STM 74

It was true that breaking the Kun family’s curse was what Rick had longed for. But strangely, this time too, he saw in the other person the same faces of countless followers of Tairok. People who wanted to reach Tairok through Rick no matter what.

“…No. I heard about Adeye Lu’s disappearance, but it has nothing to do with His Grace. Why would he get involved in Adeye’s matter?”

Rick smiled, but his heart shook like a storm.

Fortunately, the friend stared at him for a while and then stood up. Only after he saw him off did the smile vanish from Rick’s face.

Ah, did I make a mistake? No, His Grace will be fine.

Rick trusted Tairok’s skill and judgment more than anyone else in the world. If it became dangerous, he would immediately abandon Adeye Lu. Yes, of course.

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Something touched my lips. I turned my head to avoid the touch, but the annoying thing followed me to the end.

Ah, what is it? The drowsiness made me feel irritated, but avoiding it was more troublesome. So I parted my lips, and failed to stop something from entering my mouth.

The hot thing that slowly entered my mouth was sweet. It was so sweet that my half-conscious mind stopped drifting back into sleep, and I licked my lips without realizing it.

Gulp.

After swallowing the sweetness once, I could not stop. So when that sweet and sticky thing entered my mouth again, I obediently swallowed it.

Was it because of the sugar? My awareness started to return. Mo was the first to notice and informed me of the current situation.

[Supply of sugar through oral contact is ongoing. However, this method is inefficient, so sufficient calories cannot be secured.]

What are you saying? I could not imagine understand it. What contact… ah, there is contact?

Someone’s tongue was inside my mouth, pushing honey in… huh? …huh?!

Like a lamp suddenly turning on in a dark room, I became fully conscious. I opened my eyes and saw black hair right in front of me. It was the hair of the person kissing me.

“Mm!”

As I managed to make a sound through his blocked mouth, our lips separated. Through the strands of hair, I saw black eyes.

Even though they were unfamiliar eyes, I immediately recognized the person. Tairok, you bastard. What are you doing to me while I’m asleep…

“Ah, has your husband awakened?”

The sudden voice made me flinch, I quickly turned my head. Husband? The shocking word made me look at the blacksmith and finally understand. Ah, right. Tairok and I had pretended to be a married couple to leave the Borhumi castle.

But why a kiss? I sat up in anger and heard the blacksmith’s praise.

“You have such a good wife. He went to get honey for your sake.”

So it really was honey that entered my mouth. But I did not feel grateful, especially with Tairok smiling at me like that.

“For my frail husband, this much is nothing.”

It was revolting. I had started this act first, but I was never that shameless.

I glared at the smiling man with and looked around. It was a small wooden hut. It looked very old, unused for a long time, and spiderwebs covered the ceiling and pillars.

“It’s an abandoned hut.”

Ah. I nodded and saw the blacksmith hesitating. The wary look from before had vanished, but she now seemed eager to leave this place.

“Do you have anything else for me to do?”

Why is she acting like a servant? My question was answered by Tairok’s reply.

“No. If you repeat what you told me earlier, consider the gold coins fully paid.”

Ah, gold coins. Before I collapsed, I had waved gold coins asking for bread. But what did she say in the meantime? A question mark formed in his mind.

“What… did she say?”

I almost spoke politely to Tairok but changed to informal speech after noticing the blacksmith’s look. Tairok seemed unconcerned and ordered her calmly.

“Tell my beloved husband everything you told me.”

Whoosh, I turned toward that insufferable man and glaring at him. As if he had expected the reaction, Tairok was already smiling.

“When you look at me that passionately, it turns me on.”

“What the hell…!”

I forced myself to hold back the rest of my words. But my restraint only made the man’s eyes shine with greater amusement.

“Hell? Ah, you want to do it like beasts.”

Is he insane? Startled, I looked toward the blacksmith, but she only spoke like it was nothing.

“Nothing strengthens a couple’s bond like trying vigorous positions.”

…Excuse me? Spirits, strangers, everyone in this place was too obscene. This town should be renamed from Tubain to Tohell.

And another damned Tubain native proved it by agreeing casually.

“Very vigorous.”

Whoosh, I turned my head again to glare at him. I was about to curse when a big loaf of bread was shoved into my hand. My eyes widened. The moment I saw food, my stomach immediately reacted.

Grrr

The sound was loud, and I quickly changed the topic to hide my embarrassment.

“Ahem, so, what story were you going to tell me?”

While I tore the bread apart, I heard a short account of Borhumi Castle’s situation.

The owner of this place was Zav, but he mostly stayed in the imperial capital, and he had no interest in the castle or Borhumi’s land. Even when they encountered problems, he barely paid attention.

He only came to the castle through the teleport gate when he had business, and after finishing it, he disappeared. So a man named Yan actually managed and oversaw the castle, and this man was vile.

“Some time ago, all the water started to become contaminated. At first, it was just one or two villages, but this year, the contamination has become so severe that the castle can’t use its own water.”

“That’s serious. Did the Grand Duke of Borhumi take no action?”

I immediately regretted asking the question. If he had done anything, they wouldn’t be suffering now trying to get water. My guess was right, because the blacksmith pursed her lips. Her face showed that she couldn’t openly blame the ruler of her own land. Then Tairok spoke.

“The Grand Duke of Borhumi probably doesn’t even know the water is contaminated.”

“No way…”

As I spoke, I saw the blacksmith’s face and realized it wasn’t impossible. I was speechless.

“Even a dog would rule better than that bastard.”

The blacksmith looked shocked, and her face stiffened, but I ignored it and continued.

“Then the inside of Borhumi Castle must have the same problem?”

The blacksmith shook her head.

“All the drinking water brought from outside is sent to the main castle.”

She stopped there, but I could guess the rest. If a greedy manager cared only about money, what would he do with water?

“Yan is selling the water?”

“Yes.” The blacksmith nodded. It was such a classic villain act that I had no words.

“The Grand Duke of Borhumi doesn’t know any of this?”

“How could he?”

Tairok intervened and casually explained.

“The only thing the Grand Duke of Borhumi cares about is the Emperor’s throne.”

But how can he not even know his own land is polluted? Everyone’s in chaos because they don’t have water to drink.

“Lord Yan strictly orders everyone to stay silent so the problem won’t spread outside. If we even talk among ourselves about the contamination…”

Her eyes moved nervously around.

“Everyone gets taken somewhere… and no one ever comes back home.”

“They aren’t imprisoned?”

“Yes.” The blacksmith nodded, then hesitated before naming a place.

“I think the people who are taken end up at the Crystal Lake.”

Then she explained about the lake.

“The Crystal Lake never dries even in a drought, so it’s seen as a sacred place. The Borhumi family has trained there for generations.”

Ah, that lake. I remembered hearing about it when Zav jumped around like a child in the Borhumi tombs, whining that he hated training.

“Has that lake’s water also been contaminated?”

“I heard it hasn’t, but I haven’t seen it myself. No one can approach it.”

“Why?”

“It’s a sacred place for training. The former Grand Dukes forbade entry because it could be dangerous while they were training, but Lord Zav… completely sealed it off. Now soldiers guard it, and no one can go near without permission.”

“He doesn’t even go there to train.”

Her expression darkened because I was right. Training, my foot, he barely comes to the castle at all. What a greedy bastard. But thanks to Zav’s behavior, I learned something new.

“It’s a precious place, but he doesn’t treasure it…”

I muttered that and turned to Tairok. This was the clue to the key that the Borhumi divine beast had spoken of. Tairok seemed to have the same thought, and he smiled as he asked.

“Don’t you want to see it?”

“I really want to see it.”