The Dying Boy and the Flute-Playing Benefactor
"Haa... haa..."
So cold... and sleep keeps clawing at me...
Hunger and thirst ruled his body, but the pain was screaming so loud he couldn't move.
The bleeding... had stopped, mercifully, yet there was no hope in sight.
He leaned against the wall of the little cave and sank into thought.
How did it come to this...
I wanted to become the strongest knight.
I wanted to be the hero everyone looked up to.
But... reality was cruel.
He knew he mustn't fall asleep, yet his eyes kept sliding shut.
"So this is... where I... die..."
The boy finally lost consciousness, his head lolling forward.
Some time later....
"Woof woof!!!! Woof woof!!!"
Something was barking outside the cave.
"Screeeeeech!!!"
I woke to Hugin's thunderous morning cry, same as every day.
"Hugin... good morning again..."
"Skree!"
I sat up and Hati—shrunk down—came over and started licking my face.
Lick lick lick lick.
"Pfft... Hati, that tickles."
"Huff huff.... Woof woof!"
I got up and opened the door of the log cabin. A breathtaking view unfolded outside.
A pure white world, trees that looked like they had blossomed with white flowers, a vast blue sky, cotton-candy clouds and a sun draped in silk.
Ahh... this is what romance is all about.
I'd been here more than three months now, and even though I saw this scenery every single day, I never got tired of it!
And because I'd prepared so thoroughly for winter, the storehouse was overflowing with food and materials. My peace of mind was as wide and calm as the open sea.
Looking at how much I'd stockpiled, I did wonder if I'd overdone it... but more was always better than not enough.
Leaving the fairytale backdrop behind, I headed to the little outdoor shower I'd built on one side of the house and called for Blanc.
"Blanc, pour me some warm water."
"Pong~"
Blanc was an absurdly amazing spirit who could even produce hot water.
The only problem... was that she enthusiastically rubbed herself all over my body while I washed.
"Ghk! Blanc, that tickles."
"Pong!!! Pong!!!!!"
This little one was secretly... no, just straight-up a pervert.
Leaving the thoroughly satisfied Blanc behind, I ate some meat with the scenery as my side dish. After living on frozen meat all winter, I was craving something fresh.
Hmm... I'd been stuck here a long time. Maybe I should go hunting for a change of pace—get some fresh air while I was at it.
I'd seen animals wandering around even in winter before. Deer, bears, rabbits—plenty of variety. Time to take some of them down.
This time I wasn't using a throwing spear; I was going to hunt with a bow. I rummaged through the materials in my workshop.
I shaped a springy length of wood into a bow stave, then used the dried intestines I'd prepared while stockpiling food as a string. For the arrows I ground stones into points and fletched them with Hugin's black feathers.
I tested the bow by shooting a tree; the arrow sank in cleanly. After a bit of practice, Mastery and my own skill combined until I could handle the bow with real confidence.
Practice was done. Time to hunt for real.
Outside looked cold enough to freeze water solid, but to me it was just a cool breeze.
Still, atmosphere mattered, didn't it?
I swapped out of my everyday clothes, put on rawhide garments and a fur coat, and stepped outside.
"Hati, Hugin, Blanc~ Let's go out for a hunt and a stroll."
"Woof woof!" "Skree!" "Pong!"
We hadn't gone far down the mountain before I spotted a bear.
But... that bear was skin and bones.
I'd heard individuals that lost out in the competition for food ended up like that. They were also extremely aggressive.
"ROOOAAR!!!"
The moment the bear saw me it charged at terrifying speed. I whipped out the bow, drew the string, and loosed an arrow.
Twang!!! Thunk!!!
"Guurk!..."
Thud.
The arrow buried itself between the bear's eyes and it dropped dead on the spot.
I walked up to the carcass and pulled the arrow free from its skull.
"Aigoo... the arrow's ruined. And it doesn't look like there's much meat on it either..."
What a waste... Still, the pelt would be usable.
If I dried it properly and layered it on the bed, it would be perfect, right?
"Kids~ Go play around nearby. I'll take care of this."
"Woof woof!" "Skree!"
Hati and Hugin went bounding off like they were on an overdue outing, while Blanc stuck to me like glue.
"Pong~ Pong~"
Lately Blanc had been attaching herself even more aggressively, but whatever... getting closer was a good thing.
I hung the bear's carcass from a tree and skinned it.
After a while I had a clean pelt. As expected, there was barely any meat worth eating.
Still, getting a good bear pelt was a win.
That pleasant feeling lasted only a moment—I sensed multiple presences approaching from the surroundings.
"Kik!!!" "Kigi!!" "Kkeut-ki!"
Things were chittering and closing the distance.
I picked up my wooden sword and waited.
Whoosh!!
Something came flying—a rock. I threw up an Ice Shield and blocked it.
Thud!!
Looking at the stone embedded in the Ice Shield, whatever threw it had serious strength.
Before long the chittering creatures appeared.
"Snow... men?"
They were large, bulky, horned, and covered in shaggy hair—like some kind of ape-like humanoid.
"Kik?!!" "Kik-kik!!!" "Ki..kiik!!" "Kigi!"
They didn't seem to have any intelligence. The snowmen charged me immediately, but I already had my Ice Shield deployed.
"Kik?!"
Thud!! Thud!! Thud!!
They hammered away at it for all they were worth. It wouldn't do them any good.
While the snowmen milled about in confusion at the transparent ice walls, I coated my wooden sword with Sword Qi and wrapped it in wind.
Then I spun my body and swept the wooden sword horizontally. Blades of wind shot out toward the snowmen.
Slash!!
