< Chapter 39 - Encounter #3 >
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At the same time, the Sky Roof Mountains.
Jude and Cordelia opened their eyes at the same time, startled.
It was because of the voice that was heard along with the sound of the wind.
“Did you hear that too?”
As Cordelia spoke in a low voice, Uther nodded slowly.
He spoke in a small voice, as if to confirm.
“Who was there…?”
“uh.”
Cordelia responded to Uther’s words with a nervous expression. No, rather than nervousness, her expression was slightly frightened.
And at that very moment.
“It’s there? It’s there?”
The voice was heard once again.
The voice of a frail woman follows the rough wind, as if being swept away by the rough wind, mournfully.
“What is it, what is it? What is this?”
Cordelia spoke quickly, hugging Uther tightly. Anyone could tell that her face was terrified.
“Cordelia? Are you okay?”
“Hey, aren’t you a ghost? You said there’s no one here.”
A land where not only humans but even wild gods cannot live.
A woman’s voice was heard in such a place. And it was eerie, following the wind.
‘The content is also strange!’
Are you there?
Are you there?
Isn’t this exactly the pattern you see in scary stories?
“Euuuu······.”
Cordelia didn’t really like scary stories.
If you tell a scary story at a retreat or something, there’s bound to be at least one child in the class who covers their ears and refuses to listen, and Cordelia was just that case.
‘I keep thinking about it!’
When I go to the bathroom at night.
When I ride the elevator alone at night.
When I walk alone at night.
“You’re there… right? Can you hear my voice?”
The voice came closer.
But the closer I got, the more I could tell that it wasn’t a human voice.
A voice torn by the wind.
A slow and eerie tone, a little different from that of an ordinary woman.
“Eek.”
Cordelia, who was even more frightened, closed her eyes tightly and hugged Uther tightly.
And then Uther thought.
‘You’re cuter when you’re scared.’
How can you be so pretty and cute?
But it was not the time to take it easy and enjoy it.
Cordelia’s hugs were always welcome, but if I continued to be sleepy like this, I felt like my back or waist would break somewhere.
Although weaker than Uther, Cordelia’s physical ability was still comparable to that of a normal adult male, even though she was a gangster.
“Cordelia, are you afraid of ghosts?”
At Uther’s question, Cordelia flinched and glared at Uther with a face that looked like she was about to cry – no, she looked at him.
‘What, then you’re not scared?’
Are you a ghost?
As always, Yuder understood the meaning through his eyes and said with a smile on his wolf face.
“No, in this world, even if a ghost appears, wouldn’t it be possible to just drive it out? With a spell or magic.”
Because it’s this kind of(?) world.
Uder simply dragged ghosts and supernatural phenomena into the everyday (?) appearance of Monster A, and Cordelia blinked. She answered in a small voice.
“I see?”
“That’s it.”
“That’s right, most problems can be solved by explosions.”
Even ghosts will die if you blow them up!
“Hmm… something doesn’t seem right, but let’s think of it that way for now.”
Because what’s important is that Cordelia has regained her strength.
Although Cordelia’s blue eyes seemed to have taken on a slightly dangerous glow, Uther was satisfied that she had come back to life and turned his gaze towards the tent entrance.
“Answer me… It’s there… right?”
The voice was heard again.
It was very vivid, whether it was near the tent or not.
“Let’s go out first. It’s bad inside.”
The two were now inside a crevice that had been forcibly widened.
In this state, there was nothing I could do properly, whether it was evasion, escape, or attack.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Cordelia seemed frightened again by the voice, but she answered with a much better expression than before and let go of Uther, who was holding her tightly in her arms.
“As a human.”
As Yuder spoke softly, the transformation was undone.
After taking the black wolf skin, Uther picked up Cordelia again and tightened the sling around her.
“You are wearing the wolf skin.”
“Yeah.”
Cordelia, who had been looking for a place to rest due to her lack of magical power, was still depleted.
Since I couldn’t use shield magic, I had to keep my body temperature by wearing wolf skin.
“You and Yuder?”
“I’m okay. I have the Nine Heaven and Nine Gates.”
As Uther spoke with a grin, Cordelia blinked and smiled.
“why?”
“No, I just thought you’d changed. It seems like only yesterday that you were making excuses and leaving things out here and there. I was really touched, big sister.”
“Are you good at keeping your promises?”
I decided to carry him once he gets better, but now I carry him almost every day.
“Yeah, yeah, do well. Our Yuder keeps his promise. My sister praises him a lot.”
Cordelia took her hand out of the sling and tapped Uther on the head, and Uther laughed again.
And at that moment.
“Answer···it. The answer···is···there······.”
His voice sounded a little more irritated than before, perhaps because of his mood.
It’s almost like a cry to stop pickling and come out quickly.
“Anyway, let’s go.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Cordelia swallowed hard as she put her hand back into the blanket, and Uther carefully opened the tent door.
