At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 267
Apparently, the commotion had lasted long enough for people to start coming out from all directions.
“El?”
“Is that… really El?”
Even with their spouse’s appearance completely changed, the others recognized her right away.
As Seel’s husbands heard the voices and came out one by one, Jiwoo realized she didn’t want to intrude on their reunion.
“Oh, my husbands are coming too.”
She’d been wondering how they’d all manage to return together, especially since Kaman seemed determined not to let go of her hand.
Jiwoo gestured for her husbands to come over, and once they’d all gathered, she planned to lead them back through the dimensional rift.
The men looked bewildered, but none seemed overly concerned about the presence of a manifestation. Maybe they sensed this wasn’t the right time to ask questions.
“If you ever want to see us again, just come visit our place.”
Jiwoo said to Seel before pulling Kaman along.
“Hmm… I suppose it’ll be in about a thousand years, so let’s plan for then.”
Seel stroked Tyrinos’s hair and watched Jiwoo intently with those large eyes.
“Alright, then I’ll send a trustworthy friend before I’m able to come myself.”
“A friend?”
“Before I can make the trip. You seem like you could use a little extra protection.”
“Sure. Either way, I’m going. Take care until then.”
Since they’d reunited after so long, Jiwoo genuinely hoped Seel would be well.
Then, she stepped fully through the dimensional threshold. Her husbands hesitated for a moment, but eventually, they all followed her one after the other.
She made sure to watch, one last time, as they looked at each other with such pure joy.
29. Going Home
“How strange…”
The moment she felt certain of which way to go, a path appeared, glimmering in the vast darkness. It was as if she were walking across an upside-down, starlit sky.
It was funny how the human mind worked. The rift between dimensions that once terrified her now seemed almost beautiful, simply because she believed she could make it through.
As Jiwoo walked ahead, the scenes she’d just witnessed replayed in her mind.
“If we ever ended up like that…”
She barely managed to get the words out, but her husbands’ faces made it clear they didn’t want to imagine such a thing.
“Do you think Helka would cry like that, too?”
“….Helka?”
On the outside, Helka looked like the least likely to cry, but Jiwoo suddenly remembered that he’d wept openly the first time they met.
“Why do you only think Helka would be like that?”
Kaman jumped in. He looked a bit pouty, perhaps because he’d just shown how easily he could cry himself.
“What about Solmih?”
“Jiwoo, did you like that manifestation?”
“Huh? Well, I…”
Solmih turned his head slightly, shielding his face with a hand as he looked down. His long, rose-colored eyelashes cast a delicate shadow over his cheeks, and a single tear slid down as if he were fighting back sorrow.
“Oh, my!”
“El… It breaks my heart that I couldn’t do anything while you were caught up in all this.”
Even though Jiwoo could tell the tears were partly for show, seeing that single tear run down his cheek was enough to make her chest ache.
She realized instantly that she had a weakness for tears.
As Jiwoo gently wiped Solmih’s tears away, Lancet and Arven whispered to each other behind her back, scowling at his overly dramatic display.
“…Honestly, that’s just too much.”
“It’s kind of scary.”
Kaman, ignoring all that, cut right to the point.
“Anyway, I really don’t like them. They used you, El.”
“Well… I understand why, so it’s fine. And they didn’t actually harm me.”
“Or maybe that just makes them even sneakier?”
It was clear that Kaman, having nearly lost Jiwoo before his very eyes, couldn’t forgive what had happened. Of all her husbands, he seemed the most deeply shaken.
“I just hate that anyone would take advantage of your kindness. Wasn’t that what the female manifestation pointed out, too?”
“True enough.”
Jiwoo replied, gazing off into the distance, then turning back to Kaman.
“But you know, it’s because I’m that kind of person that I’m able to protect you all. So it’s fine. I like who I am.”
She looked at each of her husbands in turn.
“Thisis something only I can do.”
A manifestation might have overwhelming power, but Jiwoo preferred the kind of strength that could block harm altogether or heal quickly, rather than pure destructive force.
“Manifestations might have great power, but it’s not the kind that protects others.”
That’s why, even if they led a group of thirty, it was always possible for an accident to claim someone, so they stuck close to the trees, where it was safest.
But Jiwoo was different.
Even far from the trees, she herself could protect those she loved. Just like a tree would.
“Looking back, the times I felt weak were always when I hated myself and the world the most. But when I started loving this world again, and feeling loved in return, when I learned to love myself, Akarna’s power grew stronger.”
She finally understood why, long ago in Caranazion, ‘Akarna’ had been used as a word for a beloved lover, almost like a deity.
“Actually, I only started to get better when I connected with you all.”
It wasn’t about sharing pain or pleasure, it was simply the feeling of caring for and loving each other.
“Now that I think about it, it was all so simple. I just didn’t realize it until now.”
Jiwoo smiled brightly.
“And it’s fine. That manifestation promised to send me a reliable friend, after all…”
As she spoke, something clicked in her mind.
“Oh, wait… “
Hadn’t there been a being who’d suddenly shown up, out of nowhere? Someone who’d given her an unexpected gift and said, just like Seel, that she needed a little extra protection…?