RGS Volume 2 Part 11

Abel, while lying down, crawled around the perimeter of the clearing like a dog, observing carefully. Of course, he didn’t hold back from explaining as he did so.

“Oh dear, what a pity. It doesn’t seem to be here either. But don’t give up. We’ve only searched a third of the area, so if we keep looking a bit more, we’re sure to find the direction they came from. Hehe.”

Abel turned to face the one trying to kill him, clenched his fist, and then resumed his search diligently. Meanwhile, Karas, who didn’t even have any expectations, was watching his back from a distance. Abel didn’t notice, but his eyes were as intense as when he fought in the battlefield.

His eyes, cold and gleaming with murderous intent, looked as though they could slice Abel’s body to pieces at any moment. However, holding his sword loosely, he did not move. Killing him could wait until after that guy really found something. No, even if what he found wasn’t the real path, it didn’t matter.

The important thing was to behead him at the moment he felt relieved. No, it wouldn’t be any fun to kill him outright. Karas, deciding he wanted to see the dying eyes just like with the last soldier, took a few steps closer to Abel, who had crawled a bit ahead. Abel was still busily talking to himself.

“Did you see the soldiers’ shoes over there? Fortunately, there are foxtail seeds stuck to the soles. They probably came through a field. When I came to this area, it was all mountainous terrain, so a field could be a big clue. Foxtail seeds are light and can stick to the dirt on shoe soles for up to two days. Usually, they fall off after a day, but…”

A small slender man, his face smeared with blood and dirt from who knows where. He was so small that he could easily be lifted with one arm. The more he talked, the more it put Karas in a foul mood.

First, those green eyes, then pretending not to recognize him while babbling about His Majesty this and that. Especially that talk.

‘He is such a delicate person who couldn’t easily harm even a bug…’

To spout such nonsense with those seemingly innocent green eyes. And now even using that irritating tone of voice. Karas stopped at a spot and slowly walked towards the figure diligently scanning ahead. He was shouting with a face full of joy.

“Euhahaha― I found it, Commander! There are traces here. Surely everyone must have come this way.”

As Abel stood up from the ground, Karas raised his sword behind him. However, Abel, who wasn’t aware, pointed ahead with his hand and explained earnestly.

“Do you see the fallen tree in front? Thanks to that tree, I found out more clearly. Oh, but looking at the cut side of the tree, it seems like someone fell. They were trying to clear the path.”

When Karas darkened his eyes and was about to strike with his sword, Abel’s pitiful voice was heard.

“Sigh, looks like another kingdom has fallen.”

Pause.

Karas’ sword stopped in mid-air for the second time that day. After a moment, the small blond head turned and gave Karas an awkward smile.

“Ah, well, you see, a single tree is like a small country in itself. There are so many living creatures in the tree.”

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Humans are bound to feel lonely. But the problem with Ashler’s loneliness was that it was followed by a headache. It was a side effect of trying to stay sane among strange humans.

“My goodness! It’s truly amazing. Abel has been reincarnated after 12 years!”

Nani’s eyes gleamed like an eagle spotting its prey. This was undoubtedly the best news of his boring life. He had to put aside rational judgment if he wanted to be interested in rumors and curious about other people’s stories. For Nani, who believed in all sorts of superstitions, this news was absolutely thrilling.

“Please tell me more. If he is a young master and Abel at the same time, then he has been reborn in someone else’s body?!”

“Yes, yes!”

Melmond was amazed at Nani, who grasped the situation at once without any explanation and nodded his head. Forgetting his surprise being caught, he quickly added,

“The young master’s body is very weak.”

Then he looked around nervously. Most of the soldiers had left to search the surroundings, and only two remained to deal with the bodies. Melmond pointed to the forest where the soldiers had gone to search.

“To some extent, even walking a little makes him out of breath and weak enough to faint. So, I need to find him quickly.”

