#031

Cullen woke up early and went hunting. Since all the provisions had disappeared with the cook, they would have to procure their own for at least a few days. Among the group, Cullen seemed to be the only one capable of hunting, so he decided to act on his own. Kiyen just didn’t seem like the type to do such things.

Looking around the room before leaving, he saw Kiyen lying at an angle on the blanket Arne had brought, using his arm as a pillow. Dragons sleep too. Fascinated, Cullen secretly observed Kiyen sleeping.

The children were huddled around Kiyen, sleeping. Perhaps unafraid because they were young, they didn’t know Kiyen’s true nature and just seemed to like him. Lasano, contrary to his appearance which suggested he had never experienced hardship, was sleeping leaning against the wall without any trouble.

Arne didn’t seem to have left the room. He hadn’t escaped; Cullen could sense his presence.

Cullen then went outside and surveyed the surroundings. He wished he had a bow. While thinking that, he luckily spotted a cave rabbit. The area must have been chaotic, yet it was plump.

As soon as it sensed his presence, the rabbit tried to flee, but Cullen caught it with ease. The corpses, it seemed, were more interested in human flesh.

Cullen quickly returned to the temple. If Arne’s words were true, the undead clearly moved regardless of the time. He reluctantly committed slaughter in the temple.

He swiftly ended the rabbit’s life, slit its belly, and removed its entrails. He continued to prepare it with practiced, efficient movements, even skinning it. Due to its large size, there was a decent amount of meat. It was fortunate considering the number of people.

Wiping his blood-stained hands with a cloth, Cullen entered the temple to find cooking utensils. Kiyen, who had apparently woken up by then, greeted him. He was half-lying on the blanket, like a large white bird, looking up at Cullen. His blinking eyelashes were as beautiful today as ever.

…The thought that followed was natural. He hadn’t intended to think that.

“You smell of blood.”

Kiyen asked in a languid voice. Cullen nodded.

“I went hunting.”

Kiyen showed curiosity. The way he sat up was like a cat.

“I’m hungry.”

“I don’t recall seeing you eat.”

Cullen was curious. He seemed to live on leaves alone, but did he eat meat too? Cullen imagined what else he might have eaten. He seemed like he’d enjoy sweets.

“I can live without eating, but there are times when I feel like it.”

“Do you eat meat even though you care for animals?”

“Since you killed it, what else can be done?”

At the sound of their conversation, a small door opened. Arne, bending over, emerged from the small opening and greeted them with an awkward smile.

“Did you rest well last night? A good…”

His words trailed off into a quiet “morning.” By all appearances, it was not a good situation. Cullen nodded.

“Do you have a pot or ingredients to cook with?”

“Cook?”

“I brought back a hunt.”

Arne’s face brightened considerably. He quickly nodded.

“Yes, though we don’t have many types, I have spices and the pot I used. If you bring it here, I will cook inside.”

“I can do it.”

With those words, Cullen offered the leather pouch hanging from his waist. Arne let out an embarrassed chuckle and led him in. Kiyen stretched languidly from behind and said,

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“I am too. This is a windfall this morning. Eating food prepared by Cullen.”

Lasano, who had woken up at some point, added a remark.

Cullen narrowed one eye slightly and thought for a moment. Though it was a nominal title, wasn’t he the King here?

“It tastes bad.”

Kiyen declared after taking one bite of the soup Cullen had made. Lasano agreed.

“It’s too salty. And it has a gamey smell.”

“It’s fine as long as we don’t die from eating it.”

Cullen said silently. The children, taking spoonfuls of soup beside him, said,

“Why? You cook better than our mom!”

“That’s right, it’s delicious!”

Cullen looked at Kiyen as if to say, ‘See?’ Kiyen, with his pretty face, said cruel words without batting an eye.

“They must have grown up in a harsh environment.”

“Your words are a bit harsh. However, I agree that the food is not tasty.”

“Then don’t eat it.”

