<Chapter 83>
#9. Each One’s Role (7)
“It’s serious.”
A sigh escaped through Calix’s lips as he lightly looked around. Though it wasn’t a place he particularly wanted to visit from the start, visiting here was essential to assess the situation. Sweeping back his hair, Calix surveyed his surroundings with a displeased gaze.
The area located at the outermost part of the region managed by the Spangky family, which was relatively close to the Padrian territory, had been desolate for a long time. The ground was cracked as if it hadn’t met water for ages, enough to understand why there were talks of a “drought,” and no plants grew on it.
‘What were they doing while it got to this state?’
Calix furrowed his brow and slowly urged his horse forward. The thought of that scoundrel sheep beastman sticking close to Melty made his anger rise. Although he had to leave Melty behind to avoid potential disease risks, he had no intention of leaving him by Johaim’s side for long.
‘I need to examine this quickly and get back.’
The people’s lives were as devastated as the barren land. With just a casual glance around, he could easily spot the corpses of those who had died of starvation. The shabbily dressed people sitting haphazardly on the streets seemed to be all the survivors in this region.
Tapping the reins with his finger, Calix recalled the number of people who had sought refuge in his territory. The number of people was small enough to count by eye. Most of those who remained were elderly with mobility issues or people with physical abnormalities. Some of the few people who still had the strength to move looked at the mounted Calix with greedy, gleaming eyes.
Having spotted their eyes filled with madness, Calix tapped the area near his pocket on the outside. Though his pocket was filled with substantial funds as always, he could easily tell that wasn’t what interested them. The eyes of the starving people were fixed not on Calix but on his horse.
“Let me ask you something.”
Calix untied the food pouch attached to the horse and threw it to the most stable-looking person. The hands of the person who hurriedly opened the pouch trembled. Watching these people filled with hunger, Calix frowned.
Generally, even when a drought occurs, the residents don’t become this devastated. It seemed like the Spangky family might have been easily annihilated even if he hadn’t taken direct action.
Despite Calix’s words, people rushed toward the cloth pouch and began fighting over it. Frowning at the sight of people who until just moments ago had been sprawled out with no energy now swarming, Calix soothed his startled horse and backed away.
Then he untied another cloth pouch he had been keeping and placed it on the ground a short distance away. With a thud, the cloth pouch fell, and the commotion among the people stopped at the sound. After looking at the cloth pouch on the ground, their gazes finally reached Calix. With an impassive expression at the attention now focused on him, Calix spoke.
“Let me ask you something. Regarding the food issue, I have more with me, so I’ll give you more if you answer my questions.”
“…What are you curious about?”
The voice of the person speaking slowly, as if they hadn’t moistened their throat for a long time, was cracked.
“What happened here? The land wasn’t particularly fertile, but there shouldn’t have been a natural disaster severe enough to make it this devastated.”
“Suddenly, suddenly it became like this. All the plants withered and died…”
“…The plants ‘suddenly’ withered? It rained not too long ago.”
“Rain is useless.”
With a dry laugh filled with madness, the person looked up at Calix with piercing eyes.
“Because the land is already dead.”
***
Johaim looked at Melty’s back with a curious expression. Unlike the day before, there was no sign of Calix standing there with an intense gaze. While he wasn’t particularly waiting for him, it was strange that Calix, who had acted as if he would chase after them no matter what, had let Melty come alone.
Turning his gaze to look behind himself following Johaim’s line of sight, Melty soon realized who he was looking for. Recognizing who Johaim was searching for, Melty smiled slightly and said:
“Oh, Calix-ssi said he’ll come later! He said he’s busy today.”
At Melty’s explanation, Johaim nodded and dismissed his curiosity about Calix’s absence. Initially, he was just surprised by the absence of the man who had been so hostile, but he wasn’t particularly interested in his presence anyway.
With narrowed eyes, Johaim saw Pel, who was standing a little distance away, bow his head deeply in greeting. It seemed he was the measure Calix had prepared since he couldn’t come in person. Glancing at Pel, Johaim extended his hand to Melty.
“Then shall we go to the temple that Melty-ssi wanted to visit?”
Hisssss!
At the sharp and piercing sound, Johaim’s hand stopped in mid-air. Naru, who was wrapped around Melty’s wrist, was threatening Johaim with his mouth wide open. The teeth nestled inside his gaping mouth gleamed menacingly.
“Naru. What’s wrong?”
Startled by Naru’s behavior, which he had never seen before, Melty gently patted Naru’s back. At his touch, Naru obediently closed his mouth and rested his cheek on Melty’s hand in a peaceful posture. Watching Naru with narrowed eyes, Johaim reached out to Melty once again.
Hiss! Hisssss!
“He’s not usually like this…”
Melty became fidgety at the sight of Naru threatening again with his mouth wide open. When Melty made eye contact with him, Naru instantly reverted to being a docile snake, as if he had never made any threats. Watching his behavior change with a dubious gaze, Johaim immediately realized whose doing this was.
