Pathfinder

Chapter Three

Garam came to a sudden stop in her tracks. She couldn't realize anything from a distance, but as she got closer, she could smell the scent of something being grilled. She couldn't believe it, but it seemed like the tiger was grilling something. Garam hesitated for a moment. If she got any closer, she could be the next meat being grilled there.

Despite the hesitation, Garam seemed to have already made up her mind. With great prudence, Garam's right foot began to step back cautiously, unlike when she had arrived. However, Garam's decision seemed to be in vain as the tiger grilling the meat suddenly turned around to look at her. It was an attitude that conveyed that it had already known Garam was there.

Garam froze completely. The tiger was a white one. Fortunately, it wasn't baring its teeth, but it was still a tiger. Garam felt like the tiger could pounce on her at any moment, so she instinctively crouched down. However, the tiger turned its head and gestured with its tail. It was an indication for her to sit down. Regardless, it was a relief that there seemed no intention to harm her, but deciding to sit in front of the tiger was not an easy decision either.

While Garam hesitated, the tiger glanced at her again, flicking its tail at its front. It was urging her to sit quickly.

'Ok, this is another dimension, so it's not weird for a tiger to be grilling meat.'

If the tiger had been a vegetarian, that would have been even nicer, but unfortunately, it seemed that the tiger in this world also ate meat. Garam walked cautiously and sat down, showing that she was reluctant to do so.

Sitting in front of the tiger, she noticed that it was even larger up close. It appeared to be almost twice her size. Its mouth was incredibly large, and it looked like it could swallow Garam's head in one bite. Fortunately, the tiger just sat there, patiently waiting for the meat to cook, without showing any aggression towards Garam.

The fire grilling the meat wasn't a campfire, nor was it a gas stove. The flames were rising from the ground to cook the meat.

‘Could it be that the tiger was using magic?’

Suspiciously eyeing the tiger, Garam spotted a pile of meat stacked on a wide leaf nearby. The meat, similar to pork, had little blood, and each piece was uniformly sized. It had a slightly crispy exterior, and the tiger was tearing it apart with its front paw and placing it on the fire.

"What kind of meat is this?"

Garam asked herself, hoping it wasn't human meat. But to her surprise, she received a response.

"It's meat tree fruit."

Garam couldn't believe it. The tiger had spoken.

"You can talk!"

Garam exclaimed in astonishment, pointing a finger at the tiger. The tiger glared at her finger for a moment and then replied.

"Move your finger away. I might just bite it off."

Startled and quickly withdrawing her finger, Garam watched with disbelief as the tiger, observing her with languid eyes, picked up a piece of meat that was wafting a fully cooked aroma. The tiger then skillfully cut a large leaf to the size of a palm and placed the meat on it, extending it towards Garam.

The tiger had been delicately performing such precise work with its round paw, which made Garam forget her fear and gaze in wonder.

"Eat."

When Garam hesitated, the tiger narrowed its eyes in response. Recognizing this, Garam quickly accepted the meat. She thought that the tiger's face was quite expressive.

The tiger didn't seem to care whether Garam ate the meat or just held it; it lost interest and picked up its own piece of meat. It then cut a small piece off it and fed it to the fire. More accurately, it fed the piece to the lizard bursting out of the fire.

"What? What is this?"

As Garam realized the true source of the fire, she exclaimed in surprise once again. The tiger, seeing her reaction, spoke calmly.

"Your finger."

Garam quickly retracted her finger upon hearing this. She looked at the lizard buried under the meat. It chewed the piece of meat that the tiger gave and responded to Garam's gaze with a somewhat arrogant look. It didn't seem to care about the meat being roasted on its back.

If it were a dream, it would be someone else's. Garam couldn't fathom where in her own psyche there would be a tiger eating meat on a lizard's back.

"Hey, you don't want to eat that?"

Upon hearing the tiger's words, Garam finally remembered the meat in her hand. Without much thought, she took a bite and was surprised. It was incredibly delicious. It was neither beef nor chicken, but it slightly crunched in Garam's mouth as she chewed it, and soon turned chewy. Then, the meat juice burst out, spreading a rich flavor in her mouth. There was no heaviness or bitterness to the taste. Additionally, it was perfectly seasoned, as if it had a pinch of salt.

"Wow, this is really good!"

