IGWNI Ch 10

“What are you going to do.”

Yatenbaum asks, pointing at the unconscious Ramia within the coat. Eustace looked down at Ramia with an indifferent face, offering no response. Yoon Jaewoo’s face was deathly pale.

“That must hurt like hell.”

The arrows used by the guards in Iman’s castle were all cursed with sorcery. If an ordinary person was hit, the curse would make them suffer for half a day, vomiting blood before they died. Because Eustace had treated him right away, his life wasn’t in danger, but the moment he regained consciousness, the pain would begin.

“He needs to feel the pain.”

The voice of Eustace as he said so was cold. He was in a foul mood because of Ramia, who commits unimaginable acts the moment he takes his eyes off him.

“He needs to feel it properly to come to his senses.”

“Is that so? Just give him to me. I’ll take good care of him.”

Yatenbaum gestured for him to hand him over and smiled, but Eustace didn’t even pretend to see it.

“My, my. If I helped you once, you should help me once too.”

“I will do so if an occasion to help arises.”

“You owe me.”

Eustace’s face stiffened. Yatenbaum was an opponent he did not want to be indebted to. It was because he had a disposition to collect on it in some way or another, despite seeming lax.

They had agreed to join forces with Yatenbaum regarding the seal in the Kalit Forest. It was around the time Eustace was staying at an inn that Yatenbaum, who was on his way back from inspecting his territory, found out Eustace was in Raad and sent him a letter. Originally, they were supposed to meet at the entrance of the Kalit Forest, but Yatenbaum had declared he would come to Raad on a sudden whim.

Eustace waited for Ramia while drinking tea near Iman’s castle. As soon as Yatenbaum appeared, his eyes lit up and he looked for the “blondie.” Eustace silently pointed to Iman’s castle. Yatenbaum smiled and asked what on earth he was thinking.

It was a question he could ask because he had personally witnessed what a troublemaker Yoon Jaewoo was. Eustace replied in a calm tone.

‘No matter how stupid he is, he should be able to offer flowers and look into a mirror.’

Yatenbaum stood up from his seat, saying he had to go see the pretty thing holding flowers and wearing a purple hood. Eustace shot him a scornful glare and muttered that he was a crazy bastard. For Iman to invite a Dweord into his palace required a complicated procedure. A Dweord was a being no one could summon carelessly. Iman was a proxy of a god, but also a person who served that will. It meant he was a being who had to be the closest, yet the most distant.

Yatenbaum was not the type to bother with formalities or etiquette in the first place. Eustace also did not care about the opinions of others, but he was the type to uphold the duties he had to as a Dweord.

In particular, Eustace disliked the raccoon-like Hakan Iman, who was blind to power and strength. But entering his castle to coincide with Iman’s birthday was something his pride as a Dweord could not tolerate.

It was when Eustace had coldly remarked, asking if he had no pride, that Yatenbaum had smiled and said, “Is it a bit like that,” and sat down across from him. The bead he had given to Yoon Jaewoo began to resonate. At that short and distinct vibration, Eustace put down the tea he was drinking and rose from his seat.

To Yatenbaum who asked what was wrong, Eustace answered shortly.

‘You’ll have to go into the castle.’

‘What about my pride?’

Yatenbaum asked smoothly.

‘What use does a frivolous thing like you have for that.’

Eustace shot back quietly in a soft voice. It was not as if he hadn’t taken into account that Yatenbaum had been Hakan Iman’s teacher.

In the end, with Yatenbaum’s help, Eustace was able to leave the castle safely with Ramia tucked under his arm.

“What on earth is he thinking.”

Yatenbaum asked, pointing at Yoon Jaewoo.

“How would I know.”

“Let’s regenerate his mouth. I want to hear exactly what he was thinking.”

“He’s noisy enough as it is, how much noisier do you want him to get.”

“Hahahaha. That is true. The little guy is incredibly energetic and noisy, and… he looks tasty, too.”

Yatenbaum licked his lips. Eustace adjusted the overcoat covering Yoon Jaewoo and glared coolly at Yatenbaum. Eustace thought that he would have to tell Yoon Jaewoo someday that Yatenbaum was descended from a race that actually practiced cannibalism.

“Did you feel it too?”

Eustace asked.

“What.”

“A power other than our own.”

“Ah, that.”

Yatenbaum nodded his head.

“I was wondering which bastard had come with his presence so thoroughly concealed. But it wasn’t you. It must be one of two.”

Excluding Yatenbaum and Eustace, what remained were Cox of the south and Malik of the east. Yatenbaum, with a face that said it was no big deal, added, “I guess we can assume it’s one of them.”

“That is why I do not plan on telling anyone about the Kalit Forest seal yet.”

“Why?”

A look of bewilderment flickered across Yatenbaum’s face for a moment.

“Do you think it is right to discuss the matter of the seal with someone who has come to Iman’s castle at a time like this?”

“Hmm…. That is, well, true.”

The Kalit Forest seal was an extremely sensitive topic.

The ancient god, Ashir, was sealed in the Kalit Forest. Stories about Ashir were passed down only by word of mouth. The most powerful Dweord, and for that reason, a Dweord who could not tolerate other beings. The blood of the brothers who died at his hands formed rivers, and their corpses created mountains. After Ashir had driven over ten species to extinction, the remaining Dweord finally combined their powers to seal him in the Kalit Forest.

The aversion to the color black was a fear of Ashir. It was a memory imprinted through blood. In this world, black was a symbol of ugliness that should not exist.

No Dweord of any era ever spoke of Ashir. Examining the seal in the Kalit Forest was a matter to be decided by a gathering of Dweord from all species. It was a law among the gods. A very simple, and resolute law.

“That birdbrain is probably holed up somewhere by now where letters can’t even reach him, so the problem is the kitten.”

“There is no certainty that Philippte did not come here either.”

“That is true, but so, are you saying we should check the barrier for now?”

“Although I don’t feel any major problems right now, it would be better to check anyway.”