In an instant the ice shields vanished, and the circular wave of wind blades sliced through the snowmen, separating upper bodies from lower.
"Ki..." "Ki.." "Kk...." "Keugi..."
They didn't seem to understand what had just happened.
I examined the bisected corpses.
"Hmm... what are these things..."
Where had they come from? I'd never seen anything like them up on the mountain where my house was.
With creatures like this around, I needed to call the kids back.
I blew a sharp blast on the whistle.
"Screeeeech!"
"Hugin, have you seen Hati?"
"Skree!"
Hugin had come right away, but Hati was missing. When I asked, he said there was a cave nearby and Hati had gone that way.
"Why'd he go there?"
"Skreeee"
He... smelled blood?
"Hugin, can you lead me to that cave?"
"Skree"
I followed Hugin toward the cave. Hati's barking rang out, so I sprinted the rest of the way.
"Woof woof!! Woof woof!!!"
"Hati!! What's going on?"
Thankfully Hati was fine.
But... near the cave entrance lay about three of the snowmen I'd just fought, dead.
The wounds told me Hati had killed them.
With a body only the size of a large dog, he'd torn apart snowmen the size of grown men...
I'd been told the magic on Hati only shrank his size and left his strength intact, but seeing it like this was still incredible.
And the blood smell here wasn't from the snowmen?
"Hati, is there something inside?"
"Woof woof!"
I followed Hati deeper into the cave and found a boy slumped against the wall, unconscious.
"Kid!!! Wake up!!"
I rushed over and tried to rouse him, but shaking did nothing. Was he dead?
I quickly checked the pulse at his neck. There was a beat, but it was terribly weak.
He had a wound at his waist, so I cast basic Healing magic and carried him out of the cave.
His lips were blue—he was dying of hypothermia. I needed to warm him up fast.
"Blanc! Make hot water here!"
"Pong!"
I hastily dug a small pit, and Blanc filled it with hot water.
"Ugh.... ah..."
When I lowered the boy into the steaming water, color returned to his face and he made a sound. Good.
"Whew~ Thanks, Blanc."
"Pong~"
Once the crisis had passed, I finally got a look at the boy's clothes.
"Chain... mail?"
And it was way too big for him—didn't fit at all.
A knight's squire? But even squires didn't usually wear chain mail, did they?
I set aside the many questions and waited. Time passed.
The boy's complexion returned to normal, but he still didn't wake. I couldn't leave him here, so I decided to take him home.
Blanc dried the water from his clothes and body. I wrapped him tightly in the bear pelt I'd just taken and carried him back toward the house.
Slash!!!
"Ki, keurk..."
There were more snowmen on the way up, but Hugin spotted them early and sliced them in half.
"Screeeeech!"
"Thanks! Hugin."
A little while later... we made it home before the sun set.
I laid the boy on my bed and lit the fireplace.
When would this kid wake up?
Hmm... I still had some time, so I figured I should build myself another bed to sleep on.
After that I stripped off the boy's chain mail and fed him a thin gruel made from finely minced meat.
Luckily he moved his mouth for me...
I was absolutely not going to do any mouth-to-mouth nonsense.
And so the boy came to the cabin at the mountain peak, and several days passed.
In the dim night, the boy lying on the bed twitched his eyelids and opened his eyes.
...........................
"Ugh... wh-where..."
His head was ringing, and a crushing hunger and thirst hit him at once.
"Cough... where... is this?"
He turned his head and looked around.
Wood, a table, a fireplace... wooden walls... and in the corner a bow and piles of furs. Was this a hunter's house?
Looking more carefully, it was a beautiful log cabin straight out of a fairy tale.
But why was he here...
"....!!"
Right—those monkey-things had attacked him and he'd fled deep into the mountains, only to be wounded and hide in a cave.
He'd had no food or water left, and he'd thought he would freeze to death in the cold...
But he wasn't in the cave anymore. Someone must have saved him.
He tried to get up and look for his benefactor, but his body wouldn't move properly.
"Ugh... move..."
Trembling, he managed to haul himself upright and half-sit on the edge of the bed.
Just then a wolf came in through the small door.
"Woof? Woof woof!!"
"A w-wolf?!"
Fortunately the white wolf only barked at him and did nothing else.
When he fully stood, the wolf paced back and forth by the little door as if telling him to follow.
"You want me to... follow you?"
"Woof woof!!"
He opened the door after the wolf. It was freezing—winter night cold.
So he wrapped himself in the thick blanket from the bed and put on the fur slippers that had been left in the corner.
The slippers were considerably larger than his feet. His savior must be quite a large man.
He shuffled outside after the wolf and was astonished by what he saw.
Various wooden buildings stood around, and there was even a large fence...
How long had his benefactor lived here?
Setting the question aside, he followed the wolf through the night path until he heard the sound of a flute.
The flute melody was calm and beautiful.
He had heard flute music as a child, but never anything this lovely.
As he followed the wolf the flute grew closer, and when they reached a clearing the wolf ran straight to the person playing it.
In the moonlight he got a good look at the man—sky-blue hair, golden eyes, tall and broad-shouldered.
And... astonishingly handsome.
This had to be the one who had saved him.
"Haha, Hati, what are you doing here."
"Huff huff... Woof woof!"
He deliberately made noise with his footsteps as he approached.
The man had been playing with the white wolf; at the sound of footsteps he turned his head.
"Hm? Ah! You're awake? How are you feeling?"
His voice was warm and pleasant to hear.
The boy spoke to offer his thanks.
"I thank thee, benefactor. By thy grace I have been delivered from death."
The moment he heard the boy's voice, the man looked somehow flustered.
Then... staring at him with an incredulous expression, the man said:
"H-hao-che...?"