ESMLT 21

Chapter 21

At that moment, Xien slowly blinked and whispered to me.

“Wow, that’s amazing. The monster is crying, Ria.”

…Well, who wouldn’t cry? If it were me being trampled by the three of you, I’d cry too.

It was a strange situation where, despite the rabbit’s obvious fault, Xien seemed like the aggressor.

The rabbit glanced around at the men, then locked eyes with me directly.

Ears perked up, it hopped straight toward me, scratching my knees with its hind legs, as if asking to be picked up.

‘I can’t help it.’

I scooped up the rabbit.

Xien widened his eyes in mild surprise.

“You’re hugging a monster that threatened Ria?”

“I can’t help it. It’s crying like this.”

It was kind of cute, too.

“…Then maybe I’ll cry too.”

“Huh?”

Xien, tapping my chin with the tip of his gun and rolling his eyes playfully, smiled when our gazes met.

“Nothing.”

Nothing? I heard everything.

Trying to brush it off, I deliberately put on a stern expression.

“…Master of the Magic Tower, please refrain from using firearms recklessly. If a comrade gets hit, it could lead to serious injury.”

Xien pouted.

“But that rabbit was insolent toward Ria first.”

True enough.

I nodded, and Xien gave a small, satisfied smile.

“I did well, right, Ria?”

“That’s not quite it.”

This time, he blinked with innocent, clear eyes.

“Cute doesn’t work on me.”

He pouted again.

“Put your lips away.”

“…Alright. I’ll apologize to the rabbit too.”

No need to overdo it. The rabbit did attack first.

Without missing a beat, Xien clasped his hands behind his back, stepped lightly, and leaned down to whisper gently to the rabbit in my arms.

“Rabbit, I’m sorry. I’ll apologize.”

The trembling rabbit, clearly surprised that an apology was coming, widened its eyes. As it gulped, its chubby little belly jiggled.

Xien’s violet eyes narrowed slightly in a soft smile, and somehow, the rabbit’s cheeks looked a little flushed.

“But if you act rudely to Ria one more time, I’ll stick a sword across your throat. Understand?”

…I heard that too, you feisty one.

‘So that’s why you apologized.’

I gave him a deadpan look, and Xien covered it with a smile.

He straightened his posture leisurely and said:

“By the way, Ria, what are you going to do with this monster?”

“Leave it behind.”

The prince, who had been leaning against a tree with his arms crossed and seemed unconcerned, straightened up, apparently deciding the rabbit wasn’t a threat.

“It’s useless.”

Jaeger, who had been cleaning his sword, nodded in agreement.

“Hmm…”

I looked down at the rabbit.

It trembled in my arms, looking like a helpless booted cat with pleading eyes.

Well, what am I supposed to do?

“Zing… zing…”

I really don’t like animals.

“Zing…”

I really don’t like these little creatures.

“Eeek…”

I said I don’t like them.

On the path to the forest boundary at dawn.

The three men’s gazes fixed on the back of my head were a bit overwhelming.

“My lady.”

“Yes?”

“You’re going to put it down here, right?”

“What?”

“The rabbit.”

The prince gestured toward the rabbit curled up in my arms, sleeping with its belly exposed.

Naturally, I petted it as I spoke.

“How can you say that while it’s sleeping?”

The prince rubbed his chin in surprise.

“Hmm… You can’t pass by a creature that needs care, can you?”

Me? Really?

I petted the rabbit’s plump little belly and asked:

“Why would you think that? It’s a human who goes around hitting servants on the head.”

Referring to what the prince had said to me back in the eastern cottage.

“Hah.”

The prince’s lips spread in a grin. He hadn’t expected that I held a grudge, but he laughed knowingly.

Jaeger walked silently, alert to the surroundings.

At that moment, Xien approached my side.

“Ria, you’re not scared of monsters at all, huh? Most noble ladies would freak out seeing one for the first time.”

“Not scared at all. I’m a lady who enjoys hunting monsters.”

The prince snorted. I shot him a glare at his sarcasm and said:

“I was surprised, though. Quite surprised.”

