DLRV 18

Smiling gently, I kindly made the offer and then returned to my spot.

Whoosh—

I picked up my coat and, with a hint of irritation, threw it straight at Samuel. I had intended it as a surprise attack, but Samuel caught the coat effortlessly without even flinching.

I really don’t like him in so many ways.

“I understand your proposal. I’ll think about it.”

Without even looking at him, I replied irritably while shaking out the crumpled cloak.

“I’m a bit tired. Can I sleep?”

Seriously, he’s so annoying. We just don’t get along.

Before he could answer, I hurriedly closed my eyes.

***

How do you track me?

No one wanted to know that more than Samuel himself. For him, there was truly no other reason he could give besides: “Because you are a revenant.”

Still, it’s a relief I caught her before it was too late.

Samuel, for what felt like the hundredth time, reassured himself as he gauged the size of the flame he was maintaining.

Staying up all night to keep the fire burning meant Samuel hadn’t slept a wink. He was used to going several days without sleep while tracking criminals, so that part wasn’t difficult.

But continuously releasing divine power for hours was a far more demanding task.

It wasn’t until the sky began to lighten that Samuel finally withdrew his divine energy.

“…”

Annelie’s sleeping face remained pale. She hadn’t moved all night, as even the coat he had draped over her was still in place. Buried in the oversized garment, only her face peeked out, looking even more ghostly.

It reminded him of a time at the temple when he had gazed at a transparent glass statue.

She looks like she could shatter.

Had she always seemed this fragile?

Samuel, staring at her face, unconsciously reached out.

A light sheen of sweat on her forehead dampened his fingertips. The faint sensation of moisture brought him back to his senses.

Yet, instead of withdrawing his hand, he moved forward. As his knuckles brushed against her damp forehead, he thought—

Does she have a fever?

Even without broken bones, falling from a galloping horse should have left her bedridden for days.

She’ll need food, too.

She might refuse to eat, but Samuel decided to make preparations anyway.

The Dullahan was standing guard, so even if wild animals approached, it would be able to fend them off.

“Your master needs proper rest. Keep protecting her well.”

At his low words, the Dullahan showed a slight sign of wariness but did not strongly resist.

Samuel quietly rose and left the cave, keeping his footsteps silent. He had spent the night ensuring that no search parties were approaching, but caution never hurt.

Moving carefully, he scanned the area for any traces of intruders, gathering a few herbs and small game along the way.

By the time he returned, the sun had barely risen halfway.

But when he arrived, the only thing greeting him was his coat, abandoned on the ground.

***

Having not slept at all, my head felt a little hazy. But I forced my eyes open and gripped the reins tightly.

There was no way he expected me to have been pretending to sleep all night!

Imagining Samuel’s bewildered face upon finding the empty cave made me smile in satisfaction.

It felt good to have won. Since my resurrection, it had been a long time since I had successfully messed with someone like this. It was refreshing.

“Nadav, go faster.”

Since Samuel hadn’t said much, I knew he wouldn’t be able to catch up immediately. But I needed to put as much distance between us as possible.

He would likely track me using the lingering divine power on my neck, so I couldn’t stay in one place for too long. The only solution was to keep moving.

“Xenon should have bought the supplies in advance.”

Honestly, I had my doubts.

More precisely, I thought it was more likely that Xenon wouldn’t wait for me at all.

Even if he wouldn’t turn me in outright, considering the money he’d taken and his own situation, I doubted he would bother keeping his promise to someone who might not even show up.

“You managed to escape safely.”

Which was why I was so surprised. He was actually waiting for me at the entrance of Gelburn!

“Is it really that surprising?”

Xenon frowned as he watched me stop in shock. He had been waiting for me at the outskirts of the town.

Standing proudly beside him was Nesi, who lifted his head and greeted me.

[You are strong, so I believed you would keep your word.]

“Thanks for waiting, Nesi.”

“And what about me?”

“Talking to Nesi is the same as talking to you. He’s the wolf that protects you, after all.”

