GDTEA Chapter 2

Sharti carefully tightened her robe and quickly moved into the shade.

Although she covered herself from head to toe with a long, thick robe, she had to be prepared for contingencies. If anyone recognized her appearance, it would be disastrous.

‘Even though this is a remote mountainous region, the village is quite large. I must be careful.’

It was a sanctuary she had barely found.

She had to live as inconspicuously as possible, drawing as little attention as possible.

‘Fortunately, this place doesn’t reject outsiders.’

Mountain villages typically aren’t friendly to strangers.

Fortunately, Sharti had been granted special permission to travel in and out of the village.

Her suspicious appearance was overlooked considering her profession.

‘But it seems I’ll be returning empty-handed again today.’

Sharti left the store empty-handed and swallowed her disappointment. Due to the crowded store and uncomfortable conversation topics, she had failed to make a purchase again today.

‘So the war has already ended.’

Starting with the fallen Kingdom of Krianet, the Neweiton Empire had declared extensive wars against other countries.

And at the forefront of those wars was Leodelt Gwendhill.

Five years ago, he was the owner of the military boots that Sharti had seen.

‘The War Demon…’

A War Demon without blood or tears. Rumors abounded about a man who deserved to be called a heartless ghost. They said he slaughtered hundreds of soldiers in a day, mercilessly beheaded women who sneaked into his bedroom, and enjoyed burning defeated countries’ palaces, among other things.

The name ‘Leodelt Gwendhill’ was accompanied by damp and bizarre rumors, but he was still considered a hero.

[They say he’s handsome. And has a good body too.]

[But his personality is terrible. Does the Emperor of the Empire have no eye for people? To keep such a War Demon by his side.]

[I heard he’s the master of the House of Gwendhill, which has a history with the Neweiton Empire.]

Rumors about high nobles could be heard everywhere.

Sharti rubbed her particularly stinging neck today.

‘…It has nothing to do with me.’

Sharti stopped her unnecessary thoughts.

Sharti Krianet no longer existed anywhere in the world.

To be safe, she had even abandoned the name ‘Sharti.’

‘I should just sell medicinal herbs and go back.’

Her right ankle and leg were throbbing today.

‘Is a typhoon coming?’

She slightly lifted her hood to check the sky. The wind seemed ominous, and the sky was cloudy. It seemed she needed to return home quickly.

Sharti turned around.

“Sha! Sha, is that you?!”

Startled by the urgent voice calling from behind, Sharti, her face hidden under the hood, flinched. Soon recognizing the familiar voice, she turned her head.

A woman with orange hair full of freckles was sobbing.

“Sha, what should I do?! Tein is nowhere to be seen. I think he went up the mountain, but he still hasn’t come back!”

“……!”

“Waaah….Sha, what if Tein got caught in a hunting trap and can’t come down? Or, or what if he’s been captured somewhere?”

Sharti quickly grabbed the orange-haired woman’s hand to comfort her.

<It’s okay, Virena. I’ll go look.>

Upon receiving the message through her palm, Virena sniffled.

“Thank you, Sha. If you find Tein on the mountain, please tell him to come home before the typhoon arrives. I’ll contact Grandmother just in case.”

Sharti nodded from under her hood.

Leaving the worried Virena behind, Sharti left the village.

‘The path Tein might have taken is…’

Sharti surveyed the mountain path.

She checked the location and direction of the grass that had been trampled not long ago. Leaving the small village nestled between rugged mountainous terrain behind, Sharti climbed and climbed the steep mountain.

Ignoring the pain in her throbbing leg, after a long climb, she spotted an old log cabin.

‘There’s no sign that he stopped at home. Where could he have gone? He usually visits my house first when he climbs the mountain.’

Sharti confirmed there was no presence inside her house.

At that moment, the raindrops that had started falling lightly as she climbed the mountain began turning into streams of rain.

‘This is bad. It looks like a typhoon is coming.’

Remembering the tearful Virena, Sharti headed back into the bushes.

Swoosh-. The rainfall gradually intensified, and the wind grew stronger.

‘Places nearby where Tein might go…’

She wanted to call out Tein’s name, but it would be useless in the typhoon. It was almost impossible for her to make a loud sound in her throat’s condition, but instead, Sharti was familiar with the mountain terrain.

Sharti gathered strength in her legs.

The child might have fallen into the valley stream near the mountain base due to the typhoon.

“—Oh! Doctor!”

While examining the valley stream that was about to overflow, she heard a voice.

A child with short orange hair was waving his small hands vigorously from a tree.

“……!”

As she hurried over, Tein jumped down from the tree with his small body. Sharti spread her arms and caught the child.

The child’s small body was completely soiled with rainwater and mud.

Sharti quickly tried to remove her robe to cover the child when Tein urgently exclaimed:

“Teacher! There’s a beast that looks like human!”

“……?”

Tein’s words were hard to hear over the sound of the rain.

With a flushed face, Tein guided Sharti somewhere.

“Doctor, it’s in the cave!”

Following the valley stream, the place Tein guided her to was a small cave she had created in the cliff.

Sharti quickly entered the small cave with Tein to escape the typhoon.

“……!”

After entering the deepest part of the cave, Sharti drew in a sharp breath.

