Chapter 7

The first thing the wendigo did after letting Skadi into the forest was to put her to sleep.

No matter how sudden the situation, people need to eat, drink, and sleep.

Relieved at having completed her task, Skadi fell fast asleep. The wendigo understood.

Fleeing from the village, running through the forest, encountering a monster, and even threatening people in the village…

“It’s natural to be tired after going through so much.”

The wendigo chose a suitable hide from the cart and covered Skadi with it. Looking at her sleeping peacefully, it seemed unbelievable that she had acted like a cold-hearted witch earlier.

After neatly arranging her hair, the wendigo stared intently at the necklace.

The mysterious necklace created through a contract with him.

Wondering if he could make one himself, he tried to examine the necklace, but it wasn’t easy.

The patterns and characters engraved on the necklace emitted a bright light like stars in the night sky, not even allowing him to look at it properly.

‘She said it was the language of the gods or something… I can’t even see what it looks like because of the light.’

Although he could see mysteries like a spirit-like being, he had adjusted it to be invisible because he didn’t like the flickering in front of his eyes.

The problem was that whatever Skadi had engraved emitted mystery that obscured its appearance even when he wasn’t trying to look at it.

‘Is this an innate limitation of spirits?’

It seemed that among the powers shamans handle, there might be some not permitted to spirits. The wendigo quickly declared his surrender.

Anyway, if he needed something he didn’t know, he could just ask Skadi.

‘Since Skadi has nowhere else to go, she’ll probably wander around with me. If she speaks well, there might be no need to silence people even if we encounter them.’

No matter how he thought about it, it was fortunate that Skadi was the first human he met. He held Skadi in his arms to share warmth.

Although he didn’t need sleep, it didn’t seem bad to sleep together with Skadi.

---

Skadi greeted the new morning refreshed, forgetting the fatigue of the previous day. As soon as she woke up in the morning, she apologized to the wendigo with a red face.

“I-I’m so sorry! How dare I squirm in Wendigo-nim’s arms!?”

“It’s largely my fault for acting without saying anything. There’s no need to be embarrassed, so calm down.”

The wendigo scratched his skull in apology. It seemed that his holding her had been more disconcerting for Skadi than he expected.

She was so flustered that when their eyes met as she tossed and turned, she screamed loud enough to wake the dead. She bowed her head in embarrassment.

“It’s alright, raise your head. From now on, I plan to look for a place to bury your mother. You should choose a suitable place so that your mother can find peace.”

“Ah…”

Skadi exhaled and looked at the coffin loaded on the cart. Her soul had already departed to nature’s embrace, but her body was still wandering…

As she looked at the coffin with a distant gaze, the wendigo grabbed the handle of the cart. The cart, which had made even three strong men struggle, was lifted effortlessly.

“It seems a shaman would be better at this kind of thing, so it would be good for you to choose your mother’s burial site.”

“Yes. Leave it to me!”

Skadi answered energetically. Not only did she want to live up to the wendigo’s trust, but she also had confidence.

A shaman is a versatile talent, in simple terms, high-quality labor.

They personally slaughter to obtain important parts of livestock, are knowledgeable about herbs as they search for mysterious ones, and need to be good at crafting items to offer to spirits…

With many tasks that couldn’t be entrusted to others, there was much to do personally. Moreover, due to their position as shamans, they had to be proficient in rituals, funerals, and geomancy.

With so much to do, sometimes tasks were delegated to disciples or servants, but…

“Mother said that a true shaman should know how to fulfill their duties alone. Finding a good burial site is a simple task!”

“Your mother… was a remarkable woman.”

Skadi’s mother was, to put it kindly, diligent and hardworking, and to put it a bit more harshly, a workaholic. Naturally, Skadi, who grew up under such a mother, had similar traits.

Watching Skadi roam the forest, examining mysteries with her spirit eyes and considering sunlight and wind, the wendigo thought:

‘She’s like a puppy.’

It wasn’t an insult at all. How could he help it when it really felt like watching a puppy?

Like a dog wagging its tail at the sound of a walk, Skadi roamed the forest with her shoulders raised.

Grabbing a handful of soil to analyze its quality, observing the sunlight filtering through the leaves, her search for the best burial site even looked cheerful at times.

‘The way she blindly follows after being helped, she really is like a dog.’

While watching her move around here and there, the wendigo turned his head towards a lingering scent of mystery he sensed from somewhere.

Not a strong scent, but a definitely perceptible subtle fragrance.

The wendigo looked at Skadi. She too seemed to have sensed the mystery, staring blankly in the direction he had been watching.

“Skadi, I sense mystery from over there.”

“Yes, I can see it too. A very… very warm mystery.”

A warm mystery sounded like a good thing.

The wendigo took her and crossed the forest following the scent. As the subtle fragrance grew stronger, the wendigo marveled at the beautiful scene that unfolded before his eyes.

“Wooow…”

“It’s a beautiful place. It feels like seeing a mansion from a fairy tale.”

A clearing spread out in the dim forest. There stood a lone mansion embraced by lush greenery.

It seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time, as vines had grown over the door of the mansion, and the vegetable garden was overgrown with weeds.

