At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 304

And at last, Jiwoo finally got Quilon’s answer to her original question—How did you know?

“When something passes through a dimensional rift, the scenery of another world cannot cross over completely intact. It changes to suit the environment here. If you’re lucky, it becomes similar enough to its surroundings that you barely notice any change at all. If you’re unlucky, the land itself may become contaminated. And if you’re extremely unlucky, you end up with something like this…”

This was exactly the kind of case he meant.

“It becomes somewhat more complicated when there are intelligent beings nearby.”

“What happens then?”

A person had been buried in the ground, almost fused with it.

The space had merged so thoroughly with his body that trying to pull him free by force would have torn him apart.

“I believe his name was Kist. He said he came here intending to warn his brothers not to approach this place any further. After becoming entangled with the distorted space, he was effectively preserved alive in that spot and in doing so, he remained there to stop anyone else from coming closer.”

“…You mean the reason he was stuck in the ground like that was because that was what he wanted?”

“Yes.”

Of course, that didn’t mean Kist had literally wanted to be buried in the ground.

He had wanted to find his brothers nearby, and to prevent any more of them from approaching afterward.

That intent had simply been twisted into a bizarre physical form.

“But this is not something you need to worry about. All of those changes are ultimately caused by contact with another world. Since you are unaffected by that influence, merely having you beside him was enough for him to escape from it.”

Compared to the sheer amount of information being poured into her, Jiwoo felt terribly insignificant as someone who knew so little about any of this.

And perhaps that was precisely why it was even harder to believe.

Something that looked so grave and impossible had been resolved so easily by her own hand.

No matter how terrible the situation seemed, all she had needed to do was reach out and pull him free.

Something stirred deep in her chest. Without a word, Jiwoo wrapped her arms more tightly around Quilon’s shoulders.

If only she’d met them a little sooner. How wonderful would that have been?

After they had traveled a little farther, Narkreed, who had been leading the group, quietly slipped back toward Jiwoo and lowered his voice.

“I’m thinking we should take a slight detour. Is that all right?”

“Mm… Why?”

“Those idiots keep sneaking looks over here. They’ve gone quiet, too.”

He meant Shaen and Kist.

Jiwoo had noticed it as well, although she hadn’t sensed any hostility from them.

If anything, they looked the way people did when they encountered something extraordinary for the first time. The same reverent, awestruck gaze people often had when witnessing an Akarna’s miracle.

Still, if Reed thought there was reason to be cautious, then there probably was.

“Where are we detouring to?”

“If the mage is still alive, I’d like to meet him first.”

When Jiwoo nodded, Reed turned away and lowered his blindfold slightly. She couldn’t see his expression or tell exactly where he was looking, but merely surveying the distance seemed enough for him to reach a conclusion.

“That way.”

After exchanging a few words with the others while keeping an eye on Shaen and Kist, he changed their course.

It wasn’t long before Jiwoo’s group came upon someone in a predicament similar to Kist’s.

This time, however, he wasn’t buried in the ground.

More than a third of his body had been swallowed and distorted by a black haze rising in midair. Most of his face had vanished into it as well, leaving little more than one eye and one ear visible.

“Isias!”

“……”

At least Kist had still been conscious.

The man called Isias had his eyes closed and showed no response at all. It looked as though the distortion had already consumed him.

Jiwoo glanced anxiously toward Quilon, and he gave her a courteous nod.

“As I told you, you will be fine.”

She could trust him, right? She had already done this once…

Jiwoo cautiously approached Isias and then hesitated, unsure where she was even supposed to grab him. Eventually, she carefully took hold of the only part that seemed accessible, his hair.

It felt a little like grabbing a ghost by the head, which was… unsettling.

“……!”

The single sharp eye visible through the darkness suddenly flew open.

“Kyaak!”

Jiwoo jumped in fright and stumbled backward, still clutching his hair.

And just like that, Isias’ body was dragged free from the empty air along with her.

“Uwack!”

“Hey! Get off her!”

Unfortunately, he came crashing down directly on top of Jiwoo, prompting her husbands to erupt in outrage as they yanked him off and flung him aside.

“Isias!”

“……”

Despite having been thrown onto the ground, Isias quickly pushed himself upright and regained his balance. Fierce eyes swept over the surroundings from beneath his disheveled, limp hair.

Then he abruptly turned his head toward Jiwoo. She flinched beneath that piercing stare.

“Oh! Good heavens, Master!”

“……Huh?”

Those were certainly not the words Jiwoo had expected from a man who looked as wild and vicious as a beast freshly released from its cage.

‘Master?’

She had never imagined hearing anything remotely that respectful from one of the underground groups.

Isias hurriedly got to his feet, approached Jiwoo, and began bowing over and over again.

“Thank you. If you hadn’t come looking for us, Master, I can’t imagine what would’ve happened. Goodness, I really…”

“……What?”

He wasn’t merely dipping his head, either. He bent almost a perfect ninety degrees at the waist each time, displaying an almost excessive degree of courtesy.

“……”

Jiwoo was utterly bewildered. But Isias misinterpreted her frozen reaction.

“Good grief, where are my manners…? My apologies. To think I’d show myself in such a sorry state before my own savior…”

He gathered his wildly disheveled hair over one shoulder and made a quick attempt to tidy himself up. Then, looking considerably more presentable, he bowed deeply to her once again.

“My name is Isias. I’m the eldest brother of these fools here. You were kind enough to come all this way personally to help us, yet I wasn’t even conscious enough to greet you properly.”