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Chapter 313

Every now and then, when I see a bloodied hand emerging from a grave, I can’t help but wonder if it’s asking me to hold it.

Whenever I was spellbound and approached to grasp that hand, my seniors would frantically pull me back.

Didn’t I see the lions that Toyo had summoned crawling up from below? They said it was all the Demon King’s scheme.

During the ‘Graveyard War’ period, hunters had to deal with two tasks after winning a battle. One was to dig a pit to burn the monster corpses, and the second was to dig a pit to burn the bodies of their comrades.

It was an era where you couldn’t even dream of a proper funeral. There wasn’t enough land, and time was short. Once you won, you had to prepare for the next battle.

Even if you were spotted by monsters and had to retreat, at the very least, ensuring they didn’t meet a disgraceful second life became what little humanity remained in this world.

The smoke from burning corpses ascended to the ends of the sky. Yeon-woo saw the blood-soaked arm that had popped out among the crimson flames. He saw the arm beginning to be mangled by the heat of the flames.

Perhaps that was the last signal of survival, squeezed out from a survivor buried under a pile of corpses.

I wish for people not to die. Anyone with their wits about them would agree.

I don’t wish for humanity’s lifespan to be extended countless times beyond the laws of nature; I simply hope no one dies unjustly.

Yet life is like a candle whose flame might extinguish at any moment. It can be snuffed out in an instant with a gust of wind, or even with just two fingers, it can be snuffed out so easily, a tiny flicker.

I’m afraid of people dying. It’s strange. Even though I’m not scared of killing someone, I’m terrified of someone dying.

Nea’s slender, white hand reminded me of the bloodless corpse’s hand lying in the grave, tainted by its own blood.

“Phew… Phew…”

“Yeon-woo, pull yourself together, can you hear me?”

Nea shook Yeon-woo’s shoulders repeatedly as he exhaled roughly.

No matter how weak he had become, he still had enough strength to take a swing at someone. Clenching her fist, Nea slapped Yeon-woo’s face.

Thwack!! Yeon-woo’s body flew dramatically and crashed into the wall. Normally, he would’ve had his mana cloaked around him, so this shock wouldn’t have been much, but now, with something having taken hold of him, his back and face weren’t as sturdy as before.

“Cough?!”

Only then did the light return to Yeon-woo’s eyes. Clutching his cheek, he looked up at Nea with tear-filled eyes.

His round, violet eyes held moisture, and his slightly parted lips seemed to be about to ask why. Nea felt a thrilling shiver run down her spine at that gaze, but she quickly shook her head to dispel it.

“Hey, can’t you focus?!”

“Waah, I’m focused! I’m focused!”

With Yeon-woo raising his arms to guard himself, Nea finally lowered hers. Then she coughed a few times.

Seeing this, Yeon-woo was startled into action and rushed to Nea’s side.

“Are you okay, Nea?!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine… Ah, don’t worry about me. What happened, anyway?”

“Well, it just reminded me of old times…”

“…You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

At those words, Yeon-woo cleared his throat. Although he didn’t need to hide that he had regressed from Nea, there was something uncomfortable about confessing that he had mistook her for one of the dead.

“…It’s nothing much, really.”

“Is that so? Can you swear to God?”

“…Ugh.”

“Tsk tsk, if you can’t swear to God, you shouldn’t speak carelessly. Still, well… shall I let it slide this time?”

The look in Yeon-woo’s eyes suggested that Nea also knew it wasn’t a topic to tread lightly. Even if their status was lovers, there were boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed, and she resolved not to step on those.

“I hope you’ll tell me someday. After all, we’re not just simple lovers, but companions who share life and death, aren’t we?”

“Just like now, and in the future too.”

At those words, Yeon-woo gave a vague smile. The hardest words to say were those about hoping to eventually share. When would that someday be?

When would he be able to fully unveil his dirty past to his family? When would he be able to show them the scenes of the past that he didn’t wish to reveal?

‘It feels like I’m being deceptive.’

Suppressing such prickly feelings, Yeon-woo swept his hair back. Seeing such a sight, Nea lay down on the bed, concealing her pounding heart.

With such a pretty boy gazing at her with teary eyes…

‘This human’s sexual preferences are so unpredictable…!!’

Thump, thump. Thump, thump…!!

*

“I’m sorry that things turned out like this.”

“No, no. It’s alright. Since things turned out this way, it’s not your fault, Yeon-woo. What can you do when your beloved wife is sick?”

“I think it’s a good place for recovery, but it can’t be helped. I have to be in a favorable position here, after all.”

“Haha, I see. I respect your decision. It’s a pity that I can’t help you with magic anymore, but I do believe you’ll grasp the essence of it by yourself, Yeon-woo.”

“…Ugh, thanks. So, how about getting out of here? Can I just leave?”

Even though I knew where Geumomun was, the speed of movement changes with the presence or absence of Moon Gi, so there was no guarantee that leaving would be that simple.

If the barrier slowed me down, who knows when Nea’s condition might worsen? In that sense, Yeon-woo’s worries were valid.

