Chapter 7
When Ji-woo chuckled and nodded, perhaps thinking communication was established, he held out a forest berry. It was the red berry she had been eyeing for a while.
[Eat. Aren’t you hungry?]
When Ji-woo shook her head and refused, he ate one berry first.
[It’s not poisonous. Here.]
“…”
Even with no response from Ji-woo, he didn’t give up and spoke again.
[Ah, quenching your thirst comes first.]
Perhaps because she had lost a lot of blood, the water pouch he offered was truly welcome. The leather pouch containing water was cool, and although she worried it might smell gamey, it surprisingly had a refreshing peppermint scent.
[Let me see that wound.]
Having confirmed that Ji-woo at least drank some water, he pulled her arm and unwrapped the bandage.
Two long scars were revealed: one from the dagger he had swung, and one from her self-inflicted wound. Perhaps Akarna’s power had weakened significantly, as the wounds were healing very slowly.
But wasn’t he the one who swung the knife first?
Ji-woo rather irritably pulled her arm away.
[Hey.]
He spoke urgently, having lost hold of her arm.
[I apologize for attacking you.]
“…”
[Or can you not speak?]
Ji-woo, who had been trying not to engage, eventually surrendered and spoke up.
“I can only speak the Imperial language.”
After a moment, he responded in the same language as Ji-woo.
“I see.”
It wasn’t the accent she was used to, but it was unmistakably the Imperial language.
“…I don’t know if my words sound right to you. This is my first time speaking with a human.”
“It’s my first time speaking too. With someone like you… a pointy-ear.”
The man called ‘pointy-ear’ scowled deeply. His long ears also trembled, adding to his emotional expression.
“Only humans call us children of El’Landos that way.”
“…”
“Only you short-eared ones.”
The language here was automatically translated as it entered her ears, but she had no idea what ‘El’Landos’ meant. Regardless, she immediately understood what he was offended by.
‘Pointy-ear’ wasn’t a term they used for themselves; it was what the Imperials called them. And usually, such words weren’t used in a good way in the world Ji-woo originally came from either.
‘So it was a discriminatory term.’
It seemed clear she had made a verbal mistake. Ji-woo apologized immediately.
“I’m sorry. It’s because I haven’t learned the language well enough.”
The conversation ended there. Only the crackling of the campfire broke the silence between them.
Staring intently at Ji-woo, who wouldn’t touch even the well-cooked meat, let alone the berries, he spoke in a slightly softened tone.
“Then you don’t need to use formal language in a tongue you’re not familiar with.”
“…”
“It’s fortunate the wound isn’t as deep as I thought. Follow me. First, wash and disinfect…”
“I don’t need that.”
Ji-woo forcefully pushed away the hand holding her arm. But he didn’t give up and grabbed her arm again. Startled, Ji-woo flinched and looked up at him.
“I know that you saved me from being consumed by mana.”
“Ah… so you’re trying to take me with you?”
Her brow furrowed involuntarily.
Akarna’s body probably wasn’t useful only to the Empire.
Monsters didn’t attack only humans. This person had also been attacked by a monster, severely injured, and seemed to have been trying to die in a secluded place. Securing Akarna would probably be beneficial for them too.
But he frowned, laying his long ears flat at a right angle.
“I don’t know what misunderstanding you have, but it’s not that. I just know it’s common courtesy to repay someone who saved me.”
“If that’s the case, I don’t need it.”
“Then at least let me escort you to a human village.”
“Someone will come to rescue me.”
His incessant chatter suddenly stopped.
“…I see.”
With her pushing him away this much, he seemed to have nothing more to say. Those of his race didn’t like humans in the first place. Offering to guide her to a human village was probably a great favor by his standards.
But he couldn’t force his goodwill on someone who refused to the end.
Instead, he set down all the berries and the leather water pouch he had brought. He placed the fully cooked meat from the fire onto a large leaf and put it beside the fruit.
Tutting as he looked at Akarna’s unusually thin sacred robe, he took off his own cloak and draped it over Ji-woo. Getting up from his spot, he opened and closed his mouth as if to say something, but eventually left Ji-woo alone and departed.
Left alone, Ji-woo leaned against the dirt wall and closed her eyes. She was grateful he had left food and water. However, she still had no desire to put them in her mouth.
