Chapter 10

"I think I really eat a lot."

Since returning from the Vormi hunt, his appetite had increased exponentially.

The meat Leandros hunted?

Food supplies other than travel rations?

Most of it was probably in his stomach.

Later, when he was eyeing the dried meat set aside for storage, Arndt almost cried as he grilled it for him.

Even he couldn't understand why his appetite was so voracious.

"You've just become a good eater."

"It's better than being too sick to eat."

Arndt and Leandros responded from either side.

It was nice of them both to say so, but...

【Arndt thought. If we don't arrive today, there will be nothing left to eat. We must hurry by any means!】

【Leandros worried, which was rare. If necessary, he might have to procure additional food supplies locally.】

Neither of their texts was reassuring at all.

But he would’ve probably felt the same way.

After all, traveling with a pig that consumes food endlessly would be quite concerning.

He looked at his loose food pouch and shook his head.

"Is Glenfiddich still far away?"

"We're almost there, Your Grace. Exactly thirty days have passed today."

For 30 days, they had camped and walked.

Travel in this world was a repetition of walking, eating, resting, and sleeping.

Despite Arndt's frequent massages, his legs had swollen relentlessly.

Occasionally, Leandros would carry him on his back, but that was only temporary.

If only he had a smartphone, at least he wouldn't have been bored.

Their destination was the Glenfiddich Plains.

The largest plain in the east and the place where the 'pit' was said to have appeared.

The artisans and merchants gathered there were their target.

The Vormi claws and teeth they had were of a quantity that wouldn't be inferior anywhere.

So if they negotiated well, there was certainly some hope.

'Of course, it depends on what terms we can get.'

He wished he could dig up more information about demonic beast by-products.

But there was no way, and as far as he remembered, even the original work didn't mention such detailed information.

So for now, there was nothing to do but to try.

"Leandros, isn't that heavy?"

"It's fine."

"Should we take turns carrying it?"

"No."

Leandros answered firmly.

The crate he was holding like a treasure contained the Vormi by-products, safely tucked away.

Judging by the veins bulging on his arms, it was quite heavy.

"I eat the most, yet there's nothing I can do."

"Your Grace is already doing well. Do you think it's easy to walk like this all the time?"

Arndt jumped in to refute.

Arndt had been like this ever since he carelessly mentioned that he felt like a 'glutton.'

"Enjoying such an unpretentious journey is also a virtue of nobility."

"I don't think that's the case."

To be more direct, he wanted to enjoy himself lavishly too.

But it couldn't be helped.

For now, the urgent task was to feed the two of them delicious food to their fill.

He couldn't let his brother's characters starve in this world.

"Anyway, let's hurry. Didn't you say there's a town we can reach before sunset today?"

"Yes, I believe it's a town called Zimlet."

Arndt unfolded a patched-up second-hand map.

In this era, maps weren't luxury items, but they were still quite valuable.

As a result, the second-hand map was covered with notes.

"Zimlet?"

"It's not a very large town, but it's worth visiting before going to Glenfiddich."

"How small is it?"

"Much smaller than Absinthe, but in return, there might be more inns due to the many travelers."

Is it like a tourist district?

The tourist districts he knew in Korea had many hotels and motels, but they charged 200,000 won for one night.

Arndt was rustling the map when he suddenly clapped his hands.

"Come to think of it, I heard that Sir Leandros has traveled to various places in the country."

Ah, really?

Leandros maintained a brief silence.

"It's nothing special. Apprentice knights often choose wandering as a method of training."

"So have you been to the east before?"

"I haven't been to Zimlet, but I've heard stories about the east. I heard it's not a bad place."

"Are there any special characteristics?"

Perhaps finding Arndt's and his gaze burdensome, Leandros glanced elsewhere.

"They say dragons live in the east. It's a legend, though."

"Dragons?"

Arndt questioned.

Arenheit just widened his eyes as if surprised.

