Do Heroes Need Welfare Too? - Chapter 48

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 48

‘The wounds are worse than I thought….’

Adam’s clothes were so blood-soaked that it was strange I was only noticing it now.

However, Adam must have given himself good first aid because the bleeding had mostly stopped.

If it hadn’t been for the rain, it probably would have stopped completely.

I lifted my head to look at the sky.

The heavy downpour, thicker than before, showed no signs of stopping.

Adam seemed to think he had received sufficient treatment and got up.

I had been pressing my handkerchief against his wounds and ended up rising with him without thinking.

“Eve. Don’t look back and run down the left path. I’ll go right and lure the mercenary captain away.”

“No! How can you face the mercenary captain in that condition?”

Even if it was dangerous, it would be better for me to support Adam and go together.

I knew very well that Adam’s words were rational.

However, the mercenary captain could come my way, and he could attack from a distance using a crossbow.

Adam wouldn’t even be able to run properly because of his wounds. I’d rather be used as a distraction.

“He won’t just leave me alone either. He’ll search the forest thoroughly. It’s better to face him now when our chances of winning are higher.”

“How can you do that with an untreated body? Hero. You’re a patient right now. And how high are your chances of winning?”

“….”

Adam closed his mouth.

He himself thought there was almost no possibility.

If he hadn’t been injured, it would have been laughable, but not now.

“Is it fifty-fifty?”

“….”

Adam chose silence instead of an obvious lie.

I felt a surge of emotion at his appearance, then eventually changed course to persuasion.

“Let’s find a place to hide instead. I don’t think I can make it back to the barracks alone.”

I dropped my shoulders and spoke in a small voice.

Adam seemed to contemplate, then finally nodded.

“Then let’s go inside.”

Adam pointed toward the interior of the forest.

It looked like any other space, but I instinctively knew.

The moment we cross over there, it’s Mia’s Forest.

The rope barrier Adam had mentioned was nowhere to be seen, broken and gone.

Outside was the mercenary captain trying to kill Adam, inside was an endless maze.

My body stiffened as I recalled the rumor that once you enter, you never come out.

However, Adam seemed to have something he trusted.

In the end, I squeezed my eyes shut and went inside.

Taking one step inside, there was nothing particularly unusual.

But when I planted my right foot again, I felt the air had changed.

After walking some distance inside, I saw a small cave buried in thick grass.

It was just big enough for two people to enter.

I had Adam go inside first.

Who knew having a roof to block the rain could be this grateful.

I shivered and pressed close to him.

As my body temperature dropped, I leaned against Adam’s warm body.

Then I remembered his wounds and jumped away in alarm.

“If we stay here quietly, won’t he give up and leave?”

“That would be nice, but he won’t.”

However, Adam seemed to have different thoughts.

Adam closed his eyes and appeared to concentrate on something.

I breathed as quietly as possible.

Then Adam opened his eyes, glared at the bushes outside the cave, and tried to get up.

I urgently grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.

“Where are you trying to go in that condition?”

“Now that Eve has found a place to hide, I should leave. He didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving unless one of us dies anyway.”

So his earlier action was to track the mercenary captain’s footsteps.

Seeing Adam get up, it seemed the mercenary captain had also entered Mia’s Forest.

Adam picked up the sword he had placed on the ground and fastened it to his waist.

“He might also know how to get out of Mia’s Forest.”

“Is that possible?”

“If it weren’t possible, he wouldn’t have entered in the first place.”

So he did have something to rely on.

“I can go alone. I’ll come back for you later.”

“But Adam, it’s still raining outside and your wounds have opened up more from moving.”

I looked at Adam’s abdomen, which had turned his white shirt red despite being continuously washed by rainwater.

All the blood clotting we had done was completely useless.

Adam just smiled ambiguously.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine at all!”

I found myself shouting at his resolute behavior.

In a situation where I should have been coaxing and soothing, frustration came out first.

Adam seemed surprised that I would get angry, his eyes widening.

I repeatedly brushed my bangs with my hand.

‘I remember that you died suddenly from sepsis last time after not treating your wounds properly!’

He hadn’t said a word about being in pain until the game over screen appeared and I had to go back, so I didn’t know the signs.

When it suddenly restarted, I thought it was a bug and thoroughly searched game communities.

I found information in one of the few strategy guides that if wounds aren’t treated in time, you die suddenly without warning.

Of course, until then he had been making casual conversation, so I thought he was fine.

That was the kind of person Adam was.

He stubbornly endured his wounds so others wouldn’t worry. Until they festered and burst, killing him.

Knowing Adam like this, I couldn’t leave him behind.

“Instead of this, I’ll go out and find medicinal herbs. I saw many herbs before entering the forest.”

“You can’t. What do you mean go outside in this rain? The ground must be weakened by the rain. You could get swept away.”

Adam held me back as I tried to leave.

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them.

With Adam out of sight, my thoughts cleared completely.

“Since it’s a forest not many people frequent, the herbs I’m looking for should appear easily. Since the Hero’s condition isn’t good, I have to take some risks.”

“What if Eve dies?”

“….”

“I’d rather die myself.”

Adam’s eyes showed not the slightest waver as he said this.

Even mentioning death, he showed no hesitation.

He was simply calm, as if it were a familiar matter.

I didn’t like his detachment.

I finally let out the anger I had been holding back.

“If the Hero dies now, the only people who would be happy are the nobles outside! And I especially hate it!”

Just sit still like a good patient.

I struggled to push the rock-solid Adam further inside, then went outside.

I could hear Adam calling from behind.

Ah, I can’t hear anything at all.

I deliberately covered my ears and went outside.

The fierce rain struck my face.

It was clear enough to distinguish my surroundings compared to earlier.

‘I saw some herbs on the way here earlier…’

I ran while looking at the ground until I found the herbs I wanted.

I needed to quickly treat Adam’s wound.

Perhaps due to my impatience, everything was spinning around me.

I couldn’t tell which way was front, back, or if this was where I came from.

‘I’m dizzy…’

I definitely wasn’t like this earlier, but just being in the forest made me short of breath.

“Ah.”

Then the ring hidden in my clothes trembled slightly.

I took it out and exhaled.

I felt a little more comfortable than before.

I ran while gripping the ring in my hand like a talisman.

Surprisingly, the forest seemed to be clearing a path for me.

When I brought Adam here, it definitely felt like I was going in circles in one place.

But now I could head toward where I wanted to go.

“Found it!”

I discovered the herbs after not going very far.

The problem was that they were hanging at the edge of a cliff.

I grabbed a tree inside with my hand and slowly moved my steps to approach the herbs.

If I just pick that, I can quickly return to Adam…

One step, just a little more…

“Got it!”

My fingertips grasped the herbs.

An exclamation burst out along with a sigh of relief.

“Iberis!”

Then a firm arm wrapped around my waist.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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