Chapter 72

The Fairy and the Young Lord

The monsters gathered in the clearing—the Kkuls—were chattering noisily when they suddenly froze.

It was because they heard something they shouldn’t have.

Tilting their heads, the Kkuls turned their gaze toward the forest beyond the clearing. Through the dense trees, several figures came into view.

They were humans.

Five riders on horseback—four humans and one fairy.

The Kkuls stared blankly at them as they rapidly approached.

How… are there humans in a place like this?

That must have been what they were thinking.

“…?”

The man leading the group—Ulrich—extended the hand holding his sword to the side.

At that signal, the boy Fritz, riding behind him, raised his staff.

Mana from nature gathered around the staff, and in an instant, a fierce gust of wind swept through the clearing.

The monsters shut their eyes tightly against the sudden gale.

Seizing that moment, Ulrich burst out of the forest and charged into the clearing. As he passed, he cut down the heads of three Kkuls standing idly at its edge.

Black blood sprayed into the air.

The Kkuls snapped their eyes open and let out urgent cries, warning the others. Those in Ulrich’s path thrust their wooden spears forward.

The crudely made spear tips were coated with poison. Even the slightest puncture would stiffen the body.

“Be careful!”

The fairy Vermelani shouted.

The other four wore metal or leather armor—but Ulrich did not. He wore only a short-sleeved top.

As spears struck from both sides, Ulrich twisted his body to evade them and swung his sword. In the same motion, he turned his upper body the opposite way and struck again.

“Incredible!”

Seeing several Kkuls fall in an instant, the young master of the ducal house cheered.

The four who followed Ulrich spread out and charged into the Kkul horde.

The monsters were startled—but not afraid.

Instead of fleeing, they chose to fight. Even after being ambushed, they seemed to believe they could handle it.

They must have faced similar opponents before. Otherwise, such cunning creatures wouldn’t risk themselves.

—!—!

The Kkuls barked in their own language, forming ranks to face the intruders. Hunchbacks with spears stood in front, while those with bows took position behind and drew their strings.

But Ulrich paid them no heed.

His gaze wasn’t on the Kkuls blocking his path—it was fixed beyond them, on two Kkuls running away with their backs turned.

They’re going for the hostages.

At the end of their path lay the two collapsed children.

The Kkuls weren’t fleeing.

They were going to seize the hostages.

They had learned, time and again, that presenting children would break an adult’s will to fight.

“Hurry.”

Ulrich tossed aside his sword and muttered under his breath.

At once, the horse beneath him surged forward as if it understood.

It leapt over the group of Kkuls blocking the way—so high it was hard to believe—leaving the monsters staring blankly, spears still in hand.

Then Ulrich drew his bow.

The same bow he used for hunting in the forest.

Without hesitation, he nocked an arrow and released it.

The arrow struck the back of a fleeing Kkul’s head.

The one running beside it flinched in shock—and in that brief moment, a second arrow flew, piercing it as well.

“Well done.”

The horse slowed and stopped in front of the two children, passing the fallen Kkuls.

Ulrich patted its neck as it breathed heavily, then dismounted.

No monsters pursued him.

The remaining Kkuls were too occupied fighting the other four.

After briefly assessing the situation, he turned his body.

Beneath the shadow cast by the midday sun, the two boys lay collapsed.

Ulrich knelt and gently laid them on their backs.

“Can you hear me?”

No response.

Their eyes didn’t open.

They barely breathed—and even that seemed as though it might stop at any moment.

They were emaciated from starvation, reduced to skin and bone. Their skin lacked elasticity, as if they hadn’t even had proper water.

Ulrich checked their pulses, then rummaged through the pack on his horse.

He pulled out a small, semi-transparent glass bottle.

After shaking it lightly and opening it to smell its contents, he approached the children.

“E-Eshu first…”

As Ulrich reached toward the boy who seemed in worse condition, the child opened his eyes with great effort and spoke weakly.

His eyelids trembled, and his gaze couldn’t even focus.

Though it was the first time hearing the name “Eshu,” it was clear he was the younger brother. The two resembled each other, and the one called Eshu was smaller.

“Do not worry.”

Ulrich smiled gently and closed the boy’s eyes.

“If there is a time for death, it is not now.”

Then he tilted the bottle to the boy’s lips.

A clear liquid flowed in.

As Ulrich watched, he spoke inwardly.

Mother… your son asks this of you.

A faint light emerged from his right hand resting on the boy’s face.

In daylight, the glow was so faint it could barely be seen unless one looked closely. It flowed from his hand into the boy’s body.

Only Ulrich could see that light.

Soon, flesh returned to the boy’s cracked lips, and the scabs on his wounds fell away, revealing new skin beneath.

Though his thin frame remained, color returned to his pale complexion. His expression softened, and his breathing became steady.

***

While Ulrich was administering the same healing to Eshu, the rest of his party was finishing the battle.

At first, there had been nearly fifty Kkuls.

Now, only six remained.

