< Chapter 15 - Intersection #4 >
&
“As expected, you are a master of breeding. You must have lost a lot of energy because you were left with your sight and hearing sealed.”
As we hurried back to the auction house sales office, the employee said with a smile.
He was a man who specialized in slave trading, and was the one I met on the basement floor.
Cordelia’s expression crumpled at the man’s words, which were unpleasant to hear, but fortunately, thanks to the mask, she was not caught.
However, Yuder could guess Cordelia’s mood just by looking at her small gestures. He moved slightly as if to block Cordelia’s gaze from the staff’s eyes, and then looked towards the Red Wind.
She stood upright, still naked, her eyes covered by a large leather blindfold and her ears and mouth sealed with special seals.
His arms were handcuffed in short cuffs, and his legs were bound with short chains that were barely long enough to allow him to walk.
‘I guess it’ll be about an hour in that condition.’
Even the most courageous person would feel discouraged.
It was a red wind with shoulders that were actually hunched over.
“Then I will take you.”
“Yes, I hope you have a pleasant time raising them.”
Yuder nodded to the smiling man, covered Red Wind with the large robe he had brought beforehand, and hurried his steps.
“Let’s release it when we get back to the dorms. Okay?”
Because there was nothing good to see.
Furthermore, these two people had not yet had any significant emotional connection with the Red Wind. If they were released here, there was a good chance they would try to run away.
“Okay, let’s go quickly.”
Cordelia answered in a low voice and walked closely next to Red Wind, and Red Wind took small steps that seemed to be filled with fear.
And thirty minutes.
After finally arriving at their accommodation, Uder and Cordelia laid Red Wind down in the bedroom and then went out to the living room to start talking in Korean.
“First, you have to become friends with the Red Wind.”
Uther nodded at Cordelia’s argument.
The journey ahead would take place across the border, so the help of the local Red Wind was absolutely necessary.
And what was needed for that was a friendly relationship based on trust, not a coercive master-servant relationship.
“But there is not enough time.”
The situation in which Cordelia and Red Wind become friends was easily imagined.
From Uther’s perspective – no, even from the perspective of the previous life of an outboxer – the current Cordelia is kind, pretty, and even honest.
Moreover, Cordelia loved the red wind.
Red Wind doesn’t have a particularly sharp personality, so we could become friends quickly.
‘But that means it’ll be at least a month or more.’
Because it wasn’t a normal meeting, but rather a meeting that was purchased at a slave market.
It would take a considerable amount of time to melt the Red Wind’s guard.
“So, the method I thought of was… Why is your expression like that?”
“I think it might be some evil plot.”
“Hey, what’s with the evil plot? It’s just a white lie.”
“So you’re trying to scam me in the end.”
Just as Uther knew Cordelia well, Cordelia also knew Uther well.
As Cordelia’s eyes narrowed, Uther felt embarrassed and coughed, but he did not take back his remarks.
Because I really didn’t have time.
And Cordelia knew that fact well too.
“What method?”
“That’s a good idea.”
“What the fuck?”
“Well, it’s sweet to hear it after such a long time.”
When Cordelia flinched at the answer that flowed like water, Uther chuckled as if he had been waiting for this from the beginning and gestured towards him.
“Come closer and I’ll tell you.”
“Always close for a long time.”
Cordelia grumbled and approached Uther, who whispered the plan to her.
&
Red Wind, lying on the bed, kept swallowing dry saliva.
I was pretending to be Taeyeon, but honestly, I was scared.
What happens now?
What kind of people are those who have bought themselves?
I need to find a way to cure my father’s illness.
What will happen to my father if I can’t go back?
No, what will happen to me now?
I was scared and afraid. I tried to hold it in, but I felt like I was going to cry.
‘I have to get stronger.’
I have to be poisoned. I’d rather die than become a puppet of the northerners. No, I can’t just die. I’ll kill and kill.
It was a red wind that harbored a poisonous mind while gritting its teeth, but it only lasted for a moment.
This is because I was suddenly overcome by an overwhelming sense of fatigue.
‘I’m sleepy··· hungry······.’
Come to think of it, how long has it been since I last slept in such a warm and soft bed?
Sleepiness came over me as if it were a lie.
And then there was a moment.
“Wake up, child of the storm.”
Red Wind opened his eyes wide at the sound of the voice of a strong yet beautiful woman.
There was no blindfold. He could see ahead. However, Red Wind immediately closed his eyes again. A dazzling light filled the surroundings.
“Do not be afraid, child of the storm. I am the great storm.”
The Red Wind held its breath at the voice that resonated majestically, as if from heaven. It knelt down in its place and worshipped.
“Ah! Great storm!”
It was a reflexive action.
And the voice gave Red Wind no room to doubt.
“Red Wind, daughter of the Red Gale. A brave child who sets out on a journey to cure her father’s illness.”
The red wind swallowed its breath again.
It was real.
The pronunciation was a bit bad, but that was a minor issue.
