Episode 45: The Second Piece (2)
It was no mystery why Jaron was surprised. People were usually extremely reluctant to get involved with demons. If it had anything to do with demons, unless it was their own business, they would ignore and move on without hesitation.
Especially the nobles, who valued their family lineage and pacio more than their own lives.. Even if they were told that the sword of Dachini was present, if there was even a slight possibility of losing their pacio, the nobles would not look back and run.
“If you’re scared, I can do it. I just have to swing and slash, right?”
But leave turning a blind eye and running, Muriel even said that. Whether it was because she misunderstood Jaron, who was in a daze, as being scared, or she was just trying to snatch away the treasure of God he carefully protected.
She truly was a strange noble.
That’s what Jaron thought.
On the other hand, Sharan, who was actually supposed to be looking over the kingdom, didn’t have the slightest interest in the appearance of a demon. Sharan even prohibited taking the treasure of the gods to a place without a portal. It meant to be prepared to respond quickly at any time if Sharan gave an order, but as a result, the commoners weren’t protected even if a demon appeared.
No matter how densely portals were installed throughout the kingdom, they were still symbols of privilege that were only installed in the nobles’ castles. The guardians never stepped foot beyond the boundaries of the portals unless the entire village was being swallowed by demons, and the minor misfortunes of the commoners were left ignored.
“No way. This is a perfect opportunity to swing the sword of Dachini. This is my duty.”
Jaron made an excuse for the sword, but deep down, he felt a tingling excitement filling his heart. He couldn’t believe that he could protect the misfortunes of those who were ignored by everyone with his own hands. A strange thrill shook his heart.
In front of Muriel, there were no insignificant people, and there were no minor misfortunes. The young lady with fierce eyes didn’t seek justice in a noisy manner, but reached out towards the low as if it was natural.
That was a big problem.
That’s what occurred to him. Whenever Sharan’s command would come, he would have to take away all of the fragments Muriel had corrected. Even though she had never spoken a word about it, he knew that Muriel, who had no loyalty to Sharan, had no intention of handing over the fragments as promised. Despite knowing that, he dreaded the day he would have to point his sword at Muriel.
Jaron felt fortunate to be with Muriel at this moment. No, it felt like an honor.
He was a shoddy knight who pursued only money and fame instead of loyalty. With nowhere to entrust it, he buried his loyalty deep in his heart. But he was still a knight. He couldn’t help but lean towards risking his life and wielding a sword for his lord, considering it the greatest honor. His heart kept leaning that way. It shouldn’t be like that, but his burning heart kept crying out to choose its master.
Jaron swallowed his dry saliva, watching Muriel’s blue hair blowing in the wind.
“Why are you making such a fuss with that child?”
Muriel, clicking her tongue, stepped in front of the people who were still pulling the girl with all their might.
Up close, the child was in worse shape than he’d thought. She was grabbing the man in front of her and clinging to him, refusing to go home. Her hands were red and scraped, and some of her blackened fingernails seemed like they might fall off.
Even to Muriel, the child looked so in pain that her expression could be considered grim, but the neighbors who had lived face-to-face with this child for years were treating her so cruelly without even seeing her pain.
She felt terrible.
The old man who fiercely pulled the child’s arm, upon hearing the stranger’s reproach, raised his eyebrows as if he was about to burst into anger, but when he saw the pure white wolf and the large knight following Muriel, he obediently closed his mouth.
“Who are you, getting involved in the villages’ affairs?”
The old man politely lowered his head, but he didn’t think the pale-faced woman was a noble. The glossy black cloak hanging on her shoulders looked quite expensive, but the rest of her clothes were modest.
Moreover, it was unlikely for a noble to suddenly appear in a remote mountainous area like this. It was far from any portal, and she had come on foot without a carriage or horse… she couldn’t be a noble. However, her attitude and demeanor were so confident that he felt like listening to what she had to say for a moment.
“Is that important? Let go of the child. She looks like she’s in pain.”
As expected. If she were a noble, she would have already boasted about her family and name to intimidate them, but she seemed to be avoiding the topic and talking about something else.
As the village chief, he had to inflate his chest and open his mouth to preach about the unavoidable task of dealing with demons. However, the woman with the pale face didn’t even consider listening and turned her head towards the child, speaking.
“Come here. I’ll help you. But have you not eaten? Why are you so thin? How many days have you been like this here?”
The child, who had been surrounded by adults who had treated her poorly, started to sob when an adult who spoke casually but showed concern appeared.
As if she seemed to think someone on her side appeared, the child struggled to go to the pale-faced woman.
But the old man wouldn’t let go of his firm grip.
