Chapter 12
A Strange Request (2)
‘I see. Since Kazar hasn’t gained his infamous reputation yet, people don’t have any aversion to this name.’
In that case, the Kazar beside him might not even be King Kazar the Tyrant.
‘I misunderstood for nothing, not knowing it was a common name in this era.’
Even so, seeing how he acted, Ernolf couldn’t be entirely sure that he wasn’t a tyrant-in-the-making. If so, there was only one solution.
“I ask you seriously once more, Kazar. Let’s take this chance to change your name.”
Since Ernolf nagged him to change his name every chance he got, Kazar felt annoyance rising. Raising his chin, Kazar sent a look warning that he would kill him if he said one more word, causing Ernolf to quietly avert his eyes.
“May I ask why you called for us?”
The feudal lord replied that he had summoned them to request a monster hunt. Although the conversation was with Ernolf, the lord and his wife’s gazes kept drifting toward Kazar.
“Where is your Guide?” “For what reason do you ask?” “It is a somewhat dangerous mission, so I believe we need the permission of your Guide.” “What do you mean, permission? We can just…”
The moment Kazar opened his mouth to reply, Ernolf hastily cut him off. Those who awakened on their own were known to alter the course of history. Such beings who shook the existing order and balance of power were bound to become targets of jealousy and vigilance. Ernolf wished to decline such chaos. His goal was merely to live quietly and return to his original body without anyone knowing. Therefore, he had to hide the fact that they lacked a Guide.
“We are currently on our way back to our Guide after visiting our parents. He is not accompanying us at the moment.” “Ah, so he did not travel with you.” “We often hunt monsters for the sake of training, so please speak comfortably.” “Would that truly be fine?” “We will first hear what you have to say and judge whether it is a manageable opponent or not.”
Hearing Ernolf’s words, the lord looked back at Kazar. This was because the practical agent of the request was Kazar, not Ernolf. However, Kazar stepped back, indicating that if his brother said it was fine, then it was fine. The lord asked if they could capture a goblin cub alive.
“A single goblin is not dangerous, but their habits are the problem. Since they live in colonies and raise their young collectively, capturing a single cub requires dealing with the entire pack. Is it difficult for your soldiers?”
When a child who looked no more than fifteen years old spoke fluently about monster ecology, the lord and his wife could not hide their surprise. In truth, the prisoners who were former members of the Cassion Mercenary Corps had been deployed for the hunt the previous day, only to be completely wiped out.
“This is a small city, so our military force is not that large. With the barbarians running wild, just defending the territory taxes our strength to its limit. That is why we intend to employ mercenaries.” “I see.”
The lord and his wife assumed the brothers would not accept the request. However, the reason Ernolf did not readily accept the request was not because of that.
“Since it accompanies danger, you will have to pay a generous reward.”
Kazar, who was listening while leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, also nodded his head. What mattered to the twins right now was money first, money second, and money third.
“Does that mean you will accept the request?” “Indeed. But what do you intend to use a live goblin cub for?” “That is none of your concern. So long as you bring it back alive, I shall pay handsomely. It must be finished within this week. Is that possible?” “If we depart right away, we should be able to bring it to you by tomorrow.” “Tomorrow? Did you say tomorrow?” “Yes. Shall we bring it to the lord’s manor? Or here to…” “As long as you capture it, I will handle the rest myself.” “Understood. Once you give us the advance payment, we will set off immediately.”
Given the high difficulty of the request, Ernolf demanded half of the reward as an advance payment. Unless it was a highly trusted mercenary corps, advance payments were rarely granted in such large amounts. This was because they could take the money and run.
“I will remain here until my younger brother completes the request.”
When Ernolf said that, Kazar, who had been listening quietly until then, suddenly kicked him in the calf.
-Why! -What? -Why are you kicking me!
