Chapter 1: Male Witch (1)
Dressed in black from head to toe, the two people who were clearly recognizable as witch hunters were crossing a moss-covered stone bridge.
The middle-aged man leading the way, Vigo, spoke.
“Did you hear, Rowen?”
“What do you an, Master?”
“The village of Sinain we are heading to.”
“Yes. It’s the village at the foot of the mountain outside Cliffman territory.”
He stopped for a mont and gazed at the distant peaks before continuing.
“They say a witch lives in the mountain behind that village.”
“…What?”
Rowen, who walked with a limp, paused in his steps. Then he chuckled as if it were nothing and walked on.
“It must be another strange rumor blown out of proportion. Maybe soone saw an illusion. Those things are common, you know. The mission request had no suspicious details. I checked three tis, so I’m certain.”
At Rowen’s firm reply, Vigo chuckled back.
“There is no way you would miss anything. I think so too. After all, could a witch really live plainly on the mountain behind a village? They’d have to be extrely dumb."
Rowen half-heartedly agreed with his master’s trivial joke.
“In the first place… if soone living on the mountain really were a witch, the villagers would not have survived long enough to request our help.”
Vigo answered with a nod instead of words.
He had lived as a witch hunter for thirty years. In that ti, he had received countless false reports and been deceived.
Witches did not reveal themselves easily.
They were sinister, sly, and cunning. They never showed their existence openly, instead taking lives in secret.
If what Rowen said was true and a witch really lived in that mountain, then by the ti they reached Sinain village, nothing alive would remain there.
Rumble-!
Looking up, they saw dark clouds gathering. The damp air foretold that the clouds would soon bring rain.
After a short silence, Vigo spoke.
“Looks like it will rain soon. We will stay around here for the night. Your leg must be hurting by now anyway.”
“I am fine… but understood.”
* * *
“Gwyn! You troublemaker. Where are you off to, again? What kind of trouble are you planning?”
“Aw co on, village chief. Trouble? I am not doing anything. I am just going to chop wood.”
“Wood? I heard you’ve been gathering firewood lately, was that true?”
“Hehe. It is about ti I grew up too.”
The village chief was not convinced. He knew well that rascal Gwyn was not the type to change overnight.
“Are you going to the mountain?”
“Yeah. Everyone goes to the back mountain for wood.”
The chief’s wrinkled eyes narrowed.
“…Fine, I guess I’ll let it be. But whenever you go for wood in the mountains, you must be careful of the thing.”
“The thing?”
“The witch’s child in the mountain. The adults must have told you often that it is dangerous.”
“Ah, I know.”
Gwyn mocked the chief in his mind.
‘Cowardly old man.’
He wondered what expression this elder would make if he learned what Gwyn had been doing lately.
“But seriously, there are no witches in this day and age. You make laugh, chief.”
“There is. If I tell you to be careful, then be careful. Listen to your elders.”
“Yeah~ yeah. I understand. I will be careful.”
Watching Gwyn climb the back mountain with a mocking tone, the chief sighed.
“Children these days are always like that…”
With a worried face, he stared at the mountain.
It was a small, utterly ordinary hill, but looking at the shade at the base was enough to make chills run down his spine.
Even after fifteen years, facing the beast that lived in that mountain was still terrifying.
* * *
Gwyn climbed the mountain quickly. It was rugged terrain with no paths where no one usually ca.
But having climbed it a few tis recently, he beca faster at reaching his destination.
By the ti sweat drenched his shirt, he arrived at a shabby hut deep in the mountain. He approached and knocked on the door.
Bang, bang!
“Nike! Nike! It is , Gwyn.”
Before long, the worn wooden door creaked open with an eerie sound.
Out stepped a boy with hair like the mane of a gray wolf, reeking of mold.
Even in a world filled with mysteries, his ash-gray hair and eyes stood out, along with a face so handso it startled even n.
Bathed in sunlight, the boy yawned widely and spoke with a dull expression.
“Morning.”
“It is already past noon, you idiot. Here, take this.”
Gwyn held out an axe.
“Co out quickly. It’s ti to work.”
“Gold and silver.”
“Yes. We need to work hard to earn gold and silver. Do you want to be rich too?”
Expressionless, Nike suddenly grinned and nodded.
“Then all you have to do is listen to . You will not need to eat raw deer or rabbits anymore. Let’s go.”
Stretching his body, Nike followed Gwyn. Barefoot and dressed in torn rags, he looked like a beast.