“Hmmm… I believe you can walk out without any problem, Yeon-woo… but you never know, right?”

“I can’t help but feel anxious.”

“Then would you like to have this?”

Saying that, Moon Gi started stretching. Why would he suddenly stretch as he’s saying he’ll give me something? What exactly is he planning to give? I’d rather not receive sweat and whatnot.

After a few stretches, Moon Gi suddenly did a tumble in place. Instantly, colorful, radiant lights surrounded him.

It looked like something out of an old-school magical girl show, but oddly enough, the form he’d transformed into resembled none other than a four-legged deer.

His face resembled that of a dragon, and a horn like that of a deer sprouted from his forehead, while the body was adorned with fluffy white fur, reminiscent of clouds.

What stood out the most were the scales that changed color depending on the direction you looked from.

“Oooh….”

[Come to think of it, is this the first time I’m showing this form? Oops, I’m feeling a bit shy!]

“Quit your nonsense.”

Anyway, he was much larger than I had thought. I expected him to be about the size of a horse, but he was nearly twice that.

“Wow! It’s a horse, a horse!”

“Can I ride it?! Can I?!”

“Wow, it’s my first time seeing it….”

Shar and Tae-oh, and even Dawn were so astonished that you could easily tell how beautiful this creature was.

Feeling good because of the children’s pure exclamations, Moon Gi neighed happily.

[Would you all like to ride? I can carry you as much as you want.]

As he said that, Moon Gi lowered himself, bending his knees, and the children looked at him and Yeon-woo alternately. With such sparkling eyes directed at them, Yeon-woo couldn’t help but smile.

As Yeon-woo chuckled, the children rushed over to Moon Gi. In the chaos, they were shouting “Ouch, ouch!” as they bumped into each other, but Moon Gi remained still.

I know Shar’s knees must be hurting. Just brushing against him feels like a knee kick—painful!

“Kyaa ha ha! We’re bouncing around!!”

“This cloud is so fluffy!!”

“This is fun, ahem.”

As Yeon-woo quietly watched Moon Gi happily playing with the children on his back, he realized something was off a few minutes later and raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, what were you planning to give? Did you transform just to play?!”

[Oops, I almost forgot. Alright, everyone, could you please get off for a moment? I’ll let you ride again next time.]

“Ah, that’s too bad…”

“Hehe, it was fun!”

“Are you really going to let us ride again? You have to promise!”

[I assure you. I absolutely promise.]

As the children got off from Moon Gi, he extended his neck forward. Should I say he adopted a cat-like posture? It was such a peculiar movement.

“Wait a second….”

Yeon-woo’s eyes caught onto the unusual flow of mana. It was a clear flow that even without turning on the dragon’s eyes, he could see.

An extremely pure mana was gathering in one of Moon Gi’s horns. You know how sometimes, when you put too much pressure on your finger, it feels like it might snap? I think it’s about that kind of feeling.

[Hrrrrk!!]

And as I thought that, the identity of what Moon Gi was about to give became quite apparent. Why was he putting power into that horn? Why was he forcefully jamming mana into it?

“It’s… going to explode!!”

Sensing an ominous vibe, Yeon-woo hurriedly grabbed the children and leaped away. As expected, Moon Gi’s horn shattered, resulting in an immense explosion.

It was only natural for that explosion to happen. A giraffe’s horn is an immensely rare material that rivals that of a dragon.

If you forcibly detonated a material filled with boundless mana, it wouldn’t be strange at all to have such an explosion occur. Yeon-woo grimaced at the massive crater that had formed before him.

“Hey, are you okay?”

[Haha, of course I’m fine! It’s an explosion I created, so how could I not be prepared for it?]

“If that’s the case, I wish you had performed the spell more elegantly instead of just blowing a hole.”

[Oops, I should have done that. I feel like I’m going to get scolded by Grandfather for digging a hole for no reason.]

“…What do you expect me to do about it?”

Watching Moon Gi stroll up from the crater with the shattered horn in his mouth, Yeon-woo muttered to himself.

[Hahaha, anyway. If I take this with me, I won’t get lost. If you use it well, it might help out too.]

“Really? Since it’s a precious item, I guess I’ll keep it… can I not return it?”

When Yeon-woo asked, looking at the crooked, unimpressive horn, Moon Gi lightly nodded.

[It’ll grow back soon, so it’s fine.]

Then I should accept it graciously. If I had to return it because it had to be reattached, I would have considered it a hassle to return.

‘This is probably worth a fortune…?’

The natural treasure that had me questioning when the last auction record was.

Even if it rivaled dragon materials, a giraffe, compared to dragons that had never been caught before, at least had records of being hunted.

[Whoa, don’t even think about selling it.]

“I’m not selling it! I’m just wondering how much it’s worth. It’s only natural to be curious.”

Isn’t it something people who’ve played a few games do? Even if you have a precious item, you’d at least think about putting it up for auction? Is it just me?

(To be continued in the next episode)

 

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