Just as Tein had said, in the dark cave, fierce glowing eyes were flickering.

Literally the eyes of a beast. And fierce, imperfect, seething with raw killing intent.

“It’s awake.”

At Tein’s words as he tightly gripped the robe, Sharti regained her composure. She immediately hid Tein behind her body.

‘…It’s not an animal.’

Despite her rapidly pounding heart, Sharti’s mind remained cool.

This was a place where she had to think rationally.

‘I sprinkled poisonous herbs around here to prevent predators from approaching.’

The cave Tein had brought her to was a kind of hideout she had created. It was a cave she had prepared as a temporary shelter in case she needed to flee again.

‘Large beasts like that shouldn’t be approaching this area anymore.’

Because tigers, bears, and other beasts had already fallen victim to the poisonous herbs Sharti had sprinkled, predators no longer approached the cave.

“Doctor…”

Facing the fierce glowing eyes in the narrow, dark cave seemed to have frightened Tein.

She was about to hold his hand to reassure him when Tein muttered:

“If it’s a beast, I’ll give you the hide, Doctor.”

“…….”

Indeed, Tein was an unusual child. Being ‘that’ grandmother’s grandson, it made sense.

Sharti swallowed once and went deeper into the cave.

She felt a chill, having been completely drenched by the heavy rain accompanying the typhoon.

“…Huff, ugh… ugh-.”

The breathing sounds from the deepest part of the cave grew louder.

Tein quickly pressed himself against the cave wall.

“…Doctor.”

Ignoring Tein’s gesture to come over, Sharti took a deep breath and slowly moved forward.

She couldn’t leave the cave and go home through the typhoon anyway. This small cave was the only place nearby to shelter from the rain.

‘It’s okay.’

Sharti steadied herself.

Seeing the fierce eyes gradually dimming, it seemed not to be in good condition either.

She quietly moved sideways, feeling the cave wall with her fingertips.

‘If it threatens me, I’ll stab it.’

Sharti grasped the long staff hanging on the wall.

The tip of the staff was coated with paralyzing poison, making it a sufficient threatening weapon.

Drip. Drip.

“……!”

‘Sha’ had to stop.

A pungent smell of blood was pooling in the corner of the cave.

Its source was not a beast but a person. A very large one at that.

“Huff……. ugh…….”

The intermittent groans were getting weaker.

“Doctor!”

The 7-year-old child was clever.

Tein handed Sharti bandages and herbs he had taken from a small drawer in the cave.

“…….”

Sharti hid her trembling feelings and accepted the medical supplies Tein handed her. She approached the shadowy figure with awkward steps.

The smell of gunpowder and blood mixed in the air.

‘Is this someone caught in an explosion?’

Sharti bent down to examine the wounded area.

Just then, the dark figure stirred.

Swish-!

“…Who… are… you……”

Before Sharti could reach out, something sharp grazed the side of her neck.

Startled by the attack that came in the blink of an eye, Sharti stepped back cautiously. Her hand gripping the staff tightened.

“You…huff….followed me…..ugh, all the way….here….You must…..really….want to… eliminate….me…”

The figure that stood up wobbling before her was truly enormous.

To Sharti’s eyes, he looked more formidable than a bear. Sharti touched her stinging neck.

‘But this feels familiar somehow…’

She had a strange sense of déjà vu.

Her gaze gradually moved upward.

Short hair, torn and burned black clothing. Muscles visible between them. The most striking feature was the teal eyes stained with blood flowing from his forehead.

“…Try… to kill me…if you…can…”

Without releasing the sword in his hand, the staggering man raised his blade.

With even that small movement, blood gushed from the wound in his abdomen. The pool of blood at his feet had been deepening since the moment he rose.

‘He’ll die at this rate!’

Sharti closed her eyes tightly. She swung the long staff she had been holding downward with all her might.

Thud! She successfully struck the man’s left knee.

“……!”

It was enough to make him lose his balance momentarily, even for such a large figure.

Clang. At the sound of the sword falling, ‘Sha’ opened her eyes.

“…Ugh……haah…….”

The man, already unconscious, had collapsed onto the thin bedding.

Sharti stood up, forcing strength into her trembling legs, and checked the man’s condition.

‘He’s lost too much blood.’

The body visible through the tattered clothes was a terrible sight. The man was covered in large and small wounds from being cut and stabbed all over.

‘He’s not dead, is he?’

Sharti leaned down to check his faint breathing.

The man’s features, seen up close, were distinct even in the darkness.

Sharti carefully wiped the blood from the man’s forehead with her sleeve.

“…Urgh…….”

At the touch of the cold, wet cloth, his furrowed brow momentarily twitched, but there was no sign of him opening his eyes. He seemed to be losing consciousness.

“Doctor! I brought water!”

Tein, who had thoughtfully collected rainwater in a bowl without being asked, was already sitting beside her.

In the current situation, they needed to use even rainwater to examine his dirty body.

Sharti patted Tein’s head before touching the man’s upper clothing. She had no hesitation in putting her hands on a patient’s body.

“Tear it for quick treatment!”

“…….”

The man’s top was so worn out that it tore easily as ‘Sha’ touched it.

“More! We need to tear it more, Doctor!”

The belated embarrassment was Sharti’s to bear.