‘That’s right, my bag…!’

Before coming here, I had buried my bag in the ground because it was too heavy to carry around. The bag contained clothes to change into, dried beef jerky, and valuables.

I felt bad about continuing to eat for free like this. If it was a merchant hiding here for some reason, I thought I’d try to initiate a conversation by offering the jerky and jewels.

‘Since I want to change clothes anyway, should I go out for a bit and come back…’

I stared at the firmly closed door, contemplating.

Hesitating whether I should say something before leaving, I decided to go out quietly. I didn’t want to risk having the entrance completely blocked.

‘Let’s go out carefully without being noticed and come back.’

At this point, I had no idea what consequences this action would bring.

***

“Wow, what’s all this…”

As soon as I quietly climbed up the ladder and went outside, my mouth fell open.

Everything around was completely white, as if there had been a heavy snowfall. However, it wasn’t beautiful at all.

‘It looks like snow monsters might appear.’

With the world so seamlessly white, it was terrifyingly scary. The land forsaken by God, without a single human footprint, looked desolate just by looking at it.

I pushed and shook off the snow near the entrance, then headed towards where my bag was.

‘It’s cold.’

Although the snow made it confusing to locate, I was able to find it quickly because I had buried it next to the largest tree in the area.

The problem was that my hands were freezing from digging through the snow with bare hands. The bag strap caught on my numbed fingertips. It felt like my fingers might break if I grasped it, but I somehow managed to muster strength and pull the bag. Thanks to the cold weather, the items in the bag were well preserved.

‘There’s still a lot of jerky left, and quite a bit of jewelry too.’

I wondered if I could use this to repay the kindness of the cave’s owner. If I boiled the jerky in water, it would make a decent meat soup. I planned to try and strike up a conversation while currying favor with the meat soup.

I decided I would plead again to have a conversation, offering to give everything I had as asked.

I grabbed the bag with both hands and started walking back towards the entrance. It was eerily quiet and gloomy around, as if I were the only one in this world. As I quickened my pace, I spotted a large figure standing in the middle of the white snow field.

‘A person?’

At first, I was just glad there was someone else besides me. But then my eyes widened.

‘Could that person be…’

It must be the owner of the cave! I was about to run towards him right away but hesitated.

His appearance was strange. It was cold, but was it necessary to be bundled up like that?

The man presumed to be the cave’s owner was tall and had a very large build.

I tried to see his face somehow, but the man was wrapped in pitch-black cloth. Only his eyes were barely visible, but due to the distance, I could only make out their shape.

‘But why did he come out?’

As I observed quietly, I became suspicious. It was strange that he, who had never shown himself to me no matter what, had come out like this. Could it be that he checked I had left and came out happily thinking I was gone for good?

But something seemed off about that. The man was looking around urgently as if searching for something. I unconsciously hid behind a large tree trunk. The man seemed to have discovered the footprints I had made when entering the forest.

Did he come out to check if I had completely left? If I stayed still, the cave’s owner might go back inside and lock the entrance. If he put a lock on it, even six knocks wouldn’t work.

This wasn’t the time for that. I needed to quickly run over, open my bag wide, and show him the things I had. If I handed over what he wanted and then begged for information…

“Huh?”

But then, he stared directly at the tree where I was hiding. It was as if he had realized I was hidden behind the tree trunk. This was my chance. I revealed myself from behind the tree trunk, raising my hands.

“Excuse me-!”

Since I was already discovered, I needed to get closer somehow. I trudged through the snow, struggling with the heavy bag.

“You can see my bag here, right? I have jerky and jewels! I’ll give you everything I have! Hey? Can we talk for a moment…”

However, I could only wear a dumbfounded expression. As soon as I appeared, the cave’s owner turned around and started walking. Towards the forest in the opposite direction from me.

‘What’s this now? Is he running away after seeing me?’

The man who had been striding ahead through the snowy path that was difficult even to walk slowly, eventually disappeared completely into the forest. I put down my bag with a thud, watching the man who had vanished in an instant. How could he be so agile with such a large build?

Having lost sight of the cave’s owner right in front of me, I stood there in a daze before coming to my senses and shouting.

“W-wait a minute!”

I ran after the man.

“Huff, huff.”

How can a person be that fast?!

He had already disappeared into the forest and was as nimble as a beast. I followed the footprints left on the ground.

Finally, the man’s back came into view. But as I watched from here, the man’s behavior was strange. I thought he was running away to shake me off, but now I saw him turning back several times to check if I was following well.

