episode_0012

“Village Chief-nim!!”

A soldier guarding Todrua spotted the Village Chief returning from outside and shouted. The Village Chief, walking towards the main gate, waved to the soldier and called out.

“Did you guard it well!”

“Yes, Village Chief-nim! How is Esrad? Did they explain why there was no contact?”

“Forget explanations and all that… it’s already fallen. Through the note Zeke left, I roughly understand what happened.”

“Esrad has fallen…?”

“Yes… What on earth is going to happen now… I’m too anxious to sleep… They say a revolution broke out in Esrad. King Esrad IV was a tyrant, and cutting off contact with us for a month was to prevent his strange deeds from leaking out.”

“How could that be…”

“Whew… If any survivors from Esrad come into this village, let them in. It’s only right to accept refugees, isn’t it?”

“Understo— But who are those people behind you?”

“Behind? Huh?”

Hearing the soldier’s words, the Todrua Village Chief looked back. When he saw people with loads on carts appear behind him at some point, the Village Chief was greatly surprised on the spot.

“Wha— What do you want, you people?!”

“Z-Zeke sent us here… We were slaves trapped in a country called Boska… Could you please help us…?”

“…Zeke… What on earth are you doing?”

“T-That person called Zeke… the Saintess in black clothes… that’s right, isn’t it?”

“…Huh?”

The Village Chief looked utterly dumbfounded by the Boska refugees’ words, then sighed heavily. He then smiled and gestured for the refugees to come in. Only then did the refugees also smile brightly and enter Todrua. As the refugees went inside, the Village Chief thought.

‘Zeke. I wonder what you’re doing. But I won’t ask. Your parents and I both know you’re doing good things. So take care of yourself and be sure to return to Todrua healthy.’

“Village Chief-nim! Where should these people live!”

“Let’s help those people and go cut down some trees together! We’ll need more houses for people to live in…”

Karina, the Cat Beastkin Boy

“Yawn… I slept well… Karina, did you sleep well t— Gulp…”

Stretching as I came out of the tent, I looked back to check if Karina had slept well, and was surprised… Karina inside the tent looked very tired, as if he hadn’t slept at all. Could it be… Aria…

“…? Ah… Zeke-nim is looking at me… Kyaa…!!”

Looking at Aria, who was cooking by the campfire, she felt my gaze and began to give off that ecstatic smile again. The reason Karina is tired… is it because of you…? I briefly went inside the tent and asked Karina.

“Karina… Did you perhaps not sleep last night because of Aria…?”

“Yeah… Noona kept looking at me with scary eyes… and she was looking at Hyung with a strange expression… I just couldn’t sleep…”

“…So that’s why Aria said I could sleep with her yesterday morning…”

…So… Aria’s intention was to scare Karina away from me, huh? Isn’t this kid pitiful… after even becoming a slave… Wait. If she’s so wary of Karina… it means Aria might do something else…!! I rushed towards Aria. Aria’s face turned red when she saw me rushing over.

“A-Ah!! Zeke-nim! Suddenly you’re so violent—”

“…That grass… it has a sleeping effect, doesn’t it?”

“Ah…”

The leaf in Aria’s hand. It was a plant called Adurn, which has a sleeping effect. In other words, it was a poisonous plant. Aria, caught trying to put it in the food, immediately threw the grass onto the ground.

“Hahaha… H-How did you know…?”

“…I trained and studied for exploration, you know…? Besides, the bowl you were going to put that grass in…”

“….”

It was the plate containing Karina’s food. She had made a meat stew from boar meat caught nearby, and it seemed Aria was trying to put that grass into the stew Karina was going to eat. Well… I can imagine what Aria might have done to Karina after that…

“…Don’t do that…”

“…Yes.”

It’s a good thing I noticed it beforehand… If I hadn’t known, Aria would have surely abandoned Karina while he was sleeping without my knowledge. As a tired Karina laboriously emerged from the tent, we began to eat the meat stew Aria made. But I realized I knew nothing about Karina because I had been suddenly asked for help by Twenty Mana… Hmm…

“Karina?”

“Hmm… Did you call me, Hyung?”

“Yeah. How old are you?”

“Hmm… I don’t remember exactly since it’s been a long time since I became a slave. But the manager who supervised me once recorded my age. I’m not sure if it’s accurate, but he said I was 14.”

“14, huh… Your height certainly matches that…”

“More importantly, Zeke-nim! How’s the stew I made?”

“Huh? It’s delicious. I’ve eaten the dishes you’ve made for me several times before…”

“Ah… Zeke-nim is complimenting me…!!”

“…But Hyung. Does this Noona really like you…? There was a slave who went crazy before…”

“Uh… yes, she does… But how do you know such words?”

“I learned them in the slave camp. Are they bad words?”

“…Uh… try not to use them.”

