69. The Beginning of Healing
69. The Beginning of Healing
Tadak-tadak.
The campfire blazes.
The sound of firewood popping, tok.
The resin melted in the heat, giving off a bittersweet scent.
In Frostgard, there was never such silence.
Something was always breaking, someone was screaming, or an emergency strategy meeting was being called.
Because that daily life had become natural, peace felt alien instead.
Dinner was already over.
"Wait. I will prepare the meal. If there is fire and a knife, that is a kitchen."
It was only an hour ago that Lucia's "Hiik!" rang out along with The Black Knight's words.
Today's menu was Frost Bear stew. Surprisingly, it tasted normal.
"It's delicious, Gisa-nim. Please, just keep it like today from now on, okay?"
Of course, Leona did not add any praise.
However, the fact that she had three refills was a de facto surrender. Even if it was the enemy's skill, she had no choice but to acknowledge it.
"But, everything's great, but isn't there any dessert? You have to eat something sweet after a meal for your brain to rotate well."
That witch seemed to have no sense of vigilance at all when it came to food.
Jjik-jjik.
At the edge of the campfire, snow squirrels made satisfied noises as they licked up the stew.
"Kids! Eat a lot and grow big and strong so you can scold that pitch-black guy! Got it?"
Jjik!?
And so the night deepened.
The highlight of camping, bedtime, approached.
After confirming that Eris had grabbed Lucia's arm and disappeared into Tent 1, Leona pulled back the vine entrance of Tent 2.
As soon as Leona stepped inside, she pressed herself tightly against the corner of the tent.
The compression bandage that had been tightening her chest all day felt stifling.
She wanted to undo it, but she couldn't.
Because she wasn't alone.
"......."
Seureureuk—
The vine entrance was pulled back again.
The Black Knight entered.
And as if it were natural, he deactivated his armor.
Seueueuk.
The black armor scattered like smoke.
What was revealed first were his hands. Hands with thick joints. Veins running along the back of his hands.
The breastplate was released.
The outline of his shoulders was revealed beneath his black shirt.
Leona already knew that the silhouette the armor created wasn't an exaggeration.
Even though she knew, it felt fresh every time she confirmed it.
The texture of the muscles revealed when the shirt sleeves were pushed up his forearms.
Those lines that asserted their presence even without applying strength.
And finally, his bare face.
Leona reflexively snapped her head away.
Kung. Kyung.
Her heart pounded rapidly and then settled.
She had confirmed it last time too. So she knows. She knows.
It's a foul for something like that to be inside that pitch-black armor.
His intimidating impression remained the same, but once the helmet was removed, unexpectedly──
'......Stop.'
Let's not think about it.
It was a narrow tent. Even if she turned her head, he was caught in the corner of her vision.
At this distance, facing that face, she had to lie side by side with him all night.
"The Black Knight. Sleep with your armor on."
Leona blurted out.
Trying her best to sound as cold and threatening as possible.
"......What?"
"I said I don't want to see your face. At least wrap yourself back up in that pitch-black armor."
"It is stuffy to sleep with armor on."
It's just as stuffy over here.
This compression bandage, this armor, this narrow space, everything is stifling.
Of course, she couldn't say such circumstances, she shouldn't say them, and there was no reason to say them.
"......Then at least don't look this way."
"Understood."
Leaving that single word, The Black Knight turned his back and lay down.
That man is always like this.
He pokes at a person's nerves with a needle tip, yet he himself is as nonchalant as a dull bear.
"......."
A broad back.
Leona snapped her head in the opposite direction.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
She just had to not look.
If she didn't look, it would be fine.
A Hero is one who overcomes trials.
A teacher at the church had said such a thing.
At the time, she didn't know what it meant. Now, she understands it to her very bones.
'If it's to protect Lucia...... a trial of this level is nothing.'
Leona persuaded herself.
This is a guard mission. In a situation where one must be vulnerably exposed in a space close to a potential threat, it is a perfectly normal reaction for one's nerves to be on edge. Rather, it's the side that isn't tense that's strange.
The reason her face was heating up was──
Because the tent wasn't ventilated. Just what kind of person makes a tent like this? She would definitely question the witch tomorrow morning. This was a construction problem. It was absolutely not Leona's problem.
But.
In spite of that persuasion.
Saek-saek—
In less than a few minutes, the sound of regular breathing could be heard.
He fell asleep.
Just like that?
