Don’t Look for the Resurrected Villainess - Chapter 13
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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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Chapter 13
“It would be best not to take him along.”
“Impossible. Isn’t there a proper way?”
“Well. If you absolutely, positively, stubbornly, persistently must take him along… Please wait a moment.”
Jeon let out a sigh and opened his bag, rummaging through it. He stuck his arm deep inside searching for something, then finally pulled out a piece of cloth.
“Please wrap this around that horse.”
“Around his neck?”
“Whether you wrap it around his neck or tie it as a ribbon in his mane doesn’t matter. I made this to conceal presence, so it should hide that fellow’s gloomy aura as well.”
“It seems a bit short to wrap around his neck.”
I unfolded the cloth I received and held it up to Nadab. As expected, it was too short in length, making it difficult to tie a knot no matter how much I stretched it.
If I tied it somewhere like his legs, it might come loose while walking, so the only place left was his mane.
[Captain…]
“Stay still. I’ll tie it prettily for you.”
I grabbed Nadab’s mane with my hands. Would the left side suit him better than the right? No, maybe it would be better to tie it high in the center?
[Um, Captain…?]
“Yes. I’m done.”
I replied halfheartedly while carefully wrapping the ribbon. Since I’m not good with my hands, I needed to concentrate even to tie a single ribbon.
[Well…]
“Yes, I said I’m done, didn’t I?”
Nadab gave up and obediently closed his mouth. Meanwhile, something that looked somewhat like a ribbon was completed.
Though what I intended to tie at the top of his head ended up leaning to the left, looking at the sturdy knot made me feel proud.
Maybe my handiwork isn’t completely terrible after all.
“It suits you well.”
I smiled and stroked Nadab’s neck. Though Nadab didn’t express any particular complaints, I could tell from his silent snorting that he wasn’t exactly pleased.
But what could I do? If I wanted to take him along, I had to disguise his presence to seem like an ordinary horse.
“So did you accomplish your purpose for entering the forest?”
Jeon tilted his head and asked. Since I had stubbornly insisted on entering the forest alone, he probably expected me to return having changed dramatically.
My purpose for entering the forest.
“Uh… Well, more or less.”
When I shrugged and nodded calmly, he looked quite confused. There wasn’t much more I could tell him.
Actually, on the way back with Nadab, I had thought about trying to lure some other wild animals as a bonus, but no animals approached us at all. It was probably because of Nadab.
Now that I’d put a ribbon on him, things might have improved, but there didn’t seem to be any wolves in this forest that could surpass Nesi. Nadab had probably driven away all the surrounding animals.
“I understand for now. Well, since you’ve obtained a horse, our travel speed will increase.”
Jeon dropped his shoulders with an expression of having given up on everything. He seemed to have guessed that digging deeper into the truth wouldn’t benefit him. I welcomed his quick surrender and changed the subject.
“So how much is that cloth?”
Since it’s an item imbued with magic, it must be quite expensive, right?
“No, how can you try to solve everything with money…”
“So, you won’t accept payment?”
“…Wait a moment. I need to calculate the material costs and labor that went into making that.”
See, money solves everything.
I stood there triumphantly with my arms crossed, but Jeon couldn’t quite name a price. He seemed unfamiliar with this kind of transaction.
Since we weren’t in a relationship where we’d hastily settle payment and part ways, I figured I’d leisurely fix Nadab’s crooked ribbon while waiting.
[Wait, you’re pulling too hard…]
“There, all done.”
And so Nadab had to endure having his mane tugged at by me for quite a while.
* * *
“Did you find anything?”
“Yes. There are witnesses who saw a large bird passing through this area.”
“But a wyvern was also spotted on the opposite side.”
Listening to the soldiers’ reports, Samuel clutched his throbbing forehead.
Since wyverns are massive monsters that would be easily visible, he had believed they could quickly track it down by identifying the direction it flew.
‘I should have torn the wyvern’s wing tips if I knew this would happen.’
Rather than letting it fly away intact, he should have left some kind of mark. Because they couldn’t identify the specific wyvern, the information kept getting confused.
Moreover, this wasn’t the only problem.
‘The Royal Court and the Roam Family…’
The two groups that had interfered under the pretense of helping with the search were actually adding to the chaos.
Even Samuel, who had no interest in politics, couldn’t help but notice the current atmosphere. Everyone was desperately trying to be the first to find Anelli.
“…Hah.”
Samuel sighed at the situation where they were conducting disruption tactics and sabotage while keeping each other in check, then turned his gaze to a soldier. The soldier continued.
