Episode 36: The First Piece (3)
Jaron was more like a dumbstruck bear now than a fox. He clicked his tongue, as if saying ‘How rude’, but when his gaze met Muriel’s, he turned his head away. He was flustered. His eyes couldn’t focus and shook, and his rough, scarred neck turned red.
She’d thought he was a man who lived on his own terms. One who was loyal and didn’t care about others’ opinions. So this was unexpected. How could be flustered about such an obvious fact?
“I’m someone who has no abilities, yet I set out to find Ur’s fragment. Who am I to lecture other people in the first place?”
“…I did think you were ridiculous.”
Muriel shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
“Thanks to that, you gained a good colleague, didn’t you?”
“…Are we colleagues?”
“If you have to work together, you’re colleagues. Come to think of it, we didn’t even properly greet each other because we left in a hurry. Nice to meet you, Jaron.”
Muriel extended her hand as if asking for a handshake. Jaron looked at the offered hand with a strange expression, and his face gradually turned redder to the point of being black.
“…Sure.”
Co-worker or not, it was just a temporary cooperative relationship… Jaron grumbled something but only glanced at Muriel’s hand hesitatingly without holding it.
“What, are you not going to shake it?”
When Muriel reached out her hand and poked him in the stomach, Jaron flinched like a bear pricked by thorns.
Smack.
“Hey, hurry up and get treated. Seeing you standing stupidly there after getting a cut in the neck made me so angry that I said something foolish. Are you some kind of pervert who enjoys pain? Why the hell would you just leave the wound be?”
Snatching her hand, Jaron pulled Muriel towards him. It seemed like he was holding her hand afterall, but not to accept her as a co-worker. More so because he had no choice but to do it to treat, that’s what he said.
Although his words were not persuasive due to his expression.
“Tsk. Getting mad for no reason when you’re embarrassed.”
When Muriel was unable to hold back and pouted, Garon jumped in surprise. Although his large stature was slightly intimidating, it made teasing him even more fun.
“Are you really insane?”
“You’re kind of cute when you’re angry.”
Jaron shivered and flung away Muriel’s hand as if he were horrified.
“I must’ve gone crazy. I dug my own grave. Why are you teasing me… dammit…”
“Jaron.”
“What now?”
“I’ll take care of the treatment myself. I’ll feel bad if I keep receiving help from you.”
“…Do whatever you want.”
Jerome stared at Muriel with dissatisfaction, but he didn’t insist on treating her himself. Instead, he quickly moved away as if afraid that Muriel would tease him even more.
“Phew…”
Muriel let out a sigh of relief.
She couldn’t receive treatment from Jaron. It was because the ancient magic that was hanging over her was of unknown origin, possibly a curse of dark magic. She felt sorry for Jaron, who had honestly shared his heart with her, but she couldn’t casually reveal that magic until she found out what it was.
It was uncomfortable to go back to the room where she was attacked, but it was still late at night. She had to go back to the room even if she was reluctant. Muriel dragged her heavy body back to the messy room.
One side of the wall was blown away. What was even more surprising was that Jaron was the only one in the inn who’d woken up despite the commotion. It was clear that Tyler Hunt had taken some measures to prevent others from noticing the commotion.
Even though he didn’t need to blame himself so much, Jaron seemed very strict with himself.
Sigh.
She was tired. Tomorrow, she would have to walk all day, so she wanted to rest her weary body as soon as possible. But she still had wounds that needed to be treated.
As she took out the Nihil and sighed again, a low voice came from the dark room where no lights were turned on.
“You don’t feel pain, so why the sigh?”
Gulp…
Muriel made a strange sound. She was so startled that she couldn’t even make a proper one. She didn’t think anyone was there, so she was horrified to hear a person’s voice in the room she thought she was alone in. Seeing that her shoulders had stiffened, she’d completely frozen.
“…Wh… Who’s there?”
Muriel glanced sideways at the wall of the next room where Jaron was sleeping. Should she scream now? Would Jaron immediately come rushing in?
Just as she was about to use Ur’s fragment to attack, a familiar face appeared in front of Muriel.
“…Mr. Crawford?”
She didn’t want to see his face already.
Muriel thought he’d come looking for her someday, but she didn’t expect to reunite with him so soon.
Muriel calmed her pounding heart. She couldn’t afford to show any signs of nervousness
“You get hurt quite often.”
Kaiton said with a leisurely smile. He was wearing the same black outfit Muriel had seen him in when they went to the black market together. The long cloak, which looked more like a black blanket when draped around Muriel’s shoulder, suited him very well.
“S-so… Since when have you been here…?”
Surely, he hadn’t run into Tyler Hunt, had he?
She’d only just started gathering the fragments of Ur. He hadn’t already caught her, had he?
With an anxious heart, she looked at Kaiton. It was pretty dark, so it was hard to read his depression well, and he always had a poker face, so it wasn’t easy to figure out his feelings.
“Well, I suppose I’ve seen enough to know what I needed to see.”
Thud.
Muriel seemed to hear her own heart drop with a thud. The corners of his mouth were sarcastically raised has usual, but his brows were furrowed gently.