He already knew about the eastern dragon story since it was mentioned in the early part of the novel.

Leandros began to speak slowly, tracing his memories.

"They say a giant centipede and a long-bodied dragon lived in the east. As they fought for a larger territory, a passing hunter was startled and shot an arrow. Unfortunately, the arrow was directed at the dragon."

"Oh, dear. It would have been better if the centipede had died."

Arndt seemed quite intrigued.

Leandros shrugged.

"Because of that, the dragon eventually fell into the ground, and the centipede escaped alive."

"Ah, then did the centipede give something good to the hunter?"

"I don't know about the centipede. But the story concludes with the dragon, deep in the east, vowing to take revenge on the humans who hunted it when it awakens again."

"...Why is the legend like that?"

Arndt's feelings matched mine exactly.

When he first heard the eastern legend, he thought the hunter would receive protection from the centipede.

But there was no reward whatsoever.

Only the eternal hatred of the dragon remained.

Was this the kind of legend that cosmic horror advocates?

"I'm not sure. I'm not from the east."

"Then where is Sir Leandros from?"

"Your Grace, Sir has been guarding the former Duchess since before you were born."

Arndt changed the subject, and Leandros said nothing.

"That is impressive."

He suddenly became curious.

Could he acquire information not mentioned in the original work, like Leandros's origins?

He probed Leandros subtly.

"Then what legends or stories are there from your homeland? The eastern story was quite interesting."

"I'm from a humble rural town. It wouldn't be very interesting. Look, the town is visible now."

As Leandros said, something whitish was visible at the end of the ridge where the road continued.

The sun was gently tilting above it.

It was a peaceful and beautiful landscape composed of plains, a small forest, and distant mountain ranges.

"If we quicken our pace, we can enter before dinner."

"Since I'm feeling fine now, I could even run."

Indeed, eating only dried food for so long does get tiresome.

I should have a proper meal instead of thin soup with dried meat.

Just as he was taking a vigorous step with such thoughts...

Grumble.

"......"

Grrrrrumble!

"......"

"We-we should hurry. Please don't run, but walk slowly, Your Grace."

"Yes."

Damn it.

Should I just bury my face here and die?

* * *

Fortunately, they were able to reach the town entrance just before sunset.

But something seemed strange.

"There will be a brief inspection. Please present a means to verify your identity."

Torches were already burning brightly at the town entrance.

Already? Even though there was still daylight left?

Moreover, the people standing at the entrance looked like sentries, and their level of armament was no joke.

Leandros entrusted the crate to Arndt and stepped forward.

"Have you always conducted inspections? Since when?"

"Have you visited Zimlet before?"

"A few years ago. It wasn't this strict back then."

The two sentries looked at each other.

Just from Leandros's question, they had quite unstable gazes.

One of them cleared his throat and spoke politely.

"We've implemented inspections due to recent security concerns. We ask for your cooperation."

"Here it is."

Leandros took something out from his breast.

He tried to see what it was, but it wasn't visible from behind.

However, the sentry seemed to soften slightly upon seeing it.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Sir Knight."

"I'm curious about something. Why did you start inspections? Even though there are many travelers, this wasn't a place where crimes frequently occurred."

Leandros had precisely pinpointed what he was curious about.

In the original work, the east was described as peaceful despite being called the Land of Demonic Beasts.

This was because people who made their living from hunting demonic beasts, processing their carcasses, and distributing them gathered there.

The east, where mercenaries, demonic beast hunters, knights, and merchants flocked.

Therefore, paradoxically, the more active the demonic beast commerce became, the safer civilians became.

So why did they suddenly start inspections?

The sentry looked puzzled.

"Hasn't the news spread to the central region yet?"

"We came down along the Dikenter Mountains between the north and east."

"But you are aware of the pit that appeared in the east, aren't you?"

"Is it related to that?"

He looked around and then whispered to Leandros with an uneasy expression.

