Chapter 237 – The Baobab Tree (1)

-Gorolong.

“Heh, heh heh, heh.”

Humming a tune, they don a coat and sit atop the two individuals lying in their sleeping bags.

A flick to the foreheads of the slumbering Tae-yang and Aori.
Striking with as much force as possible to create a loud sound, a crisp noise echoes through the early morning air.

-Whack!

“Yikes!”
“Ugh!”

Having talked late into the night, the pair had overslept. Lee Hyang giggles as she watches the two roll on the ground, clutching their foreheads.

“But do you really not need to sleep?”
“Yeah.”

Thanks to their special ability, they don’t need to sleep, which can be convenient at times like this. Of course, because of this, when they actually want to sleep, they can’t, driving them to the brink of insanity. In such cases, they either drink or use magic.

However, Lee Hyang furrows her brow, seemingly worried.

“Still, you should sleep at least for one night.”

“Don’t worry about trivial things. Wake both of them up.”

– Swish.

After extinguishing the fire to ward off mosquitoes and preparing to move, Lee Hyang shook Aori to wake her up.

“Both of you should learn from this one. Waking up early at dawn and getting everything ready to go.”
“…What time is it now, brother?”
“How would I know that?”
“We slept too late last night.”

Rubbing his eyes and getting up, Tae-yang grumbled.

“If only you hadn’t been so excited yesterday, talking about yourself for four hours…”
“What are you saying?”

I had indeed talked for quite a while. That was partly because I had so many noteworthy experiences since coming to this other world.

“Initially, you two kept intervening whenever there was a chance.”
“…Ugh.”

If we tried to move on from the story, why didn’t you make a move?

– Oh, brother… that would have been way over the line. Confessing there, ah… seriously.
– The woman is a Bodhisattva, after all.
– Wow! I knew you’d be indecisive just by looking at you, but I didn’t expect it to be that bad!

When I recounted the tale of my abduction in a dungeon filled with hundreds of trees attempting to violate me, he was shocked and asked why I hadn’t chosen to live there.

I tried to avoid discussing my past experiences or the previous world as much as possible. However, some parts required explanation, so I informed him that I had come from another world.

-Being violated by trees… a world without common sense? Don’t speak nonsense about forgetting ghosts!
-I’m scared. There’s no way such a world could exist!

Shivering.

-Crazy people.

The reaction was positive, so the story ended up being a little longer than intended. Tae-yang appeared as if he were turning back the dawn of the day, gazing at the sky with a dazed expression. Then, he stared intently at my face and, as if still filled with resentment, shouted at me in disbelief.

“…No matter the circumstances, it wasn’t very manly not to lay a hand on your teachers.”
“What?”

“They seem to really like you. I heard you even lived together at one point. Isn’t it inappropriate for the Grand Alliance?”
“Shut up and get up.”
“Alright.”

Tae-yang gets up and starts to dress himself.

“Sometimes there are trees that want to be struck down first.”
“Say that one more time.”
“…Taking things slowly might not be so bad. Ong-ba-ong, Ong-i, bye-ong-i.”

– Thump!

As Tae-yang gets up, Aori also rises from her sleeping bag, wriggling like a caterpillar.
Luckily, they had brought both sleeping bags from the dungeon.

“Your Majesty.”
“Yes?”
“I felt sorry for White Peach.”

Don’t say such absurd things.
As I was about to raise my hand, Aori quickly stood up and began to tidy her hair.

It seems a raised hand is necessary for her to listen.

They just met yesterday, yet their attitudes are like that of close siblings.

I cannot be mistaken since I am older in terms of age. When I arrived in this world, I was forcibly turned into a 20-year-old. The two of them are aware of this.

“Let’s get going.”

As the preparations came to an end, I was the first to lift my feet off the ground. Casting a purification spell to cleanse my body, the dust and dirt fell away.

I removed the artifact from my backpack and checked Sansuyu’s location.

[→]

She was still to the east.

* * * * * * * *

“How about giving up soon?”
“…Huh.”

