Chapter 65: Chapter 65
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 65
As one’s position rises, it’s natural for people to appear to assist them.
Just as Wendigo had excellent right and left hands in Skadi and Geron, Skadi and Geron also had such figures.
In Skadi’s case, Osa could be considered a kind of secretary and assistant.
In Skadi’s hut, Osa brewed and served tea for Skadi.
“You’ve worked hard today as well.”
“Osa-ssi also worked hard today, treating the warriors together.”
As Skadi sipped the tea with a clear smile, Osa grinned and waved her hand.
“Rather, wasn’t it a precious time where I could learn a lot by your side? I’ve learned more under you than I did wandering alone.”
“Hehe. Thank you for the kind words.”
“But it’s true!”
As Skadi humbly replied and sipped her tea, Osa sent her a look filled with respect.
While it’s easy to find a skilled shaman, it’s rare to find one with both skill and character.
As if to prove this, Osa brought out the thank-you gifts left by the warriors and showed them to Skadi.
“Among all the shamans I’ve seen, only you receive things like this, Skadi-nim. It’s not just about skill; why would people give such gifts if they didn’t like you?”
Despite the high-quality clothing, accessories, and luxury items like scent pouches being hard to obtain in the forest, people willingly gave them to Skadi.
Osa was proud of this fact even though she wasn’t the recipient. To her, Skadi was a kind of role model.
“I think you should boast about yourself to people more, Skadi-nim.”
“Hmm… I’m not sure.”
Skadi traced her teacup with her finger, feeling embarrassed.
While she had matured compared to the past, she too had many clumsy aspects back then.
“Actually, if I hadn’t met Wendigo-nim, I might not have been much different from other shamans.”
“Indeed, the spirit-nim is also good.”
“No, that’s not what I meant…”
Skadi smiled awkwardly as she recalled the past.
Honestly, inciting people to fanatically follow Wendigo was a kind of dark history.
‘If I had done wrong, I might have created a group of fanatics following Wendigo-nim…’
She sipped her tea and imagined herself giving speeches with fanatical gestures in front of people.
And when her eyes met Osa’s, she felt embarrassed even though she hadn’t actually done it.
“Skadi-nim. What’s wrong?”
“Ah, it’s nothing! Um, would you like some apple pie I made? I have some left over from what I made for Wendigo-nim.”
“Yes!!!”
At the mention of Skadi’s apple pie, Osa threw away all the conversation they had just had far away.
Due to the influence of her childhood plagued by hunger, she had become crazy about delicious food.
As Osa drooled and fidgeted, Skadi brought a plate of apple pie with a motherly smile.
Apple pie with finely chopped tart apples, filled with honey, cinnamon, and cream, topped with crispy bread brushed with maple syrup.
“Ahhh…”
“Osa-ssi. You’re drooling!”
“Slurp. So-Sorry. It’s my first time seeing such a delicious-looking apple pie… Can I really eat it?”
Osa grabbed the utensils while asking for permission. She looked at Skadi pitifully like a puppy with a snack in front of it.
Skadi nodded and cut the apple pie herself. Osa watched the scene reverently.
The strong apple scent wafting out and the crispy appearance of the pie like autumn leaves naturally made her mouth water…
“Skadi-nim! Osa-nim! The spirit-nim is urgently calling for you.”
“……”
Skadi paused as she was cutting the pie.
For Wendigo, who usually accommodated his subordinates’ convenience, to urgently call meant it was quite an important matter…
Skadi looked at Osa with a regretful gaze. She carefully asked her:
“Osa. Um… Shall we eat when we come back?”
Osa’s lips trembled with an expression as if the sky had fallen.
Of course, she knew they had to go, but she couldn’t accept the fact that she had to leave the apple pie right in front of her.
‘If I say I’ll eat on the way… it would lower the dignity of shamans.’
If she did such a thing, it would tarnish not only her reputation but also that of Skadi and other shamans.
Osa hung her head and answered:
“… Yes. We should go. No matter how delicious the apple pie looks, Wendigo-nim is calling.”
“We-We can keep it warm and eat it deliciously when we come back. Let’s eat together when we’re done with work.”
Seeing the most dejected expression she had ever seen, Skadi comforted Osa as if soothing a child.
Osa nodded and cut a small piece of apple pie, thinking to at least taste it before leaving.
Crunch.
‘… There are days that are sad because it’s too delicious.’
Skadi’s apple pie was the best pie she had ever eaten.
Osa couldn’t be more saddened by this fact.
Skadi and Osa, who had an audience with Wendigo, received an explanation about the envoy group.
Skadi thought it was certainly an important matter given that an envoy group had arrived…
“F-For such a reason, my apple pie…”
Osa staggered when she learned that the reason she was called was because of Sira.
For such a matter, couldn’t they have called another shaman!
‘… They said they’d help later!’
Osa cursed the other unhelpful shamans. Of course, she knew they were also helping people around the forest, but she couldn’t help feeling resentful.
To Osa, who had lost her apple pie right before her eyes, such trivial facts didn’t matter.
Skadi patted Osa’s pitifully trembling shoulders.
“Osa. Cheer up.”
“Yes…”
Osa nodded weakly and explained about Sira.