He kicked the ground, sharpening his aura to prepare for any possible attack.
Tsuk!
Inside the tent, Yuder rose almost 5 meters high.
Uther sensed his surroundings in that state, and Cordelia spoke.
“excuse me!”
Near the rock where the two people were.
The translucent figure of a woman, who seemed to be a real ghost, was swaying in the wind.
‘He is not a wild god.’
No matter what anyone says, it was Uther and Cordelia who were the official guardians of the wild lands.
If a wild god was a member of the Golden Dragon King’s retinue, then it was possible to tell that he was a wild god, regardless of his form.
But she wasn’t a woman.
So what is it?
Really a ghost?
or not-
“government ordinance.”
The moment Cordelia spoke, the woman raised her head and looked at Uther.
The face was clearly beautiful with distinct features, but you could tell at a glance that it was not human.
Despite the biting cold, the woman was naked, without a single thread of clothing, and her eyes had no whites. The entire large eyes were one color.
‘Snow spirit?’
Or maybe it’s the wind spirit?
Instead of attacking, Uther approached the woman, and the woman with long white hair cried out again in the wind.
“As expected… there was something. I waited for so… long. I kept… waiting. For someone… to come….”
At the woman’s words, Yuder narrowed his eyebrows.
Even if the woman in front of him was a spirit, how did she find Uther and Cordelia?
And what does it mean to wait?
“Ah! I see.”
Just then, Cordelia’s voice was heard from behind.
She continued speaking in a small, mumbling voice, as if she was wearing a wolf skin.
“Phoenix Feather.”
“ah.”
Uder understood too.
A byproduct obtained during the process of catching the phoenix.
After putting it in Cordelia’s hair, I forgot about it for a while, but Cordelia was keeping it as a treasure.
‘It’s a strong spirit’s energy… I can recognize it.’
Furthermore, given the circumstances, the woman was likely a spirit of snow or wind, which was the polar opposite of the Phoenix, a spirit of fire.
To the woman, the phoenix’s feather would have been as clear as a ray of light in the darkness.
‘That makes it even stranger.’
Why did they come when they are polar opposites?
If you wait and say something, it must be because you have something to ask.
“Come here, come here. Before General Dong comes…”
The woman took a step forward and stretched out both arms, and Yuder instinctively took a step back, narrowing his eyes.
General Dong.
A woman who wants to go somewhere together.
“Let’s follow.”
“Cordelia?”
“I can’t ignore it anyway. And I got a quest, so I have to check it out first.”
Yuder frowned at the rotten answer, but soon became convinced.
And even though they said it was cold like the nine heavens and the nine heavens, the cold under the sky was still murderous.
If he continued to stay outside like this, Cordelia’s body would get hurt, not to mention Uther himself.
“I will go with you. Please guide me.”
As Yuder, who had taken care of the comfort of a square meter, spoke politely, the spirit woman smiled brightly and turned around.
“Follow me.”
The woman went on, and Yuder started running after her.
And Cordelia said in a small voice.
“Don’t look at anything strange. Okay?”
“yeah.”
Well, should I consider this as jealousy?
That would be nice.
Yuder, who smiled slightly, looked straight ahead again, and after some thought, focused his gaze on the back of the woman’s head, which was swinging.
And about 5 minutes.
The woman, who was moving at a fairly fast speed, either because she trusted Yuder’s mobility or because she had no idea, stopped in front of a large natural cave.
“It’s here… Come inside.”
The woman who had spoken thus far was scattered with the wind.
It was as if the flames were dying out.
“Hey, Yudera?”
“I think it’s all here. Just hold on for a little longer.”
Although it had only been about five minutes, Cordelia’s voice had become very weak, as if she had lost a lot of body heat.
Uder threw himself into the cave in a hurry, and at that moment his eyes opened wide.
Because it was a cave with an open entrance, the temperature changed as soon as I entered.
‘Is it warm?’
Yuder was momentarily flustered, but soon calmed down. The important thing was that the cold had disappeared.
“Cordelia, are you okay?”
“Yeah… It’s okay. What about you?”
“I am strong.”
Yuder, who answered with an exaggerated tone on purpose, looked around again.
The inside of the cave was quite large, but it was clearly an artificial structure.
‘Did they enlarge the natural cave?’
Like the underground city of the dwarves.
“This way… it is.”
The woman’s voice was heard again.
It was in front of the structure located at the innermost part of the cave.
“No matter how I look at it, it looks like an elevator… right?”
Cordelia barely opened her eyes at Uther’s question and nodded.
“I think so.”
A large cylindrical structure with a door in the middle.
From here we go underground again.
Even Uther and Cordelia, who have the protection of winter, have to worry about the verbs, so if they can build a structure of this scale in this land······.
‘Magellan?’
A magical kingdom founded by ancient elves.
Perhaps their city was hidden beneath the Skyroof Mountains.
“Come on··· quickly······.”
