The Stupid Devil’s Slave’s Travelogue

Chapter 13. Lee Soo 4.

“There really was a river here.”

“Hurry up and rinse off. It’ll damage your skin.”

The elf finished her business and disappeared somewhere without a trace.

Afterward, we headed toward a nearby river first.

That was because both of us looked like a mess.

The water source was surprisingly close.

When viewed from the tree, I thought there was no water source around, but it turned out to be so close that I hadn’t noticed it.

I wasn’t sure if I could call this stream, which barely reached my waist, a river, but I just accepted it, thinking that rivers in Korea were unusually wide.

I washed off thoroughly in the water.

Ahead, a blood-soaked wolf was sitting on a rock, wiping blood off her armor.

Her blue eyes stared at me quietly.

However, even when our eyes met, she didn’t look away.

‘Why is she staring?’

The wolf soon entered the water with her armor, sat down with a thud, and started shaking the armor with her hands.

The amount of blood coming out was so much that the stream turned red.

Anyone would think a murder had taken place.

“So, what should I call you?”

The wolf, who was flipping her shattered armor back and forth to clean it, glanced at me.

“What? Me?”

“Yes.”

“Seollang.”

Snow Wolf.

A name that matched her appearance.

Except for the fact that it never snows here all year round.

“Seollang, should I call you Master Seollang?”

“Do you want to die?”

The wolf furrowed her brow.

I found that look quite amusing.

“What a pretentious title. Just tell me your name.”

I had no choice but to make a clumsy excuse.

The wolf stared at me for a while and eventually spoke.

“Jwyul.”

‘…What kind of name is that?’

It sounded like the name of a Confucian scholar from the Joseon Dynasty.

Jwyul-nim, Jwyul-nim, Jwyul-nim.

After mimicking the name ten times with just my lips, it felt like my lips were cramping.

“The pronunciation is hard, so can I just call you Jule?”

“Call me Seollang!”

Jule slapped the water with her open hand.

Splash!

I was hit by the water slap, and it felt like being struck by a club.

Unable to withstand even a splash, I fell into the stream.

Lying in the water, I gazed at the fractured sunlight.

‘She doesn’t seem like a bad person after all.’

At least, for now, she didn’t.

From this point on, I’m stepping into a new world.

From the moment I set foot in this river, I’m heading toward a world I’ve never experienced before.

But strangely, I didn’t feel any sense of danger.

I didn’t know why Jule was being friendly to me.

But after that, I could comfortably interact with Jule too.

Jule seemed to show goodwill toward me.

Enough that I could give her a nickname like this.

Maybe it was because I looked like a child, and she let her guard down.

‘But why did she suddenly change her mind?’

Yesterday, she was trying to get rid of me, and today, she’s saying I’m her.

“Ha! Are you trying to kill me?!”

“…Fine. When we’re alone, call me Jule. But when others are around, call me Seollang.”

As I stood up, dripping wet, Jule was grinning.

—That sight confirmed it for me.

It was not the typical posture a master would show to a slave.

There was no sign of her trying to establish a hierarchy.

‘Respect boundaries and listen to advice.’

My father once said that the conflict between humans and southern Beastfolk had been ongoing for over a century, so the discrimination I would face would be severe.

‘…There will probably be skinhead types too.’

Jule was my only ally, the scary wolf.

I felt an intense curiosity about Jule.

‘Who exactly is she?’

The fact that Jule had an impressive nickname beyond her real name suggested she might hold a high position.

She’s the one who defeated the Mountain Lord, who even fights Ogres, single-handedly.

Moreover, she had taken action for the sake of avenging the tribe.

If Jule was someone of high status, then as her slave, my position would also be somewhat guaranteed.

If you’re going to work as a servant, better do it in a noble household, right?

So I cautiously asked.

“Jule, are you well-regarded?”

Jule tilted her head.

“What? Well-regarded? I don’t get what you mean.”

“You know, like a village chief or something.”

“Ah, the chief is Heukrang. She’s recognized by everyone as the chief.”

“…Heukrang?”

I needed to understand the personality of the Beastfolk called Hosotte.

Considering Jule’s nickname, perhaps Heukrang was just someone with black hair.

“Is Heukrang’s hair black?”

“Yeah.”

So maybe they aren’t extraordinary people; perhaps they just give nicknames based on colors?

Hosotte might just be easygoing people.

“Do you give nicknames based on hair color? Like Geumrang, Hwangrang, Nokrang, Jeokrang… something like that?”

“You’re nuts. You’re saying exactly what my nephew used to say.”

So that’s not it?

Jule chuckled as if tickled by the memory.

‘That wasn’t even a funny joke.’

But I tend to like people who laugh easily.

Laughter is contagious, after all.

Jule’s tail swayed gently.

