* * *
How should I bring this up?
Kaniel thought as he glanced furtively at Taeyon, who had just returned from shopping for their journey.
He had shown his abilities yesterday. He’d proven that his knowledge about monsters was helpful, he’d protected the beastkin with his protective barrier, and he’d revealed that he could use magic, albeit in a limited way, from now on.
So he thought they could stop with the whole “I’ll think about it” thing now. When Taeyon said he could think about it for a long time, Kaniel had said that in case it took a long time to prove his abilities, but he’d proven them yesterday. So now instead of traveling together temporarily, it seemed like they could officially become companions.
“Here, your backpack.”
“Thank you.”
The backpack he’d bought yesterday had disappeared somewhere during the battle. Seeing that Taeyon had bought a new one, it was at least certain he didn’t plan to leave him behind in this village.
But Kaniel wanted a more definite guarantee.
As he shoved the provisions, pot, seasonings, and such that Taeyon handed him into the backpack, Kaniel kept glancing at Taeyon’s mood.
“…I’ll do it.”
“What? Why… Ah, I’m sorry.”
The contents of the backpack were a mess. Because he’d stuffed things in haphazardly, they rattled around and didn’t fit much either. It was because he’d moved his hands carelessly while absorbed in his own thoughts.
“Give it here.”
Taeyon took Kaniel’s backpack as well and filled it with food and other items, then gauged the weight and pondered something. Then he tried to take the contents out.
Kaniel, reading what that meant, snatched the backpack away, his pride hurt.
“I can carry this much too!”
“You won’t be able to walk all day though.”
“I-I think I can.”
“……”
“…I understand.”
Actually, he’d almost died from exhaustion on the way here. If Taeyon hadn’t slowed his pace, he would have fallen behind.
Kaniel had no choice but to hand the backpack back in the face of the reproach disguised as silence.
But anyway, he should bring it up soon.
How should he start…
“…What is it?”
“Wh-what?”
“Why do you keep glancing over?”
Did he see all that?
Kaniel’s face turned red.
But this might be his chance. Kaniel cleared his throat with a *ahem* and pulled a chair over to sit close to Taeyon.
“Um, I was helpful yesterday, right?”
“Yes.”
“I was helpful to Taeyon, and helpful to the people. Right?”
“I said yes.”
“Then why are you still just thinking about it?”
At that question, Taeyon’s eyebrow twitched and he stopped what he was doing. A sense of intimidation emanated from his lowered gaze, but Kaniel didn’t back down and insisted.
“You said you’d take me along if I was helpful.”
“No. I only said I’d think about whether you’d be helpful.”
Kaniel’s mouth fell open. No, when he’d appealed that he had abilities, that he’d be helpful, surely… Kaniel, recalling the memory from a few days ago, realized that Taeyon’s words were true.
He hadn’t asked to be taken along, and Taeyon had really only said he’d think about it.
Oh my god.
The premise had been wrong from the start.
He should have nailed it down clearly from the beginning.
That’s when it happened, while Kaniel was too confused to continue speaking. He heard a snickering sound, then Taeyon spoke.
“I’m joking.”
When Kaniel looked up in surprise, Taeyon continued.
“Kaniel, come with me.”
“Ugh. Taeyon, you really shouldn’t joke around. You’re really bad at joking…”
Kaniel, completely drained in the meantime, slumped over the table complaining.
It was true. There were jokes you could make and jokes you shouldn’t. You shouldn’t joke about that issue with someone desperate about it.
“Your answer?”
“Yes! Let’s go together. I want to go together.”
Relieved, Kaniel grinned bashfully and put on the backpack Taeyon had packed. He’d already finished all the other preparations.
Taeyon didn’t take Kaniel to the front gate, but leaped through the window toward the back alley. While obediently following, Kaniel couldn’t understand why they had to leave as if fleeing like this.
“If we go out the front, we won’t be able to get away.”
“What? Why?”
“Because they’re preparing a banquet at the village hall right now.”
A banquet—wasn’t feeding him enough food to fill two tables enough? Kaniel, who had suffered from overeating, was momentarily at a loss for words.
