(EP-214.2) Forest Wedding #1

214 – Wedding of the Witch Forest #1

“Eugh.”

I soon spat it out, yup, that was the revolting taste of dirt. This dream felt completely 4D. Was this what they called a lucid dream?

“We don’t have time to stand around like this. We need to find Tarantera-nim and wake her up from this dream.”

“Ah.”

Unlike me, my partner was quite quick in assessing the situation. However, if there was one thing that made me wonder…

“What, what are you looking at?”

“No, did you always have pink hair?”

Lily had pink twin tails instead of black. She was dressed in a black dress with a white apron, the same maid outfit I had seen in the palace.

She had a cute, cat-like face. She looked around seventeen, judging by her appearance. She still had baby fat, and hadn’t developed yet.

“So that’s what you look like. Your hair is pink. I didn’t expect someone to have pink hair.”

“Th, this is a dream! Didn’t you hear that appearances could change? You fool. Why don’t you take a look at yourself…!”

“Me?”

“Yes! What’s with that appearance? You disliked being so small and puny? What are you, some kind of pole?”

“Some kind of pole?”

“Hah, so you wanted to be that big in your dreams too? It’s easy to see why you desire such.”

Lily’s words suddenly made me consider my appearance.

What did I look like?

Seureuk-.

As I stood up from my spot, I felt my gaze raised. Come to think of it, my voice also seemed a bit thicker than usual. I stumbled a bit to adjust, while Lily sneered at me.

“If you’re feeling less groggy, go wash your face in the nearby stream.”

“There’s a stream?”

Listening carefully…

Rippling-.

Sure enough, I could hear the sound of running water nearby. I walked over and leaned my face into the clear, flowing surface.

“What!?”

I was shocked by what I saw. The familiar face of Theo Gospel was nowhere to be seen, replaced by a bland, ghostly visage.

“My face, my face is gone…?”

“What are you even saying? You still have that stupid mouth of yours.”

“Lily, can you see my face?”

“Theo Gospel, come to your senses.”

Judging by Lily’s reaction, it seemed she could see my face. Why did it look ghostly to me? Was it because it was Aira’s dream?

However, one thing was certain: this elevated perspective didn’t feel unfamiliar. In this dream, I was quite tall.

I couldn’t measure in detail, but I estimated my height to be about 180cm tall. And I believed I’d seen the scars on my forearms and the back of my hands somewhere. Was there a scar on my stomach as well?

Seuk-.

I lifted my top and checked my stomach. To which Lily reacted, “W-What are you doing?!” But I was convinced when I saw the sharp cut on my side.

This… was my body.

To be precise, it was the body of the human ‘Lee Seong-eum’. Not Theo Gospel’s, but my original body.

But why was my face blurred?

I looked at my reflection in the stream again. However, oddly enough, I couldn’t recall how my original face looked.

Not at all.

Me.

How did I originally look like…?

“Gospel, we don’t have time for this. We need to move before sunset.”

“The sunset?”

“Yes. Monsters will start coming out of the forest after sunset. If we stay here, who knows what might happen.”

Sunset and monsters appearing. It seemed like Lily, Aira’s new servant, knew more about this forest than I did.

“I spotted a cave nearby. Let’s go.”

Deciding it would be best to follow her lead, I headed towards the cave with Lily.

There really was a cave, and it was big enough to comfortably fit two people.

Sniff sniff.

There was a hint of a beastly scent, but mentioning that would just irritate her. I had no intention of making such a foolish remark.

Seureureu-.

As Lily said, the sun was setting.

We blocked off the entrance to the cave with the wood we had prepared.

Soon, there was loud rumbling and rustling. I had no desire to find out what it was.

Something really did come out at night. If we had stayed there, it could have been a disaster.

—Light.

Lily conjured a small orb on her palm. Could she use magic?

Though, it seemed like she didn’t feel the need to talk to me. With a dagger, she simply carved a branch she picked up from somewhere into a makeshift spear.

After a prolonged silence, I spoke first.

“You look pretty used to it.”

“Today is the third day.”

“The third day?”

“Yes. Three days. It’s already been three days since we entered Tarantera-nim’s consciousness.”

“I thought today was the first day.”

“You must have since you woke up late. All the trouble I went through to take you around….”

‘I see.’

“I wanted to just leave you behind, but the balloons wouldn’t untie from your wrist. So don’t misunderstand, it wasn’t for your sake. Got it?”

“…….”

Balloons.

At the mention of balloons, I noticed the five colorful spheres wrapped around my hand. These were supposed to be guides. It seemed like she tried to steal them while I was asleep.

「You have calmly judged the situation!

You have gained experience points through the talent 《Calm Thinking》.

All job experience +5」

Oh, Calm Thinking triggered here too.

As my talent kicked in, I felt my cluttered mind settle down like a wet head of hair. First of all, I need to most importantly assess the details.

“You seem to know this place well. Did you find anything during the two days you were up before me?”

“…….”

“Don’t you want to rescue the Queen quickly? Then it’s best if you cooperate with me.”

“… Witch Forest.”

“Witch forest?”

“This is the Witch Forest. Otherwise known as the Spider Forest, or the Great Forest. I’m not sure if it’s the same as the one I know, but it’s definitely similar.”

If it was the Witch Forest, wasn’t it the territory of the Tarantera Family? The Witch Forest could span out in Aira’s deep consciousness?

Edited by: faker