The proof was that he knew his father’s name and the reason why he had come across the border to the land of the Southerners.
Aren’t you the one who hasn’t mentioned your father’s name even once since you came down to the South?
The Great Storm.
The patron deity of the tribe worshipped by the Great Storm Tribe.
In the Heroes Chronicles series, he is one of the beings called the Barbarian God.
“Red Wind, a great crisis is coming upon the entire tribe – and the entire Great Plains.”
Red Wind flinched. Could it be that his father’s illness was also related to a great crisis?
“Your thoughts are right. Red Wind, daughter of the Red Gale, my child. I have given revelation to the two humans of the South. They have saved you. Join them. Help them. They will overcome the crisis in the North.”
“A southern human being…?”
The red wind raised its head and asked.
I still couldn’t open my eyes properly because of the blinding light, but I could still vaguely see the silhouette of a person.
It was the silhouette of a very beautiful woman.
“A man and a woman. The woman’s name is Cordelia. The man’s name is Uther. The red-haired woman is very beautiful and kind, but sometimes fierce. She’s a beastly child. The man is handsome, cool, kind, and a really good person who always understands the beastly woman. By the way, the woman is head over heels in love with the man…”
I feel like this line is a bit strange.
What is this about?
Cordelia, who was acting like a great storm, asked with her eyes, but Uther kept pretending not to know, so Cordelia continued reading the language of the northern barbarians that Uther had written down in Korean, only pronouncing it.
“Child, trust them both. Help them both. They will become your friends.”
That was it.
The moment Cordelia finished reading her lines, Uder pushed a sleeping gas magic made by combining a sleep magic circle and a wind magic circle into the room again, and Red Wind, who had low magic resistance as expected of a beginner, fell into a deep sleep again.
“Okay, let’s tie it back up quickly.”
Cordelia, who had been standing on the magic circle to project light, quickly got down from her seat and went into the room.
In the room, various magic circles that had been set up to deceive the senses of the Red Wind were being activated.
Each one was a low-level magic, but when there were a lot of them, they could produce quite a fantastic effect.
“If I wake up in a state of restraint like when I was asleep, I will think this moment was a dream.”
“So you’re saying that you’re approaching the Red Wind and receiving a revelation about the great storm?”
“That’s it. Then the Red Wind will believe us.”
Because it was the guidance of the great storm that protected the tribe and no one else.
“Ugh… That makes sense, but something feels off.”
“For the sake of the cause. Endure it.”
“What should I say… Isn’t this exactly the kind of line a villain would say in a game or movie?”
Caring about personal interests while talking about a just cause.
“Hey, no way. It really is for the greater good. Anyway, let’s quickly arrest him and remove the magic circle.”
“hmm.”
Cordelia reluctantly nodded and began to restrain Red Wind, who was in a deep sleep, while Uther quickly removed the magic circles.
And then again an hour or so later.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
Red Wind woke up to a soft and pleasant voice. He tried to open his eyes right away, but he couldn’t see anything because of the black blindfold.
“Just a moment, I’ll let you go right away.”
Continental common language.
A word used by humans who guard the wall.
Although he was not used to it, Red Wind was able to speak, albeit haltingly. He was also quite good at listening.
‘Oh, great storm······.’
Was it a dream or was it really a revelation?
As if to calm his anxious mind, Red Wind swallowed his saliva, and at that moment, his vision cleared.
“eww······.”
As I groaned and adjusted to the light, two faces came into view.
A handsome boy, just like a beautiful girl who is bound to make your eyes pop.
Cordelia struck a decisive blow to Red Wind, who had begun to recall the words of the Great Storm without realizing it.
“Hello, my name is Cordelia. This is my fiancé, Yuder.”
Cordelia and Uther.
The name spoken by the great storm!
“I, I······.”
That was it. Instead of hastily calling out the name of the Great Storm, Red Wind stood up awkwardly. The handcuffs on his hands and feet had also disappeared.
“You don’t have to be alarmed. The Great Storm has guided us. That’s why I bought you at the auction house.”
Cordelia nodded at Uther’s words and grabbed Red Wind’s hand.
“You were really scared, right? It’s okay now. We’ll help you.”
The Great Storm.
His revelation.
Cordelia’s warm hands and moist eyes.
The vigilance disappeared as if it were a lie. The Red Wind had been trying to maintain a strong mind ever since crossing the border, but it was too much for it to do any more.
I feel relieved.
The tension has been relieved.
Tears poured out of my eyes like a torrent.
“Eww!”
Because she was only sixteen years old.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
When Cordelia hugged Red Wind, who was about to burst into tears, his crying did not subside but rather grew louder.
But it was okay. Cordelia held Red Wind in her arms, and Red Wind cried sadly for a long time in Cordelia’s arms.
And Uther, who was watching all this sight, thought.
‘bingo.’
Although I had that kind of thought in the midst of the warmth, I succeeded in breaking down the Red Wind’s guard.
