(EP-216.1) Wedding in the Forest #3

216 – Wedding in the Witch Forest #3

Pang-!

Finally, the second balloon popped.

With that, we determined that the balloons would pop every four days.

There were three balloons left.

Meaning, we had to find Aira in this forest within 12 days.

However, the forest was so vast and mercilessly expansive that we couldn’t see anything resembling our desired destination.

Day 9 of wandering in the forest.

I decided to do something that had been on my mind for a long time. I climbed up a tree, towering like a sequoia, to get a better view of the forest.

Seureuk, seureuk.

This feat would’ve been impossible if I was still a half-fairy, but not for my originally well-built body.

Of course, if I slipped even slightly, I could fall tens of meters below and shatter like debris. I was nervous, dreams wouldn’t hurt right? What might happen if I died here?

No, let’s focus.

Pak, pak-.

Using the massive front paw of the “Witch Forest Mantis” I had obtained this morning as a makeshift climbing axe or ice pick, I climbed up the tree, finally reaching the treetop that was several dozen meters high, where I could look out over the world.

Whaaaaah-.

Wind blew past my face.

It felt good to see the blue sky after looking only at what essentially was green hell.

Perpetual green flora.

A sea of trees.

The neverending forest expanse stung my eyes.

But what stirred me the most was something that stretched endlessly towards the sky.

A wall?

It was a wall.

Yeah, there was no other way to describe it.

A wall that seemed to have been drawn endlessly from the sky down. I realized that it was the great barrier that was blocking the dark legion’s invasion.

I wondered how great a wall it must be to be praised as humanity’s greatest masterpiece. Seeing it like this, it was truly enormous.

Was it always this big?

Or was it because it was in Aira’s dream?

“So, did you see anything?”

Lily asked as I descended. I frankly replied while stretching my stiff arms and legs.

“There’s nothing but trees.”

“Which side was the wall on?”

“The wall is this way…”

“Then this way is North. At least we have a direction.”

Lily, whom I thought would grumble, surprisingly had an optimistic outlook. I guessed that was the result of drifting in this dream world for a week.

Apart from being too proud of herself and her jealousy towards me because of Aira, she proved to be quite useful and competent.

Which was probably why she was able to fill in for me for a short period of time.

Of course, if I were to say something like that, Lilly would just get angry.

“I’m not replacing you, you’re replacing me!!!”

That was what she would say.

Now that I thought about it, Lily was the maid who had been by Aira’s side until I entered the royal palace.

To her, I was a stone that had rolled in, so to speak. So there was a reason behind her resentment and jealousy towards me.

But, that didn’t matter now.

We needed to hurry up and make the most of the little time we had left.

Whoo, whooo-.

With the balloon swaying despite no wind, we continued today’s journey into the forest.

━Hihi, hand over everything you’ve got.

We encountered a band of Witch Forest bandits along the way.

━Geuraaak-!

Dealing with strange bugs and all sorts of monsters continuously was exhausting.

With little sunlight penetrating through the dense leaves, and navigating the labyrinth of trees without a clear direction blurred my senses.

“Hey, Gospel. Isn’t this the place we passed earlier?”

“Is it?”

I didn’t want to admit it, but without the grumbling Lily, I wouldn’t have been able to endure this verdant hellhole.

Perhaps she felt the same.

So this was why Mirna had us go in a pair.

Though unspoken, a strange camaraderie was developing between us as we faced these challenges together.

“Tarantera-nim looks good with long straight hair.”

“That’s true.”

“And those short skirts look good on her long legs.”

“Agreed. That’s why she doesn’t need pointed shoes, just loafers are enough.”

“Hey, Gospel, you know a thing or two, huh? You’re better than you look.”

As someone who had also worked under Aira, we had some common topics of conversation. It was mainly about Aira, but it became a neutral ground where we could communicate. It certainly helped to pass the time.

Was this how one became colleagues?

It was time to think about that.

“Here, this….”

Lily found something on the ground, looked around, and then dashed off somewhere without me.

Pabababat-.

Just as I was contemplating on my colleague, I was abruptly abandoned.

“Hey, where are you going!?”

“…….”

My words reached no one as she continued to sprint through the forest. She was more like a beast than a person with that speed.

“Anyway.”

I had no choice but to follow suit, while making sure not to pop the balloons. If we were to get separated in such a place, we might never find each other again.

* * *

Lilly finally came to a stop.

I also stood still beside her with my mouth slightly agape. Was Lily gazing at the same scenery as me?

“Hey, what’s this….”

During the past week or so, we were continuously surrounded by neverending trees and the forest.

But what appeared before us was a large clearing, as if nesting a village in the middle of the forest.

There, white fabrics fluttered in the wind. And amidst a colorful array of butterflies and flowers, the laughter of people echoed.

━Where did you get those clothes? They’re really pretty.

━Really? You’re pretty too, Skadi-.

There were a lot of people.

Unlike the monsters and bandits we had encountered so far, they were young women dressed in white, adorned with flower crowns on their heads.

They ran barefoot across the grassy field, singing songs or picking food from the white tables filled with various fruits and dishes.

A festival? A party?

Edited by: faker