Chapter 118
The eastern gate, shrouded in bluish mist, was silent without a trace of life.
The gate that should have been tightly closed was slightly open, but no soldiers were visible.
Only the flag of the Arden Kingdom, hung high on the massive wall, fluttered in the wind.
Strange. Where did all the gate soldiers go?
As I looked around cautiously, I heard movement from behind. Reflexively, I lowered my body and turned around.
A beautiful silver fox was staring at me with cold eyes. It was Rena.
“I thought you would run away, but you came after all.”
Behind Rena, I could see three collapsed soldiers.
“Did you hurt the soldiers?”
I bared my fangs toward her, preparing to attack.
Attacking even soldiers, what on earth is she doing?
Rena snorted dismissively and lazily swished her luxuriant tail.
“Calm down. I just put them to sleep temporarily. It would be troublesome if our movements were discovered.”
“What?”
I immediately rushed to the soldiers to check if they were injured.
The soldiers were lying face down on the ground in what appeared to be a deep sleep. What a relief. Rena hadn’t attacked people.
“We don’t have time. Let’s move quickly before sunrise.”
As Rena turned and prepared to leap onto the wall, I hurriedly called out.
“Kyang? Where are we going? Tell me properly.”
Rena frowned with an annoyed expression.
“You’re still so bothersome. I told you we’re going to where the leader is.”
“Where is that? Don’t lie and tell me exactly.”
I couldn’t just blindly follow Rena.
When I pressed her strongly, Rena turned her head and looked up at the eastern sky.
“There’s an abandoned village on the eastern outskirts. It’s a place where villagers barely survive by pooling their resources together after even kingdom support was cut off.”
“Why is Franz there?”
Rena’s gaze turned back to me. In the fox’s silver eyes, anger and regret were burning together.
“That village was… a village created by shapeshifters who were abandoned and driven away by humans. And it’s where Turba flowers naturally grow.”
To think that the Turba flowers I had been searching for were in an abandoned shapeshifter village.
“The leader left to find where Turba flowers naturally grow. If so, he would have gone to the abandoned shapeshifter village.”
“Why is Franz looking for Turba flowers?”
“Stop asking. See for yourself.”
Rena quickly dashed through the open eastern gate.
I gathered my wits and was about to follow her when I briefly looked back.
I could see the distant view of the sleeping capital. Karden would still be asleep, too.
‘Your Grace, I’ll be back as soon as possible.’
Leaving that greeting in my heart, I followed Rena.
***
We ran quickly without even a moment’s rest.
The surrounding scenery changed constantly, and gradually, a desolate plain with few people appeared.
Finally, we approached the abandoned shapeshifter village. In the distance, I could see the roofs of several dozen small huts clustered together.
As I set foot on the dusty ground, my heart felt heavy.
The entrance to the village was desolate and had an eerie atmosphere.
“We transform here.”
Rena transformed into a human at once. I also swished my tail and transformed into a human.
By now, I had become skilled at transformation and could change my fur into clothing. I changed it into a simple ivory dress.
“Is this really a shapeshifter village?”
I asked carefully while following Rena, who was walking ahead.
Without answering, Rena strode into the village without hesitation. Despite the sun being up, there was no sign of life in the village.
In the small gardens scattered throughout the village, crops with yellowed or burned leaves were visible.
As we went deeper into the village, I hesitated.
A scent so familiar and intense was flowing on the wind.
The source of the fragrance was the center of the village.
“No way. Why is the Turba scent coming from here?”
Rena seemed to already know, remaining calm.
“Be careful not to get addicted to the scent.”
She transformed her long hair to cover her nose.
I also followed Rena and changed my hair into a hood-like shape to cover my nose.
“Rena, has the shapeshifter village also been affected by Turba?
Where did all the shapeshifters go?”
“That’s……”
Just as Rena was about to speak, suddenly gravel flew toward us.
“Don’t come! Go away!”
A small shapeshifter boy who looked about 7 years old was throwing stones at us.
He had pointed ears on top of his shaggy hair and a tail behind him.
He was a shapeshifter boy who couldn’t fully transform into a human.
The boy’s clothes were dirty and worn, and he looked unkempt with signs suggesting he hadn’t bathed in days.
“Tommy, stop it!”
A girl who looked about 10 years old ran out from an old hut next to the field. She, too, was a shapeshifter with ears and a tail.