While lying in a tent with an enemy, without even the minimum amount of vigilance?
Leona glared at The Black Knight's back.
The Black Knight's breathing continued regularly.
Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
It strangely tickled her ears and bothered her.
There's no telling how long this journey will last.
Until the Great Western Forest, and until they meet the Elf Queen.
Whether it will be a few days or a few weeks.
But every night, she has to sleep in the same tent as this man?
"Seriously, so annoying......."
Leona couldn't fall asleep for quite a long time that day.
And so, a few days passed.
The northern boundary.
The endlessly stretching snowfield finally came to an end, and at the point where deep greenery announced its beginning.
From here on, the terrain becomes rough and the depth of the snow shallow, making it a section where the dog sleds struggle to do their part.
In other words, the time for parting.
I prepared for the farewell by untying the reins of the eight huskies one by one.
"Your mission ends here."
The fellows who pulled the sled without faltering even in front of a monster wave.
The fellows who stood firm and didn't lose their direction even amidst the fire of the Imperial Army.
Looking back, if it weren't for these guys, it might have been impossible to even get this far.
I expressed my deep gratitude to the huskies.
[Intimidation Roll Success]
"Even if you are reborn, be my dogs."
......Is this really the best I can do?
Kking-kking, kkeung.
The huskies circled around me, expressing their regret.
One fellow rubbed his wet nose against my palm, and another leaned his head heavily against my leg with his tail drooping.
An imploring look that seemed to ask, 'Are you really leaving us behind?'
It's understandable. Aren't we comrades who have gone through all sorts of hardships, no, snow and ice battles together?
Parting always accompanies regret.
"Thank you, kids......."
Lucia carefully stroked the husky's head.
"Never forget the honor of pulling Eris-nim's sled for the rest of your lives! You can go ahead and brag about it anywhere!"
Eris scratched the belly of one husky vigorously.
"......Good work."
Leona also tapped the back of a husky with a blunt expression.
It was a touching moment.
And finally, the time for decision.
"Now, go."
I shouted, reaching out my hand coolly.
The tight friendship between dogs and master. A bond that transcends species.
Let's meet again someday, comrades.
I looked into each of their eyes one last time, sending a passionate gaze of farewell.
Now return. To your hometown.
Tat! Tadadat!
"Hmm?"
The fellow who had been leaning his head against my leg immediately bolted.
The one who had been rubbing his nose against my palm, the one who had been lying down having his belly scratched, and the one who had been resting his chin on Lucia's lap.
Wal! Wal-wal! Awoooo—!
The eight huskies turned their bodies all at once and began a full-speed sprint.
Hek-hek! Kaeng-kaeng—!
One fellow leaped high into the air, and another rolled around in the snow, expressing joy with his whole body.
All of their tails were rotating like crazy as if they had become propellers.
"Uh......?"
Lucia's hand, suspended in the air, wandered with nowhere to go.
Tadadadadadat—!
It was in the blink of an eye.
The eight huskies kicked up a snowstorm and disappeared far away, beyond the white horizon.
Not even once.
Did they look back.
Hwiiiiing—
Only the sound of the wind brushed past our ears.
"......That, they look exactly like prisoners who just got released from jail?"
Eris muttered, furrowing her brows.
"Poor things. Just how terribly must they have been tormented all this time?"
Leona looked in the direction the huskies disappeared with a sympathetic gaze.
Tormented? Who?
I fed them plenty of high-quality monster meat every day, brushed their fur, and even lit a heater with my aura so they wouldn't be cold?
"......."
Lucia couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, but she had a complex and subtle expression as if she deeply empathized with the huskies' feelings.
What's with that look? Why are you feeling a sense of shared suffering? You're not going to run away. Right?
I cleared my throat and pulled myself together.
'......It was a touching farewell.'
Surely, that is their own way of hiding their sadness.
Because tears don't suit a man's parting.
They sprinted without looking back so as not to show their tears.
'Yes, surely that's it.'
Of course, I decided to tuck the fact that more than half of the huskies were female into a drawer of my consciousness.
*
And so, we became pedestrians.
The path where the four of us walked side by side.
Fortunately, the change in terrain made our footsteps lighter.
The scenery changed step by step.
The thick snow that crunched underfoot gradually thinned, and finally, the frozen soil revealed its hard, bare face.
The pointed leaves turned into round and broad shapes.
The quality of the air itself changed.
