Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

TL/Editor: yana/gummy

And he tried desperately, with all his might, to tell me something. Seeing him mouthing and gesturing rapidly, he seemed persistent.

The man, who had spent so long trying to convey something to me, dropped his shoulders with a defeated face. I turned my back to him, covering my forehead with my hand. I also let go of the sleeves of Cheneren’s fur coat.

Making my way through the snow, I suddenly wondered where this man was able to go. Won’t I find a way out of this field if I follow him?

When I crept back, I saw him kneeling, hunched over, as the snow covered his broad shoulders.

What’s wrong with him? He’s about to turn into a snowman. I looked at his honey blond hair covered in snow and turned around again without any regrets.

Striding laboriously against the blizzard, someone grabbed the sleeve of Cheneren’s fur coat again. I knew who stopped me without looking back.

“Why are you stopping me, again?”

The blond-haired man thrust something at me. As soon as I saw what he offered, I took a step back. In one hand he still held the leather boots, and in the other… half of Cheneren’s face.

I was dumbfounded to see Cheneren’s face with black hair, a straight forehead, narrow eyes, and a thin nose. He had no mouth or chin. His eyes, smooth as glass, bored into mine.

The man turned over the motionless broken face. There was nothing inside.

I hesitated to reach out and touch Cheneren’s facehead. It was as smooth and cold as glass and looked more like the inside of a ceramic doll than a part of a human being.

He placed his boots near my feet and began gesturing again. At that moment, a parchment appeared over his head.

【From now on, the sign language of “Tin Woodman” Elliot will be translated into text (there is a limitation on the translation of sign language).】

【“Cheneren is not dead. He is a coward and always sends a glass alter ego into enemy territory.”】

As soon as the parchment disappeared, the man threw away Cheneren’s facehead. I glanced at the head that landed in the snow, and then at the man who frowned.

I didn’t know what exactly the gestures meant, but it seemed to me that he meant to say that Cheneren, whom he attacked, was not the real Cheneren. Of course it was possible to distinguish between fragments of glass and the real head of a person. Could it have been a doll made by Cheneren’s magic?

“Are you saying you didn’t kill Cheneren?”

He nodded quickly, his eyes flaring at my question. I watched his tense reaction with dismay.

“Okay, sorry for the misunderstanding.”

His expression lightened when I made the short apology. The man, once again, offered me the boots.

At this point, it was embarrassing to continue to deny him his favor. My frozen feet ached too much to ignore the warm boots. After standing for so long in the freezing snow, I finally crouched down and put one of my feet directly in the shoe.

“Thank you. I will treat them with care.”

The other foot was also placed in its boot. The boots were big enough for the cold wind to seep through but they were more comfortable than walking barefoot in the snow.

This time, the man who was looking at me pleasantly in his boots handed me a black scarf. A short while ago, he was wearing it around his strong neck.

“It’s fine. You must be cold too.”

As soon as I finished speaking, the bewildered man shook his head.

【“I’m not cold at all.”】

【Elliot is bluffing!】

The neck of the shivering man caught my attention. He looked at Cheneren’s fur coat with displeasure, curling the corners of his mouth down and went to take off his navy coat.

“It’sll alright. Don’t take it off!”

I hastily dissuaded him. If I didn’t stop him and he gave me everything, he would’ve had to go through a blizzard in only his pants.

He nodded with a sullen face after only a few refusals. Was it because of his shy face? He looked like a cat with no energy.

Cat? I scratched my head because I was dumbfounded at what I thought he looked like. All I saw while hanging from a cornfield post was a flock of crows, a couple of farmers, and a few mules passing by from time to time. Then why did I think of a cat I had never seen before?

“The cat…”

Hearing me, he quickly nodded with a beaming face.

【“I have your meowing at home.”】

【“There is also a stove to keep you warm when you come to my house.”】

One by one, the parchment lengthened over the head of the man, who began to gesticulate rapidly.

【“There is also a talking bird that your older brother raised.”】

【There is also a soft bed and a bathroom where you can take a warm bath.”】

【“There is also your favorite pumpkin beer, salmon, and special bacon from the Emerald City.”】

【“Do you want to go with me?”】

While I was wrapping my head around, trying to interpret his gestures, the man could not hide his anxious gaze, waiting for my reaction.

After a moment’s silence, he slowly moved his hand, his lips moving.

【“I missed you.”】

Before I could answer, a strange growl escaped from my stomach. I looked down towards my stomach in embarrassment.

Don’t tell me I’m hungry right now? I remembered the past as I stroked my belly. It was the first time that such a strange sound escaped from my stomach, and I felt pain in my stomach.

【“Are you hungry?”】

The man’s face lit up again. He looked into my eyes, then pretended to eat and pointed his chin over my shoulder.. I rubbed my stomach, interpreting his gestures.

“Are you saying that if I follow you, you’ll give me something to eat?”

He nodded lightly. Then, as if telling me to follow him, he turned his back to me.

I agonized for a moment and eventually decided to follow him. I thought it would be better to stay overnight in a human house that would provide for me rather than stay overnight in the plains with heavy snowstorms.

I pressed myself closer to his large figure. Thanks to him, I managed to avoid the blizzard to some extent. I grabbed his navy coat and took a step forward.

A surprisingly small hill appeared on the horizon as we walked over the field of snow. Coming closer, I made out the shape of the hill in detail. It was more of a low, rocky mountain than a hill.

At the peak of the mountain was a ship with half of its hull hidden under the snow.

I was captivated by the beautiful mermaid carved onto the bow of the ship, the huge mast with waving sails and the roundoval helm. Smoke rose from the chimney in the wheelhouse. Yellow light leaked from the dozens of round windows lined up on the hull.

“Is this your home?”