Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Secluded Village
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"Isn't this something I'm seeing wrong?"
Rubbing his eyes and looking again, the scene before him didn't change.
A fence made of upright logs and log cabins gathered inside it.
It was unmistakably the sight of a village.
"People living all the way out here."
In a world where yetis roamed the snow-covered mountains, Kang Jin-hyuk had assumed any inhabitants would be from another world entirely.
As Kang Jin-hyuk quickened his steps with an excited expression, Lucia reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
"What are you thinking?"
"Huh?"
"What made you charge in without a second thought?"
"I was just surprised to see people..."
"And what makes you so sure they're people?"
Kang Jin-hyuk didn't immediately grasp what Lucia meant.
If they weren't people building and living in houses, then what else could they be?
As he thought that, his eyes caught sight of Lucia's ears.
Pointed ears that proved she was a half-elf, not human. Only then did Kang Jin-hyuk realize this wasn't the world he knew.
"If they're not people, then maybe monsters...?"
"No, building houses and fences like that rules out monsters."
Lucia had never seen a monster species that chopped down trees to build houses and fences.
The best living spaces monsters managed were forests or caves.
Monsters driven more by instinct than reason, with limited intelligence, wouldn't live in a well-organized village like this.
"If they're not monsters, then we don't need to be so on guard."
Whether elves or dwarves, all the non-human races Kang Jin-hyuk had encountered so far could be reasoned with.
As a result, he had almost no wariness toward other races.
Seeing his reaction, Lucia thought he sure had it easy.
As an adventurer who'd faced all sorts of races, she couldn't relate at all.
"With plenty of good land elsewhere, these folks chose to build a village in this barren place. That means they're mostly isolationist."
"So what's wrong with that?"
"It means outsiders like us might be enemies to them."
There were plenty of villages that attacked outsiders just for being outsiders, even if they meant no harm.
The village at the foot of the mountain expressed its refusal to let anyone in with that fence, just like those others.
"With firewood hard to come by, why else build a fence that dense?"
"Because they're scared of yetis?"
"..."
Lucia had to admit there was merit to Kang Jin-hyuk's words.
They themselves had barely escaped with their lives from a yeti swarm.
The people settled here must have faced even more yetis.
That made the fence plenty understandable.
"Then let's just go up to the fence. We'll decide what to do based on how they react."
Kang Jin-hyuk agreed with Lucia's suggestion.
Hearing her out, he realized charging in casually would be reckless.
Keeping the worst in mind, he headed down toward the base of the mountain.
Perhaps to avoid avalanches, the village was set a good distance from the slope.
No one on patrol, apparently—no one showed up even as they neared the fence.
But no patrols didn't mean lax defenses.
As Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia reached the fence, an arrow flew from a small hole in it.
It embedded in the ground at his feet—a warning shot, not meant to kill.
Lucia could have countered instantly but didn't draw her bow.
Pulling a weapon here would only heighten their suspicion.
"Who are you!"
Thanks to the necklace from the dwarf, Kang Jin-hyuk understood the unfamiliar language.
"Speaking the Gordian continent's tongue—guess we're pretty far north."
"Gordian? Where's that?"
"I just said, the northern continent."
No use explaining to Kang Jin-hyuk, who'd never seen a map of this world.
He wanted more details, but the arrow's shooter didn't allow it.
"I asked who you are! Answer quickly!"
With the shout came another arrow, this one grazing perilously close to Kang Jin-hyuk's cheek.
"Pretty confident in your archery, huh."
The aim was too deliberate for a miss.
As Kang Jin-hyuk expressed admiration, Lucia scoffed in disbelief.
"That's nothing."
Seeing Lucia and Kang Jin-hyuk chatting casually after two warnings infuriated the shooter.
'Two warnings, and they're still yapping?'
With just two of them, killing one would still leave someone to question.
Deciding that, the shooter drew the bowstring in earnest.
Unlike the prior warnings, this aimed for a vital spot—one shot kill.
'Better take the man first.'
Resolved, the shooter released.
The arrow shot through the hole straight for Kang Jin-hyuk's forehead at high speed.
"Huh...?"
When the confidently loosed arrow was caught between two fingers short of its target, the shooter suspected a nightmare.
Pinching his cheek changed nothing—it wasn't a dream.
"This one didn't feel like a warning."
Kang Jin-hyuk tossed the arrow to the ground casually.