“It’s too risky to exclude just one of them, so let’s exclude them both for now?”

“Yes.”

“What about me?”

Yatenbaum pointed at himself with a playful smile.

“You’re not interested in Azhar’s seat anyway.”

“Hahahaha. Aren’t you a little too confident?”

“Are you? The story changes if you are.”

A bluish light seeped from Eustace’s eyes. Yatenbaum feigned stepping back, saying, “Whoops.” Even though he wore a face that made it impossible to know what he was thinking, Yatenbaum knew well that Eustace was the greediest of the four Dweord.

“What a personality. You know I’m not, …oh.”

Just then, a faint moan leaked out from within the coat. Eustace lifted the cloth to check inside. Yoon Jaewoo, having regained consciousness, was making whimpering sounds.

“Ah, it hurts….”

“Are you coming to your senses? Why on earth did you go running around in there and get hit by an arrow.”

Yatenbaum clicked his tongue as he looked down at Yoon Jaewoo. Eustace raised his hand and placed it on Yoon Jaewoo’s forehead.

“He’s developing a fever.”

“His head will feel like it’s in a pit of fire from the fever, but his body will feel like it’s been plunged into ice water. Tsk tsk, what a shame.”

“Ah, c-cold…. It hurts….”

Eustace looked down indifferently at Yoon Jaewoo, who was trembling and muttering words he could not understand.

Imprinting memories through pain is the best method. Especially for someone who doesn’t listen like that, they must be made to remember it painfully.

And yet.

“Ah, I…, it hurts…, ugh…. …sob.”

Yoon Jaewoo, who had been trembling uncontrollably, buried his head in the coat and swallowed a sob. That sight strangely grated on Eustace’s eyes. It was not at all pleasant.

Eustace straightened Yoon Jaewoo’s head to make him look at himself.

His pupils, hazy from the fever, blinked. His mouth, contorted in pain, constantly pleaded of his agony.

“It hurts…, sob, …it hurts, it hurts….”

“Dear me.”

Yatenbaum said with pity, brushing Yoon Jaewoo’s sweat-soaked hair back with his hand. Eustace slapped his hand away.

“He’s not dead yet.”

“Will you give him to me if he dies?”

“I’ll think about that when the time comes.”

Muttering that indifferently, Eustace called to Yoon Jaewoo.

“Ramia.”

“…It hurts…. So much….”

Yoon Jaewoo’s lips were parched from the high fever. He would not die, but until the poison disappeared from his body, a pain beyond words would continue.

“It will take a while for him to come to his senses. What do you intend to do with him?”

“I’m taking him to the Kalit Forest.”

“Right. Let’s tie him to a nearby tree for a while. Or it’d be good to dig a pit and bury him for a bit.”

“No. I intend to take him to the barrier where the seal is.”

The smile was wiped from Yatenbaum’s face as if washed away. He stared at his cousin with an expression that said, ‘what did I just hear?’

“Rau. Are you mad?”

“No.”

“But you’re saying you’re taking Ramia there now?”

The Kalit Forest was a place only Dweord could set foot in. Tying Ramia up somewhere nearby and going was one thing, but taking him to the barrier where Ashir was sealed was a completely different problem. A war could break out if things went wrong. Ashir’s barrier was that sensitive of an issue.

“There is an interference of power.”

“That’s because he’s a Ramia who came from somewhere far away….”

“I doubt you haven’t also thought about a black Ramia who arrived in such a chaotic time.”

“…….”

Yatenbaum could not continue.

He had thrown out a word or two as a joke, but he hadn’t known Eustace would take it so seriously. He was even saying he would take Ramia all the way to the Kalit Forest; Yatenbaum found this situation difficult to readily accept.

“Ashir is, originally….”

“St…stop chattering….”

Yoon Jaewoo gripped Eustace’s hem with his hand. Eustace’s expression also hardened.

“You bastards…. Stop chattering…it, I hurt…I’m going to…d-die…, …. It hurts….”

The hand gripping Eustace’s hem tightened. Yatenbaum let out a small laugh.

“Rau. No matter how I look at it, I really like this one. Can’t you really give him to me?”

“How many times do I have to tell you no for you to understand.”

Eustace tried to pry Yoon Jaewoo’s hand from his hem, but it was no use. As if it were his only lifeline in the midst of his pain, Yoon Jaewoo clutched Eustace’s hem with all his might.

Eustace sighed softly and then spoke to Ramia.

“I will change your senses if you wish.”

“sob…it hurts…, …ugh.”

“I cannot gauge to what extent the pain in your body will disappear, so it could be even harder.”

It was true. Excessive pleasure is harder to bear than pain. Besides, not long ago, Yoon Jaewoo had told him never to do such a thing to him again.

“Hahaha. You’ll change his senses? You really must be unwilling to hand that Ramia over.”

Yatenbaum, who had been covetously eyeing Ramia thinking he would be useful even if dead, said in surprise.

Eustace was the Dweord who ruled over ice and wind. His disposition was as cold as could be. For such a man to be offering to show generosity to a mere Ramia and change his pain, it was impossible not to be surprised.

As Eustace raised his hand to touch Yoon Jaewoo’s body, Yoon Jaewoo shook his head.

“…Don’t want to…. hnn.”

His bitten lip burst, and blood flowed. Yet, Yatenbaum watched the Ramia who stubbornly shook his head with an expression of wonder.

“You don’t want to? Why?”

Eustace silently placed his hand on Yoon Jaewoo’s forehead. He could feel Yoon Jaewoo’s body flinching from the high fever. Yoon Jaewoo was in such agony, it seemed the flame of his life would be extinguished at any moment.

“He says he doesn’t want to, so just leave him be. As you said, he needs to feel some pain to come to his senses.”

Yatenbaum said in a light tone. Though he always had a jovially smiling face, he was a god of war who boasted a cruelty second to none.

Eustace, too, agreed with those words to some extent.

