DMHS 40

‘This time I received help.’

Kian lowered his head in gratitude.

Lucien, however, seemed to think Kian was giving him a morning greeting. Lucien also tilted his head slightly toward Kian.

The catlike movement made Kian laugh, even though the situation did not suit it.

Pfft.

“……?”

Noticing Frederick’s puzzled stare, Kian lowered the corners of his mouth.

There was no need to gather everyone again, so Kian began explaining.

Aslan was a wicked shaman.

He had followed the bandit group, killed three of them, and disguised his dolls to look like their comrades.

As proof, there had been no corpse behind the temple where the comrade was said to be buried, only items that could have been used as materials for dolls.

“Is this the item the comrade who died on the first night carried?”

Kian held out the pendant and glass bead he had found in the clearing. The bandit leader, eyes wet with tears, accepted them.

“The pendant belonged to him. It has a picture of his mother when she was young.”

“And the bead?”

“I have never seen such a thing before.”

The bead was small enough to fit in a hand. Its dull colors tangled together, giving off a strange light.

Lucien added, looking at it.

“I picked up something similar.”

Lucien reached into his pocket and pulled out his hand. Resting on his palm were two colorful glass beads.

“They were left where the dolls were. Do you want to take a closer look?”

“I will check.”

Kian looked at the three beads together.

At a glance they could have been overlooked, but on careful inspection, the beads shone with many colors, like a kaleidoscope. They were not ordinary toys.

Meanwhile, the bandit leader gathered the few who remained. Before leaving the temple, they offered a prayer of repentance.

“We will never steal again.”

“We will never be greedy again.”

After the bandit group left, only Kian’s party remained in the city.

Daisy belatedly looked for someone.

“What about that man? The talkative fellow from last night.”

“He must still be asleep inside the building. We cannot leave him behind in corrupted land. Let’s wake him and take him along.”

Inside the building where the man had stayed, they found him snoring on a bed.

The man who had pulled his white robe over himself like a blanket was indeed the one who had suddenly appeared at the temple the night before. The one Kian had killed earlier had been a doll, hastily made by Aslan to mimic him.

‘No wonder the robe’s color looked wrong and his features were a mess.’

At least this man was alive.

“Wake up, sir! It is time for you to leave too!”

The man wiped drool from his mouth and sat up. Seeing people around him, he flustered and scrambled to gather his things.

With the last remaining person in the city driven out, Frederick and Daisy headed toward the training ground. Kian gave a rough account.

“At dawn I woke and went outside the temple. I found Aslan behaving suspiciously and followed him. He was at the training ground. There, he corrupted the soil with sorcery and vanished.”

Fortunately, Daisy and Frederick focused on the corrupted land rather than Kian’s explanation.

“Ugh, I don’t know what it is, but it looks foul.”

“The flow of mana around us is very murky. It is hard even to breathe.”

Frederick, who was a mage, reacted most intensely.

“Who is really Aslan…?”

Frederick’s golden eyes deepened. Kian sighed and answered.

“What is certain now is that he is a shaman hostile to the kingdom. He can make dolls so natural that even close comrades are deceived.”

“……Goddess above.”

Kian turned away from the group and went to the place where he had destroyed Aslan’s doll.

As expected, another small bead lay there. Kian picked it up and kept it.

After finishing their inspection, Frederick and Daisy wrote letters to their parties.

They reported the strange happenings in Chronos, the suspicious shaman, and the newly corrupted ground. They also asked the temple for help to prevent the corruption from spreading.

They tied the letters to trained birds. The two birds beat their wings and flew toward the capital.

“What now?”

“We have searched all we can within the city. Let us check the place where Gimere Harkin’s body was found, then move on to our next destination.”

The group left the city.

At the hill where Gimere Harkin’s corpse had been discovered, Kian bent down and picked up a handful of soil. He lifted his head and scanned the area.

‘No one is watching.’

At that instant his black eyes turned red. Kian drove hidden mana deep into the ground.

「Zzzzt…because…zzzt…never…zzzt…can’t…zzzzzzzzzt……」

‘So it has already been tampered with.’

