Chapter 5…

 Village Exile

They took her to a dark, damp cave.

It was a place that had once been used as a food storage area.

Inside the natural cave, no wind passed through, and the air felt somewhat thin. It was Kuna’s first time entering such a place, but there was no time for her to observe it slowly.

As she was dragged deeper inside, wooden bars were fixed at the back.

Perhaps the lock was there to prevent stored food from being stolen. Kuna was thrown inside, onto the exposed bare earth.

And then, hellish punishment began.

Kuna was bound hand and foot with rope and whipped.

Each strike of the thick rattan whip against her back and the backs of her thighs sent waves of intense pain through her body, and Kuna let out agonized groans.

Her linen clothing tore apart, and blood spurted from the wounds, scattering in spots across the earth.

To prevent escape, during the whipping, the rope binding her wrists was tied to a beam in the ceiling.

Whipping also required stamina. By the time the exhausted Kuna was lowered, the man holding the whip—who had been taking turns with the guard—was also completely worn out.

Kuna’s young body was in a pitiful, miserable state. The man averted his eyes and laid her collapsed body onto the hard ground.

“Hey… at this rate, isn’t this guy really going to die?”

“But we were told to keep going until she admits her crime…”

“If she just admitted it already, it would be easier for her…”

In her foggy consciousness, Kuna vaguely heard fearful voices speaking several times.

During the punishment, Kuna was given almost no food or water.

Occasionally, when the guards weren’t looking, she used her nearly exhausted magical power to create a small amount of water on the ground.

She would drink it directly. The water they gave her was rotten, so this was far better.

She was seen once, but nothing was said.

They probably thought she was drinking urine. It didn’t matter to Kuna.

“Why don’t you just admit your crime already?”

Several times, a woman who sounded like Sharyleen called out from a distance.

But Kuna never replied. Sharyleen spat “filthy, disgusting” and left immediately. This happened more than once.

It was on a night whose day she could no longer even remember.

Kuna was dragged roughly by the men and taken somewhere.

(So bright…)

The backs of her eyelids throbbed painfully.

And it was cool. Only then did she realize—she had been taken outside the cave.

The moon was hidden behind thick gray clouds. Even in the deep darkness where she could barely see her own hands, it was blinding compared to the cave she had been trapped in.

The early spring air was lukewarm. For some reason, not even the sound of insects could be heard clearly.

Someone was looking down at Kuna, who sat weakly on the ground.

When she looked up, she met the expressionless eyes of Dorf.

“You’re safe, Kuna.”

Unexpectedly, his voice was gentle.

Dorf was relieved that Kuna was safe.

A hope she thought she had abandoned began to rise again inside her chest.

“You… believe… me?”

What escaped Kuna’s lips was a hoarse, elderly-sounding voice.

To that, Dorf replied casually.

“Of course. There’s no way you would poison someone.”

“Bro… ther…!”

Kuna’s eyes burned at his words.

She had thought she had been abandoned.

But Dorf believed she was innocent. She didn’t know how, but he had somehow gotten her out of the cave.

An indescribable gratitude and emotion filled her dried-out chest.

“Seriously, you better be grateful. Do you know how much I had to bow my head and apologize to Sharyleen?”

But what Dorf said next was unexpected.

“…………Apologized?”

“I never thought it would turn into something like this… Sharyleen really caused unnecessary trouble…”

Muttering, Dorf rubbed his shoulder as he continued speaking.

Then, letting out an exaggerated sigh, he glared at Kuna.

“Kuna, you should properly apologize and beg for forgiveness. Sharyleen said she’ll forgive you if you do.”

Kuna could not understand what Dorf was saying.

“…Why… should I… apologize… for something I didn’t do?”

“Enough of this! You just need to make potions!”

He shouted at her without hesitation.

Each time Dorf’s voice pierced her ears, Kuna felt the emotions that remained in her broken heart shatter into pieces.

Strength drained from her limbs. A stiff, unnatural smile formed on her lips.

Since the death of the grandmother she had respected as her master, Kuna had never smiled once.

The expression she forced onto her face for the first time in years was cold and hollow.

“…You said that, didn’t you?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“You called me… useless… many times. So why—did you save me?”

Dorf took a step back, as if pressured by her cold, deeply glowing orange eyes.

“It would have been better… to die. Than to be forced to apologize for a crime I didn’t commit…”

“—How disappointing, Kuna. It seems you haven’t reflected at all.”

Interrupting Kuna’s words, Sharyleen appeared.

She had apparently been hiding behind the cave.

She had likely been watching in secret, enjoying the moment when Kuna’s hope was crushed. Despite her words, Sharyleen’s mouth curled into a smirk.

“I’ve decided. I’m exiling Kuna to the ‘Forest of Death.’”

Dorf and the men gasped.

The “Forest of Death”—a forest surrounding Ako Village.

A forest inhabited by powerful magical beasts and filled with poisonous plants and mushrooms that take lives. Once you enter, death is unavoidable. That was where Sharyleen said she would exile Kuna.

“Sh-Sharyleen… that’s not what we agreed on…”

“Dorf… have you developed feelings for her now?”

Dorf’s shoulders stiffened.

“N-no, it’s just… I was asked by her grandmother to take care of Kuna…”

“The old pharmacist is already dead, isn’t she? It’s fine. You should be free from dealing with your little sister already.”

With a gentle gaze directed at him, Dorf hesitated, but still spoke carefully.

“Then how about the ‘Ten Road’ instead of the Forest of Death? That way she could at least—”

“Either way, it’s the same. Even if she goes around the forest using the Ten Road, it still takes half a month to reach the next town. But the Forest of Death is full of Kuna’s beloved poison, isn’t it?”

Sharyleen said this with an almost kind expression, as if it were an act of mercy—claiming it would be kinder for Kuna to die by poison than starvation.

In the end, Dorf fell silent, unable to say anything.

Kuna only stared at him with distant, unfocused eyes.

(You’d probably be happier if I just died.)

It seemed he only half-heartedly wanted to save her.

Compared to openly malicious Sharyleen, Dorf felt far more unsettling.

When Dorf fell silent, one of the men watching quietly raised his hand.

“But… what about the village chief…”

“I’ll explain it to grandfather. Just hurry. Take Kuna and dump her in the forest.”

The two men exchanged glances and nodded hesitantly.

Once again, arms were forced under Kuna’s shoulders.

With no strength or will left to resist, Kuna was dragged away.

“Goodbye, Kuna. I’ll pray to the gods that you survive.”

Empty words of blessing disappeared into the wind.