“Let go!”
The boy struggled but was inevitably led into the hut by the girl’s hand.
Rena and I briefly exchanged glances.
If there were children left in the shapeshifter village, there must be adults somewhere, too.
I went to the old hut and knocked on the door.
“Kids, I have something to ask. We’re not suspicious people. We’re shapeshifters too. Could you open the door?”
I asked in the gentlest voice possible while knocking on the door.
How much time had passed?
After a while, the door of the old hut opened cautiously.
The girl, who seemed to be the sister of the boy who had thrown stones at us, looked at us with eyes full of wariness.
“What’s your name?”
The girl thought for a moment with a contemplative expression before carefully saying.
“I’m Bess. This is Tommy.”
On the back of Tommy’s hand, there were scratch marks indicating he had been repeatedly scratching due to itchiness.
Feeling sorry for those marks, I took Tommy’s hand.
“Wh-what! Don’t touch me!”
Tommy jumped up with his tail raised.
“Don’t worry. Big sister will heal you.”
While I couldn’t heal perfectly like when I was a fox, I could treat simple wounds when in human form.
I placed my hand on Tommy’s hand and concentrated.
A soft light emerged from my fingertips and enveloped the boy’s hand.
The wound on Tommy’s hand faded.
The children’s expressions brightened with wonder.
“The wound disappeared!”
“Does it feel better now?”
“Are you a healer, big sister?”
“Yes.”
I smiled and reassured the children. Meanwhile, Rena examined various parts of the hut.
Then she discovered a small door hidden inside the hut.
Rena frowned and forcibly opened the door.
Beyond the door was a small room where a dozen or so young children were huddled together.
“Why are there children here?”
Bess said while watching our reactions.
“We hid the children in case bad people came.”
Bess took the children’s hands and brought them out.
They were all young children. They came out holding each other’s hands and fidgeting.
They were immature shapeshifters with ears and tails, and they were lovely and cute.
The children were examining Rena and me with large eyes, mixed with curiosity and fear.
Bess explained while reassuring the children.
“Here are children who haven’t gotten sick. Uncle Bred helped us evacuate.”
“Uncle Bred? Who is he?”
“He’s the uncle who takes care of the village. He brings food to the children every other day.”
Bess seemed to have let down her guard considerably and told us various stories.
“Where are the other adults?”
“They all caught a strange disease… The parents of all the children here got sick and left to receive treatment.”
“What kind of disease did the adults catch?”
Tommy hurriedly answered my question.
“Their eyes turned red and they became rough! They didn’t recognize me. I was so scared I cried, but uncle saved us.”
“That’s right. She wasn’t like Mom. It was so scary.”
The children hugged each other and trembled.
Rena approached me and said in a low voice.
“These children’s parents seem to be addicted to Turba flowers.”
“It seems so. But the children don’t seem to be addicted. I wonder why?”
“Turba flowers can only be smelled by adult shapeshifters. These children are still young, so they can’t smell the Turba flowers.”
“I see. I’m glad the children are safe.”
I approached Tommy, held his hand firmly, and looked into his eyes.
“Tommy, you’ve been very brave and endured well. That’s amazing.”
“Really?”
Tommy asked hesitantly. I answered with a bright smile.
“Tommy, do you know where Uncle Bred is?”
“I don’t know. Uncle comes once every two days. He said he’s going to the capital to take mom and dad for treatment, so I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
“The capital?”
If he took the Turba-addicted shapeshifters to the capital, could it be that he took them to the shapeshifter shelter?
Rena, with an expressionless face, was examining outside the window at the back of the hut. She narrowed her eyes.
“So Turba flowers were in a place like this.”
“What?”
Beyond the window at the back of the hut was a dense forest. From beyond that forest, the strong scent of Turba was flowing.
I hurriedly left the hut and went to the forest at the back.
As I pushed through the dense forest, the scent of Turba flowers grew stronger.
I covered my nose more tightly with my sleeve. The strong Turba scent made my head dizzy and light.
My vision blurred and my legs weakened.
Discussion
1 CommentRBluemoon238
Did FL mind degress from being in young body? She doesn't seem to even match with her mental age of either of her lives. The ignorance is outstanding. It's like going to a child and saying 'don't touch it, it's hot' and having her touch and burn herself repeatedly without learning after receiving degree burns multiple times...