The standoff continued, and the number of cameras had grown to dozens. They were all focused on just two people through their lenses.

“Why are you so intent on finding Lee Si-heon?”
“I told you, it’s a personal matter.”
“…Can you defeat him?”
“Huh. It’s just one person, after all.”

Camera lenses casting light on them from various angles.

[Jiing?]

Gu-seul spoke, as if incredulous.

“It must be hard to fight him and win.”
“Well, he is a wizard.”
“Wizard? What are you talking about? That’s not his specialty.”

It seems there’s a misunderstanding somewhere. Lee Si-heon is not a wizard. Gu-seul said to her, slowly loosening her tingling wrists.

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

He wiped the sweat droplets from the tip of his chin. Baobab, seeing this, chuckled as if he found it absurd.

He can’t manage to defeat his opponent by a hair’s breadth.
Baobab knows this too.
Who could this guy belong to? That fleeting thought crossed his mind. Baobab gripped the back of his neck with the gauntlet on his arm.

– Crack!

The sound of neck bones shifting. Savoring the dizzying pain, he returned his neck to its original state.
Before they knew it, Baobab’s 2-meter tall body began to show signs of moving towards Gu-seul.
The corners of her mouth tore grotesquely.

“Khh.”

Breath escapes through sharp teeth, a glint of devious intent flickering between the eyes.

Head bent low, a surge of magical power swells above the wing bones. No matter how tirelessly it is drained, the magic refuses to fade. Bao’s body, enveloped in an unyielding aura, withstands every attack thrown his way.

As a cold wind blows, Gu-seul bites her lip.

‘Why must I endure such hardships all because of Lee Si-heon?’

Arms, legs, every limb honed into razor-sharp weapons. Gu-seul’s hand clenches, slick with sweat. She can’t muster her full strength here.

As Bao takes a step forward, Gu-seul retreats. The boundless forest, with trees and leaves entangled in chaotic disarray, obscures their direction.

She steadies her breath, extending the bow in her hand. Chewing the magical pill concealed within her mouth, she wraps her body in an embrace of arcane energy.

“Huh-“

The trees in the forest tremble violently, torn asunder.

The wind blows, causing the leaves and branches to bend in a single direction.

A colossal tree surges forward.

Simultaneously, various forms of magic erupt around Gu-seul.

Flaming arrows, waves, earthquakes, and countless trap spells. The baobab tree, Baobab, shatters and charges without considering evasion, confronting each spell head-on. Instead, the more magic he encounters, the larger he grows.

The movement of his adversary’s muscles is visible in great detail upon the sinuous body, now larger than the tree’s trunk itself. The protruding tendons on his skin wriggle, and a fierce intensity emanates from the widened pupils.

*Bang!*

A sudden wave of air.

Dodging the fist results in a fissure forming in the ground beneath it, as if to prove that being hit by such an attack would reduce one to a bloody pulp.

Gu-seul abandons any shallow counterattacks, focusing on creating distance instead.

“…Damn.”

Gu-seul retrieves an azure, shimmering object from her bosom. She checks the cameras around her. The cameras, unable to keep up with her movements, have not yet captured her image.

Now is the time.

She pulled the trigger of the artifact she had drawn.

– Taang!

A firing sound. A burst of light, like a downpour of lightning, struck Bao’s shoulder. A straight line of blue-hued magic erupted.

– Tarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

A submachine gun. A countless rain of bullets pierced Bao, as if enveloping his body. It wasn’t even used for capturing monsters, but seeing Bao endure unscathed, a smirk spread across her lips.

An emptied magazine in an instant.

Bao, who had crouched down once, raised his head and examined his body.

“Hmm…”

Blood spurted from his thigh, which had been pierced through by the powerful shot. Was an artery severed?

The bead that had fallen to the ground transformed into a smaller gun shape, ensuring the camera couldn’t capture it, and she tucked it away.

“You handle interesting things.”

She didn’t even blink. However, it was true that the recoil had affected her body.

Creaking knees. But they would heal soon enough.

