Chapter 76

# Chapter 76: <The Good Person>

"Jungle?"

Choi Han expressed his doubt at the unexpected word, but Kale didn't answer and continued walking. He crossed through the Hoik village.

Hoik village was quiet except for the occasional tombstones scattered around.

"Sir, your umbrella."

A light drizzle began. It was common for villages near the forest to have frequent rain. Kale took the umbrella offered by the butler and headed towards the end of the small village.

A few people, including Hans, followed behind him.

'Here it is.'

An impassable path. The only entrance to this path appeared at the end of the village. Due to the drizzle and the overcast sky, the path into the forest looked dark and gloomy.

A stone monument with the words 'No Return' was placed at the entrance.

"Hmm."

Choi Han let out a sigh.

But Kale's gaze was fixed on the scene in front of the monument.

On a rainy day, people stood guard at the entrance, some wearing raincoats and others just enduring the drizzle. They were likely the families or friends of the missing.

Kale's eyes met those of an old man. The old man's eyes were vacant.

"...Don't go."

The old man, who had been leaning against the monument, turned to look endlessly into the forest as he spoke to Kale. Kale watched him silently.

"Sir Kale."

Rosalin approached and called out to Kale. She looked at the people guarding the entrance with a sad expression, not just the old man. At that moment, Kale moved forward.

"Old man, be careful not to catch a cold in the rain."

Kale placed an umbrella next to the old man, who was standing in the rain without a raincoat, and signaled to Hans with his fingers.

"Sir?"

"Umbrella."

"Me too?"

"Vicros and Hans, share it."

Vicros and Hans exchanged glances. Vicros's eyes narrowed. Hans pursed his lips and handed the umbrella to Kale. But Kale didn't need it.

"Let's share."

Rosalin's umbrella was now over Kale's head.

"Thank you. Let's go."

Kale turned away from the entrance, thanked her indifferently, and the group followed him. The villagers at the entrance watched them leave and then turned their gaze back to the forest.

"Hans."

"Yes, sir."

"Find an inn. There might be many, but a good one will be hard to find, so just get whatever is available."

Hoik village, despite its small size, had many inns. They were shabby but cheap. Those who came looking for their loved ones didn't have much money.

"Why do people keep entering that drizzle?"

As soon as they entered an inn, Choi Han asked, and Kale answered while sitting at a table in the first-floor restaurant.

"They go in search of hope."

"Hope?"

"There's a legend about the path with no return."

Despite its notorious reputation, a few people still entered the drizzle. Even if the old man tried to stop them, it was futile.

"A dragon lives in the path with no return."

-What are you talking about, human? There's no dragon here! I'm the only dragon around!

Laon, who had been quietly transparent, suddenly shouted.

I know. Kale knows there's no dragon here. He read this book.

"The dragon grants one wish to the human who finds its lair. Whether it's to become rich, cure an incurable disease, or make someone happy, it grants anything."

-Dragons can't do that. Dragons are great and strong, but they're not gods! What nonsense!

Laon's complaint was correct. Still, the legend often swayed desperate hearts.

"That legend draws people in."

Kale could see Choi Han's face contort in a rare display of displeasure. It must be bothering him. The kind-hearted man would find the old man's appearance and the village's scenery deeply saddening.

"Then, why don't we just clear the forest?"

He casually suggested something brutal. Kale ignored it.

Of course, the forest will catch fire. That's why, at the end of Volume 4, the five great mysteries of the Western Continent become four.

"If we just set it on fire, everything will burn, right?"

Kale's voice reached the increasingly radical Choi Han.

"We need to expose the legend as a lie. Then there will be no reason for people to enter."

At that moment, Vicros entered the inn with a sigh.

"I'm here."

Several people followed behind him.

"Sir! Only Hillsman is here!"

"Sir, we're here!"

The wolf children and Hillsman, all dirty, rushed into the inn. Vicros, seeing their filthy state, put on white gloves.

"Sir."

