#030

To get straight to the point, many people died in the single day that began last night. Many people included the entire contingent of knights who came to escort Cullen, and the unfortunate cook.

Only three survived. Cullen, Lasano, and Kiyen, who was not meant to die.

The grotesque creatures that appeared at the mountain path as the sun set were corpses. Some had rotting skin that dripped down, others had faces corroded to reveal bone, and some had their necks dangling, as if murdered.

It seemed the reports received by the late Marquess Exion were indeed true.

Cullen, along with the knights, initially eliminated them with ease. Or so he thought.

The problem was that corpses do not die even when killed. They moved even with their heads severed, flailing their limbs somehow. That much was manageable. One could simply sever all their limbs.

But the difficulty lay in their numbers. There were too many. What they thought was the entire group that appeared in a line turned out to be just the beginning, as more corpses crawled out from the mountains as the night grew darker. Ten, a hundred, no, more…

And in this process, Cullen learned that Kiyen and Lasano were not of much help in terms of combat. First, the power of the goddess granted to Lasano was divine power and defensive magic.

“I have to touch the opponent to use magic, and won’t I be torn apart before that?”

Lasano’s words were reasonable. If he had any other use, it was that these corpses seemed to avoid approaching Lasano. He mentioned it was likely due to the pendant imbued with the goddess’s power.

Next was Kiyen. This strongest warrior on earth, brought along essentially to protect Cullen, faced a problem when he left half of his main body’s power behind at the palace.

“It’s difficult to control precisely, so if I were to use magic, everyone except you would die. Even that High Priest would die.”

Kiyen’s offensive magic was generally area-of-effect, and in a situation where friend and foe were indistinguishable, as it was then, everyone would surely die. In the end, everyone did die, though.

Ultimately, they quickly abandoned the carriage and entered the mountains. Kiyen took the pouch of money, and Lasano took the lead, playing the role of making the occasional corpses flee.

Cullen had already severed dozens of corpses by then, and Kiyen, seeing this, commented that he was merciless. It was unfair to be called that for killing corpses.

“Wow, sister, you’re so pretty!”

“I am not a female.”

Cullen, wiping the sticky fluid from his sword, looked up. Kiyen, who had been monopolizing the children’s attention since appearing with Arne, was visible.

Despite being the tallest among them, perhaps because of his exceptionally beautiful face, the children called Kiyen ‘big sister’ or ‘older sister’ and clung to his hair. This was true even though his voice clearly indicated he was male.

“I’ll braid your hair!”

The children, having shared Cullen’s rations, seemed to have regained strength, their complexions brighter than when they first saw him. Two girls clung to Kiyen’s hair. They touched the beautiful blonde hair that even Cullen had never touched.

“Wow, it’s so, so soft.”

The feel of the tangled blonde hair against his damp skin was softer than silk. Cullen remembered that. Having finished wiping his sword, Cullen stood up. Then, he approached Arne.

“Now that the children seem fine, I’d like to hear about the situation.”

Arne had been thoroughly intimidated since returning, carried by Kiyen. From their first meeting, he feared Cullen, who had called him an idiot, and Kiyen, who had displayed incomprehensible power, and stayed close to Lasano.

“M-me?”

As soon as he was spoken to, Arne flinched. Judging by his appearance, he could be mistaken for a mercenary, but he seemed truly timid. With his moderate muscle definition, he didn’t seem unskilled with his body either…

“Yes.”

“Right, of course! I-I’m the only one who can explain…”

“Sir Cullen, please stop tormenting the poor priest. If you keep harassing priests like that, Aksha will bring divine punishment. Isn’t that right, Sir Arne?”

Lasano sided with Arne. Cullen ignored him.

“Hurry.”

He needed to rest, even if just a little, after wielding his sword without a break for the first time in a while. He wanted to grasp the situation quickly, make plans for tomorrow, and then sleep, but wasting time like this was not Cullen’s preference.

“Y-yes! So, about two weeks… ago. I don’t know if it’s related, but things started happening after strangers visited the village.”

“Strangers?”

“Yes. A group of people wearing black cloaks. They didn’t cause any trouble at the time. They said they came to see the mine, asked for a guide to the vicinity, and only stayed at the inn, paying generously.”

Black cloaks. Cullen paused.

Coincidence? No, that couldn’t be. Although the situation was very different from the attack on Cullen’s village, the attire matched.

Furthermore, the current situation bore similarities to when he lost his companions on the eastern coast. Didn’t they bring Demonic Beasts he had never seen before?

If those Demonic Beasts were related to sorcery, like the situation in this Marquess’s territory, perhaps the events of five years ago were also connected.

If so, why? What exactly were they aiming for by doing this?

“Do you have any suspicions, Sir Cullen?”

Lasano asked with a faint smile. Cullen pondered. He hadn’t yet told Kiyen anything related to this. He had only spoken about his mother, never about the day his companions died to anyone.

Lasano was a priest, but whether he could trust him was another matter entirely. Moreover, Lasano was an inscrutable person. Once things were clearer, he might be able to seek advice, but not yet.

“Nothing in particular. Please continue, Priest.”

“And then… two days later, Vanya came for the first time. Vanya is Karen’s son, who died of consumption in the salt mine. As you see now, he didn’t stop moving even when his head was crushed… meaning, he didn’t stop. After that, it’s as you witnessed. Day and night, the de-, the undead roam.”

