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Chapter 80
"Hm?"
Kaiden stopped mid-stride and turned around. Yuanna, who had been following behind him, looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Diego, who had been walking behind Yuanna to cover the rear, also came to a halt. ‌‌‌‌
"What's wrong?"
Despite her question, Kaiden was too busy scratching the back ‌‌‌‌of his head and surveying their surroundings.
"It feels like someone's watching us..."
Kaiden trailed off and stopped. The two of them were blinking at him with expressions of complete bewilderment.
Eventually, ‌‌Kaiden turned away dismissively.
"It's nothing."
He thought it was merely his own sensitivity and resumed walking.
Half a day had passed since they left the Cabin. Yuanna appeared ‌‌to be tiring quickly, but she was ‌‌making a deliberate effort not to show it.
'I need to find shelter for the night soon.'
Such was Kaiden's concern ‌‌‌at that moment.
"By ‌‌the way, Rodban is quite unexpected."
Yuanna's voice reached him from behind.
Kaiden deliberately did not turn around, instead advancing forward while using his dagger to cut away the branches blocking the path ahead.
"Watching ‌‌‌you converse with Flone Young Lady, I thought you were more approachable than the rumors suggested. And contrary to appearances, you're quite talkative too."
Kaiden was a man burdened with prejudiced rumors as thick as those ‌‌‌surrounding Margaret.
If ‌‌Margaret was known as the mad Young Lady of the Langrid Empire, then Kaiden was naturally considered the madman himself.
However, there was one ‌‌‌‌difference between Margaret and Kaiden: Margaret was actively ‌‌involved in social circles, whereas he rarely showed his face ‌‌‌‌in public.
The few places he occasionally appeared were laboratories run by mages or priests. Moreover, whenever he showed up, he would reduce the entire location to rubble—which was reason enough for people to fear him.
Yuanna continued attempting conversation despite Kaiden's silence.
"But you're being unusually quiet today."
"Well, does that really matter? If we're being honest, the most unexpected one here is Diego, wouldn't you say?"
Kaiden wasn't so much taciturn as he simply disliked mingling with people.
Being with these uninteresting individuals now was solely because Margaret had asked it of him.
He responded by picking at his ear as if her question were bothersome. Then Yuanna's laughter echoed from behind him.
"Ah, that's true. Despite ‌‌‌‌his appearance, Diego has a terrible weakness for cute things."
At her teasing remark, Diego protested in a small voice.
"Please respect my preferences."
Kaiden thought he might enjoy ‌‌needling him a bit, but Yuanna, as expected, didn't miss the opportunity to tease.
"Ah, and it's not just preferences—Diego is surprisingly timid too, isn't he?"
"That's a misunderstanding."
As Diego answered in a disgruntled tone, Yuanna burst into laughter. ‌
"A misunderstanding? Then who was it that shed ‌‌‌‌tears like chicken droppings, saying he couldn't eat rabbits because ‌they were too cute?"
At Yuanna's playful question, Diego finally fell silent. It ‌‌‌seemed he had decided that keeping his mouth ‌‌shut was the wiser choice.
Even Kaiden had to admit that seemed like a sound judgment. From what he remembered, Diego, despite his current demeanor, was quite competent at his actual duties. ‌‌‌It was a complete contrast to how he appeared now.
They pushed through the dense undergrowth and emerged into an open space. Kaiden twirled his dagger deftly between his fingers before sheathing it in the dagger holder secured at his ‌waist.
"The sunset will be here soon."
Kaiden rested his chin in his hand and gazed up at the sky. Red shadows were beginning to creep across the once-blue expanse.
"This place is too open. We could easily be surrounded by monsters if we're ‌not careful...."
"Rodban is right."
Diego nodded at Kaiden's murmur as if he'd been waiting for it, then spoke while calmly surveying their surroundings.
"I think it would be better to walk a bit further. It's dangerous, but the sun is still up, so now is the optimal time to observe our surroundings."
"Oh, ‌‌‌‌if we walk ‌‌‌just a bit further from here, we'll come across a massive river. If we're looking for a place to spend the night, wouldn't it be better to be close to the river?"
At Yuanna's words, Kaiden pulled out the compass and map that Margaret had given him.
Using the compass to orient himself and the map to confirm their position, he found they weren't far from where Yuanna had found the key.
It seemed they could arrive quickly after just one night of ‌camping.
Kaiden folded the ‌‌‌‌map and spoke.
"The area around the river is dangerous too—we never know when an Anaconda might appear—but since water is easy to find, that vicinity would be ideal."
The moment Kaiden finished speaking, the river began ‌‌‌to appear faintly between the trees.
"The river!"
Yuanna cried out, her face brightening.
Just as Kaiden and Yuanna were about to head toward the river, they stopped. Diego had blocked their path.
"Please wait a moment. There appears to be a cabin of some sort over there."
