MTM 21

Harto ate the meal that Zed brought with relish. He must have been very hungry, because he moved food into his mouth without a single pause for breath.

His small hands continued moving, picking up the flatbread with colored beans, the stew of fried vegetables, and the dried fruits. Zed thought he would be disappointed that there was no meat, but Harto ate everything happily without complaining.

‘I should’ve brought more….’

Zed looked at the bowl that had been cleaned of every bit of vegetable stew and he felt a little regret. He thought maybe he shouldn’t have refused Madam Mare when she offered madeleines. He decided he must bring some when they left in the morning.

“Ahuhu… that was good!”

Harto put down the spoon only after he had filled his stomach to the brim, and his face showed complete satisfaction. Because he looked human now, his pleased expression was easy to read.

“Drink some water.”

Zed wiped the corner of Harto’s mouth with a handkerchief and held out a cup.

“Okay.”

Harto accepted the cup like he was used to it and drank it down in gulps.

“Ah! That’s refreshing…!”

Looking completely delighted, Harto looked at Zed like he had been waiting and asked,

“Zed, are you a spirit illusionist?”

“What are you saying again?”

“Then how do you know so much about spirits? Did you study it separately? At that place called Silpirnoa? I want to hear about it in detail.”

Harto’s eyes shone like he was really curious. Maybe because he had recovered his strength, his eyes looked even brighter than usual.

“Hmm….”

Zed coughed once, and he shrugged as if he was speaking only because he had no choice.

“You don’t have to go to Silpirnoa. You can receive related education at the Academy.”

“The Academy?”

“Yes. You don’t just study there. You also take exams every semester, and you have to pass all of them to receive a diploma.”

“Wow….”

Zed really was an elite who had even completed Academy education. Thinking about it, he remembered that only nobles or royals could enter the Academy in the story. But Zed had already taken the classes and even graduated.

The more he learned about Zed, the more mysterious he seemed.

“But this time, you could say it was the cat who told me.”

“Huh? The cat?”

While Harto was lost in thought for a moment, Zed spoke.

“Yes. If I put my hand on someone’s head, I can see what I want, though only in fragments.”

“What, really?!”

Harto was startled. He had such an incredible ability? At the same time, he remembered when Zed had put his hand on the hunters’s heads before they entered the cabin, and when he had petted the cat’s head earlier and then suddenly froze.

Could all of that have been because of this?

“Then Zed, are you a mind–”

“Stop. Harto, I’m just a mercenary.”

Zed cut him off and spoke.

“And this story is a secret. You can keep it, right?”

“Hup!”

Harto closed his mouth tight and nodded. His face was full of determination, like he was ready to guard that secret until death.

Zed patted Harto’s head once.

“Hehe….”

When Zed patted his head, Harto looked shy but happy. His face showed how much he liked it, and Zed, seeing that pure expression, also smiled before he realized it.

“But you know….”

Harto muttered as he touched his messy hair that Zed’s hand had ruffled.

“That cat looked like you.”

“……”

“I mean, its fur was yellow like cheese, and its eyes were really pretty golden.”

“My eyes are black, Harto.”

“Huh…?”

Zed spoke firmly, and Harto wanted to argue, saying ‘but…,’ but he closed his mouth.

Maybe the golden eyes were a secret too, along with that ability. Perhaps because hair and eye colors like those were symbols of royalty, Zed had suffered in some way. Harto hadn’t thought that far, and he felt a little sorry.

“Anyway.”

When the atmosphere quieted for a moment, Zed pushed the clean dishes aside and asked,

“How did you manage to talk the Noglis into that? They usually ignore anyone who isn’t a spirit like them, so it wouldn’t have been easy to persuade them, right?”

“Ah, that….”

Harto recalled the conversation he had with the spirits.

‘Ah! So that’s what happened…!’

[That’s right! What do you think? Even you’d agree those humans were awful, right?!]

The spirits, all worked up, shouted one thing after another about how it was the humans’ fault. Harto watched them chatter for a while, and then he spoke quietly.

‘Hmm…. But that was a mistake.’

[What?]

