Chapter 29
The first time I met Jorfe was three years ago, in a brothel.
Looking back, it was probably the least appropriate place for a wise sage and a hero to cross paths. Perhaps that’s why it stands out so vividly in my memory.
Neither of us had gone there as customers, making the encounter even more unusual.
For reasons I still don’t fully understand, we ended up arguing over a woman. That exchange left a deep impression on me and profoundly influenced my decision to embark on a journey with him.
After all, how many people in this world could deliver a philosophical lecture in the presence of a courtesan?
And now, as I walked toward another meeting with him, I couldn’t help but dread what kind of scolding he’d deliver after hearing about my latest mess.
“Oppaya, are you scared?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been so quiet for a while,” the goblin girl said, tilting her head with curiosity. Mistaking my brooding silence for fear, she reached out her small hand and lightly patted my side as if to reassure me.
“Don’t worry. Professor Jorfe is super kind. Even if you’re a fake hero, he probably won’t get too mad.”
“This isn’t about that. By the way, what’s your relationship with the professor?”
“If I don’t know something, I ask the professor. He explains everything. Sometimes we eat together too.”
“So, do you live together?”
“Live together? Well, we’re both alive, of course. And you’re alive too, so... does that mean you’re going to live with us now?”
Lost in her own convoluted logic, the goblin girl stared blankly into space, her mouth slightly open. It seemed I had once again asked a question too complicated for her.
“Alright then. Thanks for answering. How much farther is it to the professor’s place?”
“At my pace, three thousand steps. But your legs are longer, so it’ll be faster. Let me calculate... hmm...”
“There’s no need to calculate it.”
“No, no, I’m almost done! Your feet are twice as big as mine, so divide by two... but stride length isn’t just about foot size, so...”
At this point, I wondered if she simply enjoyed thinking things through. Deciding to let her savor the moment, I turned my attention to the desolate surroundings.
A barren wasteland stretched out before me—dead earth and scattered skeletons as far as the eye could see. That seemed to sum up the place in one bleak sentence. No signs of life were visible, and the distant silhouette of a bare mountain loomed, blocking the rising sun.
In some ways, this place was even more foreboding than the dragon’s labyrinth. As I continued to observe the desolation, I muttered to myself:
“...I can’t imagine anyone seeking enlightenment in a place like this.”
While wisdom supposedly knows no bounds of time or place, this wasteland couldn’t have been further from the grand image of Harbit’s Tower of Sages I’d envisioned. It didn’t feel like the kind of place Jorfe would be.
I hesitated before speaking again.
“Hey, are you sure the professor’s name is Jorfe?”
“Why? Does something seem weird?”
“Very much so. The Jorfe I know wouldn’t be in a place like this.”
“But the hero I know wouldn’t be here either.”
“...”
Her response caught me off guard, silencing me. She grinned widely, clearly pleased with herself.
“Hehe. I won! I’m good at arguing, aren’t I?”
“Yeah... among the goblins I’ve met, you’re definitely the smartest.”
“Oppaya is so nice. I like you—and your soul too.”
“Thanks, I guess. Now, how much longer until we reach the professor’s house?”
Was I the only one feeling pressed for time? The thought frustrated me, and I blurted the question. The goblin girl, still beaming, replied casually:
“We just got here.”
“...What?”
“But talking to you was so fun that I walked past it.”
“Fine, but I don’t see anything around here.”
“It’s right here!”
She pointed downward, her stubby finger aimed at the ground. Assuming I’d misunderstood, I watched as she reached for something buried in the dirt.
Her small hand gripped a concealed handle amidst the rubble, pulling it to reveal a trapdoor with a staircase leading underground. My steps faltered at the unexpected sight.
“Are you afraid of the dark?”
“No.”
Her innocent question stemmed from yet another misunderstanding. After a brief pause, I descended the stairs, and the goblin girl hopped down behind me, one step at a time.
The sound of insects scuttling above echoed as we ventured downward, but thankfully the staircase wasn’t too long. Before long, we reached flat ground and a small door.
Without knocking, the goblin girl grabbed the handle and opened it, calling out in her usual drawn-out voice:
“Prooofffessorrr!”
“...Ah, you’re here.”
“...”
The voice that replied instantly told me this wasn’t Jorfe. Even though he had a somewhat androgynous demeanor, his voice was nowhere near this feminine.
Before me stood a woman with flowing brown hair cascading to her waist, clad in a black dress, adorned with large earrings dangling from her ears.
And, most strikingly, she was enormous.
Not just tall—gigantic.
When she stood, I instinctively tilted my head upward to meet her gaze. She was at least 1.2 times my height. Maybe even 1.5 times. The sheer scale of her presence made me tense without realizing it.
