Beware of the Red Thread

Chapter 17

“Did you have a good night last night?”

I met Sleipnir in an -one-sidedly- awkward atmosphere while walking around town. He seemed particularly energetic wherever he went in the morning. He approached me warmly, and he looked at Abel and me alternately, and then asked a question.

“Hmm. What happened to the Master?”

“Nothing?”

I was in denial, but he looked at me with his eyes wide open. This beast is quite quick-witted. It was subtle, and it seemed to have penetrated the awkward atmosphere. Uh, what’s going on? It’s just a bit of slip of the tongue, and I’m embarrassed. You can say something to cheer up someone who is having a hard time. Huh. Mumbling almost brainwashingly, I hurried to the pharmacy.

Trot, trot. My eyes sting at the sound of his hooves, but I never looked back. I commissioned a drug maker to decoct the herbs given by Verseppo and make it into pills or potions. Even if I get hurt, the red thread doesn’t form. Maybe it’s because I’m not of this world, but that means that even if I get hurt, I can’t heal myself.

Because of this, the nearby priests and monsters would periodically bring me various medicinal herbs, which are mainly found in the rugged mountains outside the village. I don’t know if my hand will be fine. Even if I wanted to visit Verseppo, it was impossible as long as that reaper was chasing after him. I was thinking of going to visit him, but it seemed that I would become a nuisance to Verseppo.

I’m not an idiot scratching a flint against a dormant volcano for nothing. It seems like it’s already happened a few times, but I just passed it. Anyway, I found the sugar cubes I had left while waiting and gave it to Sleipnir. “Oh, thank you!” Seeing a truly happy horse was a rare sight to behold once in a lifetime.

*

Luce, where Saint Lucia and Assand will be, is very far from here. And it was not a place for anyone to enter. In particular, Abel is the god of death, exiled from Luce. I shouldn’t have even dreamed of taking him into that center of light. In order to come into contact with Saint Lucia, we have no choice but to hang around the outskirts of Luce, pretending to be a coincidence.

From the calculated date, there are still a few months left before the original book begins. However, I had to wander around to find information on my own, or advice related to Abel’s curse from priests from all over. I also had to bring that active volcano-like reaper. I glanced at the sculptural face leaning under the pharmacy eaves, arms crossed. If he just keep his mouth shut, it’s a sight to see. I turned my head to avoid his gaze.

By the way, how do you keep the heart? Abel entrusted his heart—and my lifeline—to me. He is much stronger, so he should probably keep it, and I didn’t understand why he had to entrust his life to me, who was too busy with even my life. But these days, I did not dare to ask the person whose ignition point could not be predicted. I decided to put my understanding aside for a while.

If I leave, the problem of luggage was also a concern. Crunch. Crunch. I saw Sleipnir cheerfully chewing sugar cubes next to me in a full moon. Even if there is the world’s best beast to ride on, it is the baggage that I have to manage after all. The drugs, and the amount of medical books and emergency food alone is considerable.

Should I ask for a thick layer of leather? Or do I make a custom suitcase? Novel ideas rarely come to mind. I am wandering in front of the pharmacy, thinking, when several hands clasped my shoulders. Oh my!

“Lian!”

It was none other than the Temple Priest Arachne, who was wearing a thick purple eye make-up for the eight blinkers.

“I heard you’re back! I didn’t see you because I was on my monthly leave that day!” Come to think of it, I don’t think I saw Arachne in the commotion on the first day. How long has it been! Arachne pulled me closer with her friendly face.

“I baked your favorite kakagu cake! Let’s go!”

It was very difficult to shake off the eight arms, and we were suddenly invited to her house. There was also some time left for the requested herb to be made.

Fortunately, Arachne remained as I last saw her. For reference, Arachne was a widow spider. She seems to be taking good care of it. Breathing a sigh of relief, she began to search for something in the warehouse, swinging her six arms around her.

“I heard. You said you were leaving for training far away?”

I can’t say that I’m going to look for the female lead to join the original story, so it seems that rumors have spread around that it is just for studying medicine. I nod my head roughly, and suddenly something comes out. It was a small bag that looked like a crossbody bag.

“This is a bag made of space-expanding spider web. You know our family spider’s web? It’s also got a weight loss spell, so it will be very helpful. It’s our family’s heirloom. It’s a little dirty. Would you like to take it?”

“Thank you so much!”

Oh my God, you’re such a monster that helps my life! Oh! I hugged Arachne tightly. Our villagers- no, all the monsters are really good. I was so happy that I finished the kakagu cake and left the house. Six arms touched my shoulder and greeted me.

“Please take care of that Lian. Even though the child is sometimes clumsy, she’s a nimble and kind human being! Please, Reaper Bachelor?”

I was terrified of her giving ‘advice’ to Abel in such a big way, but somehow, Abel, who had been quiet all the time, didn’t scatter his energy and said ‘how dare you, a monster, to me!’. To my surprise, he replied obediently.

“Yes.”

Huh? What happened? Confused, I turned my attention to the sound of the whistle, whistling. I was impressed with Sleipnir, who followed me step by step and looked at me with an expression ‘if I was a rapper, respect!’.

“Yes. You’re a hell of a  human being, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Monsters only think of humans as food. You lived for 5 years and didn’t get eaten, so I thought you were brave, but you have a strong reputation. The Master needs to learn a little bit.”

Sleipnir, who spit out his heart, is hot hot hot! I smiled cheerfully and moved forward. Normally, Abel would have followed in a fit of anger and kicked him in the back, but for some reason he was quiet, so it was strange, and I looked up and immediately regretted it.

