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< Tag (2) >
Recently, strange rumors have begun to circulate in the Kingdom of Teru.
“Have you heard? There’s a rumor that the saint’s carriage has come and gone from the village next door.”
“What? Are you talking about the saint? When!?”
Inside the bar. The regulars gathered together and shared stories, and the other customers listened in.
The words ‘saint’ and ‘carriage’ caught their ears.
The man, sensing that attention was focused on him, spoke with his shoulders tense.
“A few days ago, my wife went to my brother’s house and saw the saint!”
Urrrr.
Soon, people gathered around him. The man who spoke first was bombarded with questions.
“Then you have seen the saint’s face in person!”
“What about the saint? They say her beauty is not of this world···.”
“What does the carriage look like? That’s what I’m most curious about!”
The Saint of the Chariot.
The main character of a rumor that has recently been spreading among the people of Teru Kingdom.
It was said that when his carriage came, the poor village became rich, the sick were cured, and the thieves and monsters in the area dried up.
Of course, due to the nature of rumors, many of them were considerably exaggerated.
For example,
“The saint gives me gold bars for just one meal! And he doesn’t even take change!”
If you ask the person involved, he or she will answer, “I did it because I didn’t have any change.”
“How about you eliminate all the bandits around the village!”
It just took out the guys that attacked first.
“You said you could cure any disease!”
I once accidentally used the
“I heard that he raised a cripple a while ago!”
That has never happened.
“Ohhhhh!”
At this point, it was almost like deification.
The people of the rural village were excited and chattered about the story that would have shocked the people involved.
In a world where life is hard and tough, the story of a magic carriage that brings wealth and good luck made everyone feel good.
People who were very excited kept talking about the rumors they had heard here and there.
“They say the carriage is made entirely of gold. Is that true?”
“Huh? I heard it was red.”
“It looks exactly like a large pumpkin?”
“They say that a huge ox pulls a cart!”
There were so many rumors and they were all different that there wasn’t much agreement.
But as rumors were mixed, processed, and reproduced, they continued to create all sorts of stories.
I didn’t know that most legends are made like this.
Someone in the bar muttered at that moment.
“I wish he would stop by our village sometime…”
Everyone had similar thoughts.
And there were those who pursued the truth behind those rumors.
***
Today, too, Zeke observed the man from time to time.
Since escaping from the casino, it has become the boy’s daily routine.
At first, Zeke thought of the man like this.
‘There must be some ulterior motive. He wouldn’t do us a favor for no reason.’
Daein was a benefactor who saved himself, his younger brother, and many other children who were turned into test subjects.
But he couldn’t completely believe it. Zeke was sure that the man had some purpose.
From the beginning, Zeke didn’t trust adults.
The parents, as humans, beat and abused their siblings since they were young.
The siblings had to go out and beg or do whatever they could to survive, and when they returned home, they hugged each other tightly and prayed that they would not be beaten that night.
When their parents sold them off somewhere, they thought it was a good thing. No matter where they went, it would be better than home.
But that was a mistake.
Since being dragged into the lab, every day has been hell.
So, on the night he escaped from the casino, Zeke gathered the children together and spoke quietly.
‘Adults are untrustworthy. Let’s run away together when we have a chance.’
”huh!”
Until then, all the adults the children had seen were nothing more than devils, so even if they were their benefactors, they could not completely trust them.
And so began the uncomfortable companionship. Zeke secretly observed the man and waited for an opportunity to escape.
But as time goes by,
The children began to follow the man as if he were their father.
“Master, please give us two servings of the most delicious thing here.”
Wherever he went, the great man bought everyone the most delicious food.
“Oh, it stinks. You guys, let’s wash up first. I just bought some clothes, so just change into whatever you want.”
He let me wash myself with warm water and bought me expensive-looking clothes and shoes.
“What? Are you sick? Where does it hurt?”
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He poured expensive potions like water on a sick child.
Eventually, later on,
“Hey hey! It’s annoying, go over there and play!”
The children who clung to me to play – usually the youngest – waved their hands as if they were annoyed.
