Chapter 47

Chapter 47

I asked in a flustered voice.

“Y-You want me to take off my clothes?”

Being suddenly told to undress, how could I not be flustered?

Even so, my aunt answered with a calm face.

“That’s how I carve the engraving.”

“An engraving?”

My aunt let out a sigh.

“Haah……. You really don’t know anything, do you? You don’t even know that you have to carve an engraving to learn a cultivation method?”

“…So you’re saying you have to carve it directly onto my upper body?”

“Yeah.”

“But I don’t think Mother had anything like that?”

“I didn’t either.”

“Then why do I have to get one?”

“The women of the clan don’t need to carve engravings. Only the men do. Blame the difference in physical structure. Or just die, I guess.”

“…I’ll do it.”

“Consider it an honor. I’m the only one in the clan who can carve this engraving.”

“Yes.”

I never imagined something like this would be necessary.

‘To think I’d end up getting a tattoo on my upper body.’

No matter what, I had to do it to survive.

If I couldn’t endure even this to live, I’d be a real cripple.

Isn’t that right?

“Starting now.”

“Uaaaaaah!!!!”

“Stop overreacting.”

She said that, but pain beyond imagination assaulted my entire body.

Fuck. What is this?

Was it supposed to hurt this much?

It was comparable to the pain of drinking the Poison King’s elixir. Back then it felt like my organs were being torn apart, but now it felt like my flesh, muscles, and bones were literally being crushed.

“…N-No. Aunt!!! This really hurts too much!”

“There’s supposed to be some pain. I’m directly injecting mana and carving it into your flesh. Wouldn’t it be strange if it didn’t hurt? Besides, this is an engraving passed down only to the direct male descendants of the chieftain. It can’t be helped.”

A crimson aura rose from the small dagger she was holding. It felt like something other than mana was mixed into it, but I didn’t have the luxury to care about that.

As the pain intensified, my chest felt tighter.

The madness that had been lurking in the corner of my mind began to slowly surface again. I was forcing myself to endure it, but as time passed, it felt like my brain was gradually twisting.

So.

My brain.

It hurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts.

Because it’s twisting.

It hurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurtsithurts.

[Ran Winterbell! If you can’t even endure this trivial madness, how can you become the head of the family! Are you going to break your promise with me and collapse so meaninglessly?]

I heard Behemoth’s voice.

So what.

It hurts.

It hurts so much.

It’s so painful.

“Just endure it a little longer. What kind of man can’t even endure this much?”

Only after about two hours had passed did the engraving finally end.

“You’ll have to do this every day for about two weeks.”

“Two whole weeks of this?”

“If you don’t like it, then just die.”

“…I’ll do it.”

“Only after the engraving is complete can you properly train in the cultivation method. It’s not something you can learn in a short time, so I don’t know how long it’ll take.”

That meant I’d have to stay here for at least a month. Of course, if I mastered the cultivation method quickly, my stay would be shorter.

“My madness won’t explode during that time, right?”

“I don’t know about that. But judging by what I just saw, it does look a bit dangerous.”

My aunt, after a brief moment of thought, called me outside.

“Follow me.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just come with me.”

She took me to a stream located in a corner of the village. The cool water flowed gently, and just looking at it brought peace to my mind.

“Why are we here…?”

“Looks refreshing, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Go dunk your head in it.”

“…What?”

“Don’t make me say it twice.”

After a brief hesitation, I dunked my head into the stream. The icy cold water hit my skin like a blade, and it felt like my skull would shatter—but soon enough, my mind started to clear up.

‘What is this? The power of cold water on the face!’

I lifted my head, feeling refreshed, and asked,

“Aunt! What is this?”

“Feels like your head’s a bit clearer, right?”

“Yes! It’s super refreshing!”

“Good. Looks like it’s working. No one knows exactly since when, but apparently this stream has the power to ease madness. The villagers use it often too.”

I made a decision.

From now on, whenever I feel the urge to kill someone—

When my mind feels restless—

When it feels like my skull is about to explode—

I’ll plunge my head into this stream without hesitation.

Ah, and just in case something happens, I should probably tell my companions in advance. If I start acting insane, just dunk me in this stream.

“Thank you, Aunt.”

“No need for thanks. Your mom and I used to come here a lot too when we were kids. We had a hard time dealing with madness as well.”

“What kind of person was my mother?”

“She was fiery. Unpredictable. You never knew what she’d do next… A crazy woman?”