“Okay.”

I’m worried he might have learned swear words at such a young age. This is why my family hates the slave system. What’s the point of enslaving young children who should have bright hopes…? It even means that young children who could read my exploration logs and dream might disappear. That’s unacceptable.

“Karina, but how did you meet Twenty Mana, that man?”

“Hmm… well, it’s like this.”

Karina told me the story of when Twenty Mana returned to burning Boska to put out the fire. At that time, Karina was following the slaves who had revolted in the chaotic Boska due to Twenty Mana’s appearance, escaping from the slave camp with them.

‘Ugh… I’m hungry… Food…’

At that time, Karina had been nearly starved for two days and was extremely hungry. Then, by chance, he found some fruit dropped on the street in an alley, and unable to overcome his hunger, Karina broke away from the group of escaping slaves and ravenously ate the fruit alone.

“Delicious… Sweet… There’s food here! Here…?”

Karina, wanting to share the fruit with the slaves, held the red fruit in his hand and looked back. But the slaves weren’t there. All the slaves had already left Boska. Left alone in burning Boska, Karina frantically looked around and cried out desperately.

“Is anyone there?! I’m here!!! Mister!!! Madam!!! I’m scared!!! Please!!!”

But it was quiet. Only the sound of buildings burning could be heard. Realizing he was left alone, Karina dropped the fruit in his hand and frantically tried to escape Boska. But whether it was because Karina was scared, or because Boska was a place where it was easy to get lost, he couldn’t see an exit. As no exit appeared, Karina’s anxiety continued to grow.

“Save me!!! Please!!! I’m here!!! Mom!! Dad!!! I’m scared… Pleaasee…”

He screamed with all his might, but there was no answer. No matter how much he ran, an exit didn’t appear. Then, exhausted and collapsed, Karina trembled, covering his face with both hands. There was nothing else he could do.

“Sniffle… Sniffle… I’m scared… So scared… Mom… Dad…?”

While trembling, he suddenly felt a breeze above him and sensed something unusual. Karina slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Then, an astonishing sight entered Karina’s eyes. A great wind blew, and the flames engulfing Boska were extinguished in an instant. It was good that the fire disappeared, but when the light vanished and only darkness remained, Karina was again gripped by fear.

“Is anyone there…? I’m scared…”

“Ugh… Ahh…”

“Huh?”

Someone’s voice reached Karina’s ears. Although he heard gasping for breath in the voice, that wasn’t important to Karina. The only important thing was that there was another person in front of him.

“Is anyone there!? Please save me!!”

“Gasp… Gasp… There’s a kid… Let’s see…”

The owner of the voice began to take something out of his pocket. Then, suddenly, light shone from the man’s hand. A bright, though not strong, light was coming from the jewel the man held in his hand. The man asked Karina.

“Gasp… Haaah… A beastkin kid? You couldn’t get out of here?”

“Uh… Yeah… Who are you, Mister…?”

“I’m Mister Twenty Mana. Oh, that’s not my real name, it’s a nickname.”

“…That’s a unique nickname… What does it mean?”

“It means I have more power than others. But… I used up all my strength putting out the fire earlier… Ugh… Maybe it’s because I overexerted myself after a long time… My strength keeps draining…”

“Huh…? J-Just a moment! Mister! Get me out first before you go!!”

“Uh… Y-You’re right… But I’m so sleepy, it’s driving me cra—!!”

Twenty Mana saw something and was greatly surprised. Then Karina, too, saw something behind him and was so surprised that he froze on the spot. A building pillar behind Karina began to collapse towards him.

“A-Ah!!”

“Kid!!! It’s dangerous!!”

Twenty Mana hurriedly embraced Karina. Then he took the collapsing pillar with his whole body, and Twenty Mana was covered by the pillar and ash while embracing Karina. Twenty Mana had remained unconscious there until Zeke and Aria arrived. Hearing that, I thought, How can a person take a pillar with their entire body and still live?! Is that even human!!!

“I-Is that story true…?”

“Yeah. Mister hugged me, so I survived. And then Hyung and Noona came here.”

Hmph… Did that man really put out that huge fire alone? And he took a pillar with his entire body… Twenty Mana… That man is definitely not human… Hearing Karina’s explanation, I became truly curious about that man’s identity. Is he really an otherworlder? Well… still, thanks to that man, many people gained freedom… So it’s a good thing. And… I understood why he came out of those ashes. Hmm… I should write more about Boska. I only recorded the history, so I should record the ending too…

Boska was a country founded by humans who committed heinous acts, enslaving even other races. However, one foreign man, unable to tolerate this, challenged them to a fight, and the slaves, reinvigorated by his presence, fought alongside him against Boska for their freedom. Since they were all unjustly enslaved, their rebellion was natural. As a result, Boska fell, and it is said that those who were unjustly enslaved regained their freedom and found places to live. But the identity of that foreign man…

“Hmm…”

Is said to be unknown.