To his brother demanding an explanation with his eyes, Kazar said nothing. Aside from the few days they were forcibly separated after being caught trying to escape the mine, Kazar had never been apart from his brother as long as he had been alive. They had been together since birth, and even when they were sold into slavery at the mine, they were together. Having reunited with his brother after fifty years, the fact that he was planning to stay separated for a whole day without even consulting him made Kazar burst with frustration. That brother who had lost all his memories might be fine with it, but Kazar certainly was not.
Finishing their talk with the lord and his wife, the two went to the room provided by the temple. While Kazar packed his hunting gear, Ernolf used magic to heal his leg, which had bruised from Kazar’s kick.
“Ignorant guy with nothing but brute strength. It almost broke!” “If it breaks, ask them to reattach it. This place specializes in that kind of stuff.”
Kazar said as he wrapped iron chains meant for binding the goblin cub around his body.
“That’s true.”
Come to think of it, if it had broken, he could have used it as an excuse to experience the healer’s skills firsthand; it was a slight shame he couldn’t.
‘No, wait. If I did that, I’d get caught being a mage.’
The priests knew Kazar was an Aura user only because he had received treatment from them.
“Will you be fine raiding a goblin cave all by yourself?” “If I thought I wouldn’t be fine, I wouldn’t have accepted the request.” “True enough.”
Ernolf conceded immediately. Before arriving here, the two had hunted various monsters. This was because they wanted to adapt to their possessed bodies as quickly as possible and hone their battle instincts and magic capabilities. In that process, Ernolf had been astounded by Kazar’s rate of growth.
‘I’ve gotten a lot stronger too, but Kazar…’
Every time he dispatched a monster, Kazar’s reaction speed and battle techniques evolved like a monster’s. His appearance was as if a God of War had possessed him. Carrying on about it being a dangerous request was merely a trick to squeeze out more money for his trouble; if Ernolf had deemed it an impossible request, he wouldn’t have accepted it in the first place. Likely, when Kazar returned from the goblin cave, he would be incomparably stronger than before.
“Until I get back, don’t do anything foolish and just stick to reading books.”
Finished with his preparations, Kazar messily tousled Ernolf’s hair.
“What foolish things would I even do…” “If you have a conscience, put your hand on your chest and think about it. You’re intentionally staying behind just to do something foolish.”
Ernolf put his hand on his chest and sank into thought.
‘Hmm, I do feel a slight pang of guilt.’
Just as Kazar said, the reason he decided to stay at the temple was to dig into the temple’s secret without having to walk on eggshells around Kazar.
“What did you see at the farm earlier?”
When they went to the farm, Ernolf had remained silent for a long time while looking at the slaves. Kazar kept worrying about that.
“I saw the slaves.”
Ernolf recalled the sight of the serfs working as if their souls had departed. They were mostly engaged in repetitive, high-intensity labor: bound to a giant millstone like donkeys to grind grain while walking in circles, shoveling filth onto fields, or turning waterwheels to supply water to irrigation channels. Their backs were all bent and their bodies emaciated, yet their limbs were thick with solid muscle, giving them a heavy appearance.
“Their eyes lacked focus, and they were drooling. They had thick chains attached to their limbs. Isn’t that too cruel? People wouldn’t even treat livestock like that.” “Must be nice forgetting everything. Saying such comfortable things.” “…?” “We were tied up and sold like that, too. Like livestock.”
That day, as their father and mother wept and begged for their children back, the overseer beat them mercilessly with a whip. Although his brother covered his ears with both hands to block out the screams of their parents, he couldn’t cover his wide-open eyes. From the slave merchant’s cart, Kazar had watched his bleeding father and sobbing mother. In that moment, Kazar learned the lesson that this was the fate that awaited those who were weak and possessed nothing.
“Is a slave’s life really anything special? Wherever you live, it’s pretty much the same.”
In this era, slaves were a master’s property, not human beings. Whether they were treated like livestock or worse, no one held anyone accountable for that crime.
“Still, they were feeding them water.”
There was a separate slave who served water to the serfs working while bound. Kazar was referring to that.
‘Right, the color of that water was strange, so I’m trying to look into it.’
