“Where are we going?”

As Ethan gathered their things, he paused at this little question.

If’s curiosity never lasted long. Her interest faded faster than a child’s boredom and never lasted like an old man’s stamina.

It was best to teach her while she was still curious.

Ethan stopped what he was doing and immediately picked up a suitable stick and lowered himself to the ground.

If, who had been sitting on the ground, tilted her head down to follow his movements.

Her leafy eyes, as green as fresh leaves, turned to the ground.

The previous day’s rain had left the earth damp, and with a single stroke of the stick it became a smooth slate.

The stick scraped long lines across the ground.

In reality, there were many curved shapes and scattered islands, but Ethan didn’t have the skill to draw them all.

All he could manage were straight land masses – a continent stretching out like a jagged bolt of lightning.

Above it, he drew rounded curves, as if playing a game of land division, carving off parts of the continent.

“This is the Granat Empire.”

From the centre of the continent, he drew a line that curved down to the lower right.

The crescent-shaped land seemed to swallow up half the continent.

Ethan then tapped on the top of the unusually large landmass.

“Right on this border is here – that’s Belphirn.”

If’s eyes rolled to where he’d pointed.

“Then this area is part of the Granat Empire?”

“No.”

“Then here?”

If pressed her finger on one of the lands within the empire’s borders.

“No. For reference, that’s the Kingdom of Kvarz.”

“Is it here then?”

Her hand moved to press on the land right next to it — one of the two countries bordering Belphirn.

Ethan shook his head.

“This is the Kingdom of Pidentia. Belphirn is not part of any country – it’s abandoned land.”

Since no one had ever travelled there, it had always been unclaimed territory.

In fact, it was a land that people avoided.

There were no resources – only monsters.

It was a place that required constant vigilance, which meant that soldiers had to be stationed there, and the cost of maintaining a military presence was enormous.

What country would ever welcome such a burden?

Each nation passed the responsibility on to others, claiming it wasn’t theirs, and in the end it became a place everyone pretended not to see.

Belphirn was simply called Belphirn.

Though some called it the continent’s dumping ground – or, more sinisterly, the cursed execution ground.

In retrospect, perhaps something had happened in the past because of the ‘virus’ she spoke of.

Stories of entire villages being buried alive because of survivors cursed with monstrous transformations or afflicted with some terrible disease that spread like wildfire were well known.

Ethan glanced sideways at If.

Even with a crudely drawn map on the floor, her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

This time, the stick pointed to the very bottom of the continent – the farthest edge of the Empire and the end of the land itself.

A port where the currents carried in all the waste of the sea.

A village that pushed and pushed until it teetered on the edge of a cliff.

A land of exiles. The only place left for those who couldn’t even write their own names.

“This is where we’re going.

A place called Rigo – which means “nameless”.

“Why are we going there?”

“Because everything’s there.”

“What’s there?”

“People.”

But people who are not recognized as such.

“Aren’t there people in other places too?”

“There are people who exist only there.”

“What’s different about them?”

“They’re different because there are others like me.”

People like Ethan.

Then, there was no need for further questions.

At his words, If simply nodded.

Seeing that, Ethan let out a hearty laugh.

“We’ll erase all traces and leave.”

“Erase the traces?”

“Yeah. If any sign of us being here remains, it’ll be a hassle.”

Everyone here — whether condemned prisoners or not — are people who are meant to die.

If anyone were to realize that a survivor was still out there, a search would begin.

Even though no one usually travelled this far, there were still soldiers coming to leave people here, so they couldn’t let their guard down.

Ethan slung his pack over his shoulder and stood up.

Since he had tried to make the place more comfortable than usual, there were traces of human presence, even without belongings.

‘I guess I’ll have to take it all down.’

The floor had been packed down tightly and evenly.

The walls had been smoothed, leaving marks where the rough edges had been cut away.

The ashes of countless fires had mixed with the soil.

And most of all, footprints scattered in every corner after being in one place too long.

Instead of trying to eradicate every trace of them one by one, it was easier to destroy everything as if nothing had ever been there.

In a land crawling with monsters, a collapsing cliff wouldn’t attract much attention anyway.

Ethan rose to his feet without a moment’s hesitation.

If followed him to his feet, her head tilted slightly, her eyes wide and curious.

“Why would that be a problem?”

“Because I’m being hunted.”

“By who?”

“Me.”

“Who is hunting you?”

“The soldiers who have been sent here to kill me.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘why’?”

“Why do they want to kill you?”

The questions came, one by one.

