I Became the Keeper of a Suspicious Forest - Chapter 23

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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 23

From the roof of the cabin, Sionel looked out at the forest.

The same vast forest scenery as yesterday greeted him.

If there was a difference, it was that unlike yesterday, today was overcast with clouds covering the moon, and because of this, the forest without moonlight had a desolate atmosphere.

And.

Sionel turned his head. The forest keeper who had been chattering beside him was also absent.

The forest keeper who had left in a rage hadn’t returned even when noon came, even when the sun set, and even now when it was completely night.

Whether she couldn’t return, or didn’t want to return.

Since she had left in the morning in a rage, it wouldn’t be too surprising if she had decided to spend the night in the forest.

It wasn’t particularly concerning.

It was time that was no different from usual.

‘Actually, there are many convenient aspects.’

Spending time alone without any interruptions, eating meals on time, washing leisurely without worrying about order.

“I get to use the bed too.”

While persistently watching the forest path entrance for a long time, Sionel finally looked away and came down.

Light entered the cabin that hadn’t had a single fire lit all day.

Sionel extinguished the flame on the match and muttered.

“You’re the one who violated the contract first.”

There was no obligation to go looking for someone who left without saying where they were going.

Being a forest keeper, she wouldn’t have thought to spend the night in the forest without a plan.

However, he didn’t notice himself unable to sit still and pacing around inside the cabin.

Kyaaaaaaak.

Then, when he heard an untimely monster’s roar from the direction of the forest, Sionel, who had been moving busily, stopped.

As he reflexively put his hand on the door, he heard footsteps.

Step, step.

The footsteps of one person climbing the stairs.

“Ponia?”

Sionel was about to open the door immediately but his face hardened.

Ponia’s footsteps were light and cheerful. But now they were so quiet that he had to strain his ears to hear them.

Sionel grabbed the dagger from the table and went behind the door.

Soon, someone knocked on the door.

“Nia. Are you inside? I have something to say.”

It was that repairman.

Sionel gripped the dagger properly.

It was strange that he came looking for them in the middle of the night saying he had something to say, but what Sionel was concerned about was something else.

Whoosh. Whoosh.

He had been hearing the sound of something moving through the air. The sound of something sharp cutting through the wind.

“Haven’t come in yet…”

Chad, who had been muttering, made a groaning sound as if pondering something, then soon turned his steps around.

At the retreating presence, Sionel thought about opening the door immediately and launching a surprise attack, but couldn’t put it into action.

He remembered the forest keeper who had firmly warned him not to touch the repairman.

Constrained by her words, Sionel couldn’t move.

It was then that Chad stopped walking.

“There’s a light on in an empty house.”

Chad’s voice was calm, but a faint hint of laughter came through.

As if he was enjoying the current situation.

Sionel clenched his fist.

‘It’s a mistake.’

Now that it had come to this, he should open the door right now and attack…

“I forgot!”

Chad’s cheerful voice turned the atmosphere around in this tense situation.

“Oh my, Nia is quite scatterbrained too.”

That excessively bright voice grated on Sionel’s nerves. Chad continued his monologue.

“Come to think of it, did she say she was going to the cave? Should I go look for her.”

Whether he naturally talked to himself often, or if these words were aimed at him inside the cabin.

Sionel didn’t let his guard down, but the man retreated easily.

His footsteps moving away without lingering were quite light, and also felt somewhat mocking.

As if he had accomplished his purpose for coming here.

“….”

The cabin was once again enveloped in silence.

Now Sionel had two choices before him.

One was to wait inside the cabin like this until dawn broke.

Chad Moreau still didn’t know that what lived in this forest was a monster.

If that bastard went to look for Ponia like this, there was a high possibility he’d be devoured by the monster before even finding her.

If that happened, Sionel could deal with the man without having to risk danger himself.

And the other choice.

Opening this door now and going to look for Ponia who would be in the forest.

This choice had many risk factors.

From the moment he left the cabin, Sionel would likely expose his location to the man and be attacked.

On top of that, he’d have to survive the monsters that would be throughout the forest.

“It doesn’t make sense from the start.”

What was that forest keeper to him that he should step forward?

Earlier, if Ponia was really in the cave like that bastard’s monologue suggested, there was nothing more to think about.

During patrol, the cave had been determined to be a safe zone.

Sionel put the dagger back in its original place. Even if he just left things as they were, he wouldn’t lose anything.

“….”

