Fearlessly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 9
“Puh.”
Bercheria’s small head popped out from the bushes.
She exhaled and shook her head, brushing off the cobwebs and leaves stuck to her face.
“…Lakrahan!”
Lakrahan was just about to enter the condor’s mouth.
“Moo Ha! Stop it!”
Bercheria shouted with all her might, but her voice didn’t reach him at all.
The condor’s eyes flickered blankly in midair.
She sprang up and stepped out of the undergrowth.
“Moo Ha! Please, snap out of it!”
Moo Ha, the divine beast condor, obeyed Bercheria—the goddess of weather—but regarded all other beings merely as prey.
Thus, Moo Ha right now was nothing more nor less than a terrifying monster.
Kraaaah.
The moment Lakrahan vanished completely into Moo Ha’s mouth, Bercheria’s face turned deathly pale.
Princess Kelita of Periat rode in a carriage accompanied by luggage, forming a modest procession heading toward the portal.
Periat possessed six portals in total, created long ago by great archmages.
Only those granted permission by the Emperor could use these portals to travel to other regions.
When using a portal, one must carry a permit; a gemstone called Locust embedded in the permit protects the traveler’s life.
Without this permit, anyone passing through a portal would be torn apart and vanish into nothingness.
“Your Highness, is everything comfortable?”
At her maid’s question, Kelita smiled gently as she always did.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you for worrying.”
Still smiling, she gazed out the window.
Originally, the portal had been located at the heart of the imperial palace, but after the war, it was relocated to the outskirts, settling at its current position.
“We’ll arrive in about half a day more, so please bear with it a little longer, Your Highness.”
“Mm.”
While gazing at the scenery through the small window in the carriage, Kelita spotted a splendid carriage racing in the distance.
“Loziet.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do you see that carriage over there? Whose family’s carriage could that be?”
The maid tilted her head curiously.
“Indeed. I’ve never seen that carriage before. Still, it must belong to nobility—perhaps even from a foreign land.”
“I see.”
Kelita and her maid turned forward again and resumed their light chatter—about the latest fashionable dresses or which young noblewoman had secretly fallen for whom.
After traveling for a while, the carriage suddenly came to an abrupt halt.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
“Oh!”
“Your Highness! Are you alright?”
Whoa, whoa.
The sound of the coachman halting the horses seeped into the carriage.
Dust that had settled on the floor rose into the air, clouding their vision.
The maid opened the window and called out.
“Oh dear! Please drive more carefully! Her Highness nearly got hurt!”
Still seemingly upset, she then turned to Kelita.
“I’ll go check what’s happening.”
Kelita adjusted her disheveled clothes and replied.
“Let’s go together. I was feeling a bit stifled anyway.”
As she carefully stepped out following her maid, the coachman, noticing her, repeatedly bowed low.
“I’m terribly sorry, Your Highness. Someone suddenly blocked our path up ahead.”
The coachman hurried toward the splendid carriage with quick, shuffling steps.
After speaking briefly with the other coachman, he seemed to decide to speak directly with the carriage’s owner, so he shuffled over again and knocked on the carriage door.
As if waiting for him, the door opened immediately, revealing the silhouette of a woman seated inside.
“Hmm?”
Kelita leaned forward curiously, peering into the carriage.
Above her wide, curious brown eyes, a fluttering fan peeked through the gap in the carriage, swaying prettily like a butterfly—napol, napol.
“Oh.”
Through the barely visible opening, Kelita stared, transfixed, at the crimson lips slowly rising into view.
The beak of the carnivorous condor was said to be as hard and strong as steel, capable of chewing through entire trees.
Moreover, Moo Ha was the divine beast destined to rule over all birds.
With just a few movements, Lakrahan was about to be torn apart alive.
“Moo Ha! No!”
Bercheria cried out as she dashed beneath the condor’s massive wing.
Her heart pounded violently.
‘It’s my fault. I came too late—Moo Ha doesn’t recognize me at all.’
The first time she found Moo Ha’s egg was on an extremely cold day.
Someone had left a smooth egg quietly nestled among stray straw and twigs blown in by the wind.
Bercheria decided to care for the egg herself.
Hiding it from her mother—who visited once a day with dry bread—was the most effort-consuming part of her daily routine.
But it was worth it.
She felt less lonely.
Bercheria slept hugging the egg, and during the day, she placed it beside her in a sunlit spot and told it all sorts of stories.
After a few years passed, the egg finally hatched, and a baby condor emerged.
Grateful to the gods, she named him Moo Ha.
Back then, Bercheria never doubted that Moo Ha would grow up and carry her down from the tower into the world below on his great wings.
But as soon as Moo Ha could spread his own wings and fly, he left the tower and vanished.
He never returned after that.
“I told you not to eat him!”
Bercheria picked up a stone from the ground and hurled it at Moo Ha with all her strength.
The stone struck his massive thigh with a thud, halting Moo Ha just as he was about to close his jaw.
“Hah, hah.”
Bercheria panted as she glared up at Moo Ha.
“Don’t eat him! Spit him out! Right now!”
At the sound of her voice, Moo Ha’s eyes blinked slowly.