And among them was one mutant.

The mutant was a massive creature with dark, murky skin. It stood two heads taller than Elias, its body bloated with flesh. While ordinary Kkuls were about the size of boys, this one was enormous—like it carried the blood of giants.

It wasn’t just large.

Arrows were lodged in its neck, chest, and side, and it had been slashed and stabbed by blades—yet it still hadn’t fallen.

“Damn it!”

Elias blocked the mutant’s swinging axe with his shield and cursed.

The spot where the axe struck dented inward.

“What is with that brute strength?”

“Stop talking and fall back!”

At Vermelani’s warning, Elias quickly stepped back. The axe blade sliced through the spot where he had been standing. At the sound of it tearing through the air, the young master clicked his tongue.

At that moment, Fritz aimed the branch of the spirit tree at the mutant.

A gust of wind rose, grasping the mutant’s legs like invisible hands. Having just twisted its body widely, the mutant lost its balance and fell to the side.

Seizing the opportunity, Roberta rushed in.

She wielded a mace—one she had taken from a Kkul during the fight.

“In the name of Lady Ganymea, I pass judgment upon this wicked being.”

She brought the mace down with all her strength onto the mutant’s head.

Even the mutant, which had endured countless wounds until now, could not withstand a blow to the head.

Its skull burst.

Seeing this, the remaining Kkuls attempted to flee, only to be pierced by Vermelani’s arrows.

After planting an arrow into the back of the last remaining Kkul, the group confirmed that no monsters remained alive in the ruins and finally caught their breath.

“Is anyone injured?”

Roberta set down her mace and looked over the group.

“I… think my arm is broken.”

Elias said awkwardly, pointing to his limp left arm—the one that had blocked the mutant’s axe.

Vermelani let out a deep sigh at the sight.

“Did I not tell you, young master? Don’t block like a brute—evade.”

After being scolded, the young master pouted and avoided her gaze.

Roberta healed his injury with magic, then checked the surroundings before approaching Ulrich.

“Are the children alright?”

“Physically, there’s no problem.”

Roberta examined the children.

They were breathing evenly, fast asleep. Though still emaciated, their complexion was healthy.

When she had first seen them, they had looked as though they were on the verge of death—but now they had improved significantly.

“Did you use healing magic?”

“…Well, I used a bit of a personal technique. Nothing remarkable.”

She stared at him intently.

“As far as I know, healing magic is only taught to those who have received priestly ordination. Ulri—no, Lord Armin, you’ve never received ordination, have you? Of course not.”

“I did receive ordination in this era. However, the magic you speak of—I learned it in a time when such ordination did not yet exist.”

“…A previous era? May I ask which one you mean?”

Ulrich stroked his chin, lost in thought for a moment.

“Well, my memory is a bit hazy. Whether it was from the time of those children you call the Five Sages, or even before that—I’m not certain.”

The Five Sages referred to the five individuals who laid the foundation of magic in humanity’s first era.

“What is certain, Roberta, is that if you wish to infer such things, you must adopt a far broader perspective.”

“The problem is… that ‘broader perspective’ seems to exceed my imagination.”

Roberta let out a hollow laugh, sounding incredulous. Anyone else might have taken it as a joke—but he was speaking the truth.

***

Ulrich’s group searched the ruins.

In case there were other hostages or hidden monsters, they thoroughly checked the area. Once they determined there was nothing else, they gathered the monsters’ corpses and burned them.

“There’s hardly anything worth calling spoils.”

Elias muttered as he dropped a rusted longsword onto the ground. While collecting the bodies, they had gathered what items they could—but nothing of value.

“Kkuls are monsters. They have no reason to collect treasure.”

Aside from intelligence, there was little difference between wild beasts and Kkuls. Just as beasts hunted prey to eat, so did Kkuls. The only difference was that their intelligence allowed them to use tools, so they took weapons from humans.

Even then, they didn’t maintain those weapons, leaving them rusted and dull.

From a financial standpoint, hunting Kkuls wasn’t worth it.

“Well… I wasn’t expecting anything anyway.”

The young master grinned, satisfaction evident on his face.

It had been his first time facing monsters—and not just any, but a mutant—while also rescuing hostages. He looked thoroughly pleased.

“What will you do about the children?”

Roberta asked, glancing at the boys standing behind Ulrich. The two clutched his sleeve and peeked out shyly—then hid again when she smiled at them.

“They say they have relatives not far from here. For now, we should take them there. Elias, will you come along as well?”

“Sure, might as well go together.”

Elias nodded, murmuring in agreement.

With the young master’s approval, the fairy said nothing more—though she cast him a subtle look, as if worried he might get carried away and seek out an even bigger incident.

The group mounted their horses and left the ruins.

After traveling some distance through the forest path, Elias suddenly asked, as if something had just occurred to him:

“Come to think of it… what exactly was that ruin?”

Ulrich answered casually, as though it were nothing important.

“It was once a settlement of the fairies.”