Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Late into the night, a certain mercenary group was in the middle of a drinking party at the Red Moon Inn.
Their business in the Central City had gone better than expected, allowing them to make a large profit.
Since they would soon be leaving the Central Empire and heading to the next town, it was also a moment of celebration before a harsh journey.
If not now, there might not be another chance. Proper rest improved morale.
The leader of the mercenary group, Beorn, smiled and asked the newcomer sitting next to him.
“Not bad. What kind of drink is this?”
“Ah, that is called beer.”
“You idiot! That’s not what I asked!”
“Ugh!”
The newcomer still lacked experience and awareness. The man beside him smacked him on the head.
Beorn’s expression did not change. As if it were natural, he maintained a relaxed smile and turned his gaze toward his subordinates.
“Tch, it seems I failed to properly train the newcomers! Let me answer instead!”
“Fine. Go ahead.”
“This is a victory drink, sir! It carries all the effort and hardship we endured in the Central City!”
“Oh. A victory drink, is it.”
Beorn swirled the golden liquid inside his wooden cup.
Indeed, the veteran’s answer was different. Satisfied, he raised his cup high.
A toast.
“I see. That makes sense. This is a celebration of our success in the Central City, after all. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, sir!”
At his signal, everyone raised their cups.
With a dull clink, wooden cups collided. After a brief toast, Beorn downed his drink in one go.
A drinking style befitting the leader of mercenaries.
“Ha!”
He set the cup down and wiped his mouth. Then, with slightly hazy eyes, he scanned the group.
His gaze was half-lazy, half-sharp. As if something displeased him, even though he was smiling.
“Now that I think about it, there seems to be an empty seat. Did something happen?”
“It looks like Edwin and a few others took women back to their rooms.”
“Women?”
Beorn’s expression changed for a moment. He seemed to be calculating something seriously.
Then.
“Should we call them and give them a lesson?”
“No, leave it.”
After finishing his calculation, Beorn waved his hand with a thin smile.
“Talith. We’re leaving the Central City tomorrow morning, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Those women they brought in, sell them all to a slave trader.”
I had a dream.
Or maybe it was reality.
That day too, I killed and ate an innocent person. The reason? There was none. I was just hungry.
Like they didn’t want to die, I also wanted to live. The truth was, I didn’t really want to kill them either. A thought I could never tell anyone.
In the dream, I walked through a blood-stained alley. It was all the blood of those I had killed.
In the pool of blood, my reflection faintly appeared.
A white monster with blood at the corners of its mouth.
Whose voice did I imitate yesterday to lure a human?
Driven by unbearable hunger, I once again sang to someone’s weakness.
I told them they couldn’t ignore this voice. That they couldn’t help but come closer to this form.
I would show people only their most painful memories when they came near the back alley. That was the version of me reflected in the dream.
The white monster lured humans deep into the alley, and those who were enchanted by it stepped further into darkness.
I grabbed someone trying to go deeper into the alley.
Don’t go that way. That thing ahead is not what you think it is.
But he shook off my hand and walked forward. He probably knew it too, deep down. He was just trying to deny it.
Maybe even if he died, he wanted to meet the person he remembered just once.
And what followed was exactly what I expected.
The white monster brutally killed the man who came to it.
That was where the dream ended.
I woke up feeling a cold surface beneath me.
Wait. Cold floor?
“….”
It was an unfamiliar ceiling.
Where I woke up was neither a warm room nor a soft bed.
It was dark, damp, and far colder than that.
The cold stone floor pressed against my skin. The lack of sound from outside suggested I was underground. I slowly looked around.
“Hey… boss. Are we really okay doing this? What if the knight order catches us…”
“It’s fine. As long as you don’t get caught, it’s legal. And what are they going to do if we do get caught? We’re leaving before sunrise anyway.”
“I guess so?”
“Yeah. We just need to make a big score before we leave. The knight order is already busy with those missing persons cases in the back alleys. Perfect timing.”
