WYPSO 12

Chapter 12

Picking Up a Suspicious Sucker

Elaina knew Jaden would return. Before leaving, he had promised several times that he would come back.

Moreover, given the words she had sent in her letter, there was no way he would accept their separation.

‘He’s subtly stubborn.’

Although Jaden listened well to Elaina, he was strong-willed. He would subtly do whatever he wanted.

• “Can I eat meat for breakfast today?”

Now that Jaden had discovered the taste of meat, he asked for it at every meal.

He had been very thin, and since he hunted for it himself, Elaina let him eat as much as he wanted.

• “Jaden, you need to speak properly.”

• “?”

• “You should ask, ‘Can I eat meat for breakfast today, too?’”

• “Can I eat meat for breakfast today, too?”

Don’t ask with such a cheerful expression! That wasn’t the point.

• “Yesterday morning, noon, and night, you ate only meat, right?”

• “Yes. Meat is delicious.”

• “The day before that too, you ate only meat?”

• “Meat is delicious, so yes.”

• “And the day before that… no, all month, you’ve eaten only meat, haven’t you?”

• “Even if I eat it every day, it’s delicious!”

When they first met, Jaden would eat whatever was given to him. Now, he was becoming picky.

Seeing his attitude of only eating meat, Elaina felt the need to make him eat vegetables too.

• “You used to eat vegetables too. Why not now?”

• “Meat tastes better.”

• “You should eat a balanced diet.”

• “Tasty food is better.”

Elaina hadn’t expected to end up arguing over something so trivial. Seeing that further discussion would be useless, she decided on a crisp conclusion.

• “Anyway, today’s breakfast is salad.”

Shock spread across Jaden’s eyes. He slumped his shoulders and went to sit on the sofa.

Elaina quickly washed the vegetables and made a generous salad.

• “Come on, eat it.”

Jaden walked over weakly, saw a table with nothing but salad, and lowered the corners of his eyes.

He took a bite with his fork, then even his mouth corners drooped.

• “…Can’t I eat meat?”

His pleading eyes looked almost teary. Seeing such a pitiful look, Elaina sighed.

• “You’ll eat vegetables too, right?”

• “Yes! I’ll eat them together!”

Jaden’s face lit up. A person who usually looked expressionless behind his mask-like face was suddenly showing such a vivid expression.

Elaina finally laughed and had to grill some meat. He ate both meat and salad happily, just as promised.

These little stubborn things were trivial, so Elaina often let Jaden do as he wished.

As a result, he quickly learned to be perceptive and demanding.

• “Elaina, I want this.”
  Sparkling eyes.

• “Elaina, can I do this?”
  Bright, eager eyes.

• “Elaina…”

Whenever Jaden wanted something, his eyes shone brightly, and Elaina’s heart would soften, letting him have his way.

• “Alright.”

• “Thank you, Elaina.”

Jaden had realized that looking cute could get him what he wanted, and he used this skill effectively.

Looking back, most of the things he wanted, he got.

‘I think I spoiled him…’

Anyway, Jaden would eventually want to hear her speak about the separation directly.

And with those sparkling eyes, she wouldn’t be able to refuse.

It was obvious she would give in to his whims.

To avoid facing Jaden, Elaina left the village.

She decided to use this opportunity to resolve matters that had been weighing on her heart: investigating her parents’ disappearance.

Some time ago, she had found traces of her parents in an unexpected place.

“Elaina, Elaina!”

For the past few days, Uncle Paul had been acting strangely, and now he called her in a hushed voice.

He kept glancing toward the bathroom, seemingly checking on Jaden’s presence.

• “Why are you calling me so carefully?”

• “Um, I wasn’t sure if I should tell you…”

• “What is it?”

Although he had started speaking, timid Uncle Paul couldn’t get straight to the point.

• “I’m ready to hear anything, so just speak freely.”

• “This…”

When he took a folded handkerchief from his pocket, Elaina didn’t think much of it.

• “!”

But when she unfolded it, her heart dropped.

A small piece of torn blue cloth, as if it had been caught on something. She quickly grabbed it to check.

Seeing the rough silver embroidery on the old blue cloth, she knew for certain.

• “Where… where did you get this?”

• “We have a place called the Beast’s Boundary. That’s where it came from…”

• “I know where that is.”

Elaina hadn’t climbed the mountain herself, but she had seen the map her father made, so she could roughly guess the location.

It was a place no one would call a proper path, dangerous even for hunters.

• “How did you get there? It’s dangerous.”

Neither Uncle Paul nor the village hunters would take such a risk.

• “I found it when I went with Jaden. Our hunters don’t usually go there.”

Uncle Paul had been Jaden’s hunting instructor. Going out to hunt together, he knew Jaden’s excellent skills well.

‘So recently, when they go out together, they sometimes go into dangerous areas…’

She hadn’t expected them to venture to the Beast’s Boundary, and that the piece of cloth was there. That was the problem.

• “Is this…?”

Uncle Paul asked cautiously, also trying to gauge the situation.

• “Yes. It’s a piece of the clothing my father wore when my parents disappeared.”

• “I-I see…”

Even though he had expected this, Uncle Paul didn’t know how to react when he heard the owner was Elaina’s father.

• “Why are you so flustered? I told you, my parents are alive.”

• “Yes… but…”

No one in the village believed Elaina’s parents were alive. Only Elaina held onto hope.

Two years ago, Elaina’s parents had disappeared.

• “Mom, I’m leaving.”

• “Dad, I’m leaving too.”

• “Take care.”

When they left the village together, everything seemed normal. They often went out to buy supplies for the store.

But when it was time to return, they didn’t come back.

The villagers began to grow suspicious, and Elaina asked hunters to search.

They found a chaotic scene a little away from the village.

There were signs of a fight: her father’s dagger, torn clothes, and a little blood.

Anyone could tell something bad had happened.

• “Elaina, it seems your parents met with misfortune.”

• “We can’t find the bodies, so let’s consider these traces instead.”

• “We’ll help with the funeral.”

All the hunters who had gone agreed it was a grim situation.

• “No. My parents are safe. They will come back soon.”

• “Elaina, it’s good to hope when you haven’t seen the bodies, but you need to face reality.”

• “No one survives such a situation. We see these traces every day?”

• “No matter how great your parents are, not in this situation. The monsters are getting worse lately.”

The villagers were convinced her parents were dead, but Elaina refused to believe it.

‘It’s not false hope.’

Elaina had superhuman strength from a young age. Could ordinary parents have managed her?

No. Her parents were likely far greater than the villagers realized.

‘Even going to another village alone to get supplies is not something ordinary people can do.’

Hunters usually go out in at least threes. The villagers, accustomed to her parents’ comings and goings, didn’t recognize their true capabilities.

• “I don’t believe my parents are gone. They will return someday.”

So she could say it confidently. The villagers only looked pityingly and didn’t believe her.

Two years had passed, and now traces of her parents were found in an unexpected place.

• “This means my parents passed through there that day, right?”

• “It seems so. But…”

Uncle Paul hesitated, looking at Elaina for guidance.

• “I know. It might not have been by their own will, right?”

Even if monsters or beasts had forced them there, it still meant they had passed through that location.