It had been a long time since I’d looked up at someone like this. Her imposing form exuded a mix of intrigue and menace as she glanced at me with a faint smirk.
“So.”
“...”
“Have you come to take my little one?”
The tone of her question sent a chill through me.
Years ago, back when the king was still a hero, the enemies of the kingdom often met their demise…
Many subspecies who sided with the witches and necromancers also disappeared into the annals of history.
This included the giants.
Not all giants had allied with the witches, but many had, and their population dwindled as a result. Over time, they declined to the point of near extinction. As years passed, human textbooks described them as demonic beings of inherently evil nature.
But I wasn’t swayed by such prejudices. Instead, I focused on stating the facts I knew.
“You’re not Jorfe, are you?”
“Obviously not. You know Jorfe?”
“Yes. We were companions.”
“So, you were comrades with that conniving bastard? That insufferable know-it-all even fooled a hero.”
The giant woman chuckled bitterly before turning back toward her chair. Her heavy steps thudded against the ground, though surprisingly, her movements lacked stability.
It was then I realized her massive body wasn’t as robust as I had initially assumed. Her limbs were slender, her skin delicate—she looked more like a noblewoman who’d never exercised a day in her life.
“I must’ve talked about that idiot too much, and now my little one is confused,” she said,
referring to the goblin girl. “She’s smart, sure, but a goblin brain only holds so much.”
“You know who I am?” I asked.
“Of course. Who doesn’t? In this land, the hero who slayed that insane dragon will be remembered for a thousand years. It’s a shame someone like Jorfe gets to be called your companion.”
“You seem to know me well, yet it’s strange you didn’t know about my companions.”
“I’ve been trying to pay more attention to outside news lately. It’s been entertaining, honestly.”
“Such as?”
“Such as the tragedy that unfolded in the royal palace.”
A faint smile crossed the giant woman’s pale face as she adjusted her robe and gestured at me with a tilt of her chin.
“But first, let’s take a look at that wound. I’m curious to see what kind of curse it is.”
“I never mentioned I was injured.”
“You think I need to see it to know? If Jorfe was that dense, I’d understand why you thought highly of him.”
“...”
There was a credibility to her words that I couldn’t ignore. Reluctantly, I turned around and revealed the wound on my back.
“Hmm... that’s a deep stab. What did you do to anger the witch so much?”
“Why don’t you find out?”
“I’m a sage, not a fortune-teller. But as someone seeking wisdom, you could at least share the details.”
“Jorfe would’ve figured it out by now.”
“You’re starting to grow on me,” she said with a faint smile.
For a giant, her demeanor was remarkably pleasant, though the dark circles under her eyes lent her an eerie presence.
“While I can’t say for certain, I can tell this is a troubling curse. Don’t bring up Jorfe again, though. Even he wouldn’t know much about a witch’s curse.”
“It’s said that witches use magic so intricate even sages can’t comprehend it. Does that mean this curse could worsen?”
“The wound isn’t the problem—it’s perfectly sealed. The real issue is your heart.”
“My... heart?”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed yet.”
I instinctively touched my chest but felt nothing unusual. The professor, ever patient, whispered a truth I hadn’t yet realized.
“The witch’s thorny vines are wrapped around your heart.”
“...”
“It’s a curse, obviously. Once a condition is met, it’ll crush your heart completely.”
“Do you know what the condition is?”
“I could never know that. Only the witch who cast the curse would.”
I doubted even she knew.
I brushed my chest again, deep in thought. If this curse stemmed from the blade that stabbed me, then the source was the princess. But she had no idea what kind of power she wielded when she cursed me.
That meant she likely didn’t know the condition to break it either. In some ways, that made this curse one of the cruelest imaginable—no way to lift it, and no one to guide me.
“Can another witch break the curse?”
“If they’re skilled enough, maybe. But I doubt there’s a witch stronger than the one who cursed you left in this world.”
“There’s one.”
“Unlikely. If you’re thinking of that witch, her bloodline is too diluted to help.”
“The one who cursed me isn’t Mirian.”
It seemed she hadn’t pieced together that much yet. Slightly disappointed, I sighed. It didn’t seem likely that these people would know the latest news from the royal palace.
But then, the professor shattered my assumptions.
“I wasn’t talking about Mirian. I meant Nerian’s only daughter, the Witch of the Thousand Leagues.”
“That’s Mirian. The last witch, taken as a war trophy by the king.”
“That’s what they say. The king went around boasting about it. But as you know, such legends are often riddled with distortions.”
“Distortions?”
“Exactly.”
At this, the professor’s brow furrowed slightly, and a curious expression crossed her face.
Then she spoke a line that felt both familiar and unsettling.
“Hasn’t she ever told you how the witches truly went extinct?”