The Soldier Shouted Save

Chapter 17

The solemn prayer session at the Freya Church.

I glanced to the side, avoiding the elder’s gaze as he led the prayer.

There was a girl, seemingly around Croa’s age.

While everyone else had their eyes closed in prayer, she kept hers wide open, fidgeting uncomfortably with her toes and hands as if kneeling was a struggle.

“We will now share in Lady Freya’s blessing. Please, everyone, stand.”

The congregation began to rise, placing their hands on the floor to push themselves up.

Amidst the shuffling of clothes and the sound of people standing, the girl turned her head backward.

“……”

Did she feel someone watching her?

Her round eyes locked onto my face.

“This concludes today’s public service. Priests, please guide the worshipers out.”

At the elder’s words, a priest opened the door to the stairs.

People began to follow the priest out of the basement.

Suddenly, one person broke away from the group and sprinted up the stairs.

“Please don’t run!”

Ignoring the priest’s stern voice, I chased after the small figure darting up the steps.

―Thud, thud, thud!

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the basement. Just as the girl flung open the door to the first floor, her hood fell off.

Her chestnut-brown hair fluttered.

“Kyaah! Get away from me!”

I caught up to her in an instant, grabbing her arm as she tried to hit me.

“You’re here because of Save too, aren’t you?”

The girl’s already wide eyes grew even larger at my words.

“…W-what? Uh, y-yeah? You’re here for that too, right?”

I examined her closely.

Her expression brightened as she looked at my face, but only for a moment. Caution quickly returned, and she distanced herself from me.

―Thud, thud, thud.

Footsteps sounded from the stairs below.

“Should we go upstairs and talk?”

I spoke calmly, passing by the girl and through the open door.

She hesitated but soon began following me, sneaking glances at my face as we walked.

―Step, step.

I fixed my gaze straight ahead, but my ears stayed tuned to the footsteps trailing behind.

Once we reached a secluded corner next to the church building, I stopped walking.

“Ah, oh my gosh!”

A startled voice came from behind, followed by a soft thud against my back.

It seemed the girl had been looking at the ground, accidentally bumping into me. She quickly backed away, embarrassed.

“…Are you really here for Save?”

With her hands clasped in front of her chest, the girl looked up at me with her big, round eyes, questioning me.

Calmly, as if I were talking to Croa, I softened my expression and responded naturally.

“Yes, I came to see the statue because of Save too.”

Was that the answer she wanted?

Her cautious demeanor faded, and she smiled brightly.

“Ah, when did you arrive? You’re from Korea too, right? Where are you staying?”

She bombarded me with a storm of questions.

The first one was about when I crossed over from the world of heroes to the continent of Gerard.

The second question was something I couldn’t quite understand.

I could only answer the third—where I was staying.

“I’m staying at a place called the Moonlight Inn.”

“…Really? You had enough money to pay for an inn…?”

Her mood turned gloomy as she muttered.

I took a closer look at the girl’s appearance.

Her chestnut hair and round eyes.

A hooded cloak covered her body, and underneath it, I could glimpse a unique uniform. But it looked unwashed, and the faint smell of body odor began to waft from her.

“…Sorry about that…”

Had she noticed the smell herself?

The girl, speaking in a depressed tone, pulled her cloak tighter around herself, reducing the strong odor.

“How did you make money?”

“I started by doing some cleaning at the inn.”

“Maybe because you look strong, they hired you… But they didn’t want me… They kicked me out.”

She fidgeted with her hands, glancing nervously at me as she spoke.

“…Can you help me out? The guide said to survive by working part-time, but no one will hire me because I look weak, and I’m too scared to sleep on the streets… It’s been really hard…”

Her words filled me with guilt.

Back when I was a soldier in the royal palace, we hunted down warriors who refused to serve the empire, calling them fugitives.

“What’s your name?”

“…Hyerin. Lee Hyerin.”

I remembered being taught how the warriors from Korea had family names. ‘Lee’ was her family name, and ‘Hyerin’ was her given name.

Tears like chicken droppings dripped from her eyes as she spoke clearly. I gently patted her back.

“I’ll help you. Let’s go together.”

“…Th-thank you…”

As if all her strength had left her, Hyerin covered her face with her hands and swayed on her feet.

“Why don’t we sit over there?”

I pointed to a nearby tree stump that could serve as a seat, and she nodded.

