Chapter 62……………..
Corpses. Corpses. Corpses.
The entire village was covered in them.
All had fallen to demonic beasts, and it was hard to find even a single body with its limbs intact.
A woman pierced through while clutching her child.
Owen knelt before her.
His golden eyes twisted with agony.
Tears fell, darkening his white priest’s robes.
“H-how could this be… How could anyone do something like this….”
“F**k.”
Leonhart spat curses, then turned his gaze to the distant mountains. His clenched fists trembled faintly.
He had seen countless atrocities while pursuing the Demon King.
But never before had an entire village been massacred, without a single survivor.
Ruspell came up to Owen and gripped his shoulders.
“Owen, we don’t have time for this. The Demon King has already gotten far ahead.”
“No time to mourn the dead? Then what meaning does what we’re doing even have?”
Owen clutched the frozen blue hand of a dead child and wept bitterly.
“We can’t… we can’t just leave them here! We can’t abandon these poor people on this frozen earth… hhhk!”
Unable to watch any longer, Leonhart tried to soothe him calmly.
“Owen, settle down. No one said we were leaving them.”
“Your Highness, you’ll perform a funeral, won’t you? You won’t abandon these pitiful souls—you’ll guide them to rest, right?”
“……”
Tear-streaked, Owen looked up at him.
That desperate gaze made Leonhart bite his lip.
In his heart, he wanted to nod a hundred times.
But as the commander of the expedition, it wasn’t a decision he could make lightly.
Of all times, it had to be midwinter.
To bury three hundred bodies in frozen ground would take days.
And in that time, the Demon King they had barely managed to track would vanish without a trace.
Yes, they could easily manage it with Ruspell’s magic.
But they had to conserve as much mana as possible for a battle that could erupt at any time.
“Haa—”
I sighed as I watched Leonhart’s dark expression. My pale breath dispersed into the bleak sky.
“Salamander.”
— …What.
“If you melt the ground, could Gnome bury them?”
— As if that’d be hard? The problem is, thawing this much land takes a sh*t ton of mana. Want me to do it anyway?
I knew it. Thawing frozen earth in midwinter would demand tremendous power.
The expedition members, who had been listening, slumped their shoulders. They’d had some hope.
I tugged Owen’s arm.
“Owen, get up.”
“Ah, Lady Adel……”
Tears streamed endlessly down Owen’s face.
He knew they had to chase the Demon King quickly.
The later they were, the more victims there would be.
He finally rose slowly, deciding he couldn’t burden the expedition.
“I’m sorry. That was a selfish demand… Then please, at least allow me to recite a prayer.”
“You can do that later.”
“Eh?”
“We’ll hold the funeral first.”
“H-how can we…?”
“Digging graves will be hard. But we can still lay them to rest.”
“How can you make graves without digging?”
I didn’t answer. Instead, I walked slowly, stepping over tangled corpses, toward the village center.
“Undine.”
— Sob sob… Waaahhh!
Undine’s wailing voice rang through the silent village.
I gave a weary smile. My parched lips split, bleeding.
“Why are you crying now.”
— Because you’re crying!
“I didn’t cry.”
— Don’t lie! I can feel you crying inside!
Damn it. No matter how much I controlled my expression, I could never fool a spirit.
Leonhart, Owen, and Ruspell all looked at me in shock at Undine’s words.
“I told you not to say stuff like that… It’s embarrassing.”
Scratching my neck awkwardly, I met Undine’s gaze.
“You can do it, right?”
Thawing the frozen earth was hard.
But summoning snow in midwinter could be done with little mana.
Understanding my intent without further words, Undine soared high into the sky.
— Just wait a moment!
Soon after, heavy snow began to fall, covering the gruesome scene in a soft white blanket.
The child who had died in his mother’s arms.
The man who had died clutching his sickle.
The sister who had died holding her younger brother.
All were now covered with pure white quilts.
As if in deep, peaceful sleep.
“Ahh, merciful God.”
Owen began to weep anew.