When she closed her eyes for a while and opened them again, it was dark all around. The embers of the campfire were almost out. Ji-woo clutched the cloak wrapped around her body for no reason.
From the peaceful forest came the sound of a Scops owl, grass insects, and crickets.
Naturally, there was no one by her side.
* * *
The rescue team did not find Ji-woo quickly.
She had spent two nights in such an inconspicuous cave, so it was understandable they couldn’t find her.
Ji-woo came out of the cave and retraced the path she had taken, climbing back up. The landslide had been large, and the carriage had fallen, so she thought she’d be easy to find, but that was a misjudgment.
The trees stretching high into the sky were dense, and the grass grew thickly. As it wasn’t a well-traveled area, there were no easy paths to walk. Moreover, her leg hurt so much, perhaps the effect of the fall from a height hadn’t subsided. Her hobbling gait tired Ji-woo even more.
In truth, everywhere looked the same. She had walked for a while, but only felt like she was going in circles.
After wandering through thick thickets, Ji-woo stopped where a thin stream flowed. The water was so clear it reflected her face like a mirror. She scooped up water with her hands to drink, and washed her tired face several times. Then she realized her body was burning up with a serious fever.
‘I’m going to get sick at this rate.’
Living as Akarna, she had learned one thing. While this body healed quickly from external stimuli, when she fell ill due to internal stress, that resilience didn’t show up. And now was precisely that state.
She needed to get up and walk more, but she didn’t have the energy. Ji-woo sat down leaning against a large tree. She closed her eyes, listening to the babbling water.
* * *
When she came to, she felt a sense of buoyancy. Along with that, a pleasant smell wafted over her. Ji-woo unconsciously buried her face, chasing the scent, then came to her senses.
Someone was carrying her on their back, moving.
Startled, Ji-woo tried to raise her body and get away, and he stopped walking.
“Ugh…”
“Stay still.”
“What… what is this…?”
“You were unconscious and collapsed for three days. Didn’t you say someone was coming to get you? Why hasn’t anyone come?”
“Put… put me down.”
“I can’t. You’ll die like that.”
*I don’t really want to live, though.*
Regardless of what Ji-woo was thinking, he adjusted her on his back and continued walking.
She couldn’t stay like this, being carried. If they moved further from the accident site, she might never be rescued. She had to go back even now.
As if knowing what Ji-woo was thinking, he said.
“First, let’s get you stabilized, then I’ll send you back. Just hold on a little longer.”
At those words, Ji-woo stopped her fidgeting, uncomfortable movements.
“You’ll send me back?”
“Yes. I’ll safely send you back to your hometown.”
“…Hometown.”
He didn’t know exactly where Ji-woo’s hometown was, so he surely meant the Empire. But the word ‘hometown’ brought only one place to Ji-woo’s mind.
Her body ached, which made her even more sorrowful. And even more homesick.
“If I really get better, will you send me?”
“…Yes.”
Ji-woo relaxed her body and docilely let herself be carried.
“I want to go home…”
She didn’t expect it to come true. Even so, the reason her heart loosened and she stopped resisting was because just hearing those words, even just those few, was enough.
In the end, her fever rose further, and she became truly ill.
Something similar had happened once in the temple, due to frequent overwork. But the priests didn’t even bring her a fever reducer.
This body that Akanna had possessed this time seemed too weak. If this was the case, it would be better to let her die and find a healthier body. That was the kind of reason they gave. So Ji-woo had endured her sickness alone with just one attending servant to care for her.
Even after her fever broke, Ji-woo couldn’t rest easy. If she didn’t forcefully fulfill her duties as Akarna, the priests would kill her and try to summon a new body.
That was how the temple tamed Akarna.
“Here, eat this. Quickly.”
“I, I don’t want to!”
Out of her mind with fever, when the man tried to feed her something, she accepted it as poison to kill her.
“Hey, calm down!”
Trying to soothe Ji-woo, who had instantly become terrified, he showed her the medicine properly. The cloudy liquid was exactly the same as the fever reducer she knew.
“This is medicine.”
“M-medicine?”
“Yes, a fever reducer. Any higher and it’s dangerous. We need to lower your temperature.”
But her shivering body couldn’t even properly swallow the mild medicine.
Clicking his tongue, the man downed the medicine in one gulp, then kissed Ji-woo on the lips.
