Chapter 31

Of course, Kinaine wasn't a fool. He simply had no choice.

Scoring below the standard in the test meant elimination. It meant losing bride candidate status and being expelled from the dragon's palace. In other words, to maintain bride candidate qualification, he had to catch at least one magical beast.

Would he have felt more at ease if he hadn't known about magical beasts?

In truth, ordinary people rarely encountered magical beasts in their lives.

However, Kinaine knew well what kind of beings magical beasts were. If only he had known them as fantasy monsters like others did, his mind at least would have been at ease, but he had participated in magical beast subjugations to fulfill his royal duties as soon as he came of age as a prince. That was when he first realized the terror of magical beasts, but even that was child's play compared to the magical beast subjugations he had participated in after becoming a mercenary.

Unlike a prince who needed protection, mercenaries had to fight at the vanguard. No one cared about a mercenary's life.

It was natural that few mercenaries participated in magical beast subjugations. They valued their lives too.

Therefore, only those with unavoidable circumstances participated in magical beast subjugations, and Kinaine was one of them.

Kinaine had needed to earn money because of the Guild Master who demanded large sums in exchange for information about black magic. He had accepted dangerous requests, and gone where other mercenaries refused to go when ordered.

Few mercenaries on the continent had as much experience fighting magical beasts as Kinaine. Because most had died.

However, even Kinaine knew that facing magical beasts in his current physical condition and with this equipment was no different from inviting death. Even with full preparation it wouldn't be enough, yet his body was sluggish and his weapons were in terrible condition...

'But I can't say my luck is entirely bad.'

Though he didn't understand how, it seemed he could read the magic placed on the jar.

No, could it be called reading?

The images that had naturally flowed into his mind were something that couldn't be expressed simply as reading.

A mysterious phenomenon that couldn't be expressed in human language.

Usually, that was called magic.

"...Is that magic too?"

However, for some reason, the fact that only he could read it bothered him.

Whether it was visible only to humans, or if there was another reason. Though he thought hard about it, he couldn't understand why, but ultimately it was fortunate for Kinaine.

'Currently five magical beasts are sealed here. Their names are...'

Because he had learned what magical beasts were sealed in the jar.

It wasn't just names. The forms of the magical beasts were also recognized in his brain through an inexplicable mysterious method.

Five magical beasts had jumped out of the jar.

Of the five magical beasts, four were in forms Kinaine had never seen before, and particularly the largest one with bright red skin looked most dangerous to anyone, oozing poison like pus from hundreds of holes all over its body.

Since it would likely have the highest score accordingly, other bride candidates would probably target that red-skinned magical beast.

However, Kinaine was the opposite.

He planned to target the weakest one.

'The last of the five... I've caught that one before.'

Named Grimtoad, this creature that looked similar to a toad was a magical beast that attacked using its long tongue.

Though it couldn't be called easy to handle, he knew how to deal with it since he had faced it before.

"Haha, I guess it's still not my time to die?"

A bitter smile appeared on Kinaine's face as he muttered to himself.

Even when stabbed by Hasan's sword and falling off a cliff, even through numerous brushes with death while working as a mercenary, Kinaine had miraculously preserved his life. Heaven had taken everything from him but refused to take his life until the end.

* * *

The forest Jet had pointed to was quite far to walk.

Though it had definitely been early morning, by the time he reached the forest, the sky was starting to turn sunset colors.

Kinaine went deep into the forest.

The forest in the spirit realm wasn't very different from the forests he knew well. The towering green trees, the fresh wind, the bird songs...

'Ah.'

Kinaine's steps stopped.

There were no bird sounds.

Though he had definitely heard unknown birds singing just minutes ago, now it was eerily quiet.

'It's nearby.'

Magical beasts emitted a unique evil energy. Because of that energy, animals wouldn't come near magical beasts.

Kinaine took a deep breath to check if there was water nearby, but he couldn't smell any.

'Though I might not be able to smell it.'