In truth, he could just load him into the back of the carriage and drive to the Kalit Forest. He had taken all the necessary minimal measures, so he would not die. That would be the end of the matter. If he refuses a Dweord’s generosity, there is no need for this side to force it.

And yet.

“It hurts…. …It hurts….”

Yoon Jaewoo muttered, tears streaming down his face. His body contorted in pain. Blood trickled from his bitten lip. In the words of another world he could not understand, the Ramia continued to plead his agony.

It’s grating.

That sound, it was so grating he couldn’t stand it.

“…It hurts….”

Yoon Jaewoo bent over and let out a pained groan. Not just his face, but even his lips had lost their color and were deathly pale. Even so, he did not let go of the hand gripping Eustace’s hem. Eustace could understand what that meant.

“Get out.”

“What?”

“Get out for a bit. I’m going to put up a barrier.”

“Rau, what kind of barrier are you putting up?”

Yatenbaum asked again, looking more dumbfounded than when he had been told to enter Iman’s castle.

“It’s because of you.”

“Because of me? What did I do. Rau, have you lost your mind?”

Eustace’s gaze fell on Yoon Jaewoo’s face. He bent over and whispered something in Yoon Jaewoo’s ear in a small voice, and Yoon Jaewoo nodded his head slightly.

“Get out.”

“What?”

“If you don’t get out, I will force you out.”

A barrier created by a Dweord was the same as his domain. To enter it, one needed the Dweord’s permission. Yatenbaum, unable to understand why his cousin was suddenly acting this way, just stood there with his mouth agape, dumbfounded.

Yoon Jaewoo let out a gasping groan and had a seizure. Eustace clicked his tongue, tsk, and extended a hand towards Yatenbaum. With a thud, an invisible force pushed Yatenbaum far away. Before Yatenbaum, who was furious to the tips of his hair, could say anything, Eustace created a small barrier centered on Ramia. From the outside, nothing inside the barrier could be perceived. The inside was a completely separate world.

Eustace laid Yoon Jaewoo, who was wrapped snugly in the coat, down properly and said.

“I said to all fall back.”

“Hnngh…. …Ah…. It hurts….”

“Yes.”

Eustace raised his hand and placed it on Yoon Jaewoo’s shoulder. It was where he had been hit by the poison. The root of the pain had started from here. Sensation had to be controlled from the root.

As he put strength into his hand, Yoon Jaewoo gasped, hak, and his body trembled. His senses had begun to shake.

“It will be alright.”

Eustace’s cold voice reached Yoon Jaewoo’s ear. Even amidst the endless pain, only Eustace’s voice held onto Yoon Jaewoo’s sanity. Yoon Jaewoo nodded his head, tears streaming down.

Eustace put more strength into his hand. His body vibrated. Yoon Jaewoo’s body thrashed and flapped like a freshly caught fish. His round forehead was quickly soaked with sweat. His hair, glittering like fine golden threads, trembled powerlessly.

Eustace pressed down on Ramia’s body with one hand. The sound of his heart pounding wildly could be heard through his palm. It was proof that all the blood in his body was racing due to the shift in sensation.

“Ah…, hh…, hngh….”

Slowly, Yoon Jaewoo’s lips parted. A faint groan, not one tinged with pain like before, but a moan with a different meaning, leaked out.

“Hnngh, ah…, I….”

Eustace covered Ramia’s lower half with the hem of his coat. Yoon Jaewoo bent his waist and let out a thin moan.

“Still, I have to do more.”

“Haah, ah, ngh, I, I…. haah.”

Yoon Jaewoo gripped Eustace’s hem with a trembling hand. The sound of his panting grew rougher, and his face and nape flushed a rosy red.

A look of displeasure appeared on Eustace’s face.

For such a young thing to be making such lewd sounds already.

“Ah, hngh, ah…, ah, my, my body…is hot….”

Yoon Jaewoo coughed. The blood in his body had become so heated that the breath scraping his throat was hot. He wanted to do something, anything, but he had no strength and couldn’t even control his body properly.

Panting, Yoon Jaewoo clung to Eustace and told him to save him. Even that was a request he managed to stammer out with difficulty. Yoon Jaewoo’s head was ringing from the hot sensation racing through his body.

Eustace closed his eyes and traced Ramia’s senses. There was still a lot of pain left. Tears welled up in Yoon Jaewoo’s large eyes. Every time he blinked, tears streamed down, soaking his cheeks.

“Heuk, ah, hhh…ngh. ah, euk.”

He made sounds more grating than when he was writhing in pain.

Eustace’s face grew increasingly rigid. He was experiencing a rare moment of regret, feeling he shouldn’t have interfered.

However, once he had started, he had to completely transmute the sensation. If he stopped midway, the other’s sensory system could become completely jumbled and ruined.

“Ah, ah! Please, I, haah…, hnngh.”

Yoon Jaewoo’s hand gripping Eustace’s hem turned white. It was a situation he could do nothing about with his own strength. Yoon Jaewoo muttered, “please,” over and over in a tearful voice.

Eustace could not fully understand his words. Only a mumbling-like echo was carried on the wind.

After letting out a light sigh, Eustace moved his hand. The wind rose, and the long hem of his coat covered Ramia’s body.

At the sound of a lurch, Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes flew open.

“Are you awake?”

At Yatenbaum’s voice, Yoon Jaewoo looked around in surprise. He was inside a carriage. Yatenbaum covered his body with a piece of clothing and said.

“Your body is probably still a bit stiff.”

“Wh-what, how….”

“Lie down.”

“I was at Iman’s castle. The flowers….”

Having spoken that far, Yoon Jaewoo touched his forehead and grimaced. His body felt languidly sore. It felt like the morning after running endless laps around a field without rest and waking up without having cooled down.

“The flowers, dammit, if only that kid wasn’t an orphan, ow ow ow.”

Yoon Jaewoo let out a pained sound and closed his eyes. Over his closed eyes, the events from before he lost his memory flashed by.

