HEO 47

Silver squinted his and took a step back.

What kind of feast is this? There must be over a hundred chairs around the table. This is definitely suspicious…

Huh?

When he came to his senses, Silver found himself sitting on a dining chair while munching away at a lamb leg. Black Weasel and the woman with the eye patch were also stuffing meat into their mouths. The prince and his servant, who had vowed to eat only bread, were alternating bites, one hand holding a milk glass, the other a piece of salmon.

Silver beckoned to a fairy flitting nearby.

“Do you want to sit on my shoulder?”

〔Yes!〕

The fairy perched on one of Silver’s shoulders. He stroked the fairy.

“My name is Silver. Do you have a name?”

〔No! Silver!〕

Up close, its big, round eyes and the way its mouth moved were adorable. Silver’s thoughts about the kidnapping reared their heads again. If I grabbed it now and stuffed it into my belt pouch, it’d be perfect. One less wouldn’t even be noticed…

Just as he was about to glance around, Black Weasel smacked him on the back of the head.

“Were you trying to steal this pretty bug? Give it up, you fool! Anyway, looks like we’re the only survivors, huh?”

“Yeah, probably.”

Silver replied while tearing off a chunk of lamb leg.

“Stolls are predictable. They probably just fought amongst themselves and destroyed each other. Barring any surprises, it’s just us…”

[Right! That’s it!]

Wolf suddenly shouted and slammed his milk cup down. The impact made Silver swallow the unchewed lamb whole. Wolf looked at him urgently.

[Silver! A thought suddenly occurred to me, ‘The heavens are crying? The sky is raging?’ Anyway, that proverb, when did it start? Its origin, I mean! Its origin!]

Silver couldn’t answer. He was caught off guard.

This bastard, Why don’t you just drink your milk… How does a thought like that just ‘suddenly’ occur to you? I doubt I could come up with something like that even if I tried.

[Twenty years ago? Thirty years ago? You know, right, sir? Come on!]

[…I don’t really know either.]

Black Weasel spoke up.

[When I was a snot-nosed kid, there was this slave granny over seventy in the tribe I lived with. She couldn’t move, just lay in bed all the time, telling the tribe’s little kids all kinds of old tales, legends, and myths. She said she’d heard the proverb when she was very young herself. That makes it at least a hundred years.]

[How could that be… Massacres happening continuously for a hundred years… And the country did nothing?]

Red Eagle muttered. The woman with the eye patch smirked.

[This isn’t Atania, Prince. Country? What’s that?]

[Ah, right! The Stolls are a tribal confederation.]

Wolf hurriedly poked Red Eagle’s side and replied. Silver was lost in thought. In short, the skeleton evil spirit had killed countless people over a long period to secure ‘subjects for observation’. But what was the purpose of this observation?

Out of boredom?

In many folktales and myths, evil spirits tormented people for trivial reasons like ‘boredom’ or ‘jealousy’. The skeleton didn’t seem much different. Perhaps its purpose was to enjoy watching people conflict and fight while performing tasks. But…

〔Oh, let me explain something. You are not currently an immaterial entity called “soul.” You are a human being whose biological functions have been restored through my master’s technique.〕

〔You have been selected as subjects for Master’s observation and have been mobilized here. Please faithfully complete the assignments to ensure meaningful results.〕

The words sounded just like that bastard Bingapsu droning on about single interest and compound interest back then. Was it trying to scare us? I did feel a bit intimidated.

Just as his thoughts were about to advance further, commotion erupted in one corner of the dining hall.

“Food!”

People ran over with cheers.

***

Even at a glance, there were easily over fifty of them. All warriors.

“Food! Food!”

“Drink!”

The mountain of food piled high instantly crumbled into a small hill. Red Eagle wiped his lips and looked at Wolf. His face was pale.

[Wolf, the chest problem…… looks like guessing was the right answer.]

[Yes. I think I overcomplicated the problem.]

Wolf replied softly, then closed his mouth. Black weasel and the woman with the eye patch also looked defeated. The chest task had been a cleverly designed ‘easy problem’ meant to make people choose option 2 from the start. Amidst the warriors shouting at the top of their lungs, only the two adults and three boys remained silent with their eyes downcast.

