Elcia’s house wasn’t originally here, they said.
But according to Elcia’s explanation, her parents tried to profit from a gift option and ended up moving to a shack because the house got mortgaged.
“Parents are gift junkies… kids are coin junkies…”
[It’s the power of inheritance, huh?]
Meanwhile, Elcia’s house was piled high with freshly picked greens and fruits.
It was a feast prepared by the animals staying at Elcia’s place.
After stuffing our faces, it somehow became bedtime.
“Sleep here!”
Elcia guided us to our respective rooms and assigned us our spots.
Right next to Elcia’s room was mine, followed by Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon.
Noticing there were many rooms next to Jeong Ahyeon, Hyeji asked Elcia,
“Hey, Ganf, there’s a room next door too?”
“That’s someone else’s room!”
“Who’s staying there? Can you spill?”
“Secret!”
Thinking it might be a vacant room, I pressed my ear against the door to focus on the sounds coming from inside.
“Help me, please help me.”
“I want to go back to being human.”
“I’ll kill them all. I’ll kill them all.”
“I’m tired of this world. Please send me to the afterlife.”
Looking closer, I noticed strange talismans stuck all over the doors.
…….
I didn’t see anything.
This must be just decoration.
[…A room inhabited by restless spirits, huh?]
“Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up.”
Ghosts are scary, f*ck.
We quietly entered our assigned rooms.
The room itself was not bad.
There wasn’t a speck of dust, and a faint scent of wood wafted from the blanket.
When I lay down in a daze, Elcia’s voice came from outside the door.
“Please have a comfortable night, everyone!”
Feeling a bit uneasy, I started to drift off to sleep.
Maybe I was more tired than I thought because I fell asleep quickly.
*
“It’s a must!”
Elcia was currently wide awake, eyes wide open as she waited for her opportunity.
Kim Shinwoo was here in her home ground, sound asleep.
If this isn’t an opportunity, what is?
“Cheetos! I must eat it!”
As everyone was asleep, she quietly opened the door and stepped outside.
Her target was none other than the room where Shinwoo slept.
“This time, I’ll definitely take my husband’s first!”
Elcia moved quietly.
She was so silent that even in an old shack, she moved like a ninja without a single creak.
Yet, despite moving slowly, she was incredibly fast.
At the same time, her desire began to blaze even more.
“If not today, there won’t be a chance in the future!”
Suppressing the boiling excitement and desperation in her heart, Elcia quietly moved her feet.
I wonder if the World Tree acknowledged her efforts.
She had now reached near Kim Shinwoo’s door.
Of course, it had long been abandoned to trust in the World Tree.
Remembering the hard days caused by the World Tree before regression, her heart suddenly grew heavy.
Just as she regained her composure and moved her feet, she ran into a massive wall of emotions.
Guarding, worry, possessiveness, obsession…
Numerous emotions slammed straight into Elcia.
Though it spread aimlessly in all directions, it was enough to almost break her will.
Elcia was forced to stumble for a moment.
“Who the hell! Who the f*ck is this!”
But her sentiments didn’t last long.
Right next to the door she was targeting, Hyeji was leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, dressed in pajamas.
“Oh sht, oh sht, oh sht, oh sht, oh sh*t!”
Elcia began to sweat cold in an instant.
Even though she was a gold-ranked Hunter, that monster in front could chew through such ranks and wipe everyone out.
Fortunately, Hyeji seemed to be deeply asleep, quietly breathing.
To be careful, Elcia began to touch and drop nearby things to gauge Hyeji’s reactions.
– Clang.
– Thwump.
– Plop.
Even when the last thing hit Hyeji’s head, she didn’t react.
She looked as if she were dead asleep.
Feeling a slight relief, Elcia confidently stepped forward to grab the doorknob of Kim Shinwoo’s room.
“What are you doing?”
Hyeji opened her eyes.
Gone was the confident stride, and Elcia instantly shrank back.
“I-I was going to the bathroom…”
“The bathroom is the other way. What are you doing?”
“Ahaha… I got lost after being away from home for so long.”
Elcia had no choice but to turn her body in the face of overwhelming violence.
The best she could do was consider hiding in the bathroom nearby, pondering over her defeat.
“D-damn fcking btch!!!!”
Suddenly, Hyeji started looking around and getting up to open the door where Kim Shinwoo was staying.
