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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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Evangeline recalled the visitor she’d had a few days ago.
Lorelia Estin, chieftain of the Lightwing tribe, her own tribe.
The chieftains of the Elven Forest rarely left the forest unless it was a matter of great importance.
It was due to the elves’ characteristic pride and arrogance.
Elves didn’t even acknowledge those they didn’t respect. And the chieftains, the highest-ranking among them, were even more arrogant.
An elven chieftain, who rarely even spoke to other races, had come here.
So, Evangeline knew the situation was serious. And when she heard the news, her expression hardened.
A plague was spreading in the Elven Forest.
A plague for which they had no cure, no known cause.
And the Lightwing tribe, the strongest tribe in the Elven Forest, was being hit the hardest.
When Lorelia said she had come to investigate whether this was the work of the Demon King, or something of similar magnitude, Evangeline could only remain silent.
“……”
“Do you know something?”
She was grateful that Lorelia hadn’t commented on her ears, but her question was a dagger to Evangeline’s heart.
Because Evangeline did know something.
“Evangeline, this…”
“Ugh… ugh…”
An unforgettable past.
A past she longed to return to.
The happiest time of her life.
Lorelia’s question brought back memories of that time.
The plague.
Because she had heard about it from Hyun-woo, back when they were still on good terms.
.
.
.
“Why are you looking at that?”
It was during their journey to defeat the Demon King. The human man, Hyun-woo, who had suddenly joined, or rather, followed their party, had introduced himself as a Sage and displayed an astonishing amount of knowledge.
He possessed knowledge that even Evangeline, an elf, Leventia, a noble, and Claire, the Hero, didn’t have. And thanks to him, defeating the Demon King’s subordinates had been surprisingly easy.
And that wasn’t all. He had taken care of all the tedious tasks of the journey, like setting up camp, cooking, and even negotiating with the villagers, making the journey much smoother than she had expected.
Even a proud elf like herself couldn’t help but feel a sense of gratitude towards him. So, she would accompany him on his shopping trips, despite her grumbling.
After all, he didn’t have the divine protection of the Hero’s Party.
She had appointed herself as his bodyguard, in case he was attacked by the Demon King’s subordinates, monsters, or those who didn’t recognize his true worth.
So, she had followed him to the crowded human market, enduring the leering gazes and unpleasant smiles of the humans, and watched over him as he focused on his shopping. To vent her frustration, she had spoken to him.
“Hmm?”
“That. Why are you looking at that?”
Hyun-woo was focused on a rather ordinary-looking herb.
Evangeline’s younger sister was an alchemist, so she had some knowledge of alchemy and herbalism. She knew what the herb was.
A common plant.
It certainly wasn’t an herb worthy of a man of Hyun-woo’s abilities.
“Ah, this?”
“Yes, it’s a moonpetal. Used as a solvent in alchemy. Nothing special, right?”
“Nothing special… you’re right. For now.”
Hyun-woo said nonchalantly as he placed the herb in his basket. Was this another display of the Sage’s incredible knowledge?
She looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, then asked,
“What do you mean, for now?”
“Someday, a plague will spread across the continent.”
A plague? The continent was already in turmoil because of the Demon King.
If anyone else had said this, she would have scoffed. But she had witnessed Hyun-woo’s abilities countless times.
He seemed to be able to predict the future. He wasn’t one to speak nonsense.
Evangeline narrowed her eyes and tugged on his arm.
“What do you mean? Is the Demon King going to spread a plague?”
“No. To be precise, something else will spread the plague.”
“Something else? What is it?”
“The curse left by Edmond Oswell.”
Evangeline recognized the name.
The most vicious mage who had existed before the Demon King.
The name of the malevolent mage, who was said to have been defeated by the previous Hero, coming from Hyun-woo’s lips, startled her.
“But he’s dead.”
“Yes, killed by the previous Hero. But the curse he left behind will one day bring chaos to the world, manifesting as a plague that will lead to his resurrection.”
If enough people died from the plague, their life force would be used to resurrect a powerful mage.
It was a concept Evangeline couldn’t comprehend.
“…Is that even possible?”
“Yes.”
“What’s your source?”
“None of the things I’ve said so far have had a source.”
“It’s another one of your prophecies… Hmm… I can’t just ignore it.”
“Well, the Demon King is our immediate priority. And if we stop the plague, he won’t be resurrected, so let’s not worry about it for now.”
“How do we stop it?”
“With the right treatment and cure. I know how to make it, so don’t worry. What’s important now is…”
Hyun-woo smiled confidently, as he always did.
Perhaps that smile had reassured her.
Because he had said it was fine, that it wasn’t a problem.
Because he allowed them to focus solely on defeating the Demon King.
