I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 24
024 Your First Hunt Is Special
A rabbit was caught in the snare. Judging by how it still had strength left, it hadn’t been there long. It was likely caught around dawn or early morning. This was good. Having this much life left in it made it the perfect first prey.
Gus glanced at Juhwan. For some reason, Juhwan looked flustered as he stared at the trapped rabbit. Based on his reaction, it seemed as if he were seeing a rabbit for the very first time. This man really is strange. It was hard to put a finger on exactly where, but some part of him didn’t quite fit. He was like the lid of a box that wouldn’t close properly.
‘But that doesn’t matter.’
Whether he was a noble or a commoner, a priest or a sinner, it didn’t make a difference.
Hunting beasts was a matter entirely separate from the lives of the human world. In the end, only the simple fact that a human kills a beast remains.
Seeing Juhwan regain his composure after a moment of confusion, Gus smirked. He could more or less guess what the man was thinking.
‘But…’
If Juhwan thought that having killed beasts before meant he wouldn’t hesitate while hunting, he was mistaken. Killing a beast that is attacking you is an entirely different matter from hunting a defenseless animal.
Like everything else, one grows accustomed and numbed to hunting over time.
However, the shock and emotions felt the first time would last a lifetime. That was why the first hunt was so important.
Gus’s first time was when he was twelve. That day, when his father finally allowed him to hunt a beast with his own bow, everything felt familiar—except for the single fact that he was the one firing the arrow at the prey.
He remembered how the mountains and birdsong, more familiar to him than the houses in the human village, had cradled his pounding heart. His trembling was from excitement, never from fear or disgust.
Many hunters’ children followed the path of a hunter because their fathers forced them, but Gus was different. He had been stoic while butchering animals by his father’s side, getting red blood on his hands. If anything, he had been eager.
The hunt itself was no different. He had been happy to be recognized by his father, a veteran hunter, and proud to loose an arrow with his own hands.
Gus’s first prey had been a fawn, not long after it was born. The mother was nearby, but as soon as she realized the fawn would die, she fled.
Unlike other times, his father did not catch the mother deer, though she was the better prize. He did nothing and left everything in that moment to Gus. That hunt belonged entirely to Gus.
Still, the fact remained that his father was watching over him. He was being protected. It took place in a state of safety, and he believed he was a part of the mountain. He believed he was a blessed hunter, blended into these woods.
That was why the Goblins had gotten him. Somewhere in his heart, he had always believed that he, at least, would be safe. Because he believed that even if everyone else met with an untimely accident, he never would, he failed to notice the black pit yawning beneath his feet.
That sensation remained somewhere within him, even now in his old age.
It did not disappear, even though he now knew with bitter certainty that it wasn’t true.
Gus took a slow breath, releasing it into the forest air, before speaking briefly to Juhwan.
“Take out the arrow I gave you.”
Juhwan was likely the smartest person Gus had ever known. Though he hadn’t been in the mountains long, he already remembered a significant number of words and could combine them to speak. Even without the hand gestures and miming from before, they could more or less communicate.
Even now, Juhwan quickly understood what Gus said and nodded.
However, perhaps he took it to mean Gus wanted the arrow back, as he held out the iron-tipped arrow he had been given earlier.
Gus shook his head and pointed at Juhwan’s bow. He mimed nocking the arrow and spoke.
“You are the one hunting. This is your first hunt. I’m going to teach you clearly that hunting is a gruesome business. You will never be able to forget this hour.”
Gus pushed Juhwan forward slightly. They walked toward the snare.
He stopped when they reached a distance close enough that an arrow would surely hit.
Juhwan looked back and forth between Gus and the rabbit with a bewildered expression. He didn’t seem to understand why he had to fire an arrow at a rabbit already caught in a snare.
But he was a smart man. He understood well that whenever Gus did something, it was an act of teaching. Though he didn’t know the reason, Juhwan raised his bow. Then he looked at Gus as if asking for confirmation.
