Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 33

퓨쳐나이트 33

For several days, Jaina had been coming to the waterfall, throwing herself into it.

However, with her delicate body, it was impossible to withstand the water pressure from such a tremendous fall.

The extreme pain, as if her entire body was being beaten with a club, forced her to jump out within seconds when she first threw herself into the waterfall.

The pain transmitted from the waterfall was far more severe than she had imagined.

‘To think that Uncle has been doing this for years.’

She couldn’t help but feel genuine respect for Kang Chan, recalling him spending most of his days facing the waterfall.

Jaina gritted her teeth again and threw herself into the waterfall. There was only one reason she was pushing herself so hard.

She wanted to become stronger.

She suddenly felt that she and Kang Chan were being compared too much.

Even though she had started learning swordsmanship around the same time as Kang Chan, he had already become a Sword Expert who could handle mana, while she was still far from even understanding the basic movements of the Elven sword.

Feeling so compared to Kang Chan, Jaina decided to follow the path he had taken, wanting to catch up to him even a little.

That’s why she was throwing herself into the waterfall, not wanting to show her lacking self in front of him.

With such a determined mindset, Jaina threw herself into the waterfall day after day, and her physical condition was terrible.

Her body was covered in bruises, and her stamina was almost completely depleted.

The same training method as Kang Chan was absolutely impossible for her.

No, not just for her, but for any Elf. It was a brutal training method that only Kang Chan could do.

But still, Jaina continued to throw herself into the waterfall.

If she didn’t do this, she felt like she would be overwhelmed by self-loathing.

As Jaina was being hit by the waterfall, her mind was fading when Kang Chan came down from the sky on an air bike, making a loud noise.

“Jaina!”

Kang Chan jumped off the air bike and shouted Jaina’s name loudly. Jaina regained her senses at Kang Chan’s booming voice.

“Oh, Uncle?”

Kang Chan roughly pushed through the water and rushed to Jaina, grabbing her shoulders.

“What are you doing here?”

“…….”

Kang Chan picked Jaina up, took her out of the waterfall, and checked her condition.

He knew best how strong the waterfall’s drop was, so he was worried about Jaina’s condition.

He had a metabolism several times faster than others, but Jaina was just an ordinary girl.

As expected, Jaina’s shoulders were swollen and blue.

Her body, having lost its temperature, was as cold as ice, and her lips were turning blue.

In the midst of all this, Jaina opened her mouth with difficulty.

“W-why didn’t you come for a while?”

Kang Chan’s heart ached as he watched Jaina speak with a trembling voice, her teeth chattering.

“I had something to quietly train.”

“O-oh. I see.”

Kang Chan felt suffocated as he saw Jaina smiling even while shivering.

“Why are you doing such a foolish thing?”

“U-uncle did it too, so I can do it too.”

“Am I the same as you? I, I…….”

Kang Chan wanted to say that he was different from ordinary people, but he couldn’t bring himself to say that to Jaina. So, Kang Chan made an excuse.

“I’m a man.”

Jaina flared up at Kang Chan’s seemingly discriminatory remark.

“W-women can do it too!”

“Okay, I got it. So, stop it now.”

“N-no! What’s different between me and Uncle! I can become stronger too!”

Jaina suddenly started insisting on becoming stronger, and Kang Chan, who was embarrassed, lost his words for a moment and carefully began to persuade Jaina again.

“This isn’t a normal method. Enduring the waterfall was possible because it was me, and no one else can do it, not even you. So, let’s take care of your body first.”

“No! I don’t want to! I don’t want to show Uncle my lacking self anymore! Aaaah!”

Kang Chan was speechless and stood frozen like a넋이 나간 사람 [넋이 나간 사람 is a Korean expression that means someone who is in a daze or stunned] as he heard Jaina’s wailing.

He finally realized why Jaina had thrown herself into the waterfall that she had been so afraid of.

Jaina had always been by his side, taking care of him in every way and worrying about him, but he had been running forward without ever looking back at her.

He had never thought about what Jaina, who was always in the same place while he was growing so fast, had been thinking as she watched him.

Suddenly, Kang Chan’s heart ached.

And he felt so sorry.

For having only thought of himself and ignoring her.

Kang Chan couldn’t say anything and just hugged Jaina tightly.

Jaina, surprised by Kang Chan’s sudden embrace, struggled a little, but the more she struggled, the tighter Kang Chan hugged her. Soon, Jaina’s struggles gradually subsided, and she eventually leaned into Kang Chan’s arms and cried.

