The Stupid Devil’s Slave’s Travelogue

Chapter 10. Lee Soo 1

The wolf ran tirelessly, showing no regard for my situation.

After my shoulder was severely scratched by a tree branch, I had no choice but to crouch down and cover my face to avoid further injury.

‘I need to memorize the way back!’

Because of this, I could barely see where we were going or how we were moving.

Even if I could see, it wouldn’t have been of much use.

The wolf had been running through the dark, dense jungle for hours.

Even the wolf, which had been running like a horse, eventually grew tired.

Her white fur was stained red with blood.

It was strange that she wasn’t exhausted, despite still bleeding.

Finally, she put me down in a suitable clearing.

Thud!

The wolf threw down the sack she had been carrying.

Like the wolf, blood seeped slowly from the sack.

‘…I won’t end up like that, right?’

I felt an irrational fear.

The wolf pulled the Terup’s body out of the sack and started tearing into it.

Even though it looked no different from a human.

The meat in the wolf’s mouth stretched long before finally reaching its breaking point.

Judging by its meal, it seemed the wolf intended to rest here for a while.

Naturally, I observed the wolf.

A Beastfolk, no different from a human, eating another Beastfolk.

Cognitive dissonance surged, and my thoughts began to float aimlessly.

Everything felt like an exaggerated performance.

“…Does that taste good?”

Before I knew it, I found myself speaking to her.

Her blue eyes turned to me, but there was no reply.

Recently, the rain had soaked the ground, making it quite cold.

Even the warm blood flowing from the wolf’s body had cooled and now felt cold.

“…It’s really cold. Is it alright if I make a fire?”

“Hmph. You’re trying some cheap trick.”

The wolf’s contemptuous eyes frightened me.

“…I’m really cold.”

“Fine. Do as you wish. Your father will never be able to chase me anyway.”

‘You’re allowing it? Aren’t you worried it could be used as a signal fire?’

The wolf sat down, chewing on meat, showing no interest.

“I need to lay down bark, but I can’t peel it with my bare hands. Could you lend me a knife?”

Swish! Thunk!

The wolf casually tossed a knife, and it stuck in the ground.

I grabbed the dagger embedded like Excalibur with both hands.

Like the curved sword at my waist, the dagger also resembled a kukri.

‘Who throws a knife like that?!’

I wanted to curse at it for being out of its mind, but doing so would probably turn me into pieces like Terup.

If I got eaten, I’d be sliced up and my liver would be devoured first.

I wasn’t sure if my trembling was from the cold or sheer terror.

‘Don’t look over there.’

The forest was full of fallen and rotting trees.

Even after the rain, you could find kindling by peeling the bark off fallen trees.

I was gathering bark for kindling when I noticed a cluster of mushrooms.

Most were inedible, but there were some that were safe to eat. I also found an abandoned bird’s nest filled with down feathers, which I took.

Unfortunately, the nest itself was too wet to use.

However, the water-resistant down feathers made excellent tinder. I also gathered any herbs or edible berries I came across.

Bzzzz―!

‘The mosquitoes are starting to swarm.’

Unlike the cunning mosquitoes on Earth, these were large and aggressive, swarming to suck blood immediately.

They were big, and their bites were potent enough to kill livestock.

I’d read about reindeer in Alaska dying from anemia due to excessive mosquito bites, but I never thought I’d experience it myself.

Being without a top, I was completely defenseless against the mosquitoes.

Moreover, the humid night after the rain was quite cold.

‘I have to light a fire no matter what.’

Due to the high humidity, most of the wood I gathered was damp.

Thus, I had to gather plenty of kindling.

By the time I was ready, the moon had risen high and was starting to descend.

The bright full moon in the clear sky was exceptionally bright.

In any case, I skewered the mushrooms I had gathered onto straight sticks.

“Thanks for letting me use the knife.”

I respectfully held the knife’s handle with both hands and handed it over.

It felt like it had taken two hours to get back.

The wolf looked at me with a complicated expression.

After returning the dagger, I began lighting the fire in a primitive manner.

As I rubbed the sticks together, the cuts on my hands from the knife stung sharply.

