Chapter 48

“From now on, I should postpone work talk during meals.”

Wendigo grumbled as he spat out the rib bone he had put in his mouth.

Eating was just a kind of entertainment, but having such an unappetizing topic suddenly thrown at him while enjoying food soured his mood.

Geron fully understood Wendigo’s feelings and nodded.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you before. Don’t listen to such reports while eating.”

“Back then, everyone was busy. It was something a ruler had to endure.”

“… Usually, people don’t care about such things.”

Geron looked at Wendigo with a complicated gaze.

It was natural for subordinates to be happy when a leader worked hard and was decisive, but in Geron’s opinion, Wendigo was excessive in some aspects.

People would understand even if things were delayed…

“From now on, I’ll postpone reports that aren’t urgent when you’re eating or have personal matters to attend to.”

“Do that. By the way, shamans coming in droves…”

Wendigo, who had lost his appetite, pondered how to handle this situation. To be honest, he was a bit flustered.

He had thought outsiders might come, but who would have expected shamans of all people to appear one after another?

‘Don’t these shamans have anything better to do?’

Wendigo thought of Skadi as an example. After all, since he knew only a handful of shamans, Skadi, being the closest, came to mind first.

Skadi’s days were incredibly busy. Besides personal shamanic research or maintaining her ring and necklace, she had mountains of work to do.

Riding Oneton around to check if there were any anomalies in the forest, preparing useful herbs when news of sick people came, checking if crops were growing healthily…

‘No matter how I think about it, shamans aren’t leisurely fellows…’

These were just the things that came to mind immediately. Of course, including things he didn’t know about, there would be even more than this.

In Wendigo’s opinion, shamans could never have much free time. Who would want to waste such useful talents as shamans?

“For fellows who should be busy working to come to the forest. They might be frauds.”

“Pardon?”

“Think about it. Skadi lives busy every day, but how much free time do those guys have to come here?”

“Well… Honestly, I think Skadi-nim is the unusual one. To be frank, I’ve never heard of a shaman like Skadi-nim in my life.”

As Wendigo seemed to seriously suspect they might be frauds, Geron spoke about common sense in bewilderment.

While there weren’t absolutely no shamans with good hearts like Skadi or Isaac, shamans were often people with shattered personalities.

Especially shamans contracted with spirits were famous for their eccentricity, naturally becoming twisted from dealing with ill-tempered spirits.

Would such shamans easily help people?

“How about thinking of them as ordinary shamans?”

“What if they’re ordinary shamans?”

“They’re quite greedy, troublesome… and seem to have been quite unlucky.”

As Geron spoke, recalling the shamans he remembered, Wendigo nodded.

So, they’re close to fraudulent merchants, aren’t they? Moreover, very nasty ones who do business close to monopolies.

‘In the end, it means they’re vicious.’

“If you really don’t like it, I’ll send a message to drive them away. If the warriors act strongly, they’ll retreat even if just to avoid losses.”

“We don’t want to be the subject of friction… Rather, let’s bring them all to the temple.”

“What? Are you serious?”

Geron asked back in great surprise. No matter how he thought about it, Wendigo didn’t seem to want to see the shamans.

However, Wendigo nodded. From what he heard, it didn’t seem like these shaman fellows would retreat if told to.

“People tend to want to do things more when told not to. And didn’t you say they were so greedy, petty, and persistent?”

“I didn’t say it to that extent. I just said they were unpleasant fellows.”

“That’s the same thing.”

As Geron looked at him with a displeased expression, Wendigo used his hard skull to chew on the complaint.

“Don’t make that face. Anyway, telling them to retreat will only stimulate their curiosity, so let’s just meet the decent ones among them separately.”

“Are you planning to evaluate them personally? There are over twenty messages that have arrived, is that alright?”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter whether it’s twenty or thirty if I evaluate them as a group anyway.”

“?”

Geron looked at Wendigo questioningly, but Wendigo was quite confident in his own way.

It was obvious they would exude a ‘I’m trash’ smell just by asking a few questions.

Above all…

‘It’s fine to do the evaluation with a doppelganger anyway.’

Today was a day when his teacher(?) Oneton came to mind.

Surely, if he knew how his shamanism was being used, he would have praised it.

---

Wendigo’s orders were delivered through unusually sturdy and healthy crows.

These crows, which had eaten Wendigo’s mystery, had eyes as bright as owls and were as fast as peregrine falcons…

“Caw caw caw!!!”

“Those damn crows…”

“Be quiet. They’re clearly beasts favored by the spirit, imbued with mystery.”

And they were as smart as crows should be. The crows that delivered the messages, if they had no other work, flew over the shamans’ heads and squawked ear-piercingly.

At first, the shamans pondered if it was some kind of omen, but later they had to admit.

That these crows simply disliked them!

“Did they grow up eating human flesh? Their voices are extraordinary.”

“How many of them are there? There might be as many as ten…”

The shamans, moving while being watched by warriors under the guise of escort, whispered while looking at the crows.

They say a spirit’s favor doesn’t discriminate between species, but to sprinkle mystery on so many crows…

‘I heard the spirit wasn’t in the form of a crow?’

‘Did I bring something related to crows…’

If it had just been those crows, the shamans would have calmed down easily. Encountering amazing sights was something that happened several times in a shaman’s life.

However, considering what they had seen in the villages, they couldn’t possibly calm down.

“In the village I was in, some livestock had mystery…”

“Your village too? It was the same in the village I went to.”

The shamans would have caused an uproar if they hadn’t heard beforehand what kind of land this was.

Beasts imbued with mystery roaming around the village, and mere warrior nobodies carrying helmets with wondrous shamanism!

If they had been low-level shamans, they might have passed it off calmly, but experienced shamans couldn’t do that.