Ashler, who had been suffering from a headache, almost burst into laughter. It was hard to believe that the sturdy Abel would get out of breath just by walking a little. Of course, they say he was reborn with a weak body, but the word “weak” did not suit Abel. Ashler, who vividly remembered his bandit-like face and body even after 12 years could hardly believe it. However, aside from Ashler, the other three were already united as one.

“Oh no, that’s a big problem! In that case, then we should split up and search too.”

When Nani, who had joined the ranks of the worried people, spoke, the butler strongly agreed.

“Of course. Surely our young master must have fallen somewhere in the forest, looking as innocent as the morning dew. If anyone were to see him like that, they would immediately become a slave to love immediately! The original young master would snap someone out of it with a rude remark, but Abel is kind. It’s dangerous.”

The identity of the worry that the butler had expressed was revealed. Of course, Melmond raised objections.

“Dangerous? This is a crisis situation that goes beyond danger! If some love-struck fool sees Abel’s fairy-like appearance and decides to kidnap him, it would be a disaster. Ashler, please find him quickly. And please, never ever trust your subordinates.”

Ashler realized that this was not a situation to laugh off anymore. Even though he could understand that Abel had a weak body, he couldn’t entertain the notion of him being a fairy-like, innocent creature of the morning dew.

“If any of your subordinates find Abel, they might be blinded by love and claim they didn’t see him, hiding Abel. We must find him ourselves before that happens.”

“Sir Melmond.”

Ashler called him firmly and persuaded him in a stern voice.

“Rest for now. It’s clear that you’re not feeling well. We will find Abel, no, we will find the young master.”

“But…”

“Even if I’m blinded by love, I will find him. So please trust me.”

And please rest. As Ashler spoke firmly with his eyes, one of his subordinates called him from behind.

When the soldier pointed to the ground, Ashler hurriedly approached. On the floor was writing covered in dark, dried blood. But there were visible words.

‘The old east.’

The old east? It was highly likely that someone, a pure fairy who believed to be Abel’s reincarnation, had written it. Ashler immediately gave orders to the soldier.

“Pass it on to the other soldiers. Except for a few, search the east side of the forest, mainly looking for traces of old ruins or buildings. And.”

He turned his gaze to the cold stare he felt on the back of his head. Melmond and the butler were sending urgent and desperate looks from behind. Their wishes were one. They wanted him to warn his subordinates not to fall in love with the pure fairy.

Nani, who had also into the existence of the pure fairy, joined in with the same intense gaze forgetting Ashler’s authority, adding pressure to him. With all three of them acting like this, it was quite overwhelming. Ashler gritted his teeth and decided to postpone scolding Nani for now. And he gave his soldiers a request.

“Even if you come across someone who has fallen.”

“Yes, please speak.”

“Even if you see them.”

“Yes, Captain Ashler.”

The soldier nodded eagerly, waiting for the next words, but Ashler couldn’t easily say it. When Melmond, who couldn’t bear it, coughed loudly and cleared his throat behind him, Ashler’s words barely continued.

“…bring them back without falling for them.”

“Yes, bring them back… Yes?”

“…”

“Captain Ashler.”

The soldier who called him made a serious suggestion.

“Please take a rest.”

Perhaps because of the worried people, fortunately, there was no one who fell in love with the fairy in the old ruins in the southeast of the forest. There were only those who wielded swords.

⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ⊹˚. ♡.𖥔 ݁ ˖

“Oh, what I meant was, um, there are many life forms, so… um, small kingdoms or something…”

Abel’s words gradually became unclear. He stared blankly, mouth agape, at Karas. His gray eyes, even the vitality, turned into ice and made Abel stop his breath.

“Hey.”

Abel, who barely opened his mouth, whispered.

“Why are you raising your sword?”

The cold, gleaming gray eyes narrowed sharply. A half-opened mouth in surprise and the wide green eyes. A face with dirt stains but still looks young. However, the one pretending to be innocent was the best fake that Karas had ever encountered.