I supported her as we walked, but suddenly she flinched and hurriedly pulled her hood back over her head.

“Is this what you were looking for, Warrior?”

It was Eris’ voice.

Turning to look, I saw a man in his early thirties, arms crossed, smiling slyly at Eris.

“Is there no older record?”

“If there’s no royal palace certificate, it would be difficult to find more information.”

Was there another royal warrior at the church?

As I eavesdropped on their conversation, I felt someone tug at my arm.

“W-we need to leave, quickly. That guy looks like a royal warrior.”

Hyerin, her hood pulled low, urgently pulled at my arm, her face full of worry.

“Allen…”

At her insistence, I turned away from Eris, avoiding her gaze as we made our way out of the church.

“…What will you do? Are you going to keep living here?”

Hyerin shrank away, seemingly uncomfortable in the noisy streets of Tallin, as she asked.

“I’ll have to think about it.”

As I said that, Hyerin smiled and held onto my arm tightly.

“Still, I’m really glad I met you…”

As we walked through the streets, Hyerin began sharing her story.

She told me about waking up in a strange world.

About wandering aimlessly until an old man took her in as his apprentice.

How the old man forced her to undergo harsh training every day.

And how she realized the old man planned to hand her over to the royal palace.

With a sad expression, Hyerin said, “Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t believed in the guidebook in the Chamber of Fate. Maybe the royal palace is a good place?”

“…No, I don’t think so.”

Recalling the warriors from the royal palace who were burdened with heavy responsibilities and forced to fight monsters daily, I spoke.

Hyerin chuckled softly.

“You never know until you try. The guidebook’s tips were written ages ago, after all.”

Unlike me, a genuine warrior seemed to understand more just by looking at things.

…Yes, I needed to get closer to Lee Hyerin if I wanted to fully grasp my situation.

“Now, tell me about yourself. When did you get here?”

Faced with her blinking, wide eyes, I couldn’t avoid the question and lied.

“It hasn’t been that long… I’ve been fighting monsters since I arrived in this world.”

I tailored the story, borrowing the words of a fellow palace soldier who had been a mercenary.

“I became like family with the mercenaries I fought alongside.”

“That must’ve been tough…”

“But thanks to that, I’ve been able to adjust like someone born here. Some of them still live with me.”

“Oh… Do you live with others?”

Hyerin’s face showed unease at the thought of me living with someone else.

“They’re kids I’ve looked after since they were young. They’re around your age too.”

Her face relaxed in relief, no doubt having imagined rough mercenaries at first.

“Who was your favorite singer back in Korea?”

A famous song, “The Sword That Sliced Stars,” came to mind, and I almost said the name of a bard before stopping myself.

“…Who was your favorite singer?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Park Jae-yoon,” Hyerin replied. “How about you?”

Realizing that the singer she mentioned wasn’t a bard from this world, I quickly adjusted my answer.

“…I didn’t have one in particular.”

Hyerin hummed softly at my response before asking another question.

“Where did you live before coming to this world?”

“Well, I’ve been here for so long… I can’t really remember.”

“…What was your favorite food?”

“I liked all kinds of meat.”

Maybe my answers were too vague? Hyerin grew silent and slowed her pace slightly. Noticing this, I quickly pointed ahead.

“This is it. I’m staying at the Moonlight Inn.”

I figured introducing her to Croa and Rian, who were around her age, might help ease her guard.

As I led the way, Hyerin suddenly stopped and spoke hesitantly.

“…I know this is a lot to ask, but can I go get my stuff?”

“Your stuff?”

“There’s something really important I brought with me from where I used to live. I had to hide it since I’ve been homeless… You understand, right? We’re both from Pilanpo.”

I nodded, matching her tone with a casual response.

“I’ll come with you. Where is it?”

“…No, it’s okay. I can get it by myself, I’ll be quick.”

With an awkward smile, Hyerin bowed slightly before stiffening her expression and running off.

“Wait…!”

Sensing that I might have made a mistake, I quickly chased after her.

At the corner of the building, I reached out my hand to stop her, narrowing the distance between us.

“……”

But as soon as I rounded the corner, Hyerin, who had been just 10 meters ahead, had completely vanished.

It had only been two seconds since I lost sight of her.

‘Where did she go?’

I scanned the ground for any signs of movement.

There were no tracks, and no place nearby where she could have hidden.

