Chapter 80
Chapter 80
I guess when you’re too shocked, even your scream can get stuck in your throat.
I couldn’t make a single sound as the hot, suffocating wind hit my face.
And not a word came out of my mouth until Isella gently set me down on the ground.
The moment my feet touched the earth, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground.
The cool air from the ground rose up along my knees.
From above, I could hear Isella’s bright, oblivious voice.
“Feels nice after being stuck in the fire, doesn’t it?”
“…”
Feels nice? You say that like I almost didn’t just die.
No matter how I looked at it, it was hard to believe this woman had ever been a close companion of Adam’s.
Well, not anymore, I guess.
My stomach still churned like I’d just ridden one of those vertical drop rides.
Actually, considering there hadn’t even been a safety belt, I was lucky I hadn’t passed out during the fall.
At least I didn’t look as bad as Ben, who had completely blacked out beside me. That was a small mercy.
I couldn’t tell my savior the brutal truth, so I said what I honestly felt, just phrased differently.
“That’s something I’d really prefer never to experience again…”
When I mumbled that, Isella let out a small chuckle.
Then she turned to go get Ahern. I walked over to the stream and washed my face, now covered in ash and soot.
My throat felt raw—probably from inhaling so much smoke.
After rinsing out my mouth with the water, I made my way back toward Ben.
“Ah…”
Only then did I turn my head to look at the burning inn.
It was the inn that Ms. Violet and Ben had carefully maintained and cherished.
Originally built and passed down by Ms. Violet’s late husband, the inn was now turning to ashes.
Unless the fire stopped immediately, the building would collapse.
‘If only it would rain…’
I looked up at the sky, but there wasn’t a single cloud in the dark night sky.
The flames only grew fiercer, as if determined to burn everything to the ground.
Thanks to Isella, no one had died, and we’d probably be able to recover the remaining debris quickly. But the decades of effort Ms. Violet had poured into this place were going up in smoke.
She would have to start all over again, from the very bottom, with nothing but pain and loss.
‘Please… let it rain. I don’t care if I have to dance for it or offer a ritual—just let it rain, and I’ll do whatever it takes later…!’
I wished with all my heart.
It’s the founding festival—aren’t you supposed to grant wishes?
Didn’t I ask you to grant the wishes of the people around me?
My wish gradually started turning into a complaint—like I was demanding something from someone.
And just as I lowered my hands…
Suddenly, my nose burned, and a nosebleed started dripping down.
I quickly clutched my nose.
‘So much for rain…’
Just then, something cold brushed against my cheek and slid down.
“…!”
Plop. Plop, plop.
“Rain!”
The light drizzle quickly turned into a downpour, soaking the entire village.
Overjoyed, I forgot everything and smiled brightly.
The blood that had dripped down, as if it were the price of rain, was now washed away by the falling water.
Then, as I tried to stand up in excitement, I lost my balance and collapsed.
My breath came short, and my head pounded—like I’d just run a full lap around the village.
‘Is this delayed aftermath from inhaling all that smoke?’
In the end, I quietly lay down beside Ben.
I really didn’t have the strength to move a single finger.
The murmuring voices of the villagers rang in my ears, but they wouldn’t see me, lying in the secluded edge of the forest.
I just needed to rest a little before getting up.
The rain was falling, so the fire would be out soon. The situation would be easier to manage.
Rustle—
“…!”
At the small sound of someone approaching, my eyes flew open.
Maybe because I had been startled earlier, my body ached all over like I had muscle cramps, and I couldn’t get up. I could only roll my eyes around to look at whoever it was.
“Hello?”
“…”
The one who emerged from the bushes was a man on crutches.
He had faded platinum-blond hair and a bandage wrapped around one eye…
‘A noble… Lindel, was it?’
No one really knew why, but he was said to be a noble who had come to the village one day.
Though he was clearly a noble, he lived alone in a small cabin on the hill without even a single attendant.
They said he didn’t come down into the lower village either…
He didn’t openly claim to be a noble, but the air about him—his manners and movements—clearly gave it away.
Even so, because he was a noble, the villagers avoided talking too much about him, just in case.
I had only heard about him through whispers. I’d never actually seen his face before.
