Chapter 8

The voice belonged to a man. A man so emaciated that it wouldn’t have been strange if he collapsed at any moment was lying on the ground, trembling.

He didn’t seem to be from the village where Skadi lived. There was no way someone would be starving unless all the food had rotted in just a few days.

That meant he was a complete stranger. The wendigo slowly revealed himself so as not to startle the other party.

“Uh, uhh?”

The man looked at the wendigo with trembling eyes. He couldn’t comprehend the situation he was in.

How could he believe that a giant spear had pierced a deer right in front of him, and a monster twice his size was walking towards him?

Moreover, the man looked up at the wendigo, his teeth chattering from the cold air surrounding them.

‘Am I going to die?’

The man stared blankly at the wendigo, having lost his sense of reality. The wendigo was perplexed by his stupid expression.

He had thought the man would scream or lunge at him, but he didn’t expect him to be dazed as if his brain had malfunctioned.

After staring at the man for a moment, the wendigo decided to take action first.

“Who are you…”

“Eeeek!!!”

As he opened his mouth, the man’s face turned pale and he fainted. He thought the wendigo was trying to eat him, not start a conversation.

The wendigo looked at the fainted man with bewilderment.

‘Is there something wrong with his head?’

The wendigo sighed and picked up the spear, the deer, and the man. Smelling the man, he at least didn’t seem to be evil, so he thought he’d listen to what he had to say.

“Ugh… I’m being eaten…”

‘I want to just leave him here and go.’

The wendigo seriously considered leaving behind the man who was groaning and mumbling nonsense, but he barely managed to maintain his rationality.

If left in the forest, he would surely be eaten by wild animals.

Returning to the mansion with the extra baggage, he saw Skadi coming out to greet him, sensing his presence.

Skadi’s gaze turned to the man. She asked the wendigo curiously.

“Did you bring that man to eat as well? I’m sorry, but I haven’t learned how to offer human sacrifices, so I’m not confident I can satisfy you, Wendigo-nim…”

“That’s not why I brought him. What do you think of me?”

Skadi cleared her throat awkwardly. She sensed a strange disappointment in the wendigo’s voice.

After looking at Skadi for a moment, the wendigo sighed and put the man down. Come to think of it, what fault did Skadi have?

It must be because spirits made such crazy demands that Skadi reacted like this.

“It seems he fainted after encountering me in an exhausted state. I plan to listen to his story and send him back once he regains his strength.”

“What if he turns out to be a strange person?”

“Then we’ll have to kill him.”

The wendigo answered nonchalantly. He had no intention of taking unnecessary risks.

To plot something strange after being saved once in a situation where it wouldn’t be strange to die?

That would be a natural death. He had no intention of stopping someone if they were walking towards their own death.

That was a fate this man would decide.

---

“Huerk!!”

The man, Hegilson, woke up from his sleep, sweating profusely. As soon as he got up, he frantically felt his body.

Arms intact, legs intact, shoulders…

“Everything’s fine…?”

“You’re awake.”

Hegilson turned his head at the voice of an unknown woman. There stood Skadi, a woman with white hair and red eyes, looking at the man with a blank expression.

Hegilson finally realized that this wasn’t the forest. The subtle scent of wooden furniture calmed his mind and body.

“Wh-where is this? I was definitely in the forest… in the forest…”

Hegilson trembled as he recalled his memories. The unforgettable image of the monster came to mind.

Not just its size, or the bone-chilling cold, but what scared him most was the monster’s head.

The head resembling that of a deer was staring at him, emitting an eerie light. And those teeth looked sharp enough to tear out his throat at any moment…

“Was it, was it a dream?”

“What dream? You’ve finally come to your senses.”

“?!”

Hegilson was startled by the voice coming from behind Skadi, and his mouth fell open at its identity. The source of the voice was the monster Hegilson had encountered, the wendigo.

The wendigo lowered his posture to enter the room. As he entered, Skadi bowed her head and went outside. She was thinking of bringing some stew.

Naturally, an awkward silence fell as only the wendigo and Hegilson were left in the room. The wendigo spoke first.

