The Price of a Guardian
Raven paused, a faint crease forming between his brows.
…The Guardian Spirit didn’t even leave that long ago.
Already?
It was far sooner than he had expected.
…Still, the child would be startled. It would be better to warn him in advance. Raven forced a calm tone and opened his mouth.
“From now on, I’m going to cough up some blood—urk—”
“……?!”
Ah. Too late.
“Cough—! Hack, hack!”
Blood splattered across the ground.
Dan stood before him, face twisted in panic and shifting anxiously from foot to foot. Raven lowered his head as he vomited blood, then tried to straighten his back and instinctively put weight on his legs—only to stagger. Dan immediately reached out to support him, but someone else was faster.
“Cough… Ah, Ancestor.”
“Yeees, Brother.”
By the time the Guardian Spirit answered Raven’s call and materialized, a monster’s fangs were already sunk deep into Raven’s leg. It hadn’t stopped there; the beast had clamped its jaws shut with all its strength to chew what had entered its mouth. Even if he had sliced it apart immediately, injury was inevitable.
Not only the leg, but sharp teeth had left gashes all over his body. The Guardian Spirit’s green eyes darkened as he examined the mangled state of Raven’s form.
If only I had answered a little sooner.
At least the unnecessary wounds could have been avoided.
He knew full well the difference in price between answering a direct summons and intervening of his own accord, yet Raven had still acted so leisurely. It was truly frustrating.
He wouldn’t have been this dull without reason.
…Has he begun to guard himself against me again? Or perhaps… is he simply sulking?
The Guardian Spirit’s narrowed eyes swept over Raven.
Meanwhile, Raven—who had no way of knowing any of this—leaned unsteadily against the Guardian Spirit’s arm, coughed up blood several more times, then finally lifted his head.
His grey eyes, clouded with both embarrassment and awkwardness, fumbled in the direction where Dan should be.
“I was going to tell you not to be surprised… but I was too late.”
“……”
“It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about it.”
…With blood dripping steadily from his chin, he said that so easily. As if anyone would believe him.
Dan stared at him for a long moment, then quietly wrote the word “chin” on his palm.
“Chin…? Ah, sorry. That must have looked terrible.”
Raven casually wiped the blood from his chin and mouth. It was the complete opposite of Dan, whose eyes were trembling with unease.
That was only natural. This wasn’t the result of illness or injury—it was the price for forcing the Guardian Spirit to intervene in the mortal world. The timing had been particularly poor, but there was nothing strange about it.
So, to calm the startled child, Raven deliberately adopted a light tone and patted the Guardian Spirit’s arm a few times.
“All cleaned up?”
The arm that had been supporting Raven’s swaying body obediently withdrew. Instead, those same fingertips moved to his leg.
The Guardian Spirit knelt on one knee and examined the worst of the injuries. Then he spoke.
“Hm…?”
It hadn’t felt that painful. Was it bad enough to need herbs?
Raven lowered his hand and felt the wound. His fingertips came away soaked in a thick, wet liquid. It seemed the injury was not light at all.
He could easily imagine the fierce look the Guardian Spirit was giving Dan without even needing to see it, so he let out a small chuckle.
“It does seem like it would draw quite a bit of attention if I just ignored it and kept walking, doesn’t it?”
“I know, I know.”
Since he couldn’t see anything anyway, Raven gave a vague reply and lightly tapped the ground with the toes of his injured leg. Each tap sent a sharp throb through the wound, helping him gauge how badly he was hurt. Ignoring the Guardian Spirit’s stinging gaze, Raven thought carefully.
At least it’s in a place that won’t draw too many human eyes… that’s something.
If he walked around like this, he would have to change the bandages frequently. If left alone even a little while, the blood would soak through the wrappings and stain his clothes. He wouldn’t be able to slack off, and it would be incredibly annoying.
So that’s why he mentioned the elven herbs.
It was true that the herbs cultivated by the race most friendly with the world, personally infused with power by their leader, could affect even a body whose time had stopped, but…
What was the point? Raven gave a light shrug.
“The herbs ran out a long time ago.”
Careful fingers traced the wound.
The worry was so vivid it made Raven flinch. He subtly pulled his injured leg back and changed the subject.
“Before that, I need to help this child first.”
“I understand that you don’t like it, but don’t be so harsh. To me, he is a child. Just like how I look like a kid in your eyes, Ancestor.”
“Right, Brother.”
Whenever he thought about it, the Guardian Spirit really did hate that title.
Well… he had died in his bright twenties before even reaching thirty. It made sense that he would dislike an old-sounding title like “Ancestor.”
Raven patted Dan’s shoulder and smiled softly.
“So, could you lend me your eyes again?”
“There’s nothing more to do here. And this kid seems to be in a hurry as well.”
As if to prove his point, the Guardian Spirit reached out and wiped away the droplets of blood clinging to Raven’s chin. It was a silent question—didn’t you just cough up blood? Raven gave a small laugh.
“You already know what I’m going to say, so why ask again? Just lend me your eyes.”
Even if he stayed, the only thing that would increase was the karmic debt piling up by the second. It was better for the soul to return and only lend his eyes, thereby incurring the minimum amount of debt.
After all, I can never break your stubbornness.
The short argument ended there.
The moment the words left his mouth, the light and color drained from the Guardian Spirit’s eyes. At the same time, a green glow kindled in Raven’s grey eyes like a flame being lit.
The Guardian Spirit, still possessing his faded grey eyes, gently brushed his fingertips over the corner of Raven’s eye and smiled bitterly.
If this had been before the Gate was sealed, things would have become far more complicated.
Even so, there was no way to ease his worry for the child who never spared his own body. Knowing it was meaningless, the Guardian Spirit still spoke the words he always did.
