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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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Chapter 189
Cuculli, who had left the tent with her father’s body, headed towards where his friends were.
Despite his hurried steps, there was no place in his heart that felt comfortable.
The voices of Waldiff and the old woman echoed incessantly in his mind.
“Running away is the only option…”
“…You can’t go now.”
Had she ever considered refusing to be baptized?
But this was an obligation she couldn’t avoid.
She had to fulfill it quickly to protect her precious ones from the threat.
Cuculli shook her head to clear her mind of distracting thoughts.
…Tap-tap-
It was then, from behind, that she heard urgent footsteps.
“Wait a moment!”
Cuculli turned her head to see who called her.
A young fox girl who was supporting the old woman was rushing through the tents towards him.
“Um, excuse me! Please wait a moment.”
“…What is it?”
The girl, who had stopped in front of Cuculli, spoke urgently.
“My name is Ilya.”
That’s not what I’m curious about.
Cuculli scratched her temple.
“Alright, go ahead. Why did you call me?”
“Because there’s something I have to tell you…”
“Since I’m really busy now, maybe later?”
“No, it’s a prophecy!”
“Ah…”
Cuculli furrowed her brow.
Just when she was trying to dismiss it from her mind, what was this?
“Okay. What’s this prophecy about?”
“The tribal chief’s prophecy… Although it often misses, sometimes it comes true.”
Cuculli’s face showed slight annoyance.
“Hey. Ever heard the saying ‘Even a blind squirrel finds a nut’? Prophecies are usually like that; they throw a bunch, and one of them is bound to stick.”
“Is that not it?”
“Well, who knows? Want me to give it a shot? If you don’t move right now, a big bump will appear on your head. Shall we see if it comes true or not?”
Ilya instinctively covered her head.
“P-Please don’t hit me!”
Watching her reaction, Cuculli sighed heavily.
…What am I doing, messing with a kid I barely know?
“Alright, fine. What do you want to say? Make it quick.”
“A while ago, I heard a prophecy too. It completely came true.”
Even in the face of Cuculli’s skepticism, Ilya persisted in her words.
Her attitude intrigued Cuculli.
“…What do you mean?”
Ilya briefly recounted the story.
“When our family decided to leave the North and migrate to the human world, the tribal chief earnestly warned us not to go. It was forbidden.”
“…Of course it’s dangerous for powerless tribes.”
“Yes, although our parents insisted on the plan…”
Ilya’s red pupils flickered momentarily.
Cuculli’s gaze lingered on her partially severed ears and tail.
She could guess what had happened to her family without even hearing it.
“Anyway, the night before we left, the tribal chief left me with a cryptic message.”
“A cryptic message?”
Ilya cleared her throat and imitated the old woman’s voice.
“The moment the sun that had set rises again, the untimely white night will come, the only chance to return home. When that time comes, never leave the fox’s side.”
“…”
“For a thrown prophecy, it’s surprisingly specific, isn’t it?”
Cuculli smirked.
“What a load of nonsense.”
“I didn’t know what it meant until the situation arose.”
Ilya learned the true meaning of the prophecy near the factory.
When Larzé’s flare exploded against the factory’s barrier, emitting a bright light akin to the sun.
The moment when she was beaten to a pulp by the guards and almost fell out of the window was unforgettable.
“…Lev, White Night.”
Right after that, the hero barged in and rescued the demi-humans who were being held captive by the demon worshippers.
“Oh right, according to the elderly who were also detained with us, that person was the hero.”
“…What?”
Cuculli’s eyes trembled slightly as she listened to the story without much interest.
Come to think of it, wasn’t there a time when the hero was absent for a long time during the middle of the semester?
“Our professor saved you…?”
“Yes? Our professor?”
“Oh, the hero is teaching at our academy.”
“Wow…”
While Ilya’s eyes sparkled, Cuculli struggled to suppress her mixed emotions.
‘…Isn’t this prophecy too specific to be a mere coincidence?’
Her gaze returned to Ilya.
‘Does she have a reason to lie…?’