Jaina’s sobs, buried in the sound of the waterfall, echoed softly.

After a while, Kang Chan carefully stroked Jaina’s tear-stained cheeks and placed his lips on her small lips.

Jaina readily accepted Kang Chan’s kiss, and the two confirmed their love for each other under the waterfall for a long time.

After a dreamlike sweet time, Kang Chan hugged Jaina tightly once again and said.

“I will protect you forever. So, don’t push yourself, Jaina.”

Jaina’s pale face was now flushed like a peach.

“Okay.”

It was a confession 아닌 고백 [아닌 고백 is a Korean expression that means ‘not a confession’, implying it was more than just words], but Kang Chan conveyed his honest feelings to Jaina, and Jaina accepted Kang Chan’s heart.

From that day on, the two were no longer friends but lovers.

Kang Chan quickly lit a small bonfire to warm Jaina’s cold body.

The two sat around the small bonfire, clinging to each other and not wanting to be apart.

It was still a little awkward, so they hesitated to speak, but they both had happy smiles on their faces as if they were just happy.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yes! I’m fine now.”

“Your shoulders are badly bruised. Let’s go to a healer.”

“This is okay. I brought a potion from home. It will disappear if I apply it. Don’t worry too much.”

Jaina took out a glass bottle filled with red liquid from a bag made of silver grass, and Kang Chan took the potion, saying he would apply it for her.

Then, Jaina turned her back to Kang Chan and lowered the straps of her top below her shoulders.

At that moment, Kang Chan swallowed hard.

‘꿀꺽! [This is the sound of someone gulping.]’

Jaina looked particularly mature today.

Kang Chan, who was carefully applying the potion, asked Jaina.

“You seem to have grown a bit since I last saw you?”

Jaina, blushing and smiling shyly with the bonfire behind her, made Kang Chan lose his mind for a moment.

Jaina had definitely changed in just a few days.

Unlike humans, Elves take a long time, 100 years, to become adults.

However, instead of growing slowly and gradually over those 100 years, they had the characteristic of growing with their own will.

When they desperately wanted to grow, whether it was hatred or love, growth would begin little by little each time.

However, Elves who harbored too much hatred and resentment could grow into completely different forms.

Those were the Dark Elves.

According to the law, Elves who had turned into Dark Elves could not avoid death.

The black skin, stained with hatred and resentment, could never be turned back.

And the children of Dark Elves were also born as Dark Elves without exception.

The cursed bloodline was passed down forever.

Therefore, Elves were afraid that their noble Elven blood would be tainted, so they adhered to a hard-line policy of executing Elves who had turned into Dark Elves in order to preserve their race.

In order to preserve their lives, they had no choice but to hide underground, and the Elves called them Drow Elves and looked down on them greatly.

However, unlike them, Jaina, who was growing with love rather than hatred or resentment, was transforming from a child to a woman and becoming truly beautiful.

As time passed after applying the potion, Jaina’s dark bruises gradually disappeared, leaving only a few bumps.

Jaina, who had straightened her clothes, changed her posture towards Kang Chan and approached Kang Chan with a desperate look in her eyes.

“Uncle, I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

Kang Chan was willing to grant anything as long as it wasn’t a request to break up.

“I want to go to where Uncle lives.”

“……?”

Kang Chan, who was embarrassed, flinched for a moment.

“Why suddenly there?”

“No, I’m just curious about how Uncle lives there… and I’m also curious about what the giant ark that fell from the sky, which I’ve only heard about, looks like…”

Come to think of it, Jaina had always wanted to go there, but she couldn’t say it.

“That’s not difficult. Fortunately, I brought the air bike, so I’ll take you there in the blink of an eye.”

“Really? Thank you!”

Jaina suddenly ran and clung to Kang Chan’s neck, and Kang Chan’s face turned red again. He lifted Jaina, who was hugging him, up.

“Kyaa!”

Kang Chan carefully sat Jaina, who was hugging him, on the air bike and fastened her seat belt.

“Then I’ll start.”

“Okay!”

Kang Chan’s appearance on the air bike was quite different from when he had carried Zikyon.

The stiff posture looked like a textbook.

He was being very meticulous and delicate in driving the air bike, as if he was a beginner driver, worried that Jaina might fall or be surprised.

So, the two slowly flew towards the Red Mas.