This chapter takes place directly after Chapter 36.

  Noiji: “Do you understand everything now?”

  Zackory: “Yeah, I think so. Somehow I’m starting to regret coming along.”

  Noiji: “Why?”

  Zackory: “A fine knight candidate like myself shouldn’t be in filthy and evil places like this forest or that hospital.”

  Noiji: “Hey! This is about our brother and our mother. Show some respect.”

  Zackory: “He’s my half-brother, and she’s not even my mother…”

  His half-sister rolls her eyes and ends the conversation. The group has to move slowly since they can’t transport Najun—who is unconscious—very quickly.

  Naki: “Sister, what exactly are we hoping to find in this hospital again?”

  Noiji: “Answers about what happened to Mother and treatment for Najun. How many times do I have to repeat that?”

  Naki: “Calm down. I was just wondering why this specific hospital—and why it’s in a dark forest. Isn’t that kind of random?”

  Noiji: “Maybe. But right now it’s the only possible solution we have, so we’ll just try it.”

  They take a break. Noiji takes care of Najun and wipes the sweat from his forehead. She also forces him to drink some water so his body doesn’t dehydrate.

  Noiji: “[I wonder what’s going on inside his head right now. Is that hand doing something to his brain? I hope he doesn’t miss us too much.]”

  She taps the purple gemstone and once again feels the urge to simply tear the hand off.

  Kogiri: “Be careful with that hand. It’s firmly connected to Najun’s brain.”

  Noiji: “I know.”

  Their break drags on. For some reason, they all feel extremely tired and hungry. Still, they pull themselves together and keep moving.

  Zackory: “Do you think this armor suits me? I received it from my family in Britania…”

  Suddenly, a hand covers his mouth and pushes him into a bush.

  Zackory: “Have you gone crazy?”

  Noiji: “No. Just look.”

  She points at a large group of people. They all wear black cloaks with a strange emblem on them. They stand still, discussing something.

  The smell of blood and dirt is all over the place.

  Zackory: “So what? They might even help us. If I ask them, they surely will.”

  Kogiri: “I doubt that. They look more like a crazy cult. We should go around them.”

  Noiji: “I agree. Naki, carry Najun on your back, and I’ll take the wheelchair. Zackory, please try to be quiet—and not yourself.”

  Zackory: “I can try, but you can’t put a mask on a knight. It’s impossible.”

  Noiji: “Shut up. Go.”

  Noiji kicks him so he starts moving. They sneak around the large clearing, crawling through bushes—until Zackory bumps into a leg.

  Zackory: “Since when does a tree have such a fragile trunk?”

  He looks up and sees a small girl. She giggles and hides her face.

  Zackory: “Excuse me, young lady, but may my companions and I pass by?”

  Little Girl: “Oh, how polite. Then I won’t be mean and will let you pass. But there’s a small fee.”

  Zackory: “That’s fine. Just send us the bill. Everyone, we can move on.”

  Suddenly, Zackory feels a small sting on his neck. He smells blood and looks up again. The girl is holding a small needle. The tip is stained red.

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  Little Girl: “I wasn’t talking about money. The fee is your pain and your blood.”

  Zackory and the others jump up as several people leap down from the trees and capture them. Of course they resist, but mud is smeared into their faces, making them sluggish. Before the mud fully takes effect, Noiji wraps a cloth around Najun’s face and bites him several times—deep enough for blood to run from the bite marks.

  They are dragged into the clearing and surrounded by the large crowd. They cannot move and are forced to maintain eye contact with these people. Every single gaze carries the same desire: to kill them.

  The little girl leaves the circle and steps into the center, approaching her new hostages.

  Little Girl: “Hello, my name is Liko, and now I will collect my fee.”

  With a cute smile she begins her weird task. One by one, she stabs each of them in the leg. She uses a different needle for each person.

  Liko: “Wow, your blood looks really cool. My last victims unfortunately had pale and inferior blood. It would even drink it. Maybe later?”

  Next, she moves toward Najun.

  Liko: “And who do we have here? A veiled face?”

  She reaches to remove the cloth, but Noiji kicks the needle away.

  Noiji: “I wouldn’t do that.”

  Liko: “Why not? Is he too ugly to look at? I just want to collect my fee so don’t worry.”

  Noiji: “My little brother suffers from a severe infection. It’s contagious, and so far there is no cure.”

  Liko: “You don’t know me very well, do you? I love diseases and pain. Now I want your brother’s blood even more.”

  Noiji: “Look at his body. He has bite marks from poisonous animals in this forest. His face is terribly disfigured. His infection has become even worse—and deadlier.”

