Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Abandoned Village
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“…Fuck, this is driving me crazy.”
Berik muttered as he barely held his trembling body together. It had been fine to set off boldly on horseback, but the biting winter night wind was far more vicious than he’d imagined. If he’d walked instead, it wouldn’t have been this bad.
“The bastards who stole our stuff are dead meat if we catch them. Ugh. If we’d come by carriage, huh? It wouldn’t be this damn cold, right?”
“If we’d had a carriage, we wouldn’t have come out here in the first place.”
“Oh. Yeah, true.”
Berik sniffled nonstop, as if he hadn’t considered that. Ian turned back to the spot where they’d turned the carriage around and scanned the surroundings. The only thing illuminating the area was the bright moonlight.
“Berik. Where exactly did you first see that dog?”
“A little ways up there. I’d gone off to take care of business. Huh. But how come? I didn’t bring a lantern.”
Ian blinked at his words, as if to say a Mana User had nothing to worry about.
Ziiing.
“Don’t fall behind. Stick close. It’s dark.”
“You can do that too?”
“It’s basic of the basics. I’m just condensing mana and holding it.”
“Damn, then why’ve you been using lanterns all this time?!”
“…If you have a lantern, you use the lantern. I thought you were only weak to heat, but you’re weak to cold too. I can tell from all your nonstop bullshit.”
Ian led the way, holding the condensed mana. Bright light lingered and faded wherever his footsteps touched. In the sleeping forest, aside from the rustling of wind through the trees, not even the cry of a common cuckoo could be heard.
“Around here! This is the spot.”
“Mm.”
When they reached the familiar place, Berik cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted.
“You dog bastard! Come out! Let’s finish that talk from earlier!”
But all that returned was a feeble echo. Ian looked down the opposite side of the hill they’d climbed and gestured.
“Looks like we should head into the village.”
“Into the village? Yeah. Let’s get out of this wind.”
A small path led straight into the village. If the dog lived there, it could have come up this way without passing the carriage road. Ian descended without hesitation, and Berik quickly followed.
Swish.
Ian and Berik paused upon entering the village, holding their breath at the eerie atmosphere. It felt like the slightest sound would wake the villagers any second.
It didn’t seem like a long-abandoned village at all, thanks to how well-maintained it was.
“No one lives here, right?”
“Yeah. They said it was too hard to demolish, so they left it be. But why are you whispering like that?”
“Dunno. Feels like we’re breaking and entering.”
The Magic Department had ruled it a collective death by food poisoning. Sure enough, there were no signs of battle or attack anywhere in the village.
“Berik.”
“Yeah?”
After circling about half the village, Ian stopped in front of a single-story cottage. It was a small house exuding a cozy feel. Ian nodded toward it.
“Go inside.”
“Me? In there?”
“You want me to?”
Ugh. If he says go, what choice is there?
Berik gripped his sword and stepped into the yard. He glanced back at Ian as he grabbed the door handle.
“But why this place? Gimme a reason at least.”
Ian elegantly nodded and looked down at his own feet. There was an additional small door that a little animal could pass through freely.
“This is the first house with a pet door.”
“Okay. Got it. Perfect size for that mutt. Open it?”
“Be careful. It’s suspicious.”
Creeeak!
Despite Ian’s warning, Berik flung the door open with all his might. He thrust out his sword in a defensive stance, but it was emptily silent—disappointingly so.
“Nothing here?”
“Let’s check it out. We’ll find something if we search around.”
Berik plopped down on the sofa and glanced around the house. No heat, but still spotless. Then he noticed a photo hanging on the wall. A white-haired old man and a blue-haired boy grinning widely.
“Ian. Look at this. Must be the people who lived here.”
Ian narrowed his eyes and frowned. Leaving aside the rare blue hair, weren’t those ears unusually pointed? From their clothing and overall appearance…
-You bastards!
“Gyaah!”
A sudden voice, unfamiliar yet familiar, rang out. Berik jolted up in shock, and Ian calmly turned around. A dog sat there boldly.
-How dare you barge into someone’s home like this, you rude intruders!
“Could you make some noise before showing up? Huh?”
-What a long tongue on such impudent trespassers!
Ian noticed the voice sounded oddly youthful. He set the photo on the table and called to the dog.
“Are you the divine beast who lives here? Those people in the photo seem like your owners—quite the heartwarming sight.”
The dog kept a stern expression, unmoving. But it couldn’t hide its wagging tail.
“I apologize for the rudeness earlier in the day.”
“I’m the one who got bit, so why are we apologizing?”
“I heard you wanted some time. Do you have a favor to ask? I have questions for you too. Could be meaningful for both of us.”
Ian lightly ignored Berik and made his proposal. The dog, who had been listening silently, slowly moved, its shadow stretching in the moonlight.
‘…A human shadow.’
