Chapter 1031 – (Side Story)09. A Witch’s First Love (6)
The moment when Illyana’s senses were filled with the feeling of floating in the air.
Illyana looked up in surprise.
Eunhyeon’s face, lifting her own body with ease, came into her field of vision.
“Let go of this!”
“Stay still.”
“Put it down right now!”
She was scared and struggled to get out of Eunhyeon’s arms, but Eunhyeon didn’t move at all.
Rather, it climbs the mountain path following the adventurers, coaxing and soothing them as if handling a struggling cat.
“If you could walk on your own, you wouldn’t do this.”
“…”
“Time is of the essence when exploring snowy areas. “I can’t waste time like this here.”
No matter how much cold weather protection she has put in place, it cannot last forever.
The body temperature will gradually drop, and if time drags on, it is natural for the adventurer to suffer a loss.
Even if Illyana was his employer, she was nothing but a hindrance in the current situation.
“Therefore…”
“Okay.”
“Yes?”
“I understand!”
As she was quietly explaining why she had to move with Illyana in her arms, Illyana suddenly expressed her anger.
She stopped struggling, but I couldn’t figure out why she suddenly got so angry.
‘What is it?’
Why is she suddenly angry?
Eunhyeon couldn’t help but feel very embarrassed, but rather than paying attention to Illyana, who turned her head and didn’t show her expression, she decided to focus more on climbing the mountain path.
‘… It’s annoying.’
Turning her head to hide her face, Illyana frowned and swallowed her frustration.
But even so, she couldn’t help but be offended by Eunhyeon’s explanation that her presence was nothing but a hindrance.
Who is she?
He is a disciple of Aden who is mentioned as a candidate for the next elder of the Blue Tower in the Magic Tower, and is the most anticipated prospect among the current students of the Magic Tower.
A talented person who is walking the path of a wizard by taking an ultra-elite course.
Her self-worth and views from outsiders were something that Illyana was well aware of, and something she was proud of.
But she seemed to be saying that she was a worthless person who was of no help here.
He was an elite wizard, but if you exclude the field of magic, he was such a helpless human being.
When I realized that, I felt so embarrassed, sad, and angry.
There was no way Eunhyeon or the other hired adventurers would know about her complicated feelings.
‘But what on earth is this man?’
Illyana, who had turned her head to avoid a sudden question, looked at Eunhyeon.
Although his head, ears and entire mouth were covered with a winter fur hat, his red eyes, staring ahead, were clearly visible even in the strong snow and wind.
If you look closely, this man is even stranger.
Although he doesn’t look that big on the outside, he is surprisingly strong.
Currently, Eunhyeon was carrying Illyana while carrying a backpack that was twice as large as his upper body.
In terms of pure weight, it’s almost like walking while carrying the weight of two people.
Moreover, other adventurers sometimes lose their posture or breathe heavily while walking while carrying a backpack, but Eunhyun’s posture was stable and his breathing was not disturbed while holding Illyana.
To be honest, it was very comfortable to be held in his arms.
On the outside, he did not seem to be any better than other adventurers, but traces of unusual experience were visible in his speaking skills that persuaded other adventurers or dealt with them verbally.
‘Now that I think about it, back then…’
Come to think of it, when we first met, wasn’t he beating up a lot of pickpockets and making off with them?
Although he was a criminal, he was not an adventurer, and he had physical abilities similar to those of ordinary people. Although he could not be evaluated as a great person for overpowering them, even when they first met, he was unusual.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes?”
“My physical condition.”
“Oh, yes. That… “It’s okay.”
Illyana was slightly embarrassed and answered quickly.
My breathing, which had become rough, began to stabilize little by little, and my legs, which had been difficult to take even a single step, were recovering from some of their fatigue.
While checking her condition in Eunhyeon’s arms, Illyana realized something strange.
‘Why am I like this?’
Was she a woman who allowed herself to be approached by the opposite sex?
Normally, she would not have allowed even people of the opposite sex or the same sex to keep such a distance from her.
Everyone around Illyana harbored impure feelings towards her.
Her fellow students were jealous of her extraordinary talent and grades.
In particular, her sticky and lustful gazes and invitations from her male professors and students made Illyana disgusted.
The only thing she could tolerate was her mentor, Arden, who taught her magic when she was young.
Aden was like her teacher or adoptive parent to Illyana.
But this man and Eunhyeon are not like that.
He is a man whom I only met for a little less than a month, and who only helped me with my first impressions.
How could he have allowed himself to close the distance so easily to a man who, other than his slightly handsome face, could not have attracted much attention?
It was a time when he was confused because he couldn’t find the right answer to his feelings.
“Do you have something to say?”
“Yes?”
“I felt like I had something to say.”
“Ah.”
Perhaps it was because she had been staring at him for too long, but eventually Eunhyeon couldn’t bear the stare and asked Illyana.
“… “At that time.”
