Chapter 79

"Hey! Nal didn't have it?!"

As soon as she ran back to the rock where they were camping, Kisa caught the girls who had stayed behind and asked them this. The girls, who were excitedly interrogated by Kisa, let out a small scream and retreated, bracing themselves as if to protect each other.

However, Kisa, seemingly unaware of the girls' fear, explained the shape and size of the item she was looking for with gestures.

"Nal, you know, the dwarf who died, had a small bottle about this big on his waist! It was made to be very sturdy, and he always kept it with him, so it must have been there!"

One of the girls, Nina, who had a clue, pointed to the side of the campfire with a trembling finger. Kisa's eyes immediately fell on the target, and she let out a cry of joy.

"There it is!"

It was a small earthenware bottle, about the size of a hand.

Kisa picked it up, first untied the string that was tightly tied around the mouth of the bottle, and then pulled out the cork that appeared underneath. With a satisfying pop, the cork came out, and a distinctive odor wafted from the bottle.

"Alright! Alright! What else do I need... Oh, right, a box!!"

Quickly looking around, Kisa spotted Nal's backpack and pounced on it like a hungry tiger that had been given meat. At first, she stuck her hand into the backpack and rummaged around, but when she couldn't find what she was looking for, she suddenly turned the backpack upside down and spilled all its contents onto the ground.

"There it is, there it is!!"

From the tools that had fallen to the ground, Kisa grabbed a small box, about the size of a small arm, made of tanned leather. Opening the lid, she first spilled the contents onto the ground, just as she had done with the backpack. Then, she observed the now empty box, muttering to herself.

"The size seems good. It's not too thick, so it should be easy to work with, right?"

At the sight of this, the girls were even more frightened, as if they were facing a creepy monster.

Erika, who had returned belatedly, called out.

"Hey, Kisa! What did you do to everyone?!"

Seeing the girls cowering in fear from Kisa, Erika glared at her and confronted her. However, Kisa, still looking at the box in her hand, casually brushed off Erika's reprimand.

"I don't have time for that."

Kisa, who usually seemed timid, was so unexpected in her response that Erika was speechless with surprise.

"Anyway, I need everyone's help."

However, Erika, still in shock, and the girls, who were too frightened to speak, remained frozen. Confirming this, Kisa raised her head and turned to the girls. Even this made the girls shudder, and Kisa spoke to them in a tone as if to break it down.

"You can be scared of me, but please listen to what I have to say."

The girls didn't respond, but they didn't try to run away and seemed willing to listen. Confirming this, Kisa clearly stated:

"Erika is going to leave you all with me and go alone to the bandits."

At these words, the girls showed intense agitation and looked at Erika to confirm the truth.

If the girls had already heard Erika's decision, they would have been rebelling against her or lamenting. The fact that they weren't suggested that Erika had kept it from them, which Kisa's guess turned out to be correct.

Erika, whose hidden decision had been exposed, lashed out at Kisa in a fit of agitation.

"Kisa! Don't say unnecessary things!"

"But I don't like that."

However, Kisa ignored Erika's anger and spoke to the girls.

"If we're going to the city, I'll take everyone! Not just you, but Erika and the people who are currently captured, too."

At these words, the fear on the girls' faces faded, replaced by confusion and hope.

"But I need your help for that! So, please help me!"

This made Erika anxious.

What Kisa was saying was ideal. However, it was an ideal that was as unreachable as a mirage. Erika hadn't given up from the start. No matter how much she thought about it, there was no way to save her sisters from the bandits, and this was her decision.

Yet, Kisa's easy promise to save everyone made Erika feel angry.

"Shut up! You just take these kids to the city! That's all you need to do!"

In response to Erika's anger, Kisa spoke directly.

"Then give me three days! The bandits gave us a three-day grace period, right? In those three days, let me prove that I can really drive them away!"

However, Erika laughed derisively.

"Hah! What can you do in just three days?!"

"You won't know unless you try!"

"Do as you please! We won't help you!"

Neither of them would budge, and they glared at each other, noses almost touching.

"Hey..."

The one who spoke up between them was one of the elf girls who had been silently listening to their argument.

"What do we need to do...?"

At the girl's words, Kisa's face lit up with joy. In contrast, Erika's face showed anxiety, and she scolded the girl.

"Nina! Don't say foolish things!"

Nina, scolded by Erika, shrank back, but another girl, Paula, spoke up.

"But, Erika, it's better if everyone can be saved."

"Paula, too?!"

Not only Nina but also Paula siding with Kisa shocked Erika.

However, when the third girl, Ilza, pushed past the other two and stepped forward, a bright expression appeared on Erika's face. She had hoped that Ilza, who had suggested killing the just-awakened Kisa, would dissuade the other two.

"Tell us quickly. What do we need to do?"

But the words that came out of Ilza's mouth were the opposite of what Erika had hoped for.

"Even Ilza?!"

The unexpected rebellion of the girls made Erika almost tear up.

Ignoring Erika, Kisa began giving the girls instructions one after another.

"Then, I want you to collect branches with leaves still on them."

Nina, who had been worried about what kind of difficult task she would be given, was taken aback and looked puzzled.

"Branches?"

Saying this, she tilted her head slightly, looking childlike. Kisa couldn't help but smile and replied.

"Yes. The thinner branches with as many leaves as possible are best."

"Okay, I got it!"

With that, Nina ran off, and Kisa watched her go. Next, Paula looked at Kisa expectantly, wondering what she would be asked to do.

"I want you to collect vines. Once you've collected them, I want you to pound them with a stone to make them soft."

"Vines, got it. I'll collect a lot!"