He gave the flowers, beat up a guard and knocked him out, took the back route, and then… ouch, he got lost and again… that’s right. That guy who was with Iman!

Yoon Jaewoo shot up again.

“Eustace!”

Yoon Jaewoo called his name. Yatenbaum, beside him, laughed with his mouth open as if dumbfounded.

“Eustace! Eustace!”

No one called a Dweord’s name like that. Because they would not dare to. Yoon Jaewoo even stuck his head out of the carriage window and knocked on the door.

“Hey! Hey! Are you listening?!”

Eustace, who was driving the horses, looked back. His eyes narrowed slightly upon confirming it was Yoon Jaewoo.

“I have something to tell you!”

“Mäden!”

As soon as Eustace’s word was out, Yatenbaum pulled Yoon Jaewoo back and sat him down. Yoon Jaewoo stared at Yatenbaum with wide, round eyes.

“You don’t remember? You just escaped death’s door.”

Yatenbaum reached out and pulled down the hem of Yoon Jaewoo’s clothes. Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw the still unhealed wound on his shoulder.

Right, he was discovered while hiding in the hallway and threw himself out the window….

“Gasp! Suddenly, just, that’s what happened.”

Yoon Jaewoo recalled Eustace holding him and Yatenbaum appearing just in time.

“How did you get here?”

Yoon Jaewoo asked, looking at Yatenbaum. Yatenbaum, who had no way of understanding his words, grinned widely and answered.

“You look even more delicious now that I see you after a while. You.”

“…Ah, …yes.”

What kind of conversation could I have with a pervert.

Yoon Jaewoo avoided Yatenbaum’s gaze and shifted in his seat. After an awkward silence, Yatenbaum spoke first.

“How is your body?”

“Well, just…, languid and a bit sleepy, I guess. Why is my body like this. Did they put some kind of sleeping drug on the arrows.”

Yoon Jaewoo muttered, rolling his shoulders this way and that. Yatenbaum burst out laughing with a small pfft. When Yoon Jaewoo looked up with a ‘what’s wrong’ expression, Yatenbaum turned his head, covering his face with his palm. A sense of unease suddenly reared its head.

“Why? What is it? Why are you being like this? Why?”

Yoon Jaewoo asked. When their eyes met, Yatenbaum burst out laughing again. This time, he didn’t even think of hiding it and laughed like a madman.

“With a person right in front of you, tell me what it is. Let’s laugh together.”

“Hahahahahaha. Ah, I’m really going crazy.”

“What do you mean, going crazy. You were already crazy, what is it?”

As Yoon Jaewoo asked with wide, round eyes, Yatenbaum wrapped an arm around his neck as if he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Aack! What are you doing! This pervert!”

“Come to me before you die. Hmm? I’ll treat you really prettily.”

“I said let go! You pervert!”

“The fact that I don’t know what you’re thinking makes you even prettier.”

Yatenbaum brought his lips to Yoon Jaewoo’s face. Yoon Jaewoo let out a shriek, “Aack!” The carriage stopped at that moment. The door opened and Eustace, with an angry expression, pointed at Yatenbaum and said, “you.”

“Why?”

“Do you know how old he is?”

“How old is he?”

Yatenbaum asked indifferently.

“Twenty-three.”

“What? …No way.”

“What do you mean, no way. Do I look that old? What’s so what about being twenty-three!”

“So don’t touch him.”

Eustace gave a short warning. Yatenbaum looked Yoon Jaewoo up and down with a strange expression, then sank into thought.

“How about it. His appearance looks like it would be okay to touch, so even if he’s twenty-three, I think it might be fine.”

“You have no conscience.”

“Why would you look for something like that in me.”

“He’s too young.”

“He is young. Is that why his head was so bad? Because he’s not fully ripe.”

Yatenbaum’s large palm pressed down on Yoon Jaewoo’s head and looked it over this way and that. Like someone trying to find a spot that wasn’t closed properly.

“What are you doing. For your information, on the ground, I’m considered an intelligent player.”

“Don’t touch a young thing that still has the blood wet on its head.”

“And you, what did you do inside the barrier with that young thing.”

As Yatenbaum asked with a lazy smile, Eustace’s expression hardened coolly. Yoon Jaewoo, curious about what it meant to have done something inside the barrier, perked up his ears and diligently eavesdropped on their conversation.

“And my overcoat is completely ruined because of it.”

“That’s enough.”

“So even if he’s young, he can do everything he needs to do? And everything that needs to come out, comes out.”

“…What are you talking about?”

He turned the question to Eustace, with whom he could at least communicate. As Yoon Jaewoo’s large, doe-like eyes turned to him, Eustace’s expression became even more desolate.

He reached out and pulled Yatenbaum out of the carriage. Yatenbaum, who was suddenly thrown to the ground, dropped his smile and yelled, “hey, you bastard.”

“Rau. This is already the second time today you’ve thrown me.”

“You drive.”

“What?”

“I have been driving until now, so now you drive.”

Yatenbaum let out a hollow laugh as if in disbelief. Eustace, regardless, threw down the whip he was holding, climbed into the carriage, and closed the door.

Yatenbaum’s grumbling could be heard, and then the front of the carriage felt like it was heavily settling down. The horses began to run again.

Once he was left alone with Eustace, the atmosphere became even more bloodcurdling. Yoon Jaewoo felt anxious, wondering what other trouble he had caused while he had no memory.

Fidgeting with his fingers, he began to speak, “umm.” Eustace, who was leaning against the window, slightly turned his gaze.

“Did I say some kind of, …harsh words or something….”

As Yoon Jaewoo rolled his eyes, watching his reaction, Eustace turned his head to the side. Yoon Jaewoo’s heart sank. It seemed he had said not just harsh words, but extraordinarily harsh words.

“I, I don’t know what I said, but I was delirious from the pain…, wait, I was hit by an arrow, why am I so okay.”

Yoon Jaewoo pulled down his clothes to check the wound. The reddish mark that remained was just enough to say, ‘I was hit by an arrow around here.’ It was a wound no one would believe was from an arrow hit half a day ago.

