[IYFILWATIP] Chapter 34

Following her advice, Kirona gathered a few more mercenaries, those who were desperate for money, and entered the forest, staying at the rear of Count Rohatyn’s hunting party with Marlon as her guide. 

But as Marlon had warned, Nabimi Forest was far more dangerous than any other part of the East. Now, Kirona was fully aware of that. 

She had encountered all sorts of monsters, seen many people die, and had been close to losing her own life several times... but never before had she been kidnapped. Especially not by the person whose life she had saved. 

"Hey, stop for a moment. Where are you taking me?" 

"…" 

"Answer me, you bastard." 

The path was nothing but a muddy swamp. It seemed even rougher than the way they had come. But maybe that was just her imagination. After all, she hadn’t been bound hand and foot, being dragged along by some stranger at that time. 

"You're an ungrateful son of a bitch. I should have left you to be eaten by the basilisk, let it turn you into its nutrients."

Kirona looked gloomily at her bound hands, biting her lower lip as she shouted. He had tied her up so securely that even her arms were pinned tightly to her sides, leaving her no room to move. It was clear this wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this. 

"Do you even know how valuable the medicine I gave you was?" 

The thought of it made her even more upset. Did she go to the trouble of saving someone who was about to die just to end up like this, feeding him her last remaining piece of candy? 

The magical medicine in the candy had been the key to keeping her alive over the past year. She had obtained it from William Bryce when she stopped by the Magic Tower, and if Pine hadn’t been her sister, she wouldn’t have been able to get her hands on it even with money. 

Then again, there had been no other choice. If she had left him alone, the basilisk would have found him, and when its tongue swept down the tree roots, it would have caught Kirona too, turning them both into the monster’s lunch. 

"This will hide your scent, appearance, and sound temporarily. But it won’t fool the monsters' keen sense of touch. And since the key ingredient is from an extinct monster, you can’t make more of this, so use it sparingly." 

That’s what William Bryce had warned her. Damn it, if I could handle things as I wanted, I wouldn’t need this kind of candy in the first place. 

Kirona regretfully patted the now-empty pocket inside her robe and shouted, "Answer me! Don’t you speak the common tongue?" 

The man turned around at her outburst but said nothing. He remained silent. Kirona began to wonder if he really didn’t understand her. 

She studied him more closely. His dirty blond hair was almost brown, and he had deep blue eyes. Although this colour combination was rare in the North where the capital was located, it was fairly common in the East. Considering his height, which was taller than most Easterners, he could be a foreigner or of mixed heritage. 

It was entirely possible. The East had the highest population of ethnic minorities in the Empire. 

What was the phrase in Eastern dialect that meant, "I’ll rearrange all your insides"? Would he understand Southwestern tribal languages? 

Just as she was about to unleash a string of curses in every language she knew, the man yanked the rope that bound Kirona. The tight rope dug into her body, making it hard to breathe. 

"Don’t pull so hard! It hurts!" 

Kirona collapsed onto the muddy ground. She considered rolling around a bit more to stall for time, hoping to wear him out. No matter how strong someone was, they would eventually tire, and she could take that opportunity to escape. 

After all, he wasn’t going to kill her. If he intended to, he would have done it already. Kirona had spent enough time in the East to understand its ways. 

Even the name of the gods had faded here. Money was the true ruler of the East. This man needed Kirona alive because she was worth more that way. 

That was why Kirona could afford to be stubborn. Cheap sympathy could change at any time, but actions motivated by clear reasons were unyielding. 

"I can’t go any further. My hands are tied, and it’s exhausting. If you untie me, I promise I won’t run. I’m already weak." 

The man looked her up and down before finally speaking. 

"Someone who’s weak wouldn’t enter a monster-infested forest. Isn’t that a pretty unconvincing argument?" 

Kirona coughed and glared at him. He spoke perfect standard common tongue. What the—he does speak the common tongue? 

"So you do speak it! You’ve been ignoring me this whole time?" 

"I never said I couldn’t speak it. I ignored you because you were too noisy. If I answered you, it would’ve been a hassle. But if I left you alone, you would never stop." 

He tied Kirona to a large tree trunk, pushed back his sweat-drenched hair, and sat down in front of her. Kirona glared at him angrily. He didn’t seem to care and pressed a knife to Kirona’s neck. 

"Is putting a knife to the neck of the person who saved your life some Eastern tradition?"