MBOMEN 11

Chapter 11. The Conditions of a Free Stay (5)
2023.12.11.

Eustar, who had been silently looking down at her, moved the corners of his mouth in a faint smile that softened his expression.

“Are you angry?”

Laila’s lips parted slightly. A chill radiated from her entire body.

People were screaming and vomiting.

The village’s guards, who had arrived late, hurriedly covered the battered body of the man, but the blood continued to soak the floor, flowing like a river and seeping into the stream that ran through the village.

Amidst all the noise, Laila closed her eyes briefly. She often did this when her mind was troubled, but this time it did little to calm her. Instead, the unwanted sounds only became clearer.

“Are you angry, Laila?”

Opening her eyes, Laila looked at him from beneath her hood.

“I’m not angry. I just… can’t accept your way of doing things.”

The guards began to glance at the two of them. Eustar smiled gently at them and, with a natural air, led Laila away.

At that moment, Laila simultaneously felt the urge to shake off Eustar’s hand and to grasp it even tighter. It felt like her desires were split in two.

“Whether you accept it or not… he was a restless spirit crumbling apart anyway. You saw it, right? If we left him like that, he would have clung to that spot and harmed innocent people.”

“I know that. But you could’ve just erased him, couldn’t you? Like you did in Lizicus.”

Eustar nodded lightly.

“I could have.”

“Then why didn’t you? You forcibly put that man’s soul into the red-haired guy, right? Can you even do that? I thought you said you weren’t a medium.”

“I’m not a medium. But I can do things like that.”

When they entered a quiet inn alley, Laila shook off Eustar’s hand.

She looked around, then took off her hood and tossed her tangled hair about. Her red eyes stared at Eustar intently.

“How can you do that? Did you borrow the power of a magic tool?”

“No, this is a power I… possess. To be precise, someone is lending it to me.”

For a moment, Laila recalled the black smoke swirling over his shoulder. What was it? Was it the ‘someone’ Eustar mentioned? Or was it his power?

Her head felt like it was about to burst from the flood of questions. Taking a deep breath, Laila spoke.

“Are you really human?”

Eustar laughed. That smile once again broke down Laila’s defenses despite her intentions. Something that made up Eustar flowed into her heart, whispering that there was no need to worry.

“Don’t worry, Laila. No matter what anyone says, I’m a person like you. We’re the same.”

Laila chuckled.

“Normal people wouldn’t say that to a real witch.”

“I’m not an ordinary person. Anyway, the reason I can do things similar to mediums despite not being one is because of that. But I’m no match for a real medium. That’s why I need you.”

Laila, who had been biting her lip with her arms crossed, finally sighed as if giving up. A breeze from the alley swept Eustar’s long hair to and fro.

“Well then, shall we go? Miss Witch. We have one more promise to keep. If you want to explore the village more, I won’t stop you, but it seems quite a few things like what we saw earlier are wandering around.”

Even without his threatening tone, Laila hated crowded streets. She pulled her hood back on and headed toward Mrs. Nollan’s inn.

As promised, Mrs. Nollan had cleaned the problematic room.

It wasn’t as clean as the other rooms, but at least much of the dust was gone and the sheets were clean. Though cobwebs still clung in the ceiling corners, the spiders were gone.

As Eustar closed the door, Laila first removed her hood.

Her short black hair, barely touching her shoulders, flickered faintly in the dim mirror. Though barely visible, looking at her own face up close like that felt strange.

Suddenly, Eustar appeared behind her shoulder. Seeing them standing side by side made Laila acutely aware of his tall height.

He was nearly a head taller than her, with broad shoulders. Yet in his fitted uniform, he appeared sleek rather than bulky.

“Don’t you have any thoughts about sharing the same room as me?”

Laila glanced at his hand lightly resting on her shoulder and thought, she hadn’t even considered that.

“Should I be worried?”

She asked. For a moment, was it just her imagination? The reflection of Eustar’s face in the mirror seemed like a different person.

Not completely different, but over his usual face, another image briefly passed like a thin veil—a face so sensuous it tightened her chest.

“Should I be worried?”

When she repeated the question, Eustar, who had been silent, burst out laughing. The shadow of the other presence vanished from his face like glass breaking.

“No, no need. I promise. If I ever try to do something wrong, you can tie my tongue.”

“That requires tinker, though.”

Laila lightly slapped his hand away and frowned.

“Why?”

Eustar asked gently.

“Tinker. My mother left a kind of note about it, and also materials… rare materials, all kept at home. I lost everything.”

She waited for Eustar to say something, but he surprised her by stepping back a step and turning his head slightly over his shoulder with a strange expression.

“Eustar.”

She called him. His brows furrowed deeply at once, startling Laila and causing her to clench her fist.

But it didn’t last long.

He didn’t suddenly lunge at her or growl like a beast. Instead, he turned his head as if nothing happened and gave a faint smile.

“Sorry, I got distracted. What did you say?”

Laila blinked slowly. She tried to find anything odd about him but saw nothing. His surroundings were clean, and his demeanor was unchanged.

“My house burned down… and I lost all the precious materials. The ones to make tinker.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. They’re easy to get anytime.”

“But you don’t know which materials.”

Eustar nodded as if to concede, but didn’t seem to reconsider his words.

“That’s true. But whatever you’re looking for, I can get it. Trust me. By the way, sorry to be rude in front of a lady, but may I lie down on the bed? I’m finally feeling some fatigue.”

He then plopped onto the narrow bed and took off his jacket.

He also removed the vest underneath and unbuttoned a couple of shirt buttons. A large scar was visible beneath his collarbone, extending at least over his chest and possibly down to his abdomen.

Throwing his clothes over the old chair back, Eustar leaned back. The freshly changed sheets were clean but didn’t smell great, likely taken from a drawer corner and laid down after being stored for a long time.

Sighing deeply, Eustar covered his eyes with his forearm.

“Mrs. Nollan said… that several people have already died in this room.”

“That’s right. She said so.”

“What do you think, Laila? What do you think the ‘evil thing’ Mrs. Nollan mentioned could be?”

Laila shrugged, unsure.

“Maybe like what we saw earlier?”

“Probably. It’s likely something far older that clings here. That means someone must have died at the inn, but Mrs. Nollan hasn’t told that story. She wouldn’t answer if you asked.”

At that moment, red dots flickered briefly before Laila’s eyes. She frowned and rubbed them away, and they disappeared quickly.

“Laila?”

“Sorry, something got in my eye. Um… do you think Mrs. Nollan is involved in this strange matter?”

“I suspect it’s quite likely.”

“But Mrs. Nollan is still alive. That means… whatever it is, we can’t leave here. And right now, I don’t feel anything. Really. Some things only appear at certain times or conditions. It could be that kind of thing.”

Eustar lightly tapped his hand on the spot beside him with an expression like a professor admiring a smart student.

Laila looked at him for a moment, then without resistance, sat down beside him. The bed wasn’t very wide, and she had a strong premonition she wouldn’t sleep comfortably tonight.

“Don’t worry. You have special eyes, and with those, I can handle whatever comes out. No matter what it is, Laila.”

“The power you mentioned earlier, the one lent by someone… does that include having eyes like mine?”

When Laila asked, Eustar’s expression briefly twisted into a cynical smile.

“No, it doesn’t. But I don’t want to use that method. The being lending me power isn’t volunteering for free. It always takes something in return. The ‘overlaying’ power is too much of a burden for me.”

“Tell me what that being is.”

But Eustar slowly shook his head.

“Not yet. Not yet. Until you know me better, I can’t tell you, Laila.”