“Did you fix it?”

Yoon Jaewoo asked, pointing at the wound. Eustace nodded without turning his gaze.

“Ah, so that’s why it’s all healed….”

The situation at the inn when he had applied medicine flashed quickly through Yoon Jaewoo’s memory.

No way. No way no way no way no way.

“…Did you do that?”

It was a process that was difficult to even name. That strange treatment that reversed sensations.

“Yes.”

“Why! I told you not to! Why don’t you listen to people. Am I that much of a joke to you because I’m a Ramia?”

Eustace turned his head. Yoon Jaewoo flinched at his cold expression, but he decided to argue what needed to be argued.

“I, I said I don’t like that, I told you not to do it….”

“You asked me to do it.”

“What? Really?”

Yoon Jaewoo could not believe Eustace’s words.

He had suffered so much heartache thinking he had become a pervert because of that incident. No matter how out of his mind he was, there was no way he would have asked that bastard for that!

As Yoon Jaewoo’s suspicious eyes glared, Eustace beckoned with his finger. After a moment’s hesitation, Yoon Jaewoo leaned his head forward. Eustace gripped Jaewoo’s jaw.

“You said you absolutely didn’t want it in front of Mäden.”

“Yes?”

“So I asked if it would be okay if I sent Mäden out, and you nodded your head.”

“…What….”

“I bestowed my generosity, and you dare.”

Eustace muttered through his teeth, releasing Yoon Jaewoo’s jaw as if pushing it away.

“I, I did that…, what generosity, talking such nonsense….”

Hearing that he had asked for it with his own mouth, Yoon Jaewoo could not hide his bewilderment and stuttered.

“Lies!”

That was the conclusion he barely reached after stammering for a long time.

“There’s no way I would do that. Absolutely not.”

Eustace looked at his Ramia as if he were pathetic.

“You’re punishing me now because I didn’t offer the flowers properly, right?”

“What are you talking about.”

“Me, Ramia. You, Dweord. Punish. Flower, flower.”

Yoon Jaewoo raised both hands in a gesture of being punished, then made a motion of carrying flowers. Eustace still had a look of not understanding.

“No matter how much it hurt, asking you to do that…. …If you hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t be able to sit here like this….”

He wouldn’t. He absolutely wouldn’t be able to.

Yoon Jaewoo recalled the pain he felt before losing consciousness. A pain so terrible it felt like his arm was burning away, a pain that made him wish his arm would just be cut off.

Yoon Jaewoo gingerly touched his shoulder. Other than his body feeling generally languid and stiff, there was no particular discomfort.

In other words, it meant Eustace had changed his pain into a different sensation.

“Aack.”

Yoon Jaewoo grabbed his head and buried it between his knees. The thought that he had gone through that miserable experience in front of Eustace again made it impossible for him to lift his head.

Eustace looked down at the Ramia with his head buried between his knees and let out a dry laugh. He reached out and made Yoon Jaewoo lift his head.

“Instead of feeling honored to have received a Dweord’s grace.”

“…That’s not grace. Besides, wait a minute.”

Yatenbaum’s comment that even if he was young, he could do everything he needed to do, and everything that needed to come out, came out, was something I couldn’t ignore; that must just be my useless apprehension, right?

Yoon Jaewoo asked with a deathly pale face and trembling lips.

“…What did you do? …Again.”

It seemed to take a long time to pronounce the word, ‘again.’ Eustace stared at Yoon Jaewoo blankly before replying coldly.

“That too was what you wanted.”

Yoon Jaewoo’s face turned redder than it had ever been. Eustace watched the Ramia’s ever-changing complexion with his chin propped on his hand.

“No, no way. …I hate it. …I’m going to die.”

The bright red face had turned deathly white in no time. Yoon Jaewoo covered his face with his palms and let his shoulders slump, saying, “I want to die.”

“This bastard and that bastard, they’re all perverts. Dammit.”

He couldn’t understand the meaning of the muttered words, but Eustace had a hunch that there was definitely a curse directed at him included. Eustace’s blue eyes curved narrowly. He forced the Ramia’s face up. In a gentle voice, Eustace asked Yoon Jaewoo.

“If you wish, I will return the pain from that time.”

“……!”

“No, I could make it even more painful. How about it?”

His blue eyes shone eerily.

Through his eyes, Yoon Jaewoo read the fact that the words he was speaking now were Eustace’s truth, without a single lie mixed in.

“N-no. No, sir.”

Yoon Jaewoo desperately shook his head.

“For your information, I did not directly lay a hand on you.”

“What? Without laying a hand on me, then don’t tell me….”

As Yoon Jaewoo bit his lip and his body trembled, Eustace slapped his back with his palm. Yoon Jaewoo bent over, saying, “ow ow.” It seemed not all the pain had disappeared, as even a small impact hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes.

Eustace clicked his tongue lowly and grimaced.

“How dare you, to have such vulgar thoughts about a Dweord.”

“Th-then if not with your hands, then with what…. …Never mind. I don’t want to hear it.”

Finding out the details would only cause him mental damage. As Yoon Jaewoo covered his ears and shook his head, Eustace withdrew his gaze as if to say, do as you please.

After shaking his head for a long time, banging his head against the carriage wall, and muttering to himself, Yoon Jaewoo slapped his face with his palms to come to his senses.

“Aack!”

Because of the curse’s energy remaining in his body, he had only slapped himself lightly, but the pain transmitted was on the level of a hard spike from a volleyball player.

As Yoon Jaewoo clutched his cheek and panted, Eustace reached out his hand. When his fingers touched his cheek, Yoon Jaewoo flinched in surprise and pulled his body back.

Eustace smiled faintly.

“Ramia.”

“…Yes.”

Every time the man called him like that, Yoon Jaewoo felt all the strength drain from his body.

Eustace’s fingers traced along Yoon Jaewoo’s hair and caressed the area around his forehead. Yoon Jaewoo held his breath, waiting for the other’s next words.