“First, I’d like you to know that I have no intention of harming you. I don’t have a hobby of eating humans, and even less of a hobby of tormenting them.”

“Th-thank you. Are… are you a spirit?”

“Let’s just say I’m something similar. More importantly, I have something I want to ask, so answer me. Why were you wandering in the forest? As far as I know, there are no human villages nearby.”

At the wendigo’s direct question, Hegilson’s eyes darted around. It was clear to anyone that he was anxious and definitely hiding something.

The wendigo read the man’s emotions.

‘Quite a lot of anxiety and worry… and a little bit of hope too.’

At least he wasn’t wandering the forest due to immediate hunger. If that were the case, he would have looked for food near the village.

At least there were no villages near the mansion. He was certain of this, having checked while roaming around for hunting and patrolling.

There must be some reason…

“Wendigo-nim. I’ve brought the meal.”

Skadi, who had returned to the room, was holding two bowls of warm stew. The stew, containing venison, onions, and carrots, emitted an appetizing aroma.

Growl.

The man’s body reacted to the smell with a sound. The man clutched his stomach in embarrassment, but the sound didn’t stop.

“What’s your name?”

“I-I’m Hegilson of the Nidhorn tribe. I lived as a hunter in the village.”

“Right, Hegilson of Nidhorn. Let’s eat some stew first before we talk. It seems you’ve been starving for quite a while.”

As the wendigo permitted the meal, Hegilson ate the stew frantically. Not only was he hungry, but the stew Skadi had made was exquisite.

The venison was well-cooked and melted in the mouth, while the onions and carrots, having absorbed just the right amount of broth, were a delicacy. After emptying a bowl of stew in an instant, Hegilson licked his lips in regret.

The wendigo offered the bowl of stew in his hand. Hegilson waved his hands in bewilderment. No matter how hungry he was, he wasn’t brazen enough to eat the portion meant for a spirit.

“It-it’s fine! How could I dare to touch an offering meant for a spirit!”

“To begin with, this much isn’t enough to fill my stomach. It’s not like I’m hungry from skipping a few meals. There’s no need to hold back, so eat.”

“But, but…”

Hegilson ended up shedding tears at the wendigo’s kindness. To think such a kind spirit existed in this world!

He ate the stew while tears streamed down his face. The wendigo watched this and thought.

‘Indeed, food is the best for a hungry person.’

Even animals develop goodwill when fed. Then, providing a warm meal to a starving person? It was as good as over.

The wendigo read gratitude, emotion, and guilt from Hegilson. He had melted the man’s heart with just a bowl of stew.

Having finished the tear-soaked stew in no time, Hegilson put aside his suspicions and spilled out the story he had been hiding.

---

It’s natural for people to have a lot to say when their emotions are intense and accumulated.

Once his wariness disappeared, Hegilson poured out his words. He talked about whose son he was, how happy he had been, how beautiful his lover was…

It might have seemed boring, but Hegilson’s storytelling skills were quite good, so the wendigo listened quietly.

“My goodness, it’s truly a beautiful love story.”

“Hmm, I see.”

It was also because of Skadi, who was listening to the story in an extremely focused state. It seemed too much to interrupt when there was someone listening so enthusiastically.

‘He would have done well as a minstrel in the city.’

“But one day, a calamity struck our village. Crops rotted and weeds grew rampantly. Even when we tried to leave the village, beasts appeared from somewhere and started eating people… But we couldn’t just sit and wait for death.”

“So you escaped? You managed to survive the beasts quite well.”

“It was thanks to the villagers’ help. Thanks to everyone who held off the beasts prepared to die, a few of us, including myself, managed to leave the village.”

The wendigo fell into thought. The more he listened, the more he realized this wasn’t an ordinary situation.

He didn’t know where the village was, but crops could spoil at any time. Frost if it’s cold, moisture if it’s hot, and if the conditions are just right, insects or rodents could cause the crops to rot.

But the beasts were a different story. People think beasts eat humans, but such cases aren’t as common as one might think.

Animals are quite smart and don’t easily attack when people are holding torches or weapons.

