SWY 23

Sharhan’s face twisted immediately.

“How the hell do we look like a couple?!”

Sharhan glared in disbelief, but Derry’s face, shrinking into his shoulders, was smeared with tear stains and dirt. The sight of his pathetic state sapped away any anger Sharhan had left.

“I’m sorry if I was wrong.”

Just as the intimidated Derry apologized, a loud grrrr rang out, from his stomach. Face flushing bright red, he apologized again.

“S-sorry. I know it’s inappropriate, but I’m hungry, even in a situation like this.”

Only then did Sharhan realize he was hungry too. He’d only had jerky for lunch and had spent all his energy frantically cutting down those things outside. If they were going to leave at dawn, he needed to recover his strength.

“Yeah, I’m hungry too. Let’s find something to eat.”

As Sharhan rubbed his stomach, Derry stood up cautiously.

“Should I look around for food? Oh, this house isn’t mine, by the way.”

“I know.”

“Huh? How?”

“Looks like a house where a couple with two kids might’ve lived. You seem like you lived alone.”

“You’re right. I’ve been living alone since last year. Before that, I lived with my teacher and older brothers.”

Derry’s eyes welled up again, and he gave a little shudder before quickly wiping them with the back of his hand and pulling himself together. He began rummaging through the house, muttering, “Sorry. I’ll just borrow a little food, that’s all.” From the looks of him, he clearly had a timid personality, and apologizing seemed to be second nature.

While Derry checked the cabinets, Sharhan eyed a basket on the table. Lifting the cloth, he found two pieces of dry bread and some tea leaves.

“N-no, you can’t take those! Those were distributed by the castle to every household!”

Derry, who had turned away disappointed at the lack of food, jumped and shouted. Lestel had stepped over and picked up the tea leaves. They looked completely ordinary, which made it hard to believe they had been turning normal people into monsters. Lestel’s hand trembled as he clenched the leaves.

“That insane lord bastard. He really intended to turn even his own people into monsters.”

The fact that he had sent tea to every household, not just to those who attended the party, reeked of deliberate malice. Based on what Derry had said, it seemed the citizens who had attended the festival turned shortly after drinking the tea.

That meant the version distributed locally had to be more concentrated than the one spread outside. It was as if the lord intended to turn this entire day into a mass funeral, for both himself and the people of Luhas. As if offering them up as a sacrifice for his dead daughter.

“Better take some with us, just in case.”

The people who made Paphun tea were probably all dead by now, but there could still be survivors. Or maybe an apothecary or alchemist could use these leaves to make an antidote. There was no harm in taking them. At Sharhan’s words, Lestel nodded and packed the tea.

“This is all there is.”

Derry had found a few pieces of dried fruit, a little flour, and a piece of dried meat that stank like it was rotting. The only thing remotely edible was the dried fruit. They had planned to use whatever they found in the house for dinner, but it wouldn’t be enough.

“Luhas was already a poor territory, and after the young lady died, the lord completely abandoned the estate… It got even poorer after that.”

Even without Derry’s explanation, it was obvious. The entire house screamed poverty. After standing silently for a moment, Derry rummaged through his robe and pulled out a pouch.

“M-my teacher told me to run and gave me this. I’ll check if there’s anything edible.”

But inside the pouch were five gold coins, three silver coins, a few rings, and a necklace stuffed in carelessly. It looked like his teacher had hastily gathered whatever valuables he could for his disciple.

Sharhan looked at Derry, who was staring into the pouch with a heavy expression, and handed him some jerky. Most of their supplies were strapped to the horse, so he didn’t have much on hand,but he gave one away anyway.

Derry hesitated before accepting it, bowed deeply, and quietly began to nibble. But after only a few bites, he was already sniffling again.

“I-it’s delicious. It tastes so good, it makes me want to cry. I’m so pathetic… Even now, I’m hungry and enjoying food… I feel like garbage. I-it’s all because of my teacher…”

Tears fell onto the jerky he clutched tightly. Sharhan sighed, then sat with Lestel on the bed and ate to satisfy his own hunger.

“I’m leaving at dawn tomorrow. Heading straight for Serman. What about you?”

With the outside world likely a hellscape, he had to check on Iris’s safety first, no matter what.

“Honey, you weren’t actually planning to leave me behind and go alone, were you? You do realize your life’s in my hands.”

