Chapter 23

“… Do we really have to bury it in the ground?”

The wendigo asked again, swallowing his gloom. It was shocking to hear that the item he had worked hard to obtain needed to be buried in the ground.

Skadi placed her hand on her chest and answered confidently.

“Yes! From what I can see, burying it in the ground is the correct answer!”

“I see. So it was just garbage…”

“Eh? Wendigo-nim?”

When the wendigo muttered bitterly, unable to overcome his depression, Skadi was flustered.

She didn’t understand why the wendigo had become upset.

Geron watched the situation and cautiously whispered to Skadi.

“Why don’t you explain why it needs to be buried? It seems he thinks you’re saying to bury it because it’s useless.”

“Ah… Ahhh!?”

Skadi pondered Geron’s words for a moment and then realized her mistake.

She had mistakenly assumed others would understand a shaman’s knowledge.

Understanding her error, Skadi looked up at the wendigo’s face anxiously.

Although the wendigo’s face was unreadable, Skadi thought his skull looked particularly sad today.

The wendigo asked Skadi listlessly,

“Where is Gikas’s heart now?”

“It’s in my workshop… Wendigo-nim?”

When Skadi answered reflexively, the wendigo trudged towards her workshop.

Disappointment aside, if it was trash that needed to be buried, shouldn’t it be disposed of properly?

“Since it’s come to this, I’ll freeze it and bury it. That way, the useless mystery clinging to the heart won’t cause problems.”

“Th-that’s not it. Wendigo-nim!”

Sometimes being diligent can be troublesome. The wendigo left to dispose of the heart before Skadi could stop him.

“Wait, wait a moment! Wendigo-nim, please listen to my explanation!?”

Skadi chased after the wendigo, calling out to him anxiously as he moved away.

---

Fortunately, the wendigo didn’t end up freezing Gikas’s heart and burying it deep underground.

When the heart was about half frozen, Skadi, who had run hard to catch up, bowed and apologized.

“I’m sorry! I haven’t received such questions recently, so I inadvertently omitted my explanation!”

“No, there’s no need to go that far.”

“No! For a shaman serving Wendigo-nim to handle matters without proper explanation! That can’t be!”

How many people could scold someone who was self-reproaching with tears in their eyes?

Moreover, Skadi was a woman who had greatly helped the wendigo adapt to this world.

Although there were some burdensome aspects, wasn’t it ultimately behavior born from goodwill?

The wendigo carefully helped Skadi up.

“Come on, stand up. I’m worried others might see.”

“B-but…”

“Now, now. You’re not refusing my request, are you?”

At the word “request,” Skadi wiped her tears and stood up. The word “request” was welcome, as it was better than remaining prostrate like a mourning stone.

The wendigo carefully brushed off the dirt on Skadi’s clothes with his claws. Skadi blushed with embarrassment.

‘W-Wendigo-nim is touching my clothes…’

‘It seems even a grown maiden finds crying a bit embarrassing.’

Thinking of thoughts that would have made Skadi dejected if she knew, the wendigo brushed off the dirt cleanly. He briefly considered wiping her tears too, but…

‘It would be a disaster if I scratched her with my claws.’

It wasn’t easy with the wendigo’s large hands.

When the wendigo’s hand moved away, Skadi felt disappointed. But perhaps thanks to her confused feelings settling down,

Skadi cleared her throat and pointed to Gikas’s heart.

“Ahem! The reason I said burying the heart in the ground is best was for shamanic processing, not at all because it’s useless.”

“Is that so. I’m sorry. I misunderstood due to my lack of knowledge.”

Skadi shook her head vigorously, rejecting the wendigo’s apology. Her eyes sparkled as she explained her thoughts.

“Not at all. As a shaman serving Wendigo-nim, I should naturally read Wendigo-nim’s mind and prepare in advance…”

‘That’s a bit too much.’

The wendigo thought Skadi’s loyalty was excessive. No matter what, how could one read another’s mind?

To prevent Skadi’s loyalty from self-igniting, the wendigo decided to change the subject.

“So, what’s the reason for saying to bury this heart in the ground?”

“Yes. When you entrusted this heart to me, Wendigo-nim, you said its owner was a magical beast that lived for three hundred years, right?”

The wendigo nodded. Skadi carefully received Gikas’s heart.

As Skadi chanted a spell, the cold energy dissipated, and the half-frozen heart returned to its original state.

The heart still emitted a foul odor. It wasn’t the heart’s natural smell, but Gikas’s mystery remaining like residue.

“Unlike spirits, magical beasts are creatures that embody mystery in a living body. Because of that, or thanks to it, the byproducts of magical beasts are greatly influenced by their mystery.”

Let’s assume a wolf embodying lightning died.

Its teeth, claws, and bones could be used to create treasures imbued with lightning power.

Its hide could be made into a cloak with the power to block lightning.

The heart, depending on how it’s used, could recreate the magical beast’s power.

However… there were ambiguous cases like this.

It was fine to kill the magical beast, but what if the mystery was useless?

“Honestly… the mystery of this magical beast doesn’t have a good compatibility with Wendigo-nim’s mystery.”

“That’s right.”

A mystery close to a curse that corrodes nature’s mystery.

Whether that energy was bright or dark, Gikas’s mystery was completely unsuitable for the wendigo, who belonged to the framework of nature. It would surely cause indigestion if eaten.

