Farewell to the hero! chapter 34

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I stared blankly at the tree, which looked sturdy enough to hold both of us.

“From up there, we won’t be able to see the goblins approaching the camp.”

“But we will be able to see the horses.”

Instead of explaining further, Kaindel turned his gaze to the right.

There, horses were tethered to the trees. In the mist, they appeared only as faint, shifting shadows.

It finally dawned on me why he wanted to climb the tree.

From the treetop, which was less affected by the mist, we’d have a clear view of the horses.

Even if we couldn’t stop the goblins from reaching the camp, we could easily deal with any that approached the horses.

“And wasting energy needlessly isn’t my style. All we really need to do is guard the supplies, right?”

Despite the fancy explanation, Kaindel’s intent was obvious.

He was no different from a lazy man looking for an excuse to postpone his work.

His true aim was to avoid unnecessary vigilance or starting a fight early.

I glanced at Kaindel’s smiling face and let out a long sigh.

Earlier, I had taken him seriously, thinking he would give his all to solve this situation.

Of course, it was good that Kaindel was resting since his hand hadn’t healed yet, but for some reason, I felt like I had been tricked.

Kaindel’s grin grew wider as I nodded.

The moment I gave my approval, he jumped onto a rock and quickly grabbed the branch he had been aiming for.

Despite the height, he easily pulled himself up.

Standing on the branch, he tested its strength by shifting his weight. “Looks like it’s been here for centuries,” he murmured before crouching down slightly.

“Here, grab my hand and climb up.”

“Okay.”

I hesitated for a moment before reaching for his hand.

My attention had been caught by the blankets scattered nearby.

If I left those there, the goblins would surely take them.

We were already low on supplies, and losing them would be a big problem.

After some hesitation, I gathered up the blankets.

I didn’t collect all of them, but at least I got the ones I could see.

When I looked up at Kaindel again, he was patiently waiting. He lifted me up.

The ground suddenly seemed far away.

“Ah!”

I almost lost my balance.

I instinctively held my breath. If I leaned forward, I felt like I might fall.

But standing upright made it hard to keep my balance.

With my body stiff and awkward, I glanced at Kaindel, who was casually sitting against the tree.

Feeling my gaze, he grinned.

“Don’t be so scared.”

That was easier said than done.

“What if I fall?”

“I think you’ll be fine if you hold onto me tightly.”

Kaindel’s voice was soft as he intertwined his fingers with mine.

Once our hands were firmly clasped together, he gently squeezed.

My previously shaky posture stabilized as I leaned into his support.

Slowly, I lowered myself down. Before I knew it, I had settled onto the tree branch.

Now that I was sitting, my legs dangled freely.

The strange sensation of having nothing beneath my feet intrigued me, and I wiggled my toes in curiosity.

It had been scary standing, but now that I was sitting, it didn’t seem so bad.

With the fear gone from my belly, I started to enjoy the view.

The fog was still thick, but from here, it was definitely thinner than on the ground.

Down there, I hadn’t been able to see a thing, but from the tree, I could see Kaindel’s face clearly.

As I took in his sharper, clearer features, I spoke.

“This is the first time I’ve climbed up anywhere like this.”

“Up a tree?”

“A tree, or anything really. I’ve never been this high up before.”

Kaindel frowned slightly at my confession.

“Why? Are you afraid of heights?”

“No, it’s just that the adults always told me not to climb trees.”

“You must have been an obedient kid.”

“Yeah, I liked it when they praised me.”

As a child, when I couldn’t earn money on my own, I lived off the attention of adults.

Doing their errands and being rewarded with food made up my meals for the day.

On the days when I succeeded, I’d get warm soup along with praise, and on the days when I failed, I’d get scolded and receive just a piece of bread.

Back then, praise was the greatest expression of affection for me.

It wasn’t until I met Ellys that things changed.

I snapped out of my thoughts.

Breaking the brief silence with a deep breath, I inhaled the sharp, acrid stench of the mist.

I must have gotten used to it by now because I could handle the smell without flinching.

