I walked toward that place as if possessed.
“Did you find something?”
Brownie, who had quickly followed after me, chattered.
“Look at this.”
What I found was a structure that looked like someone had deliberately built it.
Stones had been gathered and stacked in a circle, and a long wooden pole had been stuck into the center.
And a single pendant necklace hanging from the end of the pole.
That was the very thing that had caught my eye earlier by reflecting the light.
‘Doesn’t this look exactly… like a grave?’
It was eerie for a moment, but the careful, loving touch felt throughout the grave soon softened my heart.
“What a bizarre structure. Why on earth do humans build things like this?”
Brownie grumbled as it circled around the pole.
I deliberately didn’t tell Brownie my guess.
The moment it heard the word grave, it was obvious it would immediately dig it up to find the head.
Instead, I carefully reached for the pendant.
“It looks like it can be opened. It’s heavily rusted from being exposed outside for so long.”
Keeping the necklace still hooked on the pole, I gently undid the clasp and opened the lid.
Then the photo the pendant had been carefully holding was revealed.
Two young children with their arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling.
One of their faces was especially familiar.
“Teon?”
“Why are you looking for that cheeky brat?”
Brownie didn’t particularly like Teon.
The childish reasons being that he was Ragner’s younger brother, and that he had taken back all the wooden swords we had looted. Of course, it did seem to dislike Ragner even more.
That side was a former hero, and we were on the Demon King’s team, so I understood Brownie having an instinctive hostility.
“The boy in this photo looks like Teon.”
When I showed Brownie the photo inside the pendant so it could see, it tilted its head.
“Doesn’t he look more like that guy than the kid? The unmotivated one. What was it called? Right. Dead fish eyes, was it? Though his eyes are sparkling here.”
I’m once again reminded that I really need to watch my mouth around Brownie.
Where on earth did it pick up words like that!?
I had once said that the monsters looked like they had dead fish eyes after receiving intense training from Ruadis and being mentally drained, and it seemed Brownie had picked that up verbatim.
“He looks more like Ragner? Come to think of it… you’re right? Well, of course. They’re brothers, so their faces are bound to resemble each other.”
Judging by the sense of age from the pendant, the person in the photo was more likely Ragner than Teon.
“Then who’s the other one? Ragner’s friend? Huh! Then is this… a friend’s grave?”
He was making a mischievous smile, but his hair was a bit long and his face was delicate, making his gender ambiguous. It was even harder to tell because the photo was heavily weathered.
“What!? A grave?”
“Oops.”
I covered my mouth at the word that had slipped out unconsciously, but it was already too late.
“Then the Dullahan’s head might be inside this! What are you doing? We need to dig it up right now!”
“Stop! That’s disrespectful to the dead. And it might even be Ragner’s friend’s grave—we can’t just damage it however we want!”
“Why not? What kind of manners do you show to the dead? You really say the funniest things sometimes.”
Coming from a country where people honor the dead with ancestral rites on memorial days, Brownie’s reaction was what struck me as absurd.
“Anyway, no. Listen carefully. If you damage a grave, something terrible will happen.”
“Something terrible? Hmph! Do you think I’m afraid?”
“What if Ragner gets angry and destroys our dungeon?”
“…….”
Perhaps the mere thought was frightening, because it clamped its mouth shut and became sullen.
Brownie talked big behind Ragner’s back, but in reality, it was quite afraid of him.
Every time it received Ragner’s gaze, it would hide in my hair and tremble.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
“The head? We need to bring the employee! Why are you giving up already? No! Chihuahua, let’s search a little more. Just one more time! Please?”
Brownie threw a tantrum, refusing to go back, and kept tugging at my clothes.
“That’s right. Why don’t we search for one more hour?”
The fire fairy, wanting to earn more money, subtly chimed in.
“We’ve already searched all around the patrol route. I also think the owner of the grave might be connected to the Dullahan.”
I had followed the Dullahan around and searched the forest diligently. But I hadn’t found anything.
If the head were lying on the ground, the Dullahan would surely have found it.
Even without eyes, it could easily trip over it with its hands and feet.
