The Wandering Priestess (2)
Two years ago.
The truth was, I had a feeling. Bad premonitions always came true. So maybe, just maybe, this time Jungwoo really was going to die.
It was a disposable unit made up entirely of slave soldiers. A mission that could never succeed, one from which no one could return alive. The world—the Central Command—always pushed the special forces unit he belonged to straight into the jaws of death. As if he wasn’t allowed to live. As if he must never come back alive.
So when the death report reached Rumia, it hit like the fulfillment of that grim omen.
“……”
“I’m sorry…”
Rumia kept her head bowed low, repeating the same apology over and over.
“I couldn’t protect him… He died trying to save me instead…”
Seo Hayun couldn’t say a single word. Her mind went completely blank. She couldn’t think at all.
They hadn’t even been able to retrieve his body. A Minotaur had crushed his head under its hoof until it burst. All they could do was run for their lives with that monster right in front of them. They were powerless and weak; there was nothing they could do. Rumia wept tears of bitter regret.
She wasn’t the only one who felt that frustration, sorrow, and heartbreak. Seo Hayun felt exactly the same. She, too, had been unable to do anything. Just like Rumia, she had failed to prevent Han Jungwoo’s death.
Seo Hayun could not shake the guilt weighing on her heart. So she left the special forces unit and spent the next two years wandering the front lines. She traveled from unit to unit, healing soldiers who risked their lives on the battlefield.
I hope these people don’t end up like Jungwoo.
It was nothing more than her own small act of comfort, a way to lighten the burden on her heart even a little.
While she continued that wandering life of traveling between units and healing soldiers, Seo Hayun eventually visited the 9th Defense Division.
“Thank you as always.”
“Not at all.”
Just like every other time, she visited the commander’s office and received a greeting from the officer in charge. It was something Seo Hayun had experienced many times before.
Those who could use light-attribute magic were extremely rare. Most magic users were simply called “mages,” but those who wielded light magic were not. They belonged to a separate organization called the Holy Temple rather than the Allied Forces, and were known as “priestesses.”
The Temple had been created because of their unique ability to heal others and their extreme scarcity compared to mages of other attributes. Since the Allied Forces and the Temple cooperated with each other, Central Command could not force a priestess like Seo Hayun to obey direct orders. That was also why she had been able to join the special forces unit made up of slave soldiers without permission. And it was why she could continue her wandering life, traveling between units to heal soldiers instead of returning to the Temple.
Because of that, Seo Hayun was the only priestess who wandered the front lines healing soldiers instead of remaining under the Temple’s direct protection.
From Arisha’s perspective, Seo Hayun’s actions were incredibly noble. She sought neither money, power, nor fame. Her only wish was to heal soldiers and see them live. To devote herself to others without asking for anything in return was, in itself, a profoundly sacred act.
That was why Arisha held Seo Hayun in such high respect. The problem was that Seo Hayun herself wasn’t acting with any such grand meaning in mind, so the admiration felt burdensome.
It would have been easier if it had been someone else.
People who urged her to stay in their unit or approached her with hidden motives of power and influence were easy to reject coldly. But someone like Arisha—who genuinely worried for her and respected her—made it much harder.
“Then I’ll be going now…”
Seo Hayun wanted to leave the commander’s office as quickly as possible. She gave a hurried greeting and turned to go.
“I’ll show you the way.”
The moment she stepped into the corridor, a soldier greeted her. It was a man she had become familiar with after visiting the 9th Defense Division several times. He was a squad leader who had been assigned to escort her whenever she came.
“I already informed the injured soldiers who need treatment that you were coming, Priestess. They’ve been gathered in the infirmary, so we can head there right away.”
“Thank you.”
Perhaps because she had visited several times before and healed soldiers, the squad leader’s response was swift and efficient.
“Oh! Priestess! Hello!”
“You came again! Thank you so much, as always.”
As she walked down the corridor toward the infirmary, many soldiers who spotted Seo Hayun greeted her warmly. Most of them were men she had healed before. Others had been deeply moved by the sight of her devoting herself to the soldiers without asking for anything in return, just like Arisha.
“Yes. I’ll be counting on you again this time.”
She answered each greeting one by one as she walked. Then she overheard a conversation between two other soldiers.
“Whoa~. The 4th Search Unit’s been on fire lately, huh?”
“No kidding. They got a new recruit recently, right? Ever since then, we keep hearing stories about the search unit.”
“That new guy’s from the Ricon Kingdom, wasn’t he? Seems like even Lee Sunho’s taken a real liking to him.”
Suddenly, Seo Hayun’s steps faltered.
Ricon… Kingdom?
It was a story about her own homeland. A common enough topic. There were countless soldiers from the Ricon Kingdom. She herself was from there. But even so, why had her footsteps stopped?
For some reason, his face rose unbidden in her mind. Even though he was already dead, the feelings still lingering in her heart refused to let him go. She still couldn’t shake off the longing and lingering attachment.
“Is something wrong?”
The squad leader who had been guiding her to the infirmary asked with a puzzled expression.
“Ah, no… It’s nothing…”
She tried to start walking again.
“Let’s go…”
“That new recruit’s name was Han Jungwoo, right?”
The moment she heard that name, the direction of her steps reversed completely.
“Wait just a moment.”
“Yes?”
The soldiers who had just greeted her and walked past turned back with confused faces at her call.