‘Humans didn’t know that the rocks were the spirits’ homes, and they didn’t know that the water that came out after they broke them was important.’

[Hmph, what does that matter! Our homes were all destroyed!]

‘Why doesn’t it matter? You never make mistakes? And you said you made the humans build houses for you, right? Then isn’t it the same now?’

[…..]

‘You finished building the houses, right?’

[…They were just completed a while ago.]

‘Then shouldn’t you send the humans home now?’

[D… don’t say it so easily! Do you know how much we’ve been through…!]

‘Then how long were you planning to keep them? You spirits have families too, right? Humans also have families. Their families waiting at home must be very sad.’

[…..]

Harto innocently said that. After that, the spirits tried to argue, but every time, Harto made them speechless by saying things like, ‘Then you won’t let them go?’, ‘Weren’t spirits supposed to be good?’, and ‘I’m so disappointed….’

“Did you really do that?”

After hearing everything Harto said, Zed looked surprised.

“Yes! When I said that, the spirits said they were already planning to let them go, and then they suddenly appeared in the room.”

Harto puffed his cheeks like a child and his eyes sparkled brightly. But it lasted only for a moment before his shoulders slumped.

“I was planning to tell you all these things, Zed…. But you already knew everything…. You aren’t even a spirit master or a mind reader….”

Zed looked speechless as he watched Harto mutter with a deflated face. It wasn’t the fact that Harto was down that mattered. A monster that could persuade spirits through words alone was something he had never heard of. It was clear again that Harto wasn’t an ordinary monster.

“You must be the only one who ever persuaded a spirit like that.”

“Really?”

Harto’s face instantly lit up. Even if he didn’t fully understand what Zed meant, he seemed happy just to be treated as someone special.

“Good grief….”

Seeing Harto look so happy without even knowing what kind of power he had, Zed couldn’t say anything more. He just thought it was a relief that everything had ended well.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, a knocking sound came from the door.

“Zed, are you still awake?”

Hearing Madam Mare’s voice, Harto quickly lay down on the bed and pulled the blanket over himself. It was funny how he thought no one would see him just because he wasn’t in monster form and was small.

Click.

When Zed opened the door, Madam Mare handed him a paper bag.

“This is….”

“I heard you’ll be leaving early in the morning, so I packed a little fruit and bread inside.”

Zed smiled and bowed his head.

“Thank you for your kindness. I’ll eat it gratefully.”

“Oh, it’s nothing…. Ah, and….”

Madam Mare looked around cautiously, then whispered in a low voice.

“Zed, could you step out of the room for a moment?”

Zed hesitated for a while and then nodded.

He gave Harto a small glance where he lay on the bed, then closed the door and walked with Madam Mare down the corridor. When they reached the end of the corridor, the sound of insects outside the slightly open window echoed softly.

Madam Mare shut that window too, and she lowered her voice to a whisper, afraid someone might overhear.

“I heard this from my cousin, Zed… did you stay in that cabin?”

“……”

Zed looked at Madam Mare without saying anything.

“Oh, I don’t mean to blame you. I don’t know if you’ve heard the story about the monster….”

She swallowed nervously and clutched her skirt.

“That cabin’s had strange rumors for a long time. They say a monster lives there, or that strange sounds come from it every night….”

Zed drew in a short breath. So the villagers already knew about Harto’s existence.

“There was no problem.”

Zed spoke in a calm tone.

“And even if there was a monster, most low-level ones hide from humans because they’re scared.”

Even then, Madam Mare still looked worried.

“A few days ago… the hunters also said strange things before they left. After that, the villagers wanted to destroy the cabin. But the elder opposed it. They were afraid they might anger the guardian spirits if they did something like that….”

“……”

Among all the villagers, only one person had opposed it. That thought weighed heavily on Zed. The idea that Harto’s precious home could have been destroyed so easily by their hands felt bitter.

“But we….”

Madam Mare hesitated, then finally spoke her mind.

“We started to wonder if all the misfortunes that happened in this village might be because of that monster.”

The moment she said that, Zed’s eyes turned cold.