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< Chapter : 1 The Giant Slave of a Small Village (1) >
A small village called Florin, located north of Calpheon’s capital.
This place was home to the small race known as the Shai,
and it was famous for its rich variety of herbs, medicinal ingredients, and potions made from them.
The products made in the village were highly valued in nearby territories, including Calpheon, the republic’s capital located not far to the south.
Because of that, Florin Village was small in size but always full of wealth and life.
Of course, the more lively a place became, the more “hands” it needed to maintain that energy.
But the Shai of Florin Village neither had enough hands nor large enough bodies to handle all that work alone.
“Hey.”
“Hm?”
A girl approached him while he was resting after stopping his work pressing down a medicine pot.
Of course, since it was impossible to tell a Shai’s age by appearance alone, he did not know whether she was truly a “girl” or not.
But to him, their age did not matter at all.
“Did you bring the thing the village chief asked for?”
“The truffles? I already delivered them earlier.”
The Giant moved his shoulder and wiped away the thick sweat running down his jaw.
The moment his answer ended, the girl’s brow twisted harshly.
Of course, he already knew the disgust in the Shai’s expression was not because of his sweat or shabby clothes.
“What? Hey! You were supposed to bring them to me! Why did you give them to the chief?”
“You said the chief needed them.”
“Nooo-! I mean, I was the one who asked you for them! So you should’ve brought them to me!”
“…….”
Ah, here we go again.
“You’re seriously stupid and clueless. Completely useless!”
[To summarize, this Shai gave you a task the chief told her to do because she wanted the praise for herself, but you handed it directly to the chief instead, so now she got scolded for it-. Is that right?]
A dark shadow appeared between the faces of the Giant and the Shai, with a pair of red eyes flickering in its center.
But the young Shai girl did not seem to notice the ominous shadow at all, keeping the same look of annoyance and contempt.
“Uh-. Sorry about that. Then you should’ve specifically told me to bring it to you.”
“I did!”
“Did you? I don’t remember-”
“That giant head of yours must be too stupid! Ugh, so annoying!”
The Shai turned around while her large round ears burned bright red, continuing to grumble angrily before quickly disappearing.
Only after confirming her shadow was completely gone did the Giant look at the eyes he had been pretending did not exist.
“……Looks like other people can’t see you.”
[I told you already. Whether you wanted it or not, the moment you became connected to me, you became special.]
“If being special means getting treated like a crazy person, I’ll pass.”
The sweat had mostly cooled, and his strength had returned.
With a short groan, the Giant stood up and slowly approached the medicine pot bigger than a Shai’s body.
He still had not finished today’s quota, so he was returning to his “daily life.”
[That cave where I was sealed contained many unpleasant and ominous things besides me.
Anyone who stayed in a place like that too long would slowly be consumed by the energy leaking from us and lose their sanity.]
“…….”
[The fact they made you stay in a place like that just for mushrooms, the work you’re doing now, and the way that Shai treated you earlier.]
“…….”
[Hey, Giant…… don’t tell me you’re a slave?]
The shadow’s tone was light, but the sigh that escaped the Giant as he stepped down from the medicine pot was heavy.
“I don’t know. It’s complicated.”
[……Complicated?]
“A slave is supposed to have an owner.
It’s true that I was ‘sold’ here, but no single person actually paid money to buy me.
If I had to describe it, I guess I’m the village’s shared slave?”
[So when you said you wanted to become rich, it was to buy your freedom?]
“Hmm, not really.”
His huge body climbed back onto the medicine pot. Confusion flowed from the shadow’s voice.
[Then what is it?]
“I don’t really care about the looks of contempt or doing this kind of work every day.
I just don’t like that the reward is bland beer and dried bird meat.
If I could eat tastier food and buy the things I want, then I wouldn’t care if people called me stupid or if I had to wander through dangerous caves.”
If the shadow had a real body, it probably would have sighed.
[That’s what freedom is, idiot.
If you earn money and buy your freedom, then you’ll gain the right to work for even more money in the future.]
“Hm, is that so?”
[And why are you obediently listening to those little brats who aren’t even the size of your fist?
With just one club, you could smash the heads of everyone using you and run away.]
The darkness of the shadow deepened, and its voice became clearer than even the red eyes.
[How about it? Want me to help you?]
“No thanks. I told you already. I hate fighting.”
[……Ah, right.]
The sour and bitter smell of cactus herbs spread from the medicine pot, and the irritation from the poorly purified herbs made the Giant cough.
He did not realize it, but the shadow had not disappeared anywhere and was quietly looking down at the giant “slave.”
[……Hey, Giant.]
“What?”
[What’s your name? Even a slave who got sold should still have a name.]
“…….”
A short silence.
The Giant stared blankly into empty air, as though digging through old memories.
“……Rotem.”
