I Became A Married Man in Another World
Chapter 82
082 Subjugation Request
Lij, who had been so joyful, suddenly looked so sorrowful that Juhwan considered not going to the Guild today. He could find work tomorrow, or even the day after. What mattered most right now was that Lij was hurting.
He had a rough idea of the cause.
Though he had sent Oz with her, Juhwan had been loitering behind, following her at a distance. It wasn’t that he was particularly anxious; he simply felt more at ease that way.
Lij had suffered many hardships because he had taken his eyes off her before. Besides, there wasn’t much else for him to do in the market anyway. He figured it was better to follow his wife from a distance for his own peace of mind.
Standing where Lij had paused, he picked up the items she must have looked at, one by one. He had no interest in women’s goods, but for some reason, doing this was fun. He bought a few accessories he thought she might like or that would suit her, and he placed whatever Dorothy wanted into the child’s hands.
In the market, vendors sold skewers of mystery meat. Some were interspersed with vegetables, while others were meat only. They weren’t sold in just one place; many people had brought small carts to sell them throughout the area. At one cart, the blacksmith’s wife was the vendor. He figured that no matter which one they ate, it wouldn’t cause much trouble.
Living in the same village, surely they wouldn’t sell something that would kill you.
Dorothy seemed to want to eat every piece of meat she saw. Every time they passed a cart, she tried to buy a meat skewer. Even with one in each hand, she was already reaching for something new.
As they wandered, he noticed Lij stop when she saw a certain woman. He also saw that woman turn her back on Lij.
Their faces weren’t strikingly similar. However, the people Lij knew were limited, and he guessed it was likely her mother or sister. She wouldn’t have been so shaken if it weren’t family. He realized she had been rejected by her own kin.
But since he sensed she wouldn’t want him to know, he feigned ignorance.
It might have felt better if she cried, but Lij didn’t. She simply bit her lip, her expression fraught with pain.
It was frustrating to think that the woman might remain in Lij’s heart until the market ended. He felt a surge of anger.
It was around then that a boy from the inn came running to find Juhwan.
He said they were looking for him urgently at the Guild. A small coin was clutched in the boy’s hand. It seemed he had been paid handsomely for the errand.
Thinking the timing was perfect, they headed to the Guild, where an unexpected request awaited them.
“So, you’re asking me to hunt a Magical Beast?”
At Juhwan’s words, the Guild Master gave an awkward laugh.
“No, no, it’s not like that. There’s no reason I’d demand that from someone who’s never even hunted a Magical Beast before.”
The Guild Master scratched his head, which had begun to glisten.
“Just providing support is fine. Look, if it gets dangerous, you can just come back. Really, I don’t usually make unreasonable requests like this, but things have become a bit urgent this time.”
Listening to the story, it seemed a Magical Beast had appeared in a village near the border. The problem was that the beast was eating people.
Several people had already been devoured by the creature.
“Does that happen often?”
“No, it’s extremely rare. While it’s common for Magical Beasts to harm people, it’s very unusual for them to come down to a village to eat them. That’s why this is so urgent. People keep dying.”
The Guild Master scratched his head vigorously.
Normally, they would have recruited and sent out a party of hunters, but there was only one person available to go immediately. Though an experienced hunter, one person alone would find it difficult to face that beast.
So they had to find additional people, but Magical Beast hunters were a rare breed. Even if they managed to find someone and assign the task, it was clear it would take far too much time.
Since there was a possibility the beast might move to another village in the meantime, the task had fallen to Juhwan.
“I guarantee it—someone like you, Juhwan, can certainly handle it. Trust my word. I’m not the Guild Master just for show.”
Just a moment ago, he had said support was enough and to just come back if it seemed dangerous, but the tone had subtly shifted into an expectation for him to hunt the beast.
However, Juhwan had intended to look into hunting Magical Beasts anyway. This might be a good opportunity.
Besides, the pay was good. For just one beast, and as nominal support at that, the reward was 7,200 Lina, or 30 gold coins. Even with a bit of a premium added due to the urgency, it was a high price.
Checking Lij’s face to see if she was alright, she asked the Guild Master hesitantly.
“Can we really just come back if it’s dangerous?”
“Of course.”
“Will there be a penalty or anything?”
“None at all. Don’t worry. Furthermore, even if you just come back, I’ll give you one gold coin. Think of it as a sort of retainer.”
The Guild Master gave a wide grin with his fierce face. He looked like a villainous loan shark.
‘I hope I don’t look like that when I smile.’
He felt a bit self-conscious because he realized the Guild Master was the same type of man as himself. Even if their features were different, they were of the same breed. Like the canine type, the feline type, or the bear type.
Lij gently tugged at Juhwan’s sleeve. She looked up into his eyes and nodded. Whether it was because of the high pay or the thought that they could help stop people from dying, some strength had returned to her eyes. That was a relief.
“By the way, what kind of creature is this Magical Beast?”
When Juhwan asked, the Guild Master answered, slightly avoiding his gaze.
“…They say it’s a two-headed dog.”
“Do you know anything about that beast?”
“…I’m sorry.”
The Guild Master bowed his head.
When asked why, he explained that very little was known about Magical Beasts in general, and a two-headed dog was an especially rare sight. Thus, all they knew was that it was a fierce and terrifying creature.