  Liko: “Now I want it even more. Get out of the way. Immediately!”

  She licks her lips and grabs another needle.

  ???: “You must not do that, Princess.”

  A woman steps out of the crowd and stops the little girl. She turns her little head towards the woman. Her cute smile is turning to an excited look.

  Liko: “Why not, Shime? The boy sounds like the best fun I’ll ever have.”

  Shime: “Didn’t you hear what the girl said? A deadly infection with no cure. I absolutely forbid it.”

  Despite Shime’s words, Liko tries to reach for Najun again.

  Shime: “No. Princess, that’s enough.”

  She grabs Liko by the collar and lifts her into the air. She squirms like the small child everyone believes her to be.

  Liko: “Come on. I need this.”

  Shime: “I know you do. You’ve returned from your long mission and want your old life and hobbies back, but this is serious. I promise that we will leave the village as soon as possible and find other people who can assist you with your craft.”

  Liko: “Promise? Otherwise, I’ll have to punish you.”

  Shime: “Promise. Have I ever broken a promise between us?”

  Liko: “I don’t think so?”

  Shime: “Of course not. Every promise has been kept—and will be kept.”

  The two girls return to the crowd. After a few minutes, they open a path for a man. Slowly, he approaches the center and carefully examines the hostages.

  Man: “Wait… is my daughter back? Where is she?”

  Liko runs out of the crowd toward the man. They embrace, and he kisses her forehead.

  Man: “You’re back. That makes me very happy.”

  Liko: “Jiggo! We finally see each other again.”

  Jiggo: “How about you call me Papa?”

  Liko: “Hmm? Papa? I like that. I hope you’re a good Papa.”

  Jiggo: “I am.”

  Jiggo: “Did the Minamoto girl say anything?”

  Shime: “No. She’s keeping quiet.”

  A girl in restraints is shoved out of the crowd. Jiggo grabs her by the hair and throws her into the center.

  Jiggo: “So we have a girl from the strongest family in this country—and a few wanderers. This forest is being visited by very strange people.”

  Minamoto Girl: “If my family finds out about this, you’re finished. And my name is Kitoka.”

  Jiggo: “My apologies, Kitoka. You’re probably used to more refined surroundings. Just tell us what we want to know.”

  Kitoka: “I don’t even understand what you want from me. I won’t tell you why I’m here, but your questions make no sense. I can’t even answer them if I ever wanted to.”

  Jiggo: “We only want to know about your political relationships and your magic. I want to make sure whether we truly wish to be related to you.”

  Kitoka: “What are you even talking about?”

  Jiggo: “Never mind. Forget that topic. You know you won’t leave this place alive, so at least help an old man at the end of your life. Maybe you can get a little treat before your end.”

  Kitoka: “Eww! Go to hell.”

  With a disappointed look, he turns away from her and walks back toward the crowd, which now surrounds him.

  Noiji: “Hey. You.”

  With a light kick, Noiji gets Kitoka’s attention.

  Noiji: “How did you end up here?”

  Kitoka: “I was searching for something in this forest. Before my search could even properly begin, I was captured. And you?”

  Noiji: “We also have certain goals within this forest. We need to escape somehow.”

  Kitoka: “What do you mean ‘we’?”

  Noiji: “Don’t you want to escape? Doing it alone would be difficult.”

  Kitoka: “But attempting to escape in such a large group is stupid.”

  Noiji: “It’s still safer than doing it alone. Are you in?”

  Zackory: “Why do you trust her so easily? Who knows what kind of criminal or psychopath she is?”

  Noiji: “Calm down, Zackory.”

  Kitoka: “He’s right. Why do you trust me so easily? Or do you have some other plan with me?”

  They move closer together so they can communicate better—and so their enemies cannot read their lips.

  Noiji is observing Kitoka. It looks like she thinks about something bad or not human-like. It’s an very awkward look.

  Noiji: “I can’t really explain it myself. It just feels right.”

  Kitoka hesitates briefly but remembers her goal. She internalizes it and puts on a confident expression. Even though she wanted to make all by herself.

  Kitoka: “Fine. I’m in. But that doesn’t mean the trust is already there. I’m still a solo.”

  Noiji: “That’s fine.”

  Noiji stands up. Even though the mud still affects her, she manages to stand upright. The others remain on the ground, although Naki at least tries to sit up.

  Jiggo: “Oh, we’ve got a tough one here. No one has ever managed to stand up this quickly after the poisonous mud.”

  Noiji: “I am an icon.”

  The crowd spreads out. From all sides, people come running—each with the sole goal of attacking the hostages.

  What they do not know is that one of their hostages is a berserker in the form of an ordinary girl.