Leonhart closed his eyes slowly, and Ruspell bit down hard on his lip.
I turned away.
Cursing the wretched author who had dragged me into this place.
I opened my eyes.
‘A dream…….’
That nightmare of a day.
From that day forward, Owen’s attitude toward me had changed.
Not that his actions shifted drastically—he had always been polite and kind.
But after that, he leaned on me more, tried harder to protect me.
Before, he healed everyone equally.
After that day, he paid far more attention to my wounds.
Even if I was hurt just a little, he acted as though the sky had fallen—even when others were far more gravely injured.
And he became excessively deferential.
As if he would wash my feet if I asked. Practically like a servant.
At the time, I didn’t think much of it.
I figured it was just his way of showing gratitude.
So I let it be. Looking back, that was the mistake.
‘I should’ve distanced myself from Owen then….’
I knew he was becoming too dependent on me.
But I ignored it.
He was a priest, after all. Even if I disappeared, I thought he would find the strength to recover.
It would hurt, but faith would help him move on.
‘Why did I have to dream of that… It leaves such a bitter taste.’
Staring blankly at the ceiling, I blinked. The spirits crept up quietly.
— Lian, remember the talk we couldn’t finish yesterday because of Piace?
“Hm? What talk?”
— About Owen. What do you plan to do with him?
“Ah……”
So that’s why they had been murmuring all night.
They must’ve been debating what to do about Owen.
“I guess I’ll have to threaten him. Tell him not to tell anyone I’m a dark sorcerer.”
I said it half-jokingly with a smile. But the spirits looked grim.
“Why so serious? Did something happen?”
— If someone poses a threat to your safety, we have no choice but to attack with all we’ve got.
“……What?”
— Your safety is the most important thing to us, Lian. That’s the conclusion we’ve come to.
I snapped awake.
Leaping to my feet, I glared at them.
“What are you saying? You don’t mean you’d hurt Owen?”
— If Owen becomes a threat to you… yes.
— We know you care about him, but it can’t be helped. Sorry, Lian.
— F*ck, no matter how close you were, if he’s a liability, he’s gotta go. Right, Gnome?
— (nods)
My eyes turned cold.
“Don’t talk nonsense. I would never hurt Owen. And if you try anything reckless, I won’t forgive you.”
— Lian, protecting our contractor is our right and duty. No one can stop us—not even the King.
— If we’re going to act, it’s best to do it quickly. Before Owen does anything.
— Before he exposes you as a dark sorcerer and you end up dead.
“Are you all insane? We’re talking about Owen! Owen!”
— Do you think we want to hurt him? Lian, you matter more to us than anyone.
— To be honest, Owen is just another human we could live without. But you, Lian, are the one who gives us existence.
— Enough with the excuses. Contractor, I’ll say this once, so listen carefully.
“Salamander, you really…….”
— We won’t watch you die a second time. Just remember that.
“……”
They had already experienced the death of a contractor once.
No wonder they were hypersensitive about my safety.
‘I know. I know… But this isn’t right.’
I spoke sternly.
“Return to the Spirit Realm. All of you. Right now.”
— Lian, even if you cut off mana, it won’t matter.
“What do you mean?”
— We gathered nature’s energy throughout the night.
“Why would you…….”
— Because we knew you’d act like this! That’s why I said we should prepare in advance! Gnome, I did well, didn’t I?
— (nods)
So they had prepared thoroughly.
If I left things as they were, Owen would be killed by the spirits.
“Fine.”
I raised both hands in surrender the moment I made my decision.
“Give me time. I’ll talk to Owen myself.”
— Hm, not sure that’ll work… Would a priest really trust the words of a dark sorcerer?
— He might not even listen. Owen can be pretty stubborn.
— What crap are you spouting? We should take him out before he blabs to others! I’m against waiting! Gnome, you agree, right?
— (nods)
They folded their arms in unison and stared me down with stern expressions.
‘So that’s how it’s gonna be?’
I crossed my arms too and glared back at them.
‘This won’t be solved by ordinary means….’
In that case, time to change strategy.