Usually, only those on the brink of starvation or those who have tasted human blood attack people…

“Did the beasts not attack the village? If they attacked humans leaving, it sounds like they were lurking around.”

“Yes. Strangely, the beasts just roamed around the village, preventing people from leaving. That’s when we sensed it. This wasn’t normal. We thought… this must be the work of a spirit.”

Hegilson glanced at the wendigo. He was worried that the wendigo might feel offended.

Sensing Hegilson’s emotions, the wendigo chuckled. Why would he be offended by someone cursing spirits?

“You can curse or mock spirits in front of me, I don’t care. Honestly, from what I’ve heard, they all deserve to die.”

“Oh my! Spirit-nim, how can you say such things? I absolutely never thought that way!”

“I get it, so just finish your story. Once you realized it was the work of a spirit, you must have sought help. Were you passing through the forest to find a shaman?”

“Yes. My mother once said that there was a shaman living alone in the forest, so I was trying to find them…”

The wendigo immediately knew who the shaman Hegilson was looking for was. He had just seen a shaman living alone in the forest not long ago.

The problem was that shaman had found eternal rest. Unless Hegilson died and became a spirit himself, it was impossible for him to meet the shaman he was looking for.

“Unfortunately, you can’t meet that shaman. They returned to nature’s embrace not long ago.”

“What?! Is that true?”

“Yes. But there is… how should I put it… a shaman who inherited their legacy.”

Hope and despair crossed Hegilson’s emotions.

Even if it wasn’t the shaman his mother had mentioned, there was still a shaman who was their successor!

Hegilson burned with hope at the thought that there might be a way to save the village.

“Can you tell me where they are? If you wish, I’ll become a servant to repay the kindness, so please let me meet them!”

“I know exactly where they are. How could I not know the whereabouts of a shaman who has contracted with me? And it’s good to repay kindness, but I don’t need a servant. Just repay the kindness. Just that.”

“Thank you. Thank you! Then where should I go to meet them?”

Where are they? They’re right here.

The wendigo gestured to Skadi. As Skadi approached, the wendigo patted her shoulder and said:

“Skadi is that successor. I, who have contracted with her, can vouch for her skills.”

Proud of being acknowledged by the wendigo, Skadi straightened her shoulders, while Hegilson looked at Skadi with a bewildered gaze.

He had thought she was a servant attending to the wendigo, but she was the shaman herself!

“You seem very surprised. Are her hair and eyes bothering you?”

“N-no! I’m not so dull as to judge someone based on such things. It’s just… I was surprised by how young she is.”

Indeed, it wasn’t easy to think of Skadi as a shaman at first glance. Although she was adorned with items imbued with magic, her outward appearance was just that of a beautiful woman.

When Hegilson didn’t easily show trust despite the wendigo’s assurance, Skadi’s eyes flashed fiercely as she took out a dagger from her pocket.

As she awakened the mystery imbued in the dagger, ice instantly grew, turning it into a sword. Hegilson was shocked by the cold emanating from the ice sword.

“I-I’m sorry! I’ve never seen such a young shaman before, so I was disrespectful!”

“I can tolerate you doubting my words, but I can’t stand you doubting Wendigo-nim’s words. Be careful.”

“Yes, of course!”

As Hegilson hurriedly apologized, Skadi responded coldly. Hegilson inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

“Skadi and I will solve the problem in your village. As for the price… we’ll think about it when we get there. Don’t worry, we won’t demand an unreasonable price.”

“Is, is there a need for the spirit to intervene as well?”

Hegilson asked in bewilderment. He hadn’t particularly wanted the spirit’s help.

He couldn’t calculate how much the village would have to pay just for calling a shaman, let alone how much they’d have to pay for calling a spirit.

“Are you refusing my offer?”

“… Haha. If the spirit is willing to help, what is there to fear! Rather, I should be grateful!”

When the wendigo asked, Hegilson didn’t dare refuse. If he refused, it seemed like Skadi would stab him with her sword right away.

Hegilson realized that refusal required more courage than he thought. He could only pray to the heavens that the wendigo and Skadi would be merciful.