Chapter 124

Kinaine couldn't sleep.

'To think Tiron's hometown was Jinaks.'

Somehow, a hollow laugh escaped him.

What an ironic twist of fate. Then Tiron had essentially saved his enemy. If Tiron hadn't saved him, his hometown would have been freed from black magic long ago.

How long had he been sitting there blankly? Already it seemed to be time to wake up, as rustling sounds came from inside.

Kinaine startled and rose to his feet. He didn't have the confidence to face Tiron as if nothing had happened.

He gripped his cane and slipped out of the house like he was escaping.

'Where should I go?'

Though he had come outside, he didn't know where to go. In the darkness where he couldn't even guess directions, Kinaine stood bewildered like a lost child.

Just then, a chirping sound reached his ear.

"...Right, you're here."

Kinaine closed his eyes and opened them again. His blurry pupils regained clear focus. The light of the world rushed in all at once, as if a blindfold had been removed, making his eyes dazzle.

Kinaine looked at the bright landscape bathed in dawn light, then slowly began to walk.

The reason he had tried to avoid using black magic wasn't simply because of conscience. It was because every time he used black magic, he was tormented by memories of what kind of being he was and what he had done.

Moreover, since even the most trivial ability took a toll on his body, he couldn't use it carelessly when each day was precious.

But now the situation had changed. The reason Kinaine had wanted to live longer was to break the black magic cast on Jinaks, and after realizing Asad's identity, it was because he wanted to stay by his side a little longer.

So now he realized that there was no meaning left in his remaining life...

That there was no reason to continue living.

Kinaine realized this at this moment.

Kinaine headed to the prayer house.

Unlike temples built with great effort, the village prayer house was small, but it was clean, showing it wasn't neglected.

Perhaps because it was early morning, close to dawn, there were no people around. Kinaine looked at the small divine statues on the altar, then knelt before them.

In the past, he hadn't understood why people prayed to gods, but not anymore. Having passed through childhood when he thought he could do anything, he now knew. That before the vast fate, he was a being of no significance.

"This is the offering I promised before."

Kinaine placed the remaining gold button in front of the divine statue.

"Thank you for granting my wish."

At the temple in the dragon palace, Kinaine had prayed that Asad would never remember him until the end, and that he could stay by Asad's side a little longer. Though there had been some dangerous moments, ultimately all the wishes he had prayed for had been fulfilled.

He didn't think it was simply because he was lucky. Kinaine had always been on the unlucky side. If anyone had been lucky, it would have been the other party, not himself.

Kinaine placed one more gold button.

"Please accept this and grant my wish this time too."

"Young people these days are so presumptuous."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the sound of someone clicking their tongue was heard.

"Daring to try to make deals with the gods, really."

Having already sensed the presence, he wasn't startled by the sudden voice. Kinaine opened his mouth while maintaining his prayer posture without turning his head.

"It means I'm that desperate, so I hope you'll look upon it favorably. By the way, you came out earlier today than yesterday."

"When you get old, sleep disappears. And why are you, a young person, out so early?"

"I guess I'm getting old too."

Kinaine straightened his knees and stood up. Turning around, he saw an old man with abundant white hair. He was the caretaker who had built the prayer house himself. Though Kinaine was seeing his face for the first time, he wasn't completely unfamiliar as they had exchanged light conversation yesterday.

Kinaine deliberately pretended he couldn't see and stared into empty space. The caretaker slowly examined him.

"What's this? Your face looks worse than yesterday, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. These gold buttons are donations, so please use them to maintain the prayer house."

At his detached attitude, deeper wrinkles formed on the caretaker's already wrinkled brow. Having lived a long life, he quickly noticed that this young man's attitude was different from the ordinary.

"My goodness, I thought the doctor had picked up some rich young master, but you're just trying to settle your affairs. I thought something was strange when you came to buy a coffin and burial clothes."

"I'm grateful you sold them to me."

"Well, I can always make more. I didn't think I'd need them for about 10 years anyway."

"I think you're right."

Even to Kinaine, the caretaker seemed like he could easily live not just 10 but 20 more years. Though aged, he radiated a strong passion for life. Like Kinaine once had.

Something Kinaine no longer possessed. If desire for life were compared to a flame, Kinaine's would be ash heaps after everything had burned.

Perhaps this showed on the outside, as the old man's sympathetic gaze turned toward Kinaine.

"You must have some serious illness, right? So serious even the doctor can't cure it. It's a shame for someone so young, but the gods aren't beings who cure diseases."

"I didn't ask them to cure my illness."

"Then what?"

Kinaine smiled faintly.

"Just... I prayed for happiness."

"Whose happiness are you talking about?"

The caretaker seemed to want to talk more, but Kinaine left without saying anything further. He had no intention of continuing relationships with Tiron, Jane, or anyone else.

Kinaine now had two gold buttons left. He bought a bottle of fruit wine and a small dagger from the villagers and headed for the forest.

The forest was wrapped in thick fog. It seemed like no one would notice whatever happened here. That was what he liked most about it.

"Perfect."

The sound of flowing water suggested a valley was nearby. Kinaine naturally walked toward the source of the water sound.

Tiron had warned that on days when thick fog settled in this forest, even people who knew the way well could get lost. He had mentioned that he had marked the path while gathering herbs here several times so he wouldn't get lost.

Kinaine didn't know what those markers were, but he wasn't worried. He was someone who wouldn't be returning anyway.

After walking for some time, Kinaine finally found the valley.

"Wow."

An exclamation escaped him involuntarily. The valley wrapped in fog exuded a mysterious atmosphere as if draped in a white veil. The clear sound of water was like music, and the ripples sparkled and shone like diamonds.

Kinaine liked looking at water. Watching flowing water brought peace to his mind. That was why he had often visited the lakeside in the hunting grounds when he was a prince. This place wasn't the lakeside he had liked, but it was beautiful enough.

After wiping away another nosebleed, Kinaine sat on a rock by the valley. Opening the wine bottle and sniffing, he faintly smelled the fruit aroma.

"It's been a really long time."

There was a time when he had been drunk all day. Because it was hard to live sober. Because he couldn't bear his own existence.

After developing the goal of freeing Jinaks, he had quit decisively. This was the first proper drink he'd had since then.

The homemade wine was delicious enough to be worth the gold button.

"Haha..."

After emptying the entire bottle, his insides felt warm and he laughed for no reason. Come to think of it, this body wasn't originally strong with alcohol.

Kinaine picked up the dagger. Fortunately, the blade was well-sharpened.

"Chirpy, you're a spirit beast, so you'll remember the way?"

Chirp chirp.

"Good, when I die, go to Tiron and..."

Kinaine's voice slowly faded.

"No, asking Tiron to take care of my remains would be shameless."

The initial plan had been to ask Tiron to handle his remains, but knowing now that Tiron's hometown was Jinaks, he couldn't do that.

Kinaine looked down at the dagger and smiled wryly.

So this was his fate after all.

From the beginning, he hadn't needed a coffin or burial clothes.

If the gods were watching, they had surely decreed that being torn apart by wild beasts was the end befitting him.

"But does anything even live here? I don't see anything. I can't even hear birds..."

Kinaine blinked slowly.

"I can't hear birds."

He jumped to his feet.

What had been hidden by the thick fog now came into view.

'Just how damaged is my sense of smell?'

Kinaine gripped the dagger tightly.

Around the valley lay numerous animal carcasses.

'To think I couldn't smell the stench of blood from this close.'

The common feature among the dead animals was that they all had wounds as if they had been mauled by something.

This wasn't the work of animals.

The moment he realized this fact, Kinaine began running toward the village.