“Heukrang is wise. Following Heukrang’s words has never caused harm.”

Judging by her expression, it didn’t seem like she was just saying it out of formality.

They seemed to be on good terms.

“She seems like a good person.”

“She’s also my lovely little sister.”

“…..!”

Perfect! It seems like she really is someone significant!

I felt as if a small ray of light was shining on my path.

The scab on my hand had softened in the water and fell off, causing the wound to bleed.

Now that I think about it, what about Jule’s wounds?

They were far deeper than mine.

“Are your wounds okay?”

“They’re probably all healed by now.”

It’s only been half a day since she got hurt.

“Let me check your wounds.”

There’s no way her wounds could have healed already.

This woman’s neck was practically shredded, wasn’t it?

I approached and examined Jule’s neck as she sat on the rock.

“…?”

Her bronze-tinted skin, cleaned of blood, showed no trace of a wound.

Not even a scar.

‘How is this even possible?’

“Do all Hosotte heal wounds this quickly?”

“I’m protected by my ancestors’ spirit.”

Ancestors’ spirit?

That was impossible.

They reincarnate when they die.

Jule’s ancestors would have reincarnated a long time ago.

“How long does it take other Hosotte to heal wounds?”

“About a week to a month. I’m the only one who heals in a day.”

Wounds don’t heal this fast.

The body isn’t like a lizard’s tail designed to be cut off.

But the results were right in front of my eyes.

“How is this even possible?”

“My ancestors are watching over me.”

It was something I should believe, but it was hard to trust her words.

But the results were just as she said.

My head was too confused, so I roughly pushed my thoughts aside and continued to wipe off the ash clinging to me.

Jule, too, finished cleaning the blood from her hair and stepped out of the stream.

‘…She really looks human.’

But she wasn’t human.

First of all, the muscle mass that even a woman’s higher fat content couldn’t easily conceal.

It was healthy-looking now, but I bet if she lost just a little fat, she’d look like a bodybuilder.

Her skin was tanned brown.

She shook off her long silver hair that cascaded down to her waist, dried it, and loosely tied it in a ponytail before putting on her armor.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

We quickly finished our preparations to depart.

Lastly, I drank water until my belly was full.

Just as I was about to follow Jule’s lead.

As soon as I took a step, a steep slope appeared.

My head was spinning just looking at it.

“…How much further do we have to go?”

“About two days?”

“Really? That’s closer than I thought.”

“If we go together, it’ll take over a week.”

…Camp out like yesterday for a whole week?

I could almost hear the faint buzzing of mosquitoes around my ears already.

“I got this earlier. I heard salt is essential for humans.”

Jule shook a fairly large salt container.

Salt is a valuable commodity.

To give away that much of it…

“Yes. Could you give me some salt?”

“To eat?”

“I need to brush my teeth.”

“You’re wasting salt on brushing your teeth?”

Come to think of it, the teeth of animals like wolves or cats don’t rot even if their gums do. I was envious of those white fangs.

If humans could have teeth like that, all dentists would be out of business.

“If humans don’t brush their teeth, they turn black, rot, and eventually break. Then it hurts, and you can’t even eat food.”

“…Poor things. So full of flaws.”

‘She’s casually being racist.’

Jule finally shook her head and handed me the salt.

I took the salt container, scooped out a bit of coarse salt, and scrubbed my teeth.

I wasn’t too happy about brushing my teeth with my hands like some savage.

Even in this era, there were toothbrushes, but here I was brushing with my hands.

Jule disappeared somewhere in the meantime.

“Jule?”

A sense of unease crept in.

‘Surely she didn’t just leave me here, right?’

No way. Calm down. Let’s just wait. I sat on a nearby rock. A bug, startled by my shadow, scurried away, and a few ants crawled up my body.

I swatted the ants away and glanced at the fleeing bug.

It wasn’t a bug but a small snake.

It primarily ate snails and didn’t even have teeth.

I passed some time playing with the tiny snake as a toy.

How long had I been wasting time?

I sensed someone behind me.

The presence revealed itself from the forest—it was Jule.

She held a live, struggling rabbit in her hands, a mischievous grin on her face.

“I’ll show you something fun.”

“What is it?”

Did rabbits have tricks like grasshoppers?

The rabbit was squirming and screaming.

Its cries sounded like a mouse squeaking.

Jule grabbed the rabbit with both hands and—

*Squeeze!*

“What the hell?!”

She squeezed the rabbit’s guts out!

“Haha! How’s that? Clean, right?”

“─────?!!!!!”

‘What the hell is wrong with this lunatic?!’

I barely managed to suppress the string of curses I wanted to hurl.

Calm down. Jule is a Hosotte. That’s just her way of handling meat.