Then, what should be done in such cases?

“That’s why we need to bury it in the ground. Just as no filth can pollute a great river, we wash away that mystery in the bosom of great nature.”

“That’s quite a plausible explanation.”

Even in modern times, there was talk of nature’s recovery power. No matter how many pollutants, they say that over time, nature’s self-purification process cleans them…

‘It’s similar to… industrial waste.’

It was identical in being dirty, dangerous, and useless. Is it fortunate that this is a naturally(?) generated pollutant?

“But if nature washes away the mystery, doesn’t that heart become useless?”

“The heart of a magical beast is like a vessel, so it’s fine. Of course, its power will diminish as it becomes filled with nature’s mystery instead of the magical beast’s mystery.”

The wendigo felt satisfied with Skadi’s explanation. Although he didn’t know what use it would be put to, at least it was something useful, wasn’t it?

So I didn’t do useless work after all!

“Where would be good to bury this? Won’t there be problems like contaminating the village’s land if we bury it here?”

“There shouldn’t be such problems.”

“Then we should bury it right away.”

The wendigo and Skadi left the workshop and searched for a suitable location. They couldn’t bury such an item just anywhere.

Although they said there wouldn’t be problems if buried, things in the world don’t always go as planned.

The wendigo carefully considered the requirements.

‘Where would be a place with few people, easy to deal with if problems arise, and can prevent potential theft?’

One might think, who in the world would dig up the ground to steal a heart?

However, the wendigo thought it was quite possible.

‘This is a world where shamans run wild, willing to ruin an entire village just to gain some power. Wouldn’t they steal a single heart if they could gain mystery?’

In the wendigo’s opinion, those related to mystery in this world were basically madmen. There’s no such thing as being too prepared for such madmen.

I absolutely won’t let others benefit from the reward I worked hard to obtain!

The wendigo walked around the village with burning enthusiasm. Whenever he and Skadi passed by, people bowed politely.

The wendigo nodded slightly to acknowledge the greetings and swiftly moved on. He had no time to pay attention to each person’s greeting.

People looked at the wendigo and Skadi with puzzled gazes and whispered among themselves.

“Doesn’t he look busier than usual?”

“Is there some important matter?”

“He must be going around solving difficult problems we can’t even imagine.”

It was fortunate for the people that they didn’t realize the truth was that he was looking for a suitable place to bury a heart (freshness).

If they had known, they would have been sleepless with fear at night.

---

“It took quite a while, probably because the village has expanded.”

“Is that so? I thought it was a nice time!”

Skadi responded brightly to the wendigo’s grumbling. While the wendigo was preoccupied with thoughts of burying the heart, Skadi was a bit different.

She only offered advice when asked about the ground, but didn’t particularly involve herself in choosing the location.

An excellent shaman is no different from an excellent advisor, and a great advisor never forces a choice.

Skadi, like a great advisor, casually offered advice while absolutely, absolutely not intentionally enjoying the leisure.

She savored the joy of taking a walk with the one she served!

Of course, that joy came to an end when the wendigo decided on a location. Skadi stroked her staff with regret.

‘It felt like taking a walk with Wendigo-nim… It’s a bit disappointing.’

“I should have decided on this place from the start.”

“Certainly… this might be the best place.”

Skadi nodded. The final place they arrived at indeed fit the conditions the wendigo had in mind.

The land the wendigo chose was… his own temple.

If we overlook the idea of burying a heart in one’s home, it was quite a reasonable location.

If there were no problems for the village, no one would come; it was suitable for responding to issues as it was the wendigo’s residence; and those who valued their lives wouldn’t sneak into a spirit’s dwelling.

The wendigo tore up the floor of a suitable room in the temple and dug into the ground with an ice shovel.

‘Who knew the shoveling I learned in the military would be so helpful.’

After digging up the ground, the wendigo carefully placed the heart.

“Do we just cover it like this? Is there nothing else to do?”

“Yes. If Wendigo-nim’s mystery gets involved, it might interfere with the flow of nature’s mystery, so it’s better to bury it as is.”

The wendigo clicked his tongue, having considered making an ice box to prevent theft.

‘What if a mole spirit digs up the ground… No, that’s worrying too much.’

If such a spirit tried anything, he’d notice beforehand anyway.

The wendigo carefully covered the heart with soil to avoid damaging it.

After neatly reassembling the torn-up floor on top, no one would think a heart was buried…

“It feels like disposing of a corpse.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. You’ve worked hard, so you can go back now.”

When Skadi tilted her head, the wendigo hastily changed the subject. This behavior was even more suspicious, but Skadi deliberately hid her curiosity, bowed politely, and returned to her workshop.

Left alone in the temple, the wendigo felt satisfaction as he tapped the floor where the heart was buried.

‘I hope it becomes useful soon.’

---

The next day.

The wendigo tore up the floor to check on the heart. Although not much change would occur in just a day, still, he had expectations…

“Hm?”

The wendigo was quite surprised. The ground where the heart was buried… had turned black.

Faced with this unexpected situation, the wendigo sent someone to call Skadi.

Upon hearing the news, Skadi came running breathlessly and offered a surprisingly perfect bow while begging for forgiveness.

The wendigo felt a strange déjà vu as he tried to comfort her.