Empty Village
Empty Village
The giant Dragon's shadow retreated completely beyond the castle walls.
The monster beasts remained in the Lord's castle, taking up positions all over the walls. They were deployed at regular intervals as if standing guard, and they patrolled the area.
The Wolf Beast hovering near me periodically stole glances at me and growled; I couldn't tell if it was watching me or guarding me.
Probably both.
Since it's a Wolf Beast that serves the Wolf Four Heavenly Kings, it must be related to the one that attacked the village.
Even in the best-case scenario, it wasn't the type to think highly of me.
I forced my aching body up.
I tore down a curtain from between the ruined walls of the castle.
It was covered in dust, but after a light shake, it regained its original color; it was definitely a high-quality item.
"Please, use this to cover yourself for now."
The Lord's wife exposed her bare skin through her shredded dress. She was still trembling from the fear of having faced the Dragon.
The Lord's wife, Anemone, tried to act composed as she accepted the curtain to cover her shoulders.
"I will explain the situation."
Anemone's unfocused eyes turned toward me.
It looked as if she were seeing somewhere else, not here.
"The leader of the Demon Beast King's forces is the Dragon. It made me an offer, and I accepted it."
It was a pretty absurd offer.
"The offer was to become the King of humanity."
Anemone's lips quivered.
"First, I apologize for ending up under the Lord's enemy."
I told her the truth as it was.
My life was on the line, and I hadn't exactly served the Lord, so I didn't bow my head.
Anemone gripped the hem of the curtain with both hands. She looked up at me with a bloodless face and slowly shook her head.
"There is... nothing to apologize for."
Her voice was laced with extreme terror.
But there was no resentment toward me.
"You are not a knight of Fontaine, are you? So there is no need for you to walk on eggshells around me. Besides, you are now the King recognized by the Dragon. If anything, I should be the one bowing my head."
Her voice was cracked.
Her gaze remained fixed on the area beyond the ruined castle walls for a long time.
The flames that still hadn't gone out were consuming the castle, and the monster beasts were just avoiding the fire, seemingly content to watch until it burned out.
"Above all, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive right now."
Smoke rose up.
Anemone's gaze followed the smoke up before dropping abruptly.
"But could you leave me alone for a moment?"
Should I call it the composure befitting a Lord's wife?
I didn't go far, just in case something happened.
Hearing the Lord's wife, who had only shown a composed demeanor, wailing loudly made my chest feel heavy for no reason.
Drip. Drip-drip.
Water droplets fell through the cracks in the broken ceiling.
Before I knew it, rain began to fall from the dark clouds that had thickly covered the sky, growing heavier.
Not long after, massive rain clouds completely covered the sky, and the fire that had been swallowing the Lord's castle quickly subsided.
The sound of the heavy rain covered the world, and Anemone's scream-like sobbing could no longer be heard.
Drip.
A water droplet fell on my cheek.
No, a water droplet touched me.
A small, transparent lump of water.
"You..."
It was a Water Spirit.
The spirit shuddered right in front of my nose.
I couldn't understand what it was saying, but I could guess that it was trying to say something.
"Did Anna send you?"
The Water Spirit rippled its body.
There's no way this thing would leave its territory and come to my side for any reason other than Anna.
My gaze naturally turned toward the direction of the village. Along with a sigh, a feeling of longing welled up in a corner of my vision.
I never knew the day would come when I would harbor such feelings while living in this world.
I thought I would die lonely in this terrible, primitive Middle Ages fantasy world without missing anyone, but someone had already taken up residence in my mind.
Anna.
Is that kid still worried about me?
It's been three years; she should have forgotten by now.
Suddenly, my throat felt tight.
If there was anyone in this world I could call family, I would choose Anna without hesitation.
I didn't know if Anna thought of me that way, so I never told anyone, but seeing that she sent a spirit, it seemed she hadn't completely forgotten about me.
"Haa. This is troublesome."
I shouldn't have any lingering attachments.
The presence of Anna, which I had tried to bury, filled my mind.
Fairy Anna.
Spirit Summoner Anna.
Her talent was world-class, even by my standards.
She was just a child, but if she had stepped up, the Dragon might have avoided the Fontaine Lord's castle and destroyed another territory instead.
Even while dealing with the Demon Beast King's army, the assessment of Anna's talent remained unchanged.
If anything, it was being re-evaluated upward.
That's why it was troublesome.
'That Dragon. If it finds out about Anna's talent, it will definitely kill her.'
A talent that could become stronger than itself.
At the very least, a talent that could become equal.
