The first place that Chi-Woo visited was the temple—Although Chi-Woo called the place a temple, it was too humble to be called one, or even a shrine for that matter, so most people agreed to call it ‘where Hawa was staying’. However, Chi-Woo wasn’t here for Hawa, but something else.
“Can I borrow the statue?” Chi-Woo said when he saw her.
“Why are you asking me that?” Hawa asked succinctly.
“Uh…Well, doesn’t the statue originally belong to the Shahnaz tribe? And you are the shaman who serves goddess Shahnaz…” Chi-Woo murmured.
“Why are you trying to take it?”
“Ah, because…” Since it wasn’t a secret, Chi-Woo told her the reason. Hawa seemed bemused for a moment before she looked to the side and said, “Please take me with you.”
Chi-Woo’s eyes turned round in surprise. “Why?”
“I don’t want to stay here sweeping the ground forever.”
“Um…” Not having expected such a request, Chi-Woo thought for some moment. “If it’s just you…but it may be dangerous…”
“I can take care of myself.” Hawa noticed the hesitation in Chi-Woo’s eyes and quickly added, “I promise you that I won’t be a hindrance. You’re welcome to leave me behind at any time if I ever become one.”
That swayed Chi-Woo a little. Shakira had told him that Hawa was capable of looking after herself. Chi-Woo had personally received help from Hawa, and she had keen senses and knew when to back away. If she went with them, Chi-Woo believed she would be of help rather than become a hindrance.
“Okay.” Although Chi-Woo had taken some time to reach a decision, he gave a short answer. “I understand. Let me try talking to the others first.”
Hawa spoke again, “You said you all were going to the outskirts, right? Even the princess of Salem won’t know that area well. But not only do I know the main road there, I know the less tread paths as well.”
“Really?”
“The Shahnazs were originally nomadic people. We wandered around the outskirts of Salem mostly.”
Chi-Woo made a sound of assent and smiled. Hawa’s response made him realize how bright the girl was. After deducing that Chi-Woo wasn’t going to make the decision of joining the search group, she gave him a reason why it would be necessary to take her.
“I see. I will relay what you told me without missing a word.”
Hawa finally closed her eyes and nodded. She pulled her mystical silver hair back like a habit.
“Ah, and the statue…” Chi-Woo spoke up again, and Hawa shook her head, indicating that she didn’t have the authority to make the decision.
“I see. I understand. I’ll talk to the others about that too.” Chi-Woo turned around then. Hawa looked a bit taken aback as Chi-Woo walked farther away from her. She had meant that Chi-Woo should take the matter up to Shahnaz rather than to her, but it seemed Chi-Woo had misunderstood. Having witnessed the scene unfold, Goddess Shahnaz found it ridiculous that she had been reduced to a mere item. She muttered:
—That insolent brat…
The next person Chi-Woo went to see was Zelit. Zelit had been waiting for Chi-Woo to visit him, so when Chi-Woo came, he immediately got up to greet him.
“Have you already made your decision?”
“Yes, but I have a couple things to confirm.” Chi-Woo sat down and told Zelit how he wanted to take the Shahnaz statue as a precautionary measure.
“Um…The statue is too valuable to just bring with us for precautionary measures, but…I am willing to listen to you further about this matter.” Zelit looked reluctant, but he didn’t refuse outright, either. And Zelit agreed readily when Chi-Woo asked to let Hawa join. They needed to minimize their travel time as much as possible, so of course they welcomed someone who knew a path they didn’t know.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask about…”
“What is it? You can ask me anything. I’ll think of them with as much goodwill as possible.” Zelit sounded like he was willing to put up with anything just to have Chi-Woo on the team.
“I know we’re fighting against time right now, but can we delay our departure a little? My condition isn’t great, so it would be hard for me if we set out immediately…”
After a long bemused pause, Zelit asked if a week was enough. “There’s no guarantee that we would find the food supplies in our first search. And even if we find them, we have to consider the time it would take for us to go retrieve the food…Taking into account the amount of food supplies we have left at the moment, it would be difficult to delay the mission by more than a week.” Zelit looked apologetic, but Chi-Woo was satisfied.
‘Let me see. Since muscle pains are strongest on the second day and subside on the fourth day…I suppose I’ll be fine in four days.’ Chi-Woo had been worried if they had to depart tomorrow or the day after, but a week was more than enough for his body to heal and rest. In the end, he thought, ‘I can run at least a few more days before going then!’ Chi-Woo smiled. He was basically addicted to running now.