Garam exclaimed, and the tiger nodded its head nonchalantly while chewing its meat. While she finished her piece of meat, the tiger devoured five pieces in no time, with almost one piece disappearing with each bite. Despite the rapid consumption of meat, Garam couldn't get a proper look at the lizard beneath that was exhaling the fire because the tiger, swiftly, placed new pieces of meat on the lizard's back as it was devouring the previous ones. The lizard was buried under the meat, all the way up to its head.

As the sizzling sounds of meat disappeared, silence enveloped them. Occasionally, the sound of the wind could be heard, but Garam found the silence extremely uncomfortable.

"Hey, Mr. Tiger."

The tiger, who had been staring at the fire, turned to look at Garam.

Garam found Trigger not as frightening as she had initially thought. Instead, it felt somewhat familiar, possibly because she had always liked animals. At first, she had been startled and tried to run away instinctively upon seeing him, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem aggressive. Besides, she remembered the saying that well-fed predators didn't hunt.

"It's Trigger, not Mr. Tiger. Trigger’s my name. So, what's your name? Human?"

"Oh, I'm Garam Han. Please call me Garam."

"That's an unusual name. Are all Asians like that?"

Garam was taken aback by the tiger's, or rather, Trigger's words. Were there some humans, even Asians, in this dimension? Surprised, she asked, and Trigger nodded calmly.

"I don't know their names, but there are some Asians here. They have black hair and black eyes, like you. It used to be rare to see them, but ever since the commotion about the New Continent's discovery, they've become more common."

Trigger was quite knowledgeable for a tiger. This was because he was not an ordinary tiger. But Garam, who knew nothing about that world, simply decided to accept it since she had seen nothing normal since she had arrived there except for the countless stars in the night sky.

"But, Mr. Trigger, why are you here grilling meat?"

"Just call me Trigger. It's quite awkward to hear that 'Mr.' word before my name."

"Okay."

Trigger was more modest than Garam had expected. First, Garam was captivated by the way Trigger's ears perked up, and then she watched as his large front paw deftly flipped the cooking meat. It was like flipping pancakes. After swiftly flipping the meat, Trigger sat down again, waiting for the other side to cook. He spoke with his mouth full.

"While I was walking near the meat tree, this pitiful fire lizard was howling because it wanted to eat some meat, so I made a deal with this fellow. I borrowed its fire in exchange for giving it some meat. And why am I here? Well, isn't it natural for a beast to live in Beast fields?"

"In the Beast fields? Well, I guess. So, you've never seen this lizard before?"

"No. By the way, why are you here? This doesn't seem like a safe place for humans."

Garam hesitated for a moment, but she eventually spilled out the truth. She couldn't bring herself to lie to the tiger.

The tiger silently chewed on the meat while listening attentively to Garam's lengthy story. She told him about the disagreements with her parents, her arrival through the dimensional gate inside her room, and how different that world was from her original one. Trigger sat in silence, savoring the meat and taking Garam's story seriously.

"Only one moon? That's unbelievable."

As if on cue, the mountainous pile of meat Trigger had cooked was all finished by the time Garam concluded her story. Then, Trigger stood up abruptly. Flustered by his action, Garam followed the tiger’s slow steps.

"So, you don’t have anything else to say?"

"No. You probably want to ask me how to get back, but I don't know."

"Okay, but what are you going to do with that fire lizard?"

"I'll leave that fellow alone."

Trigger briefly glanced at where the fire lizard had been, but by then, it had hidden itself well from view. Trigger clicked his tongue and stopped beneath a large coniferous tree.

"Fire lizards are all like that. When they feel like there's nothing to gain, they quickly leave. Well, you must be feeling cold, Garam. Come over here."

Trigger stretched out on his side, opening his arms. However, Garam hesitated and didn't take a step closer. After waiting for a moment, Trigger finally asked.

"What's the matter? Worried about something?"

"Well, if you get hungry by morning, you won't try to eat me, will you?"

At her words, Trigger burst into laughter. He had thought she had been just a pushover young lady but had never expected her to be that cautious.

Trigger chuckled for a while before finally calming down and playfully tapped his side with a tail.

"Don't worry, I won't eat you. I usually don't indulge in the morning."

“It seems I should part ways with you before lunchtime then.”

Garam watched Trigger roll around while laughing heartily and showing his white belly, and she eventually couldn't help but smile along and take a step closer to Trigger.

Trigger waited for a moment until Garam found her place, then covered her with his massive front paw. Compared to Garam, Trigger was quite large, and with just one front paw, he almost completely covered her back.

