Ch.21White Russian 3

The hand covering my face gradually moves upward.

Eventually, I scratched my head vigorously.

I wondered if it was a side effect of the wolf ears.

But soon I realized that I was feeling itchy because I felt uneasy about leaving Anna behind.

It’s true that she’s a psychopathic killer.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to run away and leave someone dying before my eyes.

Probably Jisoo noona wouldn’t have acted that way either.

The image of Anna dying would replay in my mind forever, just like how I remember Jisoo’s death.

Besides, what if I abandoned her and she survived…?

She would definitely kill me first for leaving her behind.

You shouldn’t leave a killer with a chance to kill you.

That thought dominated my mind.

Thanks to that, I ended up opening my backpack.

And I hurriedly began searching for a cocktail potion good for bleeding.

What I finally found was…

<Black Russian Potion>

Grade: ★★☆

Effect: Removes bleeding symptoms. (Increases strength by 10 if there is no bleeding)

However, due to intoxication, dexterity and judgment decrease by 10.

Information: A cocktail made with vodka and Kahlúa.

Not recommended for patients due to its high alcohol content.

As I opened the potion cap, a strong alcohol smell stung my nose.

The color being black made it feel like poison, which made me anxious.

Giving such alcohol to a patient would make people call me crazy.

But right now, being called crazy would be much better than living as a bystander for the rest of my life.

I sat down close to her.

And carefully laid her head on my thigh.

Anna’s soft hair caressed my skin.

I found the sensation disturbing, but I thought saving a person came first.

I slowly brought the potion to her dry lips.

Her eyebrows twitched as she smelled the alcohol.

“Try to drink some.”

I said to her in a low voice.

But the white-haired woman just trembled without saying anything.

I decided to feed her the potion myself when I realized her trembling wasn’t from cold but convulsions.

However, the problem was her mouth.

Anna kept her lips tightly closed, seeming extremely reluctant to receive help from me.

Was she being stubborn even in this situation?

She seemed to be dismissing me as a hypocrite even when facing death.

Because of that, I felt a bit defiant and placed my finger on Anna’s lips.

As I inserted my finger between her soft lips, I felt a moist sensation.

Soon I touched her teeth and began to force them apart.

Is this how it feels to give medicine to a wild beast?

Suddenly I was afraid she might bite my finger off with her sharp teeth.

But what choice did I have?

Even animal trainers have to pry open the jaws of beasts to give them medicine.

I finally managed to open her teeth.

Saliva stretched between her upper and lower teeth, wetting my finger.

I slowly dripped the potion down Anna’s throat.

Some leaked out along her lips, but ultimately I managed to feed her the entire bottle.

“…”

Gradually, I began to hear Anna’s breathing.

I could feel her faint pulse against my thigh, sensing that she was slowly coming back to life.

But this wasn’t enough yet.

I had only stopped the bleeding; her life was still in danger.

I reached into my backpack.

And took out most of the cocktails I had.

Two bottles of Kahlúa Milk, two bottles of Gin Tonic.

All potions that increase health and energy.

I fed her everything except the Black Russian, which had the highest alcohol content.

Sometimes I misjudged my strength and made her choke.

But I kept feeding her regardless.

Eventually, Anna seemed to regain some strength, and she slowly began to speak.

Thanks to that, I could at least ask if she was okay.

“Are you conscious?”

“St…”

“What?”

“Stop… feeding me…”

Anna opened her eyes drowsily.

Alcohol was dripping down her face.

The alcohol had soaked through to her white shirt.

I momentarily lost myself staring at Anna’s decadent appearance, as if she were intoxicated by medicine.

“What are you. Looking at?”

She asked with a cracked voice.

When her thinly opened white eyes stared at me piercingly, I suddenly sat up straight.

“I’m not looking at anything… I’m just looking down at you because you’re a patient.”

I gathered my backpack with trembling hands.

Whenever I’m with her, I always feel something strange.

Like all of me is being exposed.

Like I’m naked.

“Why did you. Save me.”

She muttered as if talking to herself.