He was well aware that his condition wasn't normal. Just as he had been slow to notice the birds had stopped singing, there was a possibility he couldn't smell properly either.

'However... if Grimtoad is here, there must be water nearby.'

A common trait of magical beasts was that they claimed an area as their territory. This was why Kinaine had come to the water to find Grimtoad.

Magical beasts weren't living creatures, and existed solely to destroy the world. Though their killing power itself was tremendous, what made them most dangerous was that areas they settled in became polluted and uninhabitable.

That was why subjugation teams were formed to eliminate magical beasts when they appeared. Otherwise, that land would become permanently barren where nothing could live.

Of course, this was the dragon's territory, so even if the bride candidates couldn't catch them, the dragon would surely handle them somehow. Thinking about what magical beasts were showed how dangerous a test the dragon had set.

"Oh, what's this? Here it is!"

Just then, Kinaine's eyes sparkled as he discovered something.

It was a tree about a head taller than him. The tree was covered in tiny red berries.

Kinaine picked one berry to taste and nodded. As expected, it was 'that' tree. With this, he could fully realize the plan he had in mind.

Kinaine sat down carelessly and began preparing weapons to face Grimtoad.

How long had he been at it?

Rustle.

"..."

At the sudden sound, Kinaine's body tensed as he was putting arrows in the quiver.

Could it be...

'Has a magical beast already caught the scent and come looking?'

Kinaine nocked an arrow to his bow with a grim expression. Though his preparations weren't complete, there was nothing he could do. The enemy wouldn't wait for him.

Just then, someone burst out of the bushes.

"Huh?"

Kinaine's eyes widened for a moment as he recognized the familiar face.

"Rahu?"

It was Rahu, Ramu's twin brother, whom Kinaine had brought as a guard but who had disappeared somewhere on the first day.

'Why is this child here?'

Kinaine couldn't hide his surprise at this unexpected person.

How could he have known he would meet the boy who had left without a word and given no news, at this time, in this place? It seemed he had probably come to this forest while avoiding others' eyes. But even if there were no soldiers guarding the forest, even Kinaine who knew nothing could tell with a little thought that wandering carelessly in the dragon's territory was dangerous.

"..."

In contrast, Rahu didn't seem surprised at all.

The boy looked at Kinaine with a sullen face and nodded toward the arrow aimed at him.

"Going to shoot me with that?"

Though he suddenly spoke informally, Kinaine didn't find it strange.

Rahu had been disrespectful since entering the dragon's palace. He had maintained some manners in front of their leader Kor, but afterward showed no intention of doing so.

If he had any intention of being polite, he wouldn't have run away without a word on the first day.

"...Of course not."

Kinaine lowered his bow with an awkward smile. It wasn't intentional - he had been so surprised he had forgotten he was aiming his bow.

After picking up and shouldering the quiver that had fallen to the ground, Kinaine approached Rahu.

"Where did you go? Have you been here this whole time?"

"..."

Rahu didn't answer. He just looked up at Kinaine with an expression that suggested he had some great dissatisfaction.

It seemed pointless to expect a proper answer from an adolescent boy who looked like he hated everything in the world. This wasn't a good time either.

"Never mind. I don't know how you ended up here, but let's go back for now. It's dangerous here."

Kinaine tried to send Rahu out of the forest.

From the signs, there was definitely a magical beast nearby. Though he had brought him as a guard, that was only to enter the dragon's palace. He had never actually intended to have Rahu act as a guard.

'He probably wouldn't be much help anyway.'

To be frank, he would be more of a hindrance. Having someone to protect would make it impossible to fight properly.

"What are you doing? I said go. Ramu must be waiting for you."

Though he acted indifferent, they were each other's only siblings. Ramu must surely be worried about her runaway twin deep down.

However, Rahu seemed to completely fail to understand his and Ramu's concern.

"Why should I listen to you? Who are you to me?"

Rahu's expression as he answered defiantly looked arrogant, as if he had spent his whole life looking down on others.