I Became the Keeper of a Suspicious Forest - Chapter 14

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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 14

“Ugh!”

Ponia bolted upright at the familiar stinging sensation.

“Get up. The sun is high in the sky.”

Sure enough, Sionel was looking down at her. Her cheek stung just like yesterday, but the pain wasn’t fading and felt quite sharp…

“Don’t tell me you pinched me?!”

Sionel looked genuinely impressed at Ponia, who was holding her cheek and glaring at him.

“You can even tell the difference?”

“Can’t you wake me up normally?”

“That’s what I want to say. Can’t you just get up right away when I wake you normally?”

Since her family and servants had often told her that once she fell asleep, she was hard to wake up, Ponia couldn’t make any other excuses.

“…Still, there must be other ways.”

“Then, should I do it like yesterday?”

As if he was about to do it right then, Sionel even lowered his head and reached out his hand.

“No!”

Ponia dodged his hand and jumped up. Then, as she stretched, she noticed his face, which looked distinctly different from yesterday.

“But what’s wrong with your face?”

“…”

“Did you sleep badly yesterday? Your dark circles have gotten really bad.”

“…”

“Did I snore? I don’t have any bad sleeping habits though.”

Though she wasn’t certain.

Sionel lightly swatted away Ponia’s hand that was trying to touch under his eyes and replied curtly.

“Isn’t it stranger that you can sleep with an assassin right below you?”

“I told you I’m not an assassin.”

“Right, that’s why you peacefully went to sleep without even answering questions.”

“Wow! The weather’s really nice today, isn’t it?”

With an obviously unnatural gesture, Ponia pointed at the hole in the ceiling. Sionel’s persistent gaze followed her.

‘He wastes his memory on useless things.’

“More importantly, deal with that first.”

“Hm?”

Sionel pointed somewhere with a half-hearted chin gesture. Following his hand, she turned her head and saw the door.

And she heard knocking sounds.

Knock knock knock.

Light but strangely polite knocking sounds.

“Hello, I’m the repairman who greeted you yesterday.”

“…”

“Are you still sleeping?”

Only then did the events of last night quickly flash through Ponia’s mind.

And she remembered what she had forgotten.

The plan to wake up early in the morning and send Sionel away before the repairman could see him.

‘Get up. The sun is high in the sky.’

But it had just been completely ruined by her oversleeping.

Ponia quietly looked up at the ceiling where the sky was visible. Sunlight was shining strongly down on her head.

“I’m screwed…”

‘Should I just pretend I’m not here and not answer at all?’

He might find it a bit strange, but saying later that she had gotten up at dawn to patrol would be easier to explain.

As she was thinking hard, she happened to hear the repairman’s muttering.

“Strange… I didn’t see her come out at dawn either.”

Damn. So he had been awake since dawn.

Knock knock knock.

“Are you inside?”

“…”

Unable to think of any other way to respond, she was at a loss when suddenly the knocking stopped. The noise disappeared and only the sound of small birds on the roof could be heard.

“Did he leave…?”

Ponia carefully stepped toward the door. Making almost no footsteps, she put her ear to the door.

Bang bang bang!

The sound rang out much more violently than before, making her hastily pull her ear away.

My ear!

If earlier he had lightly tapped the door with just one finger, now it seemed like he was using his entire fist to pound the door with all his might.

Meanwhile, Sionel just stood there with his arms crossed, watching the situation unfold as if it were someone else’s business. When his eyes met Ponia’s, he even shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t just stand there watching, help me a little…”

“Are you alright? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”

Bang bang bang bang!

In that brief moment, whatever he had imagined, the man was pounding the door as if he would break it down.

“Sorry, but I’m going to break down this door!”

How does he reach that conclusion?

“I’ll fix the door later! I’m sorry!”

The knocking sound stopped. Instead, an ominous silence fell over the door.

It seemed like the man would break down the door and come in at any moment.

Becoming desperate, Ponia finally raised her voice.

“W-wait! I’m inside!”

“Ah, you’re there!”

The man answered with delight from beyond the door, and Ponia continued.

“Yes! So don’t break down the door!”

“I thought you might be sick and unable to open the door…”

“Once I fall asleep, I have trouble waking up. But what’s the matter?”

“Ah! I’d like to check the interior first regarding the cabin repairs. Could you open the door for me?”

Clank.

