[IYFILWATIP] Chapter 55

"Do you know them?"

"I know one of them. He's my guide. Marlon Dreha. He ran off and left me behind because of the basilisk..." 

The sticky substance surrounded them entirely. If it weren't for the fact that it contained people, Kirona would have thought it looked like an insect's egg sac. 

Kirona watched Jade's expression and asked, "Do you know them too?" 

"I know both of them. They're mercenaries from the same guild. This is the basilisk's doing..." 

"Yes, the snake did this. They both saw the basilisk's eyes." 

"And it hung them up like this for us to see, as if to make a point." 

A chill ran down their spines as the cold wind swept past them. Once again, night began to fall over the forest. 

* * * 

Jade had just experienced the most exhausting day of his mercenary life. It felt like he was crossing a narrow bridge with a tray of eggs balanced on his head—eggs so precious that he couldn't afford to break a single one. 

He realised that he was much better suited to cutting down monsters than to tasks like this. 

Despite his noble background, he sometimes received requests to guard "respectable people." The pay was good compared to the risk, but he detested the need to cater to those above him, so he avoided such jobs whenever possible. He had been burned by them a few times before. 

"Eclipse became a mercenary, huh?" 

He was used to being mocked, but the way nobles did it was different from the crude taunts of fellow mercenaries. Nobles knew how to get under his skin. It would have been easier if he couldn't understand their jabs, but unfortunately, having once been part of their world, Jade could. 

This current job was a nightmare combination of bad elements: escorting a princess in the middle of one of the most dangerous places in the East, the Navimi Forest. At least escorting nobles usually had a semblance of safety. 

"Where are we now?" Kirona asked. 

"We're almost there. Are you tired?" 

"No. I was just asking." 

Unlike when she was first taken hostage, Kirona didn't complain much. After all, any whining about being weak or tired had likely been a tactic to wear him out. 

But the mere fact that he had to keep looking back constantly wore on his nerves. If he were alone, he could just keep moving forward, getting scratched and bruised as he went. But having someone to protect felt like leaving a child by the water's edge—he was anxious and on edge all day. 

And to make matters worse, that person was a princess. Every time she got a scratch, he worried. If he heard her groan from behind, he'd rush over to check her injury, only to be told not to fuss and to keep moving forward. 

"If you're so worried, why don't you just carry me around? Do you think I'm a child?" 

"I wish I could shrink you down and carry you around. I can't tie you up and drag you like before." 

Now that she wasn't tied up, everything she did seemed awkward to him. It was like watching a rookie mercenary blundering around in a dangerous area. The difference was that he could scoff at the rookie's fate as their own fault, but he couldn't afford to ignore the princess. 

"Shut up. I can take care of myself. Just keep moving." 

What does she want? Should I just keep moving forward and ignore it if she gets hurt? Where's the line between what I should overlook and what I should worry about? 

The biggest challenge came at night. 

They were nearly at the northern border. The sun had set just as they arrived at the massive tree where Zelda Black and Marlon Dreha were hanging, petrified. 

Jade had been somewhat prepared after seeing Zelda and Marlon, bracing himself for the possibility that there might not be an exit. He'd also prepared himself for the mental toll of being trapped in this place. There was no need to warn Kirona in advance. 

"If there's no exit to the north..." 

He hesitated, unable to finish his sentence, and explained, "The forest we're moving through is shrinking. Normally, it would be impossible to check the west, east, and north all in one day at our pace. We might already be caught in a massive trap." 

Jade drew a large circle on the ground and then a small square inside it. They were circling around within that square. 

"If that's the case, the snake will find us soon." 

"......" 

"Does anyone know you're here? There's no way to send word." 

It was a roundabout way of asking if she'd written a will before leaving, to avoid being listed as missing. Jade figured that, as a mercenary who always faced the possibility of death, he'd make Kirona cry if he said it out loud. Mercenaries were accustomed to dealing with the prospect of death, but a princess likely wasn't. 

But instead of being disappointed, Kirona said something outrageous.