I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 126
126. Rotten Flesh
The smell of corpses was the first thing I grew accustomed to after arriving in this world.
When someone died inside a carriage, the body was discarded. However, the stench that soaked in as the corpse rotted never truly vanished. It lingered on the floorboards, the iron bars, and the very skin of the people inside.
It was different from the smell of raw flesh rotting due to simple infection. That sour stench felt as if it invaded the brain through the sense of smell. Once encountered, it could never be forgotten.
Juhwan straightened up.
There were several more footprints nearby.
He checked a few more spots and examined the traces left on the branches.
Black fragments were present in the other footprints as well.
They certainly belonged to the magic beast.
“What do you make of it, Juhwan-ssi?”
Gwen approached and asked in a low voice.
“It’s rotten flesh.”
“….”
“Unless the magic beast is carrying a corpse around, then the beast itself must be dead.”
Wrinkles deepened on Gwen’s forehead.
“The traces suggest as much, but I’ve never encountered a case like this. A dead carcass moving… is such a thing even possible?”
Gwen’s voice trailed off.
It wasn’t that Juhwan had read such novels or comics, but he was familiar with the concept of a necromancer.
Since this was a world with water, fire, and even healing magic, he had assumed such a profession would naturally exist here. However, perhaps it was incredibly rare in this world, or perhaps it didn’t exist at all.
Gwen glanced at the adventurers standing a short distance away and spoke softly.
“There are truly strange things among magic beasts. In my own way, I’ve experienced all sorts of things. But in all my years, I’ve never seen a carcass move. If they find out, there will be unrest.”
He seemed to be asking if they should proceed without informing the others.
Juhwan stared quietly at the black fragments on the ground before speaking.
“Even if that’s the case, we must tell them. It isn’t right to hide this.”
“Some might decide to give up and go back. A magic beast alone is enough to cause fear, but if you add that the carcass is moving…”
Juhwan let out a small sigh. Originally, he hadn’t been worried about this task at all. He had believed that with Yeonhwa’s ability, they could kill anything.
‘But if the opponent is already dead, the poison might not work.’
He didn’t know the exact principle by which Yeonhwa killed living creatures.
However, it likely attacked living cells. If the target was already dead, there was a possibility that Yeonhwa’s attack would be meaningless.
Oz’s attacks might work. Since that child could bend or break physical objects, he could surely neutralize the limbs of a corpse. No animal can move if it lacks legs to walk on.
But Oz’s ability was still at the level of a baby just starting to crawl. Even if he was growing day by day, it was far from enough to face a rampaging magic beast.
Juhwan looked up at Gwen.
“If the magic beast appears, I will handle it. I intend to ask those people to act as beaters.”
The basic strategy remained unchanged.
After tracking the magic beast, they would make a loud noise and threaten it with spears and swords to drive it toward a specific location.
Once it came within range of Juhwan’s mana, he planned to capture it alive using nets, then use the youngling to lure and capture the mother.
He had originally kept Yeonhwa’s abilities in mind to some extent, but now he had to assume that option was off the table.
Gwen gave a wry grin.
“I’m glad you have that kind of personality.”
“….”
“It’s important to know what kind of person you’re trusting with your back. Forgive me for testing you.”
Perhaps he had been gauging him—to see whether Juhwan would deceive the other adventurers or not.
Gwen narrowed his eyes and looked toward the distant horizon.
“If you head in that direction, there is an abandoned village. The population dwindled because of the war until eventually no one was left. The creature is likely in the forest near there. Juhwan-ssi, please wait in that village.”
Gwen hunched his shoulders slightly and sat down.
“I will drive the magic beast toward you with the others.”
Watching the shape of the footprints intently, Gwen asked, “How do you plan to use the nets? It might be different for a normal animal, but nets won’t work on a magic beast.”
“I plan to use the wind.”
“Ah!”
Gwen nodded. He seemed to understand the meaning immediately.
“Even so, you’ll need manpower. You won’t be able to throw that many nets by yourself, Juhwan-ssi.”
Gwen stood up and walked toward the people.
He looked back at Juhwan and gave a faint smile.
“You just focus on the finishing blow. Leave the process of getting it there to me and those people. Several of them are close friends of mine. They’ll be more than capable of supporting you.”
Gwen spoke lightly, but it was no easy task. To throw the nets, they would have to get close to the magic beast. They would have to be prepared for injury or death.
“…Thank you.”
When Juhwan bowed his head, Gwen laughed.
“We’re the ones who should be thankful. Without you, Juhwan-ssi, it probably would have been impossible to even attempt this. At the very least, I wouldn’t have touched it easily.”
With those words, Gwen headed toward the others.
He gathered the people with a loud shout and began explaining the situation, stating that it was a type of magic beast they hadn’t seen before.
Agitation stirred among the adventurers. They began to murmur, each chiming in with their own thoughts.
The voices of the adventurers grew louder.
A few individuals were particularly vocal.
One man protested harshly, saying it wasn’t what he had initially expected, and three other adventurers joined in his anger as if riding his coattails.
The Guild had explained from the beginning that they didn’t know what kind of magic beast it was. Precisely because they didn’t know what would happen or how things would proceed, the pay had been set much more generously than usual.
Jack mentioned this as he clashed sharply with the protesting adventurers.
The sounds of people arguing, the Guild guide’s explanations, and voices inciting other adventurers by claiming the terms were different from the agreement—all these sounds mingled together.
Leaving the voices of the adventurers behind, Juhwan headed toward the carriage. Riji was looking back and forth between the adventurers and Juhwan with an anxious expression.
As he approached the carriage, Riji shrank back slightly and lowered her head toward him.
“What’s happening? Why are they fighting like that?”
“The magic beast we tracked is very different from what we thought, Riji.”
“….”
