Ch.8Chapter 8

The voice belonged to a man. A gaunt man who looked like he could collapse at any moment was lying on the ground, trembling.

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

That meant he was a complete stranger. Wendigo revealed himself slowly so as not to startle the man.

“Uh, uhh?”

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

How could anyone believe what was happening—a massive spear piercing a deer, and a monster twice his size walking toward him with heavy footsteps?

The man looked up at Wendigo, his teeth chattering from the cold air surrounding them.

‘Am I going to die?’

The man stared blankly at Wendigo, having lost his sense of reality. Wendigo was perplexed by this dumbfounded expression.

He had expected the man to scream or lunge at him, not to sit there in a dazed stupor as if his brain had malfunctioned.

After observing the man for a moment, Wendigo decided to take action first.

“Who are you…”

“Eeeek!!!”

As soon as he opened his mouth, the man’s face turned pale blue and he fainted. He had thought Wendigo was trying to eat him rather than start a conversation.

When the man fainted, Wendigo looked at him with bewilderment.

‘Is there something wrong with his head?’

Wendigo sighed and gathered up his spear, the deer, and the man. After sniffing the man, he determined he wasn’t evil, so he thought he’d at least hear what he had to say.

“Ugh… I’m being eaten…”

‘I’m seriously considering leaving him behind.’

Wendigo was genuinely contemplating abandoning the man who was groaning and mumbling nonsense, but he managed to maintain his rationality.

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

When he returned to the mansion carrying this burden, he saw Skadi coming out to greet him, having sensed his presence.

Skadi’s gaze turned toward the man. She asked Wendigo with puzzlement:

“Did you bring that man to eat as well? I regret to say that I haven’t learned how to offer humans as sacrifices, so I’m not confident I can satisfy you, Wendigo…”

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

Skadi cleared her throat awkwardly. She had sensed a strange disappointment in Wendigo’s voice.

After looking at Skadi for a moment, Wendigo sighed and put the man down. Come to think of it, how could Skadi be at fault?

Those Djin had made such deranged demands, so it was natural for Skadi to react that way.

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

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

“Then I’ll kill him.”

Wendigo answered matter-of-factly. He had no intention of taking unnecessary risks.

If the man tried something suspicious after being saved from a situation where death would have been expected—

That would be a natural death. If he was walking toward his own demise, Wendigo had no intention of stopping him.

It was this man’s fate to decide.

* * *

“Huurk!!”

The man, Hegilson, woke up with cold sweat pouring down his face. Immediately upon waking, he frantically checked his body.

His arms were fine, his legs were fine, his shoulders too…

“I’m… intact?”

“You’re awake.”

Hegilson turned his head toward the unfamiliar woman’s voice. There stood Skadi, a woman with white hair and red eyes, looking at him with a blank expression.

Only then did Hegilson realize he was no longer in the forest. The subtle fragrance of wooden furniture calmed his nerves.

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

Hegilson trembled as he recalled the memory. The image of the monster had resurfaced in his mind.

Not only its enormous size and the bone-chilling cold it emanated, but what frightened him most was the monster’s head.

Its head, resembling that of a deer, had stared at him while emitting an ominous light. And those teeth looked sharp enough to tear his throat out at any moment…

“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 jaw dropped when he saw its source. It was the monster he had encountered—Wendigo.

Wendigo lowered his posture to enter the room. As he entered, Skadi bowed her head and went outside. She intended to bring some stew.

With only Wendigo and Hegilson left in the room, an awkward silence fell. Wendigo was the first to speak.

“First, I want you to know that I have no intention of harming you. I have neither a taste for eating humans nor any interest in tormenting them.”

“Th-thank you. Are… are you a Djin?”

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

At Wendigo’s direct question, Hegilson’s eyes darted around. He was clearly anxious about something, visible to anyone watching.

Wendigo read the man’s emotions.

‘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 searched for food near a village.

There were no villages near the mansion, at least. Wendigo was certain of this, having checked during his hunting and patrol rounds.

There must be some reason…

“Wendigo, I’ve brought the meal.”

Skadi returned to the room with two bowls of warm stew in her hands. The stew, containing venison, onions, and carrots, emitted an appetizing aroma.

Growl.

The man’s body reacted to the smell with a loud noise. Embarrassed, he clutched his stomach, but the sound wouldn’t stop.

“What’s your name?”

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

“Well, Hegilson of Nidhorn, let’s eat some stew before we talk. You seem to have been starving for quite some time.”

With Wendigo’s permission, Hegilson devoured the stew ravenously. Not only was he hungry, but Skadi’s stew was exquisite.

The venison was perfectly cooked and melted in his mouth, while the onions and carrots had absorbed just the right amount of broth, making them a delicacy. Having emptied his bowl in an instant, Hegilson licked his lips in regret.

Wendigo offered him the bowl of stew in his own hands. Hegilson waved his hands in refusal, flustered. No matter how hungry he was, he wasn’t bold enough to take food meant for a spirit.

