34 – Frozen Town, Cold Heart (3)
“You mean the snow woman really exists? I’ve never heard of it.”
From Kayla’s point of view, it was surprising.
She must have heard most of the rumors while she lived hundreds of years.
Very few people knew about her snow woman, to the extent that even she did not know.
But I knew the whole truth.
The snow woman is already dead.
To be precise, right before her death, she sealed herself in her own ice.
It was a last resort to defy the time.
If I kill the snow woman sleeping in the ice, I will take over her power.
“You won’t believe it?”
Kayla was taken aback by my words, and repeatedly hit her hand.
“Oh no! I always believe in Seohyun!”
No matter how loyal Kayla is to her, it would be difficult for her to believe what she just told me.
Still, she tried to hide her embarrassment.
I was sure to have doubts in my heart, but Kayla believed me.
“Can you trust me and help me just once?”
It was an absurd suggestion. There was no evidence, no witnesses.
It meant trusting uncertain information and risking one’s life.
In a word, it was nothing short of crazy.
But without hesitation, Kayla stood in front of me and bowed her head.
“I never doubt you.”
She believed me blindly.
He has never turned down my words.
I just feel grateful and sorry.
In fact, Kayla may have complaints or doubts about me, but she didn’t show it.
‘If Erina was like this, how good would she be?’
I wanted to do something for Kayla, who always followed me.
When she asked if there was anything she wished for, Kayla immediately blushed.
“I don’t want anything from Seohyun. I just have one question.”
“Question… ?”
“I heard that you shared an oath with Erina-sama.”
Before meeting Kayla, she made an appointment with Erina at the fountain in the capital.
I will punish the Demon King. Please believe in yourself. I will never betray you.
As always, Kayla approached me cautiously. She sighed for a moment and then she grabbed my hand.
“Is it more important than the oath you made with me…?”
As soon as she heard Kayla’s words, she laughed.
She was worrying for nothing.
“I told you last time. I believe in you more than Erina.”
Erina lying to me.
Kayla who swore to give her life her whole life.
It was clear which way his heart leaned.
“Thank you.”
Kyla smiled brightly as if the anxiety had finally disappeared.
I approached her and gave her a hug to reassure her.
“It’s a secret from Erina.”
“I know. I will never say anything.”
I felt like I was having a secret relationship.
Although they are not lovers, they decided to share a secret that only each other knows.
***
Maybe it gave Erina too much of a shock.
“Stop crying.”
“Oh, no! I didn’t cry…!”
Erina forced a smile and pretended she was fine.
Contrary to what he said, the area around his eyes was red and swollen.
“I-I’m fine… ! It’s nothing! It’s all my fault… !”
A crooked smile and eyes full of tears.
Even biting his nails from time to time.
I couldn’t say it was normal even with empty words.
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She was the one who always lied without batting an eye.
It was the first time I had seen Erina so agitated.
I’d rather see her weeping and clinging to me after fighting Kayla.
‘I didn’t expect to be this shocked.’
I belatedly regretted that I might have said something too harsh.
Even if I couldn’t calmly persuade you, I might have had to say something around the corner.
Or it could have been that her judgment in leaving her alone was not right.
I had to calm Erina down even now.
It seemed necessary for the two of them to talk separately.
“Erina. Let’s go to the request office together. Then apologize to Colin and hear about her request.”
“…Yes!”
The answer was later than usual.
Her mouth drew an arc, but her eyes weren’t smiling.
It looked like he was forcibly obeying orders.
I couldn’t predict what would happen if I left it as it was.
It was like a ticking time bomb that didn’t know when it would explode.
Her Once I decided to take her out of her.
“Kayla. If it’s cold, she doesn’t have to come out.”
And sorry for Kayla, I decided to wait in her room for a while.
She hesitated at my words and stood up.
“…Can I follow you?”
Unexpectedly, some resistance followed.
She also seemed afraid of falling alone.
I’m sorry, but I couldn’t take Kayla with me right now.
“I’m taking a break. I’ll be back soon.”
The most tired of us was Kayla.
While moving to Norton Village, she suffered from the cold and could not sleep well.
I somehow managed to hide my tiredness, but I could see it all.
“Okay. I’ll be waiting for you.”
Kayla bowed her head in deep regret.
Still, I didn’t insist any more, probably understanding my intentions.
I tried to stroke her hair in gratitude, but her hands got stuck.
Erina came over and grabbed my hand.
“Oh, let’s go! We have to hurry before it gets dark…!”
On purpose, she was blocking me from approaching Kayla.
Even though the intention was obvious, I didn’t say anything.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Erina looked desperate.
He was waiting for me with a look of endless anxiety.
The precarious appearance was even pitiful, as if tears were about to spill.
If you treat her harshly once again, she’ll probably collapse on the floor and wail loudly like the last time.
I couldn’t bear to stop Erina.
I listened to her with a sigh.
“Okay. Let’s go.”
With the answer, Erina grabbed my hand.
With a light urge, he opened the inn door and pulled me in.
Kayla watched us and waved her hand without saying anything.
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
Without time to answer, the door was slammed shut.
Finally, Erina and I were left alone.
I could only keep my mouth shut as I slowly scanned her.
“Erina, are you okay?”
“Yes… ! I don’t mind… !”
Erina’s whole body was stained red.
Her face was frowning and she was breathing heavily.
She was intermittently shaking her body.
My eyes were shaking with my pupils constricted.