The next day, Zelit gathered all the heroes and announced his plan for a small group of heroes to go search for additional food supplies, and he told them the group would be taking the statue along with them. People weren’t happy to hear that their only god was going to be taken away, but no one resisted. Some heroes had been going outside the fortress, but they didn’t venture further than a couple hours away. Sometimes, they encountered cursed beings, but they didn’t meet any monsters beyond that level thanks to the annihilation of all the enemies within the fortress’ vicinity.
It was a completely different matter for the group to go to areas a few days away rather than just a couple of hours away. No one knew what kind of monsters awaited them, and knowing the danger this unknown could pose, everyone accepted that the statue had to be taken away. Thus, everything was settled.
On the other hand, Chi-Woo wasn’t optimistic about the search. He didn’t know what he would have to face yet, but he couldn’t help but think of the worst-case scenario. He could deal with spirits, but what if some areas were full of physical monsters? What did he have to do to increase his survival chance? Chi-Woo still had a long way to go, and even if he accepted Shahnaz’s offer as the last resort, he needed time to harness his powers. Moreover, he wanted to choose his god carefully. That left him with one option: depend on others for survival.
Of course, he wasn’t pleased by the idea of one-sidedly depending on someone else. The basis of trade was equal exchange, and when one wanted something from someone, they needed to offer something of equal value. In consideration of all this, Chi-Woo went to the barrack-looking house he’d visited before and knocked.
When the door opened, a blonde and handsome man stepped out.
“Uh…!” Ru Amuh’s eyes turned round as soon as he saw Chi-Woo. “Teacher, why are you here …” Ru Amuh had called Chi-Woo ‘teacher’ without thinking before realizing what he had said. Chi-Woo sometimes wondered how these heroes were seeing him exactly, but since he had a more pressing matter at hand, he asked to be let inside.
“I have something to discuss with you.”
Ru Amuh guided Chi-Woo into his room. Chi-Woo sat on a chair and looked around.
“Where’s Ms. Ru Hiana?” Chi-Woo asked.
“Ah, she is…” Ru Amuh turned to one of the rooms and smiled dejectedly. He then told Chi-Woo that Ru Hiana had been hiding in her room for the past two days.
“Is she throwing a tantrum or something?”
“Yes, well…It is childish of her to act like this.” Ru Amuh smiled awkwardly as if he was embarrassed of her behavior. “This has been a side of Ruana since she was young.” Ru Amuh continued like he didn’t know what else to say. “I suppose I could say that she often sees the world in black and white. She saw people either with prejudice or through rose-tinted glasses; once she has an opinion on someone, she can’t look beyond it easily.”
Chi-Woo listened carefully.
“If she hates someone, she tends to hate the person till the end. And on the opposite spectrum, if she likes someone, she likes them till the end too. That’s the case most of the time, at least.”
“Really? I thought Ms. Ru Hiana disliked me in the beginning.”
“But in the end, you saved me,” Ru Amuh replied. “If she had tried to save me that time by herself, we would have both died. She at least knows that much.”
She was able to save Ru Amuh by listening to Chi-Woo. According to Ru Amuh, that must have instantly changed her opinion of Chi-Woo. “Moreover, you saved our lives. If that didn’t change her opinion of you, nothing would,” Ru Amuh laughed. “Besides, you’ve been taking care of us in several other ways. And Ru Hiana has a tendency of considering those she especially likes as herself.” In other words, when Chi-Woo was kind to Ru Amuh, she thought of that as Chi-Woo being kind to her as well.
“Then does she dislike me now since I wasn’t too kind to you a couple days ago?”
“No, rather…” Ru Amuh smiled wryly. “She probably is thinking along the lines of, ‘why is Senior telling me off when I took his side because I liked him? Isn’t he on my side? That’s too much.’”
“Aha.” Chi-Woo nodded.
“Anyway, thank you for coming here, sir. I was about to ask you a favor.”
“Me?”
“Yes, can you do something about Ru Hiana, please?” Ru Amuh said, looking embarrassed.
Chi-Woo was taken aback. “Aren’t you going to do that?”
“Ah, I just can’t do anything about it. I already tried many times, but I can’t seem to…” Ru Amuh shook his head, and Chi-Woo didn’t know what to do.
“But wouldn’t a boyfriend be better at comforting…”
“Sorry?” Ru Amuh looked appalled. “Ru Hiana’s boyfriend? Who are you talking about? Are you perhaps talking about me?”
Chi-Woo was surprised by Ru Amuh’s strong reaction. “Isn’t that the case?”