Unlike the others who worked outdoors and had tanned or scarred skin, his was pale as snow.
So pristine, it was clear he had never done hard labor—there was no mistaking that this was the Lindel from the rumors.
But why a noble like him was here, I had no idea.
“There was a fire?”
“As you can see.”
My tone was a bit sharp in response.
But his voice remained calm.
Even though flames still smoldered not far away, he asked so indifferently that it felt eerie.
“I see.”
The noble nodded obediently.
He took a step forward, and I awkwardly tried to lift myself up.
“I think it’s better if you stay lying down.”
“Ow.”
He pressed his fingers firmly against my forehead, pushing me back down, and then slowly walked away.
Rubbing the spot he had touched, I responded sharply,
“Then why did a noble like you come here?”
“Well. From where I was, all that noise—Demon King this, screaming like pigs being slaughtered—I could hear it all.”
“…”
Despite his soft and calm voice, his words were biting.
Then the noble took a handkerchief from his pocket.
But realizing it had gotten wet from the sudden rain, he frowned slightly.
He placed it on my face as if to drop it.
Guessing he meant for me to wipe off the remaining blood, I took the handkerchief and looked up at him.
“Are you not involved in the fire?”
Lindel’s eyes—green like forest foliage—turned toward the now-damp inn where the flames had quieted.
“Probably not. Unless the person who came here wants to kill me, I’m not interested.”
“Then are you at least interested in helping carry us to where the others are? Since we can’t walk?”
“No, I’m not.”
He cut me off cleanly, then looked up at the sky.
“A rain like this, coming out of nowhere with nothing in the sky… That’s lucky.”
With that, Lindel turned and left.
“Lucky, huh…”
I, too, looked up at the sky as he had.
The heavy downpour had already begun to subside.
It had only put out the fire on the inn, then vanished.
As if nothing had happened at all.
Strangely exhausted, I lay back down again.
Fiddling with the holy relic around my neck, I murmured.
The metal ring, which should have been cold, felt oddly warm.
Just like it had before…
“What is Adam doing right now…”
I could have reached out and known exactly what Adam was thinking.
But as soon as I remembered his cold face and how harshly he had ended things with me, I lost all motivation to connect. My strength drained away entirely.
Adam hadn’t come, even when I was in danger.
He had truly cut me off.
‘No, wait. That just means I should punch him.’
Dragging out every last ounce of strength I had, I suddenly sat up.
My head was still pounding from the smoke I’d breathed, but washing my face with cold water helped a little.
First, I’d wait until the fire cleanup was finished.
Then I’d return to the Demon King’s castle.
And I’d try talking to Adam. If that failed, I’d throw a tantrum on the floor and demand compensation for all the emotional damage he’d caused.
Until he either punched me or left me alone again.
The fire had gone out, but there was still a commotion in the distance. With the rain gone, voices carried even more clearly.
I slowly walked toward the noise.
Just then, the holy relic around my neck trembled faintly.
‘Is it telling me to go this way?’
It pulled me gently to the left, almost like it had a will of its own.
Away from where the people were gathered.
Was there something there?
Soon, I saw someone cloaked in black smoke.
At first, I thought it was just another hallucination brought on by thinking of him too much.
But it wasn’t a hallucination.
Just like that dawn from before, I found Adam in a vulnerable, unstable state—and ran to him.
“Adam!”
But the moment my hand touched him, a violent reaction exploded outward.
It was the same haze that would usually vanish the moment I touched it.
But this time, it didn’t disappear. It surged around Adam, refusing to give way.
‘If it’s like this, I need to get him to snap out of it somehow…’
It felt just like that night again. No matter how I called him, he didn’t respond. I just stood there, watching.
The only difference was, Adam kept mumbling something.
“Why is it always me… Why am I the only one who survives…”
What was he talking about?
I quietly faced him.
Even if he wouldn’t look at me, I always looked at him. I always had.
“Eve died too, in the end…”
His pupils were dazed.
Those intelligent eyes of his had lost their focus, drifting.
And yet his face remained calm.
As if he had expected this.
As if he had already given up.
“I couldn’t protect anyone. Not again.”
-
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