‘…If I leave this, it’s going to fester, isn’t it?’

“Do you really think you can light a fire in this damp weather?”

The wolf glanced at me.

“Yes, it’ll light.”

With a hand drill, you can start a fire quickly without losing heat if you hold it properly and spin it correctly. If I had a bow, I wouldn’t need to use both hands and could’ve done it with a bow drill…

When I was young, I went on summer trips to the valley with my family.

I always thought my father looked so cool when he started fires.

After imitating him countless times, I became quite proficient with a hand drill.

‘Who knew this useless skill would come in handy.’

You never know what life will throw at you.

The wolf stared blankly at the smoking kindling.

The embers were wrapped around a bird feather and placed in a slice of wood, which was sliced into strips and then held by hand to light it.

The humidity made it a 50/50 chance, but fortunately, the fire caught.

I laid small branches first.

Once the fire grew strong enough, I threw in the rotting wood I had gathered.

I chose only the mushrooms I often ate at home, leaving the rare ones behind.

When the fire was strong enough, I grilled the mushrooms and chewed on some herbs, applying them to my wound.

“Grrrk…?!”

The alkaline herbal disinfectant burned fiercely in the wound!

‘I can’t scream! If I scream, I might die!’

I clenched my teeth and stifled my screams.

The Mountain Lord wife didn’t seem to feel pain, so why does it hurt so much for me…?!

The wolf, perhaps also feeling the cold, approached the fire and sat down.

Thud!

“Why didn’t you try to escape?”

The wolf, sitting by the fire, asked without even looking at me.

The wolf illuminated by the fire looked terrible.

There wasn’t a spot on it that wasn’t soaked in blood.

“How would I even know where to go?”

“I won’t take you back home.”

Of course, being told this so definitively made me feel small.

But strangely, I didn’t feel tense.

It was because of the humanity the wolf had shown.

It had come to the mountain seeking vengeance for its tribe and had shown me the courtesy of allowing me time for final words.

The same was true during the battle.

It held a knife to my throat for hours, but only kept us in a standoff.

It never tried to use me to turn the tide in its favor.

Maybe it never intended to kill me in the first place?

‘After all, the wolf is just another kind of Beastfolk.’

Maybe I was the one with preconceived notions about the wolf.

I had more reasons to think so.

‘Who lends a knife to a potential threat?’

Moreover, the wolf knew this campfire could serve as a signal fire.

The wolf pulled the Terup’s leg from the sack and tossed it into the fire.

The fire blazed─!

“Eat.”

“….”

‘This is crossing the line.’

Eat human meat?

Could that even cook properly over this small fire?

Before the fire went out, I quickly pulled Terup’s leg off to the side.

“…Humans can’t eat raw meat.”

The wolf lay comfortably in front of the fire, resting its chin while gazing up at me.

“Why can’t humans eat raw meat?”

“…”

Absolutely speechless.

This creature, which looked just like a human, casually asked why humans couldn’t eat raw meat.

I was left completely at a loss for words.

“Because the organs inside are not suited for digesting raw meat.”

The wolf scoffed.

“So, if you cook meat, does it turn into vegetables?”

Wow, where did this idiot come from?!

…No, that’s not it.

This world doesn’t have advanced science yet.

Maybe it was just a joke. It’s the kind of thing someone might say as a joke.

“Cooking meat makes it easier to digest, so humans can eat it.”

“The Hosot who only eat meat cooked on a fire grow weak. Most of us just burn off the fur before eating. You’ll catch some disease soon enough.”

‘…I’m not a Hosot.’

But it was understandable to be confused.

After all, this wolf also looked human.

“Yes. Eating only cooked meat can weaken the body. Humans get the other nutrients they need from vegetables and fruits.”

I hoped desperately that it wouldn’t ask any more questions.

I don’t even know exactly what’s broken down and what’s replenished.

That’s about the limit of my little bit of knowledge.

“And raw meat often contains parasites.”

I tossed out another comment instead.

But all I got back was the wolf’s sneering laughter.

“Parasites? Seems like humans don’t even have dewormers.”

…Honestly, I find it more surprising that such a world has dewormers.