Cullen extended his hand to Lasano. Lasano laughed and pulled the soup bowl towards himself.

“Still, we have to eat to live.”

“Is the rabbit the problem, or is your cooking skill the problem?”

Kiyen asked, sounding genuinely curious. Cullen did not answer.

In his life, he had never been told he was a bad cook. He wondered what kind of mouth that Dragon was made of. Instantly, Kiyen’s title in Cullen’s mind transformed into Dragon.

“Um, if you’re okay with it, shall I try to fix it a bit?”

Arne, who had been eating quietly, cautiously glanced at Kiyen. Kiyen gestured with his chin towards the pot.

“It looks hopeless.”

“Rabbit is a difficult ingredient to prepare. I grew up in this region, so I might be able to make it a little better.”

Cullen put down his spoon with a clack. Arne flinched. Like someone who had just received a death threat, he looked at Cullen with a tense expression. Cullen said coldly,

“Try it. After we finish eating, I plan to survey the outside, so you should hurry.”

“Yes, yes!”

Arne quickly got up from his seat. He ran back into the room and brought out three spice containers carved from wood. He tasted the soup again with the concentration of someone brewing medicine, then mixed and sprinkled spices, and finally plucked a few herbs from inside the room.

After simmering for about five minutes, Arne said to Kiyen with a tense face,

“I hope it suits your taste.”

Kiyen took a spoonful of soup with an expression devoid of any expectation. Then, he made a sound of “Hmm” and took another bite. A satisfied expression appeared on his pale face.

“It’s delicious.”

Cullen quietly tasted a spoonful. He didn’t know what trick he had used, but the gamey smell was gone. With a moderately refreshing herbal aroma, it tasted good enough to sell. Lasano clapped his hands lightly.

“Brother, it seems you have received the goddess’s grace in cooking as well. You are better than most chefs.”

“It wasn’t the meat’s fault.”

Kiyen delivered his final verdict. Cullen silently ate a few more spoonfuls of soup, then put down his spoon and stood up. Lasano glanced up at him. Cullen gave a short bow to Arne.

“Thank you for the meal.”

“Ah, you’re not having more.”

“It’s fine.”

Truthfully, being evaluated on his cooking skills didn’t matter. He wasn’t the type to care about such things in the first place.

However, Kiyen praising someone… somehow…

Just as the word “unpleasant” was about to surface, Cullen shook his head. His heart had become too soft during his time in the palace. Even this moment was ultimately a fleeting, meaningless instant.

“I will prepare first.”

Without waiting for a reply, Cullen gathered his things. He had a lot to do. Ignoring Kiyen’s gaze fixed on his back, he went outside.

Since the children couldn’t be taken along, Lasano cast a barrier around the temple. He explained it was a barrier that beings not blessed by the goddess could not pass, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. With that, the four of them began to survey the surroundings.

The village was in ruins. Collapsed stone walls, broken doors, walls covered in bloodstains, and corpses scattered sporadically along the roadside, rotting. If even the knights couldn’t handle it, there was no way commoners could have survived.

Cullen’s village was the same. Although his village was attacked, his territory was a neglected mountainous area, so no one came to clean up.

Lasano was stoic, and Kiyen’s expression was ambiguous. He seemed somewhat subdued compared to when he witnessed the knights’ deaths.

Kiyen had said he disliked human greed. Consequently, he included the majority of humans in that category, but the current situation was clearly different in nature. How would he feel about it?

More importantly, if Cullen himself were to die, which expression would Kiyen show? Would he show the same expression he had when looking at the knights?

“You said the corpses came alive, did the ones killed by the corpses also come back to life?”

Kiyen asked while surveying the surroundings. Arne, staring blankly at the surroundings as if his soul had left him, let out an “Ah” and turned his head. He hastily lowered his gaze and replied,

“That doesn’t seem to be the case. If that were true, it would be a greater hell than this. Only the undead who came back to life at the time of this disaster… seem to have started descending the mountain. Judging by the lack of reinforcements.”

