’t matter to me anyway.”

“… ….”

Iril’s eyes widened as he stiffened like a meerkat deprived of food.

She must have been disappointed when she showed that she longed for the hero.

To think that the hero he longed for was such a person.

What she said to be disappointed in the first place was creepy.

It was more comfortable to have the fantasy about the hero disappear.

“Hero.”

“Why?”

“My mother did it. Said the hero did a great job saving the world. I did, but a lot of people did it wrong.”

“There is nothing wrong with that.”

“I want to know too. What happened to the replacement hero and my mother? Why did she have sad eyes when her mother talked about the warrior. She was always curious. Can you tell me?”

Although Chaejin thought of Lee Lil as a ‘child’, she is not that young.

A time in between a girl and a woman, a time when you may or may not have reached adulthood.

He said that he was old enough to know everything.

Anyway, it wouldn’t be any different if I wasted a few more days after wasting so much time here.

Iril must have come this far after overcoming death several times.

She decided to dispel her curiosity as a way of paying her little homage to her.