“Come to think of it, I have not yet asked about the sin of not listening to my words.”

The fingers swept down his face. His cheek throbbed with a stinging pain. Yoon Jaewoo swallowed a groan, “euk.”

“Do not leave the path, do not take off the hood, do not speak. Tell me, which of these did you obey and which did you disobey.”

“Uh, um, that….”

It was a situation where he had no excuse even if he had ten mouths. Yoon Jaewoo, sweating coldly, indulged in the useless fantasy of how he could disappear like smoke in front of two Dweord.

“Since you’ve caused such a commotion, you must have seen something, right?”

Eustace reached into Yoon Jaewoo’s clothes and pulled out the mirror. Yoon Jaewoo smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

“Then all you did by going there was get hit by an arrow?”

Eustace’s voice hardened heavily.

“N-no. Ah, that’s right. Yes!”

Recalling the important clue that could save his life, Yoon Jaewoo’s face brightened. He had a thought that the conversation Iman and the unknown man had in the hallway was surely important to them as well.

“I overheard. Next to that man, Iman or whatever, there was someone. But….”

“Speak slowly.”

“Sooo. Neext too hiim, there waaas a peerson….”

Eustace looked down at Yoon Jaewoo as if he were pathetic, then pulled him over and sat him down next to himself.

“Huh? Speak even more slowly?”

He had spoken like a stretched-out tape; he wondered if he had to stretch it out even more. However, the command that came back was unexpected.

“Whisper it clearly.”

“What?”

“Into my ear.”

Yoon Jaewoo wore an expression that said he could not readily understand the meaning of the words he had just heard.

“I can hear better that way. But speak clearly.”

Come to think of it, he remembered that when he whispered in his ear in the alley, Eustace had understood his words right away.

At that time, he had whispered without much thought because people were passing by and he wanted to speak quietly, but now that he was being told to do it outright, it felt strange. Yoon Jaewoo hesitated, repeatedly moving his face closer and then pulling back.

Eustace turned his head. He gripped Yoon Jaewoo’s jaw and made him bring his face to his ear.

“Okay. So.”

Yoon Jaewoo began to explain what he had seen and heard in as much detail as possible. There were words or phrases he couldn’t understand, but for now, he told it as he had heard it.

After finishing his explanation, Yoon Jaewoo nervously pulled back slightly. Eustace’s expression was not much different from before he had heard the story.

“Didn’t you understand me? Should I say it again?”

As Yoon Jaewoo leaned his body forward again, Eustace pressed his face with his palm.

“That’s enough.”

“…Ngh.”

“We’ll have to stop the carriage.”

“What?”

“Mäden!”

Eustace opened the window and called Yatenbaum’s name. Yatenbaum, who had been driving the carriage while sitting laxly, turned around.

“Stop the carriage.”

“Am I your driver!”

Although he answered irritably, Yatenbaum stopped the carriage right away. Eustace opened the carriage door. He got out and began to talk with Yatenbaum.

Yoon Jaewoo sat still in the carriage, waiting for their conversation to end. In the sky he suddenly looked up at with an unknown sense of unease, a large moon was looking down on them from low above.

From deep in the forest, the cry of an unknown bird echoed at length.

The carriage stopped, and the two spoke for a long time. Their voices gradually grew louder, and the atmosphere became tense.

He did not know the detailed circumstances, but he was told that at least two or more Dweord were needed to enter the Kalit Forest. Eustace argued that it would not be too late to go to the forest after first confirming who the Dweord that had visited Iman was, and Yatenbaum argued, “who gives a damn about that,” and insisted they go to the forest first.

The difference in opinion between Eustace and Yatenbaum did not narrow. In the end, they unpacked their luggage on the spot and ended up spending the night in the forest. They declared that they would settle the matter when the sun rose the next morning.

Yoon Jaewoo felt a little thrilled, thinking he might get to see a spectacle of gods fighting one another. It was natural for a man to be excited at the prospect of being able to watch a proper fight.

Even while stopping the carriage and preparing their sleeping arrangements, the two continued their war of words.

Yatenbaum grumbled that they were wasting time when they still had a long way to run to get to the Kalit Forest, and Eustace said it would be better to turn back now.

So even gods have verbal arguments. Well, even if they’re omnipotent, they are a far cry from the generous and benevolent gods we commonly know.

“Actually, how would I know if the gods of that other world are generous and benevolent. If I actually met them, they might be even worse than these guys.”

Yoon Jaewoo pictured the scene of Buddha or Jesus having a childish argument and burst out laughing by himself. Since coming here, many of his preconceptions about gods had disappeared. He began to think that perhaps gods were beings not so different from humans.

He heard Eustace’s voice shouting at Yatenbaum, calling him a bastard who carries his head around as a decoration. The atmosphere was murderous, but Yoon Jaewoo did not pay it much mind.

Fight or not.

Wherever they went was a matter that had nothing to do with him. It would be a win if he just watched for a chance to escape. The most he hoped for was that they would decide on a route that was convenient for him to escape from.

Yatenbaum, as if exhausted, shook his head and approached Yoon Jaewoo.

“We’ll have to light a fire.”

“I’ll get the wood….”

“You, sit still.”

Eustace issued an order to Yoon Jaewoo to sit still and not move an inch.

Since his body had not yet completely recovered, Yoon Jaewoo, against his will, came to enjoy the luxury of being served by two Dweord.

Yatenbaum, who had gathered dry wood from the forest, lit a fire without difficulty. Seeing the fire flare up with a single gesture, Yoon Jaewoo’s jaw dropped in amazement.

Seeing that sight, Yatenbaum burst out laughing.

“What’s so fascinating?”

“Huh? Just, well….”

“Rau. Are you sure you explained to the Ramia what a Dweord is?”

“I did. He might not understand because he’s slow-witted, though.”

“I am not slow-witted.”