‘I messed up.’

I retraced my actions in my mind.

I must’ve said something wrong, driven by my desire to gather as much information as possible.

‘Next time, how should I handle this?’

Realizing that there was no way to find Hyerin now, I absentmindedly fiddled with the dagger inside my clothes, thinking about my next move.

“Brother! Why aren’t you coming inside?”

I looked up to see Rian standing outside the inn, while Croa shyly waved from behind him.

Letting go of the dagger, I walked over to them.

“Did you see a girl around your age? She was wearing a black hooded cloak.”

Rian scratched his head and looked over at Croa.

“Croa, did you see anyone?”

“…No, I didn’t…”

Croa’s expression fell, guilt spreading across her face as if she was sorry she couldn’t help.

The thought of her fighting necromancers and monsters was unbearable.

“Croa! Rian! Where do you two think you’re going with so many customers around?”

Blan’s voice called out from inside the inn, and I turned to see about ten mercenaries heading inside.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes, yes!”

I reminded myself not to rush. After all, I had all the time in the world.

I followed my siblings back into the inn.

—

Two days had passed since I met Lee Hyerin.

I’d asked Blan and the others to let me know if any girls Croa’s age showed up, but there had been no sign of Hyerin.

‘Maybe I just missed her because I was too busy.’

The Moonlight Inn had become so popular that not only were the rooms fully booked, but the dining area was packed as well.

“Man, I feel great! No hangover and my body feels refreshed!”

“See? I told you we should stay at the Moonlight Inn!”

People were even lining up during the day, waiting for a spot.

But I didn’t think Blan would’ve turned Hyerin away just because the inn was full.

‘Maybe I just didn’t earn her trust.’

While I had approached her for information on the warriors, I genuinely felt sorry for Hyerin’s situation.

Still, if I couldn’t gain her trust, the right choice would be to approach another warrior to understand my situation better.

‘It doesn’t seem like she’ll come back.’

It was a quiet, moonlit night.

I stood up from where I had been waiting in front of the inn for Hyerin and decided to head to where another warrior might be.

Freya’s Church.

In the courtyard of the church, I spotted a familiar face—a priest.

“What do you think, Eris?”

“…I think the possibility is low, but it’s worth checking out. I’ll go before reporting to the elder.”

At Eris’ words, the priest nodded and glanced at me before heading inside the building.

Left alone, Eris bowed her head, her face tense.

“What’s going on?” I asked, walking closer.

She slowly raised her head, her expression grim as she looked at me.

“Is your sister staying at the Moonlight Inn?”

I nodded, and Eris let out a deep sigh, as if the thing she had been worrying about had just happened.

“Some of the priests sensed a stronger divine power than even the elder’s coming from the Moonlight Inn.”

“…What happens now?”

Without answering directly, Eris handed me a rolled-up parchment.

“Do you remember what I told you? To choose what’s best for your sister.”

A girl born with extraordinary divine power.

Would she live as a priest, devoting her life to the mission of hunting necromancers?

Or would she become a fugitive, hiding from the Freya Church?

The choice Eris had mentioned boiled down to those two options.

“Go. You only have until tonight to make your decision.”

Before I could say anything, Eris bowed her head deeply and disappeared into the church.

‘…A choice, huh.’

I turned and walked away from the church, unfolding the parchment Eris had given me.

[A village in need of a mission]

It was a map marking villages untouched by the Freya Church, places where no church had been built.

‘I need to get Croa first.’

Tucking the map into my clothes, I headed toward the Moonlight Inn.

―Thud, thud, thud.

My footsteps echoed loudly as I walked down the unusually quiet streets.

Soon, the Moonlight Inn came into view.

“….”

Something felt off.

Despite the inn and restaurant usually being packed, it was eerily silent.

Standing in front of the dark inn, I reached out to open the door.

―Creak, creak.

The door didn’t budge.

Or rather, it moved slightly before resisting and closing back up.

‘Damn it.’

A bad feeling began to creep over me.

I took a step back and flexed my arms.

―Bang!

With a single push, I forced the door open.

The door slowly gave way, accompanied by a strong resistance.

Gripping the hilt of my sword, I stepped into the dark inn. As I did, something bumped against my foot.

―Thud.

The object that had been blocking the door rolled across the floor.

It was Blan’s corpse, slumped against the door.

TL Note: Rate us on NOVEL UPDATES