Chapter 28 – Wolf Time (4)
“Miss Rebecca…?”
I blankly looked up at her. She looked surprisingly the same as before, except that her hair was a little faded and the smell of stale cigarettes wafted through. It was as if he had escaped the headwinds of destruction alone.
But it wasn’t all that surprising. I naturally assumed that she had already left the island with the faculty. Because he was the most veteran of the security guards, I thought he was the number one person to entrust himself to.
“Why are you here…”
I blankly put the question into my mouth. Then she shook her head and reached out to me.
“I came because I saw a light coming from the academy.
“That…”
“I’ll hear the explanation tomorrow. Get up first. I’ve dealt with the guys in sight, but they don’t know yet.”
“Ah yes.”
There was absolutely no room for refutation in that upright tone. Especially with the words that we will talk about everything tomorrow. I finally agreed and held out my hand.
Her hand, whichheheld for the first time, was very firm. To the point where I almost feel like it’s not human. I barely got up and turned my gaze towards Saya this time.
“Saya. We have to go quickly. Before someone else comes after us.”
“…”
“Can it happen?”
“…Yes.”
Saya barely nodded and stood up slowly, uncharacteristically for her. Anyone could see that he was exhausted and exhausted. With a slightly worried heart, I asked indirectly.
“Saya. Can you walk?”
“Yes I’m fine.”
“You don’t have to push yourself too hard…!”
However, the lower part of the body collapsed on this side first. In an instant, my legs lost strength, and if Rebecca hadn’t held me up, I would have fallen.
“Ugh…”
“You be careful. In my eyes, your side is more normal.”
“I know. But…”
“…And elves are a species that you don’t need to worry about in the first place.”
“…”
I shut my mouth on that one word. She glanced at me and sighed.
“Yes. Is there too much to talk about?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s do it tomorrow. Do you have a place to go? If not, I can take you there.”
“No…I have a place to go. I can walk, so follow me.”
I gritted my teeth and got up again. Then he started walking slowly forward. Every time I took a step, I felt like my whole body would break down, but I couldn’t stop like this.
“…Lope.”
Suddenly, Saya clung to my arm. She grabbed my arm and leaned her head against it.
“Lean on me. I’ll walk with you.”
“It’s okay, buy it. You don’t have to.”
“Please Lope. Please don’t decline.”
“Because I’m fine.”
“…I’m not okay.”
“…”
Saying that, Saya grabbed my arm as hard as she could. It was as if he couldn’t stand it if he didn’t lean on me. It was only then that I realized that these words weren’t just meant to support me.
Eventually, we started walking towards the dark, holding on to each other. After that, Rebecca’s heavy metallic sound rang out. Every time I heard that sound, Saya burrowed more and more into my arms.
The naturally soft scent of forget-me-nots covered the pervasive bloody smell. For some reason, I missed and was happy with the smell that I met after a long struggle. As I listened to the regular sound of footsteps there, I was slowly drowsy.
“Lope?”
“Yes…”
Saya sensed something strange and called my name. He responded instinctively, but eventually his eyes closed. Soon, the whole body limp in the death-like tranquility.
But it was still too early to die. That’s why I kept moving even though I was buried in darkness. The night where the dead and the dying were mixed eventually ended at the borderline. The unwelcome dawn sky was cold and soft.
“Rope.”
“…”
“Wake up, Lope.”
“…Miss Rebecca.”
It seems that he really fell asleep. When I came to my senses, I was already stopped near the second hideout. The shape of a large house shimmered beyond the upper bush.
“Yes…Here. Just go into the house in front of me.”
“I want to, but I can’t.”
“What’s up?”
“Look over there.”
I cast her gaze in the direction she was pointing. A faint shadow came into my eyes in the deep darkness. After staring at it frowning for a while, I realized its true identity and opened my mouth.
“Day…”
“Don’t move.”
But what came back the next moment was a chilling voice. She spoke again in a voice she had never heard before.
“I don’t know what she’s holding in her hand, but put everything down. Send her older sister over here.”
“There seems to be a misunderstanding. I just…”
“I’ll count to three.”
“Haru. It’s not like that.”
“One two.”
“Wait… Stop.”
