Chapter 354
Chapter 354
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 354
Chapter Title: Stamped as Heretics
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Curious why I'm here?"
She's putting on a show of how tight-lipped she is.
Chamfi tapped her lower lip with her finger, then leaned back against the nearby wall.
"You wanna know?"
Chamfi. From what I know of her, she's a Wood Person completely immersed in reality.
She can flip her attitude on a dime depending on her situation.
Her top priority is always her own safety.
The strong prey on the weak.
That was my first impression of her when we met.
"Gotta be something to do with Sansu-yu, right? I'm looking for her too, so share what you've got."
That said, I can't judge someone based on just a few meetings.
At my response, Chamfi's eyebrow arched up.
"Hey."
"Yeah."
"You smoke?"
"Quit a while back."
My daughter chewed me out for it.
If I even put a cigarette to my lips, Azalea would smack me upside the head.
"Kid. Avoiding smokes in front of me? No way in hell. Hold up."
Chamfi peeled herself off the wall and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her hoodie pocket, popping open the case.
"Huh!?"
Her face crumpled up.
"Shit, empty. Nothing to spare for you."
"...Fine, enjoy yours. And what the hell's Hallasan? You ain't that old."
"Yeah, super sweet. Nobody smokes it but me~ Anyway, light it up."
She leaned in a bit, so I sparked a small flame with magic.
Chamfi clamped the cigarette between her lips and sauntered over to the window, perching on the sill as she exhaled smoke.
For someone who looks so childish, she smokes like a pro.
-Fwooo.
She's even making donuts with the smoke rings, really savoring it.
I stared at her back with a dumbfounded look.
"Si-heon, you're gay, right?"
"Yeah."
"Times are changing. Fast as fuck."
With the clash between Flower and the World Tree heating up, civilian anxiety has hit the roof.
It's not like powerful hunters haven't spoken up—they've all been deployed to the front lines or places like the Foundation guarding the World Tree for ages.
That's just narrowing it to hunters and heroes. Look elsewhere, and it's even worse.
Stock markets in turmoil, economies collapsing.
As governments friendly to Flower proliferate, faith and religion have been outright rejected.
"You young punks are still growing, and now it's war... Fuck. Even the kids are gonna get sacrificed."
Wasn't this supposed to be about Sansu-yu?
Anyone in the know already gets that the world's falling apart.
I tilted my eyebrow, and only then did Chamfi get to the point.
"You're wondering about Sansu-yu, right? The Cornerus Family heir."
The Cornerus Family, who vanished after hiding their current status.
"So, yesterday... Wait, no, not yesterday—three hours ago, the World Tree branded the entire Cornerus Family as heretics."
"Heretics?"
Chamfi nodded once.
"Fuck. You get how serious that is?"
"..."
"From now on, if some asshole beats a Cornerus to death on the street, rapes one, or pulls off some other fucked-up shit we can't even imagine! The World Tree and the governments won't hold 'em accountable. Got it?"
Sansu-yu is included in that.
"And you think it'll stop there?"
Chamfi clicked her tongue bitterly and stuck another cigarette in her mouth.
The cig burned down in seconds. Ash and embers dropped to the hallway floor.
"Knew it was coming."
Me, Chamfi, Seong Ji-ho, Sansu-yu—we all saw it. Anyone who knew the rough details predicted this.
Getting branded heretics was just a matter of time.
And that day arrived.
"So Sansu-yu got stamped as a heretic today?"
"Gonna make me say it twice?"
Just checking the facts.
I licked my dry lips and kept thinking.
If what Chamfi said is true, why is she here?
The moment my gaze turned to her, a line stabbed down.
"Hey."
Her murderous eyes glared down at me.
"Cooperate with the Cornerus even a little, and you'll get branded a heretic too."
-Clack, tap.
The burning cigarette fell out the window.
A faint, irritating tobacco scent lingered in my nose.
"This shit doesn't happen often. The last time, it was the Copy Tree Family."
Do-won's doing.
My face stiffened. Chamfi spun a dagger she'd pulled from her pocket, staring at me.
"So, know what happened to those branded back then, before the curse hit?"
"...Master's story?"
"We exclude them. Whatever they did, their bodies held up."
-Thunk!
She hurled the dagger at the floor; it stabbed into the tile. Cracks spiderwebbed toward me.
"Slaves, sex toys, nutrients for certain trees. Everyone but your master—all of 'em."
"..."
"The kid you know. Your friend. No guarantee she won't end up the same."
"Your mouth's filthy."
"Fuck, the world's filthy. You think I became a hunter 'cause I wanted this bullshit?"
Chamfi grimaced, pinching her brow. Her hand trembled.
"Subjugation order."
"Pardon?"
"Subjugation order... Subjugate! All those fuckers. Either I kill 'em, or someone else does. Already in motion."
Her pupils contracted, rage spilling through gritted teeth.
"So. Stay out of it."
A clear warning.
"It's already over. I'm the one who wants to ask why you're here. It's just one kid you haven't seen in months. What's worth coming this far to investigate?"
"So, you're killing Sansu-yu?"
"..."
Her lip curled. Less a sneer at me, more self-mockery.
"Then. You wanna do it?"
She growled.
"If you're killing, make it clean. No pain."
Her voice scratched like it clawed her throat—raw with emotion, yet hollow.
"Or what? Shit hits the fan like this, and you're gonna help her?"