Dog in form, but human in shadow.
Ian realized the situation was more complicated than expected. It wasn’t a divine beast or a spell on the dog itself—a soul was possessing it.
-Before that, I have something to confirm. What’s your connection to the Magic Department?
The tone dripped with hostility at the mention of Magic Department. Before Berik could speak, Ian cut in.
“I’m a Mana User, but not with the Magic Department. If anything, I’m walking a path opposed to theirs.”
The dog’s eyes narrowed, as if the very fact of being a Mana User irked it. Ian deliberately held up the photo to shift the topic.
“By chance, are your owners from Astana?”
When hostility peaked, it was key to find an opening. He hadn’t missed the tail wag at the mention of owners.
-You know of Astana!?
At the direct mention, the dog’s eyes went wide. It seemed surprised that someone in Bariel knew of Astana.
“Yes. The blue hair and attire gave it away. It’s famous as a beautiful land—I’ve always wanted to visit.”
The tail wagged even more vigorously.
Easier to handle than expected.
“They live in canyons so remote they’re called the world’s end, leisurely as clouds and natural as the wind—is that true?”
-True! You know your stuff!
The dog couldn’t hide its excitement, hopping up and down. Before it knew it, it had jumped onto Ian’s knee. Ian firmly grabbed its body and smiled.
“And they pass down Necromancy as tradition.”
-Ah.
“Let’s talk in detail. I’m Ian, and that’s Berik.”
Ian pondered how to shake hands, then lightly grasped the dog’s front paw and shook. Worried it might hate it, but surprisingly, the dog seemed pleased by the courtesy.
-Hasarang Tokundai. Call me Hasara.
“Nice to meet you, Hasara. First question: why did you assume I was with the Magic Department? Did you see me use mana?”
-Yes. Through undead eyes.
“So it was yours. Does that make you a thief too?”
-Absurd!
“Then your owner?”
-No! I’m the boy in the photo!
At the dog’s words, Berik examined the photo closely again. Then, incredulously, he stretched the dog’s cheeks.
“Then why’s your speech like this? How old are you? Like ten?”
-Let go or else! Who counts every day they’ve lived?
“What bullshit. Tiny thing. Remember biting me earlier? Come here. You’ve got four legs, so three’ll do, right? Huh?”
“Berik. Astana walks time differently from us. Average lifespan’s three hundred years, so this appearance means around thirty.”
At Ian’s words, Berik stopped stretching the cheeks. The dog growled indignantly, baring its teeth, and bit Berik’s hand again.
Chomp!
“Aaack! Fuck!”
-See? At least my teeth match a tiger’s!
Ian separated the excited beasts and swiftly changed the subject.
“So, Hasara, being from Astana, how’d you end up here? And what’s with that form?”
At the question, Hasara’s growling quieted. Its black eyes sparkled in the moonlight, as if recalling details. It seemed like quite the long story.
-She called herself Wesley. That woman.
“Magic Department Minister Wesley?”
The lover of 2nd Prince Gail and current head of the Magic Department—her name was definitely Wesley. At the sudden but certain mention, Ian couldn’t hide his surprise.
-An invitation came to Astana for cultural and academic exchange. Grandmother was the head of Astana’s largest sect, and by royal order, she brought me to Bariel.
At first, everything was novel and fun.
He learned of buildings as tall as sheer cliffs and realized winds howling through rocks could be drowned out by human voices.
But the joy didn’t last.
-Because Wesley suggested trying Necromancy on the living. She kept pressuring Grandmother to do the impossible.
“Don’t get it. Need Ian or dog bastard to explain.”
Berik scratched his ear, asking. Words like Necromancy and undead were ones he’d never heard in his life. Ian organized his thoughts and murmured.
“Necromancy is fundamentally cast on corpses. Casting it on the living isn’t just a life-or-death issue—it defies the natural order, so no one knows what happens.”
-The foundation of misfortune, root of ruin. Ahem! Grandmother was wise, unlike other sorcerers.
They’d apparently fled from Wesley’s unreasonable demands. Why they came to the countryside instead of returning to Astana was unclear, but there must have been circumstances.
Ian fiddled with Hasara’s scruff and asked.
“Alright. I get why you’re here, Hasara. ‘Other sorcerers’ means Wesley’s still researching Necromancy.”
-Those obsessed with Necromancy always bring blood and war.
Surprisingly sharp. It lined up with the rebellion brewing. But in Ian’s memory of Bariel’s history, Gail’s rebellion had no mention of undead.
“So? What happened after?”
At Ian’s question, the wagging tail stopped dead. It was clearly recalling that day when the villagers all died.
-Wesley eventually found us.
From the short reply, Ian could infer much. Traces of the past flickered in Hasara’s sparkling eyes.
-And she confirmed what happens when Necromancy is cast on the living. I’m the proof.