At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 199

Jiwoo spoke firmly.

“You can’t.”

“Yes. Understood.”

The kiss seemed to have silenced Solmih, as he didn’t offer any further objections. However, as he carefully tended to the plant Jiwoo would use, he spoke with concern.

“I’m more worried about you. It seems like this kind of thing causes you pain.”

“Mm… I’ve thought about it. It’s not that I can’t endure pain, it’s that I can’t stand pointless suffering.” 

It’s often said that humans don’t resist pain itself, but rather the meaninglessness of suffering. Jiwoo had experienced this before. She could endure pain, but once she felt that all her sacrifices were in vain, she started to break.

“I told you, right? This kind of thing, being with you, is meaningful because it makes our time more precious.”

Jiwoo imagined the beach after she succeeded in purifying it. It was her first time visiting a beach in El Ragneil.

Black miasma shrouding the white sand and clear sea. Even though she had only briefly seen part of it, the full landscape vividly came to mind.

Imagining walking along the beach with her husbands only reinforced that this wouldn’t be a pointless task.

“We’ll make our own memories here.”

“Our own memories?”

“Yes.”

Solmih seemed to understand now, and his pace in growing the plants quickened. 

Soon, a green, crystal-like bud bloomed on the small plant he had been tending. Bathed in moonlight, it blossomed like a lotus flower, revealing a pearl-like fruit inside.

Not stopping there, the flowers bloomed until they filled the entire area Jiwoo had designated.

“It’s beautiful! But one is enough.”

Eating one of these wouldn’t cause the lungs to fill with water, and it wouldn’t lead to suffocation. The fruit could maintain that state for a day, so it seemed Solmih had made several, just in case.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, I do.”

Solmih asked once more, clearly eager to hear her response. Jiwoo, enjoying the playful exchange and wanting to try the romantic tactic she had taught him, pulled him close, hugging his shoulder and kissing his cheek. 

As much as his mood lifted, a strong rose scent emanated from his neck.

It was a delightful night, like a sweet date under the moon.

* * *

The next day, Jiwoo discovered the real reason Solmih had made so many fruits.

“You’re coming with us?” 

“How could I let you go alone?”

Lanset and Arven, having removed their heavy, waterlogged coats, stood on Jiwoo’s side while dressed lightly.

“We’ll row the boat.” 

“It’s a good thing we can still use a small boat…” 

Although they had been told that the sea was filled with miasma that would decay anything that touched it, Jiwoo’s purification ability allowed them to conclude that a small boat would be fine.

As long as the water around the boat was purified, they could make it work. However, since Jiwoo couldn’t row, Lanset and Arven would have to take over that task.

While they discussed the best way to safely get Jiwoo to the destination and were preparing for the journey, Skias approached Jiwoo.

“Take this, too…”

Skias draped something over Jiwoo’s arm.

It was the stone he had dug up from beneath a tree during their preparations for winter.

The bracelet was made by weaving together small items, like a delicate piece of jewelry.

“The winter sea is cold, Seo Jiwoo…” 

Once Jiwoo put on the bracelet, she could already feel warmth spreading through her body. She had only been thinking about breathing while entering the water, but Skias had thought ahead, and she was glad for it. This bracelet seemed like it would be helpful for maintaining her body temperature.

Others had wanted to join, but it seemed better to leave some people behind in the village.

Petar, who had lent them the boat, also seemed to hesitate whether to join them or stay behind. After a brief moment of indecision, he chose to remain in the village.

As the boat sailed farther away, he kept looking back, clearly still worried about the tree.

However, Lanset and Arven, who were rowing, had a different opinion.

“Those guys should know they’re lucky. Bumbling fools.” 

“They didn’t seem that good to me.” 

They still didn’t trust the sea folk. When Jiwoo didn’t readily agree with them, they both shook their heads.

“No, really. Earlier, they were all pretending to be modest, but they kept fidgeting, trying to take off their thick layers of clothing.”

“Never trust that sort.” 

…Was that what it was?

This wasn’t really the time for that conversation.

Jiwoo moved toward the bow of the boat and dipped her hand into the water. Since the boat was small, all it took was a slight lean to touch the water, and she could begin purifying it. 

As the boat passed, the miasma in the water was cleared in the shape of the boat’s path, making it look like the black water was getting split.

Once the miasma was cleared, the water was shallow enough that the bottom was visible. There were many rocks along the way, which were supposed to be covered with lush seaweed, but now they were darkened by the black miasma.

Besides the chill and the bleak atmosphere of winter, the entire place looked desolate and death-like, hardly a place where life could thrive.

“Isn’t it possible to get rid of all the miasma?”

Jiwoo impulsively asked.

She then looked back at Lanset and Arven, who were rowing for her.

“The miasma could kill the tree, and if that happens, they’d be living in even more instability. So, if we could purify as much as possible, things would get a lot better, right?”

“Hmm…”

“Umm…”

But Lanset and Arven didn’t seem to agree easily.

“Is it really that hard? Tevon said something similar before, that this is just a natural disaster type of thing, and we can’t fix it all.” 

It meant something like a typhoon or a tidal wave.

Although the miasma had been increasing unnaturally due to Caranazion recently, miasma was a natural part of the world. Jiwoo, having never known this world’s natural disasters, could almost understand it now.

“That kind of thing… we don’t really know much about it. But we do know we can’t just ignore it.” 

“Ask Enci or Skias about it later.” 

It seemed like it wasn’t an easy issue to discuss.

The most urgent matter was right in front of them.

“We’ve arrived.”

Finally, they reached their destination, where a large, arched cliff stood before them.

“This must be the place.”