Chapter 32

“They still only make you clean over there?”

“You still eat that disgusting porridge?”

“Has anything changed?”

Questions poured out.

The children who’d only been watching nervously approached as if they’d never hesitated at all.

Children who looked four or five years younger than him. Quilbion looked over the children’s faces with his mouth closed.

There were a few familiar faces.

So they hadn’t failed and disappeared—Geron had rescued them.

“Probably nothing’s changed. You all know what life is like over there, right?”

Drich demonstrated his characteristic friendliness and mingled with the children. He answered questions readily and laughed easily, so the children quickly warmed to him.

Quilbion just played along from the side, then quietly slipped away.

What do we do now? His head throbbed.

They couldn’t stay here long. Their destination and goal were already decided.

Would it be safe to go west along the sky wall? He felt frustrated not knowing the capabilities of the watchers Geron had mentioned.

While he was agonizing, an unidentifiable hand landed on his shoulder. He flinched and looked to the side.

Lil sat down beside him with a smile.

“In situations like this, you have to stay bright like that friend over there. I know it’s hard, but you still have to smile.”

“I do like smiling, but right now I just can’t manage one.”

“I understand that feeling. When I first came here, I was the same. Feeling trapped and suffocated. The despair that nothing would go my way—every day was horrible.”

Lil showed an eye-smile.

“Um, would it be okay to speak casually?”

“Go ahead. I’ll do the same.”

“Good. Casual is better.”

Lil exhaled a ‘puhoo’ breath.

“I must look pathetic, right? Being in a place like this for 4 years.”

“No. I don’t think that at all. I know too well how shitty it is to survive and endure here. You actually seem impressive to me.”

“Thanks for saying that.”

Lil grabbed Quilbion’s hand. Like before, she had no hesitation about grasping it suddenly.

It felt slightly uncomfortable rather than warm.

He couldn’t tell why. It wasn’t like there was malice.

Quilbion subtly pulled his hand away and said,

“Geron was saying there’s no way to get out of here.”

“I’ve tried various things in my own way over the past 4 years. I even received Lord Geron’s help, but everything was in vain. I could go back home with just one step, but I can’t take it…”

Her voice was melancholy.

In that moment, Quilbion realized why Lil’s touch felt uncomfortable. Unlike her depressed voice, her eyes didn’t look sad at all.

Her drooping eyelids expressed sadness, but the pupils inside were somehow detached.

When he’d been led by his father’s hand and sold to the employer, Quilbion had needed to read the room to survive. That way he’d get beaten less, that way he could eat more.

The instincts he’d cultivated through years of getting beaten whispered quietly. This bitch is lying right now.

“That’s fucking awful.”

Quilbion deliberately mixed in profanity as he spoke. While doing so, he examined Lil’s eyes again.

Unlike her mouth hanging open in a circle, her pupils remained calm. No, that went beyond composed.

It’s a dead pig’s eyes.

A pig with only its neck dangling had exactly those eyes.

“You must have done quite rough work outside. I was surprised since it’s been a while since I heard such language.”

“Sorry. My mouth isn’t refined.”

“No. It happens.”

Quilbion interlocked his fingers and asked quietly.

“Are you going to keep staying here?”

“I can’t go back to the dormitory.”

“You’re going to live trapped like this until you die?”

“I’ll die someday. But I’m not just sitting idle. I keep failing, but I gain things in the process. I also hold onto the belief that someday I can get outside.”

“What have you gained?”

He asked while staring directly into her eyes. Lil’s friendly smile turned chilly.

“I don’t know what you’re so angry about. Did I make some mistake?”

“No, I’m just like this. That’s why I often heard people say I was ill-mannered when I was outside.”

“Then I misunderstood. Sorry.”

“No. More than that, can you tell me what you gained? We really want to get out of here as fast as possible.”

He said ‘we’ while gesturing toward Drich with his chin.

“Well, first of all, most children who cross over to this place fall near the dormitory.”

“Fall?”

“Literally appear out of thin air. The reason it’s near the dormitory is because of some sorcery, but I don’t know the details. You might get an answer if you ask Lord Geron?”

“I didn’t know that, but it’s not related to escaping.”

“I suppose not?”

Lil smiled while showing her upper teeth slightly.

It was an attractive smile, but to Quilbion it felt like an escape tactic.

“What else? I’d like to know.”

“Sorry. The truth is, I can’t tell you everything.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it natural? We still don’t trust you.”

The word ‘trust’ almost made him laugh bitterly. It was a plausible excuse. An excuse difficult to refute.

“We might have joined hands with the goblins?”

“Right. It might sound unpleasant, but there’s nothing we can do. If this dwelling Lord Geron created is discovered, everyone becomes endangered.”

“So you bring people first and verify them afterward.”

“That’s right.”

“Has it happened before? A human in league with goblins coming here?”

Lil shook her head.

“Fortunately that’s never happened. But just because it hasn’t happened before doesn’t mean we can feel safe.”

“How will you verify us?”

“Lord Geron will handle that as well.”

Would it be going too far to say the smell of the disgusting pigsty came from her beaming smile?

“Brother!”

“Brother, what’s wrong?”

At the sudden commotion, Quilbion looked toward Drich. Drich was curled up with both hands gripping his head.

No way?

He approached Drich carefully while staying wary of Lil and the children.

“Drich, what’s wrong?”

“Wait…”

Drich, who’d been furrowing his brow intensely, slowly opened his eyes. A sharp light gradually filled his previously dazed eyes.

“My outside memories came back. More than before.”

Quilbion felt relieved and patted Drich’s back. He was familiar with the dizziness when memories returned.