So,
Perhaps she had allowed herself to lean on him.
“…for you to fulfill your mission.”
“Hmm…”
“Until then, I’ll support you. So, don’t worry about these trivial matters.”
“Hah, is that so? Then I’ll make you a promise too. I’ll protect you…”
.
.
.
And he had kept his promise to the very end. But she hadn’t.
She had broken her promise to protect him.
“Aah… uuugh…”
Even in the face of their criticism and contempt,
Hyun-woo had done everything he could to help them fulfill their mission.
But what about her?
What about the promise she had made so confidently in that market?
“Aah… aaaaaah!!”
Her own ugliness and patheticness became a blade that pierced her. Evangeline raised a dagger to her ear. Lorelia, startled, grabbed her arm.
“What are you doing?!”
“Let go! Let go of me!! Let go!!”
She had promised him.
-I will protect you, who lacks divine protection.
-I, the strong, will protect you, the weak.
But what had she done?
Wasn’t she the one who had hurt him, who had tormented him?
Her arrogance, the belief that she could lean on him, that Hyun-woo would be fine, had pushed him into a world of pain.
And she called herself a noble elf? A member of the Hero’s Party?
Overwhelmed by an unbearable self-loathing, Evangeline screamed, tears streaming down her face.
“Aah! Let go! Let go of me! Hyun-woo… sob… hic… I’m sorry… sob… I’m sorry… sorry… sob… hic… Let go of me… please… please let go of me…”
She pushed Lorelia away and mutilated her ear again.
Lorelia stared, dumbfounded, as the ear, which had been healed by Veronica, was torn and bloodied once again. She sighed heavily.
She had heard that Evangeline’s condition had worsened after the Demon King’s defeat.
But she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
“By the way, Hyun-woo… who is that?”
“A human man who calls himself the Sage.”
“Hah, a Sage? A human dares to call himself a wise man?”
“The report on him is here…”
Lorelia scoffed as she read the report.
An unofficial member of the Hero’s Party, a human without even divine protection.
A man of exceptional abilities, who had supported the Hero’s Party during their journey and earned the respect of various races.
His reputation was good, but was he truly worthy of the title “Sage”?
“Well, fine. If Evangeline mentioned the Sage after hearing about the plague, then he must know something, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Good. At least we have a lead. We’ll know for sure when we meet him. Let’s go.”
Lorelia glanced at Evangeline, who was huddled in a corner. She was a broken mess, no longer the proud elf she once was.
It seemed she had fallen for the human man, the Sage, and had been abandoned.
Lorelia clicked her tongue at her pathetic state.
“…Tsk tsk. To become a mere female in heat.”
She would never be like that, Lorelia vowed, and left the tent. Evangeline, ignoring the blood dripping from her ear, muttered,
“Hyun-woo… Hyun-woo…”
.
.
.
“Eva, are you alright?”
“…Yeah, I’m fine.”
Evangeline snapped out of her daze at Leventia’s voice. She looked at the monster’s corpse on the ground, then slung her bow over her shoulder and asked Leventia,
“Are we done?”
“Hmm… yeah.”
Evangeline glanced at the holy artifact Leventia was holding, then quickly looked away, disinterested.
After defeating the Demon King, Evangeline had only one purpose.
To hunt monsters on the battlefield.
Because Hyun-woo had mentioned it before he left.
Since then, she had done nothing but kill monsters, and in her tent, she would see only hallucinations of Hyun-woo. The reason she had left the battlefield and come all this way was simple.
The plague Hyun-woo had spoken of had begun to spread.
And she knew he would try to cure it.
The thought of being of some use to him was enough to make Evangeline move.
“With this… the Church will go to the Elven Forest, right?”
“Hmm… probably.”
If the Church’s healers and priests were to move at the Pope’s command, they could suppress the spread of the plague.
Hyun-woo had said he would stop the plague.
He had never broken a promise.
Yes, so this time, too, he would cure the plague in the Elven Forest.
Even if it had started in her own Lightwing tribe.
Even if he resented her, he would still cure the plague.
Because that was the kind of person he was.
So, she had to help him, even in a small way.
Just as he had helped them without asking for anything in return,
She, too, had to help him.
To atone, even in a small way, for the promise she had broken.
“…Will this… make things a little easier for Hyun-woo?”
She had become a hero by defeating the Demon King, but Evangeline didn’t think of herself as one.
The true hero was him, who had worked silently in the shadows.
Moving for the sake of that hero helped to ease the self-loathing Evangeline felt.
“I… think so.”
Evangeline smiled faintly at Leventia’s words.
Although she hadn’t received Hyun-woo’s permission, the act of doing something that might help him,
Made Evangeline feel a little closer to him.
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