If left alone, he would really swing his sword and attack. I approached Haru and hurriedly waved my hand even though I knew I couldn’t see him.
“He’s someone I know. I’ve known him for a long time.”
“It doesn’t matter. You have to buy it quickly. Come over here with my sister.”
“Okay. Okay, so calm down.”
But one day, even after I got closer, he didn’t put down his sword. Judging from the fact that her whole body is a mess of leaves and bushes, Haru must have been looking for me for a long time. She sniffed in her direction, still clutching her sword.
“You must be seriously injured. The smell of blood is no joke.”
“It’s been a terrible night. And he’s fine. Now lower your arms.”
“I’m not sure.”
“…Day.”
“So please step back, gentlemen. Even if your eyes are stupid, there’s no problem cutting them.”
“…”
One day, uncharacteristically for her, she showed her vigilance, mixing her harsh language with her swear words. Rebecca looked at her for a moment and then nodded her head.
“Yes. I understand. It’s just suspicious.”
“…”
“Go in and take a rest, Lope. I said it before, but let’s postpone the talk until tomorrow.”
“…Miss Rebecca.”
“Because there are so many things to talk about.”
“Let’s go. Senior.”
At her words, Haru ruthlessly pushed my back. With no strength to resist, I was pushed back and headed toward the house. Rebecca stood still and watched us.
But Haru didn’t even allow her to make eye contact with her. She continued to push on our backs and slam the door open with her rough hand.
“…Ugh.”
As soon as the door opened, a warm breeze rushed in. In an instant, my mind was dizzy and my legs collapsed on their own. The relief that he had reached the hiding place seemed to have drained his strength.
“Ha…”
“It must have been a really rough day, senior.”
Even in the midst of that, Haru slammed the door and locked it. And then he continued to look out the door.
“It’s a stupid question, but are you hurt? The smell of blood is no joke.”
“There are a lot of injuries.
“What about Saya?”
“Saya is…”
I still looked at the day in my arms. She only then dropped a little and timidly nodded her head.
“…I’m fine too.”
“Really?”
“Yes I’m fine.”
“It’s good. Neither of them seem to be fine at all.”
It was a sharp tone, but Haru’s words penetrated the essence. She stood at her door for a while before letting out a deep sigh.
“I also really want to hear what happened, but I’ll put it off until tomorrow. Get some rest, senior.”
“Thank you. Haru.”
“Thank you. Of course it’s something I have to do.”
“But… Where are you going?”
One day the door suddenly opened and she raised her sword once more. Then, without hesitation, he went outside.
“No matter how much I think about it, I can’t believe that woman. I’ll be guarding the door, so you can buy it with my senior, so you can sleep comfortably.”
“There’s no need for that, Haru. He’s someone I really know. And he saved us today.”
“The ones who tried to kill me in the annex that day were all people I knew.
“That’s… You’re right.”
“And most of all it smells. Literally a weird smell.”
The last word was serious yet heavy. It was the same last time, but I couldn’t just listen to Haru’s story about the smell.
Still, a hint of rebellion arose in her heart. Even though I knew that Haru’s words were correct both logically and situationally, I wanted to deny it again and again. Why? Maybe it’s because she was like her only teacher to me.
Or is it because he was the only person who saved me after the world became Lee Ji-kyung?
…
No.
In fact, there is someone else who saved me.
I turned her head towards Saya. Her hands were still trembling slightly. I wanted to hold her, but I couldn’t because I was afraid that I would get her hands stained with her blood.
“…I’ll leave anyway, senior. Now, go to sleep. Saya-unnie too.”
“Okay. Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“Wow. It’s the first time you’ve talked to me in such a sweet way. You can go out in a good mood.”
Was it Haru smiled for the first time and moved her steps. But just before she went out, she stopped her steps for a second and added a word.
“Oh, and senior.”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t come to help.”
“…Nope.”
The door was closed before my words could reach it. I leaned my head in front of him and let out a long breath as if collapsing.
“Haaa…”
The breath he exhaled was warm. I glanced around and saw that the fireplace was swallowing burning logs. Above it was the head of a stuffed deer, staring at me with faded eyes.
I still don’t know the true identity of this place. Given that it was located in a remote area and was quite large and fully equipped with water supply facilities, I had a vague idea that it might be the president’s villa.
