Chapter 282
Chapter 282
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 282
Chapter Title: Dog and Wolf (7)
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"Please, rest well."
Leoru, who had guided Oh-jin's party to the empty cabin, gave a light bow and turned away.
The vacant cabin Leoru showed them was small and old, but it seemed to have been tidied with considerable effort, as the interior was exceptionally clean.
"Hah! So we couldn't enter the kingdom today after all."
Ha-eun unpacked her things and flopped onto the bed.
Though it was a wooden bed far from plush, for Oh-jin's party, who had been camping in the forest for days, even this was a blessing.
"Ugh, I'm so tired."
Sprawled on the bed, Ha-eun began to take off her shoes while lying down, as if a chrysalis shedding its skin.
"Unni, what are you doing acting so sloppy?"
"Ah, what's it to you? I can't be bothered to move."
"Tsk. You can't be like this, no matter what. What will Mr. Oh-jin think?"
"I think Oh-jin will like it, though?"
Tossing off her socks, Ha-eun, lying askew on the bed, stretched out her slender legs and poked Oh-jin's thigh.
At her completely defenseless appearance, his lips threatened to curl into a smile, but...
"Nunna, your feet stink."
"What? D-don't lie, you bastard! I washed my feet in between..."
"It's true, though."
Oh-jin took Ha-eun's bare foot in his hand and brought it close to his nose.
As she said, there wasn't much of a smell for someone who'd been wearing hard boots for so long, but he spoke mischievously, wanting to tease her.
"Look. It smells like savory cheonggukjang..."
"What do you think you're doing, you crazy bastard!"
Ha-eun shrieked and kicked Oh-jin in the face.
Her face flushed red enough to steam, Ha-eun shot up from the bed and went outside.
"I-I'm going to wash up!"
"Ah, Unni. I'll go with you."
[I must wash as well. Hiding in your pocket for so long has left me quite dusty.]
Of course, there was no bathroom or shower facility in the old cabin.
But since a stream flowed nearby, washing wasn't a problem.
"If you peek, you're dead."
Before leaving with a change of clothes, Ha-eun glared at Oh-jin with daggers in her eyes.
"What's the point, when we've already seen everything there is to see?"
"Th-that and this are different, you know?!"
As Oh-jin chuckled and nodded, Isabella sidled up to him.
Wrapping her arms around his and pressing her body close, she smiled alluringly and whispered.
"You're welcome to... peek at my body, you know?"
A sweet voice, as if made from melted sugar.
Isabella lightly licked the nape of Oh-jin's neck while gently tickling his chest with the tip of her index finger.
"Stop your flirting and hurry up, you wench."
"Ah! U-Unni!"
Isabella, dragged away by Ha-eun.
[Wait for me!]
Vega also grabbed a bath towel (though it was originally a handkerchief) and scurried off.
Inside the cabin, only Oh-jin and Riak remained.
With all the noisy women gone, a rather awkward silence descended.
"...Brat."
It was Riak who broke the silence first.
"Yeah?"
"When you regressed... when you were given another chance, weren't you afraid?"
A voice full of conflict.
Oh-jin turned his gaze to Riak, who was staring at the old wooden floor with his head bowed low.
His eyes, lost in deep thought, lacked their usual spirit.
"Is it because of what happened before?"
Even if he wasn't a regressor.
It wasn't hard to notice that Riak had been acting strange ever since they entered the Demon Realm.
Even the cause of it.
"...Yes."
"That's a worry unlike you."
"Sh-shut up, brat! What do you know...!"
"I know."
Riak's eyes narrowed.
"...Is that because you're a regressor?"
"I would've known even if I wasn't a regressor. What you're hesitating about."
Riak was far too clumsy at hiding his true feelings.
"You asked if I was afraid earlier, right?"
He had never regressed.
But he had been given another chance.
"Of course, I'm afraid. Scared to death."
If I were to repeat the same mistakes again.
If I were to suffer the same failures again.
Then.
It would be irreversible.
"But you can't just do nothing about it, right?"
"...A sound argument."
"Just because it's obvious doesn't make it wrong."
Oh-jin shrugged.
Riak looked at Oh-jin with trembling eyes.
"How..."
With his head bowed.
He squeezed out the words.
"How can you be like that?"
He recalled his first meeting with Oh-jin.
The sight of him, beaten and trampled mercilessly, staggering back to his feet.
Even with wounds that could lead to death, he had grasped his spear again as if it were nothing.
"Just, how..."
He recalled the battle between Oh-jin and Deneb's Apostle.
That much should have been enough.
There was no need or reason to bring that suffering upon himself.
He, covered in blood and barely able to open his eyes, had forced his body to rise again.
How could he do that?
It's not that he doesn't feel pain.
It's not that he doesn't feel fear.
But how on earth.
Could he stand up again?
"Because enduring it never solves anything truly important."
Oh-jin sat on the edge of the bed with a bitter smile.
"Pain can be endured. Fear can be withstood. No matter how agonizing or difficult, as long as I can bear it, it's fine."
That kind of thing is nothing.
In his life until now.
It had been filled with problems that couldn't be solved by simply enduring.
