episode_0003

Deep within Outer Street.

Knights wearing silver armor burst into the old basement where the wax figure collector’s workshop was located.

“Ugh…. What is this smell.”

“Tsk, the crazy old man has a nasty hobby in his later years.”

They, who entered the workshop, said while looking at an old man tied to a chair.

The old man, whose whole body was bound by chains and who couldn’t budge, was slumped limply and powerless.

He hadn’t died…but it was hard to say he was alive.

-Thud -Thud

The White Wing Knights, who were dispatched after receiving reports about Dorn’s whereabouts and his atrocities.

From their midst, someone walked out.

“Dorn.”

A woman who appeared to be still young called out the wax figure collector’s name in a low voice.

He, who was tied to the chair and had his head bowed, was startled and raised his head.

Fear welled up in his eyes.

“How far are you planning to become hideous.”

The youngest Knight Commander.

Kali Flonen frowned while looking at the bizarre and terrible scene spread out before her eyes.

Children lined up on the wall, preserved like taxidermy.

Gritting her teeth, Kali kicked Dorn away, chair and all.

-Bang!

Such was the rage, the chair shattered into pieces and the shabby body hit the wall.

Dorn vomited blood, but without even the strength to speak, he couldn’t even let out a moan.

-Grab!

“I let you go nicely……and you pull this kind of stunt?!”

She, who ground her teeth, raised her fist wearing a steel gauntlet.

Dorn tried to resist that, but in a state of being bound, it was an impossible task.

-Smash! -Crack!

After that, a one-sided beating began.

His nasal bone was caved in, and between his lips that were split and torn in two, broken teeth were visible.

His limbs were twisted at strange angles and bones protruded, pushing through the flesh, but she didn’t care and continued the beating.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The knights who entered with her watched the scene silently.

Even if they were comrades who fought on the same battlefield in the past, that was no longer the case.

As knights of the White Wing Knights, they were merely holding their ground, absolutely obeying their superior’s words and no matter what she did.

If Kali crossed the line, they would stop her even risking insubordination…but because they witnessed Dorn’s atrocities with their own eyes, they didn’t seem to have any intention of stopping the beating.

-Thud -Crunch!

After beating him for a long time, Dorn’s body had somehow become a lump of meat.

He was barely clinging to life, but he was in a precarious state, as if he would die soon.

However-

“Miller.”

“Yep.”

“Heal him.”

Kali forbade Dorn from even escaping by dying.

-Swoosh

When one knight, called Miller, put his hand on Dorn’s body, a miracle happened.

-Whoosh

The mashed flesh intertwined with each other and regained its original form, and the bones that had protruded, pushing through the flesh, pushed back inside the body again.

“Kuaaaaak!”

Only then did Dorn’s scream ring out in the basement like an echo.

Healing magic originally should be performed in conjunction with pain nullification magic.

The magnitude of the pain felt while flesh and bones are healing is double the pain felt until now.

But even such consideration is a luxury.

-Smack!

As if she couldn’t stand the sight of Dorn screaming, Kali swung her right leg widely and kicked Dorn in the jaw.

With the metal-plated boot of her armor and Kali’s monstrous strength intersecting, his jaw was completely sent flying.

“Gasp…gasp….”

“Um…Commander?”

Miller, who had received the order to heal, was fretting in that instant, wondering if he had to heal even this-

“Miller.”

Kali opened her mouth.

-Snap!

He, whose name was called, stood at attention.

Truly, it was a neat response and attitude that could be called a model knight.

Kali, who looked back and forth between Miller and Dorn for a moment, turned with a whoosh sound and said.

“Don’t heal that mouth. For that guy, even opening his mouth is a sin.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Transport him in as intact a state as possible. Because he must suffer until his life runs out.”

At Kali’s words, the color completely drained from Dorn’s face.

He too was someone who had served in the knight order.

Because he was one of the people who knew better than anyone what kind of punishment criminals captured in this manner receive and how miserable their end is, he began to struggle desperately.

-Rattle! -Rattle!

But no one even showed a shred of interest.

They were merely recovering the corpses of the children who had died cruelly inside the workshop.

Whether he was in pain or not was already outside their interest.

“…….”

While four knights peeled off the wax and took out the children, Kali gazed intently at one corpse rolling on the floor.

A beast tattoo etched on the forearm.

It was a symbol signifying a member of the Jackal organization.

Silently, Kali placed her hand on the head of the corpse where the spilled blood had dried and was crumbling.

-Swoosh

Placing her hand on the forehead for a moment, a few minutes of closing her eyes.

Kali stood up from her spot.

“…….”

A knight who had been watching Kali silently gazing at the corpse for a long time opened his mouth.

“Commander. Is something perhaps wrong-”

“The Philanthropist paid a visit.”

“……That suspicious fellow?”

