What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 517

#517

Dragon King’s Onward March! (3)

“Catch that thief!”

“Thief, thief!”

“It’s a thief!”

The spruce forest was still more than twenty steps away.

-Swish, swish, swish, swish!

“Huuuuh…”

Alain squeezed her eyes shut and tumbled onto the dirt floor.

She covered her head with her arms and bent her knees as far as she could, pressing them to her chest.

‘Whoosh!’ The cotton-padded coat scraped against the ice and gravel, tearing a long gash in it.

Hot tears streamed down, soaking her cheeks.

Her back, curled into a crescent shape, trembled before the terrifying force.

Alain just wanted to live happily.

With her beloved niece, in peace and harmony where no one was sick.

In the summer, they would gather herbs together, and in the winter, they would sit side by side baking cookies.

Even if they weren’t rich, just healthy.

Was that such an excessive wish?

-Thud, thud, thud!

“Sniff, ugh…”

So, was she going to die in a place like this?

For daring to be so greedy before the divine being.

-Pat, pat, pat!

“Ugh, uh…”

She choked back her sobs, barely managing to stifle the sounds of crying.

And only after a few seconds had passed…

“Sniff… Huh…?”

…did she realize that she was still alive. Her innocent eyes widened.

Alain carefully lowered her arms and moved her gaze.

She hadn’t been hit by any of the arrows flying at her, but she felt that if she moved even slightly, something terrible would happen.

Her frightened lips trembled, and her eyes were still brimming with tears.

She forgot even to breathe as she looked around the thicket of shrubs.

The white snow around her, frozen solid, sparkled like jewels in the midday sun.

Though she had never seen jewels in her life.

“Gasp, hah…”

However, an even more surreal event than holding jewels in her hands was unfolding right before her eyes.

The young woman didn’t know if this was a dream or reality, and her mouth hung open.

Clearly, dozens of arrows had rained down like a harpoon storm, but they were now lying a few feet away like discarded iron skewers.

It didn’t make sense.

She swore to the heavens that she had seen them flying towards her, but this was impossible.

“H-How…?”

Could this also be a trap set by the lord, or that robed fellow? Her heart pounded.

Come to think of it, she thought she had heard something falling a little while ago.

Could that have been those arrows?

“…She must be dead! Find the body and bring it back!”

“Yes, sir!”

Flinch! Alain was startled and quickly got to her feet.

The clanging footsteps of mercenaries echoed from not far away.

She quickly looked around for a place to hide.

Fortunately, there was a large fir tree nearby, its roots clutching a rock.

Icicles hung down like curtains from the slanted rock below, creating a secret space.

It was truly a stroke of luck. The young woman ran as fast as she could without hesitation.

Having survived a near-death experience, courage welled up within her. Thump, thump, thump!

“Hah, cough. Hah…!”

No sooner had she hidden under the rock than mercenaries in armor and helmets emerged from beyond the bushes. Gasp!

“What’s this? Why are all the arrows here?”

“You bastards! Can’t even shoot an arrow properly? Huh? Is everything you eat just going out as shit?”

“We’re sorry!”

“Useless bastards…”

“Hey! You guys go into the forest, deeper inside!”

“Y-Yes, sir?”

Fortunately, Alain was wearing dark clothes today.

It was because she had received orders from her superiors to act like a butcher [someone who works with meat].

Her hair color was also similar to the color of winter trees, so it didn’t stand out. She now held her breath, ready to die.

Because someone might find her if they saw her white breath.

If this was the last chance given to her by the divine being, she was determined not to let it go, even if her fingernails were torn off.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries rummaged around, continuing their conversation. ‘Rustle, rustle!’

“The forest, the forest?”

“Yeah, the four of you go. As long as you come out before sunset, there won’t be any problems.”

“But, but there’s a magic stone cave here…”

“Hey! There’s a magic stone cave, but there aren’t any monsters, so stop whining!”

“Still, Captain. Even the higher-ups don’t usually come here.”

“Don’t look so grim and go in. Anyway, the runaway couldn’t have gone far.”

“She’s probably collapsed and dying somewhere after being hit by an arrow. Animals always hide when they’re about to die. If we just see a trail of blood, finding the body will be easy.”

“We have to find her and kill her no matter what. Because she’s a traitor.”

“…”

They were all talking about her.

Alain clenched her reddened fists tightly and endured and endured.

No matter how close they came, she didn’t let out a single groan.

How much time had passed?

-Rustle, rustle!

Finally, a miraculous thing happened.

“…Damn it, there’s not even an esprit’s ball here [a source of magical energy]. Move out!”

“Yes, sir!”

When the mercenary captain spoke in a gruff voice, the subordinates answered immediately and scattered.

The search party, looking deathly pale, was also seen entering the spruce forest.

Alain mouthed the words as she watched their backs.

She remembered the words of the village elders, who had repeatedly warned her not to enter the forest carelessly, saying that there was a cave that you could never get out of once you entered.

But ‘magic stone cave’? She was hearing that story for the first time…

-Kiri, kiri, kiri…

As if they were quite far away, the sparrowhawks, who had been silent with her until now, began to cry loudly.

Alain remained crouched and motionless for over an hour.

She needed to run away to a safer place quickly, but she was too scared and nervous, and her mind wasn’t working properly.

