The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 44



Only Krnovel

Episode 44

I’m back.

To a miserable living environment.

I sat on the bench and caught my breath.

“Why did you bring me here?”

I asked the bird next to me. Then I got an answer.

“You are being deceived.”

It was Twella.

“I didn’t ask you.”

“Quilvian, Quill! Please come to your senses. Would a trained bird have brought you here for no reason? Why would he keep throwing apples at you? Huh? I fed it, so that it could grow and be eaten.”

“Like you?”

The hallucinations disappeared.

Actually, that wasn’t a wrong statement. This is the realm of goblins. It’s where monsters that prey on humans, no, naks, live.

“Come out now. If you’re going to eat me, eat it now. Stop playing with me.”

My strength was completely drained.

I didn’t even feel like resisting.

Even when his eyes were clear and Nak was moving, he couldn’t kill Hwang Hyung.

When a blind man meets a goblin, the only thing that awaits him is death.

“Is playing with others your hobby? Then do that.”

I headed towards the Friendship House, tapping the ground with a stick. Even though my eyesight was gone, I had no trouble finding it.

I entered through the wide open entrance.

One, two, three, four.

I turned to the left, calculating my stride.

The room I shared with Drich.

I pushed the doorknob and opened the closed door.

It smells familiar.

“You’re fine.”

It’s only been about a month, so it’s natural that nothing has changed. It feels like several years have passed, though.

I lay down on the bed. I covered myself with a soft blanket and all the tension disappeared.

There might be a goblin grinning outside the window, but that didn’t matter.

The comfort I’m enjoying after a long time is just nice.

“If you’re going to kill me, kill me while I’m sleeping. I can do that much.”

I laid my head on the pillow.

Sleep came to me in an instant.

*

I came to my senses while rubbing the back of my neck.

Still alive.

I felt a movement next to me, and when I reached out, I felt a stiff feather.

“It’s you.”

I fiddled with the bird’s head.

Whose orders led me here?

If it was a quick-tempered goblin, it would have eaten it as soon as it saw it. But since it’s a forward-looking goblin, is it waiting until it gains weight?

Quillvian closed his eyes and turned his consciousness inward. Nak, who had been moving freely like flowing water, was still stiff like sap exposed to sunlight.

“Maybe that’s why Nak is not worth eating.”

Or maybe the bird’s owner is human.

If a person had both vigilance and consideration, then this series of actions would be understandable.

It might be dangerous to approach them, so we observed them from a distance and only gave them new food. If we brought them here to solve their housing problem, then it makes sense.

Quillvian chuckled.

Have you ever been lucky in your life?

Looking back, I’ve never been lucky; I’ve only survived because my life was tight.

A caring but timid person helping you from afar?

That’s ridiculous.

“No matter what, my life is in your hands.”

He said this while holding the bird, his only source of warmth.

Survive.

The vague goal has been achieved to some extent. Even though my life is in danger, I am still alive now.

What should I do now?

Hope was out of reach. No matter what I did, I would end up in a bad situation.

So, rather than being ridiculed to death, wouldn’t it be better to end my life here and now?

Quilbian stroked the back of his neck and shook his head.

I could do anything else, but I couldn’t do anything but strangle myself to death with my own hands.

No, I didn’t want to do it.

Even if it’s frustrating to have to barely survive, I won’t commit suicide.

He came out holding a stick.

Let’s achieve one goal a day.

First, create the surrounding environment.

Even when working in a pig farm, creating an environment was the most important. By optimizing the movement path and increasing work efficiency, I was able to avoid being hit by the owner less and secure time to rest.

First, we will move with the Friendship House as the center.

I moved my feet, tracing my memories.

There were all sorts of things together in the cleaning supplies storage room. Quilbian carefully opened the door that seemed to be the storage room.

A place I frequented as often as my bedroom.

I could tell by the musty smell.

I felt around with my hands to find the object.

It was definitely on the right.

After rummaging through the shelves, I finally found the rope. I carefully unrolled the bundle, feeling its rough texture.

It was quite heavy.

I brought the rope into the bedroom. I cut it with the sickle I brought with me.

“Ah, shit.”

It was quite a struggle to control his strength without being seen. Quilbian put down the sickle and rope and felt his palms.

Between my index and middle fingers, a thick piece of flesh was torn. I applied saliva to the painful wound.

Fortunately, I had no trouble moving my fingers.

I continued working again.

The five strands that made up the thick rope were untied and then connected again into one long rope.

The work continued for several days.

I ate, slept, tied ropes in the bedroom, and went out to relieve myself.

After about ten days, it felt like a very long rope had been completed. It was flimsy compared to a rope made by twisting a rope, but it was okay for a boundary line.

I went outside holding the rope.

After wrapping the end of the rope around the front door of the friendship house, I moved.

Love, friendship, sincerity, gratitude.

The four main gates were connected with a rope.

Returning to the Friendship House, Quilbian put down the stick and tried walking along the rope. The strength was pretty good and there was no problem pulling it.

Since the string is left with enough slack in the middle to touch the floor, it won’t break due to the wind.

I went around each dormitory and looked for useful items.