I quietly chewed on the mushroom, trying not to make any smacking sounds.

It tasted bland since it wasn’t salted.

The fire wasn’t ideal for roasting, and the smoky taste wasn’t the best, but grilled mushrooms still tasted good.

Before I knew it, the Mountain Lord’s meat was not just cooked but charred.

I had no interest in cannibalism, but the wolf kept glancing at the meat.

It was implicitly pressuring me to eat it.

‘…If I don’t eat it, I might be screwed.’

In the end, I had to speak up first.

“The meat is burning.”

“Leave it.”

“…Can I borrow the knife?”

Maybe because I was close by this time, it didn’t throw it.

I first scored the meat on the Terup’s leg.

Then, I cut off the foot, where there wasn’t much flesh.

I gripped the ankle bone and roasted the human flesh.

The dignity of humanity fiercely stabbed my brain and delivered a soccer kick to my heart.

‘I’m roasting a human calf over a fire!’

I wanted to throw it away immediately, but I held back.

I took care to cook it until the surface was charred.

I peeled off the skin and discarded it.

I just wanted to pretend to eat, but the wolf’s gaze didn’t waver.

In the end, I had to put the human leg into my mouth.

Well, it tasted surprisingly good.

My stomach and my tolerance, built from eating roasted grubs, held strong.

After eating a couple of pieces, I felt nausea rising.

Of course, that Terup was an Beastfolk, but still, they are the same kind.

‘We’re both people…!’

I reluctantly offered the meat to the wolf.

“There’s no salt or spices… I just roasted it, but it tastes good.”

“Only children like roasted meat.”

‘No. I can’t eat any more of this. Please!’

“There’s nothing as pure as a child’s taste, you know?”

I kept holding it out until it accepted.

The wolf glanced elsewhere, but eventually took the meat reluctantly. After tasting it, she devoured the rest like a hungry beast.

“I hate roasted meat because it gets stuck in my teeth.”

Then it casually tossed the leg bone aside with a dismissive snort.

…She ate everything and then complained.

“I hate that too.”

At least I was relieved.

It seemed I hadn’t made a bad impression.

With that thought, my tension eased.

I responded to the wolf’s occasional comments and continued eating mushrooms.

The wolf’s body, still covered in blood, came into view.

Blood dripped from its open wounds.

‘If a human had wounds like that, they’d have died ages ago.’

The wolf itself seemed unconcerned with its condition, picking at its teeth with its claws.

“…What will you do with me?”

“I took you because of your father, but I’m not sure what to do with you.”

The wolf flicked away the meat stuck between its teeth and looked at me.

“Your father is the real deal. I’ve never seen anything like him.”

This was the same wolf that killed and dismembered the Terup.

It was like a tiger complimenting a puppy.

After witnessing the wolf’s overwhelming physical abilities and savagery, the praise for my father sounded insincere.

“…My father?”

“Smell, sound, presence. I don’t feel any of it. It’s not visible either. Maybe even now there’s an arrow aimed at the back of my head. If it wasn’t me, even if there were other males wolves, they would’ve been dead.”

The Hosot have an incredible sense of smell.

In fact, the wolf accurately found me and Terup even when the wind direction changed slightly from dozens of meters away.

That such a wolf couldn’t pick up a scent was certainly strange.

‘Why couldn’t she find him?’

The wolf chuckled wryly and shook her head.

“It was like being haunted by a ghost. If Draconia had cast a spell, it’d make sense. But your father is just a human.”

Pangaea is similar to Earth but also quite different.

One major difference is magic.

However, magic is strictly the power of dragons and Draconia.

Neither my father nor I, as mere humans, could learn it.

“We’re just humans.”

“If he deceived me without magic, then your father is a human more mysterious than magic.”

Why are you treating my father like some kind of monster?

Is this supposed to be flattery?

I popped the last mushroom into my mouth.

“Are you planning to sleep here?”

“That’s the idea. If your father is really human, there’s no way he’ll catch up tonight.”

‘…What’s going to happen to me?’

My future seemed as dark as the pitch-black night sky.

Still, the night sky isn’t always completely dark.

“…Sigh.”

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh at my pathetic self-comfort.