“At that time?”
“Pickpocket.”
“Ah.”
Eunhyun later remembered the first time he met Illyana.
The sight of the pickpockets beating her up and making her kneel in a line to rob her may have been such a shocking sight for her.
“What were you doing?”
“I was taking back the money that the pickpockets had stolen.”
“… “Why?”
“I’m bored.”
“…”
Illyana was at a loss for words.
Eunhyeon burst out laughing when she saw her talking with an expression that made her wonder if she was talking crazy.
“I’m kidding. Actually, I received a request from the Adventurer’s Guild. Recently, the problem of pickpocketing has been growing, so I ask you to deal with them. Isn’t Magic Tower a very rich town?”
That is correct.
The city where the Magic Tower is located is a neutral area where even interference from other countries is restricted.
Since the city is run by the management of the Magic Tower, it is no different from an inviolable extraterritorial area.
In addition, since it is full of expensive and high-quality goods, including most of the distributed goods and food, it is like a place where gold is casually rolling around.
Of course, the severity of the punishment is strong, and the security is good, but the adventurer’s guild issued a request to deal with the increasing number of pickpockets.
“I had so much time left and nothing to do. The guild also really liked it.”
“… Why did you take the money?”
“That’s all money stolen from the city’s residents. “I have to give it back.”
“You can’t even check who was robbed and how much money was stolen.”
“I requested that again from the Adventurer’s Guild. So that the stolen money can be returned to its original owner.”
Illyana was once again at a loss for words when she heard that she had even used her own money to re-entrust the adventurer’s guild.
After listening to her story, there was nothing like this.
I think this guide request was also accepted at a very cheap price.
The reason was very simple.
It’s just because I’m bored.
“I think you should get off now. “Get ready.”
Preparation.
What does it mean to prepare?
Illyana couldn’t understand.
However, the adventurers who were leading the way up the mountain had already noticed the strange incident.
Illyana noticed the incident when the other adventurers in her vanguard took out their weapons and prepared for battle.
Their spirit, which was clearly felt even in this climate with strong snowstorms, naturally made Illyana nervous as well.
Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo
The pure white earth covered with snow begins to tremble.
The shaking got stronger and at the same time, the flow of the snowstorm began to completely change.
“… “It’s coming!”
It means that something is gradually heading in this direction.
And it’s probably something big and huge in numbers.
“BullBoar.”
Eunhyeon, who was at the rear along with Illyana, muttered softly.
The only one who heard him was Illyana, who was closest.
Kurrrr!
The ferocious howl of an animal reaches your ears through a fierce snowstorm.
The devil has appeared.
The shadow of the monster getting closer and closer, causing an earthquake as if the ground was shaking, began to slowly reveal its existence.
A mouth protrudes from the front, obscured by a blizzard, baring its sharp teeth and thrusting towards the vanguard adventurer.
The demonic beast that appears is a beast of such enormous size that it can easily chew up a man of sturdy physique.
The tusks on either side of the mouth are like huge awls, capable of easily tearing apart the body of an opponent that penetrates them.
Kurrrr!
Confirming the fireboar rushing at us at breakneck speed while letting out harsh snorts, the adventurer at the front raised his large shield and prepared for defense.
They said they reacted quickly as soon as they appeared in the blurred vision caused by the snowstorm.
“Everybody moves to the side!”
However, Eunhyeon used his quick wits and grabbed the back of the adventurer, who had firmly prepared the front defense, and pulled him back.
“Ugh!?”
The adventurer who was holding the shield was forcibly pulled and pushed to the side, and at the same time, the startled adventurers all evacuated to the side in surprise at Eunhyeon’s words.
Coo coo!
Many fireboars that appeared late rushed in at once and swept the front lines.
Seeing the place where a storm had swept past, the adventurer and Illyana both hardened their faces.
If Eunhyeon had not instructed in advance, if they had chosen to defend and fight head-on on this firing line, they would have been crushed by that bullboar’s charge by now and their entire bodies torn apart by its tusks.
It was the result of first seeing a bullbore in front and focusing one’s eyes on only that one.
“Ready.”
Eunhyeon gave brief instructions.
The adventurers who heard that suddenly came to their senses.
The battle that started has not ended.
The enemies just passed by, they are not dead.
Coo coo!
The ground begins to shake like crazy, as if to suggest that the bullboars that had been charging furiously are coming back.
The adventurers grabbed their weapons once again and adjusted their posture.
“The most frightening thing about the Bullboar is its low weight, acceleration when charging, and penetrating power that pierces enemies in front of its tusks. Hitting that thing head-on with a shield literally means committing suicide.”
For adventurers of the gold tier, even that might be physically possible, but for adventurers of the same tier, it was no different from suicide.
“… Then what should I do?”
An adventurer asked a question.
To resolve his curiosity, Eunhyeon answered.
“It’s cold, so let’s collect some wild boar skins.”