“No, not at all. Never. Ne—ver.” Ru Amuh fervently denied it and even emphasized his words many times. “Ru Hiana is like a younger sister to me, and we’re not in a romantic relationship at all.”
“A little sister?”
“We’re not blood relatives, but anyways, we’re basically siblings, so please don’t misunderstand.”
Chi-Woo’s eyes narrowed at Ru Amuh’s repeated protests. “I heard that a strong denial is a strong affirmation…”
“No! It’s really not like that!”
Chi-Woo immediately apologized because it was rare that Ru Amuh got angry. “No, I’m sorry. I was just joking.”
“In the first place, the Ru Clan strictly forbids marriage between our people.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Yes. In the past, we could only marry within our clan, but it became one of the strictest taboos after we were almost devastated by genetic defects from generations of inbreeding.” Ru Amuh cleared his throat. “After this, it became mandatory for all members to marry outside of our clan. But of course, the outsider has to go through rigorous examinations.”
‘They sound quite insular,’ Chi-Woo thought.
“Anyway, sir, don’t ever say such a thing ever again. Ru Hiana as my girlfriend….ugh!” Ru Amuh rubbed his arms and shuddered.
Chi-Woo snorted. “I didn’t realize you would hate the idea that much.”
“It’s not that I dislike Ru Hiana. I trust and respect her as my comrade and something like a younger sister. But thinking of her as my wife…” Ru Amuh scrunched up his face as if he had bitten on rocks.
Chi-Woo could understand Ru Amuh’s feelings. What if he had an older sister instead of an older brother, and someone asked him if she was his girlfriend?
‘Ugh!’ He hated it. It was abominable. Just the thought of it sent shivers down his back. “I’m sorry. I made a serious mistake without realizing it.”
“It’s all right. I think it’s understandable that you misunderstand. However, sir, you must pay for your mistake.”
“And how may I do that?”
Ru Amuh smiled brightly and said, “Please try to persuade Ru Hiana for me.”
“Perhaps,” Chi-Woo couldn’t help but laugh. “This what you’ve been aiming for?”
“Of course not. I just got lucky.”
Chi-Woo had nothing to say to that, so he shrugged and got up from his seat. He could sense something unusual at the entrance of the room Ru Hiana had shut herself in. It felt as if all kinds of negative emotions were coming out through the door. Chi-Woo gulped and knocked first. As expected, there was no reply. He carefully opened the door.
‘Wow.’ When he went inside, he was surprised by the state Ru Hiana was in.
With her back to him, Ru Hiana lay on her bed curled like a shrimp. When the door clicked close, Ru Hiana turned around. “What is it? Ruahu, I told you that I don’t feel good so don’t come in…” Her eyes became big as saucers when she saw that it was Chi-Woo.
“Ms. Ru Hiana.”
“Sen…!” Ru Hiana was about to get up with delight before quickly catching herself. She lay back down again and turned away.
‘Seriously.’ She was behaving like a child, but since Ru Amuh told him how she was feeling, Chi-Woo moved closer to her. “I’m here.”
There was no reply. Even though she wasn’t pretending to sleep, she closed her eyes.
“I know that you’re not sleeping. Why don’t we talk?”
“…”
“Do you not even want to talk to me anymore? Even to see me?” Even then, Ru Hiana did not move at all. Chi-Woo sighed and said, “I understand. I’ll be leaving for now. Goodbye.” Chi-Woo turned around and pretended to turn the doorknob before abruptly whirling around to face her. As expected—
“!”
Chi-Woo’s eyes met with Ru Hiana’s, who had raised her head to check if he was really leaving. Ru Hiana was startled and quickly amended her mistake, but she was already exposed. Chi-Woo burst into laughter and approached her again. He sat on the edge of the bed so he could see her face.
“Hey, come on, don’t be like that~ Hmm?”
“…”
“Please open your eyes. I came here to chat. You heard what happened at the square, right? I’ll also be going.”
Ru Hiana frowned and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Are you being like this because of what happened last time? I still don’t understand. Why are you so mad about such a little…” Then he heard a snort instead of a reply. “Hey, enough with that. I saw you. Should I go for real? I’m really going.”
Chi-Woo got a reaction this time. Ru Hiana visibly flinched. When Chi-Woo got up from the bed, her tightly shut eyes opened. She slowly moved her gaze to him, and her chin shook a bit; her lower lip also puckered out. “…Senior…,” a raspy voice came out of her mouth, “You got angry last time…!” Her eyes were teary, and her volume increased.
