[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 104

Rustle.

Ding!

“Lily, come here!”

“Huh?”

“Cover your eyes and ears like before.”

Hiding Lily, who was hopping around, behind me, I threw a lump of metal into the bushes.

—Boom!

A cloud of dust obscured my vision.

This crazy world doesn’t leave people alone.

A silhouette visible through the dust.

A translucent, greenish barrier blocking their path.

“Yeah, fantasy wouldn’t be complete without something like that.”

Click.

I swapped out the regular bullets for armor-piercing rounds.

—Bang!

Sparks flew every time the armor-piercing rounds hit the green barrier.

“Ugh.”

As I relentlessly fired bullets, a faint groan came from within the green barrier.

“Wow, tough. Are you a 9th-circle too?”

Click.

I put away the gun and pulled out a new weapon, feeling its weight settle on my shoulder.

A Panzerfaust 3rd-gen anti-tank rocket launcher.

Equipped with a shaped charge.

Shaped charges are different from regular armor-piercing rounds.

The explosive inside is hollowed out, causing the explosive to form a high-velocity metal jet that can penetrate thick steel.

A product of science with incredible penetrating power.

“Thank you, Grandfather Herman. I’ll send one your way.”

I remembered Albert’s dumbfounded face when he saw this thing popping out of the wooden crate.

“Lily, don’t stick your face out. Stay close behind me.”

I was worried Lily might get caught in the blast since we were only about 15 meters away from them.

But kids always do the opposite of what you tell them, and Lily, curious as ever, peeked out.

“Huh?”

“Lily, put your face back in. You’ll get hurt.”

“Ah, no!”

“Why not?”

“It’s the chief and the elder!”

“Them?”

I hadn’t seen their faces because I was busy firing, but as the dust cleared, their faces became visible.

They had paint all over their faces, similar to the patterns Lily used to wear.

At Lily’s words, I put my weapon back into the space and waited. The ones who had been defending against my attack approached cautiously.

“Phew. That was brutal. An attack meant solely for killing.”

A woman stepped forward, older than the chief, her face wrinkled with age.

The translucent barrier earlier seemed to be her doing.

“Who are you?”

“It’s the Grand Elder!”

Lily, who had been peeking out from behind, stepped forward.

“Yes, Lily. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“I was kidnapped, but Eonni saved me.”

The old woman looked into Lily’s eyes.

Clear and deep.

Deep and deep.

Eyes that seemed familiar.

They resembled Arthur’s eyes, which sparkled with the knowledge of the stars.

“Hmm… Clear yet murky.”

“……?”

“Bright yet dark.”

“Lily, is your grandmother feeling unwell?”

“Eek! No!”

She grabbed my collar and jumped around, insisting it wasn’t true.

“I am Ataamil of the Deep Roots. I apologize for the late greeting.”

“I’m Ga-eul. Han Ga-eul.”

“Hoh, like a beast-person…”

“No.”

“Hmm.”

The old woman coughed awkwardly and looked at me again.

“Thank you for saving our child.”

“She’s my kid.”

“…Yes?”

“She’s my kid.”

“Hehe.”

As I patted Lily, who clung to me, she giggled happily.

“If I feed you and clothe you, then you’re my kid, right?”

“Yup! Eonni’s kid!”

“Lily, Lily, what are you even saying? That sounds a bit weird.”

The old woman’s gaze, which seemed to be saying “this is ridiculous,” had somehow shifted toward Lily’s shoes.

She didn’t seem like an ordinary old lady.

“Kkulkul. I see. If you don’t have a specific destination in mind, would you like to come to our village? We’ll prepare a festival for you.”

“Oh, a festival.”

“We can’t neglect our benefactor. And you seem to be from the Room tribe.”

“It’s Room.”

“Room Uncle also helped me.”

At Lily’s words, the old woman nodded while examining Room Uncle.

“Chief Elder!”

Just as the misunderstandings were clearing up and the atmosphere was becoming more lively, the person Lily had called the chieftain stepped forward.

“What’s the matter, Chieftain?”

“It’s only right to treat our benefactor, but now is not the time for that.”

