STM 78

“The one who tried to take the water out paid with gold coins, and you just let him go?”

Yan shouted as he questioned a guard who had been dragged before him.

“If he had these gold coins in the first place, would he have needed to work to get water? You let a suspicious man go!”

The guard mumbled in fear, trying to defend himself.

“But, but the one who gave the gold coins was a relative of the blacksmith. The blacksmith was in danger, so I thought he was only trying to help…”

“A relative? Why would a relative pay that much money?”

If the blacksmith had such a relative to borrow money from, she would’ve done so already. That meant the relative was fake. Yan immediately realized the petty thieves he had been looking for were those people.

“Bring the blacksmith here right now.”

Yan’s face was full of irritation, but not anger. He thought it was just a small thief problem. But once the blacksmith was brought in and gave her answer, everything changed.

“He said he was going to Crystal Lake.”

Crash!

Yan jumped up in shock, and his chair fell backward. Everyone stared at him, startled, but he saw nothing at all.

Why Crystal Lake of all places? That’s the place Lord Dorgo ordered no one to ever enter!

“Send the soldiers, right now!”

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The closer we got to the lake, the more animal corpses we found. When we finally reached the ground where even grass and trees had died, a tall wooden fence stood like a wall in front of us. Looking at the high barrier no one could climb, we were certain. The cause of the rotten water was inside.

“Why Crystal Lake of all places…”

Tairok murmured to himself as he looked up at the fence. It was tall, and the ends were pointed, making it hard to cross.

“The reinforcements will arrive in two or three days.”

At his sudden words, I gave him a questioning look. He still stared at the fence and spoke slowly.

“You don’t have to go in.”

“I do. I have to go in to find the key.”

“Go in after it’s all settled.”

What does he mean by settled? If there’s something dangerous inside… Ah, he’s trying to keep me out. It’s touching, but if there had been time for that, we wouldn’t have gone on this forced march in the first place.

“I’ll look with my own eyes, and if I decide it’s not worth it, I’ll back out.”

I refused his consideration and looked around the nearby watchtower. There was no one here, but according to the blacksmith, the guard was strict.

What’s inside? If they built such walls and even used black magic to cover such a large area with illusions just to block access…

“I promise I won’t cause trouble.”

He didn’t show much reaction to my determination. But I knew what that meant now. That was his way of saying he’d accept it. If he didn’t like it, he would’ve said so.

“Before that, we need to find a way in.”

Should we make a makeshift ladder and climb over after dark? While I was still thinking about it, he started walking without hesitation, heading toward the entrance.

“Huh? Why are you going that way?”

“That’s the gate.”

Of course I knew that. That’s exactly why there were guards in front of it and watchmen in the tower above. I was about to follow him in surprise when he stopped me.

“Come to the gate in thirty minutes.”

What was that supposed to mean? It’s not like he was telling me to meet at Myeongdong Station Exit 8 to eat kalguksu.

It was absurd, but thirty minutes later, I realized entering the lake was easier than eating kalguksu. Tairok had already defeated all the nearby guards and waited for me.

“You’re late.”

“I came on time.”

“Ah, I finished too fast.”

He gave a playful reply and smiled. It was the kind of smile that could charm people. Of course, I kept a straight face.

“This isn’t the time to joke.”

Even at my scolding, he didn’t get angry. He just laughed and stepped aside.

“Go in.”

“What if there are soldiers inside?”

“There aren’t any.”

He checked that already? Did his Swordmaster power return? I was suspicious, and then I heard his calm voice.

“They were all afraid to go in.”

“Why?”

“They said it gave them chills.”

I entered as I listened to his answer. After a short climb up a gentle slope, I understood why the soldiers had been afraid. He came up beside me as I stopped walking.

“What do you see?”

“A blue lake. What about you?”

“I see a lake with all its water gone and the dry bottom exposed.”

But that wasn’t what mattered.

“There are piles of corpses. Too many to count.”

The lake that should’ve been filled with clear water was covered in dried black blood instead. It was literally a lake of blood. Why? Who killed all these people? And who were they?

“…Slaves.”

Tairok guessed who the dead had been, but I didn’t care about their status. The real problem was that the one who killed them was the same person.

All of the corpses had their necks half cut. That must’ve been why so much blood soaked the ground.

They weren’t killed by monsters or accident, but by human hands. I felt the same anger as when I saw the dead animals in the forest again.

It wasn’t a violent emotion, but one that heavily weighed down on my heart for a long time. Since I didn’t move, Tairok quietly watched beside me as if he was waiting. After a moment, when I turned to him, he asked calmly.

“Can you find the key?”

“I have to.”

Since this was the land of Borhumi, the one who did this might be Zav. Or it could be that man Dorgo. Tairok looked toward the lake and asked again.

“Are you fine going in?”

Only then did I understand what he meant. He was asking if I could go through the pile of corpses.

Ah, right, I’m a nobleman. But right now, I didn’t want to act like one.

“Of course.”

Compared to the bodies I’ve seen before, this was nothing. But before I headed for the lake, he stopped me again.

“Wait,” he said, and he knelt on the ground, putting his ear to it. Why was he doing that? As I wondered, he stood and spoke lightly.

“The soldiers are coming this way.”

“Could they be looking for us?”

He nodded.

“Looks like the blacksmith got caught faster than I thought. That man Yan isn’t just an idiot who steals money.”

Yeah. They tracked us this quickly. I didn’t know how much time we had left, but it wasn’t much. So right now, the best choice was to retreat. If we fought and made them realize we had a reason to be here, that would be bad.

I knew that in my head, but my heart didn’t follow. I knew I had to come back when it was safe to look for the key again, but my feet wouldn’t move, and my mouth wouldn’t open. As I hesitated, he spoke.

“Go look for the key.”

“Now? What about you, Your Grace?”

“I’ll hold them off.”

“What if there are many soldiers?”

He looked to the side and casually answered.

“There aren’t many.”

Really? I barely stopped myself from asking again. Instead, I looked at the sword he drew with mixed feelings.

“Your power hasn’t returned yet, has it?”

“I can stop them even without that power.”

How could I just look for the key alone then? I said nothing, and he smirked.

“You look like you want to kiss me.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

I shouted, and he looked even more amused.

He was joking about trying to provoke me even now, no wonder Doctor Kim had shuddered for years at the mere mention of Tairok’s name.

No matter how appalled I was, he didn’t lose his winner’s smile. It annoyed me, so I said coldly.

“I’m not grateful at all.”

“Alright.”

“……”

“Search as you please.”

He wasn’t really in a position to say that so leisurely. I bit back my retort.

Instead, with a heavy feeling, I looked back at the lake. Even if he said it was fine, I couldn’t find the key right now anyway. Wouldn’t it be better to retreat for now, even if it was frustrating? I was thinking that when something caught my eye.

That was…

Because of the thin fog, I couldn’t see far. I had thought the whole lake had dried up, but in the distance, a small puddle was visible. It was tucked in a corner, so it would’ve been hard to spot without careful attention.

The strange thing was that even through the mist, that small bit of water looked especially blue. The color was like that of Borhumi’s divine beast.

“Give me forty minutes—no, thirty.”

Without waiting for Tairok’s reaction, I started to run.