Chapter 13 - Observation Story of the Great Raven (4)
‘How easy.’
Raven, who had gotten two rooms for free as an apology for being forgotten, was climbing the stairs, swinging the keys in one hand while carrying Didi in the other arm.
Just in case the innkeeper became suspicious seeing the messy state of the room—even though no one else had been given the room—he had to add a few words to reclaim the same room he had used before leaving.
[Could I use room 202? It’s the one you gave me the first time we met.]
[Oh, of course! I’ll lend you 202 and 203. Let’s see… the keys…?]
[…Over there, in the corner of the counter, there’s a key. Could that be it?]
[Huh…? How did it get there…?]
[It must have slid there when you left it for a moment.]
[Really? Ah, lately I forget everything…]
[Even so, forgetting me was too much, don’t you think, noona?]
[Ah, I already apologized, didn’t I? That’s why I’m giving you two rooms.]
[Well, you’re right. Thanks.]
With just a slight smile, everything had gone his way without any difficulty.
Although, of course, as a side effect, he had to endure Dan’s astonished stare—but what did that matter? Raven lifted his chin arrogantly.
‘If you’re envious, do it too.’
Although of course, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.
The advantage of not being remembered was that you could do any crazy thing without trouble. No one would remember it; all he had to do was forget it himself.
Even though the spirit guardian sent him a lamenting message that in trying to boost his self-esteem he had only caused side effects, Raven simply smiled as if he didn’t understand.
And so, back to reality.
When his easy steps, leading him to the rooms, halted between them, a small voice timidly called out to him.
“Um… Mister Raven.”
A call that pulled him out of useless thoughts. Raven immediately lowered his gaze.
“What is it?”
“One room would’ve been enough…”
“…Even if you’re young, wouldn’t it be a scandal for a noble’s daughter to sleep in the same room as an adult, unknown man…?”
A girl whose way of speaking clearly showed her noble education couldn’t not know that. Or had culture changed so much recently?
“But… it would be a bother. After all you’ve done for me, I can’t cause you more trouble…”
“Ah, don’t worry. What problem could this possibly be?”
The problem had been caused by himself. Raven recalled the sincerely embarrassed face of the innkeeper.
After a brief pause, Raven patted Didi’s head, set her down, and handed her the key to room 203.
“They’ll prepare hot water for you to bathe, so wash up first and rest well. I’ll keep the window open; if anything happens, just come out and call me. I’ll be there immediately.”
“Yes, thank you very much. Also…”
“Hmm?”
“There’s something I… would like to tell you… but, um…”
It seemed that seeing everything getting resolved without her revealing her true purpose made the girl nervous. After the whole trip without finding a good moment to speak, she finally extended a hand and tightly gripped the edge of Raven’s clothes.
Her slightly trembling voice revealed her impatience.
“Please… help me…”
It wasn’t a measured or embellished request, but a purely sincere plea.
…If things continued like this, it was certain they would separate by dawn. And since they had already arrived at the inn, it was possible she would be left under the innkeeper’s care before Raven left.
Didi had sensed that. She had noticed that Raven didn’t plan to take care of her. And indeed, that was the truth.
But…
‘Ah, damn it.’
It was too childish a request.
If it had been more shameless, he could have easily refused.
But that weak voice, so childlike, froze Raven in place.
“I know it’s disrespectful. You saved my life, and thanks to you I’m able to stay here. I know asking for more is unforgivable.”
“……”
“But I must go to the capital. You’re strong, Mister Raven. You could take me there safely.”
“…Can’t you contact your family?”
“It’s not safe. It’s not easy to get help in my situation either.”
“……”
“I’ll reward you properly. Please…”
“Enough.”
Haa. I think I just got caught. Raven rubbed his forehead involuntarily.
“You’re not going to tell me your situation, are you?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m not interested.”
In any case, Raven planned to go to the capital, so it wasn’t much of a problem. He wasn’t so incompetent as to be unable to protect a child along the way.
The only problem was that he had originally intended to pass through the elven territory first…
He lowered his hand and looked at the girl.
“Is it urgent?”
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Of course. If it weren’t urgent, she wouldn’t be asking a suspicious stranger for help.
Well… she was suspicious too.
‘…A Gate victim and a child on top of that.’