Having verified this, Gu-seul silently took a step back.

‘Now’s my chance.’

If I strike once and flee, I’ll have won, at least for the moment. That’s just how life is. She had used up the precious artifact she had been trying to conserve, leaving her pride wounded, but she couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Gu-seul, her entire body enveloped in magical energy, weaved through the gaps between the trees, making her escape.

Thanks to a bullet lodged in his vital spot, Baobab couldn’t manage to catch up to Gu-seul.

“*Pant, pant*.”

Stopping midway, Gu-seul wiped her sweat and rummaged through her possessions. She glanced behind her; Baobab hadn’t pursued her. Contrary to the burning competitive spirit she had felt earlier, he had given up sooner than she had anticipated.

How can someone fight all day long? Don’t they ever tire?

“If I had used my powers from the start and just charged in… I might have been eliminated if I slipped up. Just how much magical energy do you possess?”

She searched her backpack, taking a sip of water, and continued rummaging through her belongings for quite some time.

“Huh?”

Feeling a sense of emptiness, Gu-seul searched every corner of her body with both hands.
Not inside the vest.
Nor in the pockets.
Within the bandage-wrapped chest? It was unlikely she would have stored it there.
Could she have placed it in her backpack? She reached deep inside and stirred. Still, nothing.

An artifact that allowed tracking the location of one of the participants in the Forest Keeper Selection Trials.

“Darn it…”

Gu-seul pressed her fingers against her brow.

She had been tricked.

* * * * * * * *

“Brother.”

With an emotional expression, Tae-yang gazed at Hae-nul.
His eyes were luminous and deer-like, filled with sorrow, as if he could burst into tears at any moment.

“Why?”

As Hae-nul led the way through the forest, she asked him. Tae-yang lowered his head sadly and murmured.

“Upon reconsideration… I believe it would be best for you to meet with the Master as soon as possible.”
“Insane.”

– Tap, tap.

“Your Majesty.”
“What? Why are you here again?”
“Please also… take care of Teacher Ddabok.”

Why do these two keep acting like this?

“If you lose someone precious to you, you’ll be filled with immense sorrow.”

My face hardened at Aori’s words.

I’m not oblivious to the meaning.
Heaven, White Peach, and Zodiac. The three of them, born with such unfortunate pasts, deserve to live happier lives from now on.
I’m prepared to take action on their behalf whenever necessary.
I could even go as far as sacrificing my liver or gallbladder for them.

“Aori.”
“Yes?”
“You lot have no boundaries.”

However, this is a different matter from men and women sharing a bed.

I’ve been mistaken for far too long.

Consolation equals sex. Reward equals sex.
These two seem to relate everything to rice cake.

Even the two people, Tae-yang and Aori, who are talking about me, don’t harbor any romantic feelings towards me.

Heaven is a wonderful person. I’ll never meet someone like her again in my life.
I plan to follow her as a teacher until the day I die.

White Peach, though our first meeting was far from ideal, has become an irreplaceable close friend.
Despite some mishaps, we share a strong bond of trust.

But will this relationship evolve into something romantic?
I should think about it realistically.

“Brother,”

Tae-yang, having listened to my story, asserted firmly.

“There are no friends between men and women.”
“What about you and Aori?”
“She’s not a friend but a nemesis. I despise rags.”

I glance at Aori. Judging by her nodding, she seems to wholeheartedly agree with Tae-yang’s words.

“Anyway… If you can’t trust our words, why don’t you just close your eyes and confess your love?”
“Do you want me to suddenly confess my love? To my teacher?”

“If the reaction isn’t favorable, you can always claim it was a joke.”

What kind of response is that?

Tae-yang, pounding his chest as if imploring me to trust him just this once, exuded an inexplicable confidence. I rested my hand on my chin and contemplated.

Am I really going to confess to those people?

“I must admit, I’m curious about their reaction.”
“Right?”

If there’s a chance to meet them later, I’ll give it a try. Of course, that’s a story for another time.

I continued to move my hand.