# Chapter 7
The problem was the group pursuing him. Although all the attackers had died at Levi’s hands without a single survivor, their leaders and executives were still very much alive. When none of the dead attackers returned for days, they would surely send more people to find him. Those who were busy estimating his value because of the ability residing in his left hand wouldn’t have given up so easily.
The last village he passed through while being chased was quite far from the Black Forest. When fleeing from there to the Black Forest, he had chosen to run through areas with dense undergrowth or treacherous paths. With such terrain, it might be difficult for any followers to leave markers showing the way, making it possible they wouldn’t reach the Black Forest, but one never knows what might happen.
When Ion mentioned this and said Levi might be in danger too, he answered all too calmly.
“Then we’ll just kill them all.”
For Levi, danger meant people threatening him, which gave him his own justification for killing them. His answer was so straightforward that it seemed reliable, but…
“Could you please not say such scary things while fidgeting like that?”
Until then, Levi had been playing with Ion’s left hand as if it were a toy.
Looking at Levi, who was focused on touching his hand, Ion felt guilty, thinking he had involved someone who, despite his appearance, was just a child.
“Are you okay with this, Levi? It’s dangerous, but more than that, you’re getting dragged into troublesome matters because of me.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
Levi’s black eyes captured Ion’s gaze.
“You said you want to live.”
Ion’s small face was perfectly reflected in those pitch-black eyes. The face mirrored in those eyes was clearly filled with anxiety.
“If staying by my side is how you can survive, then do that.”
There was no hidden meaning in Levi’s words. They contained no emotions like consideration or sense of justice, nor was he saying this because he liked Ion or saw some value in him. Levi, who couldn’t even calculate advantages and disadvantages, was simply straightforward.
Because you want to live.
That was the only reason.
Perhaps because of this, Ion felt at ease. In his entire life, this was the first person who knew about his ability yet didn’t try to exploit it. Rather, despite essentially using Levi as a shield, Levi calmly told him to do so.
For Ion, being by Levi’s side began to feel like the most comfortable place in the world.
❖ ❖ ❖
Before they knew it, three days had passed since Ion had completely moved into Levi’s tent.
After confirming that even his deep wounds had completely healed, Ion no longer stayed quietly hidden in the tent.
‘I can’t stay cooped up forever when I don’t even know if they’ll come after me or not.’
With the sleeves of his tattered clothes rolled up to his forearms, he moved quite busily.
“Is this all the clothing you have?”
“Yes.”
“All the few clothes you have are pitch black… Anyway, bring them all and follow me.”
With Levi carrying the mere four sets of clothes, Ion took a small sack and filled it with food. Though the food consisted only of completely dried potatoes and a few cabbages.
On the way, he hung the handles of two old wooden buckets on each arm. One was intended to replace the dirty sack for carrying food items, and the other was for fetching drinking water.
Ion led the way to the pond he had made clear. Having a naturally good memory, he never got lost on a path he had taken once, so he walked straight ahead without hesitation.
“Levi, just wash the two dirtiest outfits there. I’ll clean these.”
Setting up by the pond, he first soaked the cabbage in water and then took it out. Scrubbing the surface of the cabbage, which had gained vitality from his left hand’s influence as soon as it touched the water, made a squeaky clean sound. After washing away even the dirt mixed in between, it became quite firm.
‘It might not be as crisp as freshly harvested, but it’s edible enough.’
As he was about to wash two whole cabbages with a satisfied look, he heard splashing sounds beside him. Turning his head, he saw Levi holding clothes with both hands, merely dipping them in the water and taking them out repeatedly. The dust on the clothes might wash away, but it seemed unlikely they would become clean.
“Levi, you’ve never done laundry before, have you?”
“No.”
“Haah…”
Sighing deeply, Ion finished washing the cabbage he was holding and put it in the bucket. Even without his left hand touching the pond, the water was still clear, probably thanks to the long gloves Levi wore on his right hand. Without those, the water would have turned to ink as soon as he removed his hand.