“What about you? What were you like as a child?”

“Hmm.”

Kaindel hummed thoughtfully, as if recalling a forgotten memory.

“I was a handful. Didn’t listen to adults.”

Though now, I listen well. He added brightly, brushing back his hair.

“And I was a big crybaby. If I had a nightmare, I’d cry for a whole hour.”

“I can’t imagine that.”

“I cried a lot, and… I was a greedy little thing. If I wanted something, I had to have it.”

A crybaby and a greedy kid.

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These were expressions that didn’t suit Kaindel at all.

It was around the time I was about to swallow my laughter when Kaindel, having keenly sensed something, covered my mouth and stared intently at the source of the sound.

A strange glimmer appeared in his eyes.

I tensed up too and bit my lips, trying to avoid touching his hand.

But breathing only through my nose was getting harder.

I tapped his hand lightly, signaling him to back off, but he didn’t budge.

Left with no choice, I parted my lips slightly and took a deep breath.

I tried to ignore the sensation of his palm brushing against my lips.

Finally, after catching my breath, I looked behind us.

Two goblins emerged from the fog, approaching the tree where the horses were tied.

As soon as they spotted the horses, they circled them and made strange, eerie sounds as if conversing with each other.

“Kek! Kek!”

Even hearing it again sent chills down my spine.

As I wrinkled my nose in disgust, Kaindel, who had been observing the goblins’ movements, suddenly unsheathed his sword.

After giving me a quick glance to stay put, he effortlessly descended from the tree.

In the blink of an eye, he swiftly closed the distance between himself and the goblins.

“Keeek!”

The next moment, a goblin let out a final shriek as one of them was swiftly dealt a crushing blow.

It seemed they had let their guard down because there were no humans around.

The other goblin swung an axe at Kaindel, but it was in vain.

Kaindel twisted his body, dodging the flying axe, and then stabbed his sword sideways.

The blade missed the goblin’s right chest but lodged itself deep in its abdomen.

As the goblin writhed in agony, impaled by the sword, Kaindel watched with interest before tilting the blade slightly.

With a diagonal upward motion, he drew the sword out, perfectly slicing through the goblin’s core as it shattered.

The goblins, their cores destroyed, expelled black smoke and eventually crumbled to ashes.

Kaindel waited until the goblins had completely disappeared before turning back.

He climbed back up to the tree where I was and pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, meticulously wiping the goblin’s blood from his sword.

I quietly observed him.

Including the two he just killed, that made a total of eight goblins.

This meant there were five more left until the goblin horde was wiped out.

The remaining five… I wondered if Sehir had taken care of them.

I hadn’t seen any other goblins around here, so I thought about the people who went to search for the cave.

There could be goblins I hadn’t spotted yet, but it seemed more likely that Sehir had dealt with them along the way.

“By the way, do you think the others have reached the cave?”

“They probably have. This isn’t the first time they’ve done something like this. If the magic circle is indeed creating the fog, they’ll be back soon.”

“It didn’t take as long as I expected.”

“Yeah, as long as the magic circle isn’t too complicated, it can be broken fairly quickly.”

“What about Owen…?”

“Isa, when you’re with me, I’d prefer it if you only thought about me.”

Kaindel interrupted, his tone light but with an underlying intensity.

His words weren’t heavy, but the subtle message was etched in my mind.

I swallowed hard.

I couldn’t decipher Kaindel’s intentions behind his blatant possessiveness.

Was he trying to tease me on purpose?

That thought made me hesitate.

Just as I was about to figure out what to say, he changed the subject.

“By the way, you seem to have gotten close to Daniel.”

“Oh.”

I blinked in surprise at Kaindel’s sudden mention of Daniel.

I suddenly remembered the time he had seen me with Daniel.

His question was probably sparked by that scene.

Well, it made sense to wonder why two people who hadn’t been close before were together.

“We have gotten closer. He used to be pretty quiet, so I didn’t know much about him, but he’s a good person. Daniel, I mean. His ability to communicate with living creatures is impressive.”

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