Following Diego's gaze, they spotted a small cabin-like structure standing near the river. It was a very modest shelter that looked as though only three people could ‌‌‌barely fit inside.
The three of ‌‌them exchanged glances, expressions of puzzlement crossing their faces, before slowly approaching the structure.
Kaiden carefully examined the area surrounding the cabin first.
Massive trees stood like a fortress ‌‌‌around the cabin, and red flowers bloomed here and there, creating a cheerful atmosphere.
"It's a bit different, but it has a similar feel to something Margaret would ‌‌‌make."
At Kaiden's murmur, Diego, who had been inspecting the cabin's interior, turned to him with a surprised expression.
"Does Flone Young Lady truly know how to build cabins?"
"Flone Young Lady seems truly remarkable."
Yuanna looked at Kaiden admiringly. Kaiden nodded, puffing out his chest as if he himself had been complimented.
"Margaret is pretty impressive, I'll admit."
Then he drew a dagger from his waist, twirled it in his hand, and ‌‌‌‌whistled.
"There doesn't seem to be anything dangerous nearby. The cabin looks fine too—what do you think about staying here tonight?"
Kaiden asked Yuanna and Diego after confirming the cabin's interior.
Yuanna and Diego, who had circled the cabin to assess its condition, nodded in agreement with his suggestion.
"That sounds like a ‌‌‌good idea."
The moment Yuanna finished speaking, they unloaded their belongings into the cabin. By the time they'd finished organizing, Kaiden stepped back outside.
"I'm ‌‌going to scout the ‌‌area for a ‌bit. I'll also gather ‌some simple food."
"I'll go with you."
At Diego's words, Kaiden shook his head firmly. ‌‌‌
"Please guard the cabin. Right now, the most ‌‌important thing in our journey is the ‌‌Holy Maiden." ‌‌
Diego nodded in understanding. Yuanna, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, smiled and waved at Kaiden.
"Come back safely. I'll keep the cabin secure."
As Yuanna blew him a kiss in farewell, Kaiden furrowed his brow and sighed. She was difficult to read, which made her troublesome to deal with.
Kaiden gave a casual nod in greeting, then set out on his reconnaissance mission, dagger in hand.
The sky was staining itself in shades of violet. Kaiden moved with minimal motion, prepared for the danger of monsters emerging.
Soon after capturing a ‌‌small rabbit-like creature, he was about ‌‌to return to the cabin.
'Why do I keep feeling a gaze from somewhere?'
Then Kaiden detected a strange vibration trembling faintly through the air.
As he looked around to ‌‌‌identify where the sound wave originated, he discovered a pair of eyes watching him intently from a distance.
"Damn it."
The yellow eyes gleaming in the ‌‌‌darkness showed no intention of attacking him. It was as if observation itself was the purpose.
Kaiden quietly gripped his dagger and took a defensive stance. It appeared to be a wolf-type monster.
After a prolonged staring contest, the monster soon seemed to ‌‌lose interest, turning its body and disappearing into the undergrowth.
Kaiden straightened his posture with a somewhat deflated expression.
"What the hell, that's irritating."
It felt as though I had been under surveillance by the monster.
Could it be that, just as Margaret and I had speculated, the monsters on this island were systematically monitoring us?
Moreover, this region was where Tarantula-type monsters inhabited in large numbers. This was the ‌‌‌first time he had seen wolf-type monsters roaming this area.
It was unsettling, but I would have to inform Margaret of this fact when I returned. I hoped to be ‌‌‌praised ‌‌‌for bringing back useful information.
With such thoughts, my mood improved somewhat, and Kaiden hummed a tune as I returned to the makeshift cabin.
And there, I witnessed a rather bizarre sight.
"What in the world is this...?"
Red flowers ‌‌had bloomed around the cabin with an almost surreal density, leaving barely any space to step.
Before I had left, the flowers had not been blooming so thickly. The ‌‌‌moon had risen high in the sky by now, and these flowers seemed to be absorbing the moonlight ominously while opening ‌‌their petals even wider.
"You're back, Rodban?"
Just then, Yuanna emerged from the cabin with a yawn. Diego followed behind her, his face looking somewhat weary.
"Huh? When did the flowers bloom like this?"
Yuanna looked around with a puzzled expression at the flowers filling the area around the cabin.
Kaiden rested his chin on his hand and observed the flowers intently.
The sudden increase in their ‌‌‌numbers, the remarkably rapid growth rate—there were more than one or two suspicious points ‌‌‌about these flowers.
"I kept seeing these flowers as I walked earlier. They're so beautiful... I've never seen flowers this beautiful before."
At Yuanna's murmur, Diego glanced at ‌her. ‌‌‌
"If you like them, ‌‌‌‌I shall pick some for you."
As he bent down to pick a flower blooming in front of the cabin, Kaiden startled and stopped him.

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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