It wasn’t something he could simply ignore because it was bothersome or suspicious. The weight of her circumstances was too great. Raven sighed.
…Let’s think positively.
Besides, he wouldn’t be able to shake off Dan easily now to head toward the elves anyway.
“I’ll take you to the capital.”
“¡!”
“So rest easy.”
Stopping at the capital first wasn’t a bad thing. Anyway, it wasn’t like he was going to die or anything.
Going to the elven territory could wait. The wound he wanted to heal was just annoying because of the bleeding, not something life-threatening.
[……The spirit guardian ??? sighs.]
…It seemed the spirit guardian didn’t agree, but Raven ignored that and opened the door to his room.
He entered, closed the door, and sat on the edge of the bed.
He glanced around the familiar room, letting his mind settle.
[The spirit guardian ??? asks why you insisted on taking separate rooms.]
“A smarter person than me asks such obvious things… You know, there are several reasons.”
One of them was that he preferred to be forgotten. Even if he agreed to help, if in the end the person forgot his existence, all the better for him.
Besides, inns functioned as communication hubs.
Even if Didi forgot him, she could still find her way home by contacting the right people.
No need to worry.
And setting aside those minor reasons.
“But more than anything…”
[‘Because she’s suspicious.’]
“Exactly.”
I knew you would know.
The situation was too suspicious.
“After the issue with the youngest disciple, I’ve become very distrustful.”
The situation had been too convenient. Dan had passed the test after experiencing the tragedy of his sister’s death, but Didi hadn’t.
And he needed to verify her, so separating was essential.
Raven gathered his long, loose hair, tied it low, and muttered.
“Don’t you think her way of speaking is too formal for a noble daughter? If she were from a military lineage, maybe, but it’s suspiciously familiar…”
Annoying.
“Besides, on the way I caught a familiar scent. At first, I thought it was the smell of monster blood, but…”
‘How disgusting.’
The smell of blood, which he was already sick of, still permeated the air. Even after moving away from where the monsters had been fought, the stench, instead of fading, had intensified.
It was impossible to mistake it.
It couldn’t be the smell of his own wounds, since the origin of the smell was clearly different. So only one option remained. It wasn’t possible that civilians would be wandering around at night without fearing for their lives.
“It seems the people who kidnapped Didi are dead.”
He would have to confirm the corpses to be sure, but if his guess was correct, at least the part about her being kidnapped was true.
Either way, he intended to investigate the matter.
If there really had been a kidnapping, there should be traces: an abandoned carriage, wheel tracks, hoofprints…
“Checking corpses is much easier than hunting living enemies, so it’s not too big a deal, but the problem is…”
[The spirit guardian ??? expresses suspicion about their deaths.]
“Yes. That’s what’s strange.”
The monsters that had come out of the Gate had been eliminated by the spirit guardian before they could get too far.
Even Didi, who was standing right in front of the Gate, had emerged unharmed.
So how could those people, who had already fled beforehand, have been killed by monsters?
“Why did they die?”
—No.
“Who killed them?”
Was it some wild animal whose presence he hadn’t sensed?
Or maybe ‘someone’ else?
“For now, I want to think it was a monster I missed…”
But his instincts told him otherwise.
In any case, as long as there was even the slightest chance that a monster was on the loose, he had to confirm it.
He thought while tilting his head, but soon stood up and approached the window.
He murmured lightly.
“Well, first I need to make sure those corpses are who I think they are.”
So he had to move first.
He placed a foot on the window ledge.
He was about to jump out without hesitation when, looking outside, he met the intense gaze of a crow staring straight at him.
“……”
“……”
It was just a simple crow, yet its sharp gaze seemed to say it had expected this.
Raven, frozen mid-step, held that silent staring contest with the crow, then silently withdrew his leg from the window ledge.
This time, he had no intention of fleeing or anything suspicious; he just planned to go out for a while and return, so it wasn’t worth provoking a chase.
‘This damned stalker…’
Ostentatiously, he threw his outer cloak onto the bed. At least that way there would be visible proof that he planned to return, and maybe the crow wouldn’t follow him too stubbornly.
The ‘Fragment Soul’… he had long since given up.
Now that he had been caught, it was better to leave through the front door rather than moving suspiciously.
Raven turned and opened the door.
