The Nature of Possession

370 – EP.13 Special

***

“Agnes.”

Anna came out of the tent and called her friend’s name.

Agnes was playing her lute at the spot where the bonfire had been kindled yesterday.

The song, which suited her easygoing personality, spread like fog over the campsite.

“why?”

Without stopping her hands from tearing, Agnes simply turned her head to look at Anna.

Several of the members sat around her and listened to the song, but half of them seemed more interested in Agnes than in her playing.

“Want to go hunting?”

“Hunting? Suddenly? The sun will set soon.”

“That’s right. If I had more time, I would have gone alone.”

Anna shrugged.

“Hmm….”

Agnes’ hands, which had been playing the lute, stopped and her eyes narrowed.

“Why, why?”

Anna unconsciously took a step back at the gaze that seemed to see through her opponent.

“No, I was just curious as to why our unit leader wanted to go hunting.”

“Your diet wasn’t good. You need to eat well to gain strength.”

As Anna changed the subject, avoiding eye contact, Agnes let out a nasal noise.

“I don’t know who eats well and who has strength, but I get it.”

Agnes got up from her seat, giggling.

As she set down the lute, the crowd of onlookers dispersed.

“So, are you two going?”

Agnes asked, pointing alternately at herself and Anna with her finger.

“I think it would be good to bring one more person. We don’t have much time, so it would be better to take an expert.”

“John? He said he was going over there because he was going to catch a ball.”

Haa- Anna let out a deep sigh at Agnes’ words.

“No matter how much the captain told me to rest, playing ball in this situation is a bit…”

“They’re guys who live and die by the ball. I told you, men don’t understand. What’s with all that ball play?”

Anna’s friend nodded, seeming to agree.

The two women turned to John, who was kicking the ball passionately.

Whether or not he knew they were approaching, the popular Kwainam with a cool smile was sweating profusely.

“John.”

As soon as she reached the place where the sound reached, Anna called her colleague’s name.

But John’s eyes were still on the ball.

“John. Wait a minute.”

Anna called again, but John still remained silent.

“…Hey, you’re completely immersed, huh?”

A concentration that cannot be broken by any distraction. That’s what you need to do to lead the cavalry.

Agnes muttered.

Anna, who was very patient, did not call John again.

He simply pulled out the dagger stuck in his waist and threw it with a flick of his wrist.

Bam!

It flew around and hit the ball, and it soon crumpled and stuck to the ground with a squeaking sound.

“Ah! What the! I was totally winning!! This is driving me crazy!!”

John was unable to accept the sudden change in circumstances and became like the main character in a violent play.

“John. Let’s go hunting.”

After a while, he confirmed who the main character was who had ruined the game, and he made a fist potato and shook it at Anna.

“What kind of hunting are you? Did you get shot in the head with an arrow? You’ll fall down soon even if you do.”

“That’s why I need you. If you hunt, you’re Johan.”

While Agnes lightened the mood with a bashful laugh, Anna retrieved the dagger embedded in the ball.

The sight of the drooping ball was quite funny.

“No, I mean. Why do you suddenly want to go hunting? Have you thought about what you’re going to catch?”

“Anything.”

Anna answered shortly.

“Hey, why is he doing that?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking at him? He’s doing this to make a special meal for the captain.”

When John whispered to Agnes, she lowered her voice further.

“Ah… Why is he going around in circles like that? Just, huh? Go in. Take off your clothes. [Captain, you’re cold, right? I’ll warm up your stick for you.] It would’ve been easier if you said that.”

John frowned as if he was frustrated.

“I can hear everything.”

Anna’s voice suddenly dropped.

An ordinary person would have been frightened by that chilling presence, but the vanguard of the cavalry was different.

“I told you to listen, you idiot.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Anna’s knee kick flew towards him. Johan dodged it easily and shouted.

“Where are you attacking? That’s just my afterimage.”

John swayed his hips from side to side and flicked his tongue.

Anna’s forehead veins stood out as she saw a snake emerging from a vial shaking its head.

“You’re so annoying.”

It was the moment when Anna’s true nature, which used to rob merchants, was awakened.

“Guys… let’s go hunting….”

Agnes muttered in pity as she watched the two men and women fighting each other by the collars.

***

After about 10 minutes of fighting, we succeeded in recruiting Yohan.

If you ask if the process was peaceful, I would have to say no, but after a long negotiation (10 minutes), John also gained something.

Three people leave the campsite and cross the forest.

Each of them had a bow strapped to their shoulders and was scanning the forest from a low position.

“Are you sure you’ll do it?”

“Ah! Stop it! How many times do I have to ask you this?”

When John spoke, Anna became angry and clenched her jaw.

“You’re saying this because you don’t have any trust. When you go back this time, you’ll definitely connect me with Kate at the bakery, right?”

“Okay, I’ll push you hard whether you’re Kate or Caitlin. Just hunt well. The captain will eat it.”

“Oh my, this is sincere. This is sincere. Can’t you be a little more proactive in front of the captain? This is my lifelong wish.”

“shut up.”

“Okay~ Please shut up and date me. Please!”

Anna, moved by John’s earnest request, was about to strike him on the head with her bow when Agnes bent down and put her finger to her lips.

“fizzle.”

Anna and Johan also bent down as if they had never growled at Agnes’ signal.

“what?”

Anna asked.

“It’s like a wild pig….”

John, who had a lot of hunting experience, narrowed his eyes and identified his target.

“The leather looks pretty thick. Will I be able to hold it?”

Agnes was worried.

“You can aim for the area between the eyebrows, but it seems impossible from this distance… If you get any closer, you’ll probably get caught…”

Anna trailed off.

“You can shoot here. Everyone.”

John said it as if it was nothing.

“Is it possible?”

Anna looked at him with suspicion.

“Well, if it’s impossible, you’re not going to shoot? Let’s shoot quickly and go back. I’m having a hard time.”

The two women hung their arrows on the bow, half in doubt, at John’s attitude that seemed to be annoyance.

“When you count to three, you shoot. One, two, three!”

With John’s shout, three arrows were fired.

“Kkung!”

All three arrows hit the wild boar.

A pig writhed with arrows piercing its neck, stomach, and eyes.

“Hey, grab that!”

Three men ran out with John’s voice and were soon able to catch the pig.

The hunt ended with Anna sticking a dagger into the pig’s neck.

***

On the way back to camp after slaughtering the pig.

“Anna, what’s wrong?”

Anna’s expression was not good.

“hmm….”

“What else are you dissatisfied with?”

John intervened.

“You mean the letter the Emperor sent? You said it was hanging from an arrow?”

“uh.”

John answered.

“Where did you find it?”

“Near the campsite. I found it while patrolling and brought it back.”

“How far into the forest did the Imperial Army have to enter to send arrows all the way to the campsite?”

“Well… since it’s a forest, I guess I’ll have to get pretty close. No matter how well I shoot, I won’t be able to avoid the dense trees.”

Agnes said.

“Then, if the Imperial Army had come within arrow-wielding distance of our campsite, wouldn’t we have known?”

Agnes and Johan remained silent at Anna’s question.

“…….”

“…….”

John, who was carrying a pig, saw Anna.

“Anna. What you’re trying to say is…”

“I was just talking about one possibility.”

The captain was sure, but Anna didn’t tell her colleagues.

For the time being.