[Rotem?]
“Yeah, Rotem. That’s my name.”
[Good, Rotem.]
The dark shadow moved close to Rotem’s face, blocking the medicine pot behind it.
Nothing could be seen except its dark energy and bright red eyes,
but Rotem could clearly feel that “it” was smiling.
[I’ll make you rich.]
[First, let me ask the most important thing. How much money have you saved so far?]
“Saved? You mean money?”
A thick night sky covered by dark clouds that did not even allow moonlight through.
At the entrance of the village, next to the stable, stood Rotem’s lodging, which had been made by remodeling an old storage shed for hay and horse equipment.
It had at least a simple bed and a lantern, enough to barely look livable,
but the smell of horse manure coming through the large gaps in the wooden planks made it far from an ideal sleeping place.
[Yeah. You said you’ve been working here for about half a year. Then surely you’ve saved at least a little money.]
“Umm…….”
Rotem sat on the bed, far too small for his body, scratching his protruding jaw awkwardly.
Realizing what his reaction meant, the shadow let out a hopeless sigh.
[Don’t tell me you’ve literally been working for free like an actual slave?]
“No, not that. They said after working for one full year, they’d pay me everything at once.”
[What? Why would you agree to a contract like that?]
“So I wouldn’t run away.”
The black shadow flickered in the lantern light while staring at Rotem, who casually drank his lukewarm beer.
[Hmm, first I want to hear more about your life before coming here.]
“Hm? It’s not really an interesting story.”
Rotem’s expression remained dull, without even the slightest hint of drunkenness.
“I lived in an orphanage in Drieghan and then ran away.
A merchant group happened to pass nearby, and an adventurer guarding them hid me and brought me as far as Keplan.
But later, I found out the orphanage was still searching for me,
and with that adventurer’s help, I was introduced to a way to hide my identity long-term while still having food and a place to sleep.”
[……And that way was working here as a slave?]
“Yeah.”
[Doesn’t that just mean that adventurer tricked you and sold you off?]
The shadow mocked him openly, but Rotem simply shrugged like it was nothing.
“Well, maybe.
But from what the village chief said, it seems that adventurer didn’t even get a referral fee.
And it was also that adventurer’s advice to make sure I got paid after the one-year contract ended.
I guess he thought it would actually be more dangerous if I wandered around outside.”
Even without a nose, the shadow snorted loudly.
[What exactly did you do that the orphanage is so desperate to catch you?
No, do orphanages normally chase runaway kids that seriously?]
“…….”
The sound of insects filled the unfamiliar silence.
The shadow had no intention of forcing Rotem to answer, so it quickly returned the conversation to its original topic.
[Forget it. Anyway, if that’s the case, then it’ll take at least another half year before you get any usable money.]
“That’s right.”
[If you work but don’t get paid yet, then what do you do whenever you need something?]
“I do side jobs during free time, or gather extra herbs and sell them.”
[Herbs? Like those mushrooms from before?]
Rotem nodded.
“Yeah. But the truffles around Florin are expensive because they’re hard to get.
For some reason, they mostly grow inside caves, and the only cave around here is that place that drives people insane.”
[The cave where I was sealed.]
The cave west of Florin Village, commonly called “Caphras Cave.”
It was known as the place where an alchemist named Caphras once carried out secret research.
Because of the mysterious dark energy filling the cave, it had become famous as an “ominous place” that drove explorers insane.
“That’s right. And the potions made in this village have strict quality standards, so they only use the highest-grade ingredients.
Truffles can’t be farmed, so they have to gather them naturally, but all the good-quality ones are basically gone already.”
[Are there still some usable mushrooms left in the cave where I was?]
“No, only young ones or ones far below top quality.”
[But there are still some there, right?]
“Well, technically…… yes.”
[Good enough. Get up.]
“What?”
Rotem had just finished his beer and was getting ready to sleep, so the shadow’s sudden request caught him off guard.
But the red eyes shaking roughly around the lantern spoke as if Rotem’s relaxed attitude made no sense.
[You said there are mushrooms left, right? Then let’s go pick them.]
“No, I said they’re low quality. Besides, going there at this hour could seriously be dangerous-”
[You said you want to make money. Just do as I say for now. I already have a plan.]
The shadow’s voice had become firm.
Even while standing against the lantern’s light, its owner cast not even the smallest shadow on the bed in front of it.
It was definitely there before his eyes, yet impossible to fully see.
An ominous shadow with no true form.
For a moment, Rotem wondered if perhaps he had already gone mad in that alchemist’s cave like the other adventurers,
and that the shadow before him, along with the voice echoing from it, was proof of his insanity.
“…….”
But he stood up.
It was not because he had been charmed by the shadow or lured by the cave.
He simply,
longed for the stimulation called the extraordinary.