Cuculli’sinner thoughts
She spilled out what she had to say, whether or not she knew the intricacies of Cuculli’s inner thought.
“Please don’t take what the chief said lightly. Our family… We deeply regretted it. I came to deliver this message. I’m sorry to take your time, even though you’re busy!”
With a nod, she bowed deeply and quickly turned away, running off in a hurry.
As she was running, she saw a young man from the snow fox tribe and greeted him warmly.
Cuculli remained silent, simply watching them.
“…You can’t go now.”
“Don’t take the words of the tribal chief lightly.”
In less than thirty minutes, she managed to get three people to stop her from immediately receiving baptism.
Unknowingly, she recited an old saying from the North.
“Coincidence doesn’t happen three times. If it does, it’s inevitable.”
How should this be interpreted?
Lost in thought, she found himself in front of her father’s tent.
Cuculli took a deep breath and shook her head from side to side.
‘Alright, let’s keep the promise first.’
Inside, her friends would be anxiously waiting for her.
They willingly faced danger for her.
She didn’t want to hide the truth anymore.
With determination, Cuculli began the conversation.
“There’s something called baptism.”
.
.
.
To cut to the chase, what Cuculli feared didn’t happen.
None of them tried to convince her not to receive baptism.
None of them burst into tears.
None of them reproached her for hiding this fact.
‘If even one of them had, it would have been difficult.’
It was truly fortunate.
The children simply offered their calm comfort in their own way.
“…While I’ve been whining about my small territory, you’ve been carrying such a heavy burden.”
Evergreen gently stroked Cuculli’s hand resting on the armrest of the chair with a welcoming expression.
It was a warm touch that momentarily eased the chill of the chair.
“Wow… that’s amazing. Inheriting the power of the dragon. Are you even growing wings like it?”
Gerald joked with a chuckle as usual.
“Well, you’ll probably become so strong that it’s unfair. Isn’t this cheating? Shouldn’t we have a proper fight before you receive baptism?”
Luke exaggeratedly nodded along.
“If I were you, I would have wanted to run away. Impressive.”
“Wow, Cuculli. If I were a boy, I might have followed you around.”
Ban and Karen tried to cheer her up with forced smiles.
They didn’t want to make her sad or stop her.
They just realized they were overstepping with their remarks in the face of Cuculli’s determination.
…And then it happened.
“Pathetic.”
Leciel unexpectedly uttered words that no one had anticipated.
“Why are you begging like this, unlike yourself?”
A moment of silence.
Everyone looked at her as if they were scolding her for her thoughtless remark.
Even Evergreen, who greatly admired Leciel, sighed quietly.
“…Leciel!”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?”
“Why is she suddenly like this?”
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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It felt like the beginning of the school year all over again.
There was a significant discrepancy between her recent behavior and what she had shown before.
But Leciel just stood tall, glaring at Cuculli without any intention of clarifying the meaning behind her words.
Cuculli shrugged her shoulders.
“Say whatever you want. Anyway, that’s the whole story. There’s nothing left to hide. End of story!”
“……”
“Phew, feels more relieving than I thought. Now, everyone understands, right? Why I ran all the way to the North.”
A natural silence fell at her words.
Even before meeting Cuculli, they had thought that she had gone to the North only for revenge.
But the reality was completely different.
The children looked at their friend, who carried too much at such a young age.
There was an unfamiliar silence among them.
“……”
Luke, who was observing Cuculli’s expression, hastily asked a question.
“Um, so. Uh, is the sanctuary nearby?”
Cuculli nodded.
“It won’t take half a day.”
Her words stirred the children.
“Is it really that close?”
“Where is it?”
“Isn’t there a place nearby where a sanctuary could be?”
Cuculli chuckled lightly.
“Of course there is. It’s right…”
She pointed towards the entrance of the tent.
The entrance of the tent faced the sea.
“It’s there.”
The children’s expressions turned bewildered at the same time.
“…There?”
“Is it there?”
“Inside the sea?”
“Do you really think anyone can find it?”
