At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 252
25. The First Fight
“That’s not happening.”
Kaman said firmly from behind, answering for Jiwoo.
What they’d done the day before hadn’t really been a date. It was more like a risky operation. It was unclear whether the changes were from the date itself, or the blood that Akarna had shed.
If it was the latter, it wasn’t something they could simply do again just because someone asked.
Still, it was a relief that there had been some progress. At least they weren’t completely powerless here.
And Jiwoo hadn’t forgotten about the request she’d made to them in exchange for her help.
“By the way, did you find the bag I asked about?”
“Ah, no… not yet.”
Tyrinos replied, glancing nervously at the tree instead of focusing on the conversation. He looked seriously on edge.
Then, as if snapping out of it, Tyrinos turned back to Jiwoo and cleared his throat.
“There’s actually something I wanted to ask you.”
“Your tone suddenly got so polite.”
“Well, am I supposed to keep acting arrogant when I’m the one asking for favors?”
The way Tyrinos forced himself to speak respectfully was honestly a little odd. When Jiwoo pointed out the awkwardness, he shot back a blunt answer.
“And those people over there kept insisting I speak politely to you.”
He gestured with his thumb to the group behind him. Lancet, Arven, Solmih, and Kaman.
…Who could it have been?
Anyone except Skiass, who had been with her the whole time, seemed like a suspect.
Almost as if to confirm someone had pestered him, Kaman spoke up.
“You sure you’re really looking for our stuff and not just pretending because it isn’t yours?”
“It’s not like that! Anyway, I have something to ask you.”
Tyrinos said, stealing a glance at Jiwoo.
“Are you absolutely sure you brought your bag here?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve searched this whole forest before. We know where you appeared, where you ran off to after meeting us, your movements, we’ve tracked all of it. But we still couldn’t find your bag, which makes me wonder if it’s even here.”
“Are you saying I never brought it here in the first place?”
“That’s what I’m getting at.”
“There’s no way…”
Jiwoo had brought a lot. Both valuable things and things with sentimental value from the beach. The bag was bulky. If they’d searched as much as they claimed, there’s no way they could’ve missed it.
“Look, I’m not saying this as an excuse for not finding it.”
Tyrinos added quickly.
“You say you brought it, and I believe you. But since we haven’t been able to find it, I wanted to suggest a possibility…”
“What is it?”
“To be honest… it might have fallen into an interdimensional gap. If that’s the case, we won’t be able to find it.”
Not only was it not in this world or this time. It might’ve been lost somewhere in the void between worlds while Jiwoo was crossing over.
If she really needed to find those things, would she have to comb through that endless darkness she sometimes glimpsed in dreams or while communing with trees? The thought was daunting.
“So… basically, you’re saying it’s lost for good?”
“No, please don’t take it that way!”
Tyrinos protested.
“If you can access the place where dimensions intersect, it might be possible. If you could use your powers to open a passage to another dimension…”
“Wait.”
Solmih interrupted him.
“Now you’re just asking for too much. There’s no need for us to take such risks. We can just go back to the capital and deal with things there. And like I said before, it’s your loss if you refuse.”
“…”
“Be polite.”
At Solmih’s words, Tyrinos’s eyes wavered, and he looked down at the ground. He opened the locket he carried, peeked inside at something, and then closed it again.
His next action took Jiwoo by surprise.
“Please, I beg you. We can’t find what you’re looking for with our abilities. But if there’s anything else we can give you, we will…”
Tyrinos actually dropped to his knees and looked up at Jiwoo, pleading.
Not just him, his whole group seemed about to kneel as well. Flustered, Jiwoo waved her hands.
“No, get up! I’ll try to handle things here if I can. I’m not sure what to do yet, but… just get up, okay?”
She hadn’t expected such a reaction, and it left her a bit dazed. While Jiwoo fanned her burning face to cool down, Tyrinos got up with a sigh.
Kaman then stepped forward and held out his hand.
“Let me see that.”
“You want this?”
“If you’re asking something important from us, it’s only fair you offer something important too.”
Kaman was pointing to the locket Tyrinos treasured so much.
“I can’t give you this. But I can make you something as close as possible.”
Jiwoo had caught a glimpse inside earlier, there was a picture of a woman.
***
‘Are my husbands really just gangsters?’
Apparently, her husbands had managed to wrangle some valuable items out of Tyrinos’s group. It seemed they’d decided that, since Jiwoo had lost precious things bought or gifted by the beach group, they deserved compensation of equal value here.
But the situation here was much worse. All Tyrinos’s group had were some old metalwork pieces, and a few white wooden sticks, probably pruned from Ellandos itself.
Someone had once said that, in the past, most conflicts were solved by force. That seemed to fit here too.
In hindsight, Jiwoo realized she had ended up with the side that was significantly more powerful. The Ellandos they’d used as the source was truly large, healthy, and beautiful. Even the female manifestation from other worlds had managed to cross over.