“That doesn’t seem quite right…”

Ignoring Xenon’s dissatisfaction, I glanced at the small birds perched atop Nadav’s head. They had faithfully acted as my scouts during my escape.

“Now It’s Time to Part Ways. Goodbye.”

[That’s a shame, it was fun!]

[Yeah, you’re the first human we could talk to!]

[Come back to the forest so we can play again!]

As I waved at the little birds chirping and flying away one by one, Xenon let out an exclamation of wonder.

“I had a feeling from the way you treated Nesi, but it really seems like you can talk to animals.”

“When you die and come back to life, you learn to open your heart and embrace all living things.”

“Wow, what a sacred statement. Now that the sermon’s over, shall we pray?”

When I simply stared at him without responding, Xenon coughed awkwardly and looked away.

“Geez, no sense of humor at all.”

“It wasn’t funny.”

“I’ve never been called boring in my life.”

“The goods?”

When I completely changed the subject, Xenon pouted. If he were even half as mature as Nesi, he’d be much more respectable.

Now I understood why Nesi always worried about him, calling him a weakling. Whoever paired that innocent man with Nesi had made an excellent decision.

Even if he’d taken money, the fact that he so easily agreed to a stranger’s request was astounding.

It was a miracle he had managed to continue his trials without any issues so far.

If not for Nesi, he might have already been scammed, buried alive somewhere without a trace.

As I accepted the magical artifact he handed over, I decided to offer him some advice out of goodwill.

“Don’t just accept requests from strangers so easily. One day, you’ll get stabbed in the back.”

To me, it was a token of gratitude for waiting. Xenon seemed to take it quite differently. He stared at me with an incredulous look.

“Is that something the one who gave the order should be saying?”

“You were just lucky to meet someone like me. If it were anyone else, they would have taken full advantage of you.”

Whether it was because he was swayed by money or because my clumsy act of eliciting sympathy worked on him…

Either way, those were tricks commonly used by many in the world. If he fell for them so easily, it was natural for him to be in danger.

“I don’t know what kind of life you’ve lived, but not everyone in the world is a con artist.”

“Not everyone, but most people are.”

“Seriously, Anellie, you have absolutely no faith in humanity.”

Ignoring Xenon’s lament, I fiddled with the magical artifact.

Since it was a necklace, I thought it might activate simply by wearing it, like the sacred treasure I had used before, but that didn’t seem to be the case. It looked like I needed to manipulate something on the pendant.

“But Nesi is a trustworthy wolf. Most animals are, but Nesi seems especially righteous. He’s a worthy leader.”

[At least someone sees it. Unlike this guy!]

As I praised Nesi and examined the pendant, a hand suddenly intruded into my field of vision.

Xenon took the magical necklace from my hands and placed it around my neck. Then, he grabbed the gemstone at its center and turned it halfway.

“You use it like this. Turning the center supplies it with mana, activating the spell imbued within. It’s rechargeable, so you’ll need to replenish the mana in the central gem periodically. It should work up to ten times in a row at most. The number of uses may decrease depending on how long you maintain the transformation.”

He placed my hand over the gemstone and carefully explained the direction to turn it and how much force to apply.

Surprisingly, the artifact could change my appearance into two different forms. What an incredible item!

“The transformation is limited to your face and hair color. Your body shape won’t change. That should be enough for you to move around freely.”

Honestly, it would’ve been even better if my body shape could change, but I quickly let go of that thought. Having two fake faces was already more than enough.

“What do I look like now?”

“You look ordinary. Lower your hood.”

As I pulled down the hood I had tightly secured to hide my hair, my locks tumbled out messily.

“Your hair is brown, and overall, your features are very common. Your eyes are just a plain brown too.”

At the very least, my striking silver hair and purple eyes were now naturally concealed, which was a significant improvement.

No more wasting time with subpar dye jobs.

That dye never lasted long anyway, always fading too quickly.

As I let out a sigh of relief, Xenon casually added,

“The scar on your neck is still there, though, so keep your collar up.”

Ah, right. There was that scar.