But the whisper was loud enough for me to hear.

"The east is about to be turned upside down. Not just Glenfiddich, but everything around it!"

"What do you mean?"

"Sir Knight, if you value your life, you should go elsewhere from here. We don't want to say this much, but..."

The sentry's face was gradually becoming rigid.

His voice, filled with lamentation, clearly reached my ears.

"I don't know about other places, but the eastern pit was actually a demon's hole that devours people! Please turn back, Sir Knight. The east no longer welcomes people!"

The faces of Leandros and Arndt instantly hardened.

* * *

A night without even the moon.

In the middle of the vast wilderness, where the end was not visible, a massive hole was pierced.

It looked as if the earth had opened its mouth to swallow the sky.

Lantern lights were sparsely visible at the edge of the pit, whose depth was unfathomable.

This was to prevent accidents that might occur at night.

But despite such precautions, the workers at the site unanimously retreated from the vicinity of the pit when the sun set.

Thanks to this, the wilderness at night was always wrapped in silence.

But not today.

"Walk quietly, you crazy bastard! If we're caught here, we'll be kicked out!"

"Damn... Do we really have to do this?"

Two shadows were moving stealthily.

The two, who were walking while avoiding pickaxes and ropes scattered near the pit, were wearing dirty work clothes.

One of them burst out in anger.

"Then should we just go back with that measly allowance? No way. Those eastern natives, they're definitely scaring us with stories about this pit being a dragon's resting place or whatever, and secretly taking all the good spots for themselves!"

"What good spots are there in just digging the ground!"

"Be quiet, you idiot!"

The surroundings momentarily became quiet.

The voice, after catching its breath, began to whisper again.

"Have you heard that if you find even one fragment of a demonic creature's bone while digging, you can immediately receive half a month's allowance? Damn, that's why those eastern country bumpkins are near the walls. To see if there's anything embedded! Those dogs. Trying to eat it all themselves..."

"It was you who was happy about getting that much money just for digging when we were back home! Let's just go back!"

"Who would have known those broken bone fragments would sell! Today, I'm going to turn my life around, okay? Get out of this damn east quickly. It's good for both of us if we get money, right?"

Whether defeated by the rough tone or not, the other man just shook his head.

Eventually, the two stood at the edge of the pit.

Only the lantern light elongated their shadows.

Together, they looked down below.

From below, the eerie sound of swirling wind and air's cry could be heard.

A black darkness where not even a point of light entered except for the sun.

The sound of someone swallowing dry saliva came from somewhere.

"What are you going to do now? Can you go down there without equipment?"

"Wait. First, they've made it so you can walk to a relatively shallow place. Remember those temporary wooden stairs?"

The man with the particularly rough tone knelt on one knee.

Just one step ahead.

A damp air blew from the cliff, whose end was unknowable, hitting his face.

"Yeah, I remember."

"Let's go down there first. Where those eastern guys were."

"Alright."

"First, to get to those stairs, we need to go around from here... Huh."

The moment he turned around, his friend's hand was placed on his shoulder.

Thud.

It was just one light gesture.

But the kneeling man, unable to change his forward-leaning posture, fell straight down.

-Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!

The scream quickly faded.

A voice that grew distant without even the sound of impact being heard.

The man standing beside him was looking down with a blurred gaze.

Then suddenly, as if waking from a dream, he looked around and alternately stared at his hand and the pit.

"Ah, ah, aah."

What did I just do?

Why did I do that just now?

Why?

His rough hands trembled.

Feet filled with fear staggered back from the pit where darkness lurked.

He tripped over equipment scattered on the ground, but the man shook his head while dragging his buttocks.

"Ah, ah... Uah, ah, aah...! It wasn't me, I didn't do it, no!! I, without knowing, something strange... I didn't do it, I'm telling you I didn't do it!"

His denying shouts echoed in the wasteland, but there was no one to answer.

In front of him, the black pit was opening its maw ominously.