EP1. It all started (10)
Sean and Luke were walking towards the cabin.
“Then let’s stop hunting today.”
“Yeah, but you haven’t caught anything yet.”
“You told me the other day. It’s normal to not catch anything when hunting. It has been pretty good so far.”
He was Luke who soothed Sean, but he himself was a bit unusual today.
Even on days when they don’t catch any, they usually miss the prey they’ve been chasing, or at least the majority of cases where they can’t find the prey because there are too few traces of it.
Today, strangely, the animals didn’t even poke their noses out. I couldn’t even see the small squirrels and sparrows scattered all over the place.
‘Hmm, is it because it’s going to rain a lot later?’
Usually, when there was a sign that rain was about to pour, Luke had seen a lot of cases where animals in the forest got stuck in their shelters and wouldn’t come out, so Luke decided to move on.
“Today is my father’s day, so let’s go to the cabin and rest slowly. It looks like it will rain.”
“Hmm, when will you be back?”
“I don’t know the exact time, but you should be back soon though. I’ve been to the city a few times, but it always took a week.”
Sean and Luke walked and talked until they arrived at a cabin by the lake.
The two entered the cabin. They had started hunting in the past week, and they had been coming and going frequently, and the cabin felt like another home for Shawn before he knew it.
As soon as Sean entered the cabin, he threw himself into a hammock perched in the corner.
The hammock, which was uncomfortable at first, now seemed more comfortable than the poor leather beds at home.
Shaun felt his whole body grow languid.
Come to think of it, lately it seemed like I had gone through too many things that I hadn’t experienced before without taking a break.
When was the last time you took a day off? Probably the last time I went to the peddler with Levi a week ago and bought a burnt magic book.
Since he was so slowly immersed in his thoughts, Shawn felt himself drifting off to sleep.
Luke said, watching Shawn lie on the bed, his eyes still closing.
“If you are tired, you can take a deep breath. I’ll wake you up when Dad comes.”
“・・・No. If I go to sleep, hyung will be bored alone.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. Aren’t you tired from hunting every day these days?”
Like that, Luke continued to take care of Sean, but Sean had no intention of sleeping, at least not for now.
Well, this will be the last time I spend with Luke.
I didn’t bring it up because I thought that if I brought up this topic, the atmosphere would definitely deteriorate.
After this time, Luke will leave town to become an adventurer.
So let’s cherish this last moment.
To do so, Shawn forced himself to get up and get out of bed to wake up.
Sean started talking to Luke for no reason.
“Hyung, why did you bring that black cabin over there? Are you going to practice your sword from here?”
Shawn, knowing that Luke usually practices swordsmanship, asked Luke.
At that, Luke looked at the sword lying on the table.
“No, I’m going to show it to my father and tell him. As I said before, that is my decision itself.”
Oops, the conversation eventually moved on to that topic.
‘Shaun, you stupid bastard! No matter how sleepy How could you do such a stupid thing!’
Even if you blame yourself, the atmosphere has already turned weird.
When the atmosphere calmed down, Luke smiled and said to Sean to solve it.
“Sean, whatever the story goes, why don’t you and Dad eat together at the cabin today?”
“Huh? Of course, I like it, but I’ve never had a proper conversation with Mr.
“hahahaha, it’s okay. I’m sure your father will love you too. Are you sure.”
“Really? How are you so sure? You might hate me.”
“That’s because I like you. Are you my precious little brother?”
“·····.”
With that said, Luke patted Shawn’s head and smiled.
“It is said that parents and children are alike, so my father will like you as much as I like you.”
Luke’s confident demeanor gave Sean a feeling he couldn’t figure out why.
Shaun, blushing with embarrassment, said to Luke.
“···Ah! Hyung, I’m hungry, so I’ll go out for a while. That… you understand!?”
Then, before he could hear Luke’s answer, he ran out of the cabin.
Luke looked at Sean’s back and shouted.
“If anything happens, just shout! Got it!?”
Sean left the cabin and stood in the grass some distance away to do his errands.
‘Why did I run away from there?’
He pondered over the reasons he could not understand.
After finishing his business and looking at the lake for a moment before entering the cabin, Shaun pondered what Luke had suggested.
Dine with Uncle Joe. It was something I had never thought of.
But when I thought about it, it seemed like it would be okay, even if it was a bit awkward at first.
‘Ah, brother Luke will be waiting for you.’
That’s when Sean turns around and tries to go back to the cabin.
Shaun looked at the lake once more.
On the other side of that wide lake, at the entrance to the forest, it seemed as if something could be seen.
What is it? When I focused a little more, it seemed to have a huge size even though it was far away.
‘Is it a rock? I don’t think it’s happened before.’
‘Then is it a bear?’
Shaun moved closer to the lake to see what it was.
Sean walked until he reached the water when he took just one step closer, and looked there again.
And Shawn knew.
Something is wrong.
Even if you don’t know what ‘that’ really is.
In those shimmering ‘eyes’.
Shaun instinctively realized that there was a power that an ordinary life could not have.
It’s dangerous.
The unknown is far away, but it will definitely be a danger to them.
Instantly, Sean called out to Luke.
“···Brother! Brother Luke!!”
Then, Luke immediately jumped out of the cabin and came running.
“Shaun!? Shawn! Are you okay!? What’s the matter!?”