“Why?”

…… I’m going to think that I hadn’t seen his expression. Abel spoke bluntly, quickly changing to his arrogant look, but I had already witnessed it. He was definitely looking at me with very pleased eyes. Why?

***

In the afternoon we went to the Temple of Lemda. The luggage problem was also resolved, so I was thinking of leaving sooner than planned.

Of course, Abel followed me, and the priests struggled too much. Of course, Abel was just ignoring what the ghost priests were afraid of, and he was wandering around, wondering how the temple was too narrow or how I worked here, and it was up to me to follow up and pick up his messes.

“He doesn’t bite. He’s not dangerous.”

After reassuring them a hundred times like a savage hound owner, they loosened their boundaries a little – as much as a dandelion stalk.

“How have you been?”

I had tea time and a short consultation with the Cherkopian priest. For some reason, I was concerned about his red thread, which was considerably thicker than before. There was no red thread on the outside, so it was definitely not an illness or injury. I didn’t know why the death flag was so thick.

“What’s going on? Your eyes are very red. Have you been unable to sleep lately?”

“…the truth is. My son, who ran away from home, keeps appearing in my dreams these days.”

In response to my tenacious question, he hesitantly confessed his heartache. He was thinking of his son a lot these days. When I first fell here, the first monster I saved was the Cherkopian priest. The name of his disease, which no one could cure, was somatization disorder. The various aftereffects of it. He originally had one son, but 10 years ago, he said he couldn’t live in a rural village like this. I won’t be a priest! I will become a great person! He said and he ran away.

While waiting for him to come, the priest became angry, and he fell ill. Although he is a wretched child, the Cherkopian peist waited for his son enough that he still had a picture of him.

“It’s a frivolous request, but can I ask just one thing? If you travel, you’ll visit a lot of villages, right? If you come across a guy who looks like this, will you tell me if it’s alive or dead?”

He took out the pendant he was wearing all the time. It was a picture of a 7-year-old boy with light purple hair smiling broadly. At first glance, he looked like a human, but the half-moon-shaped eyes on his forehead and the stitches on the back of his hands made it clear that he was a monster. Probably a spider monster like his dad.

“I will.”

It’s not that he was asking me to find his son, he was asking me to tell him about his son’s current situation if we meet. It was a request that wasn’t too difficult, so I readily accepted and accepted the pendant without much thought. By the way,

“Ouch!”

“Why, why?”

I froze with the scream. The ‘red thread’ that I thought was simply a pendant string, reflected in the sunlight, stuck to my heart. Suddenly, there was a connection between the picture and me. I was very perplexed by the unexpected situation. The fact that the red thread is attached to the heart means that the life of the target belongs to the owner of the heart. In other words, his life depends on me. If I die, he will die too……

No. There was no saying that it had to do with things. Lies. Suspicious of my eyes, I brushed it off with my hands, but it didn’t even lift it. I felt deja vu. I’ve never felt so horrified since my first meeting with Abel. I asked, suppressing my trembling voice.

“I wonder… What’s your son’s name?”

“Hermann Hesse Widoo Cherkopia II.”

It’s not even a name I’ve heard before. It’s a name that doesn’t even exist in the book! Shit but why? Why? Why? I was about to come to my senses, but I soon regained my consciousness. It’s not like it’s going to ruin my life. However, I was a little reluctant to risk someone’s life, but I decided to wait and see.

“Do you have any idea where he is?”

“…it’s been 10 years since he ran away from home…”

He said gloomily. Oh yes. I quickly agreed. I shouldn’t have listened or gave advice like a salesperson. Belated regret came like a tsunami, but it was already spilled water, it was a stuck red thread. The Cherkopian priest said to me, who was having the pupil earthquake.

“I remember that you’ve always been like that since you first came. You think it’s normal, what’s wrong with you? But Lian. You’re not an ordinary human. Didn’t you revitalize this peasant ghost town and let people know that humans are an equal race? You have the power to change.”

“Yes, yes.”

I don’t know what he’s saying, but I think it’s a good thing, so I replied eagerly. I was, of course, a melting pot of chaos in my head. Two red threads. Two, not one. Haha.

“I don’t know what you believe in, but don’t rely too much on your judgment. Fate can change anytime, anywhere. That’s why there are three goddesses of fate. It’s not a matter for one person to decide.”

“…if I meet the goddess of fate, I’ll have to grab her by the collar.”

“Huh?”

“No. I need to go.”

“Yeah. I must get up. The reaper will shoot me to death with his eyes.”

The eight pupils of the Cherkopian priest shook like an earthquake, and when I turned around, Abel was sitting on a chair behind the altar with his arms crossed. Its gritty appearance is similar to that of a debt collector who came to receive a loan.

“What did he say to make your face look like that?”

“Nothing.”

“What is that?”

Abel had a good eye. He glanced at the pendant hanging from my neck and asked, and I inadvertently wanted to answer ‘ a picture of his son’, then changed my words. Since it is impossible to predict what will happen after the Vert-Camembert and Verseppo events, there are times when a good lie is better.

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“Amulet, amulet! He wishes me all the best in my life in the future.”

Of course, it’s already twisted and seems irreversible. Sob. As I was sobbing internally, I notified Abel and Sleipnir, who appeared from nowhere as soon as I left the temple.

“We’re leaving tomorrow.”

If I stayed longer, the red thread, life, and the plan for a happy comeback home seemed to get more twisted.