The color of the water was milky white, as if a bit of milk had been poured into it. It might just be hard water containing lime, but he couldn’t be certain. This was because the serfs’ bodies commonly bore traces of biological transplantation.
‘It might not be ordinary water, but a drug used to increase the success rate of biological transplantation.’
Kazar called it ‘foolishness,’ but to Ernolf, it was a mage’s intellectual curiosity.
“When are you leaving?”
Seeing Ernolf itching to go to the farm as soon as possible, Kazar narrowed his eyes.
“If you don’t stay quiet, don’t expect to get the balance payment. Just breathe and stay put. Don’t do anything foolish.” “Ahem, what kind of person do you take this brother for to say such things? With such a frail body, what kind of dangerous stuff could I possibly pull off?”
It was absurd, but looking at Tirad, who was like a dry twig, that statement inspired trust. Still feeling a bit uneasy, Kazar left Ernolf behind and departed from the temple.
According to what they heard from the priest, there was a lake to the right of a mountain whose peak resembled a fang, and a goblin cave was located slightly above that lake. Housing a colony of about forty goblins, that place was a training ground perfectly suited for Kazar’s current level. Releasing his horse in a relatively safe place, Kazar walked toward the goblin habitat. Having hunted goblins frequently during his time with the Cassion Mercenary Corps, Kazar knew their habits well. What he found strange was that Tirad spoke with certainty—as if he were someone who had hunted goblins before—saying he could finish it in a single night.
‘He didn’t regress like I did, so how does he know so much about goblins?’
He possessed unlearned magic knowledge, was well-versed in proper etiquette for dealing with nobles, and though somewhat eccentric, his demeanor was exactly like a young master raised and educated in a fine family. Did his personality change because he lost his memories? Or did he gain insight that ordinary humans couldn’t comprehend upon awakening on his own? Whatever it was, the brother he reunited with was so different from the brother in his memories that doubts kept arising.
‘What am I thinking? We have the same face, and we even resonate—there’s no way he isn’t my brother.’
There were countless suspicious points, but the fact that they resonated with each other was undeniable proof that he was Tirad.
Just as the priest said, there was a small lake beneath Fang Mountain. Nearby, Kazar found the footprints of male goblins and traces of them hunting and eating fish. And before going much further, he found a dozen goblin corpses with their intestines eaten out and limbs torn apart.
‘There’s a higher-tier monster than goblins nearby.’
Although inferior to humans, goblins possessed a degree of intelligence, making them cleverer and more agile than other monsters. The fact that multiple goblins were hunted all at once was a dangerous sign.
Rustle. Rustle. Snap.
The sound of footsteps carefully treading on fallen leaves could be heard. Kazar swiftly climbed up the cliff and pressed his body tight against a boulder. Hardly had he hidden himself when a giant humanoid figure pushed through the thicket and began digging into the ground with both hands. Before long, it pulled a human forearm out of the dirt and began devouring it ravenously. Then, two more burst out from between the trees, engaging in a tense standoff over the single forearm.
“Kyahak!” “Kyak!”
Kazar’s gaze turned fierce. Scattered near the ones tussling with each other were the corpses of goblins and humans. He spotted the corpse of a mercenary corps member he had seen at the temple earlier.
‘The barbarians weren’t the problem.’
When his brother asked why he didn’t use soldiers for the goblin hunt, the lord of Talisa offered the excuse that they had their hands full just defending against the barbarians. Since it was harvest season and raids were frequent, the lord’s words sounded convincing. However, Kazar was now witnessing a far more convincing reason with his own eyes. The man-eating monsters devouring humans were wearing guard uniforms. This showed that they had once lived in the city and were soldiers obeying the lord’s orders.
“Kyahak! This is mine!” “We caught it together, so we share!”
They growled at each other like beasts and sometimes even swore using human speech. Rather than complete monsters, they were closer to half-human, half-beast hybrids.
‘This hunt is going to take longer than expected.’
Kazar quietly drew his sword and bit it between his teeth. To dispatch all these creatures and capture the goblin cub, it seemed unlikely he would be able to return by the time his brother had promised the lord.