It’s an atmosphere where, let alone surveillance, they don’t even care whether someone runs away or not.
“······.”
Rather, because of that, Zeke missed the timing to escape.
‘Even if I tell them to run away now, I don’t know how many people will follow me…’
Still, Zeke did not take his eyes off him with caution. He had no idea what his purpose might be.
While Zeke was in turmoil, his younger sister Hannah became best friends with Lily.
At a similar age, the two girls quickly became close friends after sharing the same struggles they had in the lab.
And then one day, Lily, who found out that Zeke was suspicious of the man, came and said this.
“Idiot. Doing good deeds is my hobby!”
“······.”
Zeke didn’t believe that.
‘There’s no way someone in the world would have such a strange hobby.’
So, when I was staying at the accommodation, I asked Jang Young-shin a question. What kind of person is the landlord?
Jang Young-shin answered in her still awkward Gaian language.
“···Sir, he’s a good person. But···.”
Seeing the usually reserved boy hesitate, Zeke expected that he might be able to hear some hidden secret.
“but?”
After a while, Jang Yeong-shin looked alternately at the room where the girls were and the room on the opposite side where the man was alone.
“···Rival.”
The boy’s expression was very grave, but Zeke had no idea what he was talking about.
The last person to ask was the black-haired elf, Modrea.
“······.”
Zeke couldn’t even speak properly because she was so pretty.
And the journey continued.
The carriage traveled west, stopping at several towns and cities, and at each stop the man spent lavishly.
At some point, people started calling him a saint.
“What about the saint? He’ll give you water.”
The man chuckled and sprinkled a lot of tips.
Since I had so much money, I always ate and enjoyed the best even when I stayed for a day.
And then he let the children who had come in the carriage off one by one.
Reunions of separated families took place each time they arrived at the children’s hometown or a nearby village.
“mom!”
“zone!”
The parents, who were hugging their children tightly, kept bowing their heads to the elders.
“Thank you! Thank you, Saint!”
The man handed his parents a few gold coins and said:
“Don’t lose your child again. Raise him well.”
Whether the parents had sold the child or there were other complicated family circumstances – most likely money – the father sent away the child who said he wanted to go home.
And don’t forget to add a brief explanation to your parents.
“Where has the child been all this time···”
The fact that their children had been taken by some organization and experimented on was a great shock to their parents. The marks on their bodies proved this.
And above all,
“That organization might come looking for the kid later.”
“Huh? Then, what about us···.”
To the parents and children who were terrified and shaking, the man offered a solution.
“I’ll write you a letter of introduction, so go to the Elf Forest. Of course, I’m not forcing you, so if you don’t need it, don’t worry.”
After hearing that story, no parent ever said, ‘I don’t need a letter of introduction.’
“Please!”
“Please write me a letter of introduction!”
The man wrote a letter of introduction to the parents.
Most of them left their original villages and headed to the Elven Forest.
Zig heard the man mutter as he watched a family leave the village.
“The elder will lift the curse. The old man will train you… I hope to see you again later.”
The moment he heard those words, Zeke shook off all his doubts about the man. And he began to trust him as much as he had doubted him.
The man said.
“Then shall we set off again?”
“yes!”
Before he knew it, the boy had become a carriage driver.
*
*
*
Step by step.
The carriage kept going.
Although we were a little late because we had to drop off the kids in the middle, we steadily headed toward our destination.
Now the only children left in the carriage were siblings Zeke and Hannah.
The elder asked.
“Aren’t you guys going home?”
The siblings shook their heads at the same time. They didn’t want to go back to a house that held only bad memories.
“Then shall I take you to the Elf Forest when you return?”
“yes!”
“···yes.”
Hannah smiled brightly and nodded in response to the man’s question. Zeke nodded silently next to her.
‘He is truly a good person.’
This was the conclusion Zeke reached after watching him for over two weeks. Although he acted indifferently, the man always cared about other people.
It seemed that Lily, Youngshin, and the silent Modrea all trusted him.
I wish I could keep being with these people, thought Zeke.
