#038

Since returning to the temple, Arne had become noticeably quiet. According to Lasano, the girl who saw her brother’s corpse seemed to refuse Arne’s presence. It was not something an outsider could interfere with.

Marie stubbornly ignored Arne and asked Kiyen to dig a grave. Kiyen silently agreed to Marie’s request, just as he had when dealing with children.

Meanwhile, Cullen found provisions. Enough for the children to last while they resolved the situation.

The children would stay at the temple. It was impossible to take them down the mountain late at night without a cart or carriage.

Above all, they had to hurry. They didn’t know what situation awaited them upon arrival, so staying in the safety of the temple was the better option.

By finding dried meat, crackers made from dried grains, and bread mixed in their luggage, they had enough food for the children for two days. Lasano drew water from the village well and cast a purification spell. This should be enough to last until the knights arrived.

“I will go too.”

Arne said to Cullen, who was ready to leave.

“You must stay here.”

“Marie needs time. If I stay, she will surely leave the temple, so it’s better if I disappear.”

“Regardless of that, one person must still remain here.”

Cullen was resolute, but Arne did not back down.

“If you hadn’t come, I would have died trying to find food in the village long ago. How can a coward who is only big and useless be a guardian?”

“Still, it is right for you to be here.”

“Once Pellar Exion is found, I am currently the only one who can prove his crimes. It would also be more helpful for me to be with you on the way down the mountain. It is right for me to go.”

It would have been easier for Cullen to assassinate Pellar Exion and return, but Arne’s words had merit. If Silfir Exion hurried his best, the possibility of encountering him could not be ignored.

If the Marquess was dead, Silfir Exion was now the lord of the territory. He would not stand by and watch such a thing happen.

“Although Sir Silfir was mostly at the Imperial Palace, unlike Pellar, he is a very good person. If I speak to him, he will surely understand. He treated even people like me kindly and was renowned for his fairness. If it weren’t for him, my village would have been annihilated. It was Sir Silfir who stopped Pellar back then.”

Cullen recalled Silfir, whom he had brushed past a few times at the palace. While not friendly towards Cullen, he didn’t act like Duke Renon. Considering he was Kihelene’s fiancé, it was understandable if he acted hostile, but he seemed to exercise restraint.

They say where there is strong light, there are deep shadows.

He would know more upon seeing him directly, but it seemed unlikely Silfir was aware of this matter. He didn’t fully trust him, but if it could be resolved through a trial, it would be more respectful to Kihelene. Cullen decided to show at least minimal respect. Given how she had treated him, an unwelcome guest.

“It will be alright.”

Kiyen approached and spoke. His robe was stained with dirt, suggesting he had helped Marie make a grave. Looking down, he noticed his shoes, stained with blood that wouldn’t come off. Kiyen’s robe seemed to have a magic enchantment, but his shoes did not, so it was natural for them to get dirty. Still, a sense of regret washed over him.

He was tired. Not only had he faced things he’d never experienced in his life, but he had to take a roundabout way when an easier path existed. The act of considering someone else felt so unfamiliar after so long.

“Understood.”

Cullen compromised, as delaying was not beneficial. As Lasano, who had also finished preparing, emerged, the temple children gathered at the doorway. Marie was nowhere to be seen.

Sasha’s face flashed in his mind as he looked at the downcast, round eyes of the children, intimidated by the somber atmosphere. His feet wouldn’t move, and he hesitated for a moment. Kiyen approached. He spoke impassively, initiating the topic.

“If you are worried about those young humans, leave this behind.”

A golden light floated above Kiyen’s white hand. The light, shaped like a small lizard, split into two, then raised its head from his hand. Its tail curled into a circle.

“…What is this?”

“It’s a messenger made with magic. If something happens on one end, its color will change.”

Before Cullen could speak, one golden lizard leaped onto his shoulder. As Cullen flinched, Kiyen bent down. The other one crawled towards the children. The children’s eyes widened, and they exclaimed, “Wow!”

“Stay put, human little ones.”

“We will, Unnie!”

“Have a good trip!”

Kiyen frowned at the term “Unnie.” Cullen awkwardly looked at the lizard on his shoulder, then, seeing the children’s brighter faces, turned his feet. The children waved for a long time, and were led inside by Marie, who appeared just as Arne was moving away.

“That’s strange. I didn’t see any corpses.”

Lasano said, following Arne’s guidance down the path. Cullen nodded. There were no corpses on the morning hunt or on the way to the mine. The ones inside the mine seemed to have occupied the area, but they hadn’t encountered any roaming ones.

“Could the Marquess have returned…?”

Arne said timidly.

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

It was too quiet for that. Cullen considered another possibility.

