I folded my train of thought and sat up from where I had been lying. I recalled not responding to the question heard from beyond the door this morning and hastily answered.

“Yep.”

“I’ll come in.”

As he spoke, the door opened. Ha Hyun strode into the room with a stern expression, but a hint of relief flickered across his face as our eyes met.

After closing the door, Ha Hyun approached my bedside holding a tray with a bowl of herbal medicine on it.

“……Medicine?”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Ha Hyun placed the tray on my lap and handed me the bowl of herbal medicine.

“The Ambassador said to give this to you. Don’t leave a single drop, drink it all.”

His tone was oddly resolute. I blinked a few times and looked down at the bowl. The medicine filled to the brim had an intensely bitter smell.

‘What on earth did they mix in this?’

The color alone was unsettling. As I hesitated, looking at the bowl, a prompt came from beside me.

“Drink it quickly. You don’t look well.”

“Really?”

“Quickly.”

Alright, then.

I eventually closed my eyes, held my breath, and downed the medicine in the bowl. The quantity was such that before I could finish it all, I was gasping for air, and I had no choice but to savor the bitterness of a mouthful or two.

When I set down the bowl and coughed, Ha Hyun let out a small sigh and handed me a glass of water.

The bitter taste lingered on my tongue even after drinking the water, but it was not intolerable, so I finally looked squarely at Ha Hyun.

For someone who’d commented on my pale complexion, Ha Hyun didn’t look that great himself. In his cold eyes, I faintly detected concern and, as the cause, I apologized first.

“You must have been shocked. I’m sorry.”

“……There’s nothing to apologize for.”

“But you saw me in a bad state, and besides, you coming to find me is the reason I’m okay now.”

A faint smile crossed my lips as I spoke, prompting Ha Hyun to let out a deep sigh.

“Yes…… Right.”

He rubbed his face a few times and murmured to himself before finally lifting his head.

He seemed about to say something, then closed his mouth as if reconsidering, hesitated again, and let out yet another sigh.

I had a good idea why he was acting like this.

‘He must want to ask.’

What the hell happened to make me end up like this?

But it was a bit awkward to tell Ha Hyun, not because I didn’t trust him.

If the Ambassador was my guardian, Ha Hyun was… well, he probably wouldn’t see it as necessary, but he was still a priest, after all. Closer to being the protected rather than the protector.
I didn’t want to burden him with unnecessary worries.

‘How should I approach this?’

That was the moment I was contemplating.

Ha Hyun suddenly looked up and spoke first.

“I heard your energy was distorted.”

“Yes, it was.”

“They said you were fortunate to be discovered quickly and managed well, so there shouldn’t be any problems for the time being as long as you rest.”

“Is that so?”

“So, I won’t ask why… whatever it is, stop thinking about it and rest. They said stability is important.”

Wow, that’s surprisingly wise advice.

I looked at him with slightly surprised eyes, and he returned a puzzled glance. Then, I finally nodded with a smile.

“Okay, thanks. I didn’t want to think about it any more, either.”

“I see.”

That was the extent of our conversation. Just as I thought I heard footsteps again, the door quietly opened.

“You’re awake.”

The first to enter was the Ambassador. Following him was my master, who looked a bit pale.

But that wasn’t the end.

The last person to enter the room was an old man with a somewhat unfamiliar face. Even so, having spent a year at this volcano, I couldn’t fail to recognize him.

It’s not just because there aren’t many elders in the volcano…

From the time I started contemplating the possibility of shamanism last night, I had thought of that elder several times.

There’s a place called Jemungak in the volcano.

This place is responsible for everything from managing the internal affairs of the volcano to performing tasks like exorcising demons for the commoners, learning to break curses commonly referred to as witchcraft, crafting various talismans and tools, and researching formations and mechanisms.

Since the warriors of Gangho prioritize martial strength, they might consider the work of Jemungak as trivial. But from the perspective of the commoners, they were the closest to their ideal image of a Daoist.

That man was the elder in charge of Jemungak, Elder Jinryeong.

Due to his thin physique, his facial features were sharp and his eyes were clear. This gave him a somewhat different impression from the Ambassador, intimidating to those meeting him for the first time.

As he quickly approached the bed, I couldn’t help but tense up a little. At the same time, a slight sense of unease crept in.

Until now, I had rarely encountered Elder Jinryeong, so it was fine. But now, facing him directly…

‘Would he sense something off about me?’

Well, he is the elder of Jemungak after all.