Then the man looked at the map, turned his head to Lily next to him, and said.
“If we continue at this rate for one more day, we will reach the village you used to live in, little brat.”
“huh···.”
Lily had a complicated expression on her face. She seemed both excited and afraid of something.
The man glanced at Lily and said.
“Let’s camp here today.”
After a while, the carriage stopped in the middle of the forest.
Zig, who had become adept at odd jobs by the time he got here, took the lead in preparing for camping, and the other kids helped out.
The old man, who was the last to come out of the carriage to check the refrigerator, said.
“We’re all out of snack food, so let’s make some today. It’s been a while since I…”
At that moment, the children jumped at the same time.
“no!”
“no, I do not want!”
“I’ll do it!”
After fierce opposition, it was decided unanimously that Zeek would be the cook.
There was just one time, on the way here, that Zeke was certain of his suspicions about the man.
The moment I first ate the food he cooked himself,
‘Villain! You’re finally showing your true colors!’
I used to think that if it wasn’t human experimentation, it was definitely torture. It took quite a while for that misunderstanding to be resolved.
Of course I know now.
That he is a good person.
But I can’t cook.
···I really can’t do it.
The man clicked his tongue and grumbled.
“They say kids are picky eaters.”
The situation was the same when there were adults in the group, but that seemed to have already been forgotten.
Zik quickly prepared the food.
He took the meat out of the refrigerator, soaked it in water to remove the blood, skillfully prepared the ingredients, and made the seasoning. His skills were much better than those of most adults.
There was just one thing that was disappointing.
‘I wish I had more ingredients…’
There was no ingredient to remove the meaty smell. It wouldn’t have been a big problem to cook without it, but I wanted to treat everyone to a delicious meal.
At that moment, I remembered the laurel tree I had seen on my way here. If I just picked a few leaves, it would be perfect for getting rid of the bad smell.
“Just a moment. I’ll be right back.”
Zig left his seat to his younger brother and went into the forest. His eyes and five senses, which had been sharpened through human experiments, were enough to distinguish objects in the forest using only starlight.
WHISTLE! WHISTLE!
Zig crossed the forest in an instant and soon found a laurel tree. He picked a few leaves and put them in his bosom, then turned around to go back.
Swish.
It was at that moment that a red light flickered in the darkness.
Shudder.
A red goblin walked out in front of the boy who was taking a step back in surprise.
“Who, who···!”
“Shh.”
A red light was flickering from the two eyes behind the mask.
The light slowly consumed the boy’s consciousness.
It was
“There is something you have to do.”
“Ugh···.”
Zeke felt himself growing fainter. A goblin approached him and handed him a tiny pill.
“It’s very simple. Just put this in your food.”
‘no!!!’
Despite his refusal, Zeke nodded.
From then on, it was not of his own free will. Zeke returned and finished cooking, putting the pills the Red Goblin had given him into his food.
Everyone said it was delicious. Zeke nodded with his usual expression, but inside he was screaming.
‘No! It’s an enemy trap! You can’t eat it!’
But the meal continued, and after a while, one by one, they began to collapse.
“I’m sleepy···.”
“Wow···”
Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.
···dump.
Finally, the giant fell, and a red goblin walked out of the darkness.
“Good job.”
The Red Goblin, who had greeted the fallen Zeke, crouched down in front of Lily.
The moment he saw the girl’s face, an uncontrollable laugh leaked out from under the hideous mask.
“Khuhhhhhh!”
The Red Goblin cupped Lily’s face with both hands.
“I found it! I finally found it! The Child of Fire. If you take me back, I can go back to···!”
At that moment, a grumbling voice was heard behind him.
“Hey kid. You haven’t come for so long and you keep making noise from far away. What are you doing?”
“!!”
The red goblin, his eyes wide open, sat up and turned around, simultaneously drawing on his magical power.
But all he could see was the fist that had already filled his vision.
“See you for the first time.”
-Paaaaaaah!
The red goblin crashed to the ground with a loud crash.
< Tag (2) > End
ⓒ Ganjjajang