Although he didn’t know who the hell she was, it seemed like she was barging in without knowing the situation. Once she realized that it was a matter dealing with demons, she would quickly retreat. If the child ran away without taking care of the demon, it would be their loss.
“I don’t know who you are, but please go your way without interfering. This child has an evil spirit to take care of. They followed the Demon King, and turned themselves into a demon by being overambitious and misusing their pacio.”
“What do you mean by following the Demon King? It sounds like you’re saying they used a piece of Ur, but that’s impossible.”
The person Muriel came to find in this village was Thompson Gray, the richest man here. He was a vain collector who possessed a piece of Ur, not someone living in a humble house.
“They turned into a demon. Don’t you understand what I’m saying?”
The old man seemed to say if they didn’t turn into a demon by following the Demon King, how else? How frustrating. Muriel sighed, lost for words at the stupid logic.
Anyway, everyone here seemed to blame the Demon King whenever anything bad happened. Muriel, who knew she had a dark road ahead of her, sighed, thinking of how to resolve the deep-rooted misunderstandings and hatred embedded in people’s minds. She smacked her lips, speaking sarcastically.
“I don’t know. The demon being an evil spirit, to say they’re a follower of the Demon King if they turned into a demon, and to say this kid has to deal with them herself – they’re all wrong words. What understandable words are there for me to understand?”
“What?! Are you saying we should just leave the demon alone? What if the demon escapes this shabby house and roams the village? Are you saying the whole village should be destroyed?!”
As the old man shouted in excitement, the villagers who had been observing the situation became angry as well. Although it was called a shabby house, it looked very sturdy. Boards were also attached to each window, perhaps the child’s work.
It was uncertain whether it would take a few years or even decades, but it seemed like it would withstand until the demon perished by using up all its life-force.
However, the people, with bloodshot eyes, continued to curse and swear. Facing their selfishness head-on, Muriel felt disgusted and bitter.
…Hmm. Well, of course. Evil must be met with evil, madness must be countered with madness. Why did she even try to reason with them? There’s no time for that.
“Fen, can you growl really scarily?”
Muriel lowered her waist and whispered into the ear of the white beast.
“I want you to pretend to be ferocious, as if you’re about to tear someone apart…?”
The white beast, who understood words well, but had never granted Muriel’s request before, somehow complied and began to growl.
Startled, people jumped back.
Even without that, they had already been cautious of the huge beast’s ferocity. But when it bared its sharp teeth and growled, its intimidation became even more powerful.
The people, who had been standing firmly united as if they would not retreat until the child entered the house, began to tremble and waver.
“W-What… What are you doing? Are you threatening us right now…?”
-Krrrrrr!
Thud. The stubborn old man, who was determined to make a fuss, fell over as Fen approached closely and bared its teeth.
“It’s going to bite.”
“W-What, what?”
“This one says that unlucky and bad people get bitten. If it were me, I would run away with my tail between my legs. It seems like your lives aren’t that precious to you.”
The people quickly scattered in a panic. When Fen started to growl as if it were about to bite, the people didn’t even look back and ran away.
“Thank you, Fen.”
Hmph. The white beast seemed to be snorting. As everyone fled, Fen lazily crossed its legs and elegantly lay down on the ground with a drowsy face.
When Muriel tried to stroke his head to show her gratitude, Fen refused her touch with a growl. Then, when she saw him flicking his head, it seemed like he was urging her to quickly resolve the situation with the demon and the child.
…He’s so smart.
She thought his heart was as cold as his body temperature, but maybe he’d even cooperated with Muriel to help that child.
“Aren’t you going to run away?”
Muriel trembled as she spoke to the child who was not running away. The child, who seemed as ragged as a beggar, showed no sign of wanting to escape. Even though she looked so weak it was as if she was going to collapse right away.
“If you stay here, those people will come back and torment you again.”
“…My dad… h-huff… my dad… is at home… alone… huff… I feel so sorry for him…”
“I see.”
Even though she’d placed barricades on every window to prevent the demon from escaping, the child has suffered harshness from the townspeople because she didn’t back down.
“You’re a brave kid. Your father must be proud.”
Muriel squatted next to the child and gently stroked her messy black hair, which was like a magpie’s nest. When she saw the child crying sadly, Muriel couldn’t help but think of Kaiton. A man with black hair just like this child. And as she thought of him, her heart felt numb.
Even while feeling heartbroken she looked at the child who had lost their parents and their home, she couldn’t help but think of Kaiton. There was no stopping him from constantly coming to her mind, no stopping her mind from flowing in his direction.
It was a strange thing. Her strange nightmares came to mind, and she suddenly found herself missing him.
“It’s alright now. We’ll help you, so your father can rest peacefully with his eyes closed.”