“……”
“……”
Now that he could see the world again, Raven silently lifted his head and looked at his Guardian Spirit.
Because he had lent his eyes, the spirit’s form could not fully manifest. Only faint traces of his existence remained—dull grey eyes devoid of color and light.
Raven knew the color of those eyes well from mirrors, but he had never seen them in their true owner’s face before. The realization struck him anew. He stared quietly at the Guardian Spirit for a moment, then the corners of his mouth lifted and he waved a hand.
“I understand, so go back now. You’ve suffered because of me. You should return and rest.”
Even at this very moment, more karmic debt was accumulating. Returning took priority. Without another word, the Guardian Spirit vanished.
Right, then.
After confirming that he was gone, Raven calmly took a step away from Dan. Immediately afterward, a bloody cough burst from his throat.
“Cough—!”
Fortunately, the amount wasn’t that great.
Is it because of the emergency settlement that happened midway?
The price for the Guardian Spirit’s intervention in the mortal realm was usually paid all at once after he was sent back. However, if the body seemed unable to endure it and looked like it might die, an emergency settlement would trigger midway and the price would be paid in stages. This had been one of those cases.
In the past, I could have taken the full payment without any mid-settlement.
It seemed he had grown quite frail after ten years of idleness.
The body’s time remained frozen, so perhaps it was a matter of the mind. Mental strength affected the resilience of the soul, after all.
…Still, it’s fortunate that the price from another person’s karma can be recovered.
The Guardian Spirit was both a part of Raven and a separate being.
Originally, the price for intervening in the mortal world should have fallen on the Guardian Spirit himself. But because of the peculiarity that he was “a part of Raven,” that karmic debt was transferred to Raven instead.
Because of this, every time he received the Guardian Spirit’s help, he would vomit blood and his insides would become a mess. Yet because the debt was treated as belonging to “another person,” recovery was possible. That was why Raven didn’t mind it.
In truth, he probably wouldn’t have cared even if recovery weren’t possible.
Anyway.
Spitting out the blood that had pooled in his mouth, Raven wiped his lips roughly and lifted the corners of his mouth in a light smile. The owner of the gaze he had been feeling the entire time finally came into view.
Goodness, those wide, round eyes.
“This isn’t some kind of contagious disease, so there’s no need to look so anxious.”
“……─.”
It wasn’t that. It was the way he so casually vomited blood and then cleaned up afterward that felt so alien, that was why he had been staring.
If even assuming worry created such a strange sense of dissonance, was he the one being overly sensitive?
Just who was this man? If it wasn’t an infectious disease, then perhaps a chronic condition? There were many things he wanted to say. Dan’s fingertips twitched, but Raven, unaware of the child’s inner thoughts, simply offered a picture-perfect smile and moved on to the main topic.
“Now then, it’s time for me to keep my promise to you, isn’t it?”
“……”
“Explain it to me.”
No one had noticed, but there was someone watching him from afar.
“……Finally.”
The man had clearly witnessed every scene—Raven closing the Gate, rescuing the pitiful human, and standing before him. A faint, twisted smile curved his lips.
He had been wandering in search of his master, growing bored, when he happened to obtain information that an illegal slave trader dealing in Imperial citizens was nearby. He had only come to watch for amusement and had grown interested in the escaped slave by chance. Never had he imagined he would seize such luck.
When I was looking for him, he was nowhere to be seen.
Not a single thing had changed from before.
His older brothers and sisters, who had once growled at each other while searching for him, seemed to have joined hands. Yet here he was, completely unaware, wandering around without even knowing a bounty had been placed on his head. Even now, did he realize there were other eyes on him besides this one?
He briefly considered whether he should kill the witness to silence him, but once he realized the main reason for the gaze was the pitiful human child, the man lost interest and focused entirely on the one he longed for.
Has it been ten years?
An obsessive stare followed Raven’s every movement. Not once did he take his eyes off him as he murmured in a low voice.
If a voice could have color, his would surely be a deep, dark crimson. It rang out thickly.
“Found you, Father.”
Ah, perhaps he dislikes that title now.
Then… Master. Whichever one it was, it was a title the current Raven would absolutely loathe. Without hesitation, he muttered it and grinned.
There was no time to stand around chatting leisurely. Dan only began explaining after they had already started moving.
In truth, there wasn’t much to explain. Raven had already guessed most of it, so simply making the request had been enough.
Dan simply scribbled on his palm.
— Please save my older sister.
“……I see.”
It was an extremely short sentence that left out all context, yet Raven immediately understood the situation.
It was a request within the range he had expected. He wrapped a bandage tightly around the wound to keep the spilled blood from causing unnecessary trouble, nodded as if it were no big deal, and busily followed after Dan.
…But not long after, he suddenly stopped and frowned.
“This direction is…”
“?”
“……Never mind. It’s nothing.”
It must be a coincidence.
Raven shook his head and urged Dan to hurry.
Dan continued running toward the place where his older sister was, but he kept glancing back at Raven.
To be honest, he was the one who was desperate and in need, so he had asked for help without thinking.
…It’s suspicious.
The man called Raven was incredibly strange.
Black hair that fell past his waist, and those alien green eyes that somehow looked both crude and mysteriously beautiful. Add to that skin so pale it was almost white.
Looking at his overall impression, he seemed to be no more than in his early to mid-twenties at best.
He really is suspicious.
His appearance was far too young and beautiful to be wandering alone hunting monsters, yet the aura he gave off seemed to shift freely across a wide range of ages.
The time he had spent observing him had been short, not long, but the sense that something was off was unmistakable.
And then there’s that stranger who suddenly appeared.
Dan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Is he even human?