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

“This wouldn’t be enough to fill my stomach anyway. I’m not hungry from skipping a few meals. Don’t hesitate, just eat it.”

“But…”

Moved by Wendigo’s kindness, Hegilson couldn’t help but shed tears. To think such a benevolent spirit existed in this world!

He ate the stew while tears streamed down his face. Wendigo watched him and thought:

‘Food really is the best thing for a hungry person.’

Even animals show goodwill when fed. Providing a warm meal to a starving person? The outcome was a foregone conclusion.

Wendigo sensed 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 set aside his suspicions and began to reveal the story he had been hiding.

* * *

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

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…

Though it might have seemed tedious, Hegilson’s storytelling skills were quite good, so Wendigo listened quietly.

“My goodness, what a beautiful love story.”

“Hmm, indeed.”

Skadi’s intense focus on the story was another reason Wendigo didn’t interrupt. It would have been too harsh to cut off the story when someone was enjoying it so much.

‘He would have made a good minstrel in the city.’

“But then one day, disaster struck our village. Crops rotted and weeds grew rampant. Worse still, whenever anyone tried to leave the village, beasts would appear from somewhere and devour them… But we couldn’t just sit and wait for death.”

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

“It was thanks to the villagers who helped me. They all held off the beasts, prepared to die, so that a few of us could escape the village.”

Wendigo fell into thought. The more he heard, the more he realized this was no ordinary situation.

He didn’t know where the village was, but crops could spoil for various reasons—frost in cold weather, moisture in hot weather, or pests and rodents in moderate conditions.

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

Animals are quite intelligent and don’t easily attack humans who are carrying 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 itself? If they attacked people trying to leave, that means they were lurking around the perimeter.”

“Yes. Strangely, the beasts just circled the village, preventing people from leaving. That’s when we realized this wasn’t normal. We suspected… this was the work of a spirit.”

Hegilson glanced at Wendigo, worried that he might take offense.

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

“You can curse or mock spirits in front of me all you want. Honestly, from what I’ve heard, they all deserve to die.”

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

“I understand, so just finish your story. Once you realized it was a spirit’s doing, you sought help, right? Were you passing through the forest to find a summoner?”

“Yes. My mother once told me about a summoner who lived alone in the forest, so I was looking for them…”

Wendigo immediately knew who the summoner was that Hegilson was looking for. He had seen that lone summoner in the forest not long ago.

The problem was that the summoner had passed away. Unless Hegilson died and became a spirit himself, it would be impossible to meet the summoner he was seeking.

“Unfortunately, you cannot meet that summoner. He has returned to nature’s embrace recently.”

“What?! Is that true?”

“Yes. But there is… how should I put it… a summoner who has inherited his legacy.”

Hegilson’s emotions were a mix of disappointment and hope.

Even if it wasn’t the summoner his mother had mentioned, there was still a summoner—the successor! The thought that there might be a way to save his village ignited hope in Hegilson.

“Could you tell me where this person is? If you wish, I’ll become your servant to repay your kindness, just please let me meet them!”

“I know exactly where they are. They’re a summoner contracted with me, how could I not know? And while I appreciate your offer to repay the kindness, I don’t need a servant. Just repay the favor. Just the favor.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much! So where can I find this person?”

Where are they? Right here.

Wendigo gestured to Skadi. As she approached, Wendigo patted her shoulder and said:

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

Proud to be acknowledged by Wendigo, Skadi straightened her shoulders, while Hegilson looked at her with bewilderment.

He had thought she was just a servant attending to Wendigo, but she was the summoner herself!

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

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

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

When Hegilson didn’t readily show faith despite Wendigo’s assurance, Skadi flashed a fierce look and pulled a dagger from her pocket.

As she awakened the mystical power within the dagger, ice rapidly grew to form a sword. Hegilson was astonished by the cold emanating from the ice blade.

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

“You may doubt my words, but I cannot tolerate doubt of Wendigo’s words. Be careful.”

“Yes, of course!”

When Hegilson hastily apologized, Skadi responded coldly. Hegilson inwardly sighed with relief.

“Skadi and I will solve the problem in your village. As for the price… we’ll think about that later. Don’t worry, we won’t demand anything unreasonable.”

“Is-is it necessary for a spirit like yourself to get involved?”

Hegilson asked with concern. He hadn’t particularly wanted a spirit’s help.

He couldn’t even calculate how much the village would have to pay for a summoner’s services, let alone what price they would have to pay for a spirit’s assistance.

“Are you refusing my offer?”

“…Haha. If a spirit like you is willing to help, what is there to fear? I should be grateful instead!”

When Wendigo asked, Hegilson didn’t dare refuse. He felt like Skadi might stab him with her sword if he did.

Hegilson realized that refusal required more courage than he had thought. All he could do was pray to the heavens that Wendigo and Skadi would be merciful.