“Good. This much record is enough. Whew… Lately, I’ve seen two countries fall… Huh?”

While I was engrossed in my notes, the meat stew on my plate had grown cold. Noticing this, Aria showed me a smile and began to reheat the meat stew on my plate.

“Oh. Aria, thank you. How did you know?”

“Hehe! Because I love Zeke-nim, I notice things like this right away!”

“…You’re an amazing Noona… Hyung. I’m going to the restroom for a bit…”

“Oh? Yeah. Should I go with you?”

“Ah, it’s okay. Noona is scary and… I’ll go by myself!”

“Oh… okay.”

“Then I’ll organize the tent in the meantime. Zeke-nim, please enjoy your meal comfortably!”

“…O-Okay…”

Should I really just eat by myself…? I’m worried about young Karina going to the restroom alone, and I feel bad about Aria offering to organize the tent alone. Still, if I said anything more, Aria would clearly force me to eat the stew, so I just ate the stew.

“The stew is definitely delicious… The secret to making boar meat this tender…”

I have a rough idea, so let’s just not say it. After finishing the meat stew, I saw Aria had finished organizing all the tents and was tending to the campfire. I also saw Karina had returned at some point and was organizing the luggage, so I quickly helped organize the luggage too.

“Karina, you don’t have to organize the luggage…”

“Oh… really?”

“Huh? Yeah. No one told you to organize the luggage… Ah.”

Ah… No one *said* it, but someone *did* tell Karina to organize it. Feeling Aria’s gaze from behind me, I stopped speaking and said nothing. Now Aria can talk to others with her eyes… It’s getting too scary… Or is she giving me a hint?

“Okay… Let’s do it together, Karina…”

“U-Uh… But Hyung… do you dislike that Noona?”

“Hmm… Well, I don’t dislike her.”

“Hiccup!”

What was that sound? I turned around at the strange noise. Then, I saw Aria’s wide grinning face as she turned around. Was Karina’s question earlier that tense for her…? After sighing, I continued organizing the luggage, and finally, we were ready to depart again.

“Hehehe… Zeke-nim… Finally, we’re going to the next destination… I want to separate that beastkin from Zeke-nim’s side soon…!!”

“Yeah. Just one more week, so bear with it.”

“…Huh?”

“Oh, I haven’t told you. It takes about a week to get to Alteon. Unless we take a carriage. But whether there’ll be a coachman in this winter…”

“Zeke-nim… Were you deceiving me!!!”

“…You were trying to do something behind my back earlier too…”

“That was for Zeke-nim’s sake… Wait. Then if there’s a coachman, it’s fine?!”

“Huh? Yeah… That’s ri—”

“I’ll kidnap a coachman nearby.”

“What?!”

Aria, with eyes full of resolve, held her golden staff with both hands and tried to enter the forest, so I hurriedly grabbed her shoulder. She didn’t even ask how long it would take!!!

“A-Ah!! Calm down!! Instead, it only takes two days to get to Kaltun!!!”

“A total of nine days… That’s too long… Hurry and get a coachman…!!!”

“Geez… Calm down, Aria!!! Then I’ll give you this…”

“It’s no use giving me anything!! I will definitely separate that beastkin from Zeke-nim’s side as soon as poss—”

I hastily pressed a brooch from my backpack into Aria’s hand. Aria’s face turned red when she saw my brooch in her hand.

“T-This is…?”

“Uh… It’s a brooch I made from monster magic stones before. I couldn’t get the crystal stones, which are harder to obtain than magic stones, at that time, so I made it with magic stones…”

“Z-Zeke-nim made this…!! D-D-D-Directly…!! H-Hahaha… I’m so happy, Zeke-nim!! I love it!!”

“G-Good… Anyway, it’s okay, right…?”

“Hehe! I’ll concede this time! Since Zeke-nim gave me such a precious item!”

Precious, huh… Monsters have had magic stones inside their bodies since ancient times. But if the magic stones come out of their bodies in a very well-preserved state, they become crystal stones. But it’s hard to get those crystal stones, so most of the time, magic stones are taken from dead bodies… She’s satisfied with that? That’s a low-value slime magic stone, isn’t it?

“Hehe… I know exactly what Zeke-nim is thinking! I know! That this is a slime’s magic stone. But to have a brooch made with Zeke-nim’s sincerity… It’s too enchanting!”

“…Okay… If you’re happy, then it’s fine. Come on, let’s go!”

“Uh… I can follow, right, Hyung?”

“Yes. Let’s go quickly!”

We averted the crisis. Good… Now let’s head for Alteon… But… while going to Alteon, Aria won’t do anything to Karina behind my back, will she…? I feel a little uneasy about this.