Please Forget Me - Chapter 199

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

“I see. Where are you headed?”

Each time the monk asked, the man gave a random village name and a vague excuse.

“I’m going to find relatives there who are taking care of our child.”

“Oh dear… everyone there has already evacuated. No one’s left.”

The monk said the front line had reached there once, turning it into a ghost town, and lamented that we might not find the ‘child’.

‘I thought monks lived completely cut off from the world, but he seems pretty aware of current events.’

I wondered if the man thought the same. He answered questions only, but now he started asking too.

“By the way, did you came from a long trip?”

The monk said he was returning from a nearby city where he had gotten supplies. After that, the man asked all sorts of questions disguised as casual chit-chat.

He asked where the monk got certain things to guess how big a city the monk had visited, if there was any interesting news, if they’d heard about our wanted status, and most importantly, if anyone had already figured us out and was pretending not to know.

“So much ration was distributed. Seems quite a few remain at the monastery.”

“Six people. That’s the amount needed to survive. And none of us have left. We’ve already devoted our lives to God, so we leave our fate to His will.”

The monks said they planned to stay and continue their devotion until the very end. The conversation naturally shifted to life at the monastery, and we learned there were no radios or newspapers there, so they weren’t well informed about the outside world. That was a relief.

“Sometimes when we work the fields, passing villagers bring us news of the war. If they all leave too, that means the front line is right at our feet.”

The talk ended on that bittersweet note as we neared the monastery.

“We’ll get off here. Thank you.”

“Safe travels. May God’s blessings be with the three of you.”

The monk wished luck even for the non-existent child and started driving toward the monastery. I sighed with relief as the cart moved further away.

“He doesn’t seem to have any idea we’re wanted fugitives, right?”

“For now, it seems so.”

I wondered what he was thinking. The man stared at the monastery on the hill for a long time.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Do you remember the monastery where you lived?”

“…What?”

“Your nickname was Monk, Father, or something like that. Didn’t you know?”

“Oh… yes, I did.”

My joke didn’t amuse him much; he gave a lukewarm reply and turned his head elsewhere.

“We need to go this way.”

We started walking down a side path. Since the sun was already low, reaching our target today would be impossible.

“I wonder if there are any houses nearby…”

The man seemed to think so too and looked at the map while we walked, searching for a place to spend the night. I slowed my pace so he could read the map comfortably, and he glanced at my feet with concern.

“Does it hurt?”

“No.”

“Don’t lie—let me carry you.”

“I lied when I said it hurt.”

“Whether it’s a lie or not, we made a deal. You have to keep it, Dana.”

“Ah, just look at the map. If you keep insisting, I’ll shut my mouth again.”

“Sigh…”

The man shook his head, sighed, and said something uncharacteristic for such a kind, upright man.

“I should have stolen that donkey earlier.”

Really, so casually.

What if he actually went back and stole the donkey and cart? Worried, I stopped him with a plausible excuse.

“You just talk too much.”

We didn’t try to find a ride initially because rides aren’t free. Cars need fuel; animals need hay. After pointing out what would happen with hay if we stole a donkey, he stopped making anxious remarks.

We walked steadily, and by dusk, reached an abandoned village. With only five houses, it was too small to call a village.

Before deciding where to stay tonight, we first checked quietly to see if all the houses were empty. As we made our way back to a house at the village entrance,

“Oh? What’s this…”

I finally noticed a paper attached behind the signpost at the village entrance.