Chapter 80
Cedric looked around the cave with a thoroughly intimidated expression. The cave was far larger than he had anticipated. Although it was empty now, this had been the habitat of Kyuren, who had mercilessly torn apart his comrades not long ago.
Every time he stared at the pitch-black walls, he could hear the flapping of Kyuren’s wings, as if it might snatch someone up at any moment.
It felt as if Kyuren could spring out at any second, baring its sharp fangs. Cedric, pretending to inspect the cave, stayed as close to the entrance as possible.
“Cedric! Let’s go inside!”
“Uh… you go ahead. I’ll check this area first.”
“Really?”
He could feel the disapproving gaze of his comrade. His pride was hurt, and he felt insignificant, but there was nothing he could do. While Cedric hesitated, his companion went deeper into the cave with the others.
“Phew.”
People were still whispering that he was a coward. Many soldiers and knights had been injured, maimed, or even killed. Yet Cedric had escaped unscathed because he had panicked and hid in the nearest house as Kyuren’s attack began.
If the elderly couple at the house hadn’t pitied him and hidden him, he would have fallen to the ground from the sky, limbs torn apart.
Even now, he wondered if he should quit being a soldier. He aimlessly examined the floor when something out of place in the monster’s lair caught his eye. It was a burnt pouch stuck between the wall and the floor, something others had apparently missed.
Cedric, curious, carefully grabbed the protruding piece of the pouch and gently pulled. His gloves made it slippery, so he had to take them off, tuck them into his waist, and pull again cautiously.
Only the opening of the pouch remained visible; the rest seemed to have been burnt.
This is it!
Instinctively, Cedric knew that what he had found was an important clue. He considered calling for help but quickly changed his mind, keeping his discovery to himself, shielding it with his body as he worked to extract the pouch.
Soon, the scornful gazes around him wouldn’t be able to ignore him. Cedric grinned involuntarily as the pouch emerged.
Finally!
The pouch came out from the crevice entirely. Except for the burnt part, it was intact.
“There’s something inside this!”
Cedric waved the pouch like a flag, making sure everyone could see his find. He noticed Red Bear, the commander, staring directly at him. A rush of exhilaration surged through him. But then—
“Put it down immediately!”
Startled by the commander’s aggressive tone, the strength left Cedric’s hands, and the pouch slipped from his grasp, dropping to the floor with a soft thud.
Why…?
Cedric stared at his hands in bewilderment, and his vision flickered.
“This pouch was in Kyuren’s cave?”
“Yes. The residue inside was a highly toxic sleeping powder.”
“Cedric, right? The soldier who first discovered the pouch?”
“Yes.”
“Then… what happened to him?”
As Red Bear spoke in a hoarse voice, it felt as if a large boulder had struck the pit of Cedric’s stomach. His lord’s face darkened as Red Bear answered, guilt written all over his face.
“It was a powder that put hundreds of Kyurens to sleep at once. He touched it with his hands.”
“Wouldn’t he have felt any pain at the moment of death?”
“Most likely, he died without even realizing it.”
Donghee’s eyes, fixed on the pouch, showed a chilling sense of anger.
Red Bear quickly snatched the pouch before Donghee could touch it. Despite having been washed and sanitized multiple times, leaving no trace of the mysterious powder, Red Bear’s worried gaze never left Donghee.
“Don’t worry. Nothing happened while I carried it here.”
“Still, it’s better to wear gloves.”
Red Bear’s firm tone left no room for objection. Delma, flustered, rushed over and put three layers of gloves on Donghee’s hands. Her fingers stiffened, but she still stared greedily at Red Bear’s large gloves.
“Oh! You should wear these too.”
Realizing Delma’s obvious intentions, Red Bear hurried to set the pouch down and take off his gloves, and Donghee exhaled and picked up the pouch.
Red Bear and Delma both held their breath. Donghee smiled slightly at their overreaction, feeling as if he were watching people react to seeing Dural for the first time. Though it hadn’t been long, it already felt like a distant memory.
“See? It’s fine.”
Donghee examined the scorched pouch closely, turned it over, and checked the drawstring, but there was no new information.
Doesn’t the status window tell me this kind of thing?
As Donghee thought this, a blue status window appeared, right where Red Bear was standing. Because they overlapped, Red Bear looked like a blue fan or a lizard wearing a scarf. Donghee tried hard not to laugh while observing the status window.
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Would you like to view information related to this pouch?
A sentence appeared above Red Bear’s head, looking exactly like a speech bubble from a comic.
Yes. How many points would it cost?
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To obtain the specific information you requested, you must pay 30,000 points.
What a rip-off.
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Proper language and thoughts complete inner beauty.
I care more about outer beauty.
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Somehow… his personality…
Hey!
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We can calculate the interest on points you can borrow according to your credit rating. Currently, you can borrow about 29,000 points, at an interest rate of 21%.
Oh? The interest went down!
Donghee felt briefly happy that the interest rate had dropped 4% from last time, then suddenly realized: am I being gaslighted by the status window?
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Proceed with the loan?
Donghee shook his head and dismissed the status window. He still felt a shiver at the mere mention of a loan. He remembered he had to build a bakery in Morta village and fetch mud mushrooms from Enol village. Cain, the Enol village chief, had brought a bunch of mud mushrooms recently, but Donghee hadn’t been able to eat them due to poor health.
The thrifty cook was now drying the mud mushrooms to make tea.
“First, find out where this leather pouch was made. Following each lead may reveal something.”
Donghee fought back boiling anger as he spoke.
“I also plan to provide compensation to the families of the deceased soldiers and knights.”
In every territory, it was customary to provide a certain amount of condolence money to families of soldiers or knights who died in battle. Red Bear nodded calmly at the lord’s words, grateful that Donghee had spoken first.
“How many died this time?”
“Forty-nine.”
The number weighed heavily. Many had died during treatment. Donghee shuddered imagining handing only a few coins to families who had lost sons and husbands.
“Lord. To avoid impacting the territory, condolence money should be kept to a minimum…”
Red Bear spoke cautiously.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Uh?”
“I’ll give the same amount to every family, regardless of rank—soldier, knight, commoner, or noble.”
Even the few remaining noble soldiers in Grace territory didn’t flaunt their titles much.
“Treasurer.”
Donghee summoned Scrooge, who had been waiting. Handsome had already been sent to Morta village early in the morning to inspect the reconstruction.
“Yes, my lord.”
“How much condolence is usually given to deceased knights?”
Scrooge flipped open his notebook and checked records meticulously.
“100 gold for noble knights, 30 gold for common knights, and 5 gold for soldiers.”
The amount was ridiculously small. Noble knights received 100 gold, but ordinary soldiers’ families would get just 5 gold, leaving them in dire straits.
Donghee shivered, imagining giving only a few coins to families left behind.
“Give everyone the same amount.”
“All… 5 gold each?”
No matter how costly reconstruction was, this was unfair. Scrooge and Red Bear were taken aback, trying to reason with the lord. But Donghee’s next words left them speechless.
“The lives of my people have value. It’s not excessive. Even in death, they’d cry for their families—at least I can give them peace.”
Donghee’s voice filled with deep emotion.
“Red Bear, list the deceased, including their family relations and residences. Condolence money will be 200 gold each. Anyone willing to work should be given priority for jobs.”
It was a shocking amount.
“But my lord, 200 gold is too much…”
“The value of my people’s lives is priceless. It’s never too much. Even in death, their families will grieve—they deserve peace.”
Donghee’s throat tightened as his words sank in.
