Episode 21

Masked 3 quickly turned his head to look at 1 and 2, but their expressions were no different from his own.

“What was that…….”

The pain, still throbbing, felt like a lie to Masked 3. I didn’t even see what hit my leg.

With a confused expression on his face, Masked Man 3 slowly lowered his raised leg.

A snap!

“Ack!”

A thunderbolt of pain hit me in the same place.

“Foot. I told you to be careful.”

I couldn’t see. It was so fast. If it weren’t for that branch swaying wildly, I would have believed it was a ghost.

Thump!

Masked One and Two drew their swords. At the same time, Masked Man 3 jumped backward and ran away.

“Who are you?”

Masked Man 1’s eyes sharpened with life. He opened his senses to sense the woman’s identity, but he felt nothing, which only made him more suspicious.

“I told you, I’m a herbalist.”

Hestia’s emerald eyes narrowed, unperturbed by the flesh.

“What did you come here to find?”

“…….”

Once again, she couldn’t understand Masked One.

“Money. One hundred and fifty gold coins.”

Hestia fixed the branch and spoke firmly, demanding her reward.

“……Rogue.”

“…….”

The words were unintelligible.

“Kahahaha. You’re the funniest girl I’ve seen in a long time. Ignorance is bliss, and I never thought I’d see that saying in action!”

“You’d better just go away quietly.”

Masked Three and Two pointed the tips of their swords at Hestia in turn.

A line of blue petals separated the back of her head, and the masked figures faced off against Hestia.

“I don’t know what you mean by brave when you’re ignorant.”

Hestia lowered the hand holding the branch and assumed the loose stance of someone who knew nothing of martial arts.

Her unwavering gaze locked on them like a bull’s-eye.

“No money.”

The two men who had looked down on Hestia and sneered at her waited for her next words, waiting to see what else she would say without fear.

Only Hestia’s emerald eyes remained still as they took in her posture.

“You can use your body!”

As she spoke, Hestia lifted the branch she held lightly and slammed it into the ground.

With a loud snap, the worn braid that held her black hair in place snapped. Blue petals floated in the air as Hestia rose to her feet.

Boom!

The branches of a tree cut the wind. The masked figure of 3 blocked the sword with a swiftness unbecoming of his size, but Hestia quickly lowered her center.

Snap!

“Ouch!”

She struck him in the side. With the sharp sound of the blow, Masked 3’s eyes widened, and his sword changed direction, slashing at Hestia.

Tadak!

Hestia’s body was like a fluttering butterfly. She fluttered as if she were about to be caught, changing the direction of the wind in an instant.

Her long black hair fluttered, marking her trajectory.

“Look out!”

Someone shouted, but it was too late. Hestia rolled to her feet quickly and lunged at Masked Man 2.

He pushed one foot back and slammed his sword down from top to bottom. Just as Hestia raised her arm to block it with a sprawling branch.

“Damn it!”

He redirected the force, sending the sword straight through.

Snap!

Without warning, the branch made a thin line and slashed down at Masked 2’s arm.

Despite the swiftness of the move, Hestia instinctively aimed for the wound, which must have ruptured the muscles in his arm.

“Ack!”

Zangrang-!

Masked Man 2 grabbed her arm, missing her sword.

It was only for a short time before the blue petals that had flown through the air finally touched the ground.

“Don’t worry. Your arm will be fine after a few days of rest.”

The hem of Hestia’s dress spread wide and then settled as if it had stopped dancing.

Hestia’s icy eyes locked on Masked 3, and his body flinched.

“You’ve already lost.”

Unable to meet her gaze, Masked 3’s body reacted first.

“Mu, what are you talking about, come at me again!”

Even so, as he re-sheathed his sword, Hestia gave him a quick tongue-lashing and then dropped the arm holding the branch.

Her slender body struck the ground again and shot forward. It was a wild dash as if the wind offered no resistance at all.

Masked 3 spread his feet apart, holding his center of gravity firmly, and caught up to Hestia’s movement. No, he thought he had caught up.

She was running toward him. All she had to do was lower her raised sword and it would be over.

Suddenly, she was gone. He couldn’t keep up with her, even though he was known for his fuselage vision.

Suddenly, the woman appeared beside him and smiled a devilish grin.

A snap!

“Ugh!”

Zap!

Masked 3’s eyes widened in pain, and he screamed as he grabbed my fingers.

The movement was like the wind. The kind of wind that blows breezily and then gusts, making it impossible to open your eyes.

“Come on. What are you going to do?”

Her black hair, spread out like a butterfly’s wings, swooped down.