A change of clothes, blankets, and various fabrics and tools necessary for daily life.

The only good thing was that the area inside the room was neither cold nor hot.

If it were outside, where there are seasons, I would have frozen to death in the winter.

“… … I held on today too.”

Quillvian collapsed on the bed, catching his breath.

I’m spending my time diligently.

Of course, after finishing a task, instead of feeling satisfied, I felt a sense of doubt. What on earth is the point of this?

At times like that, I stopped thinking and moved my body.

The owner told me.

– When you start to have a lot of distracting thoughts, move your body. That’s better. Complaining won’t change your situation.

It was a shitty thing to say, but it also helped.

Anyway, it’s true that I’m holding on thanks to the owner’s advice, which isn’t really advice.

“Did your master say anything today?”

I spoke to the bird that was watching from the side. The bird gave a short “beep” and disappeared through the window.

“Okay, go, go. I’m going to sleep.”

Before falling asleep, I felt the wall with a sharp stone. I could feel scratches on my fingertips.

I scratched the wall with a stone.

Druk.

Another day has ended.

*

“It’s better not to skip breakfast.”

As soon as I woke up, I heard a disgusting voice.

Quilbian sat up with a dry cough.

“Look. When you don’t eat on time, your body sends you a warning.”

Twella whispered in my ear.

“Aren’t you even going to respond now? Can you hear me?”

“What do you want me to say?”

“well.”

“If you don’t know, then get out of here. It’s just a fantasy that I created anyway. Whatever you say, it’s something that came out of my head. You can only say things that I know.”

“Is that really so?”

“Crazy bitch. No, crazy guy.”

I munched on the apple the bird had brought me and went outside.

One, two, three, four. It’s about here.

As I poked at the front with a stick, I felt warmth along with a pungent smell.

It was a fire that had been lit last night. If you had been able to see, you would have seen the faint embers of the firewood.

I put on my gloves and felt around.

I felt a large container. I felt around the surface to find the lid. I opened it slightly and a gust of heat shot out.

I poked the inside of the container with the skewer I brought with me. Something went in with a pop.

The delicious smell made me smile.

There was a hint of carbonation, but it was okay.

The first time I steamed potatoes, they burned like charcoal and I couldn’t eat them.

I split a hot potato and placed half of it aside. A bird flew in from somewhere.

“Is it delicious?”

I wonder how they eat and what kind of bird they are, but I can’t see, so what can I do?

“But why do you grow so fast?”

Quillbian ran his hand down the bird beside him from head to tail.

When I first met him, I think he was about 30cm tall, but now he seems to be over 40cm tall.

Well, pigs also wake up bigger after sleeping.

I thought, “I guess that’s just how animals are,” and let it go.

“The potatoes are delicious. Do you want some?”

He shouted in a booming voice.

I wish that anyone, whether they were watching or goblins, would come and talk to me now.

I’ve been thinking about this lately too.

I’d like to talk to you, even if it means eating you.

Shouts were heard throughout the waiting room, but there was no answer.

I ate the potatoes and stuffed the unnamed vegetables the bird had brought into my mouth.

I returned to the bedroom and touched the wall next to the bed.

Countless scratches brush past my fingertips.

“It’s already been three months.”

A hollow laugh came out.

You’re really holding on tenaciously.

I sat on the edge of the bed and made a vow. It was a daily, unfailing check-up.

Nak is still stiff today.

He giggled and muttered as he grabbed the sharp stone that he kept by his bedside while he slept.

And then I threw it towards the window.

Thud, there was a sound of a stone hitting a wall.

“Ahhhhh! You little shits! Come out, come out! Stop watching and come out! Kill me, eat me, pull out the seeds! Come out, do whatever you want with me!”

He screamed, clutching his head.

“Wow, you did a good job. But it’s a shame. If you had thrown it just a little to the left, the window would have broken. Ah! Can’t you see ahead? Hehe.”

Twella’s voice was heard through the screams.

“Why don’t you just die? You’ve done enough. Poor Quill, poor Quill. Quill who was abandoned by me.”

Quilbian waved both hands. It felt like the illusions his brain had created were being caught in his hands.

He grabbed her by the neck and shook her mercilessly.

Die, please die!

“You idiot. Do you think I’ll die just because of that?”

The scattered Twelas laughed loudly and gradually faded away.

Quillvian knelt down and bowed his head to the floor.

“Please, anyone… … .”

It was when I was curled up and sobbing.

My keen hearing picked up the sound of footsteps.

I thought it was an auditory hallucination, so I raised my head and focused.

The sound of footsteps on twisted wooden planks was getting closer.

It’s not an auditory hallucination, there’s something out there.

Quilbian got up in a hurry, but his feet got tangled and he fell down. He crawled to the door, supporting himself with his numb wrists.

“I don’t know who you are, but please talk to me!”

I went out the door shouting in case she disappeared.

I feel a presence.

There was something right in front of my nose.

Is it an animal? A goblin? Or a person?

“Anyone, please answer. Isn’t this a fantasy? Over there, over there!”

It was time to speak into the pitch-black darkness.

“It took some time, but you’re still alive.”

A deep voice came from the other side.

(Continued in next episode)