I could become friends with the Red Wind without wasting time or causing any trouble.
‘If the result is good, then everything is good.’
Hmm.
Uther, who spoke as if making excuses to himself, looked at Cordelia and Red Wind with a pleased face.
&
“I know. A place to cross the border. A lax surveillance. A gap. A blind spot?”
The next morning.
Red Wind, who had fallen asleep from crying, spoke in a stammering voice while eating the sandwich that Yuder had ordered from room service.
“Can you guide me?”
“A path known only to our tribe. It is a secret. But I will tell you. Cordelia, my friend. Uther Cordelia’s people.”
Although the sight of him smiling bashfully at the end was somehow pitiful, Cordelia tilted her head once and looked back at Uther.
“Are we leaving right away?”
“That must be so. We’ve been here for two days already, so either Count Hresvelg or the Devil’s Hand will be on the hunt.”
“I feel like a fugitive.”
When the two of them were talking to each other, they spoke Korean.
Thanks to that, Red Wind tilted his head, not knowing what he was talking about, and Cordelia looked back at her and said.
“We’ll leave after eating. I’ll ask you to guide us. Do you know how to ride a horse?”
“I’m good at talking. I’ll guide you.”
Red Wind answered cheerfully and finished his meal by putting the remaining piece of sandwich in his mouth and gulping down the milk.
“Okay, then let’s go right away.”
The luggage had already been loaded onto the horse.
Yuder, with the Sword of the Eastern Warrior on his waist, took the lead, while Cordelia, with the Heavenly Judgement on her back, advanced with the Holy Gon as her staff and took the Red Wind with her.
“Sorry, I’m only holding on until we cross the border.”
“It’s okay. There’s nothing I can do. I know that.”
It was because of the slave necklace that the red wind was wearing around its neck.
Red Wind, with snow-white hair and long ears, was as striking as Uther and Cordelia.
If a northern barbarian were to wander around without a slave necklace, everyone would look at him strangely.
“Uhh… who will ride in front this time?”
As I finished checking out and came out, the stable keeper had already brought out Uther and Cordelia’s horses.
Since there were three people, two had to ride together, so Uther asked, and Cordelia blinked and answered.
“Should I ride in front?”
“As you wish, madam.”
But it was at that very moment.
“Cordelia, ride with me. I am lighter than Judas. It is better for the horse.”
That was true. After all, Yuder had grown taller and gained some muscle recently.
“Oh… is that so?”
“I know.”
The two people who spoke awkwardly for some reason each got on their horses, and Red Wind took his place behind Cordelia.
And just before departure.
“ah!”
“huh?”
When Red Wind suddenly raised his voice as if he had realized something, Cordelia turned around, and Red Wind said with an apologetic expression.
“I blinked. I’ll be more careful from now on. I’ll take care of it.”
“uh······?”
You’re being observant?
What are you talking about?
But the Red Wind didn’t say anything more, and Cordelia, although suspicious, didn’t ask any more questions. It was because she had a strange feeling.
And one person.
“···Anyway, let’s go.”
Yuder, who was laughing bitterly, took the lead, and the three of them started running towards the north.
And at the same time, the old Northern Viscounty.
Gale and Adelia ran and ran using all sorts of means, including using recovery magic to recover when their horses got tired. As a result, they miraculously shortened the time and looked at each other with their brows furrowed.
“Are you saying you are going north?”
“Yes, we are continuing to move north.”
Adelia also tilted her head repeatedly as if she found it strange.
The last place Uther and Cordelia were found was Frost Anvil.
Since it was located at the northwestern tip, there was no reason why you couldn’t go north.
To the north was the bustling city of Langevust, and further on was Thunderdoom Fortress, a nest of crows.
But it was strange.
Even if it was Langebust, there was no way that Uther and Cordelia would have gone to Thunderdoom Fortress.
Moreover, the direction that the tracking magic points to.
Looking at the map, the two were heading somewhere other than Thunderdoom Fortress.
Where on earth are you going?
Could it be that they are trying to cross the border?
“hijacking.”
“yes?”
“Could it be that you were kidnapped? Or that you were taken by the devil’s hand and are being moved forcibly······.”
Gale stopped talking after saying that, startled, because Adelia’s expression was so terrifying.
“It is possible.”
“Hey, Miss Adelia? This is just a guess······.”
“Let’s go quickly.”
Adelia, as if she didn’t even have to wait for Gail’s answer, got on the horse and started running, and Gail also hurriedly followed after her.
And again another place.
In a forest with few people.
“We’re heading north. We’ll meet them at the northernmost point.”
Solusia nodded at Kanos’ words while hiding in the shadows.
It was Kanos’s foresight that boasted a high hit rate once it was activated, although it was rare for it to be activated.
“Go to the northern border.”
This time we’re going to catch them for sure.
The mines, led by Solusia, began to move.
And one person.
He headed north, oblivious to Uther, Cordelia, and everyone else.
&
< Chapter 15 - Intersection #4 > End