Lasano asked.

“So, are those corpses still roaming?”

“Ah, no.”

Arne stammered, finding it difficult to speak, as if merely recalling the memory was taxing.

“Vanya… th-that… I bound him, prayed over him, and burned him, and then he stopped.”

“Indeed, fire is the most certain method of purification.”

Lasano said that and looked at Kiyen. Kiyen’s story of burning the Duchy of Jenix for seven days flashed through Cullen’s mind. Kiyen, leaving the children braiding his hair, opened his mouth.

“Why are there so many corpses?”

Arne’s voice grew rapidly faint at Kiyen’s question. It was barely audible, even quieter than when he spoke to Cullen. Now, he even began to stammer.

“Y-yes?”

“This village you are in is very small. At most, it’s a place where only a few corpses would appear in a year. Even then, the village wouldn’t be able to sustain itself like that, so why are there so many dead nearby?”

Arne’s complexion turned pale for a moment. His eyelashes trembled visibly. Guilt settled heavily upon his innocent face, hidden by his large frame. He clasped his hands together. As if in prayer.

Cullen knew that face. It was the same look he had when he lost his companions due to a foolish decision. The guilt he had buried, hidden away, was now superimposed onto Arne. The expression of someone weak, suffering, and unable to forgive themselves.

Perhaps that was why he wanted to die.

Cullen recalled the priest who had collapsed on the floor, not even attempting to escape. But he quickly dismissed it. It was a useless thought. He didn’t have the luxury to care about others’ circumstances.

“That’s……”

Arne kept glancing at Kiyen’s attire. His fear was visibly deepening. After agonizing to the point his hands turned white, Arne shook his head. He avoided Cullen’s gaze and said,

“Since it’s a mine, people die early. So… they tend to have many children. I don’t know anything beyond that.”

He was clearly hiding something. Before Cullen could press further, Arne abruptly stood up.

“It’s getting very late. The undead don’t come to the temple, so why don’t you all get some rest? I’ll check if there are any blankets left.”

Unlike his earlier listless state, he moved busily. Watching him disappear into a small room without giving them a chance to stop him, Cullen narrowed his eyes. Lasano glanced at his retreating back and shrugged.

“That makes sense. It would be best to sleep now. I am quite exhausted.”

He was smiling, but he looked much more tired than before they departed. Cullen acknowledged that he was a useful person to have in this situation. He needed to rest.

“Rest, then.”

“What about you, Cullen?”

“I will look around a bit more before sleeping.”

He had no intention of giving Arne a chance to escape.

“Don’t push that one too hard.”

Cullen, who was about to check if there was a back door to the room Arne had entered, was stopped by Kiyen. It was a silent appearance, as always.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Kiyen walked beside Cullen. Perhaps due to being caught up in the chaos, it felt like a long time since they had last met, even though it had only been a day. Cullen lowered his gaze. The shoes he had gifted him were dirty now. For some reason, his mood sank.

“Don’t humans get scared easily? Yet they are so greedy. They are truly incomprehensible animals.”

His blue eyes gazed steadily at Cullen.

“And that human seemed particularly fearful. More precisely, he seemed to fear beings like me.”

“Do you mean he knows your identity?”

“No. It would be more accurate to say he fears someone dressed like me.”

Kiyen said that and moved closer to Cullen. Unlike himself, who was covered in blood and a mess, Kiyen always smelled of lilies.

“Are you injured?”

“No.”

Cullen averted his gaze slightly. The tension rose as they were alone together for the first time in days. Though he had just quenched his thirst, his throat felt parched. He swallowed dryly for no reason.

“I cannot interfere in matters other than Larkan’s. My oath prevents me from doing so. Therefore, you and the High Priest must resolve this incident. I will only exert my power in matters related to your danger.”

Silence fell. The night, with the animal cries hidden away, felt like another world. He wanted to say something, but his rather dry words left him with nothing to retort. It was more accurate to say he didn’t want to have that kind of conversation.

“What you just said… it doesn’t sound like something someone who dislikes humans would say.”

Cullen painstakingly thought of something to say.

“Why do you say that?”

Kiyen’s brow furrowed.

“Weren’t you worried about that priest? At least, that’s how it felt to me.”

Then, Kiyen gazed at the ruined village and, after a long pause, spoke.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the outside. It was before I was confined to the palace, so it must be over a thousand years ago.”

It was an immeasurably distant and infinite time that Cullen could not even fathom.

“I do not dislike living things.”

Kiyen turned his head again. A cold golden light shone in his blue eyes.

“What I dislike is the greed of the humans who imprisoned me. And all humans are overflowing with greed. Any being ultimately moves according to their desires. Humans are the worst among animals.”

Then.

Cullen thought quietly. Kihelene’s warning came to mind. Mulling over her words that he wouldn’t like Larkan, he quietly asked.

“Then… what do you think of me?”

Kiyen blinked and looked down at Cullen. The answer came quickly.

“You made a deal with me. You are my contractor and the one who will grant my wish.”

It was a concise answer.

“I don’t know what else I should think of you as.”

His heart, which didn’t even know what it had expected, quietly shrank at those words. Cullen nodded expressionlessly. He regretted it.

He couldn’t understand why he had asked such a question himself.