Raging anger propelled Elcia’s powerless body into action.
“This time, I want to grab a little piece for myself!”
Elcia reached out and conjured as many butterflies as she could to block Kim Shinwoo’s door.
Hyeji, startled by the sudden appearance of butterflies, began shredding them with a knife one by one.
Each time she did, Elcia conjured another butterfly to fill the space left by the one torn apart.
Endless back-and-forth ensued, with Hyeji glaring at Elcia intensely.
However, upon seeing Hyeji’s fierce gaze, Elcia only became more defiant, and the density of the butterflies blocking Kim Shinwoo’s door continued to thicken.
“If I can’t have it, no one can!”
Hyeji also seemed reluctant to make a big scene in the middle of the night, as she quietly watched the door instead of summoning her firearms as usual.
Elcia thought Hyeji might eventually get tired and return, but Hyeji was already aware of her scheme and plopped down right in front of Kim Shinwoo’s door.
She then glared quietly at Elcia.
“Let’s see who wins!”
Their petty battle continued until dawn broke.
Until the morning sun rose.
*
I felt very refreshed.
The academy’s bed was decent, but recently, there had been so many things on my mind that I could sleep comfortably here without thinking at all.
As I stretched and sauntered out of the room, I felt a slight resistance at the door, but when I pushed harder, the door opened easily.
And right next to the door, Hyeji was sitting, so I greeted her.
“Ohayo!”
“Shut up, I’m really tired right now.”
Hyeji, unlike her usual self, openly expressed her fatigue and turned back to her room.
Her eyes were dark, like she hadn’t slept properly.
“Tsk. You really need to get some proper sleep.”
[……You f*ckin’! Just take it as a given if readers get frustrated and bash you with a head slap.]
For some reason, today, the sarcasm from Piece was particularly sharp.
Then, in the distance, Elcia came staggering over.
“Mast~er~…”
“What’s up? Trying to die again or what?”
“I had a fierce battle. With a crazy b*tch!”
Elcia didn’t seem to be doing too well either.
Like Hyeji, her eyes were darkened, and they were reddened, indicating she hadn’t slept well either.
Feeling uneasy about pointing it out, I changed the subject.
“Do we have plans for today?”
“Yes! Of course we do! Just for you, Master!”
Elcia clapped her hands and answered with a bright smile.
Despite her dark-ringed eyes, she looked like a painting in that moment.
Suddenly feeling pressured, I averted my gaze and replied to Elcia.
“What is it?”
“The World Tree wants to see you!”
Returning to the fundamental issue at hand.
The World Tree wanting to see me.
In the end, that’s why we came all the way to the Forest of Elves.
“You can go anytime!”
Elcia said with a dreamy smile.
However, there seemed to be some unknown agony in Elcia’s eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“…Yes! No problem!”
It seemed she had no intention of answering more.
Rather than pressing further, I decided to follow Elcia’s suggestion and meet the World Tree.
“Alright, let’s go. I’ll wash up quickly.”
“Okay! I’ll be waiting!”
I quickly washed up and came out with my Defensive Coat.
By then, Hyeji and Jeong Ahyeon were already in the living room waiting for me.
Jeong Ahyeon was dressed in the black martial arts uniform she’d worn before.
But Hyeji’s outfit was quite different from yesterday.
Her hair was tied in twin tails.
Instead of the academy uniform, she wore a yellow tank top and a black culotte skirt.
And over it, a white jumper.
Since she usually didn’t wear casual clothes, it was a refreshing look.
“Hyeji, it’s hot outside, why the jumper?”
“This jumper was made to mimic the Defensive Coat. So, how do I look?”
Hyeji looked at me with her hands on her hips, as if expecting a compliment.
‘…..But you have no chest, so that confident pose is a bit much.’
[If you say that, you’ll seriously die.]
“It’s pretty.”
“Th-thank you…”
Hyeji lowered her head and muttered softly.
At that moment, Elcia chimed in to Hyeji.
“Oh my! Hyeji unnie! It looks like you haven’t slept well, you should go and take a nap!”
“No, you look tired too, I can’t just send you and Shinwoo off.”
Both wore faint smiles that seemed forced as they faced each other.
Soon after, they each threw some backhanded compliments at each other.
“……Fcking btch. No chest.”
“……Older than the shack.”
After a brief standoff, we all left Elcia’s house at once.