At the mention of “chieftain,” his face twisted in frustration.

The chieftain, adorned with animal hides and what looked like teeth, seemed absolutely furious.

“Chieftain. I understand your feelings, but not neglecting our benefactor is a long-standing tradition of our Full Moon Tree Tribe. Have you forgotten that?”

At the old woman’s words, the chieftain bared his teeth.

“Another child from our tribe was almost kidnapped. We can’t let this slide anymore. It’s war.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Wooooo!”

As the chieftain slammed his greatsword into the ground, the thirty or so tribesmen behind him also began shouting.

“Lily, why is your chieftain acting like that? He looks so uncivilized.”

“Eek, Eonni!”

Bending down to whisper to Lily, she covered my mouth with her tiny hand.

“Eonni, your ears.”

Leaning in close to Lily’s ear, she whispered softly.

“The previous chieftain didn’t pass the leadership to him when he stepped down.”

“Huh? Why?”

“He said he wasn’t ready to lead the tribe yet.”

Crouching down and whispering with Lily, I glanced to the side and saw the chaos still unfolding.

“The chieftain’s test—he still hasn’t passed it.”

“Hmm, really?”

They said they were being kidnapped, enslaved, and subjected to human experiments.

I could understand his feelings, but as the chieftain leading the tribe, he seemed too emotional.

The only saving grace was that the old woman seemed to have some authority and was calming the tribesmen down.

“Ahhh!”

Even the tribesmen quieted down, and after causing a scene alone, he eventually stomped away.

“Is that okay?”

“Kkulkul, he’s still at an age where he can’t control his temper.”

After the conversation ended, we slowly followed the old woman, and the forest path became increasingly complex.

The old woman led the way, stroking rocks and trees as she moved forward.

After passing through the tangled maze of trees several times, a large village suddenly appeared before our eyes.

“It’s so peaceful.”

“That’s because of the barrier.”

In the middle of a massive wooden wall made of stacked trees, an entrance appeared.

“Eonni, let’s go! I’ll show you around the village.”

Pulling me by the hand, Lily looked at the old woman, who nodded as if to say it was okay to wander around.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Passing through the entrance with Lily, the once quiet and lonely village was now bustling with energy.

“Wow. It’s bigger than I thought?”

I thought it was a small, secluded place where a minority tribe lived, but it was so vast that I couldn’t see from one end to the other.

Everywhere we went, the locals stared at us outsiders with curiosity.

It’s noisier than I expected.

“Hey!”

Being dragged around by Lily’s hand, we were exploring here and there when a group of kids around Lily’s age came rushing over.

“Why is a proud member of the Full Moon Tree Tribe hanging out with a sneaky…”

“You’re hanging out with an outsider, huh?”

The little kid, raising his voice and making a fuss, seemed to have quite the temper.

In contrast, Lily looked completely indifferent.

Probably used to picking fights like this on the regular.

“Wutum. I’m busy, so scram.”

As Lily tried to ignore him and walk away, they swarmed in to block us.

“Outsider!”

“Why are you calling me? Get lost!”

Lily stepped in front of me, as if to protect me, even though I’m twice her size.

Her cheeks, still chubby and soft, puffed out noticeably, probably because she was clenching her face.

Not squeezing them would be a crime.

My hand moved on its own.

“Squish.”

“Eek! Eonni!”

Lily, who had been all puffed up like a kitten, suddenly deflated.

“You should get along with your friends.”

“Friends…?”

Seems like she’s not too fond of the idea.

After mumbling for a while, Lily hesitated, then pulled something out of her bag.

*Clink.*

“Wutum, open your mouth.”

“W-what?”

Lily, Lily, what are you even saying?

Her way of speaking made me want to facepalm.

“Lily wants to share something tasty with you.”

The kids, who had been handed some mysterious object and told to open their mouths, finally seemed to relax.

“Ahhh.”

“Uh, uh… Aahhh.”

Just looking at them, it was obvious they didn’t get along, so Lily’s sudden behavior must’ve been really confusing.

After Lily gave each kid a piece of candy, their cheeks puffed out like balloons.

“Good, right?”