“What were the corpses like when they attacked people? Did they eat the deceased after killing them?”

Cullen had no way to confirm, as the corpses he dealt with had their heads severed. Arne shook his head.

“No. They simply took their lives. As if… making travel companions.”

Cullen fell into thought. What was the purpose of the curse? No action is without reason. The curse placed on Cullen was clearly a power meant to use him, and the curse that nullified the magic on his mother’s carriage also had a purpose.

Then, was the curse that summoned the undead meant to destroy the Marquess’s territory? If so, who?

There were suspects. After the men in black cloaks, whom Arne mentioned, visited, things happened. The power they used was consistent with the one targeting Cullen. Someone who was hostile to Marquess Exion and wished for his mother’s death.

However, there were no common threads in the clues. If anything, Marquess Exion was part of Duke Renon’s faction, and the Grov Marquess, to whom his mother was engaged, was opposed to him.

“High Priest, have you found anything about the sword? You are also a child of the goddess, so you should be somewhat useful.”

As Cullen pondered, Kiyen asked Lasano.

“I have a beautiful name, Lasano.”

“Priests with divine power are unaffected, and since I completely reject it, it is clearly in conflict with the goddess’s power.”

“You’re not even pretending to listen to me.”

“You talk too much.”

Lasano surrendered first. He waved the sword he kept at his waist and said.

“As Kiyen-nim said. Perhaps the oracle was descended for that reason. The disaster the oracle speaks of seems to be related to this power. A power that denies the goddess, wouldn’t that be a big problem?”

“Did you say an oracle?”

Arne’s eyes widened as he looked at them. Lasano leaned slightly towards Cullen.

“Oh dear, I’ve let a secret slip. What should we do, Cullen-nim?”

“Are you saying that now?”

It was clear that since Kiyen showed his magic, Priest Arne had at least sensed something. There was no need to keep it a secret, but to prevent things from becoming complicated, it would be necessary to make Kiyen and Lasano less conspicuous in the future.

“Well, I had already guessed you were great people, being with the High Priest. You don’t need to worry about secrets. I…”

Arne’s words were cut off by Kiyen, who stopped abruptly.

They could see the wall that divided the mountain and the heart of the Marquess’s territory. The gate of the wall, which should have been tightly shut, was broken. Flames erupted from various places within the wall.

The Marquess’s castle, standing tall amidst the gray smoke and flames, was faintly visible.

“It seems they’ve all gathered here.”

“I see it there.”

Lasano extended his arm. The gate of the wall his finger pointed to was being pushed into by people, like a black wave, shoving each other. They were, in detail, what used to be people. A groaning sound echoed far away.

“Can you use magic, Kiyen-nim?”

Lasano asked, and Kiyen shook his head.

“I cannot use that kind of magic unless Cullen is in danger.”

“Then if Cullen-nim goes inside…”

Cullen looked at Lasano. Lasano smiled faintly.

“It was a joke.”

“Wouldn’t they retreat if you used your divine power?”

Cullen proposed a more realistic plan than Lasano’s words. However, Lasano shook his head.

“There are too many of them. By rough estimate, it looks like well over a hundred, so it’s incomparable to what we encountered on the mountain. Even if I can handle it, Cullen-nim or Arne-nim…”

Lasano continued to smile and made a gesture of slitting his throat.

“By the way, that was the first thing Cullen-nim did when he saw me. I’m telling you in case you forgot.”

“You have a habit of doing that to anyone, don’t you?”

Kiyen interjected. Cullen ignored the two and scanned the wall. The parts of the wall where the corpses were not swarming were too high. It would be impossible for Arne or Lasano.

This is truly useless.

“I’m not sure, but…”

Arne quietly raised his hand. Cullen looked at him.

“If you go around the wall, there might be a hole left at the bottom of the wall that faces the deepest part of the forest.”

“Are you saying there’s a hole in that solid wall?”

“Yes. My father once told me about a small hole that appeared when a cave-dwelling mole came down to the stream a long time ago. My father was a carpenter before working in the mines.”

A carpenter called to repair the castle walls must have been skilled. Since it’s work one can do even when old, there would have been no need to become a miner.

But Cullen didn’t ask. Arne was someone he would soon part with.

“Then let’s go there. If there’s no other way, only Kiyen and I will enter.”

“Um, I think only Arne and I can enter with swords.”

Lasano swung his sword again.

“Cullen was affected by the sword, and Kiyen can’t even hold it. And it seems the curse on the sword requires a sacrifice.”

“Then, how about learning magic other than burning people from now on?”

“I’ll pray to the goddess starting today.”

With Lasano’s glib reply, the group began heading in the direction Arne had mentioned.