24 Hearts

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“Ha. What useless musing.”

She spoke as if to ignore his theory, but her expression grew stiff, and her pace slowed. She didn’t seem to care at all, but she looked as if she had more stuff to say than she actually did. Isabel glanced down at Judah and stopped walking.

“?”

“If you go along the river, you’ll see the village. It was nice to take you along with me. Now, go back and have a good rest with your wives.”

She didn’t give him a chance to answer, turning around and then going back her way. He tried to follow, but Judah couldn’t take a few steps ahead because her stride had grown wider and faster, leaving no choice for Judah but to stop. The difference in her strides was constant, and he felt as if she was using the Chukji method.

“Well, I probably didn’t say anything useless.”

He thought he had to follow her, but his body didn’t move as he intended. Judah, left standing blankly in the spot for a moment, said the chief would be fine, and so he returned to the village.

Meanwhile, Isabel, anxious from Judah’s words, returned to the river where she had just killed the orc pack. Two of her tribesmen wandered in front of her, frustrated by the heavy atmosphere she gave off. After arranging the arrows, she walked to the place where the corpses were piled up, then swung around with the tip of her bow, looking for something. The two tribesmen followed her. Isabel, who was still silent, stretched out her hand without looking behind her.

“Do you have a dagger? Give it to me.”

They gave her the dagger they had without a word. Isabel took whatever she grabbed first.

“I have to visit someplace for a while. Go back to the tribe. If you need me, I’ll come by tomorrow.”

Isabel didn’t hear their reply. She used her magic power and ran as fast as before. She climbed the river toward the Red Bear tribe and the small tribe between her village. After her half-day rush, she spent the night in the woods and wasn’t able to reach her destination until the sun dawned.

As she lurked secretly, the wooden wall that was supposed to surround the nearby tribe had collapsed. Her left hand stretched out to her bow, which she wore on her waist, and picked up one of her arrows.

‘What happened?’

The 2M-high barrier had collapsed, and she couldn’t feel the presence of the villagers. She entered the town, vigilant around her. When she saw the collapsed wall, she loomed, and inside the village were destroyed housings, as if a giant monster came in and started a riot. She also saw a body that seemed to have died for quite a while now. Even if she didn’t get close, she could smell the horrid stench in the wind. Her eyes frowned.

‘That stranger was right.’

She didn’t know if orcs attacked it, but it was certainly true that something attacked this tribe. Isabel looked around, keeping her guard up. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find a survivor. She also didn’t see any live orc, who she assumed had attacked the tribe.

After looking around, she put her arrow back into her barrel. Confirming that no one was left, Isabel looked around, stretching her back and relaxing herself.

She didn’t get caught up in her keen feelings. All she could see were dead bodies. There was a dead orc too. Looking closely at them, she realized something peculiar.

She said, “There’s a dead woman.”

Orcs rarely killed women, even for reproduction. When plundering a tribe, it was common for them to kill men and rape women. They also weren’t known for cutting their enemies neatly into two clean halves. Some possible monsters could’ve done this, but the town wouldn’t be like this if they had appeared. The building should have turned into ashes, and the bodies would’ve been their meal, leaving no traces like this behind.

‘Then, is it a human?’

Who the hell would do this? It had been a long time since the war between Several neighboring tribes came to mind, but the relationship with them was not bad. There had never been a conflict of opinion for a long time, and there was no conflict now. There was no reason to fight. Moreover, she didn’t know enough warriors who could do such a thing.

Isabel wandered around the town a little more to find any clues, but nothing was saved.

She said, “The properties and riches are untouched, and there are no orc bodies nearby… Damn it. I don’t know what you did this for.”

Annoyed, she scratched her head. With no resolution, she tried to return, but a frown fell on her face as she quickly pulled out an arrow and shot it with her bow. The arrow hit the forehead of the person who peeked from a wall and looked at her.

“Ha. Really.”

It was an orc that slowly passed back and fell. What she started grew, and she felt orcs gather under her senses.

An orc pack emerged.

It’s as if they had just reached the village. Confused, she pulled out an arrow and lifted it up.

“Okay, whatever you all are, I’ll knock you down.”