"They tried to kill us first, so fighting back would be self-defense, right?"
"Yeah, yeah."
Lucia drew her bow as if she'd been waiting.
Nocking and drawing the arrow happened in a blink, too fast to follow.
"This is how you handle a bow."
As if to say watch and learn, her arrow passed through the hole and precisely struck the shooter's bow.
The hit bow snapped like a dry twig.
"N-No way."
Not something he could handle alone.
He resolved to alert the village and turned to run—but too late.
Kang Jin-hyuk, who should have been beyond the fence, was already inside.
Right in front of him.
"Eek!"
Kang Jin-hyuk looked down at the figure who yelped and collapsed in fright with keen interest.
"Huh, the voice sounded young. You're really just a kid."
Hiding in the fence and shooting arrows was a boy in his early teens with wolf ears sprouting from his head.
"A kid trying to kill people without fear? Sheesh."
"Don't call me a kid...!"
The young beastkin vented his rage at Kang Jin-hyuk, who muttered about how the world had gone to the dogs.
"I'm a full-fledged warrior who's completed the coming-of-age rite!"
Drawing a dagger, the young beastkin bared his fangs like a wolf.
The "kid" remark clearly stung; his earlier fear vanished.
"Raaah!"
He lunged at Kang Jin-hyuk, thrusting the dagger hand forward.
But against someone who'd blocked arrows, a dagger was useless.
Kang Jin-hyuk flicked his middle finger like a knuckle rap, sending the dagger flying uselessly.
The blade snapped in two mid-flight, beyond salvage.
Undeterred, the now-disarmed young beastkin used his elongated claws as weapons.
"I'll give you points for courage, but pick your opponent."
Arrows didn't work, dagger bounced—now claws?
Kang Jin-hyuk found it so absurd he couldn't even smirk.
"Hup."
He twisted aside, effortlessly dodging.
Then he grabbed the young beastkin's collar and slammed him to the ground.
He'd held back, but hitting hard earth back-first was still a shock.
"Guh!"
Kang Jin-hyuk pinned him with an arm to prevent rising.
"Surrender?"
His tone was as playful as an uncle teasing a nephew—no seriousness at all.
The joking voice and expression wounded the young beastkin's pride deeply.
"Ugh!"
He bit down hard on Kang Jin-hyuk's pinning arm.
The developed jaw strength and sharp fangs caused pain enough to make Kang Jin-hyuk tear up, forgetting his age.
Slipping free, the young beastkin stuck out his tongue.
"Like I'd surrender to a loser like you! Idiot!"
"That little brat..."
How to straighten out this damn kid's attitude?
He didn't need to find the answer himself.
As the young beastkin backed away from Kang Jin-hyuk, he took a solid rap to the crown of his head.
"Ow!"
The hand that delivered the knuckle rap grabbed his head and forced a bow.
"Our son has been terribly rude."
Bowing alongside the boy was a middle-aged male beastkin with a thick beard.
"And you are?"
"I'm Silba, the village chief."
Silba, declaring his name, was accompanied by the village's able-bodied men.
Some held swords and spears, others farm tools like pickaxes and rakes.
Clearly not a welcoming atmosphere.
"That's some apology—with that hostile vibe."
They looked ready for a fight, so Kang Jin-hyuk stayed alert, facing them.
"Don't misunderstand. We're not here to fight you."
"Coming armed and saying that—who'd believe you?"
Hearing Kang Jin-hyuk, Silba raised a hand, signaling the villagers.
Reluctantly, they lowered their weapons one by one.
"Satisfied?"
Silba was at least reasonable.
Kang Jin-hyuk had no intent to fight either, so he eased his guard.
"If you wish, I can show you around the village. Tell your companion outside to come in too."
"No need. Who wants a tour of some cramped village."
Lucia, who'd slipped in unnoticed, flatly refused Silba's offer.
The villagers frowned openly at her rudeness.
"Suspicious outsiders like you—letting us in means you want something, right?"
Lucia's words hit home; Silba's eyebrow twitched.
"...Sharp one, aren't you."
"I've been around this world long enough."
"And eaten plenty with those years."
Kang Jin-hyuk paid for the needless jab with an elbow to his solar plexus.
"Guhk!"
Pain shot through his bones, bending his back at a right angle.
"Heh heh."
The young beastkin who'd tangled with Kang Jin-hyuk snickered at the sight.
That grating laugh tickled Kang Jin-hyuk's nerves.