The Scent of Old Blood
The monster lay collapsed on the ground. When I turned away from the corpse, the man I had seen earlier was still there.
"Hhk—hhiiik!"
The beast must have terrified him half to death. Even with it already dead, the man trembled uncontrollably. He was in bad shape. The wound on his leg would turn critical if I didn't treat it immediately.
"I'll come closer once you've calmed down. I have no intention of hurting you, so please take a breath and talk to me."
I spoke evenly and stayed where I was. I had seen plenty of wounded people during my years as a monster hunter. Better this than rushing in and making him thrash until the wound tore wider.
After a while, the man began to settle. His ragged breathing eased, and the clouded light in his eyes came back into focus. He was finally coming to his senses.
"S-sir, I'm sorry. You saved my life, and I just—I was so frightened."
"It's fine. Anyone would be."
"Yes, I'm truly sor—ugh!"
He must have only just registered the pain in his leg. He clutched at it, groaning.
"I'll stop the bleeding for now, then we need to get you to a nearby village. Is there a doctor there?"
"N-not a doctor, but there's an apothecary."
"Then that's where we'll go."
I tore a strip from the clothes I was wearing and bound the severed part of his leg with quick, practiced hands. An injury like this usually killed people through blood loss. His face was already growing paler by the second.
"I'm going to carry you. Try to bear the pain."
When I hoisted him onto my back, he let out a short groan.
"Just point me in the right direction."
"Th-this way."
I took the direction he indicated and immediately picked up speed. We cut through brush and trees, the wind raking across my face and whipping my hair back. My stride was incomparably faster than it used to be.
"Hwaak!"
The man on my back yelped and ducked his head. I never would have believed that simply learning to handle mana could change a body's performance this much. The image I had always carried of mages as frail scholars who did nothing but cast spells crumbled in a single instant. A mage's inborn physique existed beyond the realm of ordinary humans.
Then again, these were people whose lifespans stretched so far you couldn't see the end of them. If they aged differently from ordinary folk, it stood to reason their bodies would perform differently too.
Slowing aging and extending lifespan... that has to be thanks to mana.
Mana didn't just coat the skin. It wrapped around the organs inside as well, which meant the organs themselves aged more slowly because of it.
What even is mana, really?
Zorbanof had said mana was something you were born with. But what caused someone to be born with it? I had no idea. Ask Zorbanof and you would only get the same answer: you either had it or you didn't.
I, on the other hand, hadn't been born with mana at all. I had gained it through contact with a monster, and even that, it turned out, was only because of a Primordial Fragment. A far cry from innate talent. Was mana even truly inborn to begin with?
The Primordial Mage.
The one said to be the origin of every mage. If he was the beginning of mages, then the very definition of a mage started with him — which meant mana itself had begun then, too, didn't it?
If only I were smarter.
Unfortunately, a head like mine wasn't going to produce any answers. The best I could manage was a bit of idle speculation.
"S-sir, we're here."
Before I knew it, we had arrived at the place he had described. A small village sat there, nestled against the mountain — a mountain village, built with its back to the slopes. As I came down the hillside path, a wall came into view.
"Going around to the entrance will take too long. I'm jumping the wall."
Looking at the man's condition, there was no time to take the long way. I tensed my legs with him still on my back, and mana moved with them. I kicked off the ground with that gathered power and cleared several meters as if they were nothing.
Thud—
I landed, and a gust of dust kicked up around us.
"Kyaa?!"
A woman who had been passing in front of the wall startled and dropped to the ground. The moment she saw me, her face filled with alarm and she started gathering her things.
"An o-outsider."
"Mele, it's me!"
The man on my back called her name. Mele spotted him a beat later, and her expression went wide with shock.
"Carlson? What are you doing back there?"
"I didn't notice the monster. It ambushed me. This man saved me—ugh!"
"That's enough talking. We need to get to the apothecary. Mele, could you show us the way?"
"Ah—yes."
Mele hurried us inside. The apothecary wasn't far. The villagers were already stirring, unsettled by the outsider who had come in from beyond the walls.
"Mister, Carlson's leg got torn up by a monster!"
"What?"
The moment we stepped into the apothecary, Mele explained the situation for us. Thanks to that, I was able to hand Carlson over to the apothecary and step back out. I had saved a life, at least.
The thought that I had done a good deed had barely formed when I felt eyes on me. Villagers, drawn by the commotion. Outsiders must not come through here often. Then again, this deep in the mountains, that made sense. No reason to linger somewhere like this. I should get going soon.
"Um."
The moment that thought crossed my mind, a voice came from behind me. It was Mele, the one who had just guided us to the apothecary. A simple country girl. That was the impression she gave, nothing more.
"Thank you for saving Carlson."
"Don't mention it. It's what a monster hunter is supposed to do."
"You're a monster hunter?"
"Yes. As you can see."
Mele blinked. Ah. Right. I hadn't cut my hair or shaved in two years. No wonder she had been wary when she first saw me.
I couldn't even argue if someone mistook me for a bandit.
I needed to deal with the hair and the beard first.
"Um, well... Carlson insisted I treat you to a meal in his place. He and I have been friends for a long time."