For the past six years, those who had annoyingly approached him under the name “Regas.” They all tried to imitate Abel. There were even those who looked exactly like him. They imitated his flustered but gentle tone, exaggerated gestures when surprised, and even his simple laughter. They copied Abel’s frequently used words as well.

Disgusting b*stards. Their acting didn’t impress Karas at all. Instead, it piled up a frost-like anger inside him. So, if anyone imitated Abel even a little, he would unhesitatingly slit their throat in one swift motion.

Thanks to that, there hasn’t been anyone imitating Abel recently. However, someone appeared blatantly using Abel’s tone and rambling about nature. Moreover, this guy’s acting was the best Karas has ever seen.

He even went as far as pretending not to know him so naturally. Even when he heard the name Karas. That’s why Karas spared him for a moment. He had to kill him more painfully. He had to mutilate his body and hear terror-filled screams from his mouth.

[T/N: Boy, you are going to regret this T-T]

However, this guy exceeded his expectations. How dare he speak about the conversation in the Dragon Forest that no one knew about? How on earth did he know? Karas slowly drew his sword, feeling his heart chillingly sink. The indescribable anger actually made him feel more composed.

Thud.

He took a step back and opened his mouth.

“Take the lead.”

A commanding voice spoke authoritatively. However, Abel couldn’t respond immediately. His eyes were clearly fixed on him with a cold gaze just a moment ago. Now they had returned, as if belonging to someone else, with a hazy gaze. Abel wondered if he had misjudged and quickly gave his answer.

“Oh, yes. I, I will go first.”

Abel forced his trembling legs to move and stepped into the pathless forest. Soon, he heard footsteps following him from behind, but strangely, the chill down his spine grew. The slow footsteps following him felt like they were approaching to kill him.

His hands trembled. His vision also shook hazily. No, maybe it was his body shaking. However, he didn’t have the leisure to lower his head and properly assess the condition of his body. Even taking one step at a time felt overwhelming to him right now.

His breath came out rough, as if a bitter taste lingered in his mouth, and his chest was filled with pain so intense it felt like being stabbed with a knife. With every beat of his heart, the pain spread throughout his body. But Abel didn’t stop moving.

If he were the original owner of this body, he would have collapsed after a few steps. The forest, with no clear path, was much more challenging than flat ground. Furthermore, since he had to search for traces of movement mostly by bending over, his exhaustion became unbearable.

It was difficult for Abel to say that he would rest first unless Karas, who followed closely behind, told him to. Unable to resist, he had turned around just once. When his blurry eyes met Karas’, he slowly moved his hand to draw the sword from his waist. And then, the sound continued.

Swish.

The annoying action of dragging the sword on the ground now approached Abel completely differently. It was a signal that he could be killed at any moment. Since then, Abel never looked back. Fortunately, a narrow but long path appeared at some point.

However, by then, Abel’s trembling legs were already in a state where they could collapse at any moment. When the path appeared, Karas, who had been following, stepped forward. Then, surprisingly, he was the one to sit down by the roadside first. Finally feeling that he could rest, Abel collapsed to the ground as if he could go no further.

“Haa, haa, haa…”

Abel didn’t care how ridiculous he looked lying on the ground. With a body that couldn’t even lift a hand, he struggled just to catch his breath. His throat was so hot as if it would dry up. It was difficult to even move his tongue in his parched mouth. Abel rummaged through his pockets and found the smallest bottle with his fingertips. It was a small brown bottle, only as long as the first finger he used to pull it out.

“This is a medicine that you can take when you feel like you’re really going to die. The effect is very, very good, but it’s a strong medicine, so you can only take it two or three times a year, so you have to decide carefully.”

Despite the warning from the butler, Abel swallowed the contents of the brown bottle without hesitation. Even though it was just a few drops, the medicine filled his mouth with a strong, bitter smell. However, despite the pungent scent, his mind was not clear, and he couldn’t move for a while.

₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊

₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊

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T/N: I’ve been reading your comments guys^^

Thanks for your lovely support <3 I always get motivated by it!