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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter: 161
As I walked towards the village chief's house, I felt eyes on me from others houses as I passed. I turned my head to look, but the feeling vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
“They’re wary of me,” I said to Jawoon.
He replied without looking at me,”They probably think I’ve found a fugitive and brought them in.”
I pursed my lips.
A fugitive? A criminal? Is that what I look like? How ridiculous.
“As if a fugitive would let themselves be captured so easily. You worry too much. You can tell just by looking at me that I’m no criminal. Here I am, following an old man’s orders as meek as a lamb.”
Jawoon chuckled.
“That’s a given. What else would a fugitive do?”
“Escape, of course. It’s an obvious answer. After being threatened with death, why would I let myself be captured?”
“Ah, so you’re saying you’d run back into that forest with the demonic beasts?”
“Of course…”
It was better to run than to sit here and be accused of something I didn’t do.
Jawoon sighed.
“Ah, I forgot you claimed to have slain a demonic beast.”
He seemed troubled.
“But it’s rare for anyone to survive more than a day in the Demon Realm. Of course... fugitives are rare too. From the moment they cross the border…”
“Border?”
Border? Did he say border?
When I reacted, Jawoon quickly clamped his mouth shut as if he’d made a slip of the tongue.
“Old man, didn’t you just say border?”
“It’s nothing. I misspoke.”
“Misspoke? I want to hear it. Tell me.”
“I told you, it was a mistake.”
“Is there any reason you can’t tell me?”
It’s not like it’s difficult. He clearly knows something, but Jawoon remained silent. He simply replied, “I can only tell you after you’ve met the village chief. Not before.”
He refused again, then glanced at Aro, who was following us closely.
I thought she’d lost interest in me, but her curiosity seemed to linger.
It didn’t seem like she was just interested because I was an outsider. I don’t know why, but that’s how I felt.
And somehow, I got the feeling she wasn’t just curious; it felt more like she was watching me.
“...Is that a village rule?”
“You could say that,” Jawoon nodded.
“Alright, if that’s the case, then I can’t argue.”
When I agreed, Jawoon said nothing more and quickened his pace. As we approached the village chief’s house, I noticed a row of simple flowers.
A few bare trees stood in front of it, with strange patterns carved into their bark. And there was a strange but familiar aura around them...
“It seems the village chief is a shaman.”
I thought of the dagger Jawoon had taken. The spell Soldier Do had cast was nothing compared to this.
Even from dozens of paces away, I could feel the power of the spell, but the aura surrounding the village chief’s house was much fainter.
Whether that was because the power was weaker or because the chief had intentionally hidden the traces of magic, I couldn’t tell.
Jawoon stopped and looked at me. In his eyes, wariness and curiosity were intertwined.
I turned my gaze to Aro, who was a few paces behind me. The child had a carefree expression, but she still wouldn’t take her eyes off me.
“Are you coming in?”
When I asked, Aro’s curious eyes widened. She seemed to be asking how I knew.
How did I know? It was obvious. If the village chief was a shaman, he could explain why a child as young as Aro was wandering around the Demon Realm alone.
Something was bound to happen if she was touched, and that's why old man Jawoon could leave Aro alone in the house.
She followed me to the village and even to the chief's house. Plus, her behavior of seeming to watch me all explained if Aro was close to the chief.
“You're quick,” he said. “With that child here, there's no need for me to see the chief. I'll stay here. You go in.”
I took a moment to catch my breath in front of the chief's thatched house. Passing through the strange, familiar purple-leaved shrubs that surrounded the house like a gate, I pushed open the door and peeked inside.
A delicate fragrance filled the room.
“Grandma, Grandma!”
Aro ran inside ahead of me. So the chief was the child's grandmother. Soon, an old woman appeared from the inner room.
She seemed even older than Jawoon. Her snow-white hair betrayed her age more than her withered face. She shared a similar eye shape with her granddaughter Aro, but her eyes were completely different.
The vibrant energy of youth had completely disappeared, leaving only a cold intensity that made others nervous.