‘Well, my ability doesn’t work either when I wear gloves made from Etlun belly skin.’
Etluns were winged lizards. They were about the size of mountain rabbits, with scales typical of reptiles on their back and wings, but their belly skin was similar to that of ordinary animals, yet very strong and tough, making it frequently used for clothing. However, since the usable area per animal was small and expensive, it was usually only used for gloves or small patches.
Ion had once received gloves made of Etlun belly skin as payment. At that time, his ability didn’t manifest while wearing those gloves, and it seemed the same was true for Levi.
But doing laundry with leather gloves on? Setting aside the damage to the leather, it was impossible to properly do laundry in that state.
With his tattered sleeves rolled up tight, Ion snatched the clothes from Levi.
“I’ll do it. Give them to me.”
Ion’s laundry skills, as he took the clothes from Levi, were certainly not those of a beginner. He knew how to get stains out effectively and could skillfully scrub particularly dirty areas without soap, making them quite clean. His laundering hands were so professional that Levi couldn’t take his eyes off him until he had completely washed the two sets of clothes.
Ion, who had been responsible for washing his and his mother’s clothes for nearly 5 years since he was eight, held the somewhat cleaner clothes and examined them thoroughly with his eyes.
‘It would be nice to have soap.’
Though he was washing them fairly clean, he still felt something was lacking and smacked his lips.
He glanced at Levi’s other clothes. There were some areas with dirt, but they were in much better condition than the ones he was currently washing.
‘Are these recently bought clothes?’
Having never seen a single coin while staying with Levi, Ion became curious about the origin of his clothes. He said he sometimes went to the village, so perhaps he bought them then?
While looking at the clothes, Ion had unknowingly stopped his hands, and his eyes met Levi’s as he turned to look at him. He was startled as if caught stealing a glance and quickly turned his head away.
“How did you manage to live for two years without doing laundry?”
Ion asked while vigorously scrubbing the clothes in his hands. Levi, squatting beside him, stared at the small hands diligently doing the laundry.
“They told me to throw them away when they get dirty. They said they’ll bring new ones.”
Ion’s hands stopped abruptly.
“Bring them? Who?”
His body tensed up immediately as he asked. According to Levi, someone comes to visit him and gives him clothes, which means there are outsiders who come and go to this place. Though it seemed unlikely, he was suddenly afraid that people sent by slave traders might follow that person.
As if reading Ion’s thoughts, Levi extended his pure white left hand toward his head. The left hand, wet with clear water, stroked Ion’s brilliant golden hair.
“Someone I know. Someone I know who can be trusted.”
Ion couldn’t imagine that Levi, who was in seclusion in the Forest of Death, had an acquaintance who would bring him clothes.
“Does that person know about Levi’s ability?”
“Yes, they know. But they pretend not to know.”
It was a brief statement, but the fact that someone knew about Levi’s terrifying ability yet pretended not to know seemed to confirm they were indeed trustworthy.
Still, Ion felt he should make sure to emphasize something important. The world was harsh, and Levi was innocent.
Ion took Levi’s hand that was stroking his head and held it firmly with both hands.
“Levi, listen carefully. You must never tell anyone about my ability, whether it’s that friend or anyone else.”
“Why?”
“Because bad people will chase after me trying to kill me.”
“Then we can just kill them.”
Ion frowned as he watched Levi tilt his head in confusion.
“Even if that’s necessary sometimes, if we can avoid killing someone, we should obviously do that. Killing is wrong.”
Though he explained it carefully as if talking to a child, Levi still seemed to have difficulty understanding.
“Why is it wrong to kill those who want to die?”
Ion barely resisted the urge to put his hand to his forehead. In Levi’s mind, eliminating those who threatened to kill someone was completely justified and natural, not a matter to be categorized as good or evil.