Even when she spoke of death, her tone remained calm and matter-of-fact.

Looking into her eyes, full of innocent curiosity, Ethan gave a short answer.

“Because I’m a condemned prisoner.”

***

Without hesitation, he cut through the cave that lay beneath the newly formed black cliff.

Ethan whistled, impressed with his own work.

“Achoo.”

If let out a series of sneezes, having fled into the air to avoid the dust.

Chuckling, Ethan reached out and gave her nose a playful tug.

Her nose, rubbed by his large hand, turned red at the tip, but at least the dust was wiped away and the sneezing stopped.

“All right, come down now.”

At Ethan’s gesture, If slowly lowered herself to the ground.

Her body, which had been floating weightlessly, soon touched solid ground.

‘Looks like they won’t be slipping now.’

The shoes she had found a few days ago had been wrapped tightly in string and were finally ready to wear.

With the opposite hand to the one on his sword, Ethan pulled If’s hand with him.

In such a large place, he wasn’t sure if he could find her if she wandered around.

If followed him without complaint, as if she was used to it.

Every now and then she would crouch down in front of a plant that caught her interest or try to go in another direction, only to be stopped by Ethan’s hand pulling her back.

Ethan sighed deeply at her behaviour.

The only time she wasn’t distracted and stayed calm was at mealtime.

Ethan’s head whipped from side to side as he searched.

What he finally found was a white flower tangled in some vines.

Picking the one that stood out – larger than the rest – from among the small flowers that bloomed at his feet, he quickly stripped off the stem and calyx.

“What are you doing?”

Instead of answering, Ethan held out the end where the calyx had been and gently placed it in If’s mouth.

“Bite it and suck.”

If did exactly as he said, biting the tip and then taking a long swallow.

Her green eyes widened in surprise.

As she made soft slurping noises as she drank the nectar, Ethan let out a small sigh of relief.

With a few extra flowers neatly tucked into a small pouch to give her later, Ethan took If by the hand and led her away.

But his steady stride came to an abrupt halt not long after they had picked the flowers.

If, still chewing on the tip of the flower Ethan had given her, rolled her eyes curiously.

Her soft green eyes, wide and innocent, turned this way and that before following Ethan’s gaze to stare straight ahead.

Sensing a presence not far away, Ethan lowered his body.

If, snuggled close to him, instinctively followed his lead and crouched down as well.

‘When I pulled, she followed quietly.’

Even as she sipped the nectar from the flower, If curled up quietly beside him.

It seemed all the training hadn’t been in vain.

Seeing her quietly following his lead, Ethan smiled as he surveyed the figure in front of him.

His eyes swept over the person trembling before them.

Until now he had only seen corpses – this was the first living human he had encountered here.

In fact, the first real living human being.

A short knife clutched tightly in one hand.

Messy, curly blue hair.

Hair that was naturally prone to tangles was now a disaster, matted with leaves and twigs.

And its unusually bright colour made the dirt and grime smeared across it stand out even more.

Who knew how many nights they had been awake – their faces were rough and dry, and there were dark shadows under their eyes.

Bloodshot and red, their eyes betrayed a mind pushed to its limits.

At a glance, they almost looked like someone strung out on drugs.

Ethan lowered his eyes as he took in the man’s condition.

Even at first glance, the fabric of his clothes looked expensive.

Even though the garments were torn and ruined from rolling around in the dirt, their fine quality was undeniable despite being reduced to rags.

Ethan’s eyes fell on a button that was barely hanging on – a button with an entire gem set in it.

And with the gold thread embroidery and various accessories to keep the outfit in order, the man’s status was obvious.

Even the knife in his hand, probably carried for self-defence, indicated his identity.

As there were no other belongings in sight, it looked as if he had been abandoned as he was.

‘Probably some noble who lost in a succession battle.’

Ethan concluded coolly.

After all, if there was one place where someone could disappear without a trace – no chance of survival, no body left behind – this was it.

At least they had chosen wisely.

Still, it would be a nuisance to interfere.

Nobles were the kind of people who never changed – not even at the moment of death.

It was obvious that they would bark pointless orders and demand to be rescued without even understanding the situation.

‘Better to run.’

Ethan’s decision was quick – but If’s reaction, driven by curiosity, was even faster.

As she followed his gaze to the stranger, her head tilted to the side in wonder.

“Ethan, you know…”

‘Ah, damn.’

He should have taught her that being quiet didn’t just mean standing still, it also meant keeping your mouth shut.

Rubbing his face with a sigh, Ethan took a deep breath.