Quilbion had experienced it several times himself.

“I feel refreshed now.”

Drich grinned broadly.

“Did something amazing come to mind?”

“I remembered delicious food the head chef used to make.”

“Lucky you. Having memories like that.”

There didn’t seem to be any major problems.

While Drich was soothing the startled children, Geron returned.

“Nothing was following. Nothing caught in the sorcery I set up either.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Lil approached and received the lamp Geron was holding. She also accepted the rags he’d been wearing and folded them neatly.

The thought that they looked like a married couple crossed his mind briefly. At the same time, his sense of foreboding doubled.

Goblins wouldn’t set traps.

Cracks began forming in this thought.

What if there was a perverted goblin who preferred tormenting and backstabbing over overwhelming with force?

Well, either way, if push comes to shove, they just fight.

The moment Geron shows suspicious signs, they crush him together with Drich.

“Wait.”

Drich put his arm around his shoulder. A signal to go outside. Geron sat in the corner of the room as if it didn’t concern him. Children rushed over and gathered around Geron.

“What?”

He asked while going outside.

“What do you think?”

Drich’s eyes became sharp. This guy also seemed to find something fishy.

“There are a few things that bother me.”

“Should we leave quietly, or handle it?”

“Handle it?”

“We can’t just leave that thing alone.”

Drich indicated the house with his eyes.

“It’s bothering me, but it might really be a goblin who takes care of humans.”

Aside from Lil’s suspicious expression, it was an undeniable fact that Geron had taken care of children and brought them here.

“If we kill Geron, life will get harder for the kids left here. I saw that Geron brought the food too.”

“Hey.”

Drich brought his face right up close.

“I know you’re a loyal guy. I like that about you too. But the situation is what it is. If we leave a rat behind our backs and it bites our heels later, we’ll die without being able to do anything.”

It was a cold but correct judgment.

At the same time, he felt puzzled. The Drich he’d seen so far would have made choices for the children’s sake rather than cruel decisions. Even if it involved danger.

Was he conscious of the look? Drich gave an awkward laugh.

“I know. I know how cruel what I said was. But Quilbion, people always have to look at the big picture.”

“Big picture?”

“Right. Teacher and you have always said it. That Twella will solve everything. To be helpful to that Twella, we need to survive and go west. The kids left here? Sure, they might be in danger for a little while.”

Drich gripped his shoulder.

“But if things go well, those kids will be able to go back home too. Twella’s talent is different, right? She’ll be able to open the way!”

Drich stepped back while releasing his hand.

“I feel pain in my heart too. But for the sake of the big picture, you need to know how to turn a blind eye to minor problems.”

It was Drich looking at him deeply, as if asking him to understand his feelings.

And Quilbion felt a sense of déjà vu from Drich’s pupils.

These were eyes he’d seen just moments ago.

Drich had the same look in his eyes as Lil.

Quilbion didn’t hide his lukewarm feelings. Because it was Drich, none other. A comrade and friend who had to cross the line of death together.

“You lied earlier, didn’t you?”

“Lied? Me?”

“About the memory. What the hell came to mind that made you suddenly change? Huh? What fucking awful memory did you remember that your attitude suddenly changed?”

It must be a memory that changed his values in an instant. Not something like food made by the head chef.

Drich made a blank expression, then soon frowned.

“You really can tell.”

“What is it? Is it something you need to hide even from me?”

“…I told you there was a knife fight between family members, right?”

“You did. Your father and your brothers…”

“There was more to the story. I just remembered it.”

“What?”

“The knife my father wielded—it wasn’t only used on my uncles.”

Drich touched his nape.

“My father tried to kill me. I barely survived by luck, but I can’t forget the look in my father’s eyes when he tried to kill me.”

“…”

“Funny, right? One side’s father sold him, the other side’s father tried to kill him. That’s it. I was betrayed by the person I respected most. So I can’t trust that bastard. Not those kids over there either, especially not Lil.”

Drich continued while scratching his forehead.

“Of course, you’re excluded. I wouldn’t regret giving you my life. We’ve shared all hardships together. We’re friends forever, going forward too.”

Forever friends.

The ticklish words made profanity come out for no reason.

“Bullshit.”

“You like it though.”

“Whatever. So are you going to move right now?”

If he’d decided to do it, there was no reason to hesitate.

That’s when it happened.

“Um, you two?”

Lil came out of the house. Quilbion was wary of Lil. Honestly, she was more grating than Geron.

“Don’t.”

“Did she hear?”

Drich wore a crooked smile. A talisman was held in his hand.

“Just go. I don’t want to fight. You go your way. Leave us alone.”

“Hearing you say that makes me worry more.”

Crack—black energy sprouting from the talisman began taking the shape of a hammer. Lil squinted her eyes while looking at the black hammer.

“You shouldn’t repay goodwill like that. That’s against propriety.”

“This isn’t a place to look for propriety, is it? More than that, I find you too suspicious. My friend thinks so too.”

He looked ready to rush forward and swing the hammer at any moment. Quilbion extended his hand to block Drich’s path.

“Miss. I’ve eaten shitloads of humble pie since I was young. Maybe because of that, I’m incredibly good at recognizing when someone’s making a fishy expression.”

He took one step forward. Just then, Geron also came out of the house.

“It’s a really dogshit situation. Not being able to trust each other. Still, just in case, I’m asking—if you’ve deceived us about something, tell us now. If I can understand it, we’ll leave quietly. But if that’s not the case.”

Quilbion fingered the wooden dagger stuck in his waistband.

“Things are going to get noisy.”