However, perhaps because it was a place where soft sunlight and fresh wind passed through, it didn’t feel like an abandoned house. The wendigo approached the mansion following the scent.

There was no sign of life. He carefully opened the door of the house. Inside, unidentified birds and squirrels were sleeping, and…

“It seems it was a shaman who lived alone.”

In what appeared to be the bedroom, the remains of the deceased were lying in a comfortable position. It seemed to have been a shaman without acquaintances.

He carefully gathered the remains. Skadi, who hadn’t expected the wendigo to personally gather the remains, hurriedly approached him.

“Wendigo-nim! You can leave such tasks to me!”

“What does it matter? The mystery emanating from the remains is fragrant, so it must have been a good shaman. It’s only natural to take care of the remains of such a person.”

Of course, the sight of a large monster crouching to handle remains might be quite amusing… but what did it matter? She was the only one watching.

After gathering the remains in a bedsheet, the wendigo left the mansion.

“Which is the best spot? I’d like to bury this shaman together with your mother.”

“There, that spot seems to be the best.”

The wendigo headed to where she pointed. It was quite nice with good sunlight and pretty flowers blooming around.

The wendigo created an ice shovel and dug up the ground in one go. The speed was so incredible that in just a few minutes, a hole large enough to accommodate two people was created.

Skadi took charge of conducting the funeral. She sang a requiem to soothe the lingering attachments and sorrows of the souls, and placed the prettiest flowers she could find on top of the coffins.

The wendigo made the coffin for the unknown shaman. The shaman’s remains were neatly placed in a coffin made of the clearest and purest ice, and Skadi once again offered a requiem and flowers.

In the peaceful forest, two shamans found their rest.

---

Through discussion with Skadi, the wendigo decided to stay at the mansion. Aside from the vines and dust, it was quite nice.

“If we think of it as an inheritance left by the deceased, it should be fine.”

“Is that so?”

“We helped the shaman find eternal rest, so they’ll forgive this much.”

Persuaded by the wendigo, Skadi went along with it. Above all, even she thought it would be too wasteful to just abandon the mansion.

A shaman’s heart is best understood by another shaman.

The mansion was equipped with tools for handling herbs, a drying room, a place for butchering, and even a room for woodworking. Honestly, even Skadi was tempted.

Thus, the two settled in the mansion. With their accommodation resolved, the wendigo made his most necessary request to Skadi.

“Whether it’s leather or cloth, I need something large enough to cover my lower body.”

“I can make it, but… do you really need to?”

“It’s necessary.”

For the wendigo, who was still human in mind despite becoming a monster, walking around with his genitals exposed was more troublesome than he had thought.

No matter how covered he was with fur and hide… this wasn’t right. When the wendigo, who had never made a strong request before, insisted, Skadi put her skills to use.

Amidst her busy schedule, she prioritized fulfilling the wendigo’s request, and after about a week, she created a decent item and presented it to the wendigo.

“The size is appropriate, and the color is similar to my body.”

“I tried my best to make it in a similar color. I also engraved several spells to make it self-repairing.”

The wendigo was quite surprised at the mention of a self-repairing function. He knew Skadi was talented, but to be able to imbue such an ability?

As he stared at her, Skadi gave a sheepish smile.

“My abilities weren’t enough, but among the items left by the previous owner of this mansion, there were troll hide and blood, so I used those to make it. Both contain mysteries of recovery and toughness.”

“Still, not just anyone could make this even with the materials… It’s impressive.”

With the leather wrapped around his waist, the wendigo finally found peace of mind. Indeed, it was right to keep his genitals covered.

He left the mansion with a light step, feeling satisfied. He planned to go hunting.

“I’ll catch something suitable, so wait here.”

“What should we have for dinner tonight?”

“A stew would be nice. I’ll catch a deer or so.”

There were plenty of vegetables that had been left in the garden, so meals were not lacking. Especially with Skadi’s excellent cooking skills, there was plenty of enjoyment in eating.

However, there was one thing missing.

It was meat. No matter how delicious the food was, it felt lacking without meat.

‘A deer’s head but an omnivorous diet. What a strange body. No, maybe I’m carnivorous since I don’t feel full without meat?’

It was hard to know for sure. If there were other wendigos, he could ask, but forget about meeting one, it was questionable if they even existed in this world.

The wendigo shook off his idle thoughts and roamed the forest. Hunting had become quite enjoyable.

As he headed towards the snow-covered part of the forest outside the mansion, he saw a herd of deer drinking from a half-frozen stream. He aimed his spear.

‘Perfect, they’re facing away so they won’t see me.’

The wendigo threw his spear. The spear pierced through two deer at once, and a scream echoed through the forest.

“Uwaaaagh!!?”

“……”

It wasn’t the scream of a deer, but the scream of a person.

The wendigo was silent at the somehow familiar situation. He looked at the spear that had pierced the deer and thought.

‘… Should I stop hunting with spears?’

Although it was a coincidence, he felt like throwing the spear might have been a mistake. He sighed and approached the spear.

Since it had come to this, he thought he might as well check the face.