He retorted in a flash of anger, but both of them seemed to have little interest in Yoon Jaewoo’s words.

“Does he not understand well because he’s young? How can he look at me with those eyes every time I do something?”

Yatenbaum smiled and turned his gaze to Yoon Jaewoo.

What’s wrong with my eyes. Yoon Jaewoo muttered, examining his face in the mirror he had put in his pocket.

The eyes that had changed color were still unfamiliar, but his looks were still handsome. While Yoon Jaewoo was looking at the mirror contentedly, Eustace went into the forest, saying he was going to get water.

“Ramia.”

Yatenbaum called to Yoon Jaewoo, who was smiling faintly while looking in the mirror.

“What is it.”

A flame sparked at Yatenbaum’s fingertip. The small, flickering flame began to squirm and move in the air like a living creature with a will of its own. Yoon Jaewoo’s gaze naturally followed the flame.

The flame took the shape of a bird and flew in the sky. Yoon Jaewoo, with a “woah,” opened his mouth and looked up at the bird. In that interval, Yatenbaum came up next to him and wrapped an arm around Yoon Jaewoo’s shoulder.

“Shall I show you something better.”

Yoon Jaewoo smiled and removed Yatenbaum’s hand. Yatenbaum persistently put his arm back up and gestured to the bird flying in the sky. The bird slowly flew over and approached Yoon Jaewoo. The bird made of flames moved as if every single one of its feathers were alive.

“Woah….”

“You can touch it. It’s not hot.”

Yoon Jaewoo touched the area around the bird’s wing with his finger. The flame trembled as if the startled bird was flapping its wings.

Yoon Jaewoo smiled brightly. It was fun and amazing. It reminded him of the magic shows he had wanted to see so badly as a child but could never see. Yatenbaum was too big and rough-looking to be a magician, but the things that unfolded from his fingertips were as beautiful and wondrous as the magic he had yearned for in his childhood.

“Isn’t it fun?”

Yatenbaum spoke with the face of a bad man coaxing a child.

This pervert. What kind of trick is he trying to pull now.

When Yoon Jaewoo gave a lukewarm reply, saying, “it is fun,” Yatenbaum put strength into his fingertips and sent the bird soaring into the air.

Sparks flew wherever the bird landed. The sky was dyed with red flames like a spectacular fireworks display. He tried hard not to show it, but Yoon Jaewoo, without realizing it, let his guard down and watched the spectacle with his mouth open like a child.

It was a beautiful moment.

That beauty faded in an instant. A wind that blew from somewhere killed the bird made of flames on the spot.

“Gasp.”

When Yoon Jaewoo turned around in surprise, Eustace, who had returned with water in a water-skin, was standing there with a blank expression.

“Rau. You bastard.”

Yatenbaum got angry and then moved his hand again to create a flame. However, it didn’t last long and had to vanish into the air as soon as it was created by the blowing wind.

“What’s wrong with you.”

“We have not left Raad yet. Stop showing off your power so much.”

Eustace sat down across from Yoon Jaewoo. Yoon Jaewoo sat far away from Yatenbaum. Yatenbaum, not minding, moved right up next to Yoon Jaewoo.

“Sit a little further away.”

“Blondie. Did you not suffer any hardship after entering Iman’s castle.”

“You saw me get hit by an arrow. I suffered hardship, if that’s the case. Plenty.”

Just talking about it seemed to make his shoulder feel cold, so Yoon Jaewoo rubbed his left shoulder with one hand.

“Huh? It still hurts? Eustace must have done it properly. Very, properly.”

Noticing the teasing contained within those words, Yoon Jaewoo’s face turned bright red.

“Did he fix you up properly?”

“Are you saying I made a mistake?”

“But why does he seem to be in pain? It seems like you fixed him up, enough to drench my overcoat.”

Yoon Jaewoo shouted, “Uwaaack,” and covered his ears with his palms.

I can’t hear. I can’t hear that.

Making “woah woah woah” sounds with his mouth, Yoon Jaewoo shook his head. Yatenbaum, watching him, shrugged his shoulders and burst out laughing.

“Seeing him like that, he’s definitely a kid.”

“He’s a fledgling. Having lived for barely twenty years.”

“Wow, twenty years old. Do you even remember that time?”

Yatenbaum asked, poking the pile of firewood with a stick.

“I wonder.”

Yoon Jaewoo, noticing that the topic of conversation had shifted away from him, stealthily removed his palms from his ears.

“Looking at his appearance, he seems all grown up though.”

Yatenbaum’s gaze swept up and down Yoon Jaewoo’s body.

“I am all grown up. I’m an adult.”

Though they wouldn’t understand, since it was his story, he chimed in with a word. Eustace, hearing Yoon Jaewoo’s reply, glanced at him once with a slightly displeased expression, then drank the water from the water container.

“A young thing, there’s nothing he can’t say.”

“You keep calling me young, young, and I don’t know if you two have eaten more age than me, but I’m not that young either.”

Yoon Jaewoo had been completely into the fun of mixing slang or swear words between his words lately. He spoke to Eustace in a very polite tone.

“Of course, you on that side have probably gotten a lot fucking older than me, but there’s no need to treat me like such a greenhorn.”

“What is he saying?”

“He’s calling you an old man.”

“What?”

As Yatenbaum shouted, the fire on the firewood flared up. Yoon Jaewoo flinched his shoulders and waved his hand.

“No, how can you just convey that part without the context. The main point of my words is the latter sentence.”

“Ramia. I was being easy on you because you’re a child, but you’re quite impertinent.”

Yatenbaum’s eyes glinted bright red.

“I appreciate you being easy on me, but I am not a child, I’m an adult. A full-grown adult.”

He was curious as to what the age system in this world was, for these two to keep calling him a child.

Yoon Jaewoo turned his gaze to Eustace.

“What is the age of an adult here? Age, adult, all grown up.”

Yoon Jaewoo said, placing his palm on the ground and then raising it straight up to the sky. Eustace roughly understood the meaning of his words and replied.

