IBWMD 49

~Chapter 49~

Even when I looked one last time, the dragon’s eyes remained frozen shut.

Shaking my head, I continued walking with Karl, leaving the lake behind.

As we passed through the magical barrier, Karl tightly held my hand again.

The warmth of his hand made my fingertips tingle slightly.

Rustle.

“Damn, I want to get a closer shot…”

The man muttered irritably as he peered through his telescope at the two figures walking together.

He was a plump man dressed like a commoner from the North, but his accent revealed the sharp inflection of someone from the capital.

“They’re too far away. I can’t even see their faces properly.”

Grumbling, the man started crawling forward bit by bit.

Tap. A hand landed on his shoulder. It belonged to another man, this one wearing a hood.

“Hold it. If you get any closer, they might notice.”

“How would they possibly notice us? We’re this far away…”

Even at full zoom, the telescope barely made the two look like distant dots.

As the plump man complained, the hooded man whispered,

“There’s something strange… I sense an ominous aura. If we get closer, it might pick us up.”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“I mean, that man might be using demonic power.”

The hooded man narrowed his eyes.

The holy power within him was reacting—sending a sharp warning.

It wasn’t just monsters; it also responded to the dragon’s magic surrounding the Duke and his people.

It was exactly what the documents they had acquired long ago from Saint Portou had described.

“Damn demons.”

That’s why they were convinced—the Duke and Saint Portou were impure beings.

The hooded man glared toward Saint Portou, his eyes filled with hatred.

‘And someone capable of using that much dragon magic…’

Was likely one of the Duke’s closest aides. The Duke himself was out fighting off the southern monster invasion.

“To spread your impurity to others… How vile.”

“Damn, I don’t even know what you’re saying.”

“Anyway, did you see where they came from?”

“Nope. They just suddenly appeared from the forest and disappeared again.”

“So much for tailing them.”

“Hmph! Maybe if you paid more, you’d get better results! You’re working me for scraps…”

Jingle.

Before he finished his sentence, the hooded man tossed a pouch in front of him. The plump man’s eyes immediately lit up with greed.

“See? That’s how you should’ve handled it from the start. Amen!”

“You blasphemous fool.”

“Heh. Blasphemy comes easy when you get your hands dirty for a living.”

Clicking his tongue, the hooded man turned back to observe the two figures from afar.

A man radiating powerful dragon magic…

And a woman who gave off no magical energy at all.

“Target the weaker woman. If we’re lucky, she’ll lead us right to the demon’s nest.”

He spoke in an elevated tone, as if inspired.

“Then the grand mission of that person can finally be fulfilled.”

The plump man shrugged.

“Don’t care. I was just curious who was trespassing in my territory.”

“……”

“Those pickpockets have been getting cocky lately anyway.”

His eyes landed on the smaller figure—Elaine.

Even without the hooded man’s suggestion, that was always his target.

A crooked grin stretched across his lips.

“A tiny woman like her? This’ll be easy.”

“Just don’t get caught.”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll handle it depending on how things go.”

The plump man turned to the hooded one with a sneer.

“Oh, by the way—give me more of ‘that stuff.’”

“Wasn’t what I gave last time enough?”

“Thought about it, and it might be more efficient than just dumping bodies in the fields. Might as well feed it to the underlings too.”

“To your men?”

“If it makes them more obedient, we’ll be able to expand our search area.”

Sighing, the hooded man tossed another object onto the ground beside the money pouch.

A black pouch oozed ominous energy.

“Use it sparingly.”

“Don’t worry. The target’s been confirmed. The rest is like eating cold stew.”

“Don’t kill her. We need her alive to get information.”

“Well, well. Such scary words from such a holy man.”

The plump man’s eyes gleamed dangerously as he laughed.

“I’m very good at showing naive little church ladies the bitterness of life.”

“……”

“I’ll be in touch soon.”

With that, the plump man collapsed the telescope and stood.

The hooded man turned sharply and walked away.

‘Maybe, soon…’

‘I can deliver some good news to that person.’

His steps were resolute.

From beneath the black hood, a white priest’s robe fluttered.

A few days later, in front of the inn at dawn—

“……”

“……”

I stood face to face with the old man who had delivered that letter.

‘Clark, was it?’

Honestly, it was lucky Beth wasn’t here. She’d have lost it the moment she saw him.

Anyway…

“So, today…”

“……”

“You came instead of Karl?”

“That’s right.”

“Is Karl really that busy?”

“Of course! I mean, well…”

“Yeah, I get it. It’s the New Year’s festival.”

That’s right. It was already the New Year’s festival.

Technically, the festival was tomorrow—today was the eve.

There wasn’t a huge celebration yet, but the shops were more festive than usual, and even a small theater had been set up in the market.

‘And tonight, the Duke is lighting the signal fire.’

More precisely, it’s a fire ignited by the Duke’s magic at the start of the Northern mountains.

He’d left for the front lines to block the monster migration, and tonight, he was to stand at the edge of Saint Portou’s mountain range.

‘They say the fire spreads across the peaks like waves. A breathtaking tradition.’

It takes a while for the flames to be visible from here—but just hearing about it sounded amazing.

Everyone was already in a celebratory mood.

‘If a monster attack happens in this mood…’

Yikes. Just imagining it was awful. No wonder everyone was so busy.

‘…But if he’s a monster hunter too, why isn’t this old guy just as busy?’

Couldn’t he help Karl wrap up and come back faster?

I stared at the short old man. He looked annoyed.

“Why are you staring like that?”

“Oh, nothing.”

‘I mean… it’s a little rude, but…’

Yeah. He did look a bit too old to be hunting monsters.

‘Honestly, he seems better suited for a demoted bodyguard role than Karl.’

Thinking that made it feel more reasonable that he’d been sent instead of Karl. But still…

“Clark. Don’t be so grumpy. You’re speaking to the future Duchess.”

“Jeremy. Why are you tagging along?”

What’s he doing here?

I turned to Jeremy, who stood next to Clark, awkwardly watching.

With both of them standing there, it felt like I’d visited the Duke’s estate, even though I hadn’t.

If the head maid showed up, we’d have the complete Duke’s household trio.

“I’m here for work…”

Just then, a large, rugged hand smacked Jeremy’s pouty lips.

“Move those crates!”

“Uncle!”

“Do you know how many crates the lady has already carried alone?!”

“Oh, right.”

I glanced down at the crate on my shoulder. It was filled with dozens of chunks of meat.

‘That was exhausting to purify.’

I’d pulled an all-nighter preparing it for the eve celebration.

Honestly, I hadn’t meant to overwork myself. I just planned to do it in my spare time.

But then, the other day, I saw the skewer shop owner sighing heavily, as usual.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Well…’

‘Failed a new recipe again?’

I recalled the increasingly wild recipes he’d been experimenting with lately, and winced.

‘Is this food or a biochemical hazard?’

Just when the skewers were finally becoming edible again, he’d pulled out another experimental disaster.

‘How about just selling the classic skewers like before? You know, the salted ones?’

The shop owner looked even more dejected.

‘It’s not that…’

And thus began a long story that could be summed up in a single sentence:

‘The temple refused to purify the meat?’