episode_0018

Currently, Usher and Velka were pushing through the night forest, heading towards the place where the zelkova tree had been. They had already exhausted whatever goodwill they had in the village, so they decided to leave for good. However, he needed to return because he had left his bag with the iron coins and supplies he had prepared for his journey in the village. But entering through the village’s main gate risked being discovered, so they decided to go to the zelkova tree, where they could safely enter and exit the village, even if it was a bit further away.

“Aren’t you heavy?”

“I’m light, so don’t worry.”

However, Velka was being held in his arms. She wasn’t in a state to walk on her own, so he decided to carry her. It was fortunate that the girl was so light. But the night forest was rough and the path was hard to see, so whether he carried the girl or went alone, it was just as dangerous. However, he could say that the path they were walking now wasn’t dark. Because the stars, mistaking this place for the sky, had come down to play, and the stars of the night sky were swimming there.

“Wow, are all these things living in this forest?”

But they aren’t like stars.

“Yeah, they’re all children living in this forest.”

If you look at them closely, they weren’t just simple lights, but flying insects. Countless insects that emit their own light, instead of the moon and stars that are too high up to illuminate the forest, were lighting the forest path. Most of them were things Usher had never seen before, but among them, he could see fireflies, familiar to his eyes, flying together. These were all gathered at the girl’s call. The path they walked with the help of the light created by the insects felt like walking through the night sky.

Then, the insects that had been leading Usher suddenly scattered. And what unfolded before them was the hill where the zelkova tree had been. As if mocking the prejudice that the night would be dark, the night sky, without a single cloud, was densely filled with countless stars, creating a vast Milky Way, and a large moon illuminated the night. The appearance of the night sky that the insects in the forest imitated by emitting their own light was beautiful enough, but it couldn’t match the grandeur that unfolded across the vast night sky like a canvas.

Usher, who felt like he was in a completely different place just because the time of his visit was different, snapped out of it at the unfamiliar sensation brushing against his toes. It was the leaves that had fallen from the zelkova tree. The sight of the hill filled with leaves showed how massive the zelkova tree had once been, but the tree that had owned those leaves was nowhere to be seen. He bit his lip at the unpleasant face that came to mind along with the sight of the leaves turning red in the sunset.

“Velka, is it really okay to leave him like that?”

The one he was thinking of was Maek, who would still be collapsed in the cabin. If it weren’t for Velka’s request, he would have gladly hacked him a few times with an ax, but he felt uneasy leaving him like that in the cabin. He had checked several times that he was tightly bound with ropes and couldn’t move, but he was still anxious that the man might break free and chase after them.

“It’s okay. That man won’t be able to escape from there.”

Nevertheless, he couldn’t help but agree with Velka’s words. He knew that even if he asked how she knew, she wouldn’t answer. Besides, Velka’s words were strangely accurate. The girl, having arrived at the zelkova tree, led Usher to the place where it had been. And the sight of the zelkova tree was truly a disaster. Usually, even if a tree is cut down, at least the stump remains, but the tree barely had a stump left. If he hadn’t found the annual rings engraved on the cross-section of the tree, he wouldn’t have even known that a tree had been there.

The girl stared down at the zelkova tree, which didn’t even have a proper stump left, for a long time, kneeling down and stroking the cross-section of the tree with her hand. Just without saying anything, seeming peaceful enough. Only after looking into her eyes as she turned to face him did Usher realize that she was sad. Velka was quietly mourning, locking her sadness within her golden eyes and burying even resentment in her heart. Usher wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to say, so he could only follow the girl as she led him somewhere.

“Velka? Why here?”

The place they reached was a clear valley with the sound of water pouring down. Had there been a place like this behind the zelkova tree? Looking around, they were standing in a place where large and small rocks and gravel fields continued, and where the water flow was relatively weak, seeming to be stagnant. Perhaps the fireflies among the glowing insects that had scattered upon arriving at the hill had come from here? He could see the scenery of fireflies with mysterious lights between lime green and yellow playing on their tails. If the villagers knew about this place, wouldn’t they have tried to use it for various purposes all the time?

“I’m sorry. I wanted to wash a little… Would that be okay?”

Come to think of it, his sweat-soaked body felt more unpleasant than he had thought. Since the girl said it, he also felt like washing.

“Then I’ll wash too.”

Then the girl nodded, taking off the ceremonial white dress that she had worn over her one-piece dress and folding it on the ground, placing the mask on top of it. Watching her, Usher asked the question that had come to mind.

“But why don’t you throw away those clothes and the mask?”

Those were items used in that disgusting festival. With an uneasy feeling, Usher wanted to break the masks and throw away the white dress right away, but Velka had stopped him.

“The mask and the clothes from that festival weren’t originally meant to be used for that purpose. And…”

Velka smiled, stroking the cross-shaped part of the mask that Usher had casually draped over his arm.

“This is proof that Usher and I were together.”

“Is that so?”