Besides, being consumed by such a strong desire to reclaim its head, it wouldn’t have wandered this long.
So the Dullahan’s head was clearly hidden or buried somewhere.
And the only suspicious thing around here was this grave before my eyes.
Circumstantially, the probability of it being inside that grave was the highest.
“So right now….”
“I think it’s better to talk to Ragner first.”
“Then he’ll obviously try to stop us from taking the head!? Chihuahua, think wisely!”
…Honestly, I wasn’t sure talking to Ragner was the better choice either.
‘Your dead friend seems to have become a monster and is wandering around.’
No matter how battle-hardened a hero he is, how could I say something like that to his face?
It was a statement that would leave me with no room to argue if he accused me of insulting his friend and dragged me to the temple.
And if I went further and asked if I could dig up the grave to find the severed head because I wanted to bring it to our dungeon as an employee?
Instead of the training ground’s wooden dummies, my own body would personally verify just how excellent Ragner’s swordsmanship was.
“Mmm….”
My head grew complicated, and I pressed my forehead.
“Let’s go back. I’m tired from wandering all day.”
“Can’t we just pretend not to know and dig a little? I’ll restore it so no one notices.”
Only after grabbing the unrelenting Brownie and stuffing it in my pocket could I quietly return to the dungeon.
* * *
“I need to talk to him, but… where should I find him?”
Having been advised to keep my distance from Ragner, it had been quite comfortable these past few days since he hadn’t shown himself on his own.
But now something had come up that meant I absolutely had to meet him.
I was at a loss as to how to contact him. If only I could send a text message at times like this, how convenient would that be?
“Ah, Teon goes to the training ground every day, so should I go ask him?”
But the time my part-time job ended and the time the training ground’s classes ended overlapped awkwardly.
She said young children like Teon tended to go home early, so even if I ran to the training ground right after work, there was a chance I’d miss him.
“Choi, what’s troubling you?”
The older woman, who had suddenly leaned her upper body over the serving counter and propped her arms on it, spoke to me.
“Ah, ma’am. It’s nothing. Is the food ready?”
“It’s still baking in the oven, so you just need to wait a little longer. So what’s the matter?”
“Um… well, Ragner… you know him, right?”
“Is there anyone in this village who doesn’t know Ragner?”
Right. If you don’t know him, you’re a spy.
“Yes, that’s right…. I want to get in contact with him, but I’m not sure how….”
Suddenly, a subtle smile appeared on the older woman’s face as she looked at me.
What on earth was that expression…?
“Come to think of it, Ragner hasn’t been to our restaurant lately. He used to come at least twice a week.”
A child, she says. Having watched him since he was young, can she really call that huge frame a child…?
“A pretty young lady is waiting endlessly, and he’s so heartless. That boy has no sense.”
“Eek! No, it’s not like that! It’s really not! I just have something to ask him for work!”
Ah… I belatedly realized the identity of the subtle smile that had bloomed on the older woman’s face.
It was exactly the face my mother made every weekend while watching her dramas.
“Is that so? Well, if you say it’s not, then it’s not.”
The look that said it didn’t believe me at all but would pretend to, made cold sweat run down my back.
If I showed even the slightest opening, I would clearly become a little source of amusement in the elder’s dull daily life.
“Oh, right. The place where I heard Ragner has been seen often lately… yes, the temple.”
I flinched in surprise at the word temple.
Wow, just hearing the word makes my body react on its own. I’ve really become part of the Demon King’s team now.
“It seems he’s been helping with the temple construction. You might not know, Choi, but a Leta temple is scheduled to be built north of our village. If you need to meet him, why not try there?”
“I see. The temple….”
I should give up.
Even if it takes a little longer, I should ask Ruadis to arrange a meeting with Ragner.
Of course, dealing with a whining Brownie in the meantime would be entirely my responsibility.
“Choi, this is for table 4.”
Just as I had reached that conclusion and turned to serve the dish that had just come up on the serving counter—
Speak of the tiger and it appears. Or rather, should I say, speak of the nobleman and he cannot be left out?
Ragner opened the restaurant door and walked in.