“No one in the world wants to die.”

If she were truly someone born without emotions, she wouldn’t have spoken like this.

But I’ve glimpsed Anna’s past before.

So I dare to think there might be some hope for her rehabilitation.

Besides… if I didn’t save you, you might kill me later.

The hotel massacre show is still vivid in my mind.

Remembering those who died, I said:

“You felt it too, didn’t you? The pain of those people who were dying by your hand.”

“…”

I secured my backpack firmly and picked up the wolf ears.

Then I looked at Anna one last time.

“That’s what dying feels like. It’s the worst.”

With her face flushed red, she sat weakly leaning against the electric tower.

“When you leave, make sure to stitch up those wounds first!”

I shouted to her as I headed toward the bushes.

“And don’t go around getting stabbed anymore! Try to live decently!”

I said it several times before leaving.

But Anna didn’t give me any response.

If she was unconscious before, now she seemed to be asleep.

I decided not to disturb her anymore.

Instead, I calmly walked toward the fir tree path.

The park is very quiet.

The silence of the ruined city is filled only by crickets.

I return home leisurely with that sound as my companion.

A small light catches my eye at the end of the dimly spread horizon.

It’s probably where Sindorim Station used to be.

“…?”

Suddenly, while walking, a sense of incongruity creeps over me.

The leaves are trampled all over.

I was sure I was the only one who came this way…

I carefully took out the wolf ears.

And focused on the surrounding sounds while holding them to my head.

Fortunately, I don’t hear anything.

It’s probably just traces of someone who passed by…

My thoughts were completely cut off.

Because a sharp metal object gleamed from within the forest.

Soon, men with swords emerged from the bushes on both sides.

They wore white sackcloth over their bodies and covered their faces, making it impossible to identify them.

But one thing was certain.

The white sackcloth, which usually symbolizes goodness, was splattered with red blood.

Blue eyes flashed through the bushy hair.

He approached instantly and held a knife to my throat.

I definitely didn’t hear any sound, so how…

“Found him.”

He said in a cold voice.

Then someone walked from the direction of the horizon I was looking at earlier.

I was speechless when I saw her.

Because she was a white-haired woman as pale as Anna.

The difference was that she wore ceremonial clothes, was thinner, and

had her eyes covered with cloth.

“It’s not her.”

Her voice was clear and beautiful.

When the woman spoke, the swordsman nodded bitterly.

“We can’t be sure. She might be a pawn of the Hunter Killer.”

I look ridiculous with wolf ears on my head.

But I couldn’t bring myself to lower my hand.

Because I realized they were all rankers.

If I moved carelessly here, my neck would be cut immediately.

I could only plead with a trembling voice.

“Wait. I’m not that kind of person…”

“Then what kind of person are you?”

The swordsman asked.

“Just a wandering merchant. Look at my card wallet…”

When I answered, the swordsman hooked his knife on my card wallet hanging around my neck.

And skillfully removed it from my body.

“Han… Siho. 21 years old, non-ability user?”

I nodded repeatedly.

“What is an inn employee doing here?”

“I sell potions at night as a side job.”

“At this hour…? And as a non-ability user?”

“Well… I’m behind on rent…”

I mumbled while clutching my arm with one hand.

I wonder how many times I’ve had to explain this pathetic fact today.

The swordsman let out a laugh of disbelief.

He probably didn’t expect to hear such a story from me.

“It’s okay, First Sword. I don’t sense any evil energy from that child.”

At the veiled woman’s words, the man gradually withdrew his sword.

Then he knelt down to meet my eye level.

“I apologize. I’m currently on official duty, so I was a bit sensitive.”

The man took out his own card from his pocket and showed it to me.

It’s a membership card with an elegant design.

<First Sword, Lee Dae-eun>

Age: 32

Occupation: S-class Hunter, National Ranking 7th

Ability: Confidential

Information: Problem solver employed by the Hunter Association.

A problem solver for the Association that I’ve only heard about…

I never thought I’d actually see someone I’d only seen on the news.

