Najun and Mamoru leave the hospital disappointed. Without any trace of the rabbit woman—or any desire to continue searching for her—they enter the forest. For Najun, it is more important to get out of the forest and find his family than to find out why the rabbit woman wanted to kill him specifically or who she truly injured.
Najun: “The first time, I didn’t even realize how beautiful this forest is.”
Mamoru: “Yeah. The forest is full of beautiful secrets and hidden—but also dangerous—beauties. For example, take a look at that flower over there.”
Najun looks at a flower slightly behind him to the right. It is a purple flower with four petals. In the center, a skull shape is formed.
Mamoru: “That’s a Violet Cross. This flower is extremely poisonous. Touching it, inhaling its spores, or eating it will result in severe poisoning. The exact symptoms vary, but there is no cure for any of them.”
Mamoru walks over to the Violet Cross. He sits down beside the flower and looks something up in his book, as if checking whether his explanation from earlier was actually correct.
Najun: “Didn’t you just say it’s extremely poisonous? You should probably not get that close.”
Mamoru: “It’s fine. I’m a first-class ranger. I’m practically connected to nature.”
Mamoru looks to the side and notices something incredible.
Mamoru: “Look. Several Yellowfeathers. They’re really rare and make a delicious soup. I should collect them right away.”
While Mamoru gathers the Yellowfeathers, he continues talking nonstop about the forest’s botany and what can be done with the plants. At first, Najun doesn’t listen much, but after several minutes, he completely loses interest.
Najun: “[Even though I have more important things to do, I want to know who the rabbit woman injured. The urge to go back grows with every step. Everything is strange and complicated. What happened while I was unconscious? Why can’t I read anymore or use my abilities?]”
Mamoru: “Alright, we can keep going. Let’s take the left path. It has fewer trees and is easier to pass through.”
Najun: “You’re the ranger, so we’ll do what you think is best.”
Mamoru nods in satisfaction and walks ahead. Along the way, he collects more plants and insects that could be useful. He even holds a Smoke Cockroach right in front of Najun’s face. The disgust nearly makes Najun collapse.
Najun: “Get that disgusting thing away from me.”
Mamoru laughs at Najun and keeps collecting. Without noticing, four mysterious figures approach the two boys. A small person steps forward. She stands next to Mamoru and helps him collect insects and plants.
???: “Look. A Ladybug Flower.”
She holds the flower up in front of Mamoru’s face. He takes it from her and examines it closely.
Mamoru: “It looks a bit unhealthy. Better leave it where it is.”
???: “Just because something looks broken doesn’t mean you should throw it away. You can nurse it back to health.”
Only now does Mamoru realize the unfamiliar person standing beside him. He looks at her in surprise.
Mamoru: “Where did you come from, little girl?”
???: “I was taking a walk with my friends and my brother. We got a bit lost, so now we’re wandering through the forest. Completely helpless.”
Mamoru: “You got lost? Then as the ranger of this forest, I naturally have to help you.”
???: “That would be wonderful.”
She walks back into the forest and brings the others with her. Together, the four of them return.
Mamoru pulls out his book and a pen. He flips far toward the back and licks the tip of his pen.
Mamoru: “What are your names?”
???: “My name is Liko.”
Mamoru looks up and takes a step back.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Liko turns around as one of the others whispers something into her ear. They all wear black cloaks. On their backs is a symbol: a purple circle with a strangely shaped object in the center. It looks like it has wings.
Mamoru: “Wait a second… You are not allowed in this part of the forest. Due to this violation, I have to arrest you.”
Liko: “Hahahaha. We’ll see about that.”
The three people behind Liko circle Mamoru and Najun. They form a square, trapping them inside.
Liko: “You wanted to help us. What’s wrong with you now?”
Liko looks at Mamoru sadly. Either she is an excellent actress—or she is truly sad. She walks forward and approaches Najun.
Liko: “Is this ranger helping you?”
Najun nods nervously and takes a step back. Liko mirrors his movement with a step of equal length. She has to tilt her head far upward because she is much smaller than Najun. Najun notices a long red line across her face.
Liko: “That’s unfair. Why do you help him but not us?”
Mamoru: “I already told you—you are not allowed to be here, and that’s why I’m arresting you now.”
Before Mamoru can do anything, a silver whip coils around his right arm.
???: “Don’t touch my little sister.”
Najun recognizes the voice instantly. He quickly turns toward the whip’s wielder. He can hardly believe who he is seeing.
Najun: “K-K-Kogiri?! What are you doing here? Where are the others?”
Najun is overjoyed to finally see a familiar face.
Kogiri: “Hello, Najun.”
Kogiri speaks as if he is swallowing shards of glass. His hands tremble slightly, and he swallows hard.
Najun: “It’s okay, Mamoru. He’s one of my people. They could help us.”