Silver’s mind grew cluttered. Contrary to expectations, a significant number of groups had cooperated to overcome the obstacle. They might not have solved the problem logically like his group, but they had progressed to the stage of writing down the chests’ words and selecting option 2.

I underestimated the people of Stoll. But what was it scheming by giving such an easy problem?

Anyway, it was now certain. Another task would be assigned soon. The skeleton wouldn’t just send all these people back nicely. So, was the first task perhaps a malicious setup? Making them taste a sliver of hope before plunging them into despair?

The question didn’t linger long. The cheerful remark of the woman suddenly cut through the air.

“All’s well that ends well, right? Eat up, eat up! It’s our last supper.”

The woman hummed a tune as she tore into the roasted lamb legs. She looked nonchalant, like a noblewoman prisoner smoothing her skirt pleats before the executioner wielding his axe. Black Weasel glared at the woman.

“Last supper? Did your gut feeling tell you that too?”

“Yeah.”

“Actually, mine sucks too.”

“I’ll say it again, in a situation like this, you don’t even need a gut feeling. Shit, we should’ve all just died together under that damn dome.”

Meanwhile, Wolf kept glancing nervously between Black Weasel and the woman. His anxious expression was like a stray dog lurking outside a bakery. The restless mutt suddenly looked up at Silver.

What? Why? Translation?

Silver quietly raised his middle finger. Wolf’s head drooped. He’d caught on too. The adults were saying, “We’re screwed.”

Ignore him. He’s a dead man soon.

[Just eat your food.]

But he spoke against his will. Wolf hesitantly looked up. Silver tapped the table with his cup.

[Are you a puppy getting scolded by its owner? Lift your head.]

[Silver. Over there…]

Wolf trailed off. Silver didn’t turn around and replied.

[What do you think? We’re alive and having our last meal. So eat a lot.]

At those words, Red Eagle buried his face in Wolf’s shoulder and cried. Unexpectedly, Wolf remained unfazed and asked in return.

[Silver, you know Stoll myths well, right? Do you know what kind of harm evil spirits inflict on people?]

[I wouldn’t say I don’t know. But there are a ridiculous number of legends. What I know is like a mouse’s turd.]

Silver stopped speaking. He frowned. True to his nature, he would have replied, “I don’t know, asshole,” but he was being kind to Wolf again. His eyes kept wandering… His face was still radiant… Is that Glamaug clinging to him manipulating me even here?

Let’s ignore it. Ignore it!

[A common trick is cursing someone to understand animals’ thoughts or speech. Dogs or cats might be manageable, but you end up hearing cows, pigs, even fish. Weak-hearted people either end up just nibbling grass or starve to death.]

Silver explained in detail.

[There are also plenty of stories about people stepping out for a moment only to return decades later. Or tricks where human footprints appear before theirs. To the evil spirits, it’s a prank, but to humans, it’s a bolt from the blue. But I’ve never heard a story as dog shit as what we’re dealing with here.]

[I see… Silver, could you tell me more about the spirits’ pranks? It’s really interesting.]

[There’s all sorts. Making you fight your own shadow, trapping you in a dream and giving you bizarre tests… Oh, and…]

After rambling on for a while, Silver finally shut up. His head felt completely empty. What did I just do…? Did I just entertain Wolf again…? And like a kind caretaker, with such meticulous care…

Further resistance was pointless. This was a space ruled by a powerful evil spirit. The Glamaug’s power must have amplified here too. Struggling against being controlled was futile. Accepting this made Silver’s heart feel lighter. Done! No more ignoring Wolf.

Unaware of Silver’s state, Wolf rubbed his temples with his fingertips. Lost in thought, he seemed to be racking his brain again. Silver mocked him inwardly. Idiot, what twisted scheme is he concocting now?

[It’s quite different from the Atanian myths. It’s nasty, but just pranks. For humans, it’s a bolt from the blue, but for an evil spirit, it’s like a bored cat chasing its own tail?]

Huh…?

Silver flinched.