It was a damp, unpleasant prison. Moss-covered stone walls and iron bars surrounded me.
Since I was tied up, I had no immediate options. I listened to the voices outside.
“So what did you feed that woman? The white-haired one. How did you bring her here without her noticing?”
“Huh? We didn’t feed her anything. She was just asleep. In a bed.”
“Asleep in a bed? Ha! What a crazy woman.”
Well.
That probably wasn’t about me.
Anyway, I understood the situation. I had been kidnapped while sleeping in the room I took last night.
Looking beyond the iron bars, there were others chained up as well. Some even had slave marks.
A slave trader?
A reasonable conclusion. If they kidnapped me for profit, there weren’t many other possibilities.
I slowly sat up, feeling the restraints on my hands and feet.
I was not the only one in the cell. Others were unconscious, likely drugged. Only I was awake.
I turned my head slightly and made eye contact with a man. Not bald. Just some stranger.
“Oh? You’re awake? You should’ve stayed asleep.”
“…”
“You got kidnapped, you know that?”
I nodded.
Anyone would understand the situation upon waking up tied like this in an unknown place.
“Seriously… you get kidnapped and you’re this calm?”
“…?”
“Hey, are you ignoring me?”
I didn’t really know what reaction he wanted. Was I supposed to act scared? I wasn’t good at acting, so I didn’t bother.
I looked at his face. He was frowning deeply, clearly irritated.
“You still don’t get it. You’re being sold at a slave auction.”
He pulled out a dagger and pressed it near my face. Probably not actually planning to stab me. It would lower my value.
So it wasn’t very threatening.
Besides, I don’t die from being stabbed.
But since I should probably give him some reaction, I decided to cooperate.
“I’m scared.”
I had heard humans are supposed to get scared when a knife is held to their face. That was probably what he wanted.
For realism, I even shook my body slightly.
Shake, shake.
I wasn’t sure if this was correct, so I kept moving. The man’s face turned bright red instead.
“You little bastard…!”
Before he could swing the knife, someone stopped him.
“Hey, that’s enough.”
It was someone who seemed to be his superior.
“You even know how much a twenty-year-old woman is worth? What if the boss finds out?”
“Tch. Damn it.”
The man clicked his tongue and stepped back.
So he wasn’t going to stab me after all. That was good. Blood stains are annoying to clean, especially on a white uniform.
Because of that, I didn’t really feel like killing him.
“You’ll regret this.”
“….”
He left while still threatening me.
I shook my body again in response. Not because I was scared, but because his reaction was interesting.
It was surprisingly entertaining how small movements triggered such reactions.
After he left, only his superior remained.
He watched me silently.
The silence grew heavy. I started thinking about leaving.
I might be able to break this if I put a little strength into it.
I applied force to my bound hands.
Bang.
The restraints snapped.
Easier than expected.
The man’s expression changed instantly.
“You… what are you?!”
Finally, some reaction.
I stood up and broke my leg restraints as well.
He was staring at me now.
“Adrian.”
I called his name.
He looked shocked, as if wondering how I knew it.
I had no intention of telling him. He would forget everything anyway.
“Two years ago, your lover died. You still haven’t recovered.”
“Ho… how do you know that…”
I bent the iron bars and stepped out of the cell. Adrian backed away in fear.
He tried to run, but his body wouldn’t move.
So I restrained him too.
I walked toward him slowly. With each step, his fear deepened.
This might actually be fun.
“Stay away!”
He trembled violently.
Much more natural than my fake shaking earlier. So that’s how trained reactions look.
When I reached him, I touched his cheek and forced eye contact.
“You’re lucky. I’m not hungry today.”
His strength drained instantly as illusion took hold.
He would forget me soon.
I gently closed his eyes.
He was probably dreaming now.
Reuniting with his dead lover.
I was slightly curious, but I had no interest in invading dreams.
I turned away without hesitation.
Adrian collapsed behind me.
“Have a good dream.”
I don’t know when you’ll wake up again.