Judging by the triangular shape of the snake’s head, it was undoubtedly venomous. Moreover, looking at its pattern and how intelligently it responded to Melty’s words, it was clearly the “Ollua” that was said to be handled only by those from Padrian. It felt strange to see an Ollua, which was said to never be given to anyone no matter how much they pleaded, wrapped around the wrist of someone who wasn’t of Padrian blood.
“It seems he doesn’t like me being with Melty-ssi. He really resembles someone.”
Johaim’s words, spoken with a gentle smile, carried a barb. Completely unaware of this, Melty stroked Naru’s head with an awkward smile.
“I’m sorry. Really, he’s usually a good boy.”
“Shall we go then? It’s this way.”
Waving his hand lightly and saying it was fine, Johaim volunteered to guide them. After gently tapping Naru’s nose to reprimand him without hurting him, Melty nodded vigorously and began walking with Johaim.
“Where did you get that snake from?”
“Actually, I was a bit afraid of snakes originally. But then I was told to get used to snakes, and was given Naru to stay with.”
As Melty spoke without any particular suspicion, Johaim fell into silent thought. Previously, when he had made plans with Melty, it had fallen through due to Calix’s interference.
– But you see, that hamster is a bit special.
– So it’s best to stop approaching my person. As you well know, I’m not exactly known for my good temperament.
The voice of Calix, who had whispered with a smile that could turn a person’s insides upside down, vividly came to mind. No matter how he thought about it, it was excessive behavior for a mere employee.
“Melty-ssi, perhaps…”
“Oh! Is that the temple over there?”
Melty pointed in one direction with sparkling eyes and raised his voice. With his voice full of excitement, Johaim swallowed the question he was about to ask.
“Yes. That’s right. You recognized it right away.”
“Wow! Wow!”
A faint smile appeared on Johaim’s lips at the sight of Melty, who was stamping his feet in excitement without filtering his delight. Shaking his head slightly to dismiss the hypothesis that had formed in his mind, Johaim spoke in a calm voice.
“I’ll guide you inside. It’s a bit small though.”
“It may be small, but it’s incredibly grand.”
Melty muttered as he gently rubbed the wall of the temple with his hand. The temple where Melty had his coming-of-age ceremony was about this size too. Melty knew well how this small and quaint temple would become spacious and splendid on the day of a coming-of-age ceremony. When entering through the firmly closed temple doors, it had felt as if he was being transported to another place to meet the deity. Recalling that time, Melty giggled.
“That’s because Padrian puts a lot of effort into the temple. The form of the temple enshrining the Beast God doesn’t differ greatly, but it can create subtle impressions. For instance, like this.”
While explaining in a way that Melty could easily understand, Johaim tapped the jewels that lavishly decorated the temple wall. As expected of a family overflowing with wealth, they had put their heart and soul into decorating the temple. As a result, the brightly adorned temple couldn’t help but stand out from temples in other regions.
“Oooh… So that’s why the wall is so sparkly.”
“…From what I’ve heard, there are stories that it was made by grinding jewels into it.”
“Jewels?”
With wide eyes, Melty looked at Pel, who was following them from a short distance. Pel, wearing an awkward smile under Melty’s questioning gaze, nodded his head, confirming the fact. Having received confirmation from a family member, Melty couldn’t help but be even more surprised.
“Really… That’s amazing.”
It was something he would never do himself because it would be such a waste. He didn’t know what kind of jewels were ground to make such a wonderful wall, but the extravagance was incredible.
Smiling slightly at Melty’s continuous amazement, Johaim slowly showed him around the temple while explaining each area. His explanations were pleasant and concise, allowing Melty to enjoy exploring the temple.
“Johaim-ssi seems like someone who has lived here for a very long time. You know so much.”
“I was able to stay in this area until the medicinal herbs could be obtained. I spent time treating people in small ways, and the villagers taught me many things.”
Melty was inwardly impressed by Johaim’s explanation. He could have spent his time resting, but Johaim was saying he used that time to treat people. He truly was a kind person.
‘I hope Calix-ssi comes soon so they can make up.’
The day before, Calix had made excuses about needing to recover his mood and gain strength before meeting Johaim the next day, and had hugged him freely while rolling around. If he were to come now, Melty planned to get full compensation for his ears, tail, cheeks, and lips that had been sacrificed yesterday.
“Doctor!!”
As they were coming out after appreciating the temple’s interior, a shadow suddenly sprang up and blocked their path. Startled by the sudden appearance of a person, Melty instinctively shrank back. Pel protected Melty while Johaim blocked the front.
Perhaps the emerging shadow had been targeting Johaim rather than Melty, as he was already clutching Johaim’s clothes. With eyes full of tears, the disheveled boy desperately pleaded with Johaim.
“Please save me!”