Moisture seeped into the dry, cold air, and the thick scent of soil and moss characteristic of the forest tickled the tip of the nose.
"Phew, I feel like I can live now."
Lucia breathed a sigh of relief as she took off one layer of the thick coat she had been wearing.
A faint flush had returned to her cheeks, which had always been pale.
I fell into deep thought as I looked around at the forest scenery.
'Looking back, the journey in the North was too harsh.'
A hardcore survival story disguised as a Romance Fantasy.
Chased by wolf packs, attacked by Frost Bears, just as we were about to rest, a monster wave broke out, we blocked that and then a penguin was resurrected, and after all that fuss, this time the Imperial Army invaded.
Even a makjang-drama-level bait that a wicked stepmother was the mastermind.
I was just busy rolling around.
If I hadn't been The Black Knight, I would have met a bad ending dozens of times already.
But now it's different.
"Oh my, look at this."
Lucia stopped walking as she discovered a small yellow wildflower blooming by the roadside.
A small and fragile life that couldn't be seen in the frozen lands of the North.
Tuk.
Leona plucked the flower with a nonchalant touch and silently held it out to Lucia.
"Ah, thank you."
Lucia smiled brightly as she took the flower.
The heartwarming friendship of childhood friends.
"What, what! Me too! Give one to Eris-nim too! Hurry!"
"Shut up. You just go pull and eat some weeds."
"So stingy! For a Hero, you're really petty! This is discrimination!"
Eris stomped her feet and chased after Leona.
It's peaceful.
Truly peaceful.
'Finally, we're on the right track.'
I nodded with satisfaction as I watched the heartwarming sight of the party.
And turning my gaze, I looked far beyond the horizon.
"......That is."
An exclamation escaped me unconsciously.
A giant silhouette that seemed to be propping up the sky.
A single tree towered high, piercing through the clouds.
My sense of perspective was paralyzed.
If it were someone seeing it for the first time, they might mistake it for a crack in the sky.
"The World Tree...... I've only heard of it in legends, but it actually existed."
Lucia muttered in a voice full of wonder.
"I've read about it in church documents. Beneath the World Tree, there is a kingdom of elves who live in harmony with nature."
Goodbye to the memories of snowstorms and bloodbaths.
The survival struggle in the North is over. From now on, a healing romance in the forest awaits me.
From here, the real Ropan-like healing part, a sweet and mysterious story of the forest, will begin.
"Let's go."
I moved toward the forest with much lighter steps.
However.
About an hour after entering the forest.
I felt a sense of incongruity somewhere.
"......."
I stopped walking and carefully examined the base of a giant old tree.
The bark was gouged out long and deep.
As if it had been struck with all one's might by a sharp blade.
'Is it a trace of the elves' hunting training?'
It seems they practice swordsmanship or archery using trees as targets. They have a somewhat bellicose side.
Walking a bit further, this time, black scorched marks appeared on the ground.
The grass and soil were charred black over a radius of several meters.
'Hmm, a campfire?'
It seems the elves also gather around in small groups to enjoy a barbecue party.
I thought they were vegetarians, but unexpectedly, they might enjoy the meat of monsters from the forest border.
Our tastes will match well.
And when I took a few more steps.
Puk.
Something caught on the tip of my boot.
An arrow with fletching, buried deep in the ground.
'Is it a guide arrow?'
Since the forest is so vast, they must have stuck arrows in as landmarks so the elves wouldn't lose their way.
All these traces were evidence that the elf village was getting closer.
Soon, a beautiful elf will gracefully and lightly descend from a tree branch and guide us to the village.
"Wait, Black Knight."
Eris placed her hand over the scorched mark. Pink mana shimmered faintly from her fingertips.
"There are two types of mana residue. These are traces of fairly powerful spirits colliding and exploding."
"I smell blood too. And even the sound of metal clashing......"
Leona placed her hand on the hilt of the Holy Sword.
"It's not just one or two people."
Not hunting practice, but traces of battle.
Not a campfire, but an explosion of spirit magic.
Not a landmark, but an arrow fired at someone.
......It wasn't the elves' pastoral barbecue party.
We moved to confirm the source of the commotion.
As we crossed the hill, the view opened up.
A wide clearing in the forest.
On one side, white-skinned elves.
On the other side, there were also elves.
Black-skinned elves.
Elves were pointing arrows at each other.
Uh-oh. Wait.
'Where did the healing part go?'
My Romance Fantasy has faced a threat once again.