“However, the hunter who went to the scene first will likely know. I hear he’s been doing this for a very long time. Leonard of the Miller Merchant Company in Moderni recruited and sent him.”
The hunter who had gone ahead was apparently an associate of Leonard’s.
“It was also Leonard who recommended sending you. Leonard said that you, Juhwan, would be able to slice that beast to ribbons.”
The Guild Master laughed, waving Leonard’s letter.
“The Guild will cover expenses outside of the reward. We’ll also provide the food for the journey.”
“Alright. Let’s give it a try.”
“Good choice.”
The Guild Master’s face brightened instantly. He immediately shouted to the back office.
“Hurry and send word to Moderni! The ‘Dorothy and Oz’ party is heading out from here. Hey, you, go quickly and pack the supplies needed for the hunt. You, handle the food. Basic provisions plus quail eggs, ginger bread, oh, and add a hunk of ham too.”
The Guild staff scurried about as they were ordered.
The departure was set for about two hours later.
That meant Juhwan and Lij had much to prepare as well. They rushed back to the inn to pack their belongings and bought whatever else they lacked to load onto the wagon.
Dorothy became excited belatedly. She was playing, swinging a tree branch while using Oz as her make-believe Magical Beast.
By the time Lij had hung all the laundry inside the wagon, someone from the Guild arrived.
Even though it was winter, beads of sweat were rolling down the Guild employee’s forehead. They must have been in quite a rush.
In addition to the food, the cart the employee brought contained hay for the horses. As they loaded it onto the wagon, Juhwan noticed there was also some high-quality wine. They had clearly put a lot of thought into this.
Carrying a simple map received from the Guild Master, they departed the village.
He had been told it would take two days of non-stop travel by wagon to get there.
While it wasn’t a village right on the border, it was close enough that they said the enemy kingdom of Tairon occasionally raided it. The Guild Master had repeatedly urged them to just turn back if they saw any sign of raiders.
If it weren’t winter, he wouldn’t have gone. But in this season, there was almost no raiding. Perhaps it would be different for a city, but in winter, there were few villages with enough food to make raiding worth it. For both the raiders and the victims, winter was simply a time of suffering.
Unlike other times, there was no relaxed atmosphere inside the wagon. Knowing that people were dying, Lij seemed to be in a hurry as well.
They drove, rested briefly, and drove again.
When night fell, they stopped the wagon in a suitable spot and lit a campfire.
Juhwan took out the bow he hadn’t used in a while and notched an arrow. He imbued the arrow with mana, just as he did when shrouding his body in wind.
The feeling was different from shrouding himself. The wind mana permeated in his body could be used without conscious effort. It was a sensation similar to swinging a fist. He didn’t have to decide to do this or that; it happened naturally as he wished.
Imbuing an object with mana was different. It felt like winding countless invisible, incredibly thin threads of mana around the arrow. It was like pulling the strings to move a marionette.
He took a deep breath and stared into the darkness.
A bit high, toward the sky, then a sharp drop to the ground.
After pre-planning how he would control the arrow, he took another quiet breath.
He recalled the arrows of the bandit leader he had seen while escorting the merchant caravan. That man’s arrows had flown toward their target as accurately as guided missiles.
Thinking of the movement of those arrows, Juhwan quietly released the bowstring.
Ping! The arrow flew with a sharp sound. It immediately soared toward the sky. It was too high—not the height he had intended.
However, the arrow moved exactly as he thought. It flew in a straight line, not an arc.
Then, he immediately snapped the arrow downward. It was as if someone had grabbed it in midair and forced it to change direction. The arrow bent in an almost straight line and flew toward the ground.
‘It worked.’
He had tried this a few times before. It hadn’t worked well then. But this time, even though there were errors in the height and the angle of the turn, the arrow moved as intended. It meant he had become that much more accustomed to the wind mana.
Once more.
Juhwan notched another arrow. This time, it flew much closer to his target. Good, once more.
That evening, he continued to shoot his bow for a long time.
Whether the Magical Beast came down to the village or remained holed up in the mountains, if this was a hunt, the approach was already decided.
Traps and arrows.
A hunter does not take risks when hunting. They drain the Magical Beast’s strength until it is as safe as possible before finally catching it. They exercise the utmost caution and put in the effort to eliminate danger. If a hunt is so dangerous that one must risk their life, then something is wrong. That was what he had learned from Gus.
“….”
It wouldn’t go away. The things he learned from Gus kept bringing the man to mind.
Juhwan closed his eyes for a moment. He did not regret killing Gus.
It was the right thing to do within himself. He would not allow anyone, or anything, to put his family in danger. That would remain true in the future.
However, every time he thought of Gus, he felt a slight pang of sorrow. The more useful the things he had been taught became, the more he realized, Ah, so this is why he taught me this, and the more he understood how much effort Gus had put into teaching him. Each time, his heart grew a little heavier with regret.
Juhwan shook his head to clear it and pushed Gus’s face away. Now was not the time to think of him. He cleared his mind again and drew his bow.
By the time he had shot almost all the arrows he had taken out, he felt a certain level of confidence. He felt he finally had a sense of how to handle the wind mana.
Because they had started late, two nights weren’t enough. However—