In fact, she doubted whether there was a ‘safer place’ in Atsuma.

Even if she returned home safely…

“Gasp, Brandi.”

Clang! It felt like she had been hit in the back of the head with a hammer.

Good heavens, Brandi! Her eight-year-old niece would be home alone!

“I’m crazy, Alain. I’m crazy, crazy, crazy…!”

Alain turned pale and hurriedly crawled out from under the rock.

She had been so blinded by the desire to live that she had completely forgotten about her beloved family and the village neighbors who took care of her.

Perhaps everyone would suffer because of her alone.

She would rather be beaten to death alone than imagine such a terrible situation.

Her stomach churned with the feeling of her heart plummeting to her heels.

She felt like she was going to vomit at any moment. Stupid, foolish Alain!

“Brandi, my baby. Brandi…!”

At that moment.

-Thud

In front of Alain, who was crawling out with her whole body, two neat boots stopped.

The woman couldn’t even scream, couldn’t even dare to lift her head, and her chin trembled.

The tears that had been quiet until now began to pour down like a harsh winter rain.

Ah…

“Ah, ah… Please, save, save me…”

“Are you alright, ma’am?”

However, a voice as soft as cotton returned instead of a blade. She couldn’t believe it.

Alain blankly raised her head. Was she finally hearing things?

Because she was about to die?

“Oh my, you’re bleeding from your forehead… Let me take a look. It looks like you’re bleeding a lot.”

“…”

The man, quickly lowering his gaze, took out a clean cloth and a medicine bottle from the bag he was carrying on his side.

In an instant, Alain thought that she might already be dead.

She had never seen such a beautiful person in her life, and he didn’t even look like a commoner.

Under the fluffy monster fur hood, fine brown hair swayed, and beneath the shining glasses were rare pink eyes.

His white skin and soft fingertips were also dreamlike.

He smelled of spring wildflowers and the fresh scent of the summer sea at the same time, and she felt the depth of the autumn breeze and the warmth of the winter fireplace.

The quick yet elegant movements made her instinctively realize that he was a young master from a noble family.

“A-Angel… Angel…?”

He seemed to be shining.

“Yes, it seems you’ve had a thousand deaths and ten thousand lives [a very close call]. But fortunately, the wound isn’t deep.”

He carefully wiped Alain’s forehead with a medicine-soaked cloth, said that, and smiled softly.

His voice was also like silk.

“Your eyes aren’t hurt either. I think you were keeping them closed because blood got in.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Alain’s right eyelid open, and her vision widened further.

She hadn’t even realized that she was bleeding until now.

She must have been scratched by a tree root while hiding in the shade of the rock.

Now that she looked, there wasn’t just one angel.

Behind him, his companions were lined up on horses, and they had small animals like wrens and cats in their arms.

Old memories suddenly came to mind.

She had heard the priest say that when a person who had lived a good life went to the side of the divine being, an angel would come to greet them.

Alain blinked slowly.

I, I didn’t live a sinful life…

“Oh, I’m late for introductions. My name is Heineken.”

“…”

His kind eyes drew a crescent-like curve. Indeed, even angels had names.

Alain thought that if she asked this person, she might be able to see Brandi’s face one last time.

Because he must be hiding wings that could fly far away.

“I am the guild leader of the monster-specialized mercenary guild ‘Somaek.’ These people are all affiliated with Somaek. We didn’t approach you with bad intentions, so you can rest assured.”

“…Mercenary?”

At the word ‘mercenary,’ the young woman turned pale again.

For Alain, who had just been suffering from the fear of death, it was a stimulus that was hard to bear.

She was now in a state where logical thinking was impossible.

“Ack, ugh, hah…!”

“Oh my, ma’am! Ma’am!”

-Thud!

And so, Alain faced her ‘second death’ in front of the angel.

Of course, to Yeseo and her friends, it was a ‘fainting spell.’

I was trying to get through the spruce forest today, but of course, it couldn’t be that easy.

At least not for us.

-Crackle, crackle, crackle…

A large bonfire was diligently sharing its warmth with everyone.

I carefully spread medicine on Alain’s forehead—I found out because there was a name tag on her clothes.

It was a shame that I couldn’t use my healing powers right away.

Unlike Baren, Atsuma has paladins [holy warriors], so I was worried that if I used Aether [magical energy], I might be discovered and put in a difficult situation.

-Hoo, hoo-hoo…

Still, it wasn’t all bad, as we walked down into the ground from the edge of the forest and found a large and cozy cave.

It was a place found by our reliable protector, Ropi (“Nyaaao.” “I respect you, master of the great flower flame lion.”).

Originally, we were planning to stay at the guild meeting hall or the temple behind it, even if something happened…

“What was that during the day? A dozen mercenaries running after one thief.”

Thanks to witnessing the commotion, we had to temporarily stop our march.

Sir Johan, who went out on patrol, had not yet returned.

“A dozen?”

“Stella, it’s ‘a group.’ It’s a unit of counting twelve things together.”

The crown prince questioned the unfamiliar unit, and I immediately corrected Gain’s expression and added an explanation.

What’s a ‘dozen’ to a Korean protagonist?

“…It’s my first time seeing the meeting hall, but it’s certainly strange.”