“What about the caravan member who got addicted to Paphun? Don’t you need to check on him? He seemed like someone important to you.”

“So what?”

“So, shouldn’t you go to Verden instead…?”

“What did you just say, honey?”

Lestel’s voice dropped dangerously as he tapped Sharhan’s cheek with a finger. Sharhan had no idea why he was getting nervous, but one thing was clear, saying he’d go to Serman alone while Lestel returned to Verden was definitely the wrong move.

“…That was my first thought, but then I remembered, Serman is your territory. Of course you’re coming with me. Especially since my life’s in your hands. How could I possibly go alone?”

“Honey, that was close.”

“What do you mean? Anyway, don’t you have family to worry about too? Ah, is the marquis still in the capital?”

Whatever “close call” Lestel meant, it seemed saying they’d go together was the right answer. His threatening aura eased.

“Doesn’t matter. No matter where he is.”

“…Huh?”

“Let’s check the map.”

After finishing his bite of jerky, Lestel pulled out a map to find the fastest route from Luhas to Serman. Sharhan leaned in, heads nearly touching, as they studied it carefully.

“Looks like the fastest route passes right through Verden.”

Iris was the top priority, of course, but Sharhan had been worried about the Red Wolves too. It was a relief. They wouldn’t have the time to track them down, but if they passed through Verden and ran into them, that would be ideal.

“If we’re lucky, we might be able to at least confirm they’re alive.”

Just then, Derry spoke up desperately.

“P-please take me with you!”

Sharhan and Lestel both turned to him. Derry, shoulders hunched, looked up with pleading eyes.

“I-I’ll do anything. I barely eat, as you can probably tell from looking at me. And I, um… I can’t really use magic well, but I can do this!”

Desperate to prove his usefulness, Derry cast a spell. He muttered quietly, and a tiny bead, about the size of a pinky nail, appeared in the air, then fell and scattered on the floor. It was water. Barely enough for a single sip. The effort had drained Derry, and he was now panting, looking as if he might faint any moment.

“……”

As Sharhan silently stared, Derry turned red and looked away in embarrassment.

“My mana core is really small… B-but I formed it faster than my brothers, and even just learning magic from theory and pulling this off is, uh, supposedly impressive, my teacher said…”

He trailed off and eventually lowered his head in defeat. His already-scrawny frame made him look even more pitiful like that.

“Tell us more about what you know regarding Paphun tea.”

At Lestel’s prompt, Derry quickly lifted his head and dug through his memory.

“When you die from addiction, you wake up immediately and start biting people. My teacher called them moving corpses.”

“Moving corpses?”

“Yes. They’re definitely dead, but they still move. If you’re bitten, you get infected too, so he said to never let them bite you. He also said they don’t die because they’re already dead… Oh, right, their weak points are the neck and the head. You can kill them by cutting the neck or smashing the head.”

“We already knew that. Anything new?”

“…Y-you did? Umm… what else… Oh! He said they’re sensitive to sound and light!”

“Sound and light?”

“Yes. They’re drawn to loud sounds and bright lights, so he warned us to be careful. And even though the rate of transformation differs depending on the person, once you’re bitten, you will turn, no matter what. So he said never to get close. And, um… I think that’s it. It was all so chaotic at the time, I might’ve forgotten something, but if I remember anything else, I’ll tell you right away.”

He finished with a desperate look in his eyes. As Sharhan scratched at his temple, he gave Lestel a light nudge on the shoulder, what now?

Lestel, staring at Derry’s anxious face, didn’t look thrilled. One of the people responsible for Paphun was Derry’s teacher, so he was clearly reluctant. Sharhan, noticing the conflicted look, pulled Lestel aside to whisper.

“You’re hung up on Derry’s teacher, aren’t you? That’s why you’re hesitating?”

“What about you?”

Sharhan glanced back. Derry was trying to eavesdrop, ears perked. Sharhan lowered his voice further.

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t matter at all.”

If something had happened to Iris, it would’ve been hard not to blame Derry. He might’ve even screamed at him to take responsibility. He wasn’t a saint, after all. He was reluctant. But he also knew none of this was Derry’s fault.

After thinking for a long time, Sharhan sighed and said,

“We can’t blame Derry for his teacher’s sins.”

“You really think so?”