No matter how much he thought about it, that was the case. But why did that innocent face keep coming to mind.

He irritably messed up his hair.

A small light glinted from Sionel’s hand as he fidgeted with the dagger. When he opened his hand, the bottom of the sword’s handle was glinting.

The candlelight was reflecting off the metal bottom surface. Sionel lifted the bottom of the handle.

Short words were engraved there.

F.P

The initials of a name that the dagger’s owner must have engraved.

Sionel traced back his memory.

‘Where did this dagger come from?’

‘I picked it up in the cave?’

‘Oh, I picked up that bow together with it too.’

Well-maintained weapons discovered in the cave until recently. And assassins who disappeared without a trace.

Could there be a connection between these two?

The place where the assassins had knocked him unconscious was right near the cave.

Assassins never drop their weapons. Not leaving traces was the basic principle of assassins.

Moreover, if those traces were weapons as precious as life itself, the situation could be roughly inferred.

Either it was a dangerous situation where they could barely save their lives, or.

They were already dead.

If the assassins were alive, they would have definitely dealt with Sionel somehow, so it was right to think of the latter case.

Ponia had patrolled the cave one day after the assassins disappeared.

At that time, the monster wouldn’t have long since hunted two healthy adult men, so there would have been no reason to attack Ponia.

Ponia, who didn’t discover the monster, would have reflected that fact in the map.

But at this point, two weeks later, the monster’s condition was….

“Damn it.”

Before even reaching a conclusion, Sionel rushed out of the cabin.

Ponia’s map was wrong.

* * *

Ponia looked at the setting sun.

She had been in the forest all day, but perhaps because she was in the cave, she couldn’t really feel the temperature difference.

‘Seeing how I’m being this lazy even as the sun sets, I guess I’ve gotten used to this lifestyle.’

Her explosive emotions had long since calmed down, but thinking about going back and dealing with the situation only made her sigh.

While patrolling the forest today, she had thought of various ways to facilitate a normal meeting between Sionel and Chad.

She couldn’t come up with any suitable ideas.

They all led to the same conclusion anyway.

1. Sionel suspects Chad’s identity and attacks him.

2. Sionel finds Chad’s appearance suspicious and attacks him.

3. Sionel finds Chad suspicious when he greets him and attacks him.

4. Sionel attacks Chad the moment he sees him.

The reasoning became increasingly unfounded, but since the fourth scenario was something Ponia herself had experienced, all of them could be called fact-based predictions.

‘The best method would be to find out the secret Chad is hiding, clear up the misunderstanding, and put Sionel at ease.’

Chad’s claim that he hadn’t entered the forest at dawn was flawless.

But that didn’t make what Sionel had seen disappear either.

Although Sionel was suspicious, acted strangely, often cursed and spoke violently, made sarcasm a daily habit, pinched sleeping people’s cheeks, made mistakes and then shamelessly came out to upset people, and also…

…Anyway, if she had to choose between Chad and Sionel, it would naturally be Sionel.

“Sigh.”

Ponia straightened her clothes and stood up. She had to return before it got completely dark.

‘Whether I like it or not, I need to see his face and have a conversation.’

Though she wasn’t sure if kind words would come out.

“Ah, I don’t want to go home.”

She sighed deeply and took a step forward.

Screech screech.

Then, she heard a sound.

“…”

Her body froze instantly. In this forest, only monsters made such eerie sounds.

‘The cave is supposed to be a safe zone.’

Screech. Screech.

But the sound of a monster announcing its presence continued to come from above.

Chad’s words came to mind belatedly.

‘I don’t think it would be good to go near the cave today.’

‘You never know, right? There might be hungry wild animals waiting for prey all night.’

‘Did he know something when he said that?’

Someone please tell me this is a dream.

Ponia felt the urge to squeeze her eyes shut as she slowly raised her head.

And she met bright yellow eyes that had been watching only her for a long time.

* * *

Without even noticing his body feeling liberated after about four days outside, Sionel headed straight for the cave.

With lilac and a dagger in his hands, he had made minimal preparations to protect his body.

It might already be too late to save the Unnamed Man.

Night had fallen long ago, and his physical condition wasn’t normal, so he couldn’t run very fast.

Nevertheless, Sionel managed to reach the cave.

He entered the cave where nothing could be seen without hesitation.

He was able to find the Unnamed Man inside the cave.

“…”

Sionel stopped his heavy breathing.

Ponia was collapsed, covered in blood.

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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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