The energy of the ground was damaged by black magic.

「……zzzzzt……zzzt……zzzzzzz……」

If Gimere Harkin were alive, it would have been natural. Kian hid his disappointment and tried to withdraw his hand.

At that moment, one word pierced into his head.

「……Semes……!」

Kian gathered his mana.

‘Semes?’

It felt unpleasant. That was the surname of the man whose identity Kian had borrowed.

Even at the contest where noble sons gathered, no one had recognized the name. He had thought it belonged to a low house.

‘Surely the shaman didn’t deliberately say that name.’

The other words had been shattered beyond recognition. Which meant the word “Semes” had been left on purpose.

Kian forced away the irritation.

“Did you find something?”

Lucien bent down to look at him. Kian brushed the dirt from his hand and answered.

“Nothing.”

Kian got up. Lucien grabbed his hand.

“Why is it like this here?”

Following Lucien’s gaze, Kian looked at his own hand. There were burn-like marks where he had touched the relics.

“When I set the relics down, I must have touched the blackened soil. It doesn’t hurt, so it is fine.”

“What?”

Lucien laughed incredulously and suddenly put Kian’s fingers into his mouth. The sudden action shocked not only Kian but the others as well.

“What are you doing?”

Daisy forced out a reply.

“I heard dragon fluids have healing effects. He must be trying to heal Sir Kian’s hand!”

Lucien shook his head.

“I don’t have that kind of ability.”

“Then…”

“Seeing you hurt makes me upset. I can’t heal you, but…”

Even as he spoke, Lucien did not let go of Kian’s fingers.

His tongue brushed and left them again and again. His lips pressed down and released.

The feeling was strange. Kian’s face grew hot.

“Let go now.”

“I’ll let go when I finish licking the wound.”

Frederick and Daisy turned their cloudy eyes away.

Lucien, ignoring them, dragged his tongue slowly across Kian’s palm. Kian covered his eyes with his other hand.

“You’re not a cat. Why do you insist on licking wounds?”

“Don’t get hurt.”

“……”

“You said it doesn’t hurt and you’re fine. That may be enough for you, but it’s not fine for me.”

In the end, he was worried about him. Kian felt uncomfortable.

‘I don’t know.’

Should he thank him for the worry. Or tell him not to?

Kian had always been the one worrying about others, never the one receiving such genuine worry. It felt awkward.

He raised one eyebrow and changed the subject.

“But if you’re not fine, what will you do about it?”

“I’ll lick your wounds like now.”

“And if the wound gets worse?”

“Then I’ll put ointment on too.”

Kian could not understand the meaning behind this.

“Why do it if it won’t heal?”

“I told you. Because it upsets me. I told you not to get hurt, but since you don’t listen, I’ll do this so you’ll be more careful.”

Kian was speechless. The boy in front of him looked ordinary, but his eyes seemed to pierce through his core.

‘He’s right. If he licks my wounds every time, I’ll be more cautious.’

Kian forced the subject elsewhere.

“If that’s the purpose, there are other methods.”

“And while I’m at it, I get to touch your body too.”

“You don’t even try to hide your impure motives.”

“It’s the truth, so what.”

Lucien, with Kian’s fingertips still between his teeth, lifted his gaze. His green eyes shined with desire.

“You like it too, don’t you?”

Lucien laughed. Kian hastily pulled his hand free and turned his body.

“We don’t have time to waste. Let’s move to the next village.”

Lucien hugged his waist from behind.

“I have a feeling. Tonight let’s find a fine inn. I’ll kiss you all night.”

His low voice was full of emotion.

“I’ll only feel better if I take all the kisses I missed these past few days. Hm?”

The problem was, Kian agreed. If he stayed, he would be swept up and truly feel strange.

Kian pried off Lucien’s hands like they were a whining child’s. Instead he held his cheeks and gave him a short kiss.

“Let’s go quickly.”

That was the most Kian could yield.

As he walked forward, he heard Lucien’s bright laugh behind him.

‘Let night come quickly.’

Kian thought with his face flushed.