We stared intently at the enormous tree in the middle of the open space and the shadowy figure standing in front of it.
That figure emanated a sense of overwhelming pressure, even from a distance, and exuded an unknown ominous aura…
“What is that…?”
I muttered softly, taking a step back.
The figure stood still, watching us from its position.
“This is…….”
Harp spoke cautiously, and Liel grabbed my arm with a worried expression.
“Teacher, something feels off. That’s not just a monster.”
“Yeah, it really looks dangerous!”
Sua also stopped in her tracks, her posture becoming cautious.
She pulled out her weapon and spoke.
“I don’t know who it is, but it’s clearly dangerous. We shouldn’t get any closer.”
At that moment, the small slimes that had been following us suddenly took a step back, as if instinctively afraid of the figure.
The slimes quickly fled backward.
“The slimes are running away… What’s going on?”
I was confused and wore a bewildered expression when suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind.
“What are you all doing here?”
“Alex!”
We all turned around at the same time.
Uncle Alex appeared, crossing the forest with a sword in hand.
As he approached us, he wore his usual playful smile.
“I came to take care of the monsters, but I followed the refreshing scent of Eve. Hmm… but what’s with the atmosphere here? Is something interesting happening?”
“This is not the time for jokes, Uncle. Look at that.”
I pointed with trembling hands at the shadowy figure in front of the enormous tree.
Alex looked over there, and for a moment, the smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a serious expression.
“What’s that?”
He quietly raised his sword and took a step forward.
I tried to organize my thoughts in my head.
‘Is it a witch? But it looks like a man…?’
Then suddenly, a possibility came to mind.
‘Someone who resembled me said it. They told me to look for traces of a witch. But they kept calling her “he,” not “she”…’
Come to think of it, there’s no rule that witches have to be female.
But then, why call it a witch?
My mind became a mess.
However, the situation changed rapidly before I could organize my thoughts.
In an instant, the shadow slowly began to move.
“Uh-oh, it’s coming closer!”
Harp shouted as a warning.
The shadow walked toward us, releasing a black aura.
Its figure became clearer.
The handsome face of a man with red eyes, and a black cloak swirling around him as he walked—he was definitely not an ordinary human.
“Be careful, everyone! That’s no regular monster!”
Alex shouted loudly as he gripped his sword tightly.
Sua, with a tense expression, drew her weapon, while Liel clenched her hands and scanned the surroundings warily.
Harp also took a defensive stance and muttered softly.
“I think… we’ll have to fight.”
I took a deep breath and organized the situation.
We had to capture him to get the story moving again.
Just like that woman had said.
“Everyone, be careful. This is going to be a tough fight.”
The shadow slowly stopped moving, then spoke to us in a cold voice.
“Chi…mun…e…mang.”
His voice was so low that it was almost impossible to understand, but there was a strange resonance to it.
With that single word, all the tension exploded.
“Get ready! The battle starts now!”
With Alex’s shout, we each prepared to fight in our own way.
And so, the battle began deep within the vast forest.
The fight ended faster than expected.
At first, the figure tried to overwhelm us with an ominous aura, but once the battle began, he didn’t pose much of a threat.
To put it simply, he got totally wrecked.
“It’s over!”
Sua swung her fist, delivering the final blow.
The figure let out one last “Chi…” before disappearing, muttering something under his breath.
The forest returned to its quiet state.
“What? It’s over?”
Liel muttered something and then vanished completely.
I looked around, unable to believe what had just happened.
“Wait, did we really win? Just like that?”
Liel adjusted her clothes beside me and said.
“Well, when you think about it, it makes sense. Who else could possibly defeat us? The Demon King, maybe.”
At that, I tilted my head.
“That may be true, but I didn’t do much. Honestly, I barely did anything. The battle was mostly you guys—Alex, Harp, Sua, Liel. You all did everything…”
“Hey. Just by being here, you’re the best buffer there is.”