Thinking about it the way she said it, the mask that had just felt bad seemed a little better. After looking at the mask for a moment, he raised his head and saw the girl taking off the rest of her one-piece dress. Surprised by the girl’s increasingly exposed white skin, Usher turned away as his face grew hot. Although he had been seeing the girl’s naked body frequently lately, he couldn’t get used to it. He didn’t know if it was because Velka was too beautiful or because of his desires that kept rising up.

“Usher, aren’t you going to wash?”

Perhaps sensing that something was strange about him, the girl’s voice was heard.

“Y-Yeah, I have to wash.”

He took off his clothes as if nothing was wrong. After taking several deep breaths to calm himself, the desires that had briefly swelled subsided again, perhaps because he had already satisfied many of his desires. When Usher also became naked and turned around, he saw the girl looking at him. The girl’s naked body, drawing an elegant curve like pure white porcelain painstakingly crafted by a skilled artisan, shone white even in the middle of the night. The girl’s naked body, so beautiful that it felt almost sacrilegious for anyone to dare touch it, was enough to leave him momentarily stunned.

Even so, there were places where his gaze lingered particularly long. Lingering on the girl’s red hair and the brightly shining goldenrod eyes, and going down to the swell of her breasts creating small shadows and the fruit at the end, still made him swallow his saliva. Besides, the small ax mark, barely showing any downy hair, below the delicate waist and the boundary of her thighs, made him wonder if it was really the place that had swallowed his member. Feeling the desire swell up as soon as he thought about it, Usher threw himself into the valley water so that the girl wouldn’t notice.

“Ah, cold!?”

Usher shouted in surprise at the cold energy that washed over his entire body. Is it fortunate that his member, which was about to swell, had shrunk?

“Even if the water is good, it’s not good to go in so suddenly.”

Velka chided Usher and walked into the water. As if she didn’t mind immersing herself in the cold water that seemed to freeze her skin just by touching it, the girl, who had concealed about half of her delicate body by using the black valley water as a screen as if dissolving ink, scooped up the night with a gourd that was floating nearby and poured it over her body. Would water dyed in the night stain her body even more? Just for a moment there was worry. When the moonlight shone, the water shone transparently, erasing the night from her body. As Usher blankly stared at the scene, one of the stories of the origin of Mascaphir overlapped with it.

A valley visited by night, a girl was washing her body in the moonlight. Among countless fireflies dancing and playing, a girl of peerless beauty washing her body in the moonlight. Daring to say, it was a beautiful monster.

“Usher.”

While Usher was captivated by the sight of Velka washing her body and was standing there blankly, she approached him.

“Wh-Why?”

When he answered in surprise at the sight of the girl who had come right in front of him, she said with worried golden eyes.

“You’ll catch a cold if you don’t wash quickly.”

Only then did he shiver at the cold energy rising from under the water. As she said, he might catch a cold in this summer if he didn’t wash quickly. Just when he was about to wash quickly and get out, he stiffened at the small touch that reached his body. The hand was wet and very cold, but why was the place where the hand touched feeling so flushed? When he looked down, he could see the girl putting her hand on his body and looking up at him.

“Is it hard to wash alone? Shall I wash you?”

The girl said that, whether she knew that two rounded hills and the pink fruits at the ends were all visible to him or not. Ever since he first saw a woman’s naked body, he couldn’t look at Velka as easily as before. Because the thoughts filled with flesh color kept tormenting his mind and obscuring his eyes. Even now, he couldn’t stop thinking about touching the girl’s soft skin as much as he wanted. Perhaps that’s why the affectionate gaze of the girl was a little uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he liked Velka, who was only looking at him, too much.

“Please do.”

He ended up acting spoiled from the bottom of his heart. Because he knew that Velka would gladly accept his spoiled behavior. The girl immediately dipped her hands into the cold valley water and wetted them. The soft touch of wiping his body thoroughly with her water-soaked hands was felt as it was. From the girl’s point of view, it seemed like she was wiping his body with a fairly strong force, but to him, it only felt a little stronger than usual.

“Aren’t you cold?”

“I’m cold, but I can bear it.”

While washing him, Usher was on edge, answering Velka, who was asking with concern, while also being conscious of the girl’s body that occasionally touched his. When the hills and the fruits at the ends occasionally brushed against each other, his desire seemed to wriggle and rise even in the cold valley water. But that feeling was only for a moment.

“Close your eyes, Usher.”

Perhaps thinking that she had finished wiping his body, Usher felt regret as the girl gathered her small hands to scoop up water, but he closed his eyes and waited for the cold water to pour over his body, and he could feel the water droplets patting his head. Although it was falling from a high place like valley water, the stream of water was not strong. The water that flowed down his body like the girl’s affectionate touch was, as expected, cold enough to make him panic if he hadn’t been nervous.

“Um, rather than doing it like this, wouldn’t it be better to scoop up a large amount of water with a gourd and pour it out like Velka did?”

“But aren’t you cold?”

He could understand that she was worried about him, but even so.

“I think it’s better to do it all at once and finish quickly.”