Uther nodded at the woman’s urging, picked up Cordelia again, and began walking.
&
Gail and Adelia looked at each other.
It was clear that at the beginning, Gail was standing there holding Adelia, but now it was different. The fact that they were holding each other was the same, but they were facing each other.
Gail supported Adelia’s back and waist with one hand, and Adelia clasped both hands together on her chest and let out a ragged breath.
Close range.
Gail stroked Adelia’s cheek with her remaining hand, and Adelia let out her breath again. She looked at Gail with slightly hazy eyes and said.
“Ha, one more time.”
Gail was momentarily taken aback, but soon smiled. Then she kissed Adelia again.
It was an incredibly innocent kiss between a man in his thirties and a woman in her mid-twenties, but it was enough, even though they only touched lips.
The lips parted again.
They put some distance between themselves, Adelia thought.
It’s a little different from what I saw in the storybook.
It’s different from Samantha’s story, which I listened to diligently while pretending not to want to hear.
They said it would be tingling and thrilling, but there wasn’t even a hint of that.
Even when our lips touched, there was no definite sensation or anything like that.
But, I had a really strange feeling.
It’s a really strange feeling, I can only describe it as strange.
That feeling where laughter strangely flows out.
Adelia pursed her lips with a red face, and Gail caressed her cheek. They kissed again.
‘thrice.’
Adelia, whose head started to bleed again, flinched but did not dodge, and opened her lips slightly.
But that was it. Gail slowly pulled away. Adelia opened her eyes in regret, but there was nothing she could do.
“Father.”
My father, not the count.
The subtle change in title was a change, but Adelia’s mind was struck by the content.
He asked in a very small voice.
“Are you watching?”
“That’s not true, but… it seems like you’re trying to decide when to come out.”
Gale, who had reached the level of a master, could tell.
No, I could just imagine it.
This is the sight of Count Chase hiding behind a rock, flustered and hesitant, wondering whether he should go out now or not.
“Ugh.”
Adelia covered her face with both hands and groaned.
Because it just occurred to me again.
It was she who kissed me on the cheek first, and it was she who asked me to do it again.
Added to that is the embarrassment.
‘dad!’
Although Count Chase had done nothing wrong on purpose, I felt resentful towards him.
And then Gail brought her face close to Adelia’s ear.
It was to leave something that had to be said before facing Count Chase.
“Adelia.”
“yes?”
“i like you.”
Adelia’s heart stopped beating at those plain words. No, it started beating like crazy.
“Me, me too··· me too······.”
i like you.
The last words were spoken so softly that Adelia herself didn’t know whether she had really said them or not, but it was enough.
Gail hugged Adelia tightly once more and took a breath.
In fact, Adelia’s face was so red that it was less noticeable, but Gail’s face was also red.
‘I respect you all over again.’
Uther and Cordelia.
How could he have said such things so publicly?
Gale swallowed the words that Cordelia would squirm in embarrassment if she heard them – and that Uther would laugh evilly, saying that it was all according to plan. He straightened Adelia up and then spoke.
“Count Chase! It’s me, Gale! And Miss Adelia is with me!”
“Ahem!”
The loud call was answered with a cough.
Let’s wait a moment. Count Chase came out from behind the rock and looked around as if searching for the whereabouts of the voice. Then, he opened his eyes wide and said as if he had discovered Gale belatedly.
“What a coincidence.”
With the same solemn face as usual.
As if I had just arrived.
‘Oh, please. Daddy, please. Daddy, don’t do it.’
As Adelia let out a silent scream, Gail simply smiled kindly and stepped forward, still holding Adelia in his arms.
“hmm.”
And Count Chase, who had been quietly looking at Gale like that, narrowed his eyes.
Instead of asking the usual questions – like what happened, who did you fight with, if you were hurt, etc. – he asked something completely different.
“You’ve become a lot more shabby since I last saw you.”
“yes?”
At the unexpected remark, Gail’s eyes widened, Adelia covered her face with both hands, and Count Chase tried hard to hide his pleased smile.
He said, lifting up the space-expanding bag full of bags.
“I found it by chance on my way here. Take it.”
And then I opened the bag.
After taking the bag out of the bag, he took out an item that was obviously carefully packed and handed it to Gail.
“It’s nothing.”
“Uh··· yes. Thank you···.”
‘Dad··· please······.’
Gail said awkwardly, right after Adelia spoke in her mind.
Count Chase sealed his bag with restraint and then returned to his solemn expression.
“What happened?”
An ambiguous question that can change depending on the interpretation.
Gail and Adelia looked at each other and exchanged an immature glance.
‘I’ll do it.’
‘Yes, then I will.’
‘Please leave it to me.’
‘Please believe me.’
Is it still too much?
The two people who had exchanged perfect misunderstandings smiled at each other and then looked back at Count Chase.
They opened their mouths at the same time as if they had made a promise.
&
< Chapter 39 - Encounter #3 > End