“Reports of discovering someone presumed to be the Revived One are also piling up from various places.”
“It seems someone is intentionally spreading false information.”
Samuel pressed his lips together and looked down at the map. It was a large map marking the entire empire.
While others were investigating under the assumption that Anelli had been ‘kidnapped,’ Samuel was investigating under the assumption that she had ‘fled.’ This was a major criterion for choosing search areas.
“She would have had to land where the wyvern wouldn’t be easily spotted, so rural areas with wide clearings or grasslands that aren’t directly connected to wanted poster distribution…”
News between major cities spreads quickly, but relatively speaking, news reaches rural areas slowly due to various inadequacies.
If Anelli had intended to flee, she would have tried to hide her well-known appearance as much as possible in places where she wouldn’t be recognized. And unless she was a fool, she would have tried to part ways with the wyvern immediately.
Samuel’s eyes narrowed.
‘There must be some method she used to gain the wyvern’s cooperation. Could divine blessing allow her to receive cooperation from creatures?’
If she possessed such an ability, pursuing her would be even more difficult.
‘Or perhaps she controls monsters…’
If so, her subsequent choices would likely follow the same pattern. Seeking cooperation from monsters rather than people to hide her tracks.
“You said there was someone who witnessed a large bird passing through this area?”
“That’s correct. If you command it, we’ll investigate the nearby rural villages.”
The soldier answered Samuel’s question in a tense voice. The area he had pointed to was mountainous.
“No.”
Samuel, who had been lost in thought while tapping the mountain area with his index finger, soon folded the map.
“I’ll go myself.”
If she had passed through there, he would surely be able to recognize it.
* * *
I had never experienced such excellent riding comfort in my life.
I praised Nadab throughout the entire ride. He truly was a magnificent horse. Such cloud-like riding comfort!
With a horse like this, I was confident I could ride all day long. I carefully folded away my intention to part with Nadab someday. Though he was a Dullahan, he was also a horse.
I thought that since I had gained Nadab, traveling with Jeon might have become unnecessary, but I soon corrected my thinking.
Since Nadab’s true form was a monster, he absolutely couldn’t reveal his true self in places with houses.
Moreover, when I subtly checked, he seemed to have no cooking skills. Though expecting cooking from a Dullahan would be unreasonable in the first place.
So for the sake of my safe meals, I still needed Jeon. Among other things as well.
“In all my life, treating a mage like a cook. Do you know how expensive my labor costs are?”
“You can’t even use magic right now.”
Jeon made an incredulous expression at my words. I shrugged and picked up a piece of meat.
The meat Jeon grilled was truly fantastic. How did he grill it so perfectly with juicy results without even using fancy spices?
Though I didn’t know what Jeon’s magical abilities were like, the culinary world might have missed out on a truly tremendous talent.
Jeon, who had been sighing deeply while grilling meat, suddenly glanced at the path in the direction we were heading.
We were retracing our steps back toward the rural village where we first met.
“But why did you suddenly change direction?”
I had originally planned to go to Trend Port at the edge of the empire, take a ship, and leave for a foreign country.
To do so, I had tried to cross this mountain range, but suddenly turned toward the inland. Jeon tilted his head curiously.
“Just. I suddenly wanted to go back.”
“To that village?”
“No, toward the inland city.”
Jeon’s expression furrowed with incomprehension. I pretended not to notice and added in an indifferent tone.
“They say the unpredictable nature of travel is what makes it charming.”
“That may be true, but this is too sudden a change of heart.”
He seemed to want to hear more explanation. However, I naturally turned my head away, avoiding his gaze.
I couldn’t exactly tell him that I changed direction because I needed to look into what Nadab had said about the Knights of the Round Table before leaving the empire.
Nadab had asked me to find his head but failed to explain at all how I was supposed to find it.
He didn’t even know how to meet the remaining Dura’han who were supposedly his comrades.
I had no choice but to investigate on my own.
What I was most curious about was what would happen if I refused this Dura’han’s request. Would my resurrection perhaps be canceled?
Would God realize even now that He had chosen the wrong person to resurrect and guide me back to death?
If not that, then I planned to gather as much information as I could, then use it as a basis to skillfully avoid both Dura’han and heads alike.
He wouldn’t even tell me how to find Nadab’s head, yet expected me to find other Dura’han too.
I had never agreed to such a tremendous adventure.
If they were going to make me do this kind of work, shouldn’t they have gotten my consent before resurrecting me at the very least? As things stand, I can’t find any reason why I should throw myself into this affair.
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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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