Chapter 40
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Taming the Nightmare
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Day broke.
Quietly sitting up, Luon noticed his body felt incredibly refreshed and turned his head.
Did someone tend the fire all night?
In the still-warm fireplace, firewood was gently smoldering.
Gazing at the face of the sleeping girl who held her younger sibling, Luon got to his feet.
He opened the door, intending to get some fresh air, and tilted his head at the sight of a man tumbling backward ridiculously.
“What are you doing here?”
The innkeeper, groaning as he clutched his back, stammered as he looked up at Luon's expressionless face.
“I-I came to see if Lena was all right.”
“If you mean the waitress named Lena, she’s sleeping soundly.”
“Is that so?”
Watching the innkeeper let out a deep, obvious sigh of relief, Luon asked.
“Why? Did you think we’d harm her?”
It seems he really did.
Luon extended a hand toward the innkeeper, who offered no denial.
“Take it.”
“Oh!”
As the hesitant innkeeper took his hand, Luon pulled him to his feet with his strength and said.
“As I said yesterday, I apologize for the trouble we caused at your inn.”
There was no pretense in his low, steady voice.
Having run the inn for quite some time, the owner held a prejudice against men who carried weapons. He never expected Luon to apologize again and blinked blankly before snapping to his senses and shaking his head.
“No, no, I’m the one who should be sorry. No matter the circumstances, I shouldn’t have thrown out a guest who came to my establishment like that…”
Just as he finished his bitter muttering, a sleepy voice came from behind the door.
“Mr. Dubo? What are you doing here?”
The innkeeper, Dubo, brightened upon seeing the face of the girl who approached, rubbing her eyes.
“Lena, you’re safe!”
Having cried out louder than he intended, Dubo belatedly realized his words could be easily misunderstood. He covered his mouth with his palm and glanced nervously at Luon.
Lena replied to him in a voice feigning anger.
“Mister, these people aren’t who you think they are.”
“I-I know that.”
Looking at the beet-red Dubo, Lena turned her head toward Luon and said.
“His daughter is unwell, just like my brother.”
“Lena, why would you bring that up…”
Lena glanced up at Luon and said.
“This warrior has agreed to find out why the children are sick.”
At those words, Dubo was aghast.
“Y-You hired a mercenary? Where did you get the money?”
It was Luon who answered Dubo.
“Consider it payment for the ordeal. Not only did you witness a terrible scene you never should have, but you also had to clean up the aftermath.”
Just then, a murmur from outside drifted in through the open door along with the morning breeze, rousing Strabo and Igor in turn.
“What’s all the commotion so early in the morning?”
“Luon?”
Looking at them, Luon gave a slight nod.
“Time to get to work.”
***
While Igor remained in the village to improve the children's condition, Luon and Strabo were scouring the mountain behind the village without a clear destination.
I’ve seen all sorts of things now.
Luon watched blankly as Strabo dabbed a dirt-covered finger on his tongue and tasted it, then casually spoke.
“Do all druids do that?”
Strabo spat a glob of dirt-mixed saliva onto the ground and answered.
“Since I’m a dwarf, my ability to attune with nature is significantly weaker than an elf’s! I can’t do that thing where you close your eyes, feel the gentle breeze, and divine the direction.”
He declared proudly, scratching his nose.
“I’m sure there’s something around here, though. The soil has a foreign taste. Something musty and ancient, mixed with a curse…”
Luon cut off Strabo, who was smacking his lips.
“I’ve never eaten dirt, so I wouldn’t know. In any case, you’re saying it’s nearby?”
He immediately heightened his senses.
Scanning his surroundings with sharpened senses, Luon suddenly felt something and shifted his gaze to the distance.
“Is that it?”
“What? Where?”
Strabo craned his neck in the direction Luon pointed, moving his head this way and that, then furrowed his brow and muttered.
“Dammit, with a height difference of nearly double, I can’t see a thing. What does it look like?”
“A black horse. A big one, quite tall at the shoulder.”
Strabo nodded at Luon’s words.
“I’ve never seen one in person, but… a black horse appearing out of nowhere on a mountain path like this? High chance it’s a Nightmare, don’t you think?”
Luon narrowed his eyes without a word.
The black horse standing tall on the sloping mountain path had an impressive, untamed mane.
Its well-defined, muscular legs and broad shoulders looked powerful even at a glance, suggesting it would not be an easy opponent.
Luon said.
“I’ll go on ahead and handle it. Follow slowly.”
“You’re going alone?”
“No need for both of us to rush in. I’ll try to subdue it if I can, but if that’s not possible, I’ll kill it. What happens to the children if I kill it?”
Strabo answered without hesitation.
“A Nightmare is a dream demon that feeds on the life force of those suffering from nightmares. If the source of the curse dies, the children will wake up safely.”
It was a sufficient answer. Luon gave a short nod and immediately started walking toward the black horse.
With its muscular neck held stiffly high and nostrils flaring, the black horse looked majestic, as if it believed itself the king of this forest.
Seeing its dignified appearance, Luon felt no need to conceal his presence. As he revealed himself openly, the beast snorted and turned its head.
Its red eyes flashing, the black horse studied Luon for a moment before letting out a fierce cry and charging.