It’s true—I’d only seen monsters in a compendium, so seeing one in real life was new.

‘And…’

I tilted my head to see the rabbit stirring awake, eyes half-open.

‘Why was it in the Sacred Forest?’

The Sacred Forest’s barrier should still be intact. Monsters shouldn’t be able to enter the zombie zone.

“Maybe something’s wrong with the Sacred Forest’s barrier?”

The prince swatted the overhanging brush aside with his spear.

“Could be. With all these bizarre creatures around, nothing would surprise me anymore.”

Perhaps an earthquake from the cracked land had caused a gap in the Sacred Forest’s barrier.

And that’s how this small, harmless low-tier rabbit monster could have snuck in.

I was piecing this together as a kind of butterfly effect when, suddenly…

“Zing!”

The rabbit’s eyes snapped open, and it kicked off my arm with its hind legs, bouncing away.

‘Goodbye, little one.’

I twisted my body away, empty-handed, and the prince looked at me with surprise.

“Why?”

“Not following? You’re okay with that?”

“A little disappointed, but it’s just a monster rabbit. I don’t get attached enough to be thrown around by it.”

It’s not a monster dangerous enough to chase and deal with.

“Then we should continue on our way.”

As we turned, the rabbit slipped into a bush, wiggling its rear.

It seemed to have found something, and we exchanged questioning looks.

When we pushed the bush aside and leaned in, we saw the rabbit place its paw on a trap.

The shining trap instantly sent chills down our spines.

A trap in the Sacred Forest.

A pocket dimension perfectly replicating a scenic wonder.

It swallows any living thing within a meter of it.

Once set up to protect families from wild beasts, it had caused accidents over the years when victims fell into it, so it was mostly removed years ago.

‘But why is it here…?’

I focused all my attention on the rabbit’s paw and swallowed hard.

The rabbit innocently touched the trap.

‘No, you little brat!’

Whoosh—!

The instant I reached for it a moment too late, a whirlwind spun, sucking the rabbit in.

“Ahhh!”

I felt my body lift and grabbed whatever I could.

“My lady!”

Unfortunately, it was the prince’s hair, and as he was sucked in with me, he grabbed Jaeger’s ankle, and Jaeger grabbed Xien’s neck.

One by one, we were sucked in like sausages, watching the forest scenery shrink as we fell into a blinding white light.

The scorching sun and heat pierced my skin, and I blinked awake.

‘Where… am I?’

Looking around, I realized we were in the middle of a desert, surrounded by endless sand dunes.

Sighing, I tried to sit up, but the hand supporting me sank into the sand.

I grabbed the sand and let it slip through my fingers—its texture was vivid and real.

‘To replicate reality this perfectly…’

Admiration was short-lived as unease settled in. I shook the sand off my hands and stood.

‘Then this could really be dangerous.’

I scanned my surroundings again.

Fortunately, the men were scattered nearby.

“Damn it… what the hell…”

One by one, the prince and the others stood.

I pulled a water bottle from my pouch, took a drink, and handed it to the men.

Each of them drank. Finally, the prince rinsed his head, shook off his wet hair, and looked around.

“Where’s that damn rabbit?”

“Looks like it ran off alone.”

The prince’s cold gaze focused ahead, daring it to show up.

I shook sand off my shirt and sighed.

“First, we need to find the exit from this pocket-dimension trap.”

It’s common knowledge that the Sacred Forest pocket trap has an exit.

“It seems the exit is about a kilometer away, following this marker.”

At that moment, the prince shaded his eyes and gestured to something.

A signpost. Protected by magic, a series of them led the way to the exit.

“Let’s move.”

The prince slung his spear over his shoulder and walked ahead. Jaeger adjusted his rucksack and followed.

Xien dusted the sand off a blanket and followed behind me, creating a makeshift sunshade.

Thanks to him, we escaped the blazing sun.

After a few steps, I felt a sudden chill and instinctively scanned the surroundings.

Xien looked at me, puzzled.