Had he already seen Tyler Hunt?
Was that why he came to Muriel? To protect his fragments? Suddenly, her skin began to tingle. She thought she couldn’t feel fear, but as sweat started to trickle down her back, she thought maybe embarrassment was an exception.
“Yes? W-what did you see?”
Damn it.
She should have played it cool. She tilted her head to the side as she asked, but her tense demeanor gave her away, causing her to stop mid-sentence.
Hmm. Kaiton sighed through his nose as he scanned Muriel. He extended his lips as if expressing disappointment, but she could tell he was angry because his eyes were truly cold. No, anger was too strong an expression.
He seemed annoyed. It was like when a mosquito buzzes around and bothers you, but it doesn’t make you angry. Kaiton looked just as irritated.
“I asked you to pray to the Demon King.”
Gulp. Muriel swallowed hard as she watched Kaiton approach her. However, her mouth had gone completely dry, and the sound of her swallowing echoed loudly enough to be heard outside.
Kaiton stood in front of Muriel, perched on the edge of the bed.
Despite being very much slimmer than Jaron, Kaiton was even more intimidating. Unlike Jaron, who boasted a massive muscular figure, Kaiton stood crookedly with his hands on his slender waist, but he still appeared much more threatening.
She was nervous.
Come to think of it, Muriel always found herself nervous in front of Kaiton.
If her pain and fear hadn’t been removed from her, Muriel would have found it even more difficult to stand properly in front of Kaiton.
“Why are you with Sharan’s dog?”
Sharan’s dog? Was he talking about Jaron?
“Huh? Muriel.”
Kaiton lifted Muriel’s chin, who didn’t answer him. Even though he wasn’t actually holding her chin, Muriel couldn’t avoid his gaze.
The room was dark, with no lights on, but Kaiton’s black pupils were clearly visible. Muriel’s eyes had adapted to the darkness, but his eyes still shone brilliantly with a unique and eerie glow.
“You said you’re not the saint of the Oracle. So who is it that you should beg for your life? Are you still hesitating?”
Kaiton spoke gently, but his expression was as fierce as his words, making his suggestion to join the side of the Demon King anything but amusing. It was highly intimidating.
“You would fit much better by the Demon King’s side, bringing about the destruction of the world.”
She thought it was a threat, but maybe it was a temptation?
As he whispered in a soft voice amidst her rustling breath, a chill ran down Muriel’s spine. The air seemed to grow hotter, and the atmosphere became more suffocating for no apparent reason.
Kaiton’s big hand came up to Muriel’s face. His fingers were long and delicate, but there was a strong force emanating from his joints. It wasn’t a soft and beautiful hand, but rather a cold and lonely one.
They said hands reveal a person. From his hand, Muriel felt the sense of someone who had walked alone in solitude
The pale hand didn’t touch her, but it hovered slightly above, tracing along Muriel’s hair. It was a gesture that seemed to caress the invisible barrier surrounding Muriel.
Gracefully, he gathered the ends of her hair and brought them close to his face. Muriel thought he was going to kiss them. However, Kaiton rubbed his fingers and played gently with her blue hair a few times before letting go.
It felt very strange. He moved so naturally, and his eyes seemed lost in some distant past. Perhaps that’s why Muriel had a fleeting thought that there must have been a time when they had shared such natural intimacy. He playfully fondled her hair as if it were the most natural thing, and Muriel quietly leaned into his touch as if it was one of those times.
But that couldn’t be true.
Even if it were, the Muriel who had spent that time was no longer in this world. The Muriel now had only recently opened her eyes, and was a completely different person.
“Answer me, huh?”
“Well, um…”
“Did you do something that you can’t tell me about?”
If he had indeed seen Tyler Hunt, Muriel thought there was no way now. She thought he would soon take away all three pieces of the Ur she kept in the Nihil.
“You seem very close to Sharan’s dog. Did you do something with him?”
Muriel, whose mind was racing to find some escape, opened her eyes again. To ask what she was doing. Could that mean he hadn’t seen Tyler Hunt?
A glance.
When she checked Kaiton’s face again, he only looked slightly annoyed. If he knew that Muriel was collecting the fragments, he would have shown more intense anger… Kaiton, on the other hand, looked like a man trying to hide his displeasure. Like even if he was displeased, he didn’t want it to be caught.
Gulp.
Was there still hope?
“…I, I was being punished here. For setting fire to Sharan’s mountain.”
“What kind of punishment?”
“…I go around the village and offer prayers as a saint… Actually, it’s nothing special, just… just getting out of Sharan’s sight while wandering around the outskirts. I think that’s what he meant.”
A lie that she’d never thought about came out smoothly. It was a bit clumsy, but it sounded plausible. Would he believe it? Her heart was pounding due to a mix of anticipation and tension.
Muriel subtly moved her body back, afraid that Kaiton might catch onto that sound again.
“Um… Are you here because you were worried about me?”
Muriel quickly changed the subject since Kaiton was silent for a long time. She didn’t want to give him time to ponder and figure out she was lying.
