Chapter 59: A Coffin for Sleep and a Hand for Comfort

Eve, mimicking Anna, also brought up their sworn sisterhood. Eve was certain that Yulim must have also felt the palpable presence of the Goddess of Light, watching over them during their sacred oath. With the Goddess as their witness, Yulim would have to believe, even if she harbored doubts.

‘Are you questioning the credibility of the Goddess of Light, who commands the most followers across the entire world?’

In any case, Eve’s words truly acted as a potent reassurance, granting Yulim the courage to continue speaking.

“The curse on me plunges me into nightmares every night. Any creature I’ve ever killed, no matter what it was, transforms into a nightmare, invading my dreams.”

“Their wretched screams, their agonizing wails… the boundless torment they endured… every single sensation of their demise… all of it relentlessly assails me in my dreams, an unending torment.”

“The more I kill, the greater the impact of this curse. I’ve witnessed my own people driven to madness by this very curse, transforming into utter, unrecognizable monsters…”

After describing the curse’s effects, Yulim seemed to recall a terrible memory. She hastily covered her forehead, then looked back at Anna. “Anna, you’ve been an adventurer for so long, the monsters you’ve killed are countless. If you were afflicted by this curse, you would absolutely go mad!”

By the end, Yulim’s voice had risen to a near shout. Though it quickly receded to its usual timid tone, her profound worry was unmistakable to anyone present.

“I don’t want you to turn into a monster…”

Eve watched Anna fall silent, thinking she had finally grasped the gravity of the situation. The next second, however, Anna let out a burp and waved the skewer in her hand. “Burp~ Yulim, are there any more skewers? I’ve finished mine…”

‘Damn it! Don’t be thinking about food at a time like this!’

Eve truly longed to march over and deliver a ‘friendship face-breaker punch’ to her.

Yulim, seemingly accustomed to Anna’s constant tangents across various subjects, offered no protest. She simply extended her own skewer to Anna.

Anna took the skewer, chewing on some grass, and spoke up. “Relax, Yulim, I was just talking. I wouldn’t actually go looking for the Godslayer Sword. Remember when we met Luosha? It was in the Elven Forest, but I didn’t run deeper into it, did I?”

“Rather than fretting over that, Yulim, you should perhaps concern yourself with those skewers. They’ve all turned utterly black.”

Yulim breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Anna had no intention of venturing into the Elven Forest. However, upon hearing Anna’s final remark, she turned to see the skewers, which had, in a fleeting moment of inattention, all been smoked and charred into brittle black carbon. Her spirits instantly deflated once more.

“They’re all burnt… can’t eat them…”

Anna inquired, “So they’re burnt. Just don’t eat them anymore. Yulim, are you truly not full yet?”

‘She’s been diligently grilling skewers for you this entire time. How could she possibly have had a chance to eat, you oblivious Anna?’

Eve shook her head and handed the uneaten skewer in her hand back to Yulim. “Yulim, you can have this skewer back. I’m too full; I really can’t eat any more.”

Yulim looked up at Eve, then cautiously extended her hand to accept it. “Thank you, Luosha…”

“You gave it to me in the first place, there’s nothing to thank me for.”

Eve smiled, then stood up and stretched. “Hmm… it’s getting late. I should go to sleep.”

With that, Eve unstrapped the coffin from her back, unlatched its lid, and lay inside it right before their astonished eyes.

“Goodnight, Anna, Yulim.”

*Thunk—*

The coffin closed.

****

At this moment, a profound silence descended upon the grassland, broken only by the soft, persistent crackling of the burning campfire.

Even the usually boisterous Anna stood utterly transfixed, only murmuring after a long while, “So… Luosha’s coffin is actually for herself. I truly thought it held someone’s corpse…”

“Using a coffin as a bed in the wilderness, that’s…”

“So cool!”

Anna’s eyes suddenly gleamed with a spark of brilliant insight as she excitedly declared, “That’s it! Why didn’t I think of it sooner? Hiding in a coffin in the wilderness means perfect soundproofing, no mosquito bites, a more comfortable sleep with blankets, and it’s far less conspicuous than a tent. This way, the chances of your money being stolen are drastically reduced!”

Yulim: ‘…I actually find myself agreeing with Anna, but wouldn’t one suffocate in there? She hadn’t noticed any ventilation holes on Luosha’s coffin! However, judging by Luosha’s practiced manner, it seemed she often used her coffin as a bed.’

Yulim found herself in a dilemma.

Meanwhile, Anna mumbled to herself, then nonchalantly resumed chewing on grass.

“Next time, I’m going to try sleeping in a coffin too, munch munch…”

After a quick, unsatisfying meal, Anna and Yulim, though far from full, were accustomed to it and prepared to sleep with empty stomachs.

Unlike Eve, who had her cozy little home, they at least had sleeping bags.

Before crawling into her sleeping bag, Yulim glanced worriedly at the coffin beside them, thinking, ‘Will Luosha truly be alright? Should I wait until Anna is asleep and then get up to check on her?’

Just then, a hand waved in front of her, capturing Yulim’s attention.

“Yulim, if you have nightmares tonight and can’t sleep well, just sleep closer to me.”

Yulim looked over, puzzled.

Anna explained, “My father used to tell me that if I had nightmares, all I had to do was hold his hand like this. Then, when I dreamed, he would appear in my dream and protect me.”

“It’s a really effective method! Come on, Yulim, hold my hand and I’ll protect you in your dreams. I’ll beat up all those nightmare-making, lingering specters and make them shut up for good, so you won’t have nightmares anymore!”

Anna clasped Yulim’s hand in her own, offering the girl a reassuring, trustworthy smile.

Feeling the warmth emanating from Anna’s palm, Yulim’s cheeks flushed, and she nodded weakly.

“Alright, let’s both get some sleep. Tomorrow, we’ll reach Xielan, and once we get that one gold coin commission, we can feast to our hearts’ content! Hehe, just thinking about it makes me excited… And then, we definitely have to take Luosha to a pub for some proper grilled skewers!”

As Anna settled into her sleeping bag, she shared her joyful anticipation of a brighter future with the girl beside her.

Yulim also crawled into her own sleeping bag, lying on her side and quietly listening to Anna’s voice, her mood gradually easing.

Until Anna yawned, her voice becoming hazy and indistinct.

“Haaah~ Goodnight, Yulim…”

“Mhm… Goodnight, Anna…”

Yulim responded softly, watching Anna fall into a peaceful sleep, just as she had that other day.

She quietly observed Anna’s sleeping face, finding it truly difficult to reconcile the usually boisterous and lively Anna with the image of a graceful beauty in slumber.

Glancing once more at her small hand, still clasped by Anna’s, Yulim offered a relieved smile and closed her eyes.

‘Tonight, surely, I won’t have nightmares anymore?’