“Shoot. Shoot the leg first.”
He must not kill it in one blow. He was to shoot the leg first, then a spot far from the heart, training to hit a living, moving target.
First, an animal staying still; second, a target howling in pain; and after that…
He just needed to gain something from the process. Since Juhwan was likely smarter than him, he would surely learn something very good, beyond even what Gus knew.
To Juhwan, who had not yet drawn his bow, Gus spoke once more.
“Now, go ahead and shoot.”
The mountain is fair. No one is special before the mountain. The mountain is an existence that is equally generous and equally cruel to both humans and beasts.
Gus watched Juhwan’s face intently.
This man would surely become a great hunter of Magical Beasts. He didn’t know if he would live to see it with his own eyes, but his old hunter’s instincts whispered so. That this man was special.
However, no matter how skilled or veteran a hunter might be, they were bound to make mistakes.
The moment one feels the mountain is familiar and lets their guard down, thinking they are loved or special, they will fall into danger.
To prevent that, one must understand deep in their heart that hunting is a cruel task and that everyone is equal in the mountains. The plight of the beast being hunted today could be one’s own tomorrow.
Knowing that Juhwan might not fully understand his words yet, Gus opened his mouth.
“The mountain is fair. It doesn’t just take the side of humans. If you keep repeating cruel acts, the day will come when the beast holds the upper hand.”
Smirking as he watched Juhwan’s face struggle to understand his words and actions, Gus chuckled.
“If you want to return home safely, do not forget today.”
A hunter is the kind of person who targets a mother nursing her young.
The mountain knows this, and so does the prey.
Only humans do not know what that fact means.
When you run along a circle, the day eventually comes when the one behind steps on the heels of the one in front.
When Gus told him to take the bow and arrow, Juhwan assumed they were going to catch a deer or a bird today. That was what bows and arrows were for, after all. At the very least, they weren’t for animals already caught in snares. Juhwan knew that much.
He thought that if a rabbit was caught in a snare, they would kill it with a knife and take the hide and meat. If two were caught, perhaps one each; if there was only one, they would divide the hide and meat.
If they had to split the hide and meat, Gus would take the valuable one, and he would take the rest. For Juhwan, either the hide or the meat was fine.
He didn’t think Gus would take everything.
Even while teaching Juhwan how to hunt, Gus never once shot a bow to kill a beast himself. Seeing how he refrained even when there were several good opportunities, it might be that Gus was forbidden from doing so.
However, Gus was likely hunting in secret on this mountain. Juhwan had never seen him hunt, but he could tell.
There were many clues: the occasional traces of blood on Gus’s clothes or bag, the changing number of arrows in his quiver, his unusually keen knowledge of where rabbit droppings were.
Gus didn’t explicitly show it, but he didn’t try to hide it either.
The villagers probably knew too. Perhaps the villagers received a bit of meat in exchange for turning a blind eye to Gus’s hunting.
Since Gus hunted for himself like that, he wouldn’t be greedy over a single rabbit when the two of them were out together. And Juhwan had learned during their time together that Gus wasn’t that kind of person.
Because he felt he understood the man’s character to some extent, Gus’s words came as a surprise.
What Gus told him to shoot was the rabbit’s leg. Shooting such a spot wouldn’t kill it. It would only cause pain.
He didn’t know why Gus was demanding such a thing. A foul feeling crawled up his throat. He didn’t like this at all.
“Start. Rabbit… leg… head. Keep… shooting…”
Gus spoke again, pointing toward the snare. As the words were repeated, Juhwan understood.
From Gus’s gestures and words, the thought occurred to him that this was likely training for shooting a living animal.
The rabbit, sensing an ominous atmosphere, moved frantically. Its fierce-looking face changed into a threatening expression, as if telling them not to come closer.
The more violently it moved, the more the snare tightened. Whether from pain or fear, the rabbit began to make strange noises.
Juhwan took a light breath and aimed his arrow.
His eyes met the rabbit’s.