Because he’d eaten so well, the excited village beastkin had prepared a banquet for him. However, Kaniel, who was in the middle of fleeing to avoid the banquet, couldn’t know the circumstances.
“Shh.”
The two stifled their presence and carefully slipped out of the village. Because they jumped over the gaps in the broken palisade, they didn’t get caught by the guard members either.
Kaniel found it somehow fun to run away like this from the middle, so by the time they’d completely left the village, his cheeks were flushed.
Walking along the trail entering the forest, Kaniel asked.
“But where are we going? Do you have a destination?”
At that question, Taeyon’s complexion darkened. He was currently wandering the territory of Oblyad without a destination. From east to south, from west to north. It was just a journey going around villages hunting monsters.
There was a reason he willingly undertook such a tedious subjugation patrol. He didn’t want to go home. Because home was overflowing with beastkin who demanded unwanted things from him.
But.
“To the place where what you know can be utilized best.”
“There’s such a place? Where is it?”
Leaving Kaniel in villages or small cities like this would be a waste. This mysterious human should go to a bigger, wider place and demonstrate his abilities for more beastkin.
“Oblyad Castle.”
EP 2. Underground City
The forest existed somewhere between tranquility and commotion.
Filled with the sounds of chirping birds, crying insects, and wind, it seemed noisy, yet if you considered all those sounds as simply one with the forest, it became a space filled only with stillness heavier than silence.
Kaniel didn’t find walking through such a space with Taeyon very boring. Even though Taeyon was a taciturn beastkin who didn’t talk much about himself.
It was because when spoken to, he always answered thoroughly even if briefly, and when there was something that needed explaining, he didn’t spare words then.
But today was a bit different. Taeyon’s cheeks were rigid as he talked about Oblyad Castle, and his expression looked like he didn’t really want to talk about it.
Why is he like that? When it was Taeyon himself who brought up the topic of Oblyad Castle.
“The Surface is divided into seven powers. The royal capital Aztail and the six territories under it. And this land you’re standing on is Oblyad, called the Land of Wolves.”
The deep and vast forest, ruled and protected by wolf lords for generations, was Oblyad’s pride. The extensive forest formed maze-like paths to prevent monsters born there from leaving the woods, and thanks to this, Oblyad could be safer land than other territories.
“That’s why logging is strictly regulated in Oblyad. If you cut down one tree, you must plant and care for two.”
“Is that why there were many buildings made of stone in the village…?”
“Yes. That’s the reason.”
That said, they didn’t simply rely only on the forest and not prepare countermeasures against monsters. Oblyad Castle recruited and educated trainees, raised knights, and regularly sent out ‘subjugation patrols.’ Their mission was to clear out monsters so that too many wouldn’t accumulate in the great forest and burst out of the woods.
“So Taeyon isn’t the only one doing subjugation patrols.”
“About two hundred knights go on subjugation patrols each year.”
Not only that, they constantly fought the monsters and demon beasts that swarmed to steal Oblyad Castle’s seal, and went on regular subjugations about 5-6 times a year.
They were also conducting research on monsters and demon beasts. However, because monsters were terribly ferocious and got excited to a creepy degree when they saw beastkin and went wild, they weren’t able to produce proper research results.
“I’ll have you stay in that research lab.”
At Taeyon’s words, Kaniel reflexively thought:
‘I don’t want to be separated from Taeyon.’
He knew it was pathetic for a full-grown adult to have such feelings. But Taeyon was currently the only beastkin Kaniel could trust.
Honestly, he just wanted to go around doing this subjugation patrol thing together like now. At least until he got used to the loneliness of being the only human who fell into the land of beastkin and his fear became diluted.
‘Haah…’
That’s when it happened, while Kaniel was ruminating on his absurd resentment while looking at the back of Taeyon walking silently. Taeyon suddenly stopped walking and said abruptly.
“Really, I can’t believe it.”
“What? What can’t you believe?”
“That bird brats are running wild on Oblyad’s land…”
Bird brats? The moment Kaniel realized that meant the Winged Tribe, a Winged Tribe man walked out from beyond the bushes in front. It was the very man who had kidnapped Kaniel.