Luke, who had come running so quickly, checked Sean for injuries as soon as he arrived and asked.
“Shaun? I’m so glad What is it?”
“Well, over there over the lake. ····Uh?”
Sean pointed right there to tell Luke what he had seen.
Suddenly, ‘it’ disappeared.
“Huh? ···Uh? For sure···. Are you sure you were there until just now?”
Seeing Sean stuttering in embarrassment, Luke got down on one knee, met his gaze, and lightly picked Sean’s shoulders with both hands and said,
“Shawn, calm down. A hunter must remain calm no matter what happens. Slowly, explain to me what you saw.”
After Sean managed to calm himself down, he explained everything he had seen to Luke.
“…Really? I’ve rarely been in the woods either… But you definitely need to be careful. Shawn, your feelings are often right.”
Luke thought about what to do after listening carefully to Shawn’s rather gibberish, which was hard to believe.
“Then let’s go back to the village right now.”
“But today…”
“Shaun, that doesn’t matter right now. Unless you know what it is, you should choose the safest method possible.”
“Yes… You are right.”
“I’d better go back to the village and talk to the chief first. I’ll stop anyone from entering the forest and let my father know as soon as he enters the village. Now, let’s go back.”
So the two decided to leave the forest without delay.
‘He’s also Luke hyung.’
My previously anxious mind became reassured with Luke by my side.
Shawn thought he should hurry and tell Levi about the danger.
At that time when he was in such a hurry to get out of the lake.
Luke was able to see and know the ‘thing’ standing in front of them before he knew it.
That’s the guy Sean was talking about.
Certainly, he didn’t look like an ordinary animal, as Shawn described.
Luke had never seen such a gigantic animal in his life.
Although it had four feet like other animals.
It had sparse black feathers attached to it.
The black body exposed through the feathers looked strangely wet like mud.
And what was most disparate was that there was not just one mouth, but dozens of them all over the body, opening and closing.
And inside its mouth were not animal teeth, but what looked like human teeth.
And they reflected themselves in its two pupils.
‘Is that… a monster? Can something like that be called a monster?’
It was so different from the monsters Luke had known so far.
I glanced to the side and saw that Sean didn’t react, as if his body had completely stiffened up. Luke said, looking at his dearest brother.
“Shaun, I’m going to get his attention, so run away to town.”
“···What? But, my brother said he had to go back to the village. We should go together. Huh?”
“No, you can’t do that. If that guy follows us into the village and throws it away… Then… So you run away alone.”
“But! Then brother…!”
At that, Luke smiled at Sean and stroked Sean’s head. Just like usual.
“It’s okay. Sean, tell me what my dream is.”
“Are you an adventurer?”
“Yes. Adventurers never lose to monsters. And no matter what hardships you meet, you will overcome them. So do i. I’ll get rid of that guy and return to the village safely.”
“But…”
“Sean, I’m running out of time. Even if we stay still, we don’t know when that guy will attack us.”
“…Okay.”
Luke listened to Sean’s answer and slowly walked in front of the monster.
Luke said to Sean as he walked without turning around.
“Shaun, just in case. . . . Really, if I ever go wrong, so I can’t come back,”
“·····.”
“At that time, I will take care of my father. Even though he looks blunt, he actually has a pretty soft heart.”
Hearing what could possibly be Luke’s last request, Sean hung his head and was silent for a long time. Finally Sean opened his mouth and cried out as if to spit it out.
“・・・・That kind of thing, that kind of thing. My brother said it himself.”
“·····.”
“You promised! The three of us are going to have dinner together! Therefore! . . . So, don’t die.”
“····hahahaha, yes. You’re right. . . . Shawn”
“… Huh?”
“I’ll definitely be back, so wait for me,”
After the last conversation, Luke ran towards the monster. Then he got the monster’s attention by shouting right in front of it.
Then the monster howled in an incomprehensible way to Luke, and then quickly ran towards Luke.
Luke took one last look at Sean and ran past the monster into the woods on the other side of the lake.
The monster also chased Luke, and before he knew it, the two of them had gone too far to be seen.
The two disappeared as if the depths of the forest had been eaten away.
Sean is left alone.
The boy stayed still for a while, but then Sean started running.
The boy started running as fast as he could.
Shawn, who was in despair, had one thought.
Because a single hope came to mind.
Wilhelm.
From noble mtl dot com.
If he was a knight, he would surely be able to catch monsters as well.
It will definitely be possible. He remembers talking to him in the morning when he said he had caught a monster.
‘I have to go as soon as possible.’
‘Luke is in danger!’
‘The promise I made with my brother…’
The scene of the three having dinner together seemed to be drawn to Sean.
Surely, that scene will happen in real life. The boy firmly believed.
To do that, he had no choice but to run as fast as he could.
Sean ran in the woods for a while.
‘Go a little further and you’re in the village!’
Sean, who had been hunting frequently lately and had learned the way, knew he was close to town.
Hope was quickly filled.
And.
More than that hope was quickly filled.
Hope quickly vanished and despair took its place.
“Kleureung-.”
A presence that appeared out of nowhere blocked Shawn’s path.
Why?
Are there wolves out there in the woods?
Shawned by the wolf, Shawn knew that all his hopes were also intercepted.
Sometimes it started to rain slowly from the sky.