We arrived at the base of the mountain where my home was located.
After getting out of the car, I kept my promise to the girl by taking out a towel from my bag.
Swoosh, swoosh-
I diligently wiped the seat I sat on, ensuring no fault could be found.
Seemingly displeased by this, the girl sitting in the driver’s seat sighed.
Had I done something wrong?
I stopped wiping and looked up at her.
“Why?”
“It’s just… I’m not comfortable with this.”
Was it because of me that the car got dirty?
I glanced at the girl, then scrubbed the car seat even harder.
It was my way of showing that I would clean so thoroughly I couldn’t be blamed for anything.
Swoosh, swoosh-
As I used my whole body to clean the seat, people nearby who looked like hikers started murmuring.
“Hey, isn’t that Han Yeoreum?”
“Yeah. Why is she making the kid do that…?”
What did they mean by ‘making the kid do that’?
I perked up my sensitive ears and focused on the people’s conversation, hoping they might reveal a weakness of this ‘Han Yeoreum’.
But she seemed to have read my thoughts and hurriedly opened the car door and approached me.
“Stop, stop! Let’s just leave it!”
She pulled me back.
The difference in strength was so vast that I couldn’t resist.
I resented my weak body in these moments.
“But I haven’t cleaned it properly yet-”
“It’s okay, we’ll have to ride again anyway. Is there really a need to clean it now?!”
“Again?”
Her shocking statement made me freeze.
Foolishly, I had thought I would be free the moment I reached home.
After showing her the house, she would probably take me back.
With a sense of despair, I stopped cleaning and just looked up at her.
“Shall we first look at your home? I really want to see it.”
“Okay…”
Since we would be riding again anyway.
It was unnecessary to clean any further, as she said.
So, I led the girl towards the location of my tent.
Deep into the heart of the mountain.
To get to my home, we had to climb a steep mountain trail, not a well-maintained hiking path, but a rugged, wild slope.
The girl seemed dubious about this and kept glancing at me.
“Is this the right way…?”
“Yes. Just a bit further.”
I found it easier to climb the rugged mountain, perhaps due to my lighter body.
Nonetheless, it was still challenging.
The smaller my body, the more steps I had to take.
“Isn’t it too dangerous to live here?”
“Yes. But-look, a dandelion!”
“A dandelion?”
Just as I was about to answer her, I spotted a dandelion growing under a rotten tree.
It was a bit bitter but incredibly healthy.
I decided to carefully dig it up to avoid damaging its roots.
Swoosh, swoosh-
I used my small hands to dig energetically into the earth.
My tender hands were sore from rubbing against the dirt, but I endured it to get the dandelion.
“Wait, wait. Let me do that.”
The girl urgently grabbed my hand and started digging the soil with a dagger strapped to her waist.
I didn’t understand why she wanted to help, but I decided to speak up.
“Be, be careful not to damage the root…”
“Yeah. I’m good at this.”
She leveraged the dagger like a fulcrum, and the dandelion began to emerge from the soil, roots and all.
“Wow.”
I never knew the witch had such a skill.
I quickly put the uprooted dandelion in my bag.
“Do you like flowers?”
“Yes. Dandelions are a bit bitter, but they’re good for the body.”
“A-Ah, it’s for eating?”
I tilted my head at the girl’s stammering words.
There was no need to dig up a flower that wasn’t meant to be eaten.
“Dandelions are best eaten when you are colds or tired.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and also-”
As I talked to her about the benefits of dandelions, we soon arrived at my home.
It was a tattered tent, but it was more comfortable than anywhere else in the world for me.
“Is, is this your home?”
“Yes!”
Finally, home.
I hoped my tomatoes and lettuce were doing okay.
I happily ran towards my vegetable garden, only to be filled with despair.
The tomatoes, lettuce, and a few other plants had all withered.
“Ack.”
My precious plants were dead.
How long had I been unconscious?
Shocked, I collapsed onto the vegetable garden.
I felt like crying, but I forced myself not to.
After all the injustices I had faced in life, I couldn’t cry over something like this.
Well.
I planned to lie there for a while, at least.