"A meal?"
The moment she mentioned food, my stomach growled. Zorbanof had said he himself didn't need to eat. He maintained a constant supply of energy by constructing a world, or so he had put it. Because of that, the food he gave me had only the barest hint of flavor. It felt like eating just to keep from dying.
It's been a year since I last had a proper meal.
Honestly, I wanted someone else's cooking. Before I knew it, temptation had won and I was nodding. I might have become a mage, but I was still an apprentice — a long way from projecting the kind of dignity other mages carried.
"And... would it be possible to borrow a bath?"
"Yes, of course. I think that would be for the best, honestly. Village chief, that's all right, isn't it?"
The village chief was an elderly man of considerable years. He glanced at me, then nodded.
"You saved one of our own. It's only proper. But you'll need to leave this village before dawn tomorrow."
Was there something going on inside the village? I was planning to get back to the city of Laoren as soon as I could anyway. The distance was considerable. I didn't have time to linger.
"Yes. I intend to leave today."
"I'd appreciate that."
With that, the old man turned and went back inside.
Not many young people here.
The village was almost entirely women and the elderly.
"Our house is this way."
The sun had begun to sink along the ridgeline. The house Mele led me to sat somewhere the sunset showed itself well. When she opened the door, a noisy clamor spilled out from inside. Children.
"Big sis!"
"Sis, he caused trouble again! Look at this!"
"Your siblings?"
"Ah, yes. Father's supposed to come tomorrow, so it's just us today."
No adults in the house. They were far too unguarded. Then again, showing suspicion toward someone who had just run a long way with an injured man on his back wouldn't have been proper either.
"The bath is over that way. Would you like to wash up?"
"I was thinking of cutting my hair and shaving as well, if that's all right."
"Ah, yes. The tools Father uses when he tidies himself up are in the bath."
Kind. You could feel the warmth of a country village in it. I thanked her and stepped into the bath.
The face reflected in the water was, without question, a bandit's. I cut the bangs that had been covering my face, then the hair in the back. After a shave, I finally looked like a proper human being again. It had been a long time since I'd shaved, but I didn't nick myself. The mana wrapped faintly around my body protected the skin.
Convenient.
I had heard that past a certain level, even hair and beards stopped growing much. I was starting to understand just how convenient it was to be a mage.
I washed thoroughly and came out feeling refreshed. It felt like the first time in ages I had cleaned myself like a human being. A set of clothes was waiting outside — adult-sized, probably her father's. They were a little roomy. The man must have had a solid build.
"Mele."
"Ah, you're ou— wait. Wh-who...?"
The moment Mele saw me, her face went blank with confusion.
"Come to think of it, I never even told you my name. It's Haren."
When I introduced myself, her face flushed red and she let out a small cough. Then her eyes darted around and she hid her face behind the tray she was holding.
"I-it's nothing special, but the food is ready. Shall we?"
"Yes. I could smell it from here. I'm already hungry."
Unlike before, Mele headed for the kitchen at a quick pace. I followed, and the noisy cluster of children came into view. One of them took one look at me and let out a shout.
"A handsome big brother!"
"Meli! Don't point at people!"
"Ehh."
The one getting scolded was, without a doubt, the youngest.
"This is the man who helped Carlson. Everyone, say hello."
"Hello."
"Hello, handsome mister. Please be good friends with my sister."
"Meli!"
The youngest was a sharp one. The second child, a boy, looked a bit more wary by comparison. It was a good household.
"Well then, let's eat. And I'll say it again — thank you so much for saving Carlson."
"Of course. We help each other. That's how you live."
I sat down at the table and found a generous spread waiting. Judging by the look of it, Mele had gone out of her way to put in extra effort. She would be collecting her share from Carlson later, no doubt.
I dipped a piece of bread into the warm soup and took a bite, and a sense of fullness rose through me all at once. I was moved. This was what a real meal tasted like.
As I started eating with unseemly haste, Mele's face lit up with quiet pride. She was the one who had prepared this meal, then.
"This is really delicious."
"I'm glad. This is the first time I've ever served a meal to an outsider."
"I wish every meal was like this!"
"Meli? Big sis always makes tasty food for you, doesn't she?"
So she really had gone overboard this time. For a country household, this would have been quite a strain.
We had been eating with that kind of enthusiasm when a bell started ringing from outside.
Clang, clang, clang, clang—
Mele flinched and stood up from her seat. I started to rise as well, wondering what it was, but she held up a hand.
"...It sounds like Father's group is back. He was supposed to arrive tomorrow morning. He's early."
"Is that so?"
That must have been why the village chief had asked me to leave before morning. Things had gotten a little tangled.
"Just a moment. I'll go out and explain first."
Mele hurried outside. It was their family business. No need for me to get involved. I decided to just keep eating quietly.
Until the front door slammed open.
Thud—
I looked toward the door, still working a bone clean between my teeth. The children had all gone still, holding their breath. Whatever this was, it did not feel like a father coming home.
A moment later, a man of enormous build appeared in the doorway.
"A guest, is it."
The first thing that hit me when I faced him was the smell of blood. Not fresh — a thick, concentrated stench that had been accumulating for a long, long time.