If he kept doing this, he felt like he would have to be hit with cold water for quite a while. Fortunately, Velka nodded and filled the gourd with water. Because of the difference in height between him and her, the girl’s body was exposed even more defenselessly as she raised her hand over her head. Had she only now noticed that he was gazing at her body? The girl, whose face was flushed, poured cold water on him. The place where they were standing after finishing their bath was in front of the hole that Usher often used to go in and out. While marveling at the fact that his and the girl’s hair had already dried and touching it, he asked her.

“You’re really going to come along even though I’m just getting my bag and leaving?”

Yes, after all, he was planning to quickly pack his bag and leave this village with Velka.

“You can’t go alone right now.”

But she stubbornly insisted on going with him. In the end, he couldn’t overcome the girl’s stubbornness and had to go down the hole together. And peeking out of the gap to see if anyone was there, he frowned at the particularly dark night village. All the clouds had covered the moon and stars that had been so bright just before coming here, and the front was pitch black so he couldn’t see anything. It seemed that even the moon had turned away from this unpleasant village. Since he couldn’t see ahead, Usher decided to slowly find the door by touching the wall of his house.

“Hold my hand tight.”

“Okay.”

He didn’t forget to tell the girl. Walking while touching the wall in a situation where he couldn’t see even an inch ahead, he felt like his house felt bigger than usual. There was no way that could be. How much more had he fumbled along the wall? Usher was finally able to feel the wall turning sideways. Now he had a sense of where the door was. However, the problem was that he had forgotten about the porch.

“Ugh!”

“Usher?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. Wait a moment.”

While groaning from hitting his shin on the corner of the porch, he entered the room and first looked for a candle to light. He wanted to quickly grab his bag and get out of the village, but it was difficult to find the bag he had carefully hidden. Fumbling around near where the candle had been, something bumped into his hand. Realizing that it was the candle he used, he immediately looked for the flint that he had placed nearby. After several mistakes and missed attempts, Usher finally succeeded in lighting the candle, but he froze at the chilling sound that he then heard.

-Kakakakakak!

It was the sound of something as hard as iron colliding rapidly. The sound was coming from the only window in this room, and unfortunately, the place that Usher had turned to find his bag was also there. It had a head like a huge mask, was twitching long antennae like a baton, rolling its large eyes, and rapidly colliding its sharp jaws. It was the head of a giant insect. It looked like a giant cricket or katydid, and it was clearly rejoicing.

The sound it was making while colliding its jaws sounded like laughter. More than anything, it was looking directly at him. Usher couldn’t even scream as he faced it. He felt like his throat had gone hoarse even before a scream could come out. Usher’s legs had already given out at that horrific and terrifying appearance. Soon, when it rushed towards him.

“Usher!!”

Velka’s voice was heard. A silence and darkness that seemed to stop his breath filled the room. The candle he had lit had dwindled, leaving only a faint scent.

“Just now! Just now!”

“Quiet.”

-Kakakak

Usher repeated the same words in terror, but he immediately swallowed his breath at the sound of its jaws grinding along with Velka’s words. He couldn’t see anything because the candle had been extinguished, but it was still in this room. Had it already heard them?

-Kigik?

The sound of dragging a hard, armor-like body across the floor could be heard. Just listening to that sound made his heart beat too fast, as if he had been running with all his might. Fear made the air feel heavy, and he felt like his body was being crushed. When had he forgotten to breathe? Had he even forgotten the passage of time? When he came to his senses, he could find golden eyes faintly shining in the moonlight that had entered through the window.

“Are we, alive?”

Usher opened his mouth blankly, coming to his senses at that gentle light. He thought he might die. If someone saw its appearance, they might think it was just a big insect, but it was something different. The problem wasn’t that it looked disgusting. What was contained in its eyes wasn’t the caution or hostility of the wild animals he occasionally encountered in the forest. What was in it was simple malice and joy. The fact that he could read such emotions from the inorganic eyes of an insect terrified Usher even more. To Usher, who was still terrified, Velka said in a calm and quiet voice.

“It wasn’t very smart. I think we barely avoided being discovered.”

Velka’s gaze was directed at the window where he had faced it. Following that gaze, there was nothing in the window where he had faced it. When it rushed towards him, Velka grabbed him and pulled him into her arms, then extinguished the candle. And they had climbed up somewhere, and now he saw that it was the table that they occasionally used to eat. He didn’t think that not tidying it up out of laziness would be so helpful, but the height wasn’t very high. Apparently, it had been enough to avoid it.

“Does that also live in this forest?”

However, Velka shook her head.

“That doesn’t listen to me. Maybe it’s fundamentally different from ordinary children.”

“…Are you talking about a monster?”

Monster, the criteria are arbitrary, but it was generally a word referring to creatures that were particularly hostile to humans and caused harm. The adventurer who had come to the village had said that there were many such dangerous creatures, but the existence of a monster he had faced for the first time was more frightening and terrifying than he had imagined.