Savage Forest - Chapter 68
Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi
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Chapter 68
When he no longer answered or responded, her voice soon disappeared as if it had been a fleeting illusion.
Both of them silently kept their mouths shut as if nothing had just happened. It had to be that way. They didn’t know what would happen if they moved even a little, if they made even the slightest sound or if the air at this moment was broken…
Tarhan spent the night like that, unable to sleep even a wink.
At first light, he greeted another day with her in the awkward air. It seemed like she hadn’t slept a wink either, and her little white face was slightly shadowed as she stood up and rewrapped the bandage around her leg.
When he saw that, his heart felt painfully tight as though it had been cruelly crushed.
Even though he hurried outside to avoid her, as soon as he went outside, a commotion broke out.
“There you are. Follow me…!”
A number of unseen soldiers were surrounding the makeshift hut where they lived.
‘Sh*t.’
He cursed inside.
They clearly seemed like Aquilea’s patrol unit. Well, since he caused such a commotion yesterday, it was surprising that they didn’t just storm in last night and take him away.
Before he was captured and beaten until dead, he was worried that she would be surprised. He was chewing on his teeth, trying to figure out how to get out of their clutches without causing as much trouble as possible.
But sure enough.
Enya, who was inside with a bandage on her leg, heard the sound and came out to the entrance. Her frightened eyes stopped breathing as she looked at the soldiers surrounding him.
“I’m going to the village, so don’t move and wait here, okay?”
Tarhan shouted at her, surrounded by the soldiers who pushed him away, thrusting the pointed spear points into his waist.
Her face was not visible among her soldiers.
“Don’t move a single step from here…!”
He begged her to do so and did not stop shouting even as they grabbed him by the arms and dragged him away.
“You are Tarhan.”
Tarhan did not withdraw his challenging gaze in front of his man, who was emitting a breathtakingly strong aura. He could feel the countless soldiers surrounding him, looking down at him and exchanging glances with each other as if snorting.
Kahanti’s eyes were sparkling with interest as he looked down at Tarhan.
“…You seem to be as stubborn as I heard. They say you’re like a wild dog, and you really don’t seem to let go once you bite.”
Kahanti, the chieftain of Aquilea, sat at an angle on his chaise longue and struck two of his fingers, making a clicking sound. At the same time, two women standing next to him holding swaying fans fed grapes from a silver tray into his mouth.
His hands naturally groped their butt and breasts.
“The arm was bent so that it was almost impossible to recover. So, you are the one who beat up my hunter real good last night.”
“…So, what should I do? I’ll pay the price. I have to go to work right away. Please explain why you called me.”
Tarhan knelt in front of him, chewing his teeth with his cheek on the floor.
He thought he was going to be dragged to the mat and start being whipped right away, but he was still half astonished by unexpectedly seeing the highest leader of Aquilea. He had not learned anything, so the words he spoke and what he heard were only coarse things.
Kahanti, who saw this, began to chuckle softly.
“I can’t tell whether you’re curious or ridiculous.”
As he waved his hand back, the voluptuous women sitting next to him walked away, tightening up their slightly loose clothes.
“… I’m sure you’re suitable for testing as the new bait.”
Kahanti watched them leave with satisfaction and continued.
New bait.
Even though Tarhan knew what this meant, he glared at him without giving up his evil gaze.
“I want to place a condition on you. My favorite chief hunter lost his arm to the point where he couldn’t even use his hand just because he tried to talk to that girl, so of course, you have to fill that empty spot.”
The chieftain of Aguilea slowly stood up from his seat. Tarhan, who saw traces of wounds melted all over his body like medals, felt his stomach twist like a dispirited mutt.
The best among excellent hunters. The pinnacle of power within the tribe.
Still, Tarhan couldn’t show that he was scared. In his shallow pride, he gritted his teeth and watched Kahanti with wide eyes.
Funny enough, it seemed like Kahanti was very satisfied with that.
“I heard you’ve been carving the bones of monsters for a long time, so you definitely don’t show any rejection even in front of a hunter like me.”
What did he mean by rejection?
He frowned at the word he had never heard before. At the same time, he wanted to get away from Kahanti, who was talking incomprehensibly to him and go back to her. He wanted to go to her and comfort her, who would be shocked and reassure her that nothing would happen.
In front of him, who was chewing his teeth, Kahanti was flexibly bending over to emphasize his huge body and faced him.
“Join my hunting party, Tarhan.”
Tarhan didn’t even blink at the shocking suggestion. Although he was quite surprised on the inside, he didn’t want to show it.
Kahanti giggled, showing that he was pleased with it even more.
“If you do something wrong, there is only one place left where you can die. Of course, if you succeed, I promise you a considerable amount of compensation every time.”
“…I refuse.”