Hee-hiiing!
As if its hooves were made of iron, broken stone fragments flew in all directions each time it stomped.
The sight of the large black horse closing the distance with explosive force was no less intimidating than the charge of a wild beast, but Luon did not dodge.
As it came right up to him, Luon wrapped an arm around its neck, kicked off the ground, and used the horse's instinctive upward jerk of its head to twist his body in mid-air and land on its back.
Hee-hiiing!
Intent on throwing off the human who had mounted its never-before-ridden back, the beast began to buck wildly.
Nearby trees and stones on the ground were swept up in its dynamic movements, snapping and shattering like twigs, yet Luon did not lose his balance.
Matching the black horse's movements, he countered the shifting center of gravity by leaning his upper body in the opposite direction, then forcefully squeezed with the legs wrapped around the horse’s torso.
As his log-like thighs constricted its torso with incredible force, the panicked black horse began to thrash even more violently.
But continuing such violent movements while its lungs were being compressed proved too much, and the beast's body slowly began to tire.
Is it finally calming down?
The moment Luon thought so.
The black horse's mane fluttered, and a formless, sinister power poured out from its body.
The black horse did not miss the momentary hesitation of a human exposed to the curse's power, which bewitched the mind and planted nightmares. Intent on throwing off the leech-like human and crushing his face with its hooves, the beast kicked up its hind legs with all its might.
Or rather, it tried to.
“...You’re really pushing it.”
Crack!
The black horse staggered violently, struck on the forehead by a knife-hand chop from the frowning Luon.
Even so, the beast did not stop emitting the intangible power from its body.
“Still haven’t learned your lesson?”
It was impossible for his formidable mental strength, which had overcome even the authority of Belducias, to crumble before the curse of a mere dream demon that planted nightmares.
Luon brought his hand down in another chop.
Hee-hing!
The impact was so great that the black horse, staggering as if drunk, dropped its head completely. Luon grabbed the mane on its forehead and forced its head up, saying.
“It’s over.”
At his words, Strabo, who had been standing at a distance, approached with a dry laugh.
“I thought you were going to kill it.”
Luon, who had been careful to control his strength, shrugged.
“If I had, I would have used my fist.”
“Oh, that’s a good point.”
Luon gestured with his chin toward the black horse, which was breathing out labored snorts, and said.
“Can you tame it? You said there was a fifty-fifty chance.”
“Isn’t communing with flora and fauna a druid’s specialty? Have some faith.”
It was hard to trust him when he said that with a face that had just been eating dirt, but with no other options at the moment, Luon nodded.
“I won't get my hopes up.”
Strabo placed his thick palm on the black horse’s face, and green veins bulged on his own.
With his eyes closed, he let out a low laugh and said.
“It’s asking you to please loosen your legs first.”
Luon said.
“I’ll let go, but tell it that if it thrashes one more time, its skull will be crushed…”
As he continued speaking, he frowned when the black horse visibly flinched.
“Looks like it understands.”
Strabo nodded.
“Of course. It may look like a horse, but it’s a creature capable of wielding curses… its intelligence is likely far superior to that of an ordinary horse.”
Before he could even finish his explanation, Luon brought his hand down in a chop.
Hee-hiiing!
Strabo tilted his head.
“It’s asking why you hit it.”
“It annoyed me.”
Luon replied curtly, then asked.
“So it can understand but can't speak? Just like a typical Korean.”
“Hmm? What kind of person is that?”
“The downside of a cram-style English education… Never mind, it’s just a thing.”
After vaguely brushing off the question, Luon brought his face close to the black horse's ear.
“There are two reasons I chose not to kill you.”
At the chilling voice, the black horse blew out a nervous puff of air.
“First, you are not a monster that has directly harmed people. Second, my party happens to be in need of a horse.”
Luon continued.
“If you withdraw the nightmares you’ve planted in the children and promise to obediently serve as a pack horse, I will spare your life.”
Instinctively sensing the violent power contained within the calm voice, the black horse trembled in fear and nodded its head. A translation wasn’t necessary, but Strabo added.
“It says it understands.”
Only then did Luon release the pressure from his thighs, and the black horse let out a ragged breath.
Then Strabo spoke.
“Luon, I sensed something while communing with it. I don’t think this one was born a dream demon.”
Luon tilted his head at that.
“What do you mean?”
“Uh, well, it’s like… this horse wasn’t always like this. It seems it was exposed to some unknown curse long ago… and so it naturally learned to use that power? That’s what it looks like.”
What the hell is he talking about?
True to form, Strabo’s explanation was hopelessly convoluted. After mulling over his words for a moment, Luon asked again.
“...So you’re saying it was originally an ordinary horse that, after being cursed for a long time, naturally learned how to wield that power?”
“Exactly!”
As Strabo clapped his hands and nodded, Luon dismounted the black horse.
Judging by Strabo’s words, the creature seemed to have some kind of backstory, but he had no particular interest in it.
The only thing that mattered was that he had acquired a decent horse for free.
Even after Luon got off its back, the black horse stood obediently in place, showing no intention of running away.
Finding its behavior rather commendable, Luon gently stroked its forehead and said.
“Let’s get along. Pack mule.”
