MTM 13

Harto’s mind turned blank. He did not know what to say or how to say it. The realization that he was the villain who would destroy the world hit him.

“Don’t worry.”

Zed looked at Harto, whose whole body was completely frozen, and said with a pitiful look in his eyes.

“I don’t know if you understand, but Hartiros is a being of evil that exists on a different level from demons or monsters like you.”

A being of evil.

That same phrase appeared in the novel. The incarnation of calamity who would turn the world into fire, the root of corruption, the destroyer of chaos. Hartiros carried terrible titles and was a being that should never have been born.

When Harto was only a reader, he thought nothing of it. Hartiros was the villain in the story, so being that kind of dreadful existence was normal. That was the usual condition for villains in any story.

But hearing Zed call him a “being of evil” now felt completely different. Even though the words were not directed at the soul inside Hartiros’s body, his heart still ached.

“You want to become human, right?”

“Huh…?”

Zed spoke to the still silent Harto in a confident voice.

“While I lived with you, I came to feel it. Harto, you don’t seem like a monster at all.”

Harto’s heart jumped.

Now that he thought about it, he was human, so he never considered that point. He did not even know much about how monsters behaved. He knew from fantasy novels that monsters had intelligence higher than beasts, that they were aggressive, and that they committed cruel acts without hesitation. But he only learned that indirectly. He never actually met any monsters in this world.

But he spoke human language and his human form appeared so natural.

Only now did Harto realize that before Zed, he had acted completely like a human, not a monster.

‘If I had stayed in monster form, would things have been different….’

He had not spoken properly with anyone for so long, and he was glad that Zed treated him so naturally. He wanted to show himself to Zed as he really was.

“You can be honest with me. It’s hard for a monster to become human, but I understand if you want to live like one.”

Zed seemed to have a serious misunderstanding after watching Harto’s behavior.

‘I was human from the start….’

Even so, there was no way he could reveal his real identity to Zed now.

“It doesn’t matter to me that you’re a monster. I can’t explain the details, but I think spirits and monsters are no different from humans. Humans are probably more corrupt.”

As Zed said that, his eyes darkened. The same thing happened before when he mentioned subjugating monsters. Harto could tell Zed had circumstances he did not know.

He had long felt that Zed treated him without prejudice. From the first moment they met, Zed had been different from the villagers and hunters, who tried to kill him just because he was a monster.

Harto’s heart felt heavy. Accepting that he was a monster made him feel as though the distance between him and Zed had widened.

“I see….”

After remaining quiet for a long time, Harto answered in a small voice.

Zed, unaware of what Harto was thinking, was frustrated. He decided he needed to speak more firmly.

“I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“……!”

Harto looked at Zed in shock. Though he knew this moment would come, he did not expect it so soon.

It wasn’t even early. Zed had already recovered, and he needed to rejoin his mercenary group as the report said. Leaving right now made perfect sense.

‘I knew it….’

“Don’t you want to come with me?”

Zed saw through Harto’s heart.

Harto opened his mouth, then closed it again. If he spoke, he would cry.

“You’re not saying anything….”

Zed waited patiently for his answer and then turned his eyes toward the burning firewood.

After a short silence, he spoke in a calm voice.

“Or are you afraid of other humans?”

“……”

“You think I can’t take care of you?”

“……”

“If it comes to that, just stay close to me. You’re so small no one would even notice.”

Harto still did not say anything. Zed sighed and maybe because he thought he had gone too far, he praised Harto’s ability this time.

“You can control fire, right? That’s enough strength to follow me.”

‘I can control water and earth too… if I tell him that, would Zed like it more…?’

Even in a moment like this, Harto felt miserable for still wanting Zed’s affection.

“Is this your first winter here? The mountain in winter has no food at all. If you stay in the cabin, you’ll starve every day.”

Then Zed began to explain how dangerous the mountain was. If he met a starving beast, he would not even be able to run before it tore him apart. The cold would be so strong that even a fire would die very quickly, and if it snowed heavily for a week straight, he would be trapped.

‘I see….’

Harto did not feel afraid after hearing that. He only felt sad as he imagined spending the winter alone without Zed.

‘I want to go. I want to be with Zed. I want that, but….’

He could not bring himself to say he wanted to go with him. Instead, he resented Zed. Of all reasons, Zed had to ask him to come for the sake of killing Hartiros. Even if that body was not really his, it was still hard to ignore Zed’s intention to kill him.

Clack.

“I know it’s hard to decide. Think about it. I’ll go out for a bit.”

Zed spoke quickly and left the cabin.

Harto stared at the door Zed had gone through and then opened his mouth.

“Even if you tell me to think about it….”

He pressed his hands against his eyes to hold back the tears that were about to spill out.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

The ground was still muddy from the rain, but Zed walked through the forest without caring. Then he stopped where the moonlight shone clearly and let out a long sigh.

“Haaah….”

His chest felt heavy. More than anything, he regretted pushing Harto too much.

He could have spoken more gently.

“No, I just didn’t expect to get so worked up myself….”

He knew Harto would be startled by the invitation, but when Harto remained silent, he grew impatient. He only pretended to be considerate and told him to think about it, but he had not really meant to give him time.

The Harto he imagined would widen his eyes in surprise, then smile shyly and say, “Yes! Okay!”

But in reality, he was so panicked that his heart skipped a beat when he saw Harto, who was about to speak and then tightly closed his mouth.

Or was it because of Hartiros?

Bringing up killing Hartiros had been impulsive. He mentioned that name not for any other reason, but because he thought using such a terrifying creature’s name might tempt Harto. The reward attached to Hartiros’s head alone was beyond imagination, honor, wealth, even the title of hero. Those were things any human would desire.

“…Wait. Harto is a monster.”

Maybe he should have offered instead to take Harto to Silpirnoa, where other monsters lived in plenty.

‘Did Zed help me for that reason?’

He suddenly remembered Harto’s innocent question.

“He is perceptive….”

No matter how he thought about it, Harto still didn’t seem like a monster. Maybe he had once been human and his soul was trapped in a monster’s body by a terrible curse.

He had never heard of such a thing, but the world was vast. There were still countless things he did not know, as many as the sea itself. He realized that after escaping from the Regnovar Empire, when he remembered all the things he had seen and felt since then.

“Haa… but I achieved my goal.”

Zed exhaled a short breath and reached his hand toward the place where the moonlight poured down.

The gentle moonlight, neither as strong as the sun nor as bright as the stars, filled his large hand. Then tiny glowing grains began to gather in his palm one by one.

At that instant, a flash filled his hand, and a single healing pill took form. Zed blew on the smooth pill and placed it inside the ruby necklace.