/
As Adam said, she tried to follow the wind to the exit. And if Cahill were not there, she would return to the land of the spirit to find him.
Badin, who had no intention of looking for another party, twitched his eyebrows, but no one cared.
“Because that’s not really you.”
When Cahill replied as if it didn’t matter, Holly, who heard his erratic answer, raised her eyebrows and pondered.
“Did I appear in your dream?”
She widened her eyes in surprise as she belatedly realized what he meant.
“Yes. For the first time, you asked to do it first
!”
She hurriedly shut the shameless Cahill’s mouth. Fortunately, Badin, unlike Adam, was not very interested in their conversation. Holly, who was relieved when she glanced at Badin, turned her eyes to the strange sensation felt in her palm.
All of a sudden, a red tongue slipped in and out between her fingers.
“What, what are you doing!”
She quickly removed her hand and wrapped it around her other hand. The spaces between her fingers were already damp.
“It’s really Holly this time.”
Cahill curled his eyes in satisfaction.
“Don’t check it that way.”
As she rolled her eyes unhappily, he spoke to soothe her.
“I can’t do it here because I don’t want to show it to other people.”
Holly was at a loss for words. Of course, whatever she said was interpreted in an obscene way, and it became as if he really wanted to do it at any time and place.
“Your mind is really
”
In the end, she shook her head with a look of disapproval.
* * *
It was near the exit when Adam came running from afar.
‘Did he know that we were going to leave him?’
Since Cahill had ostracized the two of them from the start of the trip, he could have expected such a thing. Holly clicked her tongue and turned away from Adam, who looked at her resentfully.
‘Anyway, they really don’t see it.’
She soon turned away from Adam and saw the tree still chasing her. He didn’t seem to notice the existence, let alone Cahill, who noticed even hiding dwarves.
‘Please don’t say anything.’
Holly unknowingly spoke to Badin with her eyes.
“What is it, you two? You seem to be quite friendly.”
Adam uttered in a sarcastic, excited voice.
Holly sighed softly. Still, she was very happy that it finally felt like she was back to her daily routine. However, Cahill’s eyebrows narrowed, showing he was offended as he silently hugged her waist.
“
 Have you become close with Badin?”
Cahill asked awkwardly, perhaps bothered by Adam’s remarks which deliberately scratched his nerves. His lips protruded as much as his heart was broken.
“We’re just pretending to be friends. I’m still a bit uncomfortable with Badin
”
Holly said, soothing Cahill, and with those words, he stared at Badin with a proud smile.
‘
I’m sorry, Badin.’
Holly apologized to Badin inside.
* * *
“Wow! Escape at last!”
Holly shouted, raising her arms to the sky. Then she inhaled and exhaled exaggeratedly. Cahill watched the steep rise and fall of her chest and tugged his lips.
“It’s better to start by finding water that you can wash with. I think I’m covered in dirt.”
Even Adam, who used to quarrel with Holly whenever he had a chance, added in with a solemn face. She wasn’t the only one who felt uneasy about the land of spirits, where she couldn’t see a single animal and was just in a quiet atmosphere.
Holly pushed out her tongue and wet her lips. Even though her throat was already dry, hearing Adam’s words made her thirsty for some reason.
“Why are you licking your lips all of a sudden?”
As she turned her head, her eyes met Cahill, who was staring back at her.
“Did you think it was racy?”
A soft smile spread across Cahill’s lips. He seemed satisfied and glad that she had racy thoughts.
“Let’s hurry and find a river. Let’s have an early dinner tonight and get some rest.”
However, Holly, who had a hard time mentally, did not tune in to his vain imagination. She naturally turned away from him.
As she turned around, the sound of a clicking tongue was heard from the back of her head. Just as she was about to step out, she saw the small tree clinging to a large tree, and there was a black dot glittering below.
‘
Was it crying?’
Holly, who was taken aback, soon looked determined. Seeing her return to the land of the spirits that they had barely escaped, Cahill snatched her wrists.
“Wait a minute.”
Carefully removed Cahill’s hand, who was narrowing his forehead, and approached first. The little tree that has been chasing her the whole time staggers back.
“It’s okay.”
Hearing Holly’s kind voice, the tree paused.
“Does that woman catch some kind of disease in the forest?”
Adam gave her a rare look of pity. All he could see was Holly talking to herself into the air.
Cahill stared at the hand that Holly pushed away with a sullen look, then looked up. It was the same that he couldn’t see whom she was talking to. Cahill watched her do what she was doing, then opened his mouth.
“Adam.”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Waiting, Adam answered, sticking to Cahill. His voice was filled with subtle anticipation as if he wanted Cahill to separate from Holly at this opportunity.
“Do you know how to make a contract with a spirit?”
“
A spirit?”
However, it seemed that it wasn’t what Adam wanted, so he asked again in a weaker voice.
“She’s crazy. She’s talking to a spirit?”
Not daring to doubt Cahill’s words, he asked again to make sure he heard right.
“Because I never know when I’ll be separated from Holly again. She should know how to protect herself.”
Cahill nodded his head, and Adam’s expression suddenly brightened.
“Then, Your Highness will feel more at ease when you separate with that woman
!”
Adam felt reluctant, but he approached her at once. Meanwhile, Holly lowered herself and made eye contact with the short tree.
The shiny black eyes fluttered slightly.
“Are you a spirit?”
She asked with half confidence.
The tree was visible to some and invisible to others. The fact that it did not follow her when she escaped the spirit land, the ‘Forest of Death’, strengthened her suspicions.
Answering her question, it made a noise as the leaves collided with each other. She felt that this was the spirit’s answer. A bright smile appeared on Holly’s face from the joy that her guess was correct and the pleasure of meeting a spirit.
“Are you willing to become a contractor of the spirits?”
At those words, she looked to her side in surprise. Adam, who was usually reluctant to even speak with her, came right next to her and started talking to her first. Not only that, but she was further surprised by what he said next.
“Can I become a spiritist?”
“Because you’re so friendly that you can see spirits. That spirit
”
Adam, unable to see the spirit, gave an awkward look as he gestured into the air.
“Because that spirit likes you too, becoming a spiritist would be easy. I don’t understand what’s good.”
He dared to add some grateful words. Holly frowned at him, who couldn’t let go of his mean words as the day went on.
‘That person is really
’
He was not even a beast, but it looked like things needed to be sorted out. Holly held her mouth shut and loosened her wrists. At that moment, something flashed in front of her eyes. The tree spirit was slapping Adam’s cheeks with the bean sprout-like hands hanging from the trunk.
“The wind is quite strong.”
Adam said, stroking his burning cheeks. To him, who couldn’t see the spirits, the tree trunk’s attack seemed to feel like a strong wind.
‘Stop.’
Holly gestured at the spirit. Disapprovingly, the trembling spirit slammed him on the cheek one last time and withdrew its stem.
“Hmm?”
The problem was Badin, who, like Holly, could see spirits. At first, he looked at her with indifferent eyes, but then he stroked his cheek.
Horrified at what she had done, Holly quickly turned her gaze to Adam.