Dancing in the Legendary Sea - Chapter 4 Part 2

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In a haze, the man finally regained consciousness.  His eyelids that had been closed so far, opened. Frightened, Lokira seemed to stop breathing. The man suddenly realized something, then sprung up with lightning motion.

Lokira, who was sitting next to him, was startled and fell backward. A shallow scream came out. As soon as she finally came to her senses and looked up, her eyes met with those of the man who was pressing against her from above.

It wasn’t long before everything became quiet. Three breaths passed. Lokira belatedly remembered the horns hidden underneath the cloth. Did the man notice any signs of horns protruding over the fabric at once? What if he tries to kill her just because she’s a monster? But the man didn’t respond. To be precise, he frowned. He opened his mouth as his eyes focused on her.

“…..What? You are not that crazy woman.”

It was a clueless remark, but Lokira couldn’t immediately respond or protest. It was her first time interacting with an outsider, so she didn’t know how to respond. The man looked at her, frowning for a while, and asked,

“What are you? A cave nymph? There’s no way there’s such a thing.”

When Lokira heard that, she was a little relieved. The man didn’t see her as a monster; it seemed that he didn’t discover her horns yet. She opened her mouth consciously to answer as naturally as possible,

“l am a priest at the Temple of Artemis..”

“Artemis? Ah, I remember I came down to Delos, but the wind suddenly got stronger, broached my boat, and casted it here.”

“Your boat is still on the shore. I only moved you here.”

Only then did the man raise his head to look around. After turning back towards her, he looked at Lokira again.

“You? Moved me with that body of yours? Alone, here?”

“No, I tried. It was hard!”

It was not a lie. However, the man still looked suspicious. Lokira didn’t know that he would interrogate her like that; she felt troubled. In the end, she changed the subject to stop his questioning.

“Your face was bleeding…”

Then the man raised his hand and touched the wound. When he saw the blood, he clicked his tongue. Soon after, his shadow which was above her, slowly drifted away. Then Lokira moved and settled deep inside the cave.

“…I see what happened. Thank you for saving me. I’m sorry I attacked you. Now that I’ve come to my senses, you can get out.”

“Get out..?”

Lokira was speechless from the man’s unexpected statement. She had done a good deed and she should have received gratitude. However, all that he gave her were harsh words. The curiosity and excitement she felt from the unknown man were instantly ruined. No matter how familiar she was with the monstrous treatment and punishment from the temple, this remark made her a little upset. Her tone of voice became stronger.

“Why do you want me to get out?” Lokira asked.

“Is it any good if the Goddess of Chastity is involved with an unknown man?” (the man)

“….” (Lokira)

“Don’t talk anymore. When I get better, I’ll leave here quietly. Anyway, my eyes are feeble, so I can’t see your face clearly.”

The man took off his cloak and shook off the water. Then, he leaned against the cave wall, wearing only short clothing, Lokira belatedly realized. This man, because of his wounds, couldn’t see very well. That was why he wasn’t surprised – because he simply couldn’t see her horns.

Lokira hesitated for a moment. The man was more seriously injured than she thought. She hesitated and wondered if it would be okay to leave him alone in this cave. However, she couldn’t stay too long here, so she said to him while taking some steps,

“Then, I’ll go. Goodbye.”

The man was silent as if there was nothing more to say. Lokira felt disrespected by his rude attitude, so she added,

“I’ll come back later. You are a patient after all.”

When the man told her to leave, she acted out in a fit of anger. Why on earth did her beastly nature reveal itself at this moment? The man laughed at her when she was blaming herself.

“The rules of Delos would not have changed without my knowledge, would they? Isn’t it your rule to throw someone who gets on the island without permission into the sea?” (the man)

“Huh, he will come out eventually.” Lokira said randomly, thinking that if she talked well to Roxias, it would happen somehow. The man laughed out loud as if he had seen through her naive thoughts. He just opened his fine eyes and stared at her.

“This is absurd. You’re young; you don’t know how to handle such matters. If this was another person, they would just ignore everything and take the pledge of chastity ten times.” (the man)

“Why do you keep talking that way?” (Lokira)

Lokira was about to get furious. She wondered if everyone from the outside world talked like this. Roxias was always friendly, unlike this man. Even the high priest, who was strict about everything, wasn’t grumpy like this. The man never withdrew his attitude. Rather, he continued with a smiley face,

“I can’t get permission if I’m dead. I’m sure you know. Anyone who has committed crimes is not allowed in the sanctuary.”

“If it’s because of your facial wound, …. say you got injured from the boat while coming to the island.” (Lokira)

“No. Maybe your superiors might have heard the news by now. I committed a crime, so I won’t be able to lie to them.” (he)

“What…….?” (Lokira)

“Frozen priest lady. I killed a person.”

Lokira was speechless at the moment. The sense of reality that she had been lacking so far suddenly rose like a tsunami. The man’s large body was suddenly terrifying. She stepped back instinctively. The man laughed as if knowing her fear.

“I escaped after killing the royal daughter of Chios. All of Greece must be talking about me by now, so there’s no way you don’t know it here in Delos.”

“If it’s Chios, it’s far north of Delos…….”

Where is it? Is it an island near Asia? Lokira was ignorant of the outside world and had never seen much of the map. She had no choice but to stutter and recall. The man hardened his face. Suddenly, he raised his voice,

“Okay. Go away now. Get off my nerves and get lost.”

He grabbed the pebbles on the floor and threw them in her direction. Lokira was startled and quickly stepped back. She ran without knowing that the pebbles fell on the opposite side where she was standing. Behind her back, the man’s voice was ringing like an echo.

“You know, every woman I am involved with, dies. Don’t think you’re different! Goddess Artemis doesn’t even care about your life!”

She shall die too, thinking she was going to die because of that infidel*. Frightened, Lokira jumped up the stone steps in one hop. There was no time to breathe. She hurried to her room and hid under the blanket. Then she stood up and shook the window frame gently, thinking that she should not be caught opening the window. The lock clicked as the fastener turned. Lokira sat down and exhaled recalling the dangerous incident she was involved in. On the day that she ventured the farthest she had ever been in her life, the monster saved a self-proclaimed murderer. (* infidel – noun used to describe a person who does not practice and/or believe in the prevailing religion. E/N: She described him using that term because most people regard the temple with reverence and treat temple priests in the same way or at least, with respect. He spoke to and treated her rudely.)