“……”

“Guess that’s why she walked out of the village on her own. And of all people, she fell in love with a monster called the strongest on the continent. She had… unique taste.”

“Did they love each other?”

“Why would you even ask that? Of course they did.”

“…I can’t believe it. That Father loved Mother. I mean, he’s the one who ended her…”

“Whether you believe it or not, there’s one thing I can say for sure. Your mom, and Arkan Winterbell, they truly loved each other. That much, I can guarantee.”

He killed the woman he loved and made that kind of expression? Honestly, I couldn’t believe my aunt’s words. I didn’t know what had happened in the past that made her so certain, but in the few faint remnants of memory I had, the word ‘love’ didn’t exist.

“Oh, and just so you know. Your mom was the one who chased him around first. Said she’d never seen a man that strong before, and totally lost her mind over him.”

---

A week passed.

Half of the engraving on my body was already complete. Ever since the engraving process began, I felt like the mana in my body had thickened. At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but it turned out the effect was real.

Once the engraving was complete, the density of my mana would increase, and my physical abilities would also improve. It was unexpected growth, at least from my perspective.

Lin Winterbell had been sparring with the warriors of the Harlan Clan for the entire week. It was pure hand-to-hand combat, with neither mana nor aura involved. At first, she lost every time, but recently, she had been on a winning streak.

As expected of the North’s crazy wolf.

Whatever anyone said, she was the descendant of Arkan Winterbell, a transcendent being. Naturally, she too was born with incredible talent.

Cecil and Attica spent their time exploring the village, sightseeing here and there, and sometimes even learning about the culture of the Harlan Clan. For young Attica, it wasn’t a bad experience at all.

“Nephew. That’s all you’ve got?”

“I’m doing it properly!”

After the engraving sessions, I sparred with my aunt. It wasn’t a regular sparring match, but training intended to teach me the Harlan Clan’s combat methods. She was much kinder to me than I had expected.

She treated me completely as her nephew. Honestly, I never thought she would treat someone like me—who was practically a stranger—this way.

As I started to feel the bonds of ‘family,’ something I had practically forgotten, an unfamiliar warmth began to grow inside me. And I began to like this village.

Contrary to the frightening rumors of them being battle maniacs, the warriors of the Harlan Clan were all simple and kind-hearted people.

“You don’t dodge at that point—you throw a punch!”

“Huff… Huff…”

“Let’s stop here for now.”

“Yes.”

I collapsed onto the ground.

Then, my aunt laid down next to me.

A cool breeze blew past.

“Nephew.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t you want to be the next chieftain?”

“……”

“Just kidding.”

Of course, I knew it wasn’t a joke.

She had said similar “jokes” several times over the past few days. But unfortunately for her, I had no intention of doing that. I did like this village, but what I sought was not the chieftainship of the Harlan Clan, but the position of Patriarch of Winterbell.

“I’m going to become the head of the family.”

“Sure, sure. My dear nephew’s got such ambitious dreams.”

“……”

“Aren’t you scared or disgusted by that family? The ones who probably turned your body into what it is now are your own brothers. No matter how much your mom and I fought when we were young, we never took it that far.”

“I’m neither scared nor disgusted.”

“Then what?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“Yes. I’m not sure what I feel.”

“…Is that so? You’ve been through a lot too.”

“Yeah.”

We silently stared up at the sky.

Until just recently, I didn’t even know my aunt existed. And now, being with her didn’t feel awkward anymore.

She was strong, just as one would expect from the daughter of the Harlan Clan’s chieftain.

And she was beautiful.

The warmth of family that I hadn’t felt in a long time was so sweet that it almost made me want to stay.

But…

I knew better than anyone that this sweetness was nothing more than a fleeting temptation.

I had to leave.

I had to become the Patriarch.

I had to take revenge.

That’s why—

I was just enjoying this moment.

With that thought, I closed my eyes. Maybe it was because of the cool breeze, but sleepiness washed over me.

A short nap should be fine.

My aunt would wake me up anyway.

But… why does my throat feel tight?

I can’t breathe properly. It feels like I’m underwater.

Am I having a dream?

No…

It felt like my consciousness was slowly sinking.

At this rate, I’d lose consciousness—so I fought with all my strength to open my eyes. But even then, I couldn’t breathe.

…This isn’t a dream.

…This is real.

I still couldn’t breathe.

Because someone was pressing tightly against my throat.

“…Aunt?”

Why was my aunt strangling me?