‘What on earth is that spirit plotting to waste like this…?’

If Isaac had known their questions, he would have burst into laughter and said, “Do you remember what I told you?”, but unfortunately, Isaac wasn’t here.

Of course, they remembered that Isaac had said the spirit of this forest was one who valued rewarding good and punishing evil, but…

Was such a thing really possible?

“Could it be that Isaac’s words were true?”

“Come on… Even so, where in the world is there such a spirit?”

“Don’t you remember what happened to that guy last time… Right, Ryurik! He got into big trouble for contracting badly with a spirit.”

“Ah, that guy.”

As the name of the shaman who had contracted with a boar wrapped in roots and branches came up, the shamans nodded.

Ryurik was a typical example of a shaman who had contracted badly with a spirit. More precisely, he had been too greedy…

“I heard he tried to borrow the spirit’s power without any preparation and received an unreasonable demand?”

“Yeah. I always thought he was too greedy, and he got hooked trying to form a close contract with the spirit.”

“Tsk tsk, he should have thought about taking steps gradually. That’s what happens when you try to use tricks…”

Most shamans were reluctant to form close relationships with spirits.

Contracting to obtain mystery from spirits wasn’t something even low-level shamans couldn’t do. It was just a matter of pleasing the spirit and paying the price well.

However, once you start forming close contracts with spirits, things changed.

Spirits knew well that they were in the superior position, so they demanded prices that shamans could hardly bear.

With spirits being like that, to speak of rewarding good and punishing evil…

“That Ryurik fellow, I don’t remember seeing him recently.”

“He probably died somewhere… Wait, what are those?”

One shaman pointed at the forest with a surprised expression. There were beings that shouldn’t be seen in the forest.

They were beastkin. Of course, it wouldn’t be strange to see a few.

This forest was a place where those who had fled regardless of race gathered.

But the beastkin that appeared weren’t just one or two. About twenty or more beastkin appeared riding wolves.

“There’s more than just a few!”

“Th-Those guys are riding wolves, not horses!”

Beastkin riding horses were scary enough, but beastkin riding wolves?

The shamans glared at the beastkin, preparing their shamanism. Beastkin were basically violent and persistent, so if you lose momentum once, it would be trouble…

“Hello there! I suppose these are the shamans we need to take to the spirit-nim?”

“Hokan. It’s been a while.”

“?”

As a beastkin who dismounted from a wolf offered a handshake to a warrior, the warrior greeted him as if familiar.

The shamans couldn’t believe this ridiculous scene.

Why were beastkin getting along so well with forest people?

“… It seems our common sense doesn’t apply in this forest.”

“Nothing should surprise us from now on, no matter what happens.”

---

“What in the…”

The shamans were astonished as they looked at the grotesque structure before them.

What stood before their eyes was a huge wooden cave.

Of course, there was no way such a strange cave could form naturally.

Then this meant someone had deliberately made it…

“Why on earth make something like this?”

“It’s to test you all, they say.”

“!”

As a young voice came from inside the cave, the shamans tensely searched for the owner of the voice.

Skadi emerged from the deep darkness of the cave. The shamans couldn’t help but tense at her appearance.

Considerable… no, fearfully deep mystery was flowing from around her body.

“Wh-Who are you?”

“Good question. My name is Skadi… a shaman who follows Wendigo-nim.”

“Skadi… the shaman Isaac mentioned?”

“She’s really young.”

The shamans looked at Skadi with puzzled expressions. They had heard from Isaac, but they didn’t know she would be such a young shaman…

The shamans were bewildered but regained their composure and greeted Skadi.

“Hello. I am from the Falkenhayn tribe…”

“I’m sorry. Unfortunately, Wendigo-nim ordered me not to receive greetings until after you pass the test, so I won’t be able to accept your greetings.”

“A test? What kind of test are we supposed to take?”

Not even accepting greetings and going straight to a test.

The shamans asked Skadi with troubled expressions. They hadn’t expected to be tested by the spirit right away like this.

Skadi, who had anticipated the shamans’ reactions, nodded with a smile.

“Don’t worry. Wendigo-nim will ask you a few questions, and you just need to answer honestly. It’s an easy test.”

“That’s… a test?”

“You’re not asking us to go somewhere to fetch something or offer a sacrifice?”

“That’s right. If you’re still doubtful, shall I swear on my shamanism?”

The shamans acknowledged that Skadi wasn’t deceiving them, given her confident attitude.

As Skadi stepped aside from the entrance, the shamans carefully entered the cave.

Inside the cave filled with deep darkness.

The shamans countered the darkness in their own ways. They each had at least one potion or shamanism prepared for such situations.

Waiting for them after they overcame the darkness was a single form.

‘That… looks just like the spirit Isaac described!’

It, which had planted an ice sword in the ground and was standing using it as a support, was watching them from within the darkness.

The shamans approached what they presumed to be the spirit.

As its form became clearer, some thought something was strange. It was somewhat different from the spirit Isaac had described.

“Doesn’t it seem a bit smaller?”

“Isaac must have mixed in some exaggeration. Or maybe that was also an answer with restrictions.”

“Check with spirit vision. If that’s not a spirit, that would be strange.”

The shamans, who had conversed by only moving their lips so the spirit couldn’t hear, opened their spirit vision.

A body molded from vast mystery.

‘It really seems to be a spirit.’

“It seems everyone has entered. Then, let’s begin the test.”

“!”

Creak!

As the spirit suddenly opened its mouth and pulled out the ice sword planted in the ground to approach, the shamans tensed.

After all, the appearance of a spirit exuding cold energy in a dark cave was… too ferocious.

‘Surely it’s not going to swing that… right?’

The shamans unconsciously placed their hands on their tools.