Even with that answer, Kahanti did not let go of the smile on his face. He looked like he had expected it. Tarhan became even more angry because he couldn’t figure out what the grumpy old chieftain’s plan was.
“…It would be better if you hit me. This life… suits me.”
It was a lie, but Tarhan would not swing his life around like a fly under the enemy who labeled him as the blood of a ruined country, even if he died.
Kahanti scratched his chin, stroked his beard, and opened his mouth as if waiting for an answer.
“Oh, that girl seems to have trouble with her legs… I will also promise you a hut worth living in in the Aquilea village.”
As soon as that was mentioned out of his mouth, a strange feeling suddenly occurred in him. Like his intestines were twisted and his brain was reeling. Tarhan helplessly exposed his twitching facial muscles to Kahanti as he was stepped on by one of the soldiers.
“…A hut in the village?”
“Yes. Of course, it’s not new. I will allow you and that woman to have a coming-of-age ceremony as well.”
Kahanti murmured, lifting Tarhan’s chin, which was still down on the floor, with a generous smile as if he were a merchant who had promised a huge reward.
“Think about it and give me an answer. You know that this opportunity will never happen again.”
There was no beating as expected.
He was taken to the village in that way and returned in good condition, trudging along as if he had been dreaming.
Then, he saw a familiar figure wandering anxiously in the field where the entrance to the empty field began.
Sure enough, as soon as she saw him, she started running towards him with a limp.
“Tarhan…!”
Afraid that she might fall, he ran too.
The two bodies that had been separated came together again as one. Her eyes widened as she checked his intact body while holding his forearm. Tarhan only brushed the delicate flesh of her elbow once before quickly dropping his hand.
He didn’t make eye contact. Still, he felt her clinging to him.
As she was trembling, her fingers reached up and began desperately stroking his cheeks and the corners of his eyes.
“Where are you hurt…?”
Only a crude sound came out.
“I’m fine. Rather, why did you come all the way here? I told you to stay still and wait at home.”
She dragged her sore legs all the way here and wandered around aimlessly. At the same time, as he looked at her face, Kahanti’s promised words came to mind.
A hut in Aquilea.
His jaw automatically tightened as he imagined a home that would be more cozy than the temporary huts of the poor.
“Let’s go back.”
As he held her palm and walked home, he felt her quickly limping on his side.
At the same time, her gaze was constantly glued to various parts of his body, checking for any injuries. A familiar feeling of frustration washed over him as she staggered to catch up with his steps, clutching his arm with both hands.
With a seething sigh, he stopped and picked her up.
Sure enough, she was at a loss for what to do, and with a red face that looked like she was about to cry, she hurriedly waved his hand away.
“You must be tired… I can walk. Put me down!”
He gritted his teeth.
Every time she was worried about whether she would harm him, his heart ached desperately. Every time she felt sorry for him in one way or another, it seemed like his inability to fully care for her and protect her was proven.
“It’s because it bothers me to see you limping.”
A blush spread from her face to the back of her neck at those words. It was also upsetting to see her closing her eyes tightly and not being able to take a single breath as she tried not to disturb him as he trudged along.
His insides were burning again, but he was afraid that if he opened his mouth, that same sound would come out again, so he closed it again.
That’s okay. I don’t even feel the weight.
Even if he had to hold her and walk his whole life like this, he would do it.
After arriving, he could see the shabby house more clearly than usual. As he carefully set her down, he glared disapprovingly at the worn-out floor and the cramped, ungainly interior of the room.
She swept and mopped so much that the polished stone floor looked like the worn bones of her knees. As soon as his eyes fell on the dried flowers she had hung in her narrow kitchen, which was less than two steps away, he felt so miserable that he had left her in this place all this time.
Despite this environment, the house did not have an unpleasant or musty smell.
The hands reaching all over the place were proof of her diligence. Then, suddenly, a bunch of grass lined up in the kitchen caught his eye.
When he saw it, it seemed like a light flashed on in his eyes.
Enya hurriedly crawled over, swept it up with her arm, and put it back in the basket. The tip of her nose twitched with anxiety as she looked up at him.
“…Have you been to that old woman’s house again?”
He opened his mouth, trying to control his anger as much as possible.
He was about to get angry at the gesture of her holding the basket and gently pushing it backwards, but he held it back.
“It’s no big deal… These are all herbs that I can use. The Old Lady took care of me…”
Old Lady Piache entrusted Enya with some work and gave her herbal medicine in return for it.
He couldn’t bear the thought of her limping all the way there while he was away. Even the gleaming tent of the chieftain who welcomed him seemed brighter than the cramped cavern in which they lived.
Tarhan made up his mind.
He already knew the answer a long time ago. When he thought about how she walked across these dangerous fields every day to help make a living in one way or another, he couldn’t leave her in this place even for a moment.
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