He spoke in a voice filled with emptiness and then fell silent for a moment. Cullen noticed him staring at a corpse half-lying against a stone wall, dead.

“Is it someone you know?”

Cullen, who was about to move forward, finally stopped. It was because Gale’s image suddenly came to mind. Gale, who buried all the villagers and carried the bodies of his parents and Sasha for Cullen.

Arne seemed incomparably weaker than him, but for some reason, the two overlapped.

“…Yes. They are the parents of a girl named Marie in the temple. They were good people.”

Arne lowered his head deeply. Because of his tall stature, the redness around his eyes was clearly visible. Cullen looked around again. They had to hurry; there was no time to idly mourn the dead.

Even while thinking that, Cullen eventually opened his mouth.

“Kiyen, could I borrow your strength for a moment?”

Kiyen looked at Cullen calmly. He walked towards the corpses and said,

“It’s not a great deal of strength, so I think this much help is possible.”

Cullen pulled the corpses aside.

“This is unexpected.”

Lasano said with an ambiguous expression. He didn’t seem like he would help. If Cullen had commanded him forcefully, he would have moved, but Lasano didn’t seem like the same kind of priest as Arne. He truly observed the situation like a spectator. It was a different kind of spectator than Kiyen.

“Could you find a shovel?”

Cullen asked Arne. Arne stared blankly at him, then nodded and began to run off somewhere. Tears welled up in his eyes, his lips pressed tightly together.

Contrary to expectations, Kiyen helped him. Since it was related to his own matters as a Larkan, intervening to this extent seemed acceptable.

Cullen dug a pit with Arne. Despite his seemingly timid demeanor, Arne seemed to have considerable strength. He moved the bodies silently and diligently.

Most of the corpses were already heavily decomposed. Kiyen moved them using magic.

Working in silence, they were able to gather and bury all the bodies in about two hours. As expected of a small village, there weren’t that many people. In the meantime, Kiyen searched the houses but found no unusual traces or items. There were only signs of life.

Signs that contained small moments that must have made someone happy.

The moment Cullen saw a toy that a child of Sasha’s age might have played with, he was once again confronted with an unbearable sadness. This kind of tragedy was something even Cullen hadn’t witnessed in a long time.

He tried to ignore the emotions brought on by deaths involving children, and covered the bodies with soil.

“Why don’t you bury the belongings with them?”

After moving the bodies, Kiyen, who had been watching Cullen silently, came over and asked. Cullen quietly looked up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you do that when you buried the bird?”

Cullen blinked. A part of his heart melted softly. Sometimes, Kiyen remembered things he didn’t expect. Like his name, or moments like these.

“I did.”

“Then why aren’t you doing it for them?”

Kiyen asked like a child learning something. Cullen was about to say they didn’t have enough time, but then he turned his head to look at Arne.

“This isn’t a proper grave. The belongings… it would be better for Arne-nim and the surviving children to find them after everything is resolved.”

“Why?”

“It would be better for them if the people who loved them handled it.”

Kiyen wore an expression of incomprehension.

“Th-thank you.”

Arne whispered with red eyes that held back his emotions. Seeing his tearful face, Cullen spoke a little colder than usual.

“If the bodies rot, a plague could spread. That’s all.”

“…Yes. Still, thank you for taking your precious time. If, if it’s alright… may I offer a short prayer?”

Cullen nodded. Lasano, who had been leaning against a tree idly the whole time they were moving, stood up the moment he heard the words.

“How about I do it for you?”

“If, if the High Priest were to do so, I would be truly grateful.”

Cullen opened his eyes slightly and looked at Lasano. Lasano lowered his black hood, smiled faintly, and walked towards the ground where the people were buried.

“Goddess, may these souls find peace, and may you comfort their sorrow with your justice.”

Lasano’s red eyes glowed faintly. He politely clasped his hands and bowed his head, then added one last sentence.

“May the blade of judgment descend.”

From the quiet village entrance, a flock of crows cried out and flew into the sky.