Chapter 18

Mirang still didn’t reveal herself and quickly asked what the man wanted most.

Goblins always liked things that were fun and entertaining. They made bets with humans and leaned toward whatever was more amusing. That was their nature. Mirang didn’t miss this chance.

A human left alone.

Hisa gone.

From the human came the scent of fire. Since ancient times, no human who carried the smell of fire had lived without cutting others down. When nations fought great wars, when rulers changed, when kingdoms fell, those who smelled of fire always stood at the front. A human filled with greed, one who would burn himself and even burn a country.

Mirang was excited.

It had been a long time since she met a human who smelled like fire.

A human who would do great things was here. Something interesting might happen.

“Where did she go?”

– Want me to take you there?

“Why should I trust what you say, when you’re the one who trapped me in this forest?”

Whoosh.

Once again, a cold blade flew through the air. This time too, it was aimed exactly where Mirang stood. She leaped far beyond a human’s reach to widen the distance. Her heart pounded. That was a sword granted by the king. It could even kill monsters and goblins, so she had to be careful.

– I can take you to where you can see Hisa.

Hong Yeom-rang glared into the empty air.

At worst, he lost nothing. If he moved on his own, he would just end up walking in circles because of these creatures’ tricks.

“Lead the way.”

For someone asking a favor, his attitude was shameless.

But since he treated Hisa the same way, Mirang didn’t mind. As long as it was fun, that was enough for her. Putting a furious human together with Hisa would definitely be entertaining. She might even get to see Hisa get angry.

One side of the forest split open.

It was the opposite direction from where Hisa had disappeared.

But Hong Yeom-rang didn’t ask anything further and stepped onto the path the forest opened.

“G-ghost or human?”

The trembling voice of a man who had wandered the forest all night reached Hisa’s ears. She said nothing. Whenever the goblins took control of the forest like this, there were always people who got lost. The fox hated goblins and sometimes delivered messages to Hisa directly. That someone had gotten lost again.

She couldn’t go near the village with Hong Yeom-rang attached to her.

But if she lied to him, he would definitely find out, so she had run out without thinking.

She should have paid more attention. The sound of goblins giggling as they teased the human all night echoed from all directions. Only Hisa could hear it, not the man, so she let out a sigh.

“Ugh… I have an old mother and a young daughter. Please spare me, please.”

From about twenty steps away, she quietly watched him. Then Hisa took a step forward.

After about five steps, she looked back. The man was still crying. She stopped again and waited until he followed.

“H-hey, m-miss. Are you human? You are human, right?”

Did it even matter whether she was human or not right now.

Every person who got lost asked her the same thing. When dawn began to break and sunlight spread, the man behind her finally stopped asking. If she were a ghost, she would have disappeared long ago.

Hisa stopped in front of the sacred tree.

“A village! A village! Thank you. I don’t know how to repay this kindness. Thank you.”

The man spotted the village and ran past the sacred tree toward the entrance. Then he turned back to thank her properly.

But there was nothing there.

The traveling peddler, who wandered from place to place, called out “Miss, miss,” with a dazed expression as if bewitched by a ghost. But Hisa was already gone.

The place the goblin Mirang brought Hong Yeom-rang to was a cliff overlooking the village. If he climbed down this cliff and crossed a short stretch of forest, he would reach the sacred tree. The familiar village with lights still on lay below. And Hong Yeom-rang could clearly see Hisa guiding a lost man to the sacred tree.

The cliff was quite high.

If he jumped, he would die. He understood why the goblin had chosen this place.

They were trying to stop him from returning to the village. That shallow trick made the corner of his lips curl.

A monster who kept him trapped in the forest, yet gently guided a lost human back to the village.

Was this the difference between how she treated a sacrifice and an ordinary human?

Just then, as Hong Yeom-rang stared down at Hisa with cold eyes, she suddenly lifted her head. Then she startled as if she had seen a ghost. Hong Yeom-rang smiled and waved from the cliff.

Just like when she had disappeared, Hisa ran lightly toward him. From above, the way the forest opened paths for her was a spectacle. Hong Yeom-rang stood still and waited.

“H-how…?”

“A goblin brought me.”

“A person got lost…”

“So you left me behind for some stranger you don’t even know?”

“That’s…”

“A sacrifice like me?”

Hong Yeom-rang asked arrogantly. Without his hair, she couldn’t even survive from hunger, yet she chose to safely escort a stranger.

“If someone dies wandering here, that’s not okay.”

“What does it matter to you if he dies here?”

Hong Yeom-rang stepped closer. Hisa, breathing hard from running, looked pale even though he had already fed her earlier. She looked as if she had been threatened into this state. A part of his rough heart liked seeing her like that.

“Ah… you said you like humans. That’s right, our lady said she likes humans.”

“Yeah. And…”

“Lady.”

Hong Yeom-rang cut her off and called her.

“Yeah?”

“Then how much do you like your sacrifice?”

…Should she like her sacrifice?

Hisa blinked. Hong Yeom-rang was clearly different from past sacrifices. First of all, she had never spoken this openly with one before. She had made a mistake bringing him here. The same question surfaced again. How did he even get here? Well, it had to be the goblins. They were probably laughing behind her right now.

“Answer me. Whether I jump off here or not depends on your answer, lady.”

“Jump? Why?”

“A sacrifice who’s treated worse than some random human. Might as well just die.”

Hisa had seen him cut the hair he had grown his whole life. Hong Yeom-rang was the kind of man who would act if something upset him.

“I like you! A lot!”

She even added “a lot” and widened her eyes as she said it. Hong Yeom-rang, who had never intended to jump at all, narrowed his eyes. Now she was lying without hesitation.

“If something happens to me, what were you going to do, leaving me like that? I still don’t get it.”

“…You won’t get hurt. But that person could have, after wandering all night.”

“And when I was going in circles, you just left me?”

“I was watching you then.”

The forest at dawn was cold enough to seep into the bones. Hong Yeom-rang watched his breath scatter in the air each time he spoke. Finally hearing what he wanted, his eyes gleamed as he looked at her.

Fine. Maybe she didn’t take him toward the village because she thought he might return.

But the gap between Hisa, who could hide within the forest, and himself, who couldn’t cross that boundary as a human, made anger surge inside him. She was calmly guiding a human while unaware that he was watching from above.

“Then you must have seen it all, when you bewitched your sacrifice.”

“Huh?”

“The goblins all know. They said they saw it. You did too.”

His voice turned thick.

The image flashed through Hisa’s mind. Hong Yeom-rang gripping himself against the cave wall, cursing through his teeth. The goblins had seen it. She had too. Her thin eyelashes trembled.

“Now answer me again. Between the sacrifice you bewitched and some random human passing by, which one matters more?”

Even Hisa knew she couldn’t say both.

The human she had bewitched. Hong Yeom-rang insisted she had specifically bewitched him, not a goblin. Hisa was flustered.