At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 307

Even after accepting Quilon’s point, Kelvar continued to grumble, but Quilon knew there was no malice behind his words and merely smiled.

“…You’re right. With Jiwoo here, taking a small risk for the sake of an adventure might not be such a terrible thing. I only said what I did because I worry too much about all of you.”

And with that, the discussion about wishes finally came to an end.

“What about you, then?”

Reed refused to let the subject simply drift away. At his question, Jiwoo rolled across the bed and smiled to herself.

“I think I’ll keep mine a secret too.”

Not that her husbands would have much trouble figuring it out.

Her wish was simple. She wanted their wishes to come true.

And…

***

It seemed they wouldn’t be able to discuss anything important until the underground group had finished sorting out the situation. Fortunately, it wouldn’t take long. They had about one night to spare.

Once everyone else had gone to sleep, Jiwoo quietly slipped outside.

“Quilon.”

He must have heard her approaching, because he turned before she reached him.

The cavern was so vast that it hardly felt underground at all. Beneath a ceiling embroidered with star-cluster flowers, Quilon stood with their glow at his back. 

When enough of those flowers gathered together, they no longer looked like mere points of light but shimmered in countless colors, and tonight they stretched above him like a crimson galaxy spilling over his hair.

He had a passionate, bold, striking appearance. Yet his expression was subdued and almost melancholy by contrast.

‘I think smiling would suit him better.’

For some reason, Jiwoo thought the confident, almost arrogant smile so common among the underground children of Ellandos would suit him far more naturally.

Still, Quilon had experienced something involving a void long ago. Perhaps it was inevitable that he would be more cautious about them than the others.

“You really don’t have a wish?”

“…No, Jiwoo.”

Jiwoo took the arm of the man who, despite his appearance, was surprisingly timid about things like this and tugged lightly.

“Then it should be fine to tell me what your wish is, right? I’m not a void.”

Quilon said nothing.

At first, he seemed not to understand what she meant. Then realization dawned, and his face immediately flushed.

“Everyone else wanted something related to me anyway.”

Perhaps that was only natural for the children of Elandos, whose attention centered so completely on their mate.

She doubted Quilon would be any different. Besides, if his wish involved her, there was a good chance she could grant it herself.

And sure enough, Quilon reacted immediately.

“Your ears.”

“N, no. This is…”

Quilon hurriedly covered his drooping ears with his hands.

Just as humans couldn’t simply command a racing heart to slow whenever their emotions changed, it seemed controlling their ears required conscious effort. Someone like Lugarmel, whose ears barely moved while his face did all the expressing, was probably exceptionally skilled at controlling or concealing his emotions.

Perhaps that was why some people found him unsettling.

Quilon, on the other hand, seemed remarkably straightforward.

Normally, ears pinned down that tightly meant displeasure.

But he certainly didn’t look displeased, and Jiwoo wasn’t sure whether pointing that out would help or only embarrass him further.

So she simply changed the subject.

“I think I might be able to grant it.”

“I…”

Quilon gave a small nod.

“I thought… I would like the time we spend together like this to continue.”

“That’s all?”

Everyone else had wanted something more, however trivial it might have been.

Seeing Quilon hesitate even over such a modest wish, Jiwoo acted on impulse. She tugged him down by the collar and kissed him on the cheek.

“I liked that one.”

“……”

Caught completely off guard, Quilon froze as rigidly as though he had just been confronted by a superior officer.

Then, suddenly, his entire face broke into a brilliant smile. A broad, uninhibited grin that showed his teeth.

See? That suited him.

Unfortunately, the expression vanished almost immediately as Quilon cleared his throat and composed himself again.

“You should sleep. Beginning tomorrow, you will likely be truly exhausted. Isias wanted me to tell you that he is deeply grateful both that you came here personally and that you possess the ability to purify the area. I delayed passing along the message because I thought it would be better for you to rest.”

“Did you ask him about everything?”

“Yes.”

Then it seemed they would begin restoring the void and the surrounding area tomorrow.

Compared with Jiwoo’s former work as an Akarna, it sounded similar to purifying corrupted land. That hadn’t been particularly difficult.

Quilon saw Jiwoo back into the room, but remained standing outside for quite some time afterward. Through his hair, she could still see how red his ears were, and she thought she even caught him muttering something.

“How could someone like me dare…”

Why did he act like that? Jiwoo couldn’t help wondering.

Even after crawling back into bed, she continued thinking about it until sleep began pouring out.

She wanted to know why Quilon is like that. Maybe once they returned home, she should ask him. Ask what had happened back then…

The moment she lay flat on the soft mattress, all the exhaustion she had been holding at bay seemed to descend on her at once.

‘I want to know…’

Jiwoo absently turned her gaze toward the window.

Far in the distance, the glow of the star-cluster flowers shimmered like pale mist. It was beautiful enough to resemble a true night sky.

She counted their star-like lights, following the clusters that stretched into the distance like the Milky Way, until her eyelids began to droop.

Even in those final moments before sleep, she thought she was still wondering about Quilon.

‘I want to know…’

And then, just as she drifted off.

“Jiwoo. Jiwoo, wake up. Something’s wrong.”

“…Mm?”

Someone was shaking her awake.

“Huh?”

Jiwoo suddenly staggered without even realizing it.

Kelvar hurriedly caught her in his arms before she could collapse to the floor.

“Wha…?”

She had been asleep just a moment ago.