“You have to be over a hundred.”

“What?”

“A hundred is young too. Honestly. You have to be at least one hundred and twenty to have a ripe taste.”

“What…, how many years do you live to….”

Yoon Jaewoo, thinking, ‘oh my god,’ wiped his face with his palm. In that case, to the people here, wasn’t he really just like a child.

“Twenty-three. He is young.”

“I told you he’s a fledgling.”

“Still, he can do everything he needs to do, can’t he?”

Yatenbaum asked that and fixed his gaze on Yoon Jaewoo. Yoon Jaewoo pointed at himself with a finger, asking, “me?”

“Young Ramia. Judging by the skill with which you soaked my overcoat, it certainly wasn’t a skill you’ve done just once or twice.”

“Th-that’s.”

He had masturbated countless times. He had a healthier body than other men his age, so he had done it at a justifiable number of times and frequency.

“Hahaha. Surely this fellow hasn’t done it with a woman.”

Yatenbaum laughed heartily and pointed at Yoon Jaewoo.

“What could a bright-eyed young kid do.”

“…….”

At Yoon Jaewoo’s silence, the two men’s sharp gazes flew at him in unison.

“You’ve done it?”

“Did you?”

“…….”

A silence of affirmation.

“Wuhahaha. Contrary to his appearance, this fellow has a very cheeky side to him.”

Yatenbaum laughed, patting Yoon Jaewoo’s shoulder with his palm.

“I like it. I’m liking him more and more.”

However, Eustace’s expression sank fiercely. Yoon Jaewoo felt as if he had committed some great sin from Eustace’s cold gaze on his cheek.

Eustace, after staring at Yoon Jaewoo for a long time, muttered in a low voice.

“No wonder, …he was the epitome of lewdness.”

“What did you say?”

“That’s enough. Let’s stop this conversation.”

“In my world, I’m an adult.”

Yoon Jaewoo grumbled sulkily, but Eustace, seemingly in a bad mood, didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Since it’s a body that has done it with a woman, you can do it with me too. Right?”

“That’s fine. I refuse.”

Yoon Jaewoo firmly rejected Yatenbaum’s advances. Yatenbaum persistently continued speaking while kneading Yoon Jaewoo’s left shoulder.

“The young fellow is still amazing. Weren’t you scared when you were hit by the arrow?”

“There’s no way a man of the Republic of Korea would be scared of something like that…. …I was scared. Very much.”

Eustace wasn’t going to interpret his words anyway, so there was no need to hide his true feelings and embellish his words. Yoon Jaewoo confessed his honest feelings.

“Are you kidding me? People are chasing me to kill me, if that’s not scary, is that a god or a human?”

“I don’t know what you’re babbling about, but your courage is great. I don’t know what influence the story you heard will have on the current situation, but I am thinking of giving you a reward.”

Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes lit up.

He hadn’t been here for very long, but he could be sure of one thing.

Rewards and punishments were clear. In any situation, Eustace made rewards and punishments clear. Yoon Jaewoo grabbed Yatenbaum’s hem.

“My leg!”

“Hmm?”

“Fix my leg.”

Yoon Jaewoo smiled brightly and pointed to his own right leg. Yatenbaum nodded his head, saying, “ah.”

“That is only possible with Rau’s permission. The kind of reward I can give is more external. Well, like giving you gold and jewels. Or presenting you with beautiful clothes that suit your hair color.”

Yoon Jaewoo’s expression cooled. He knew that there was no way Eustace would grant that request.

“Is it okay to fix it?”

Yatenbaum asked tauntingly. He too must have known the answer that would come back.

“Why ask something that is obviously not allowed.”

“…You bad bastard.”

Yoon Jaewoo lowered his head and quickly muttered in a small voice. So that Eustace wouldn’t hear.

“His courage is admirable, so let’s just fix his leg as a reward.”

“It is admirable. I told him not to take off his hood, but he took it off. I told him not to leave the path, but he left. I told him to swallow the bead if he was in danger, but he just held it. It’s the epitome of admirable.”

“…Haha….”

Since there was no room for excuses regarding that, Yoon Jaewoo just gave an awkward laugh.

“What bead?”

Yatenbaum asked. Yatenbaum also knew that the reason Eustace had shot up from his seat while drinking tea was because of that bead.

“Menon’s bead.”

“Hahaha. He just held it?”

“…You gave me that to eat and die.”

He could let the other things slide, but he wanted to make a very small protest regarding the bead. If there was a possibility of fixing his leg, he did not want to die. Because he would definitely, definitely survive and play soccer again.

“Die?”

Eustace asked back, wrinkling the corners of his eyes. It was as if he was trying to confirm if the meaning of the words he heard was correct. Yoon Jaewoo nodded his head.

“When did I give you a bead and tell you to die?”

“But, you said if I swallowed it when I got into trouble, all problems would be solved…. So that means, eat it and die, doesn’t it?”

Yoon Jaewoo continued to speak with resentful eyes, mumbling. Eustace listened to his words quietly. No answer came back. In the heavy silence, only the sound of the firewood burning could be heard.

Yoon Jaewoo carefully lifted his head. Eustace had gotten up from his seat and gone into the forest.

“What the….”

As Yoon Jaewoo was at a loss, dumbfounded, Yatenbaum beckoned with his finger.

“Menon’s bead, give it to me.”

“Huh? Ah, here.”

Yoon Jaewoo took the bead that Eustace had given him out of his pocket and placed it on Yatenbaum’s palm.

At the same time, Yatenbaum gripped Yoon Jaewoo’s jaw with his other hand.

“What are you do—!”

As soon as Yoon Jaewoo opened his mouth, Yatenbaum put the bead in his mouth. With the bead in his mouth, Yoon Jaewoo’s eyes flew open.

“Swallow.”

“Eup!”

“It’s okay. Swallow.”

Yatenbaum spoke to Yoon Jaewoo in the tone of someone coaxing a dog that was resisting with medicine in its mouth.