“…?”
And ran into someone unexpected.
Bright green eyes blinked with slight surprise. Just for a moment; then a soft smile spread across Raven’s face.
Leaning casually against the doorframe, Raven tilted his head slightly and asked the person, who also seemed a bit surprised, in a calm voice.
“Do you need something, sister?”
“Ah, ah… You startled me by opening the door so suddenly… It’s nothing important, I just wanted to bring you some food. It’s late, but you probably haven’t eaten, right?”
“…Ah, the food.”
Now that he thought about it, he usually ate regularly. Then that girl must also be hungry. Since he hadn’t eaten himself, he hadn’t noticed.
“I’ll eat later. Could you take better care of the girl in the room next door?”
“I was actually about to go get her… But, where are you going?”
“Just for a walk. I need to think about a few things.”
“Don’t take too long or the food will get cold and won’t taste good…”
“It’ll just be a moment, just a moment. I’ll be right back, don’t worry.”
Thanks in advance.
Raven smiled and turned to leave… but suddenly stopped, turning back to look at the woman.
“Just to be sure… are there any dangerous wild animals around here?”
“No. If there were, I would have warned you first.”
“Right? Good, then I’m really going.”
Immediately, he crossed the hallway. While he heard the woman calling the girl to invite her to eat, he quickly descended the stairs and stepped outside.
As expected, the crow continued to follow overhead.
***
‘…He really is persistent.’
Raven glanced upward out of the corner of his eye.
Whether the ‘Fragment Soul’ followed him or not didn’t matter. But if it overheard his conversation with the spirit guardian… that would be troublesome.
Had he walked about ten minutes? He finally stopped quietly and raised his head. He motioned with his hand toward the crow.
The crow, flapping its wings lightly, moved away just enough that its flapping could no longer be heard.
‘If it hadn’t obeyed, I would have driven it away by force.’
At least it had some common sense. With a slight smile, Raven quickly wiped the expression from his face and called for the spirit guardian.
His calm voice scattered in the night breeze.
“Hyung. We have something to talk about, don’t we?”
[…….]
“I’m going to ask you the questions we’ve been putting off…”
The clue about his name.
Since last time, because of a mistake, he had been met only with silence and the spirit’s anger, Raven sharpened all his senses before diving straight into the topic, starting instead with another question.
“You’re not still angry, right?”
After all, he had come to save him personally and they had spoken normally afterward.
“…You said you wouldn’t hate me.”
As the silence stretched a little too long, the words spilled from his lips impatiently.
He immediately closed his mouth.
He shouldn’t have said that now. It was a mistake. It was absurd to distrust the spirit and still hope for its affection. He couldn’t expect the spirit, who was more perceptive than anyone, not to notice his guarded attitude.
It was such a selfish thought that he deserved to be ridiculed for it. A bitter smile curved his lips.
‘What a selfish bastard I am.’
And now that he thought about it, he hadn’t even said the most important thing.
He really was aging badly. He cursed himself internally and finally opened his mouth.
A late but honest apology left his lips.
“I’m sorry.”
No embellishments, no excuses.
He left the rest in the spirit’s hands and resumed walking.
[…….]
“……”
The silence filled the air.
The spirit, who was watching him stunned from his world of the dead, let out a belated sigh, as if trying to cover up his delay.
[I’m sorry too.]
“What…? Ancestor… I mean, hyung, why…?”
[Because I couldn’t earn your complete trust. I didn’t realize it. And my silence in that situation surely became a source of fear for you.]
That’s why, even when in danger, Raven hadn’t wanted to call for him.
If he called and received no response, he would feel truly abandoned.
If he had been confident that his spirit guardian would never abandon him, he wouldn’t have hesitated.
In the end, my actions sealed your lips. I didn’t notice that Death had planted seeds of distrust.
Or maybe I noticed, but I became complacent, thinking it wouldn’t matter.
The spirit rubbed his face, full of regret.
[I’m still far from being enough.]
“No…”
[You asked if I was angry, didn’t you? I’m not. With what right could I be angry at you?]
“……”
[…And as an apology, I’ll give you something now.]
There was no need to ask what it was.
[A clue about my true identity. About my name.]
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Hello, thank you for translating this novel!!!!!!! Please don’t drop it QAQ