Chapter 103

“Who are you?”

Grandpa approached me and mercilessly swung his cane at me.

“Argh!”

“A grown-up lady walking around with her clothes off! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?!”

“Wh-What?”

Did I get hit because I am not properly dressed? And that too by someone whom I don’t even know?

Having been slapped on the shoulder by a stranger and even being nagged at, I sighed dumbfounded.

“Grandpa, who are- oh.”

Suddenly, a black cloth fell from above my head and blocked my vision.

“It’s a cloak. Hurry up and cover yourself.”

“Ah, yes.”

What’s this? Is Grandpa carrying fire in one hand and water in the other?

With grandfather’s help, I covered myself with a cloak. I even buttoned up and looked at the grandfather, who was stroking his beard, saying that I was finally worth seeing.

I should greet him first, right? I bowed my head toward the strange grandfather.

“Thank you.”

What should I call him? As I hesitated, I uttered a word that came to mind.

“Fairy Grandpa…?”

“Cough.”

Grandfather burst into a cough.

“I’m not a fairy, but a guardian deity!”

“Oh, you’re a guardian deity.”

Fairy sounded more mysterious. When he appeared, his eyes sparkled too.

“Yes, a guardian deity! How old do you think I am to be a fairy?”

He, too, coughed and stroked his beard, as if he was aware of his appearance.

“All right, fairy grandpa. Why did you show up in front of me?”

“…Because I’m a guardian deity. You’re a selfish and rude kid. All right, I’ll give you a mission.”

Did he just scold me again? And what’s with the mission all of a sudden?

I don’t know where to start and what to point out. Does the grandfather not see my face with an absurd face, or was he just too egocentric?

What was certain was that he was also a freak.

“Give this thing to a child named Lia-”

“Wait, wait! You’re giving me a mission right away? Without a proper explanation?”

“Can’t you see it?”

Grandfather, who was looking down at me with a pathetic expression, jutted upward. As I raised my head to follow him, the magnificent thousand-year-old rock filled my vision.

“I am the one who granted your wish.”

“So, you’re saying you are that 1,000-year-old rock?”

“Finally, we can communicate. I am the guardian of this mountain.”

He swung his cane in a dignified manner.

‘But was there a guardian deity in this world?’

Suddenly, I wondered and tilted my head, but grandfather drew my attention by clearing his throat.

“Now listen again.”

“Excuse me, Grandpa. I don’t want to do that mission. Can’t I not do it?”

“Since I granted your wish, you must grant mine too.”

My eyes widened as he looked down at me in disdain again. His eyes seemed to say, ‘Why are you acting like that young lady? Don’t you know give and take?’

Give and Take?! If I knew I would be led by my nose like this, I would have never wished for anything.

“Since I fulfilled your three wishes it would be fair if you fulfill three for me.”

“Only one wish came true.”

I was really grateful to him for healing my arm, but it was difficult to force me to take over a work like this.

“The wolf will wake up on his own in the morning.”

“Where’s the rescue team?”

“They’ll be here by tomorrow morning.”

What? Then, in the end, the only thing that worked properly was my arm. As I grunted and rubbed my arm, I paused at the thought that came to my mind.

If it was the power of the guardian spirit, wouldn’t it be possible to lift the curse of Sihael?

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“If Grandpa is really a guardian spirit, then he can also lift the curse on Sihael, right?”

Maybe it was possible because he was the guardian deity. I asked him earnestly, “Please. You can cancel all other wishes, so please just lift his curse!”

“It’s a pity if you’re talking about the curse on the wolf, because I can’t do much for that wish. Curse is not my domain.”

“…I see.”

I expected it inwardly, but my shoulders drooped at the sharp answer. When I nodded with a sullen face, the grandfather patted me on the shoulder as if comforting me.

“Don’t be too disappointed. The last wish can’t be helped, but the other three wishes have all come true. So now grant me my wish!”

What’s this? Isn’t this daylight robbery?

It would take time to fulfill my other wishes as Sihael would wake up tomorrow morning and the rescue team was also coming tomorrow morning, but I had to immediately grant his three wishes!

When I glared at grandfather’s cunning face, he coughed and looked at the distant mountain.

“Ahem, okay. It’s only one, but wasn’t your wish for your arm to be healed?”

That’s true. Thanks to him, not only the pain of the torn flesh, but also the wound disappeared as if it had never been there. I felt like I had been blameshift all of a sudden, but I indeed got his help. I nodded after much thought.

“…What is it? Tell me.”

Then, his face, which was touching the tip of his beard in embarrassment, turned bright.

“Find a person and deliver this to her. Her name was Lia. She used to keep me company.”

His request was to find a girl named Lia who used to keep him company.

“I can’t leave this mountain. And I will never be able to go out in the future.”

“Don’t you feel sad?”

“Not at all. It’s my mission to protect this mountain, so I can’t be sad about it.”

He was always visited by many people, and it was enough that he had a relationship with him. However, as time passed by, those who remembered the guardian deity passed away one by one, and he was gradually forgotten.

“Lia was the first child to find me in a hundred years.”

Lia was the only joy and pleasure in his lonely life. Lia was quite a talkative child, and once she started talking, she never stopped talking until she parted ways.

“Her voice was so loud that it hurt my ears.”

A smile formed on his lips as he spoke bluntly.

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