All of her symptoms were caused by too much stress.
“Go to the requesting office first! And all I have to do is apologize to Colin and hear about the request… ?!”
Erina pretended to be okay in front of me and spoke vigorously.
But even her voice trembled.
The way she stared at me and the way she rushed her steps in her haste was awkward.
She couldn’t just watch her current situation.
“Erina.”
“Yes… !”
“Calm down for now.”
The flickering eyes trembled.
In an instant, her smile disappeared and the mask that hid her face crumbled.
“Gwa, it’s okay! I don’t mind… !”
I slowly approached Erina.
She instinctively hit her back.
Ignoring her, she approached and grabbed her face.
Others could see it as rude.
But she didn’t care and put her hand to her face.
“Wow… ?!”
I wiped the tears from my face.
She brushed her tousled hair.
After tidying up the mess, things got a little better.
The tears that overflowed from her hands immediately froze in the cold chill.
Erina didn’t know what to do and couldn’t do this or that.
On the other hand, I spoke to Erina in a calm voice.
“I don’t want to kick you out either.”
I didn’t want Erina to disappear.
‘I really like you! So I just wanted to protect you… !’
I could still see Erina crying and saying that she truly loved me.
But she was lying to me.
You destroyed the world, imprisoned the goddess, and brought me into this world.
I had to hate Erina. I had to get her off somehow.
But I couldn’t.
‘What should I say about these feelings?’
Love-hate. Literally love and hate.
I was feeling her love and hatred for her.
She was a character I created.
If you look closely, I was like a parent.
Also, Erina was my colleague and comrade-in-arms.
Now I couldn’t be hostile to her.
In the meantime, Erina has caused too many problems.
There were times when she was genuinely angry at her, arguing with her.
But she never thought about breaking up with her.
I thought about it for a long time. What should i do in the future
As of now, I can draw two conclusions.
‘I have to become stronger than Erina.’
I had to stop Erina from committing her misdeeds or acting out of her own way.
‘And I have to save the goddess.’
Together with Erina, I had to defeat the demon king and go up to heaven to save the goddess.
It wasn’t easy to achieve both.
But I had to do it.
Erina and the goddess. Both of them could not be abandoned.
And if you defeat the demon king and reach the gate to the heavens.
‘What should I do then?’
I haven’t made up my mind yet.
Still, it was going to take a lot of time to subdue the Demon King.
It’s still something you can think about slowly.
Right now, the priority was to convince Erina.
“Erina. I want to keep being with you. But it can’t be like this.”
What Erina did wrong was also my fault.
As the leader of the party, I had to take responsibility.
“You don’t hurt people for no reason either, do you?”
Erina bit her lip and nodded her head.
“Yes, that’s right…”
“Are you wary of people to protect me?”
“Yes, yes…! I just want to protect you!”
She also had her own reasons, so she was wary of people and threatened them.
But that was too much.
Reckless violence or murder had to be prevented.
That’s why he even said that he would expel him from the party.
“I won’t tell you to be friendly with other people.”
“…”
“But at least be polite.”
I no longer wanted a friendly look or a warm deed.
However, I couldn’t condone behaviors that caused friction with people around me.
So I decided to draw a clear line.
“Don’t dispute with others. We need to change our vigilant attitude for no reason.”
Erina chewed her lips, holding her mouth tightly shut.
Her restless fluctuating emotions were reflected on her face.
He was dissatisfied with my order.
But if you don’t follow me, you’ll be thrown out of the party.
There was a conflict between them.
“Then,”
Erina raised her head and slowly opened her mouth.
The eyes looking up at me had lost their light.
One step came to me with an empty focus.
“If someone appears who harms or threatens you.”
“…”
“Do I have to stay still even then… ?”
Someone who is trying to kill me or has obvious hostility.
I couldn’t just leave the robbers or bandits attacking me with a knife right away.
Erina put my safety first.
She couldn’t even fault her loyalty for me.
I thought that denying even her heart was too harsh.
“Then let’s do this.”
Never hurt people.
However, we decided to make an exception for cases where the other party showed a clear hostile attitude or behavior.
“I’ll leave it up to you.”
It is up to her to determine how hostile the action is.
She chose to trust her minimal conscience.
“Okay. I will… !”
A faint smile returned as if he was finally satisfied.
Finally, the anxious expression disappeared and returned to its previous appearance.
“I’m going to the requesting office. Apologize to Colin first.”
“Yes. I will follow for you.”
I could barely get a positive answer.
It was absurd that we had to have such a long conversation just to ask for an apology.
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I hoped that through this incident, Erina would learn how to get along well with her people.
The request office was not far away.
It was only a minute away from the inn.
Carefully opening the door and entering, I saw Colin guarding the counter by herself.
She waved her hand gladly as we entered her commissioning office.
“Ah! Seohyun! And this person…”
Unlike me, Colin looked at Erina and bowed her head.
He seemed nervous because of his first impression.
Erina stepped forward before I could say anything.
“You said Colin? Thank you.”
“Oh yes!”
Fortunately, Colin accepted her greeting without hesitation.
He approached Erina with a smile as if he had forgotten the initial friction.
“Please take good care of me!”
Again Colin held out her hand.
But Erina waved her hand.
“Sorry, I don’t like shaking hands.”
Colin withdrew her hand apologetically.
But unlike before, the atmosphere has softened a lot.
For now, I decided to be content that Erina had learned to politely decline.