“Yeah… It’s good.”

“Hmph. See?”

Lily, clearly thrilled by the praise, snorted happily.

*Ding!*

Seeing that, I slipped a handful of chocolate bars into Lily’s hand, and she seemed to get the hint, handing them out to the kids too.

“Chocolate bars. They’re super rare because they’re made from hardened honey.”

“Wow.”

“Normally, only Eonni’s kids get to eat these, but I’m giving you guys a special treat.”

I took a step back before I got a headache from listening further.

Lily was now at the center of the kids.

I took another step back, watching them.

*Click, click.*

“Phew──.”

“Keke, are you lighting up a cigarette?”

“Ah, you’re here? Want one?”

An old woman who had approached me examined the cigarette I handed her, looking intrigued.

“I’ve never seen this kind before. It’s very finely made.”

*Click.*

I lit the lighter and held it out. The old woman, who had been surprised, looked intrigued again as she lit her cigarette.

“Phew─. Smooth, really nice.”

“Right?”

We chatted a bit while smoking.

“Having kids in the village really livens things up.”

“True. It’s nice.”

The conversation continued, mostly small talk.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t properly thanked you.”

“I did it because I wanted to. It’s fine.”

“Keke, I’ve lived a tough life, so I’ve got quite a bit to spare. Why don’t you come to my place? I’m sure there’s something you need.”

She seemed to be hinting at giving me a gift.

I followed the old woman, who walked ahead without looking back, and glanced behind to see Lily laughing brightly among her friends.

She’d be fine for a while, so I slowly followed the old woman.

“Here we are. Come on in.”

The place we arrived at was a rather ordinary cabin.

The old woman went in first and offered me a seat.

“But I don’t really need anything.”

The old lady, upon hearing my words, rummaged through a box behind her and began laying out various items on the table.

“How about this? It’s a talisman to ward off bad luck.”

“Uh… No, thank you, but I’m good.”

She kept offering more items, but nothing really caught my eye.

“This is a branch from a full moon tree.”

The branch she handed over looked pretty ordinary.

Even though it looked plain, the way she talked about it made it clear it was something special.

“I’ll take that.”

I figured if I refused, she’d just keep pushing, so I took the branch.

“Hehe. It’s imbued with strong magical energy, so it’ll make a good medium.”

“Okay, thanks. I’ll take good care of it.”

“And…”

The old lady’s eyes sparkled as she dragged out her words.

“I’ll give you a glimpse of the future.”

“Huh? The future?”

“Just a tiny fragment. Literally a glimpse. It’s nothing serious, just for fun, like when astrologers blabber about being careful with water or fire.”

Her tone made it sound like she was reading tarot cards.

“Yeah, sure. Why not?”

“Hehe, give me your hand.”

I placed my hand on her palm, feeling the weathered skin that had seen many years.

At that moment, she let out a small gasp, and her once-shining eyes seemed to darken, or maybe it was just my imagination.

“Gah!”

Her hand started trembling.

“Grandma, are you okay?”

“Ahh…”

I thought something serious was about to happen and tried to stand up, but she grabbed my hand tightly.

“Whew. No, no. Be careful of the red flower that bears the weight and wrath of a crown.”

“What does that mean?”

She pulled out something that looked like old paper and started drawing with a blunt piece of charcoal.

As I watched her draw, it was hard to make out what it was because the charcoal was so rough.

I could see a flower with a long stem and thin leaves, along with a crown.

“Be careful of this?”

“The sweet flower, filled with honey, will turn red when anger sits atop its head.”

“Uh… okay. Got it.”

Ah, whatever. I’ll just go see Lily.

***

Alone in the room, the wrinkled old lady continued drawing what she couldn’t finish earlier.

Wrapping cloth around the blunt charcoal, her rough sketch began to grow more intricate, as if magic itself was at work.

“Huh… A witch? Or maybe the Demon King?”

The old lady sighed heavily as she held up the completed drawing.

“A sign of doom has walked in on its own.”

On the paper in her hand, bloodthirsty monsters and a pink-haired madwoman, drenched in blood, were laughing while holding a single red spider lily.