Even though the facilities were so good, the reason for abandoning this place was simple. It was too big to live alone, but it was not properly equipped with security devices, so it was at a disadvantage for defense. However, now that the party has increased, it might be safer to stay here.
However, there was no such thing as a great medical facility here either. In the end, the only thing that helped the situation was that water came out. No, in fact, I wasn’t even sure about that. It’s also unclear whether all the magic engineering equipment here is working.
As of now, there was nothing I could do. I just dragged my heavy body and walked toward the bed. Saya supported me until the end.
“Buy it. It’s okay now. You go and rest too.”
“…”
Saya didn’t even answer and took me to bed. In the end, I didn’t resist and lay down on the futon. The guilt of leaving a stain on the white blanket pierced my spine like a cool breeze.
I didn’t even think about washing it. I’ve already used up all my energy for that. All I could do was to entrust myself to tomorrow by collateralizing today.
My skin started to melt from the warmth I hadn’t seen in a long time. Sweat, not blood, dripped onto the blanket. It felt like I had a cold. The mind is hazy, and the body is languid as if it had been submerged in hot water. If I stay still, it feels like the touch of a non-existent family will sweep my forehead.
The figure of a small elf girl still flickered in front of her eyes. She still couldn’t leave me.
“Saya.”
“Yes.”
“Sleep first. You should also rest. There is a bed in the next room.”
“…Yes.”
An unsure answer lay beside my bed. I turned my back and dug deeper. The cradle where my body had permeated gave off an unpleasant, fishy smell.
Soon, the lights went out and blue light scattered from the ceiling. Are there still lights that work with magic here? On top of the passing cynicism, the same reverberation of darkness settled down as always. Lonesome drowsiness came like a wave.
And at the same time, the faces of the people who passed by today appeared in front of my eyes one after another. Erica. Roselia. Duke. And a decapitated body. Problems that I wanted to put off until tomorrow kept coming back.
I hadn’t even gone to sleep yet, but my head seemed to be thinking about today’s work on its own. If I could just split my own skull, I’d take out the little plaster inside and crush it into a mess.
Of course, that was impossible. I didn’t even have the strength to move a finger right now, so I had no choice but to be pressed by the scissors.
Maybe tonight I will have to wander through nightmares for a while.
“…”
But then something got into the duvet and hit my back. It was a familiar sensation, so there was no need to turn my back. Instead, I shrugged her shoulders and called her name.
“Saya. You can go to the next room.”
“…”
“Should I buy it?”
“Sorry to bother you.”
As always, she apologized first. Then he swallowed her saliva and went on with her.
“But… Can’t we stay like this for a while?”
“…Okay, I get it.”
“I’ll stay like this for an hour.”
“It’s okay to have more than that.”
“Thank you.”
The low whisper still contained memories from earlier. Knowing that I couldn’t shake it off easily, I just nodded.
Just a little bit, Saya put her back closer to this side. Then she asked in a very trembling voice.
“Rope.”
“Yes?”
“Can you hold my hand…?”
It was a child-like request, but I didn’t laugh at all. I could fully understand. So, I nodded again.
“Okay.”
Then the blanket that was covering her was slightly lifted, and her slender fingers pointed this way. It looked like it would break at any moment if I didn’t hold it like a branch on a winter day.
I carefully raised my arm to take it. But then something caught my eye. I closed my lips and stared at the back of my hand.
Then, a bright blue light shone softly into the dark room. Through the torn gloves, the patterns of the elves were revealed.
Since when have you been torn apart? I couldn’t be sure exactly when. First fall. Or is it from the second fall?
If there was one thing that was clear, it was that she must have been in this state at the time she met Rebecca.
Anxiety crept in. So, without realizing it, I hurriedly grabbed Saya’s hand. She twitched her fingers, perhaps a little startled, but soon she interlocked them and clasped hers in my hand.
Naturally, the body came closer and the warm body temperature clung to it. At this point, it was actually like hugging. The only difference is that I can’t feel the beating of my heart in my chest.
Still, when we held hands like this, we could feel each other’s pulse. It was still small and faint, but if I stayed still, I could feel it very clearly.