“Was… was there something happening nearby?”

I asked, trying somehow to shift the focus away from me.

In response, Dae-eun adjusted the blood-stained sackcloth on his shoulder and answered.

“I cannot give details to civilians. However, we are looking for a wanted criminal.”

He took a photo from his pocket.

Showing me the somewhat crumpled photo, the ranker asked me again.

“Have you by any chance seen this woman around here?”

When I saw the person in the photo, it felt like all the blood in my body sank into the ground.

Because it was the very person I had just saved by selling all my possessions.

“She’s an extremely vicious criminal. She brutally killed young boys at an inn, and in the past, she even committed arson.”

The area under my eyes trembled.

With each word he spoke, I felt like I was becoming the criminal.

I blinked my cold eyes and tried to focus.

It’s okay, I’m not the criminal…

“If you haven’t seen this woman, any other suspicious person would be helpful.”

“Ah, a suspicious person…”

As if reading my thoughts, the swordsman kept pressing.

Wait, am I considered an accomplice too?

“If we find someone who helped her, we’ll torture them to find out her whereabouts. That’s how dangerous this woman is.”

Torture…

Sweat trickled down my forehead.

The distance from here to Anna is about thirty steps at most.

She’s close enough to be seen just by crossing the bushes behind me.

Should I turn myself in now?

I stare blankly at the swordsman.

His blue eyes flash like those of a madman.

“According to Association law, helping a wanted criminal is a serious offense. Regardless of the reason, you’ll face severe punishment.”

His cold voice instantly made me lose any desire to confess.

It doesn’t seem like they’d just let me go even if I told the truth.

I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts.

Yes, rather than being caught helping her and getting punished…

Let me help her one more time.

For my own sake.

“Actually, I did see her.”

I put my finger to my lips and spoke slowly.

“Really?”

The swordsman asked as if he had just solved a long-standing puzzle.

“Yes… that white-haired woman with strangely dull eyes, right?”

“That’s right. Exactly.”

He asked with expectant eyes.

“I saw her going toward D-Cube City earlier.”

“D-Cube City?”

“Yes… I thought about helping her, but she had so much blood on her that I was scared…”

I mumbled tearfully.

If there’s one thing I’m an expert at in life, it’s this kind of pathetic acting.

The swordsman nodded as if he understood.

“Indeed, anyone would freeze seeing that eerie appearance.”

He tucked his sword at his waist and turned his head.

“Councilor, let’s go. I’ve found the culprit’s whereabouts.”

“…”

I slowly observed the young woman.

Somehow, I felt like her gaze was directed at me.

Despite her eyes being covered.

The woman called Councilor slowly approached me.

And with her hand on her chest, she greeted me elegantly.

“Thank you, Miss Siho. Your information has been of great help to the Association.”

She must be from the Association.

If she’s a councilor, it means she’s one of the top 100 important figures among hunters…

“I will remember you.”

The pale woman’s face came close to mine.

At that moment, I felt a chill.

Because the energy I felt from her was similar to Anna’s.

White skin without a hint of blood.

Eyes covered, but a finely protruding nose and lips.

No eye patch could completely hide the woman’s beauty.

It was a sacred beauty, difficult to approach, like viewing a noble work of art.

“Yes, thank you…”

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly at my response.

Eventually, the woman began walking toward D-Cube City with the man.

Go ahead and look there all you want.

That’s where I met Seah’s party.

All they’ll find is the wolf’s corpse.

The swordsman walked ahead at a fast pace with his face covered by the sackcloth.

The woman gradually became smaller until she completely disappeared.

But even though they’ve completely vanished, I still feel uneasy.

The swordsman’s movements were strange, not making any sound, and the woman’s last words were also unsettling.

Her saying she would remember me seemed to refer not to my information, but to my ‘evil deed’ of helping Anna.

That anxiety urged me on.

“I need to go back…”

I took off my jacket and secured it firmly around my waist.

Having already helped her, I couldn’t let Anna get caught.

I hurriedly ran back toward the bushes.