Trigger's fur was incredibly soft and pleasant. There was no hint of any unpleasant odor; it was a mix of the scent of the breeze and the grass. Moreover, his silvery fur was so soft that it felt even better than a premium blanket. Garam rested and rubbed her head on Trigger's chest for a moment, but she stopped when he told her that it tickled.

She could feel the strong pulse of his heart, which was entirely different from that of a human’s. It felt like the powerful rhythm of a formidable creature.

"Trigger, your heart is beating really strongly."

"That's because I'm a tiger."

"Your fur is incredibly white, and your ears are adorable. Can I touch your front paws?"

"Sure."

Trigger deliberately extended his paw, positioning it for Garam to touch. Although it wasn't as soft as a cat's paw, it was large and robust. As Garam gently explored Trigger's paw and toe pads with her hands, Trigger observed her closely as she showed no more signs of fear.

"Are there many tigers like you around here?"

Garam asked, holding Trigger's large paw with both hands and tilting her head. Trigger shook his head.

"I'm the only tiger around here. And more importantly, I'm not a white tiger."

"Then what are you?"

"I'm a silver tiger."

"What's so different about that?"

"My fur is silver, not white."

"It just looks white to me."

"That's because it got stained. Originally, it was silver."

"You mean it changes over time? I heard cats lick their fur to clean it. Do tigers do something like that too?"

"No, I'm not a cat."

"So, you're a dirty tiger, then?"

"Yeah, you want to smell a dirty tiger?"

Trigger responded and hugged Garam tightly until she said she couldn't breathe, floundering frantically. After a while, Trigger released her upon her request.

"Please, fragrant tiger, let me go."

Garam laughed and eventually relaxed in Trigger's embrace.

"But Garam, I've been wanting to ask you for a while, what's that thing on the back of your hand?"

Upon Trigger's question, Garam examined her hand. The pattern on the back of her hand was faintly glowing. More precisely, it was shining. The light was so faint that it was difficult to notice if not carefully looked for, but Garam easily spotted it.

The pattern resembled multiple overlapped clocks, with a clock hand drawn in the center of intersecting circles. And within one of the circles, the pattern was changing. The circle was divided into forty-eight equal sections with thin lines, and among them, three sections were painted light while the fourth section was slowly filling up.

"I-I have never gotten something like this before."

Garam couldn't figure out what the pattern meant either. Her voice became slower as fatigue overwhelmed her body, forcing her into sleep. She remained in the same position as when she was examining the pattern, and sleep finally overtook her.

Trigger stared at her hand in confusion as Garam fell into a deep sleep. He held her firmly in his arms, noticing that she was very tired.

'What a strange Asian. Why does she smell so delicious?'

Trigger was an exceptional being among animals. His acute senses were instinctively attracted to the strong soul of the pathfinder, although he didn't know why.

It was just the wind blowing on them that hinted at her exceptional nature, making a whistling sound.

* * *

"Garam!"

Garam, upon hearing the voice that awakened her, nestled even deeper into Trigger's embrace. The warmth made her feel pleasantly cozy, which in turn made her endlessly drowsy.

Trigger chuckled at her taking his front paw and blocking the sunlight with it, rather than waking up upon hearing his voice. She was so cute that Trigger wanted to just leave her, but he knew it was better to wake her up for her sake as well as his.

"Garam. It's morning."

"Uh... okay."

Eventually, he shook her with his paw to wake her up. However, Garam barely managed to sit up, and it was clear that she was still half-asleep. Trigger watched as Garam tried to rub her eyes, realizing that her eyes remained half-closed, indicating that she was still in the dream world.

Trigger watched as Garam's head bobbed forward and backward. When she was about to hit her nose on the ground, Trigger reached out with his front paw to stop her. Thanks to that gentle intervention, Garam finally awoke.

"Oops, y-you must be Trigger!"

"Yes. Luckily, you remember me. I was worried you might think it was still all a dream and say some silly things."

In response to Trigger's words, Garam swallowed the words she was about to say and held them back. If Trigger had been even a second slower in speaking, she might have uttered those silly things.

The morning sunlight glistened like jewels among the dew-covered grass in the field. Garam rubbed her eyes and saw that the grass was sparkling with dew, but she knew that Trigger didn't mean to wake her up to show her the morning dew.

"It feels like it's still early morning. Why did you wake me up? I went to bed very late last night."