Bercheria also lifted her eyelids firmly.
For just an instant—but unmistakably—she sensed a change in Moo Ha’s gaze.
It moved loosely, as if studying her in detail.
“Moo Ha… You recognize me.”
Moo Ha slowly lowered his head, bringing his face close to hers.
Standing on tiptoe, she stretched out her trembling hand as far as she could—and Moo Ha opened his beak with a loud “Kweeek!”
Without hesitation, he swallowed her tiny body whole.
“You stupid Moo Ha—!”
Bercheria’s clear voice vanished, trapped inside the beak.
She sighed deeply and squeezed her eyes shut.
Actually, this might work out better.
After all, she was an immortal being—she could simply find Lakrahan inside and rescue him.
“Ugh!”
Of course, she’d have to endure the filthy, hot, sticky saliva coating her entire body—a pain so awful she might prefer death.
Just as she felt her skin being crushed under the firm beak—
a hot hand suddenly shot out from somewhere and roughly grabbed her arm.
‘Lakrahan?’
His face, cheeks puffed from holding his breath, pushed through the slimy mucus and came startlingly close.
Lakrahan pulled Bercheria’s body toward himself.
With his long legs, he firmly blocked her from slipping away behind him, and wrapped his arms protectively around her small head.
And in the next moment—
Keeeeeow!
The condor’s mouth, injured in the throat, gaped wide open.
Gwaaaah!
The two of them, clutched together, were violently spat out along with a waterfall of saliva.
“Guh!”
“Ugh!”
Their bodies hit the ground, bounced into the air, then began rolling noisily across the earth.
As they tumbled helplessly through the rough, untamed forest, Lakrahan’s clothes tore, and fresh cuts appeared on the exposed skin beneath.
Yet Lakrahan never once loosened his protective hold around Bercheria.
“Ugh!”
Their rolling finally stopped when his back slammed hard against a sturdy tree.
“Hah, hah.”
“Hoo.”
For a while, they held each other, waiting for the shock to subside.
Eventually, Lakrahan regained his senses first and gently released Bercheria from his embrace—she was still dazed from the impact.
When she wobbled unsteadily to her feet, his brow furrowed fiercely.
“After I went through all that trouble to save you, why did you jump in again?”
Thankfully, she didn’t seem injured anywhere.
If he hadn’t spotted that woman at that exact moment, she might have suffered serious internal injuries.
He’d seen her hand wounds heal before, but he had no idea how far her healing ability extended.
Honestly, it would’ve been easier on his conscience if he’d been the one hurt instead.
“What exactly happened?”
Bercheria asked, brushing Moo Ha’s sticky saliva off her hands.
“Hmm.”
Lakrahan pushed aside his cloak to reveal the sword sheathed at his waist.
“The size of that giant condor’s uvula matched my blade perfectly.”
He glanced briefly at Moo Ha, who was still flailing about, and grimaced.
“After taking a hit like that, he won’t be gobbling up anything for a while.”
“Hah.”
Bercheria struggled to her feet with great effort.
Lakrahan’s body was battered and covered in wounds.
She bit the inside of her cheek and turned her head pointedly away from him.
“I caused you trouble.”
Lakrahan’s gaze, previously fixed on Moo Ha, shifted to Bercheria.
“You have a rather interesting way of saying thank you for being saved.”
Bercheria exhaled a short breath and smoothed her furrowed brow.
“Yes. My poor judgment put you in danger.”
“And?”
Her golden eyes glanced at him, not unkindly.
“…Thank you for saving me.”
A crooked smile tugged at Lakrahan’s lips.
Getting an apology from her was truly no easy feat.
He stepped one leg back and placed his right hand over his left chest.
“To hear an apology from the great goddess—what an honor, Bercheria.”
“Which is your true self? Kindness? Or is sarcasm like this your real nature?”
“Haha.”
Lakrahan laughed cheerfully at Bercheria’s irritated expression.
Clearly, the latter was his true nature.
After glancing at Moo Ha, who was shedding a few pained tears, Bercheria started walking toward the tower.
“Follow me.”
Lakrahan watched her retreating back for a moment, then followed.
“At this point, wouldn’t it be proper etiquette to tell me what you want?”
With every step they took, the grass beneath their feet rustled softly.
“I’m going up the tower.”
“…What?”
“The first method failed, so now I must try the second.”
Bercheria pointed toward the tower above.
“Where are you going?”
“Up there.”
“So you mean… climbing the tower?”
“Yes. There’s something I need to retrieve—with you.”
“With me?”
“You’ll find out everything soon enough—just stick close and follow me for now.”
Having finished speaking, Bercheria suddenly broke into a run toward Moo Ha, who was crouched ahead, groaning in pain.
“Hah.”
Lakrahan ran a hand through his hair, then couldn’t help shouting after Bercheria.
“Is this your usual personality?”
All he got in return was her retreating back.
“Right. Of course she wouldn’t answer.”
Lakrahan finally moved to follow Bercheria.
His cloak fluttered in the air as he instantly caught up to her.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
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I have a inkling that Lione is probably Berche’s ‘Mother’?