Mamoru grinds his teeth and puts on an angry expression.
Mamoru: “You don’t understand, Najun.”
Najun: “What do you mean?”
Mamoru: “These are members of the Society of Winged Mud. They are dangerous criminals who were given a section of the forest they are not allowed to leave. Completely cut off from the land—and from me.”
Najun smiles smugly.
Najun: “Society of Winged Mud? What a funny name. No, that’s Kogiri—a carriage driver for my family. These people are probably his colleagues or acquaintances.”
Mamoru: “You need to run. Run as fast as you can.”
The two other figures move to Najun’s sides, cutting off his escape. One of them is enormous and breathes loudly. The other is about the same height as Najun.
Najun: “Guys, can you please tell my ranger friend that you’re not evil or something?”
Liko: “We’re not evil. The ranger just seems a little crazy.”
Kogiri: “The ranger is right. You should have run.”
The whip flings Mamoru high into the air. He lands in a bush. Immediately after, the whip wraps around his left arm. Kogiri pulls hard.
Kogiri: “I’ll end your suffering quickly. I promise.”
Liko: “Please don’t. I want to hurt him more. The holes in his leg weren’t enough for me.”
Kogiri: “No. You’ve hurt him enough.”
Najun looks at Liko.
Najun: “You did this to me? When were you at the hospital?”
Liko giggles with one hand covering her mouth. Kogiri pulls even harder on Najun’s arm, dragging him closer.
Kogiri: “I’ll kill him quickly. The ranger might still be useful.”
Najun is overwhelmed by too much information at once. He can hardly believe that Kogiri is affiliated with high-profile criminals—and is even working for them.
Najun: “Kogiri, what is this? Let me go.”
Kogiri: “I’m so sorry.”
He releases Najun’s arm and prepares to attack. He tenses his arm, gathering strength. Before the whip can pierce Najun, Najun rolls away.
Najun: “Hey! Are you insane?!”
Kogiri unleashes many more whip strikes, but Najun dodges all of them. He grabs a stone and throws it at Kogiri.
Najun doesn’t have the physical ability to dodge Kogiri indefinitely, but considering his condition, he’s doing surprisingly well.
With great effort, he grabs the whip and steps on it. After only brief contact, pain shoots through Najun’s hand. He lets go immediately and looks at his palm.
Najun: “Ow… it’s so cold.”
Najun notices a cold burn on his palm. He grits his teeth and clenches his hand. Despite the pain, he squeezes it tighter and tighter.
Kogiri: “If I had hit you the first time, it would’ve been over quickly. Without pain or suffering.”
Najun: “Shut up, you traitor. I don’t know what happened while I was asleep, and I don’t know what you did to my family—but I swear, you’ll pay for all of it. I blame you for everything.”
Kogiri prepares another attack. His expression remains unmoved by Najun’s words.
Kogiri: “We didn’t know each other for that long anyway.”
Najun: “So what?! It was still a bond you just threw away. I still don’t understand everything since I woke up, but I know this—you’re a traitor. You’re a piece of shit.”
Najun hears a hissing sound behind him. A silver snake coils around his legs. He neither saw nor heard it approach. He follows its body with his eyes until he realizes it ends at Kogiri’s whip handle.
Najun: “Even more secrets?”
Before the snake can bite him, a hand grabs Najun’s uninjured arm and pulls him away. It’s Mamoru.
Mamoru: “We need to go back to the hospital. We’ll hide there.”
Najun: “I can’t run properly.”
They stop briefly, and Mamoru forces Najun onto his back. With Najun on his back, Mamoru sprints toward the hospital, unaware of how close their pursuers are.
Mamoru: “We’re there. We don’t have time to worry about the rabbit woman too. We should hide somewhere at the top.”
They enter the hospital and immediately disappear inside. A short time later, their four pursuers arrive at the hospital entrance.
Liko braces herself on her knees and nearly collapses from lack of oxygen.
Liko: “Do you have to be that fast? There’s no time to catch your breath.”
???: “Sorry, Princess. Next time, I’ll run with you. As punishment, you may stab me with your needle.”
Liko: “It’s fine, Shime. I’ll let it slide this time. Don’t you want to apologize to me too, Necromar? Shime is always so well-behaved about it, and I can never get my brother to apologize—so now only you’re missing.”
The large man kneels in front of Liko and murmurs something. Even though it’s unintelligible, Liko smiles and hugs him. He straightens up again and adjusts the bandages on his face. His entire body is wrapped in bandages.
Kogiri: “Be quiet now. We need to find them and kill them. We were planning to come here anyway, so we can start the mission here.”
Liko: “My brother is a born leader. Everyone does what he says.”
Shime: “Yes, Princess.”
Necromar mutters something that also sounds like “yes.”
They enter the abandoned and cursed hospital.