Cuculli lightly chuckled and tapped the chair she was sitting on.
“This chair, made from the bones of the Frost Dragon, is the key. If I infuse my magic into it, it will open the path to the sanctuary.”
However, even that explanation was insufficient to dispel the children’s doubts.
“But it’s supposed to be in the sea. What does it mean for a path to open?”
One of the children asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve never seen it happen before. My dad just said so,” Cuculli replied.
Each child pondered their own theories, but it was difficult to imagine how a ‘path’ could open in the deep and vast ocean.
Then, Ban asked, “So when do you plan to leave?”
…For the first time, Cuculli hesitated in her response.
“Um, well…”
Her original plan would have been to say “right away” and infuse the chair with magic.
But for some reason, she felt extremely hesitant to do so now.
‘Ah, I feel really strange.’
An ambiguous premonition incessantly whispered in her mind, urging her not to act rashly.
‘But relying on intuition was never my style…’
“…We shouldn’t go right now.”
It just felt too uneasy to ignore.
‘I wonder what my dad would have done in this situation.’
…She didn’t know.
Then, another face came to mind.
‘What about the professor?’
“You’re most urgently in need of prudence and patience, Cuculli.”
…Ah, she still didn’t know.
Cuculli let out a deep sigh and looked at the children waiting for his answer.
“…Maybe.”
“…?”
“Guys, I don’t know. We’ll leave when the time is right,”
Cuculli said, lying back on the chair.
She quietly repeated to herself, as if to reassure herself,
“Just a little longer.”
* * *
It didn’t take long for the excitement of things going smoothly to turn into discomfort.
The heavy darkness enveloping the coastal cliffs.
The wrinkles around the eyes of the Demonic Church Leader, overlooking the Frost Dragon tribe village, remained unfurrowed.
“…When are they actually leaving?”
Apart from some bustling scouts, the village was eerily still.
It was a situation she couldn’t understand.
The longer the baptism was delayed, the worse the situation in the North would become.
The tribes would break away from the alliance, and the climate would change in real time.
That fact was something Cuculli, groomed to be the successor of the chief, knew better than anyone.
However, the children and their entourage showed no signs of wanting to move.
‘What are they thinking?’
The Demonic Church Leader, absentmindedly bited her lip, realized that her lips were already chewed.
She was beginning to admit to herself that she was getting anxious.
The main cause was none other than…
‘The Hero.’
The Demonic Church Leader couldn’t help but bite her lip again.
The bitter taste of blood seeped into her nostrils.
‘Where on earth did he go?’
Reports came from her subordinates that they had lost track of the Hero.
It was utterly incomprehensible.
How could he have escaped from such a wide encirclement?
Unless he vanished into the ground or soared into the sky, it was simply impossible.
However, after several skirmishes, the missing Hero hadn’t shown up anywhere on the continent.
Thanks to him, the opportunity cost of setting up the encirclement had turned into a significant loss.
‘The stakes are being destroyed…’
She hastily turned her forces around, but the main stakes had already lost their function.
And it didn’t end there.
‘They said the forces were heading north.’
A fleet from Glendor, carrying the nobles’ forces, was heading north.
According to the reconnaissance reports, they had employed a large number of gravity and wind mages, making their sailing speed unreasonable.
If the missing Hero arrived in the North at the same time as those forces…
“…It’ll be a total annihilation.”
Her throat felt tight.
It felt like someone unseen was slowly tightening their grip around it.
“…?”
The Demonic Church Leader finally decided to resort to her last resort.
…The reserves she had been saving in case of an unforeseen situation.
Tap-
Her attendant, summoned by her call, bowed before her.
“You called for me.”
“Bring out the reserves.”
“Are you referring to Dorempa and his offspring?”
“…Yes.”
The Demonic Church Leader fell silent for a moment.
Shoo-
After about six waves of waves crashing against the shore.
Finally, her orders were given.
“Deploy them all along the path where the Frost Dragon scouts will pass. Let’s see if they can keep sitting idly by while this happens.”
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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