"Are you saying you wouldn't even care about your own body to get what you want?"
"It's hard to protect what's precious while also worrying about my own body."
With a wry smile, he placed a hand on Riak's bowed head.
"What are you going to do?"
"......"
Riak kept his mouth tightly shut, scratching the floor with his claws.
"I... was once the 'Khan' who led the beastmen."
"I know."
He had somewhat expected it after seeing Riak converse with Leoru.
"I fought against the invasion of the demon race, but in the end, I was defeated, unable to protect anything."
The image of the wolf, collapsed and bloodied, sobbing that he couldn't protect anything, came to mind.
"Because of my stubbornness... do you know how many of my kin died because of my pathetic conviction to live as a wolf?"
"......"
"Everyone, they all died."
Those who were family.
Those who were lovers.
Those who were comrades.
All of them.
Died following me.
"Even the survivors are living in hunger and fear."
The life of the Silver Mane tribe was miserable, even at a glance.
They lived huddled together in dilapidated, crumbling cabins.
Living each day steeped in starvation and terror.
"Just once..."
Tears dripped from the eyes of the bowed Riak.
"Just once... if I had broken my pride."
Far more of my kin would have survived.
The lives of the remaining kin would not have been so wretched.
"If only I had kneeled just once!"
If only for a single time.
I had become a dog, not a wolf.
"So, did they say they regret it?"
"......"
Riak's expression hardened.
The image of Leoru, smiling brightly and saying they were proud wolves, came to mind.
"It's all... my fault."
Because I taught them a useless conviction.
Because I instilled in them a hollow ideal.
They were continuing their miserable lives, unable to even resent me.
"Then, Riak."
Oh-jin looked at Riak with deep, sunken eyes.
"Are you a dog or a wolf right now?"
Riak's body flinched.
"I, I am..."
As he tried to continue in a trembling voice.
*Bang!*
"Aah~! That was refreshing!"
"Bathing really does make you feel so much fresher."
[I'm all nice and clean now!]
The three women who had left returned to the cabin.
"Huh? What's this? Why the heavy atmosphere?"
"It's nothing. More importantly, how was the stream?"
"It was freezing cold, so I warmed it up a bit."
Ha-eun giggled and plopped her foot onto the thigh of Oh-jin, who was sitting on the bed.
"How is it? No more smell, right?"
"Let's see. I'll just check..."
"Don't actually smell it, you bastard!"
Ha-eun scowled and kicked Oh-jin in the stomach.
"By the way, Mr. Oh-jin. Shouldn't you be eating soon?"
"Ah, I am getting a little hungry."
Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten a single meal since leaving the Forest of Demon Seas.
"Please wait just a moment."
Isabella rummaged through her backpack and took out some ingredients.
The backpack, a gift from Kim Si-hoo, had a space expansion function as well as a feature to keep ingredients from spoiling, making it possible to cook with fresh ingredients even in the distant land of the Demon Realm.
"I'll make pasta for you today."
"I'm craving Korean food, though."
"Oh my, would you like to make it then, Unni?"
"Ahem. Rosé pasta, please."
Isabella put a pot of water on to boil and began chopping vegetables.
Of course, there was no convenient appliance like a gas stove in this old cabin, but Ha-eun could easily take care of that part.
Just as an appetizing smell began to waft from the kitchen area.
*Knock, knock.*
The cabin door opened with a cautious knock.
"Riru?"
The one who entered was a beastman girl with a slender frame.
The girl, who had been covered in dirt and dust when they first saw her, was now fresh and clean, as if she had just bathed.
"S-sorry for coming so late at night!"
"What's wrong?"
"W-well."
Riru fidgeted with the basket in her hands, glancing over at Oh-jin.
"I picked some fruit."
Inside the basket was fruit that looked freshly picked.
It looked similar to raspberries or blueberries.
"F-for Oh-jin Oppa to eat..."
Riru, her cheeks slightly flushed, kept sneaking glances at Oh-jin.
"Just for Oh-jin?"
"Ah, o-of course, for everyone else, too!"
Riru's ears perked up as she hastily corrected herself.
"Oh my, how cute. Did you pick fruit for Mr. Oh-jin?"
Isabella approached Riru with a bright, smiling expression.
A kitchen knife in one hand.
"Hey, hey, hey! Wait a minute!"
A horrified Ha-eun grabbed Isabella.
Snatching the knife from her hand, Ha-eun panted heavily.
"You, you punk, even so, to a child..."
"Oh, Unni. What are you misunderstanding? I was in the middle of cooking and simply forgot I was holding it."
Isabella shrugged with a pretty eye-smile.
"Thanks. I'll enjoy them."
Oh-jin took the basket and patted Riru's head.
Riru's cheeks turned as red as raspberries.
"Ah, yes. P-please enjoy them, Oppa."
He picked a fruit from the basket and ate it.
Sweet juice spread through his mouth.
"It's delicious."
"I'm glad you like it."
Riru smiled shyly, her tail wagging quickly.
"Oh, right... and."
"Hm?"
"There's something I want to tell you all."
Riru clenched her fists, her face tense with nervousness.