At The End Of The Hidden Greenery

Chapter 26

“Gasp… Gasp…”

Like waking up from a nightmare, Jiwoo breathed heavily.

And she saw a man sitting on a chair next to the bed she was lying on.

Bright blonde. Green eyes filled with fresh green. A friendly smile that gently floated on the friendly face. As soon as his eyes saw Jiwoo, the long ears typical of children of Elandos moved.

“…Cal, Callandein?”

“Yes. That’s right. It’s Callan.”

Callan stroked Jiwoo’s forehead with his hand. The sweat-drenched hair was brushed away by his hands.

“Seo Jiwoo, you seem to have sleep apnea. Or did you have a nightmare?”

Nightmare? Was it a nightmare?

She did not know. What should be viewed in a nightmare and what should be viewed in an ordinary dream.

For Seo Jiwoo, a dream was just a reenactment of the past, not a fantasy world unfolding. But it was true that she could not breathe, and her head was a bit dizzy.

“I was going to let you sleep a little longer, but you weren’t breathing properly.”

The gentle touch of his finger continued to stroke Jiwoo’s forehead. The stroking hand was like a gesture to put a child to sleep, so Jiwoo quietly closed her eyes and then opened it again.

“…How did you just know that name?”

“I heard from Helka. You’re so mean. I introduced myself to you properly, but you didn’t tell me your name?”

Callan smiled softly while speaking like a rebuke.

Come to think of it, she was alone with Helkainis inside the old tree that had been barricaded, and one thing led to another. She seemed to have fallen asleep crying in his arms, but when she woke up, it was this.

Come to think of it, Helkainis seemed to have regained his sanity at the end, but after Jiwoo fell asleep, she had no idea what had happened.

“Is Helkainis okay?”

“…Yes. Surprisingly, he’s fine. Thank you. I’ll thank you separately and properly later.”

“Where is he now?”

“We have a friend in our group who lives far away. He went to pick him up. He’ll be back tonight. Maybe if he had known that Seo Jiwoo would wake up so early, he would have waited… When he comes back, give him a good flick to the head.”

Callandlein got up for a while, perhaps because Jiwoo’s hoarse voice was bothering him, and brought her a glass of cold water. Jiwoo, who was happy to drink the cold water, asked abruptly.

“How long was I asleep?”

“About two days. I saw that you recovered a little while you were sleeping. You’re malnourished, and you’ve lost a lot of stamina. Even if you’re the Akarna, staying in that state for a long time is dangerous.”

Callan said naggingly and tapped the center of her forehead with his finger. Then he bowed his head under the bed, picked up a strange-looking instrument and held it in front of Jiwoo.

“Come on, Seo Jiwoo. Come down and try it.”

“What’s this?”

When Jiwoo looked wary, he untied the apparatus and showed it. Leather was lined on a wooden bar. And, there were enough straps to wrap around it.

“It’s a brace. I heard from Lanceil that you broke your leg, right?”

Come to think of it, Lanceil went to Callan as soon as he brought Jiwoo here. Lanceil had referred to her injured leg. Callandein seemed to be the doctor here.