For a moment, the scene inside the carriage he had seen when he first arrived in this world flashed through his mind.
Miserable people, emaciated bodies, corpses that weren’t cleared away even after death, a cramped space where humans had ceased to be human.
Everyone inside had been fighting like starving demons, stealing the belongings of the dead to wear. Those who were dying were already treated as if they were dead. Juhwan himself had barely survived that way.
Juhwan didn’t know about the mountains or hunting. He didn’t know much about life in this world either. All he knew right now was the fact that Gus was trying to train him for a hunter’s life.
After a light exhale, Juhwan aimed the arrow at the rabbit. Since it was a short distance, there was little worry of missing.
The rabbit thrashed as if sensing the fear of death.
Watching that rabbit’s face like a background, Juhwan quietly kept his bow aimed, waiting for its leg to be exposed.
A stationary target and a living, moving animal were completely different. It wasn’t just that it was hard to aim; the animal’s desperate movements disturbed his mind. The terror-stricken eyes of the living beast struck his heart hard.
The rabbit struggled and tossed its body.
In an instant, a good angle opened up.
Before he could think, the arrow left his hand.
With a sharp thwack, the arrow passed through the leg and thudded into the ground.
Squeak! Squeal!
The rabbit shrieked and flailed its body.
Gus spoke quietly again.
“…”
When Juhwan didn’t seem to understand, Gus tapped his own arm. He was telling him to shoot the rabbit’s front leg.
Juhwan reflexively looked at Gus’s face.
Gus didn’t flinch. He quietly met Juhwan’s gaze. Their eyes locked.
It was Juhwan who looked away first. What he saw in Gus’s eyes, for some reason, was the conviction that this process was necessary.
Juhwan thought of Riji and Dorothy’s faces and raised his bow again.
The terror-stricken rabbit was flailing and looking at Juhwan.
Though he didn’t know this world well, he knew that the mountains and hunting were dangerous. Something worse than a wolf might be living here. If even a bear appeared, even Juhwan’s large frame wouldn’t be enough to win. In a world with magic, who knew what kind of beasts beyond wolves or bears might exist?
If Gus thought this process was necessary, there must be a reason. Before pitying the beast, he had to think of Riji and Dorothy first. To protect and provide for those two, he could become a demon, even a killer.
‘It’s just a beast.’
It’s fine. It’s okay, it’s just a beast, only a beast. Don’t listen to the sound.
Let it pass. That is merely an animal.
Listening to the rabbit’s screams, Juhwan loosed another arrow.
Despite the close range, it missed because the rabbit moved. The arrow pierced between the rabbit’s head and ear.
Gus approached the rabbit. He pinned down the body of the rabbit, which was screaming and trying to escape, with his foot and pulled out the arrow.
Now Juhwan knew why Gus had him use the smooth iron-tipped arrows.
It was so he could easily pull the arrows out of the beast like this.
Returning, Gus took a new arrow from the quiver and handed it to Juhwan. Gus spoke calmly.
“Front leg…”
“…”
In the silence, only the rabbit’s screams echoed in all directions.
Juhwan nocked another arrow. He released the taut bowstring.
The arrow pierced accurately into the front leg of the rabbit, whose movements had slowed slightly.
One more time, following Gus’s instructions, he shot the rabbit’s remaining leg.
Because he avoided the vital spots, it didn’t die. Only the rabbit’s high-pitched squeals rang through the quiet forest.
“…”
Gus said nothing more.
Was it okay to put it out of its misery now?
The rabbit’s shrieks had turned into a whimpering sound before he knew it. The rabbit cried out long and low, as if calling for someone.
Juhwan drew his bow again.
The final arrow pierced the rabbit’s head. After trembling for a moment, the rabbit went still.
“…”
Dorothy’s face, with her eyes sparkling, flickered in his mind for a moment before vanishing. Killing beasts to survive was necessary. From now on, he would kill many more. Juhwan let out a small breath. A hint of bitterness mixed with the saliva he swallowed.