Lark, the last to enter, approached Kale and handed him a magic bag. But Kale blocked it with his hand and said to the group,

"Good job. Everyone, rest well."

The group smiled. Only then did Kale extend his hand to Lark. Lark carefully handed over the magic bag, and Kale said to him,

"The items inside are for the trade, right? They're mine?"

"Yes."

Lark's answer was immediate and without hesitation. Despite knowing the ancient power, he showed no greed for the items.

Kale opened the magic bag and announced to the group,

"I'm going into the forest."

-What?

Meow?

"Yes?"

"What!"

"...Why?"

Kale looked at the group's unexpectedly strong reactions. Choi Han's face was contorted as he sighed.

"Sir Kale, really."

Rosalin stared at him with wide eyes, and the cats pounded the table. The dragon was firm.

-I'm going too. Listen, weak human. Don't leave me behind. This is a warning. If I get angry, I'll destroy this forest in five minutes.

While listening to Laon's fierce warning, Kale saw Hillsman's trembling eyes.

"Sir, are you talking about the path with no return? They say you get lost in there—"

"Who says that?"

Kale whispered in a very low voice that the innkeeper at the counter couldn't hear.

"I don't."

His hand reached out towards the table. On and Hong were sitting awkwardly apart. Kale reached between them. He felt the dragon, who was crouched and transparent.

Kale stroked the backs of Laon and another being, On, and said,

"It's fine as long as they're here."

On looked at Kale with wide eyes. Kale met On's gaze and whispered,

"On, do you know why the path with no return is dangerous?"

"I don't know."

"Fog."

On's eyes sparkled.

Kale was actually a bit surprised when he met On. Hong was the same.

Pureblood cats. They each had their own characteristics. Among them, poison was very rare. But even rarer was fog.

If he had to choose the most rare and precious being, Kale would choose On over Laon. To the girl who could control fog, Kale revealed the forest's secret.

"The inside of the drizzle is covered in fog."

And to Laon, he said,

"Some component in the fog confuses people and mana. It's much stronger than any mana disruption device."

The forest was shrouded in thick fog.

"That's why the path is difficult."

That's why Kale only needed On and Laon. These rare, hard-to-find beings allowed Kale to plan his confrontation with the Jungle Queen.

"With you two, I can do anything in there."

On's tail swayed, and a small breeze stirred on the table from Laon's flapping wings.

***

Early morning. Kale stood at the entrance of the drizzle, with On the cat in his arms. By his order, none of his group came to see him off today.

"If you go in, you'll die... and never come out."

The old man, who seemed to have spent the night at the entrance, mumbled weakly by the monument. Someone dear to this old man must have entered the forest, lured by the legend.

"Old man, I'll break the legend and come back. Wait and see."

Kale smiled at the old man's trembling eyes and entered the drizzle without hesitation. He walked quickly, and the forest's view narrowed.

Fog. The fog enveloped him.

"Hmm, I need to use the strength of my front paw to cast magic, human. I need to be at my best."

"Indeed, Laon is amazing."

"Right. I am great. But what is the Queen's wish?"

Laon, who had heard a rough explanation the previous night, asked Kale, and Kale answered calmly.

"To extinguish the fire in the jungle."

"Fire?"

The Jungle Queen. Rithana.

The true ruler of the vast southern territory, larger than the empire.

'She's a higher version of Tunka.'

She never shows weakness to the strong and is infinitely gentle to the weak.

She came to this forest secretly, hoping to meet a dragon or grasp at a straw.

Kale, instead of explaining to the puzzled Laon and On, said something else. His expression was serious and grave.

"I'm a good person from today."

"Why are you suddenly introducing yourself?"

Laon looked at him in disbelief. On also looked at him as if he was stating the obvious. Kale was momentarily speechless but then said to On,

"On, the path."

"Yes."

On's eyes sparkled as she moved her front paw. The fog around Kale and the group moved away at a certain distance.

"This fog is interesting. It's not just fog. It's like a fog with poison."

As On's curiosity grew, Kale delved deeper into the fog, where visibility was poor. The fog remained even