“That’s right.”

The main duty of the White Wing Knights is maintaining the empire’s public order.

That being said, they didn’t come to this place, Outer Street, very often.

This place where incidents and accidents happen every day is virtually a place even the Emperor has given up on.

However, lately the White Wing Knights coming and going here has become quite frequent.

It was because of a man called the Philanthropist.

‘Why did he attack a member of the Jackal organization?’

His whereabouts are unknown, yet he definitely leaves behind traces.

A wound left on the organization member’s head, thinner than a needle hole.

The only one who can handle such precise techniques to this extent is one person.

“Tsk….”

Kali lightly clicked her tongue.

The Philanthropist left this kind of trace. That meant it also carried the meaning that an incident would occur in some form or another.

The day he first left a trace.

Among the leaders of four organizations who ruled here, creating their own kingdoms, three died.

At first, they thought it was due to factional fighting between powers, but the consistent statements made by the remaining organization members.

‘The Philanthropist came to visit.’

Clearly, the meaning of the word ‘philanthropist’ itself is positive, but at least in Outer Street, it was a term referring to one man.

According to rumors, he is extremely cruel, shows no mercy in his actions, and is said to be a cold-blooded person.

And what overlapped in the statements of the organization members is that he always smiles faintly and wears decent clothes, they heard.

“……Hmm.”

‘If he’s extremely cruel, he would look menacing…but he smiles faintly?’

In the mind of Kali, whose imagination was poor, the appearance of the Philanthropist was bizarrely twisted and began to be imagined.

Gradually, that form deviated from human and became closer to a beast.

***

“Why are you suddenly frowning.”

“Hmm…perhaps it’s just because I feel like someone is imagining my appearance bizarrely?”

“What nonsense is that.”

“Oh my. What kind of language is that? It’s better to speak politely like me.”

Edis looked at my face for a moment, smiled faintly, and replied.

“With that face, isn’t speaking politely rather poisonous?”

“Wow, what a refreshing personal attack.”

There’s nothing you can’t say to the person who is currently preparing dinner for you.

She is extremely rude and spews rough curses, but I understand.

Even if everyone doesn’t know how many things she went through until she came here, I know.

As I smiled brightly and continued to boil the stew, Edis fell silent.

Her looking at me with a slightly hesitant face is quite cute.

Is this what it means to be kind by nature?

Seeing her look like she regrets it internally after spewing harsh words, I hoped she would be able to express her feelings honestly someday.

Already four days have passed since Edis came here.

The daily routine of coming every evening and preparing Edis’s dinner gradually started to become familiar.

-Bubble -Bubble

The sound of the stew boiling and the sound of cutting bread into bite-sized pieces quietly echoed.

In a silence that wasn’t awkward, I quietly did my work.

“Hmm…! It’s perfect.”

Before I knew it, a delicious smell rising from the stew in the pot filled the room.

The things that went into it were yak meat and various vegetables.

Because I was confident about cooking, I put the stew on a plate with a satisfied expression.

“Alright, alright, it’s the culmination of my sincerity, you know? If Miss Edis doesn’t eat it, I might lose sleep tonight.”

“…Thank you.”

Edis looked at me for a moment, then grabbed the spoon.

The way she gripped the handle part strongly with her fist.

It seems she hasn’t learned how to properly hold a spoon yet.

“A spoon isn’t held like that. Here, like this.”

As I exaggeratedly showed her how to hold the spoon, Edis bowed her head slightly and followed suit exactly.

She seemed a little embarrassed.

“I know that much too.”

“Haha, I acted rashly. It’s not like Miss Edis wouldn’t know, you see.”

“…….”

Without looking at my face anymore, Edis quietly scooped the stew onto the spoon.

Just one bite like that.

“!!”

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

Edis looked at me with surprised eyes, then straight away started moving her spoon with momentum as if to break the plate.

Although I made it with care, I didn’t expect this extent of a passionate reaction.

I thought it would be good enough if she just ate it all…but at the unexpected reaction, I felt happy.

“There’s a lot of stew left, you know? Eat slowly. It’s not running away anywhere.”

***

After the meal was finished, after washing and tidying up the dishes, time had already flown by.

Edis probably needs to sleep, so I was going to go somewhere else, but.

“Aren’t you sleeping?”

“Uh. I’m not going to sleep.”

“Haha…….”

She probably couldn’t get proper rest while being captured and dragged around, so it would be good for her to sleep.

Despite the dark circles heavily cast under her eyes and her weary look, she doesn’t try to fall asleep.

Well, I don’t intend to argue about her own choice.

However, it’s a pity to just let time pass.

“Ugh.”

Originally, I was going to do it after getting some more rest, but well, doing it now doesn’t seem bad either.

Smiling, I called Edis.

“Miss Edis.”

“What.”

“I will teach you magic.”