The boy had been abandoned alone in the mountain, but no villager had taken him in. Everyone believed the rumor that Nike was the child of a witch.
The two went to a small clearing. Several tree stumps showed Nike had already been chopping here.
Thud, thud, crack!
Nike swung the axe hard, felling trees with astonishing speed. Despite his thin fra, his strength and skill were extraordinary. Piles of logs grew quickly.
anwhile, Gwyn sat on a stump nearby chewing wild berries.
‘Wow, he works well. I don’t know why people are so afraid of such an idiot like him. He is so dumb like that.’
On a day of heavy rain, Gwyn had tumbled down the mountain and been badly injured. That was when he had t Nike.
Contrary to the sinister rumors, Nike had not eaten him, but carried him down the mountain.
Through that event, Gwyn realized Nike was not as dangerous as people claid.
After talking with him… it beca clear. Nike was not a demon or a witch’s child, but more of a fool.
With a little coaxing, he could be made to work hard and obey commands. Just like now.
Crack!
With only a few swings, another huge tree toppled. Nike accomplished with ease what would normally take several grown n.
‘He does all the work and I make all the money. At this rate, I will be rich in no ti.’
Seeing Nike as a goose that laid golden eggs, Gwyn grinned from ear to ear.
“Nike! Keep it up! When I go to the village, I will buy you so snacks!”
“at!”
* * *
After quickly finishing the quota, Nike carried a huge tree down to the village with ease. His physical ability was clearly abnormal, but Gwyn dismissed it.
To him, Nike was just a strong simpleton.
At Gwyn’s request to wait, Nike nodded and crouched down.
Before long, Gwyn returned with a bright face.
“What are you watching so intently? Ants?”
He squinted at what Nike was staring at. It was an old squirrel carcass crawling with ants.
“…”
Even after two weeks of knowing him, Nike’s thoughts and actions were still incomprehensible.
Sotis it was downright unsettling. He could understand why villagers called him a witch’s child.
But so long as he obeyed and worked hard, even if he committed murder it would not matter to Gwyn.
“Nike. It’s ti to split what we earned these two weeks.”
Nike jumped up. His once indifferent face lit up.
“Are you happy?”
“Rich!”
“Yeah. I guess you like money too. Here, take it.”
Gwyn dropped a coin into Nike’s hand. Nike stared blankly at his palm. It was not the amount he expected.
“One, copper.”
“Yeah. One copper. That is your share for two weeks.”
The real earnings were much more, but Gwyn had pocketed the rest. He never intended to split fairly.
“What’s with that face?”
“Logs. Fifty. Silver. Many.”
Nike glared at him. His sharp eyes and changed deanor were chilling.
“…You were counting all that?”
“Rich.”
“You bastard. Asking for more is shaless. Everyone avoids you, so even if you chopped wood for a hundred days, you could never sell it. But I am kind enough to do it for you. Naturally, I deserve the bigger share.”
“Gold and silver.”
Nike still held out his palm. It was the gesture of demanding rightful pay for his labor.
‘I thought he was an idiot… but I guess I can’t just use him this easily? Unbelievable.’
“Hah. Look at this guy. Fine. Fine.”
Gwyn grudgingly added two more coins into Nike’s hand.
“Happy now?”
He smirked at Nike. But Nike still did not look satisfied. If anything, he looked angrier.
“Rich.”
“You fucking-, hey bastard. Do you think we can get gold from selling so firewood? Even if we stripped the whole mountain, we would not see any.”
“Promise.”
Nike did not look like he would back down. Gwyn was starting to lose his patience.
It was irritating how defiant he was today.
“…Are you too stupid to understand when I am being nice? Huh? If you are retarded, then just obey . I am trying to be generous to a beast that eats raw at, and you dare glare at !?”
“Promise. Refusal. Death.”
“Hah, you ungrateful beast… You really know how to get on my nerves, huh?”
Gwyn’s lips twisted. Whatever Nike ant, he clearly felt that Nike was trying to threaten him.
“Death? Are you threatening to kill now? Huh?”
“Gold and silver. Promise. Refusal. Death.”
“Hey, have you gone insane?”
Though Gwyn shouted in anger, his fury soon turned into fear.
“Gold and silver. Promise. Refusal. Death.”
“Gold and silver. Promise. Refusal. Death.”
“Gold and silver. Promise. Refusal. Death.”
“Gold and silver. Promise. Refusal. Death.”
“Gold and silver. Promise. Refusal. Death.”
“Gold and silver. Promise. Refusal. Death.”
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