Paula also ran off, making a pattering sound with her feet to collect the vines.

The last one, Ilza, glared up at Kisa as if challenging her. She looked angry, but since she had said she would help, Kisa cautiously asked:

"Can you wash the fur in the river... and would you mind if I asked you to do that?"

With each word, Ilza's eyes grew more intense, and Kisa's voice became smaller and smaller, ending in a polite tone. Kisa was unsure what was making her angry, but when Ilza finished listening, she nodded firmly.

"Got it! I'll wash the fur!"

It seemed she wasn't angry but was listening seriously.

Kisa, relieved, tried to stop Ilza, who was about to run off with the fur.

"While you're at it, can you draw this symbol on the riverbank where I was found?"

Saying this, Kisa drew a strange symbol on the ground, and Ilza asked:

"What is this? A flower? Or a four-leaf clover?"

"Someone who knows will recognize it as a mark from me."

Ilza practiced drawing the symbol on her palm a few times before running off with the fur.

After confirming that Ilza's figure had disappeared into the bushes, Kisa turned to Erika and asked with a look:

"What will you do?"

"Fine, I'll help too!"

Saying this, Erika stomped her feet in frustration.

"But only three days! Show us what you're going to do by then! If I'm not convinced, you'll have to do as I say!"

"Okay, I understand."

In contrast to Erika's angry outburst, Kisa responded cheerfully.

"Then, can you make a hole in this box? I'm sorry to ask, but can you do it right away?"

◆◇◆◇◆

The next afternoon.

Kisa, who had been rowing the boat with the fur soiled with mud on her knees, suddenly slumped forward. Jolted awake by the impact, Kisa blinked rapidly and, as if to show that she hadn't been dozing, sped up the work of threading the vine rope she had made through the holes she had poked in the fur with a leather punch.

"You look pretty sleepy."

However, Kisa's cheeks turned red with embarrassment at Erika's sarcastic remark.

"I'm a bit sleep-deprived."

Kisa tried to explain, but Erika had already realized it was more than "a bit."

Yesterday, Erika and the others had stopped working when it got dark, but Kisa had said she had things to do and continued working alone in a different place. Moreover, when Erika woke up before dawn, she heard faint sounds, so Kisa probably hadn't slept at all and had continued working.

"It's not going as well as I thought..."

Kisa muttered, yawning, but quickly realized her mistake and tried to explain.

"But it's almost done, so it's okay!"

Erika, who had been blackening the tips of the short arrows with charcoal from the campfire, stopped her work and gave Kisa a challenging smile.

"I won't get my hopes up."

Erika's attempt to make Kisa angry and give up was obvious, but Kisa, already irritable from lack of sleep, bristled.

"It's okay! I'll finish it by tonight!"

However, even after Erika and the others had fallen asleep, Kisa continued to work on the box alone, but it still didn't go well.

"Damn! It's not working! I guess I'm still missing something..."

It was well past midnight. In a few hours, the sun would start to rise in the eastern sky.

Despite this, it just wouldn't work.

The thought that it might be impossible began to seep in.

"No, no, no! I can't give up here!"

Kisa shook his head vigorously to shake off this negativity, but the force of the movement made his head spin.

"I need to calm down a bit..."

Kisa decided to take a short break to clear his head. He stepped out of the shadow of the rock and walked toward the campfire where Erika and the others were sleeping.

At that moment, something that glinted in the light of the campfire caught Kisa's eye.

"What's that...?"

Kisa hurried over and found it was the large helmet placed on Nal's grave.

Kisa picked up the helmet, turned it over, and peered inside. The inside was stuffed with cloth as a cushion, but when he removed it, a metal plate appeared. Using the sleeve of his shirt as a cloth, he polished the metal plate, which had a slight warp but was shiny enough to reflect his face.

"Maybe I can use this?"

Kisa pushed the leather box into the neck of the helmet. It turned out that the helmet was just the right size to fit the box.

"It's a bit loose, but I can fix it by stuffing it with cloth."

Kisa carried the helmet and the box under his arm and ran to the base of the rock where Erika and the others were sleeping.

"Wake up, Erika! I need your help!"

Kisa shook Erika's shoulder, who was sleeping under a fur by the campfire.

"What is it? It's not even dawn yet..."

Erika, woken up by Kisa, rubbed her eyes and spoke in a grumpy voice. The girls, who had been sleeping nearby, also woke up, wondering what was happening.

"I need you to cut this side of the box."

Kisa pointed to the side opposite where he had already made holes, to the still sleepy Erika.

"Are you going to break the box this time?"

Erika's words were tinged with exasperation, and Kisa hesitated. Once cut, there would be no going back, and it could end up breaking the box as Erika suggested.

However, Kisa decided to bet on his idea.

"Yes! Please do it."

Erika, stifling a yawn, cut the side of the box with her knife. Kisa said, "Thank you!" and, carrying the box under his arm, returned to where he had been working.

"Please, let it work."

Kisa pushed the box into the helmet and stuffed the gaps with cloth to secure it. The helmet's visor, which was hinged, unexpectedly served as a lid.

After setting everything up, Kisa closed the visor with a prayer-like feeling.

Seeing the result, Kisa knelt down and offered words of gratitude to the dwarf who had owned all the tools.

"Thank you! Nal."

◆◇◆◇◆

"Everyone, come here!"

Just as Erika and the girls were about to fall back asleep, Kisa's loud voice rang out again.

"What is it this time?!"

Erika, whose sleep had been interrupted twice, questioned Kisa in a hostile tone. However, Kisa, without a hint of remorse, spoke excitedly in one breath.

"I finally did it! I finally made it! Come and see quickly!"

"...What did you