"That what a master says?"
"Fuck master. It's master playtime."
Her eyes didn't waver.
If she wanted, she could swing at me right here.
I lightly tuned my mana circuits, ready to move anytime.
"..."
"..."
Silence stretched.
Sansu-yu branded heretic, subjugation to follow.
Just like that day in Do-won. Flower, naturally, won't lift a finger.
Cornerus falls—that's the script.
In this chaos, how many would risk their neck for a bond mere months old?
Unless you're some freak attached to that short time.
Anyone else would cut ties.
No urge to blame her.
Different methods, that's all.
"Sorry. Got heated. Too much on my mind—life's been shit lately."
"Quitting life's not bad."
"Enjoy."
Chamfi flipped me the bird and blew hot breath.
Sweat beaded on her forehead.
"Sis, you..."
Planning to oppose Sansu-yu?
"Looks like it."
I started to ask, but the answer came first.
I rubbed my eyes and sighed.
What sin did Sansu-yu commit in her life to deserve this?
I muttered in disbelief, and Chamfi scoffed at me.
"When have we only killed the guilty?"
She's got that boomer vibe, but fair point.
We're no different.
"What're you gonna do?"
Her question met my blank stare.
I get her thinking.
If it weren't Sansu-yu, I'd ditch in this spot too.
Told her plenty in the Forest Keeper Selection Tournament: gotta live, right?
I can help.
Help me. One word, and like I'd help others, like my master helped me—I'd repay the grace I'd received.
Yet Sansu-yu left without a word.
Didn't wanna burden me? Who knows. Maybe she thought I was annoyed and pushing her away.
'That damn sense of debt.'
Ridiculous—I almost laughed.
I swept back my hair and faced Chamfi.
"I'll do what I want."
Help the branded Sansu-yu.
Targeted by the World Tree, whatever happens—my way. Even if I lose status and get hunted.
"Fine."
Chamfi nodded, looking relieved, like she wouldn't press.
-Snap.
Her dagger flashed from her bosom in an instant.
-Clang!
I reflexively smashed the flat of the blade.
Mana surged from my body, coiling around Chamfi's arm like a whirlwind.
Chamfi kicked back, drawing a new dagger from her back and gripping it reverse. Ominous mana poured from it.
I clenched my fist and thrust forward.
-Boom!!
Blood sprayed in a straight line down the hall.
One exchange. Neither of us aimed to kill.
"Kuhuhu... Hah. Tough bastard."
Chamfi chuckled wetly, pinned under my fist on the floor.
She hadn't used full strength—obvious at a glance.
Her dagger, meant for me, had stabbed her own thigh instead.
Blood gushed from the severed vessel.
"...Still don't get it. What's one kid worth? Tits? Blown away by her rack?"
"She owes me her life."
"Something go down between you two?"
"Probably just me who knows."
"Right, okay... Hey... Ssp. This'll get me a few weeks recovery, yeah?"
Shattered mana circuits and self-sabotaged thigh?
She'd induced a critical wound.
"About two weeks."
"Haa. Fuck."
Chamfi grimaced in pain, covering her brow with her arm.
"...Hey."
"Yeah."
"Don't get sloppy getting caught."
She yanked the blade from her thigh, then stabbed her own side.
-Crunch!
Bloodshot eyes. She hacked and coughed, finally calming to speak.
"I'll handle cleanup, so scram. I got jumped by Flower."
"What? Said you're opposing Sansu-yu."
"Kuhuhu. Fuck. Orders. Defy 'em, and I'm the heretic."
Chamfi wiped blood from her lip.
"I'm not hotshot like you, just a coward—so watch the milk for me, yeah?"
"..."
"That kid... Dumb and too nice. Pretty too. Caught, who knows what'll happen."
Pain whitening her face, voice shaking.
Chamfi witnessed Do-won's fall firsthand.
She knows better than me what went down.
"Worst case... Just call me. I'll take the hate. Got it?"
"I'll think about it."
"Kuhuhu, asshole."
Blood poured more than expected from her gut wound.
She's committed. Means she has a way out.
I left the mansion without looking back.
Her small voice trailed after.
"Ah, ruined my smokes."
Me too.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Sansu-yu became a heretic.
Intel I got just before dawn yesterday. Not public yet.
Full mobilization would take days to weeks. I need to prep max till then.
Not prep—straight into action.
I'm helping Sansu-yu, not the whole Cornerus Family.
Even that's no cakewalk; need backup.
Someone who knows my identity and past, will side with me.
Less a comrade, more a subordinate—Sun sat around the cripple's desk, watching me.
"You listening?"
"...Yeah. Sorta."
Seedier than my old place—this one-room dump.
Living conditions are a mess.
No cleaning; tissue balls everywhere. Bathroom sink nearly clogged earlier.
Really living poor? Maybe get him a decent place.
Whatever, not important.
"But, boss."
Sun asked cautiously.
"Yeah."
"Personal space? Kinda invading privacy here. This is my gig."
No Aori here, but one woman is.
A young one, half-naked on the bed.
Massage—his hustle, can't complain.
But doing it in his room? Sketchy as hell.
"You said drop by anytime."
"Didn't think it'd line up like this."
"..."
The woman on the bed clutched the blanket, eyes wide, flicking between me and Sun.
Disgust flashed in her gaze. I sighed.
"...Be back in 30. Wrap it up."