“A stranger,” the chief said softly, looking at me. Her voice was not loud, nor was her tone particularly high, yet it seemed to echo throughout the room.
The chief was pretending to be calm, but in reality, she was examining me.
“You seem familiar…” The chief muttered. But contrary to her opinion, I had never seen her before.
“I... I hope not in a bad way,” I said, glancing at Aro. The child was clinging to the chief's leg as if she was a fly on an old tree.
“What's that?”
The chief suddenly pointed at the injury on my arm. I rolled up my sleeve and replied, “I got hurt fighting a beast.”
It seemed better to show that I could defeat a beast rather than appear weak. Then maybe they would take me in as a guard.
“It's nothing serious. And I won.”
“...Of course. If you'd lost, there would be no other way but death, right?”
The chief smiled faintly and gestured towards my hand.
“It seems I have a welcome guest. Come closer. I have much to consider.”
Honestly, the chief looked very old. She was so thin and frail, it seemed like one punch could end her life. Yet, a single word from her was enough to make me nervous.
I had never met anyone like her before.
As I approached as she instructed, she placed her fingertips on my hand. Her cold, dry fingers felt like frozen branches.
At that moment, a sharp pain spread from where her fingers touched me, as if I had been stung by a bee.
“Chief?”
“Be quiet,” she said, closing her eyes. She didn't say anything else.
I kept my mouth shut as she instructed and waited for her to open her eyes. The pain had subsided, leaving only an awkward silence.
I glanced at the chief. She was frowning as if deep in thought.
What is she doing...? Is she checking my pulse? But... can she really determine if I'm a good or bad person just by checking my pulse?
I wondered how that was possible.
If this wasn't a scam, I could gather all the doctors in the village who claimed to be able to read pulses and use them to catch scammers.
While I was thinking those thoughts, the chief finished her examination. She opened her eyes and looked at me.
“...Why?”
She opened her mouth slightly as if she couldn't believe it.
Without saying anything, she just stared at me with a strange expression.
I felt increasingly nervous as I wondered what she would say next.
"Why are you doing this, Chief? I'm not a bad person."
...Am I about to be sent to the gallows? Surely they don't think I'm the worst person in the world.
"If you're thinking I've come here because I'm involved in some kind of treason, I can absolutely assure you that's not the case. I can even prove what I've done in the past. Of course, that might be a bit difficult here..."
A moment ago you were calling me a welcome guest, so why the sudden change of heart? With pleading eyes, I turned to Aro for help.
Aro sighed dramatically as if doing me a favor and looked up at the chief.
"Grandma, Grandma. Is Uncle Baek Yeon a strange person?"
The chief slowly shook her head. Thanks to that, I could relax a bit.
"As long as you don't mean to kill me."
I wouldn't even mind not having a house. I've been homeless for so long, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"Harm you? How could I?"
The chief had a strange expression. Her eyes, which had been cold and dry, were now filled with tears. I was increasingly confused because I didn't know why.
"How could this be..."
I couldn't understand the chief's words, but I could tell she was surprised.
So, she'd checked my pulse and realized I was some kind of extraordinary being? I never knew my pulse was so fascinating.
Maybe the monster meat I ate the other day was bad. I quietly checked my own pulse. Of course, since I didn't know anything about medicine, it was useless.
"I have a lot of questions. If it's not too rude..."
"Questions? Well... that's not difficult."
"I really want to hear. Who you are, where you came from, what you've been doing... You've become a more precious connection to me than a million gold coins."
"A million gold coins?"
"Yes. I'd only dreamed of meeting someone like you before I die. It's like a dream come true."
"...Is that a good thing?"
"Of course."
I rolled my eyes and looked around the chief's room. Then, I rubbed my stomach. I hadn't eaten since yesterday and was hungry, but I couldn't bring myself to ask for food.
I was too embarrassed to ask Old Man Jawoon , who had saved me when I was unconscious on the ground, for food as well.
But if I was as important as she said...
I asked cautiously, "Can I have some food? I'll eat anything. Even leftover rice..."
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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