“It seems it’s already dead.”
“D-dead?”
Riji’s eyes went wide. It seemed to be something she hadn’t even considered.
Juhwan explained that they didn’t know exactly what kind of magic beast it was yet, but for some reason, the dead carcass appeared to be moving with a will of its own.
“I suspect the patterns on the magic beast’s body might have some meaning. Even if it’s not a Zentangle, it’s likely related to the carcass moving.”
And perhaps it was related to Santa. Although it was different from his initial thoughts, he wanted to cling to even the smallest clue if he could find one.
At the same time, he was slightly worried. The fact that he couldn’t rely on Yeonhwa’s ability made him a bit uneasy. Wondering what would happen if an unexpected situation arose, his heart was a bit conflicted, unlike the confident front he had shown Gwen.
As if sensing his feelings, Riji composed her expression. Nodding while remaining tense, a smile formed on her stiff face.
“I understand, Juhwan. It’s okay. There’s nothing to worry about. Don’t worry about Dorothy and me at all. If things get dangerous, I’ll definitely run away with Yeonhwa.”
Riji reached out her small hand.
When Juhwan took it, Riji wrapped both of her hands around his large one and gave a bright smile.
“Yeonhwa is strong. If anything happens, she can smash a magic beast or anything else just by kicking it. There’s no way we’ll be in danger as long as we’re next to Yeonhwa. So don’t worry.”
“With Yeonhwa, that might actually be true.”
Riji laughed softly at Juhwan’s words.
As long as she and Dorothy were safe, then it was fine.
Since they had to capture it alive to lure the mother, there was some concern that it might be difficult.
However, Juhwan didn’t think for a moment that he would be injured or die. He had that much confidence. His only worry was Riji and Dorothy.
If Riji understood that and knew she shouldn’t get so much as a scratch for his sake, then he had nothing weighing on his mind.
With a slightly cleared heart, Juhwan looked toward the carriage.
“Does Dorothy still refuse to come near me because she’s afraid of looking like me?”
“Hehe, yes. She was just talking to Oz about that a moment ago.”
“….”
“She’ll be fine by tonight.”
“…I see.”
The arguing voices had quieted down before he knew it.
When Juhwan looked toward the adventurers, he saw the man who had been protesting so fiercely leaving with a few others. It seemed all the other adventurers were staying.
After that, time passed busily.
They devised a rough strategy and explained it to the adventurers.
The adventurers led by Gwen decided to drive the magic beast out by banging their weapons and shouting from near its location.
Driving a magic beast to a desired spot in a vast forest and plain is not easy. In a way, the difficulty for the beaters might be higher than for Juhwan, who was tasked with the final capture.
When Juhwan expressed concern, the Guild guide smiled reassuringly.
“Don’t worry. Gwen is one of the highest-ranking magic beast hunters currently active. If he can’t do it, there’s probably no one who can.”
Gwen and the adventurers followed the footprints and traces into the forest.
The young magic beast might have been an even younger individual than they thought.
It seemed it hadn’t learned proper survival skills at all. Unlike its mother, its traces were left plainly wherever its feet touched.
This made predicting its behavior even more difficult. Since it was already dead, it didn’t need food. Because of that, it had no particular purpose. It seemed to be simply wandering aimlessly in search of its mother.
Once Gwen and the adventurers were completely out of sight in the forest, Juhwan headed toward the nearby village with the Guild guide.
The village looked like a scene out of a Western movie. It appeared to be a cluster of dozens of isolated houses in the wilderness. Only a few houses and barn-like structures remained standing in the middle of nowhere.
Scattered pieces of wood that once formed a perimeter fence left traces of the village’s boundaries. However, it seemed most of it had been taken for firewood.
The interiors of the houses were similar. Not only the doors and furniture, but even parts of the floors had been stripped away. Only things that were difficult to move or tear down, like walls and pillars, remained.
‘There’s going to be a lot of work… I’d better hurry.’
Even if it was an inexperienced youngling, it would naturally be wary if a net was sitting plainly on the desolate ground. There needed to be some degree of cover.
Juhwan began tearing down or dismantling parts of buildings that could serve as cover. He moved them around the village to create natural-looking hiding spots. He placed the nets around these covers.
That work continued for several days.
In the meantime, the Guild guide received several reports from elsewhere.
It seemed they were discovering traces of the mother here and there.
On the fifth day, word finally arrived from Gwen. They had discovered the young magic beast. The message told him to be ready, as they would begin driving it toward him slowly.
From then on, he was incredibly busy. He hurried to finish the remaining tasks and used Mana Detection every day to check the surroundings.
And a few days later, something that appeared to be the young magic beast was caught within the range of his Mana Detection.
It seemed smaller than an Orthos. He couldn’t see its form exactly, but it was a quadrupedal beast-type with a single head.
The young magic beast was not afraid of humans. That was what the reports so far indicated. It was likely because all the humans it had encountered were weak.
Therefore, Juhwan and Riji didn’t need to hide themselves.
From experience, the creature knew that humans did not threaten it. In fact, upon seeing a human, it might even charge more fiercely, fueled by the rage of not finding its mother and the memory of someone who had tormented it.
Around the time Juhwan finished his rough preparations, loud shouts and the sound of clashing metal finally echoed from afar.
The figure of the young magic beast began to appear in the distance. Behind it, people were spread out in a wide formation, slowly pursuing it.
Whenever the magic beast tried to run in another direction, the people on that side would shout “Waaaaa!” and clash their weapons to make noise.
Startled, the magic beast would change direction again.
Its flustered movements were somehow reminiscent of a young puppy.
As the magic beast drew closer, its appearance became clearer.
“Ah!”
Riji’s voice, sitting on the driver’s seat, could be heard from a short distance away.
Juhwan clicked his tongue in spite of himself.