What kind of tribe the Freyr tribe was, who their ancestor was, and how strongly Sira inherited that bloodline…
“Sira is also an excellent merchant. There’s even a joke among shamans that endless catalysts and reagents roll around in her warehouse.”
“A merchant, huh. Then we can assume that her participation in this envoy was sufficiently calculated.”
Osa nodded. Sira was certainly capable of such.
She was a woman who always moved calmly after assessing the situation, never acting rashly, so it would have been the same this time.
With no more words coming to mind, Osa bowed politely and stepped back.
Wendigo tapped the armrest of his throne with his claws out of habit as he organized his thoughts.
‘Merchant. A merchant…’
While the word merchant meant that negotiation was possible, Wendigo didn’t let his guard down.
Just recalling the case of the human-faced trees showed that the merchants of this world were quite extraordinary individuals.
‘They’re the kind who would dig up and sell human corpses if they could.’
Of course, not all merchants would be like that, but Sira was an excellent merchant and shaman.
When these two suspicious-smelling things were combined, it was hard to find a more dubious character.
‘The problem is that it’s a shame to drive her away without even meeting her.’
It would be good to meet at least once with a woman who was practically the owner of one of the few cities in the north.
Having organized his thoughts, Wendigo gestured to Geron.
“Tell the riders to guide the envoy group. It would be good to meet her, even if she wasn’t in the original plan.”
“I’ll tell them to watch for any suspicious behavior.”
“Yes. Tell them they can attack if they do anything strange.”
Geron nodded and left the temple.
Naturally, only Wendigo, Skadi, and Osa remained here.
“Wendigo-nim. If it’s alright, may we withdraw now?”
“It’s been a while since Skadi asked to leave first… Do you have some urgent business?”
Wendigo was puzzled. Usually, Skadi wanted to stay together as much as possible.
Whenever she had a chance to talk, she would bring up even trivial stories like Oneton’s picky eating habits to stay…
“Ahaha. Well…”
Skadi glanced at Osa. Osa’s face was losing its light and slowly losing warmth.
“We-We were researching new shamanism in the hut!”
“Oh my, I picked a bad time. You may go now. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you! Come on, Osa! Let’s go!”
Skadi, feeling guilty for deceiving Wendigo, hurriedly reached out to Osa.
Osa’s eyes lit up at the benevolent hand of salvation(?) and grabbed it eagerly.
Wendigo noticed Osa’s change and was puzzled.
‘Has Osa been given a lot of work recently? I don’t think that was the case…’
However, Wendigo couldn’t ask them. Their footsteps were too solemn, like those of heroes.
Surely there must be some important thing he didn’t know about!
Wendigo’s orders were always delivered by the fastest ravens in the forest.
Jaken, the leader of the Blue Mane tribe and the de facto leader of the wolf riders, checked the missive.
[ Escort the envoy group, including the shaman named Sira, to the spirit-nim’s temple. However, you may kill them if they act suspiciously. ]
“Hmm… If the spirit-nim has allowed it, we have no choice.”
“Will it be alright? Letting an outside shaman into the forest…”
A warrior showed his dislike and questioned Jaken. Other warriors didn’t show it, but their thoughts weren’t much different.
In their opinion, except for the forest shamans, the rest were selfish people who only cared about their own interests.
“Honestly, except for our shamans, they all seem like bad guys.”
“The ones who passed the spirit-nim’s test must be different from them. I heard the ones who invaded the forest this time were those who failed the test.”
“Quiet! This is ultimately the spirit-nim’s will. We just need to follow the spirit-nim’s orders.”
When Jaken spoke firmly, the warriors put aside their personal feelings. His words were certainly right.
After all, since the spirit-nim had allowed it, there was no need for them to judge personally…
At that moment, with a wolf’s howl, a shadow darted out past Jaken.
“Woof! Woof woof!”
“Who is it! Who rushed out without orders!”
Jaken frowned and looked around. Whether out of ambition or loyalty, he couldn’t forgive a warrior who didn’t follow orders.
But… the warriors were standing firmly in place, waiting for his orders. They pointed ahead with surprised expressions.
“Oneton! Oneton rushed out!”
“What!?”
Jaken was startled and looked ahead. Why was the name of that cursed spirit whose life the spirit-nim had ended being mentioned here!
Of course, it wasn’t that Oneton. How could a spirit whose core had been torn out by Wendigo come back to life?
What the warriors pointed to was the giant wolf favored by Wendigo.
Jaken realized the identity of the shadow and sighed.
‘Why did both the spirit-nim and Skadi-nim have to name the wolf Oneton…’
“Um, Captain? Are you alright?”
A warrior approached Jaken and asked carefully.
Jaken looked at the warrior as if to say, “What are you talking about?” It wasn’t the cursed spirit that he wanted to chew up, so what problem could a wolf cause?
The warrior watched his reaction and said:
“Oneton, I mean the wolf, rushed out towards the direction of the envoy group.”
“……”
Jaken’s face hardened as he was flustered. If Oneton were to bite the envoy group to death, it might be blamed on them.
“Damn it! Everyone, mount up quickly! We need to reach the envoy group faster than him!”
“I knew it from the moment that wolf was named Oneton!”
“Oh, for real!”
The warriors, realizing the situation, rode their wolves while cursing Oneton earnestly.
Indeed, the name Oneton was clearly a wrong name.
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