“Nah, not at all.”
“You did…! You got angry…! For sure…!”
“No, I wasn’t angry. I’m sorry if I sounded like I was. I apologize.”
“I did that because I was thinking for you…!” Ru Hiana felt so dejected that she couldn’t even properly voice her thoughts.
“Yes, you’re right. It was my fault.” Chi-Woo began doing his best to console her. “Hey, don’t cry. Come on, look at me. You must have been sad, right? You must have really gotten hurt, right?”
Fortunately, Chi-Woo’s consolation seemed to work, as Ru Hiana’s anger gradually died down. She was still pouting, but she had stopped pretending to sleep and was now even looking at him.
‘Seriously…what the hell am I doing.’ Chi-Woo sighed inside his mind.
[It’s hard being a parent…]
Mimi offered reassurance rather than scolded him as usual.
“…Why did you come…?” Ru Hiana asked in a melancholy voice. She seemed to be feeling a little better.
“Ms. Ru Hiana, I told you before. You heard it, right? About what happened at the square.”
“Senior! I tried so hard to stop you from going!”
“Hey, hey. Calm down. It’s already all done and settled.” Chi-Woo hurriedly added, “You and Mr. Ru Amuh are also going as well.”
“That’s because we’re…!”
“I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m worried about you two. I thought it would be better if I went with you. This is purely my own choice.”
When Ru Hiana heard that Chi-Woo’s decision was for their sake, the sorrow in her heart melted like snow. She didn’t know how to react to this unexpected revelation. Honestly, she had stopped being mad at him since the first time she saw him come in—no, it might have been way before.
“But even then…it’s not like we’re children…” Ru Hiana murmured to herself.
‘You sure about that? Why don’t you think long and hard about how you’ve been acting?’ Chi-Woo felt an intense desire to say this out loud but managed to suppress it. “I understand. I understand your feelings. But just in case, I wanted to be safe.”
Ru Hiana let out a deep sigh. It seemed like she would drop the issue despite not fully understanding his decision. Chi-Woo let out a fake cough and extended his hand. “Would you lend me some time?”
“…Why?”
“Let’s go on a date.”
Ru Hiana’s eyes opened wide like those of a rabbit.
“Of course, Mr. Ru Amuh won’t know about this. We can’t let your boyfriend find out, right?”
Ru Hiana’s expression immediately turned sour.
“It’s a joke.” Chi-Woo quickly amended. It seemed Ru Amuh had been telling the truth.
“Seriously…Don’t even joke about that. I just got shivers down my back.” Ru Hiana made a face as if she was looking at the most disgusting bug in the world before grabbing Chi-Woo’s hand and getting up. “So where are we going, Senior? Don’t tell me you want to go hunt mutants while holding hands?”
“Of course not. You’ll know once we get there.” Chi-Woo winked.
Ru Hiana hesitated for a bit and nodded. Then she pushed him on the back.
“Huh? Ms. Ru Hiana?”
“Ah, please give me a moment. Wait for me outside.”
“Can’t we just go out now?”
“I know it’s a date by name only, but this is my first date with you. I don’t want to go like this.” Chi-Woo was kicked out before he could even process what had happened. The door was already closed. Ru Amuh, who had been anxiously waiting, silently asked Chi-Woo how it went with his eyes. Instead of replying, Chi-Woo gave him a thumbs up. Ru Amuh looked greatly relieved and silently applauded his feat.
Soon after, the door burst open. Chi-Woo was startled by Ru Hiana as she stepped out.
‘How, when barely any time passed?’
The whiny cry-baby just a few minutes ago had transformed into a cleanly dressed and trustworthy looking hero.
Ru Amuh smiled brightly as soon as he saw her. “Wow, Ru Hiana.”
“What?”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Be quiet.”
When Ru Amuh snickered, Ru Hiana tied up her hair tightly and shot him a glare.
“What’s going on? Are you going somewhere?”
“Yep. I’m going on a date with Senior.”
“Really? Where are you two going?”
“My romantic life is none of your business. Senior! I’m done. Let’s go.”
Ru Hiana swished her ponytail a couple of times and tugged at Chi-Woo’s arm. While being pulled away, the last thing Chi-Woo could see was Ru Amuh waving both his arms with a bright smile while telling them to have fun.
“Pweh! I can finally take a breath.”
Chi-Woo even heard Ru Amuh say those words in relief.
“…”
Was he misunderstanding something? Why did Ru Amuh look like a man who was finally enjoying some freedom after entrusting his baby sister to his brother-in-law?