She kicked the ground and climbed onto a building. Landing on the roof, she saw a large number of orcs watching her as they drooled.

“Look at you lust over me.”

She aimed her bow. Her arrow flew through the air and struck right at an orc’s genitals. Starting with it, she began shooting at a pace the eyes could not see.

The number of arrows she had was 50. For sure, she took out the lives of the orcs for each of them. She left only ten arrows, and after destroying the orcs, she exited the village without survivors and returned to her tribe. Returning to the Black Tree tribe, she immediately summoned her warriors.

“Increase the number of guards to a group of 3 people. Strengthen your vigilance and report anything to me immediately.”

“Don’t let the kids go out of town. Do you have a lot of arrows left? How many? Not enough. Make more and stockpile.”

“Send people to the tribe below us. Go and find out if their town is fine or if there’s been anything suspicious recently. Right now!”

Her orders were fulfilled immediately. All the people in the village started to get busy. All but one, Judah’s party in the Baekje Empire lodge at the northern entrance of the town.

Isabel went to the flowing river and washed her body thoroughly, thinking of him.

She said, ‘It’s like what you said, Judah.’

The boy. The stranger. A child with the characteristics of a spirit that descended as a legend. She would not have known that one of the tribes had been exterminated for quite some time if it were not for the child’s words.

He was even fearless against the orcs he faced. Isabel squeezed her hair as she came out of the river and wiped her body with a towel. The cold wind caressed her mind.

Resting a little and muttering, she changed her mind and went to find Judah. It was the first time she went directly to the building given to the envoys from Baekje. Without warning that she would visit, she walked in and opened the door.

“Kaaah!”

The moment she opened the door, a brown-haired, frail woman hurriedly covered her body with a startled scream. The warm steam was faintly coming out of her body as if it had just walked out of the shower. Arhil, flustered, puffed her lips and looked at Isabel.

“Why are you so surprised? I didn’t come to see you, so I’ll do what I came for.”

She shook her hands, slid her leather shoes off the porch, and found Judah. When she looked for the person she visited, he found Judah sleeping on the floor as he snored. He didn’t even move, as if he hadn’t heard Arhil screaming.

Lucky.

It seemed like there were at least four rooms, but she found him easily.

Isabel approached Judah, squatted, and stabbed him on the cheek.

“Wake up. I have something to say.”

“Uh…?”

She squinted and looked at Judah, opening his eyes, chuckling at the sight of him as if she found it cute.

“I need to sleep a little more…”

The woman who the boy introduced as one of his two wives came into the room late. Isabel stared at Jeanne, the woman with blue hair, as she continued stabbing Judah on the cheek with her finger. She made the gesture to wake him up. Jeanne didn’t understand the meaning of her actions. Hesitating slightly, she spoke up.

“Do not do that.”

Judah narrowed his eyes and shook his head at the feeling of pricking on his cheeks. But Isabel couldn’t stop her hand. It was soft, and it was a fresh experience since she had never seen such a reaction.

“Judah, the Chief is here. We’re not the ones stabbing you like that.”

“…?”

As if grasping the situation, Judah closed his eyes and stopped moving. Isabel quickly removed her hand and began laughing.

“Did you sleep well? I’m very sorry that I bothered you while you’re sleeping well.”

Chulp-

Judah glanced at Isabel and gulped, trying to understand what was happening again. She gave him enough time. He seemed to have sobered up after a minute or so, laughing awkwardly as he greeted her.

“Well, good morning?”

“Unfortunately, it’s dinner.”

“…Is that so?”

“That’s right. Did you take a break from the town tour?”

At Isabel’s question, Judah nodded his head.

“Good. Then can I ask you a favor now?”

“I hope it isn’t hard.”

“Well. Depending on the situation and your skill, it may be difficult or easy for you. Would you like to listen?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Of course. You see, what you told me had made things quite a bit bigger.”

Isabel informed him that a tribe had been annihilated. When Judah heard that, he looked startled.

“Did you just come back from there?”

“Yeah. I came back to confirm that your assumption was true. Maybe, stranger, you are truly a spirit for us.”

“…”