Chapter 79
Chapter 79
Someone called my name.
I was so startled by the sound that I fell off the bed.
Just now, I was sure someone had called my name…
Not “Eveline,” but my real name.
It was a voice I had never heard before, yet strangely, it felt familiar.
I woke up suddenly and looked around, but the familiar room was empty.
Still, my throat hurt like it was burning.
Instinctively, I reached for my neck.
The holy relic hanging there was quiet, but for some reason, I had an unshakable feeling that the one who called my name had been the ring.
But there was no time to dwell on that.
Black smoke was seeping in through the gap beneath the door.
A chill ran down my spine in that instant.
Without a moment’s delay, I dashed out into the hallway.
“Cough, cough!”
As soon as I stepped outside, I realized how strange it was that I hadn’t noticed the smoke sooner—it was everywhere.
Coughing uncontrollably, I stumbled through the hall.
Where was everyone else?
First, I ran into the room next door—Ben’s.
He was sound asleep, completely unaware of what was happening. Judging by the empty liquor bottles scattered on the floor, he must have passed out drunk after heavy drinking the night before.
I rushed over and shook him.
“Ben, wake up! Ben!”
But Ben didn’t budge. Only the soft sound of his breathing could be heard.
There was no other choice.
Muttering a quick apology in my head, I slapped both of his cheeks back and forth.
Only when his face turned red and swollen did Ben finally crack one eye open.
“Eveline…? What’s going on… yawn… why do my cheeks hurt so much…?”
“The inn is on fire! Get up right now!”
“What?!”
Thinking it was a joke, Ben looked around, then jumped out of bed.
“Tommy! Mom!”
Leaving Ben to wake the others, I ran to the bathroom, soaked several towels in water, and came out with them.
Ben, Tommy, Ms. Violet…
Thankfully, the national founding festival had just ended, so there were no guests staying at the inn.
A small mercy in the midst of disaster.
“Ahern!”
Only then did I remember Ahern and rushed to the room he was staying in.
“Mr. Ahern! Wake up!”
I pounded on the door with my fist, but there was no response from inside.
In the end, Ben returned and helped me break down the door, and there we found Ahern sitting on the bed. It was unclear whether he had just woken up or hadn’t slept at all.
“It doesn’t look like morning yet, but it is strangely bright outside.”
“That’s because there’s a fire!”
Ahern was staring out the window, watching the flames like it was someone else’s problem.
No, it’s the inn you’re staying in that’s burning!
It was like going to see what the fuss was about, only to find your own house on fire.
Now was not the time to just sit there.
“Ah. Luckily, thanks to my familiar, I’m unaffected by fire.”
“Stop saying weird things! Cover your nose with this towel and stay with Ben!”
I grabbed Ahern’s arm and handed him a towel.
Was anyone else still left inside?
Ben said the others had probably gotten out first. Since they were sleeping downstairs, they must have escaped.
But when we reached the stairs, debris from the ceiling had collapsed, blocking the exit.
We could hear voices calling from below.
“Ms. Violet! Please get out first!”
Relieved, I shouted down to her, then moved to find another way out.
‘There’s no getting through here…’
I turned and ran in the opposite direction.
I headed toward the farthest room in the hallway, hoping to find a ladder in the storage room or something.
Crash!
The loud shatter of glass echoed. Was it because of the fire?
“Ah!”
Startled by the sound, I dropped to the ground and covered my ears.
In that moment, wind blew in through the shattered window.
The flames spread deeper inside.
I needed to get up quickly, but I had inhaled too much smoke—my body wasn’t responding.
Then someone jumped through the broken window into the inn.
The warmth of a human touch wrapped around my waist.
Hair whipping through the fire.
And the face looking down at me with concern…
“…Warrior?”
For a moment, I was confused.
The face of the person I had so desperately longed to see instantly came to mind.
But the voice, which sounded like a young woman trying to snap me out of a dream by dousing my face with cold water, clearly wasn’t his.
“Oh my. Sorry, but I’m not your warrior.”
I barely managed to open my smoke-stung eyes and confirm her face—only to cry out without meaning to.
“Mercenary Queen Isella?!”
Hair redder than the blazing flames, and eyes even deeper in hue than that.
“So you know who I am?”
Ah—seeing one of Adam’s former companions in person, someone I had always wanted to meet before I died, made me so happy that I couldn’t help myself.
Even if I acknowledged her, it didn’t really matter. Dying would be the same either way.
“Well, maybe you heard about me from the hero. This village is close to the Demon King’s castle where he used to stay, after all.”
Isella smiled slyly as she spoke.
Still in her arms, I looked around.
The warrior wasn’t with her.
She didn’t seem to realize that the maid who had sent her the letter was me.
She had probably been heading toward the Demon King’s castle when she saw the fire and rushed over.
“So, girl, this fire clearly looks man-made… have any idea who might’ve done it?”
“No, none!”
If I knew, I’d have torn out their hair until they were bald.
Unfortunately, there were no bald people here, and I’d been asleep—so I had no idea who started the fire.
“I like that kind of firm answer.”
But arson? That didn’t sit right.
No one in this village would do something like that.
For a moment, I thought of Lindel, the noble from the village up north—but he had trouble walking.
It would’ve taken him too long to get here, set a fire, and escape without being seen.
‘Besides, Ms. Violet wouldn’t have made such a mistake. Something’s off.’
“So these four are the only ones here?”
“There should be… one more?”
Ms. Violet, unconscious. Tommy. Ben covering their faces with wet towels I brought. And me.
But Ahern was missing.
“Oh. He smashed through a window out of nowhere. He thought the warrior had come to kill him, got scared, and ran off.”
Ahern, who had been keeping his distance, crept closer, clearly reading the mood.
“So he’s not the only one who breaks in through windows like a lunatic.”
“Sorry I’m not your hero. I almost became his companion—but he turned me down.”
Isella’s red lips curved into a broad grin as she spoke cheerfully.
The reason he turned her down is standing right next to you.
I couldn’t bring myself to say it, so I just gave her an awkward smile.
“The fire was intense on that side. How did you survive?”
“Huh? Didn’t I say? One of my subordinates has fire-related abilities, so I’m immune… or, well, I’m just naturally resistant to fire.”
“Okay, enough chatter!”
With a snap of her fingers, Isella drew everyone’s attention.
Then she grinned.
“Let’s go down!”
Her tone was bold and brisk—simple to the point of being blunt.
But her words left me flustered.
“This is the top floor.”
The fourth floor, no less. Since it was the only inn in Dainel Village, the building was fairly large.
We had gone up to escape the fire and ended up in the attic.
Below was filled with flames, and even the attic was hard to breathe in from the smoke and heat.
So when Isella had suddenly smashed through the window and jumped in, I really thought she’d gone mad.
“That’s not a problem for me!”
She wrapped Tommy in a blanket and easily strapped him to her back.
“You, here. And your brother, here.”
Isella tucked me and Ben under each of her arms and looked back at Ahern.
“You said you’re resistant to fire, right? Think you can hold out for a minute?”
Ahern nodded without a word.
He looked as calm as when we had pulled him out of his room.
He wasn’t even sweating, as if the heat didn’t bother him at all.
Maybe Isella interpreted his relaxed demeanor as consideration for us, because she grinned widely.
“Great!”
And without even giving us time to be surprised—she jumped.