Hestia slowly turned her head to face the masked figure. It was obvious that he was their leader, so she gave him the choice.

Hestia’s breathing was steady, and her expression was unmoved, her cheeks twitching slightly at the slightest movement, but her eyes held no emotion, only the irritation of wanting to get this over with.

I wonder if Masked One can’t hear the screams of the rest of us, his emerald eyes sparkling with amusement.

“May I take a lesson and then decide?”

The tip of his sword glowed eerily as he pointed it at Hestia, signaling his readiness.

“I told you, I don’t deal with fools.”

Hestia laughed, a thin, sarcastic laugh.

Tadat!

She closed the distance between her and Masked One before the laughter had even died down.

Boom!

A branch snapped, snapping against the wind. Masked Man 1 quickly changed the direction of his sword and slashed at Hestia’s waist, but Hestia spun around to face the man’s back.

Taking advantage of the opening, Hestia slammed her branch down on the man’s shoulder.

Thwack!

The man’s sword smoothly deflected the branch, and Hestia swung her arm around and slapped him across the face.

“……That’s good.”

A faint trace of excitement came from the man’s voice.

No matter how skilled a swordsman he was, no branch wouldn’t be cut by a sharpened blade. So the split-second judgment to redirect the blade’s path to the side of the sword instead of the hilt was admirable.

“And you, too.”

Hestia’s lips quirked upward as she met his emerald eyes.

“You look young for your age, but your manners are poor.”

The man sheathed his sword again. His emerald eyes sparkled darkly with a pure desire she didn’t know what it meant.

“Judging a man by his appearance, you seem quite simple.”

Hestia leaped again, arms outstretched.

The man lowered his center of gravity and lunged at the branch, which stabbed him in the eye, already knowing he’d be outmatched in a race of speed, and intending to settle the score in a battle of strength.

Ha. Hestia snorted in disbelief and quickly turned around, but the man’s sword was already slashing down from top to bottom.

BANG-!

It was a flash. A gust of wind blew in with a huge bang.

“Captain!”

“Captain!”

Those who didn’t dare to join the fight called out desperately. A shower of rocks and dirt rained down on them, making it impossible to open their eyes to see the battle.

When the gust of wind subsided, I could barely open my eyes.

“……swordsmanship, where did you learn it?”

The man with the sword’s hand was fidgeting with the hem of his dress, a long red line running down the back of his hand.

“You’re in pretty good shape, I’m afraid,” he said, “a moment too late and you could have been in trouble.”

But the branch of Hestia’s tree was right in front of his right emerald pupil. It was close enough to touch if he took a deep breath.

Though it was only for a brief moment, the swordsmanship Hestia displayed was not ordinary. As far as I knew, only the Chosen could learn it. It was in their blood from birth.

I couldn’t have been wrong. I’ve longed for it all my life.

“I ask again. Where did you learn swordsmanship?”

The man’s gaze remained fixed on Hestia, unafraid of the branch that threatened to gouge out his right eye at any moment.

“I don’t know. I learned that a long time ago.”

Hestia tugged roughly at the hem of my dress as it caught on the man’s sword, and with a square sound, the hem was gently cut away.

It was a well-honed blade, and the straight, spindly branches didn’t even flinch.

For a moment, a kind of awe flashed across his emerald eyes.

“……is that herb, so precious?”

“Starlight.”

The word explained everything.

“Hmph! Huh?! It’s really……?”

“Wow……. I’ve never seen a living flower before.”

There was a commotion behind them as they gasped. They cringed, afraid their carelessness might touch a single petal.

Starlight.

An herb so valuable that it was prized for its effectiveness in treating inflammation, and even for its mild anesthetic properties.

Thus proving that Hestia’s words were not false.

“I don’t have much time, so what do you say?”

Hestia frowned, and her outstretched hand tightened on the branch.

“If you recognized this herb, you’d know that 150 gold coins is no small price to pay.”

The men looked at the blue petals on the ground. Surely 150 gold coins was a bargain for this amount.

“……Okay, I apologize.”

At that moment, the man sheathed his sword in a gesture of surrender. For a knight, putting down his sword first was the perfect act of surrender.

“Daejang!”

“Captain!”

The two men behind him turned to him urgently, as if to ask what he was talking about, but the man’s eyes remained fixed on Hestia.

“Give it to me.”

With a snap, Hestia tossed the branch away and held out her hand.

“I can’t give it to you right now, but I’ll give it to you if you tell me where you’re staying or come find me.”

He then sneakily showed Hestia the symbol on the bracelet the man was wearing.

The symbols were unmistakable……