“Just now…”
“Pardon?”
Her expression was one of pure bewilderment. She needed to confirm it, just to make sure she hadn’t misheard.
“What did you… just say?”
No. It wasn’t uncertainty. This was the longing and lingering attachment that had remained in her heart transforming, the instant it found his trace, into the tiniest spark of hope.
The man named Han Jungwoo was already dead. And yet, it was a hope she desperately wanted to confirm anyway. Her question, laced with panic and urgency, left the soldiers looking utterly bewildered.
Seo Hayun asked once more.
“The new recruit you just mentioned—what did you say his name was?”
The moment our eyes met, I hesitated.
Should I acknowledge that I knew her here?
Seeing Seo Hayun, whose well-being I had been curious about, was honestly a welcome sight. But the fact that my death record—which had already been processed as a fatality—was proven wrong was not welcome at all.
So I hesitated.
I need to get out of here first.
If I judged the situation rationally, I should pretend not to know her and hurry away. But my decision came just a fraction of a second too late.
In that tiny gap, Seo Hayun moved faster.
She burst forward, shoving past the other soldiers and running straight toward me.
“Uh.”
I had faced the ferocious charge of a terrifying Boar with perfect calm, yet I couldn’t handle her charge at all. Ironically, I wasn’t the only one struggling to deal with this wildly contradictory situation. Strangely enough, the other soldiers parted to make way for Seo Hayun as she approached me.
Before I could escape, she threw herself into my arms with surprising ease.
“Hey, Hayun. Wait a second…”
I gave up on running. The next thought that came to mind was how to smooth over this situation.
In an instant, every eye in the corridor locked onto me and Seo Hayun.
“What the hell?”
“What’s going on here?”
“Is that his ex-girlfriend or something?”
“No way? For real? Is this actually happening?”
Most of the curious, whispering voices belonged to my seniors in the search unit. This was an incredibly, disgustingly awkward situation.
“Um, Hayun. Maybe we should step away for a bit…”
I tried to maintain my composure as I gently patted the back of Seo Hayun, who was clinging tightly to my chest. But whether she heard me or not, she seemed completely overwhelmed by emotion. Her arms, wrapped around me with increasing strength, began to tremble as she sobbed.
“Is it… really you…?”
Her voice shook as violently as her arms.
“Ah, seriously…”
It seemed like she couldn’t hear my voice at all. Or maybe she simply couldn’t control her feelings.
I glanced around, gauging the reactions. Not only my seniors from the search unit, but every soldier walking the corridor was sneaking glances and holding their breath. Their faces were filled with the excited fascination of people watching a play. Someone even whispered for someone to go get popcorn.
Let’s get out of here first.
“You, come with me for a moment.”
I forcibly pried Seo Hayun’s arms from around me.
“Sorry, but excuse us for a bit.”
“Uh, um? S-sure.”
The moment Kalant, who had finally snapped out of it, answered, I moved.
“Follow me. Let’s calm down and talk.”
“Okay…”
Her voice was still thick with tears. Seeing her red-rimmed eyes, I felt a complicated mix of emotions. I hadn’t done anything, yet it felt like I had made her cry. I suddenly felt like the bad guy.
Thankfully, Seo Hayun quietly followed behind me.
“Huh? Isn’t that the Priestess?”
“Isn’t that the new guy from the 4th Search Unit? Why are they together?”
Unfortunately, Seo Hayun was so famous in this outpost that almost no one didn’t know her.
She said she’s been living as a wanderer, traveling between units to heal soldiers.
That was probably why, even as we walked down the corridor, people openly showed curiosity about our relationship. I pushed through the unwanted flood of attention and headed for the quiet outskirts of the outpost.
When we finally reached a completely deserted area, I let out a small sigh of relief.
“Y-you brought me all the way out here to such a secluded place… what are you going to do…?”
Seo Hayun turned her head away, avoiding my eyes. Her face was flushed, and she seemed restless. I couldn’t tell if it was her eyes or her cheeks that were red.
“…What happened? Why are you here?”
I was finally able to ask.
“Well…”
Seo Hayun hesitated for a moment, then told me about her situation. After that operation two years ago, she had left the special forces unit. She had spent her time wandering between many different units, healing soldiers. It wasn’t very different from what I had heard from the others.
“……”
“What about you? What happened?”
“Huh?”
Seo Hayun looked at me and asked. Now that the overwhelming surge of emotion had calmed, the question that came late was about me. It was only natural.
But I didn’t answer her right away. How much should I tell her? How much could I tell her?
If I tell her… will she believe me?
As I remained silent, hesitating, Seo Hayun took my hand.
“I’ll believe you.”
Both of her hands wrapped gently around my left one. The way she touched me was incredibly careful and full of tenderness, as if handling a precious treasure.
“No matter what you say, I’ll believe you.”
Even though I hadn’t said anything, she understood exactly why I was hesitating. That was why she dove straight into the heart of my reluctance without the slightest pause.
“Have you forgotten? No matter what the situation is, I’m always on your side. So…”
Seo Hayun pulled my left hand, still held in both of hers, and pressed it against her chest.
“Stay by my side.”
She spoke with such earnest longing, as if begging me to do exactly that. Drawn in by the desperate sincerity in her voice—the voice of someone who would be satisfied with nothing more than that—I slowly opened my mouth.