The Dragon would never want to keep such a talent under its command.
The next day at lunch.
The Wolf Beast brought a deer in its mouth.
It gestured with its chin as if telling me to eat.
I gathered the castle's debris and started a fire.
I salvaged cooking utensils from the debris.
I cut, grilled, and seasoned the meat, then shared it with Anemone.
She, whose voice was hoarse from wailing for so long last night, refused to eat anything at all.
"Polica..."
Her parched lips muttered.
"Will he be okay?"
Sniff.
Thick tears fell down her cheeks from eyes I thought had run dry.
"The Prince... no, the Lord will be safe. I saw Sir Jake and the knights escape safely through the secret passage."
"But I saw the Four Heavenly Kings chasing after them. They definitely went to find my son."
Anemone's hands trembled.
I looked back at the Water Spirit.
"It's just a guess, but."
I held the bowl of meat out to Anemone again.
"The Lord will be safe."
"How do you know that?"
Anemone lifted her head, her eyes damp with tears, and glared at me.
"There are ways of knowing everything. Do you think I ran the Platinum Party for nothing? First, eat this. Tomorrow, I will speak to the Dragon."
I placed the bowl in front of her.
It was just the bare floor, but if she was going to stand on ceremony even in a place like this, I'd just leave her be.
The only value Anemone had right now was the fact that she was the Lord's wife and her connections to her family. It meant I could just put her in a room and ignore her, and it wouldn't matter.
"What are you going to say to it?"
I looked in the direction Polica would have headed.
The path to the neighboring territory.
On that path, there is a village.
The village I lived in.
The village where Anna is.
Since he must have arrived safely, that's why the Water Spirit flew to my side.
When I told her that if we went to that village, we could find out the whereabouts of her son, Anemone wiped her tears and ate the meat with her bare hands.
She must have been hungry, as she ate heartily.
I met the Dragon.
Outside the castle walls.
The village below the castle.
The Dragon was lying its massive body down in the village's central plaza.
It folded its wings, and its long, trailing tail curled around its body like a cat's.
Leaving the Wolf Beast behind, I approached the Dragon, and the Dragon lifted its head.
The Dragon's gaze looked down at me from a height several times higher than mine.
"[You have come.]"
"I have a request."
The Dragon's golden eyes narrowed.
"[You are bold. Why do you make a request after only one day?]"
"There is a child I want to bring here."
"[Do you have a child?]"
"Yes. I am concerned that the child might be stepped on by your massive footprints. May I bring the child here before you advance?"
The Dragon exhaled a massive puff of air, and the hot heat swept over my face.
"[Is that your request?]"
"Yes. I wish to follow your will, but I want to ease my worries beforehand."
It wasn't a lie.
If it didn't know about Anna's power, the Dragon wouldn't bother touching her.
Anna's talent was just a matter of the degree to which she could handle spirits. Anna herself was just an ordinary child. Until one saw directly how she handled spirits, no one could know what kind of talent she possessed.
Bring her here before becoming hostile.
I made that my top priority.
"[Very well. Go. King of humanity. Bring your child and return.]"
Permission was granted.
"Thank you."
"[I trust you will handle it wisely.]"
Even though I knew the Dragon couldn't possibly know, a chill ran down my spine for no reason.
I left the Lord's castle with Anemone and the knights.
The knights were battered in body and mind from the battle with the monster beasts, but their will to protect Anemone was firm.
Anemone looked back at the ruined castle walls for a long time from atop her horse.
She didn't say a word.
Carrying the heavy atmosphere, the Wolf Beast followed us closely.
How much time had passed?
The village began to come into view.
The village was quiet.
Even from a distance, not a single shadow of a person could be seen, and by now, someone should have been shouting about our presence in every direction.
There were no clouds of smoke from preparing meals, and no one working in the fields.
The village was completely empty.
Just in case they might be hiding somewhere in the village, Anemone and the knights scattered and began to search the village.
I looked around the village chief's house and then headed to the outskirts of the village.
The hunter's house.
The place where I lived.
The door was closed.
Even though it was a door that had no way to lock other than with a wooden block from behind the door.
I drew my dagger, broke the lock, and went inside.
There was no one inside.
It was exactly as it used to be.
If there was one thing that had changed, it was that the wardrobe was filled with women's clothes.
I unfolded the clothes.
"You've grown a lot."
Thinking that she had grown as much as the clothing size, I felt both bitter and proud.
Is this what a father's heart feels like?
A stone was placed on the dining table.
I picked up the parchment that was pinned under the stone.