In fact, without even getting her hands bloody, the innards were cleanly pulled out.

Neat and efficient.

The belly, torn at the anus, was completely empty.

The rabbit was still alive.

Trembling with bloody froth in its mouth!

It would die soon… right? Please die! Please! But it just wouldn’t die!

“…You could’ve at least put it out of its misery first!”

I finally let out a disgruntled remark.

“If I do that, the blood won’t drain properly.”

Jule drank the blood dripping from the rabbit.

When I was on Earth, I read about carnivores on the internet.

If carnivores don’t drink the blood of animals, they suffer from iron deficiency.

So when keeping carnivores as pets, you need to feed them meat that still bleeds.

There are even animals that deliberately lick blood.

Right, it’s a tradition born from an unavoidable racial difference.

She looks human on the outside, but she’s a wolf, isn’t she?

Jule ate the rabbit’s tiny liver and discarded the rest of the innards neatly.

It was like watching the Dragon King hunting rabbits instead of relying on a turtle.

“…Can you let me handle the killing from now on?”

“Do as you like.”

Jule laughed heartily.

‘Does she find this funny?’

I wanted to punch this animal abuser in the face.

Jule hunted every animal we came across with frightening skill.

For every creature, the best I could do was stab them in the neck to send them to the afterlife as quickly as possible.

Don’t struggle… stop struggling! I stabbed wrong! Sorry! I’ll stab again! Just die already! Die!

“Why are you torturing the rabbit?”

‘You’re the real problem here!’

“No, uh… It’s wriggling, so—ugh!”

Actually killing something with a knife was a truly repulsive task.

I still get chills from it.

Moreover, I wasn’t skilled, so there were times when I had to stab two or three times.

But it was the best I could do.

Otherwise, they’d have their organs torn out while still alive!

*Crunch! Crack!*

The sound of bones crunching in Jule’s mouth was chilling.

She violently skinned the animals and gnawed on the raw meat.

After devouring up to the neck or the tips of limbs, she would bite off a piece and toss it away.

*Thud!*

Like discarding the stem of a strawberry.

Looking at the discarded heads, they didn’t seem like rabbit heads anymore—they looked like fruit stems. It felt surreal. Jule finally stopped hunting after devouring two rabbits.

In some ways, it was awe-inspiring.

Catching prey alive isn’t an easy feat.

Sure, if you’re lucky, it’s possible.

—But from two, it’s no longer just luck.

*Thwack! Thwack—!*

Jule led the way, slashing at obstructing branches with her dagger.

Though I appreciated Jule’s effort to clear the path, I kept lagging behind. My short strides meant my feet constantly snagged on low-lying vines.

We weren’t even on a proper animal trail.

As a result, everything hitting my feet was plant stems and vines.

That’s how it is with mountains.

The moment you step off the trail, you can’t even maintain a normal walking pace.

Looking at the open cliff side was refreshing.

At the top of the cliff, a few wild goblins were watching Jule.

Like spectators at a zoo.

Jule certainly stood out.

‘White’ was something you’d only expect to see in the snowy fields of the north, not the south.

“Jule, where’s your hometown?”

“A bit farther east.”

“Not the north?”

“I’m a native of the south.”

‘Aren’t albinos supposed to be sensitive to sunlight?’

Why is she so lively?

I wish she’d suggest taking a break by now.

But this steep uphill climb was almost over.

Thinking that way, my knees screamed in protest, saying the last stretch was the hardest. I mustered my only confident defiance and climbed up, then looked back.

The path I had come, along with the distant scenery, spread out before me.

It was an exhilarating view that cleared my mind.

I could see why people go hiking.

The blue river, like a cut line, tickled my heart.

No matter how skilled a hunter my father was, tracking me would be difficult.

I wanted to leave a message, even something to ask him to take me back, but I was illiterate.

“Do you see that?”

“No, the grass is too tall.”

“Come here.”

Jule grabbed me under my arms and lifted me high.

Beyond the mountain ridge, an astonishingly tall tree stood.

‘Shouldn’t something like that be visible from anywhere in the south?’

“Why haven’t I noticed that tree before when it’s so tall?”

“It’s the magic of Draconia.”

—Magic.

The all-purpose word.

But that tree could only be explained by magic.

It was so large and tall that it pierced the clouds, like something out of a movie.

‘It must be at least 500 meters tall.’

I knew that extremely tall trees would break under gravity.

Most ancient trees are like that, but this tree’s trunk was absurdly wide compared to normal trees.

The diameter must be at least 100 meters.

The trees growing there were generally taller and thicker than those in other areas. They seemed to be of the same species.

“That’s the capital of the Union of Yunaira, Ymir’s Mausoleum.”

Tiny figures of people swarmed like ants.

“It’s also where we’ll be staying tonight.”