Despite her efforts to rub her eyes awake, her drowsiness didn't seem to dissipate, so she eventually gave up and sat down. While licking his front paw, Trigger suddenly perked up his ears and then turned his gaze toward a distant place. Garam followed it, but there was nothing visible there. Trigger hadn't been looking at something visible in the first place.

"I hear human voices."

"I can't hear anything."

Trigger made a pitiful expression toward Garam. Garam felt embarrassed and pouted without any real reason. Her comment didn't come from sincerity, but rather, it was just a product of her grogginess. ‘A truly expressive tiger,’ she thought.

While Garam was lost in thought, Trigger was able to identify the distance between them and the human voices. It was a group of two men, and from the fact that they weren't making loud noises, it seemed they weren't particularly dangerous.

Trigger was worried about Garam, who still seemed half-asleep with a blank look in her eyes. It was a hardly believable story, but judging by her appearance, she was a young lady who had grown up over-sheltered. Trigger would have liked to stay by her side and take care of her, but it wasn't a good idea for anyone, neither him nor Garam. For the time being, it was fine since the moon wasn't that full yet. But Trigger doubted whether he could continue to keep her safe if the moon became full and his wild instincts emerged. Garam smelled too delicious for him to do so.

"Look, if you're sleepy, you can ride on my back."

"Uh, okay. Just a moment."

After a while, Garam removed the sleep from her eyes, and she finally managed to climb onto Trigger's back. Trigger slowly stood up as she was finding her balance. Accordingly, the height of her position increased, and Garam unconsciously grabbed Trigger's ears.

"Ouch, don't hold onto those. You'd better put your hands around my neck instead."

"That'll strangle you."

"Losing both ears is even worse."

Garam, who had run out of things to say, placed her hand on Trigger's neck. It was just a light gesture, so Trigger advised her to do it more forcefully. Eventually, Garam tightened her grip around Trigger's neck as strongly as possible, and Trigger finally took off.

Garam exerted all her strength to hold on tight as she felt the shaking. She assumed that even the slightest loosening of her grip might cause her to slip or fall off. She now understood why horses had reins on their backs.

"Don't talk. Just listen, or you might bite your tongue. When I stop near some humans later, go talk to them. They'll probably be more helpful than me. But remember, as I told you before, never speak honestly about yourself. They might sell an Asian without identification like you. If anyone asks, just say you're going to meet someone else. Got it? Say 'Aha' if you understood."

Trigger deliberately told her to say "Aha" because he was afraid she might utter something else and bite her tongue. Garam was quite disoriented from the sudden jolt, but she managed to understand Trigger's words and responded.

"A-Aha."

"Good. Remember that you should never say you are a person from another dimension. If you do, you might be mistaken for a witch and get killed. So, even if anyone asks, never tell the truth under any circumstances. Got it?"

"Aha."

"Okay. I'll drop you off and leave after a day or so. Meanwhile, I'll stay nearby, so don't be afraid."

"Has anyone else from another dimension come here before me? You don't seem too surprised, Auch!"

Hearing her speak words other than 'Aha', Trigger couldn't help but click his tongue in disapproval while running. Then, he slowed down a bit to let Garam speak. There was no strong smell of blood, so it seemed she hadn't bitten herself too hard.

"No, I've never seen a traveler from another dimension before. I had vaguely thought that there might be other dimensions, but I didn't know there was a dimension where only humans lived. So, if you tell humans you're from a different dimension or whatever, you'll probably be treated as a crazy woman. Hide it thoroughly, and even if someone tries to dig it out, just play dumb."

Trigger repeated multiple times that she must never reveal that she was from another dimension. Even after Garam reassured him multiple times through her words, Trigger couldn't shake off the unease he felt toward this Asian woman who emitted such a delicious smell.

"Got it. I'll hide my true identity and gather information to return. Is that right?"

"Yes. Let's run again."

"Wait, Trigger!"

"What?"

"Trigger, will we be able to meet again?"

"Who knows? If you can successfully return to your original world, you probably won't be able to see me again."

Trigger replied and began to sprint. Garam wanted to say something, but she couldn't because Trigger flew like an arrow. He had to run that fast because the smell of the humans was gradually fading away.

Trigger ran like the wind across the field. He leaped over a few rocks without hesitation.

His speed was so fast that Garam didn't even think about opening her mouth; she simply held on with all her strength and kept her eyes tightly shut. The wind was blowing too fiercely, and if she kept her eyes open, they might get sore.

"Well, we're here. I can't get any closer because I must not be seen by them. Wait here for a bit, and two people will come. I'll get going then!"