Rita, Edward, and Satin—in other words, everyone except Cain—expected that having more people would make combat safer.
But look at them now. Every time the horse-headed creatures charged, people scattered and fled instead of fighting back. They were like a school of minnows encountering a predator.
Satin, huddled among the people, lamented, “If only they were trained.”
“Who knows,” Cain replied nonchalantly, pushing Satin back. He then swiftly swung his sword. The horse-headed creature that had been chasing the group flinched and retreated. Seeing this, Cain narrowed his eyes.
‘Do they respond to threats?’ he wondered.
The horse-headed creatures wore crude armor. Before they became agitated by the fire arrows, three of them had maintained a formation, not immediately attacking the frightened humans.
What did this mean?
Cain quickly realized the truth about these creatures.
‘They’re all amateurs,’ he thought.
While they might be more intelligent than werewolves, they were less skilled in combat. They were timid and hesitant.
Even now, as people screamed and ran, not a single human had been harmed. The creatures could easily have crushed a human skull with their hooved front legs, but they didn’t seem to consider it.
The creature that had retreated snorted and pawed at the ground, preparing to charge.
‘Is it going to attack?’ Cain wondered, hesitating on whether to strike first.
Behind him, Satin muttered, “Horses can’t see right in front of them.”
“What do you mean?” Cain asked.
“I saw it in a documentary once. Horses have wide peripheral vision but can’t see directly in front of them. Maybe these creatures are the same,” Satin explained.
The horse-headed creature continued to snort, and Cain observed its breathing pattern before darting forward, positioning himself directly in front of it.
“Cain!” Satin called out, but his voice was lost in the wind. Cain smiled slightly.
‘Just as I thought,’ he said to himself.
The creature, sensing his presence, jerked its head but it was too late. Cain was already upon it.
Up close, he could see the fear in its eyes. Without hesitation, he slashed his sword across the creature’s snout.
The creature screamed, a sound eerily similar to a horse’s neigh, and reared its head. The other horse-headed creatures, hearing the scream, panicked and began to thrash wildly, their once-ferocious faces now contorted in fear.
“Attack! They’re not strong! We can win!” the group’s leader shouted, realizing the situation. A few people tentatively approached the creatures, and those near Cain joined the fight. Two people were knocked down but quickly got back up, their injuries minor. The group gained confidence.
Chaos ensued. The horse-headed creatures, using only their bodies to attack, were soon overwhelmed. Their once-intimidating faces now looked pitiful.
Cain stepped back from the fray, relieved to see that Satin had not joined the fight. He didn’t seem interested in doing so.
“What’s going on?” Cain asked, both pleased and puzzled.
Satin tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
“I thought you might do something reckless, but you’re being surprisingly sensible,” Cain said.
Satin shrugged, sheathing his dagger. “Everyone here is an adult.”
“So?” Cain asked.
Satin scratched his cheek and smiled. “I’d just look silly if I tried to help. They all seem stronger than me.”
It wasn’t entirely untrue. None of those who had been searching for someone stronger than themselves had hidden behind Satin. No one expected Satin’s help.
‘But does that mean he just stands by and does nothing?’ Cain wondered, staring at Satin.
Satin tilted his head. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
His innocent expression showed no sign of guilt.
“…It’s nothing,” Cain said, brushing it off. He pulled Satin to a safer spot. There was no need to risk getting hurt by stray debris from the chaotic battle nearby. Edward could heal injuries, but there was no point in getting hurt intentionally.
Once they were safely behind a tree, Cain pondered Satin’s words.
‘Does he think adults don’t need help?’
Until now, Cain had believed that Satin was exceptionally self-sacrificing. The Satin he knew couldn’t ignore people in trouble and would eagerly offer help, even if he couldn’t solve the problem himself.
But now, listening to Satin, Cain realized he was wrong.
When Satin had rescued him, Cain had been a child. Back then, Satin often said that adults should help children.
In the foggy lands of Cloverland, those afflicted with the sleeping sickness were children and the elderly—the weakest among the citizens.
Even when Satin, having lost his memory, wandered in the darkness, the people he encountered were the weak and the helpless.
‘A Black Magician who can’t use magic is just like an old man,’ Cain thought.
In other words, Satin wasn’t kind to everyone. His kindness was reserved for the weak.
This realization troubled Cain.
‘What should I do in this situation?’ he wondered.
Although nearly thirty people had joined the fight against the monsters, not everyone contributed equally. Some fought and got injured, while others merely shouted, caught up in the moment.
Rita and Edward were among the former. Fortunately, their injuries were minor and easily healed by Edward’s Holy Magic. However, their physical exhaustion couldn’t be so easily remedied, so the group rested for a full day upon arriving in Pinehill.
‘This is a bit embarrassing,’ Satin thought.
He hadn’t even shouted during the battle, let alone fought. He had stepped back, afraid of getting in the way.
‘Well, that’s just an excuse,’ he admitted to himself.
Satin felt uncomfortable in large groups. He had never realized it before, but now it was clear.
A group was more than just a collection of individuals; it was a new entity with a mind of its own. It could be brave one moment and cowardly the next, swayed by the actions of a few.
‘Come to think of it, people are like that everywhere,’ Satin thought.
The neighbors in the town where he lived with his father had been generally kind. They hadn’t looked down on him for coming from a single-parent household; in fact, they had been extra kind.
One neighbor, in particular, had been very friendly with his father and always had a kind word for Satin. Others would chime in, agreeing with whatever he said.
But that all changed after his father died and the secret was revealed. The once-friendly neighbor said, “Maybe the son was involved too. His eyes always seemed off.” And everyone agreed.
‘Were my eyes really that strange?’ Satin wondered. His sister had never said so.
“What are you thinking about?” Rita’s voice brought Satin back to the present. They were in the lounge of Rita’s room at the inn, discussing their plans for the next day.
“Just some useless thoughts,” Satin said, brushing it off with a sheepish smile.
The past was the past; what mattered was the present. They had arrived safely in Pinehill, and that was what counted.
“Yesterday’s incident was my fault,” Edward said. “I shouldn’t have expected ordinary travelers to act like soldiers.”
In truth, it wasn’t Edward’s fault. Trial and error were a part of life, and both Rita and Satin had agreed with his plan to gather more people. If anyone was to blame, it was all of them, except Cain.
Rita patted Edward on the shoulder, telling him not to worry. Edward nodded, then suddenly spoke up again.
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” he asked, holding a cookie from the tea table.
Rita’s eyes widened. “The cookie?” she asked.
The complimentary cookies provided by the inn were delicious, filled with dried fruits and nuts. Satin had already eaten several and looked at Edward in surprise.
Edward quickly waved his hand. “No, the cookies are fine. Please, enjoy them. I meant the monster from yesterday.”
“What about the monster?”
Rita, munching on a cookie, rolled her eyes as she tried to recall the monster from the previous day. Before Edward could respond, Cain spoke up.
“Why were they there?” Cain asked. “Right in the middle of the path where people travel.”
Satin didn’t immediately understand what was strange about Cain’s observation. He thought back to the previous day’s events.
The driver of the lead carriage had been the first to spot the monsters. When he stopped, the carriages behind him did the same. Travelers got out to see what was happening and saw the monsters for themselves. That was when Satin first saw them too.
‘They looked ridiculous,’ he thought.
The creatures had the upper body of a horse and the lower body of a human, like reverse centaurs. Three of them stood in the middle of the road, as if they were highway robbers demanding a toll.
Besides their bizarre appearance, Satin wondered if there was anything else unusual about them.
As Satin tilted his head in thought, Cain picked up a cookie and offered it to him.
“It’s an apricot,” Cain said.