“Uh-huh…”
At that, Alex chuckled loudly, resting his sword on his shoulder.
“Well, of course! Because I’m here! This kind of battle is nothing!”
Sua waved her hand and said.
“Come on, Alex, you weren’t the only one doing things. I played the most important role! I finished it with the final blow! Honestly, you’ve gotten way weaker than before, haven’t you? Did you slack off on your training?”
“What? It was hard enough to hold that guy back with your tiny little body. What do you think aggro management is about? If you keep provoking him, what’s the point of having a tank?”
Harp sighed and quietly interjected.
“Both of you, stop. The important thing is that we won.”
I nodded at Harp’s words and smiled faintly.
“Yeah. In the end, we won, so it’s a relief.”
Looking back, we really were a perfect party.
The warrior, Sua; the saint, Liel; the solid tank, Uncle Alex; and the magician, Harp.
And finally, me—though a bit useless, I was the buffer.
“Our five-member team is truly invincible.”
I muttered with a small laugh.
Everyone seemed tired, but they all looked like they were enjoying the victory.
“What should we do now, teacher?”
Liel quietly asked me.
I thought for a moment and then said.
“Let’s look around here a bit more. There might be something left behind.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
We began to carefully explore the area around the giant tree.
While searching near the tree’s roots, we soon found a strange book.
“What’s this?”
I picked up the book from the ground.
The cover was old and faded, but the letters were still clearly engraved on it.
“Shiu’s Diary.”
“Shiu’s Diary?”
I muttered as I opened the book.
The first page revealed a neat handwriting, and the first paragraph stood out to me.
“Chi… has ruined my harem…”
“Fireball!”
I tried to flip through the pages of the book to see more of its contents, but at that moment, Liel suddenly cast a spell.
Without hesitation, she set the book on fire.
The book was instantly engulfed in flames.
“Liel…? What are you doing?”
I shouted in surprise.
But Liel calmly responded in a soft voice,
“Teacher, it can’t be helped. We can’t leave things like this. It’s too unclean.”
“Unclean? What does that mean?”
Liel sighed softly as she gazed at the burning book.
“Teacher, that was something we shouldn’t have seen.”
I looked at her, confused, and asked.
“Why? Why shouldn’t we have seen it? This could have been an important clue.”
Liel looked at me seriously, meeting my gaze.
“Teacher, that wasn’t just a regular book. The moment we read it, something inside the book could have influenced us.”
“Influenced us? What do you mean by that?”
Liel hesitated for a moment before continuing slowly.
“I can’t explain it. But books like that can cause big trouble if you read them. There’s something here that shouldn’t exist.”
I was still full of questions, but Liel’s attitude was firm.
Her eyes were filled with sincerity, as if she was trying to protect me.
“It’s gone now, so it’s fine. There’s no need to worry anymore, teacher.”
She spoke quietly, watching the ashes of the burnt book.
I tilted my head for a moment, but in the end, I decided to trust her words.
“Alright. If you say so…”
Liel smiled, looking relieved.
“Let’s leave now. There’s no reason to stay here any longer.”
Alex, resting his sword on his shoulder, let out a big yawn.
“Let’s do that. I’m getting hungry, and cleaning up the monsters is enough for today. Ah, I’d love to eat something Eve makes after such a long time.”
Harp quietly nodded and spoke.
“Yeah. It’s best to end things here. There seems to be some strange energy lingering around this tree.”
I nodded, accepting everyone’s opinions.
“Alright, let’s head back together. There’s no reason to stay here any longer.”
We left the tree and the open space behind and headed out of the forest.
Though there were still unanswered questions and complicated thoughts swirling in my mind, I decided to find comfort in the fact that everyone was safe.
As we left the forest, Liel was quiet for a while.
I glanced at her, but she had a calm expression on her face, as if everything was over.
‘If Liel says so, I guess I can trust her…’
With that thought in mind, we set our course back toward the orphanage.
And just like that, the strange incident in the forest came to an end.
Or… maybe?