‘If he wants to shake me off, he should do it properly. What’s with this ambiguous behavior?’

I couldn’t understand the man’s intentions. Yet I felt a sense of déjà vu. Somehow, the glances he cast back at me seemed to be filled with worry and concern. I could read an anxiety in him, like watching a child left by the water’s edge, as if he was worried I might roll in the snow or fall and get hurt.

‘If he’s that anxious, he could at least talk to me once. Why is he doing this?’

If he was that worried, couldn’t he at least have one conversation?

Feeling stubborn, I put strength into my body and tried to chase the man faster. By now, snow had started to fall slowly from the sky. Through the snowflakes, the man repeatedly moved away and came closer, maintaining a constant distance from me. As this drawn-out tug-of-war went on for a while, I coughed and leaned my hand against a tree.

‘I’m dying here.’

My stamina was already lacking, and I had no strength left to keep chasing through the snow where my feet sank with every step.

When I stopped, he also stood still, staring at me.

“Um…”

Just as I was about to open my mouth carefully, thinking I should say something, the man made a wide semicircle around me leaning against the tree. I watched him silently, without the strength to move, wondering why he was doing this.

To my surprise, the man was going back the way he came. While maintaining distance from me. Then he went into the cave.

But the absurdity didn’t end there.

‘Why is he leaving the door open?’

The man had left the cave entrance open as if inviting me to come in.

It was too strange. Was he worried I might freeze to death? In any case, I couldn’t stay outside in this cold. I picked up the bag I had abandoned and entered the cave again. Because he had left the door open, there was a bit of snow accumulated on the cave floor.

‘Why on earth?’

Didn’t he want to drive me out?

What is this really? With a confused face, I put down my bag and immediately headed for the door.

Knock knock.

Sure enough, the door was firmly closed. It’s not like we’re playing hide and seek now…! By this point, I was about to burst with frustration.

‘His actions don’t make any sense.’

Avoiding me but leaving the cave entrance open. Giving me food regularly but keeping the door locked.

Could he perhaps be infected with some dangerous contagious disease? If that’s why he was avoiding me, I could understand to some extent.

“Um…”

Just as I opened my mouth again to say let’s talk, no matter what he looked like, suddenly my throat felt like it was being pricked by hundreds of needles. I frowned and wrapped my hand around my throat.

‘This shitty body… To be in this state just from running a bit.’

These were familiar cold symptoms for me. It would probably stop at this level today, but tomorrow it was clear that my condition would worsen.

And my prediction came true the very next day.

My whole body ached as if I had been beaten. I was burning with fever, and the world was spinning.

“Cough, cough!”

Good Lord. I looked like I was going to become a corpse before even finding Zachary.

Not only had I become an uninvited guest overstaying in someone else’s home, but I had also properly caught a cold.

‘I’m dizzy.’

As I staggered to my feet, I saw the now somewhat familiar space. This was the entrance of the cave. The blanket spread on the floor and the conspicuously placed porridge were still there.

Feeling like I would really die if I didn’t soothe my throat with something warm, I managed to drink the porridge.

“Ahem, ahem.”

After struggling to eat a little, I rummaged through my bag and took out some medicine. Cold medicine was essential for me as I often caught minor illnesses. Whether it was thanks to the warm porridge or the effect of the medicine, I felt my voice returning.

Although my body felt languid, I had something I needed to do.

“This is beef jerky. It’s delicious if you boil it in water.”

I pushed the tightly wrapped jerky under the door with a grunt.

Originally, I had planned to use the jerky as bait to have a conversation, but I wasn’t that brazen. Feeling sorry for consuming his food supplies until now, I decided to just give it to him.

There was still no sign of movement from beyond the door. Not even the sound of breathing could be heard. But I was certain he was there.

‘Still, knowing that someone is there is more comforting than I thought.’

If that person had intended to harm me, he would have done so long ago. Why was he taking care of me to this extent, even giving me porridge?

“Can’t you say something?”

It was true that I felt quite frustrated with all these questions. I held my throbbing head and leaned against the door.

“Have you by any chance seen Prince Zachary Thaddeus? Even if you haven’t, or if you don’t know, just tell me so. Then I’ll leave right away.”

As expected, there was no answer from beyond the door.

“…I don’t intend to cause any harm. I just…”

“…”

“I’m just wondering if he’s doing well.”