The man tried to open the door from outside. Ponia blocked the door handle.

“No!”

“Pardon?”

“I mean, I need to change my clothes! Please wait a moment!”

“Ah! Of course. Take your time.”

She had bought some time for now. But it was only temporary. The longer it was delayed, the more suspicious the repairman would become.

Ponia quickly scanned her surroundings.

There were two windows attached to the cabin.

One was next to the door, so they’d be caught as soon as they went out, and the other had no support beam, showing the distant ground far below.

‘If I sent Sionel out there, not just his legs but his life would be in danger…?’

She looked at Sionel with a glimmer of hope, but he immediately became serious.

“Don’t even think about sending me out there.”

‘Who said anything… I just looked once…’

“It would be easier to drive that guy away than to send me out.”

“That might be true for now, but he came here for cabin repairs. How can I not show him the interior even once?”

“That’s your problem to figure out.”

Ah, really!

Ponia was running her hands through her red hair when she saw something behind him and suddenly stopped moving.

“…”

Ponia looked back and forth between the door secured with old latches that had weakened to its limit and Sionel who was staring blankly at her, then quickly made up her mind.

When Ponia looked at Sionel with apparent determination, he tilted his head.

“What are you looking at.”

“Sionel.”

It was the first time his name had been called since they had introduced themselves. At his name being called for the first time in a very long while since the assassination attempt, Sionel answered awkwardly.

“…What.”

But Ponia said nothing more and approached him.

One step, then another step.

As she persistently pressed her body against his, Sionel stepped back in rare confusion.

“What, why are you suddenly getting close…”

When Sionel could no longer step back, Ponia quietly looked up at him and opened her lips.

“Just stay like this for a moment…”

Ponia’s green eyes were so full of life they brought to mind fresh green leaves.

Sionel unconsciously stared intently into those eyes, when suddenly her eyes flashed.

“Just stay here for a moment. Got it?”

“What…?”

Clank!

The sound of something opening was heard.

Before Sionel could even turn around, Ponia suddenly pushed him. His body was shoved into somewhere.

Old clothes tickled around his eyes briefly, then his body filled the wardrobe completely.

Sionel scowled.

“What the hell are you doing…”

“Don’t make any noise! Got it? Shh!”

The wardrobe closed just like that.

* * *

When Ponia opened the door, the repairman smiled brightly.

“Good morning.”

“Yes, please come in…”

“Yes, then excuse me.”

Unaware of others’ feelings, he cheerfully entered the cabin.

‘Come to think of it, this person has been incredibly bright since I first met him…’

Suddenly the man’s face was thrust right in front of hers.

“You look a bit pale. Are you really okay?”

Large glasses moved this way and that as he examined every part of Ponia’s face.

His eyesight must be really bad – even this close, his eyes weren’t visible behind the glasses.

Ponia smiled awkwardly and stepped back.

“Ah, I’m fine.”

I just finished locking up a wild animal that absolutely refuses to listen.

Having so much to feel guilty about, it was hard to look the man in the eyes while speaking.

Ponia anxiously glanced toward the wardrobe.

She had hastily tied it with rope, but that was only a temporary measure.

“You need to repair this roof.”

Following Ponia’s guidance, the repairman looked up at the gaping roof.

“Wow, it would be hard to make it this bad.”

“…It was lightning. Bad luck.”

Jerome said it was probably lightning, but who knows. Maybe some vicious new monster tore off the roof.

“Hmm… It’s more serious than I thought. I’ll need to tear off the entire roof and put on a new one.”

“Will it take long?”

Just today had caused this much chaos – if construction dragged on, she’d definitely be found out. The work had to be finished in two weeks, no, one week.

‘That’s about the limit of Sionel’s patience.’

“It won’t take too long. About a week?”

Fortunately, that was within the expected range. But the repairman wasn’t finished talking.

“And if we include repairing the warehouse, about 3 months? I saw it yesterday, and it’s so old that it looks like it’ll collapse if touched wrong.”

“…The warehouse repair isn’t necessary.”

“No way. As a technician, I can’t just overlook safety issues!”

“I’m fine with it.”

“But Jerome asked me to fix up the entire cabin while I’m doing repairs.”

“…”

“Ah! I’ll fix that door as a service. This is my goodwill.”

“…”

“You don’t have to thank me. Haha.”

So, I don’t need that kind of goodwill.

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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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