Chapter 38
Chapter 38
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Master of the Sword
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“Princess, we've arrived at the place you told me about.”
Se-hwa pulled the car to a stop upon reaching their destination.
Stepping out through the open car door, a dense green forest came into view.
With her sunglasses on, the vibrant green looked a shade darker.
They had reached the path leading up into the mountains.
“Where to now?”
“That entity said there's a soul-cutting sword somewhere deep in the mountains.”
“You don't mean we have to go hiking, do you? Ughhh.”
Se-hwa let out a strange groan, clearly dreading the hike, and slumped her body dramatically.
Ignoring her theatrics, I started trudging up the mountain trail ahead of her.
“Hey, wait up, Princess!”
I climbed the trail indifferently, and Se-hwa came scrambling after me in a hurry.
The mountain the entity had described rose over 1,000 meters above sea level.
It must have been a somewhat popular spot, as there were occasional hikers and tourists around.
Near the trailhead, they ran into a middle-aged woman descending the mountain.
Her pink fluorescent hiking outfit and red hat stood out.
“Oh my~ Hello there. Out hiking with your little one? She's just adorable.”
“Pardon? Oh, yes. We came hiking together.”
The middle-aged woman suddenly struck up a conversation.
Se-hwa seemed momentarily flustered but quickly responded naturally.
“That outfit makes her look just like a little princess—such a pretty thing! But you're planning to hike in that? Won't it be uncomfortable? Not criticizing or anything, just worried is all~.”
“It's fine. This dress is really comfortable.”
I gave a suitable reply to the woman's needless concern.
Then Se-hwa, looking even more flustered than me, spoke up.
“Ahaha. She flat-out refused to go outside unless she could wear this one, so what could I do? We're just taking a short stroll and heading back.”
“Aw, well, kids can be like that sometimes.”
Hmm, I'd never thrown a fit about only going out in this dress.
Se-hwa carried on chatting with the woman, weaving all sorts of lies.
“What's your name, sweetie?”
The middle-aged woman looked down at me and asked.
I didn't remember my real name, so answering with the lab's nickname would do.
“My name? I'm S—.”
“Lee Seo-hwa! Lee Seo-hwa!”
As I started to answer, Se-hwa shouted loudly to cut me off.
She yelled that my name was Lee Seo-hwa.
“She's my little sister. I'm Lee Se-hwa, and she's Lee Seo-hwa. We both have the 'hwa' syllable.”
“Hohoho. Pretty name to match that pretty face!”
Se-hwa spun another lie.
She went on like that for a while, chatting idly with the woman through a stream of fabrications.
Once the small talk wrapped up, they resumed climbing the trail.
“Lee Seo-hwa, huh. News to me. Who's Lee Seo-hwa supposed to be?”
“Phew. Just made it up on the spot.”
“Why make up a name? The lab folks call me by my nickname just fine, even without a real one.”
“Urk. W-well... ”
Se-hwa trailed off awkwardly.
She glanced at me cautiously before speaking up.
“The lab people are understanding—they accept that you don't have a name. But most folks outside aren't that open-minded. If you say you don't have a name, they'll look at you weird.”
“Hmm, is that how it is?”
“Yeah. So, is it okay to use a fake name when we're out and about?”
Was not having a name really that strange?
I was already getting by fine in the lab with the nickname Black Princess.
I didn't particularly need a name, and it wasn't like I'd chosen the nickname anyway.
A fake name was no different from just gaining another nickname.
“Do whatever. It's not like I picked my nickname myself.”
“Thanks. Then while we're out here, I'll call you Seo-hwa.”
With her second nickname acquired, they pressed on up the trail.
As they climbed, people grew scarce, and the lush green trees thickened.
Apart from Se-hwa, there was no one around.
“Seo-hwa, I've got something I want to ask.”
“What?”
Se-hwa called me by my second nickname.
The surroundings were filled only with birdsong and the rustle of leaves in the wind.
In the quiet of nature, Se-hwa asked carefully.
“How did you get the info out of the Prayer Receiver?”
“Just scared it a little. But asking now means you're not satisfied with that, right?”
“Yeah. I want the details. That entity had no fear of death and rock-solid convictions. It didn't buckle under any temptations or threats. How did you do it?”
The wind whispered eerily through the leaves.
“It's a method you've seen before.”
“I've seen it?”
“Yes. I just gave it a little cook.”
“A cook? But after you got the info, checks showed the Prayer Receiver's body was normal. If you cooked it, there should have been damage to the entity, right?”
“I cooked it multiple times. Cooked its body parts over and over. Then restored it at the end.”
The sun vanished behind clouds, dulling the weather.
Undeterred, they kept climbing as she continued.
“No real harm done—just a little scare. Heh. Good idea, right?”
“It is. A good idea.”
Se-hwa fell silent, breaking out in cold sweat.
How out of shape was she that she was sweating after just this much?
Se-hwa was such a weakling.
They hiked on wordlessly after that.
How long had it been?
About twenty minutes passed before Se-hwa suddenly asked.
“Hey, how much farther to the destination? Do you even know the exact spot?”
“No exact location. The entity just said somewhere in the mountains.”
“W-what? So we've just been wandering randomly this whole time?”
“Yes. We'll find it eventually.”
“How do you find something 'somewhere in the mountains' by just walking around? Seo-hwa, I'm getting tired now...”
Se-hwa whined pitifully.
Her breathing had indeed grown ragged, and her steps had slowed noticeably.
Hiking must have been too much for someone who'd only done lab work.
“I'll tell the lab to search the mountain. Once we pinpoint it, we come back. No way walking around to find something in the mountains makes sense!”
Se-hwa's complaints dragged on.
I let her useless grumbling go in one ear and out the other as they walked the trail.
Then a familiar scent wafted in on the mountain breeze.
“Haaah. Hek. I-I really can't go any farther. Let's rest a bit.”
“Be quiet.”
I sniffed the air, pinpointing the scent's origin.
Soon, I traced it to the direction from the entity's location.
“Found it.”
“Seo-hwa, your pace is too fast, I can't keep up... Huh? You found it?”
“I smelled the entity. Not sure if it's the thing we're after or another one.”
Having never seen the soul-cutting sword myself, I couldn't distinguish by scent alone.
It might be mixed up with another entity, but one was definitely there.
“I sense the entity's presence over there.”
She stretched out her arm, pointing where the scent came from, and Se-hwa looked that way.
Exhaustion drained even more from Se-hwa's weary face.
“That's just straight-up deep forest. Now we have to leave the trail?”
“Did you think the entity would be waiting politely at the end of the trail?”
“Urk. Yeah, you're right...”
Se-hwa had no comeback, her point pierced.
Even as she spoke, she was panting heavily.
“You look beat, so I'll go alone.”
“What? W-wait!”
Se-hwa's hand reached out to grab me but swiped futilely at empty air.
She'd lagged behind despite me going slow to accommodate her.
Shaking off the bothersome Se-hwa, I headed toward the scent.
Climbing over rocks and pushing through trees, she moved forward.
Signs of humans faded, giving way to pure forest.
Soon, a small cave appeared.
Following the entity's scent, she stepped inside.
“Found it.”
Deeper in the cave, a sword embedded in a rock caught her eye.
It was more reasonable to assume this was the soul-cutting sword than to expect some sword-shaped entity by coincidence.
She approached to pull the sword from the rock.
“Halt.”
The sword spoke to her.
“I acknowledge only those I deem worthy as my master. You lack the qualifications.”
Ignoring the sword's noisy prattling, she kept advancing.
As if a mere sword could decide who was worthy of being its master.
Time to teach it who its owner really was.