39
Shango is about to die.
Yeon Ji-ho blinked, unable to comprehend those simple seven words. It felt unreal. How could someone who had been dining with him just this evening be dead?
Yet Set, Apophis, and even Isquis were accepting his death with a calm demeanor. In fact, it was they who had been watching Shango for a long time, not Yeon Ji-ho.
It was Apophis who broke the heavy atmosphere.
“Since finishing the meal, he has had a fever, chills… and then red spots appeared.”
“Red spots?”
“Yes. Based on those symptoms, I am certain that Shango has contracted the ‘Late Bloom’ disease.”
Late Bloom.
Yeon Ji-ho narrowed his eyes at the superficial expression. Fever, chills, and red spots indicated that some illness had taken root.
However, Yeon Ji-ho was not a doctor, and there was nothing he could discern from those simple symptoms.
What was certain was that the medical facilities in this world were inadequate. The ‘healing potions’ they used when injured only addressed external wounds and could not treat diseases that grew from within.
In this world, there was only one way to deal with diseases: prevention. He knew this from a scene in ‘Hadad’s Star’ where root plants that boost immunity were distributed to prevent diseases during wartime.
If one were to contract a disease despite this, they would usually die. Their bodies would be cremated as part of the funeral rites.
“It seems he contracted it while fleeing. Given Shango’s noticeable appearance, he must have had a harder time than either me or Isquis.”
He had been so hungry that he could chew on bones. Yeon Ji-ho could hardly imagine how starved he must have been.
“Ji-ho, ‘Late Bloom’ is a highly contagious disease. Of course, if one has contracted it even once in childhood, the chances of it spreading to an adult are low…”
Yeon Ji-ho’s eyebrows twitched at Apophis’s continued explanation. It was a disease typically contracted in childhood. And when contracted as an adult, it was more dangerous. Plus, with the red spots…
“Is it possibly measles?”
“…What?”
“It causes white spots in the mouth, right?”
In fact, Yeon Ji-ho had contracted measles as a child. Because he grew up in a remote area, he had received vaccinations late, and that was when he caught it.
Of course, by modern times, the mortality rate for measles had drastically decreased, and he had recovered safely. However, Yeon Ji-ho had often heard from his parents about how dangerous it had been when he had measles.
At Yeon Ji-ho’s added explanation, Apophis’s eyes widened. He was a wizard who had also studied diseases.
“Yes, yes! That’s right. How do you know? Do you know of a treatment…?”
“No, I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know the treatment.”
“Even if you did, Ji-ho, you cannot intervene. ‘Late Bloom’ is a dangerous disease.”
Apophis’s pleased expression made Set uncomfortable. The ‘Late Bloom’ disease was the one that claimed the most lives on the battlefield. He had seen countless people die from this illness.
“Shango will be cremated as planned.”
“It’s too early to give up.”
Yeon Ji-ho turned sharply to look at Set. However, he did not meet Yeon Ji-ho’s gaze with the usual warmth.
Set was a leader to all who followed him, and there were times when he had to make choices that sacrificed a few for the many. It was not uncommon for him to directly kill his own comrades.
Each time, he showed no signs of wavering. It was better to coldly dismiss it for the sake of those who remained. Before Yeon Ji-ho could grow closer to Shango and shed tears over his death, Set made his decision.
“…After the body is cremated, scatter the ashes in the lake in front of us. We will soon leave this place.”
“What if we can save him?”
Yeon Ji-ho stepped in front of Set, who was about to leave.
He knew that Set was not one to easily abandon his comrades. He was also aware that he had taken on the burden for the safety of those who remained.
But this was someone who could be saved. There was one way.
“We can go back to my world.”
“…! Is there a way to treat ‘Late Bloom’ in your world?”
Measles.
In ancient times, that disease was so dangerous that it was referred to as ‘the mother of all plagues.’ But that was not the case now.
Of course, even in modern times, there was no cure for measles. However, it would be better than this place, which had neither antibiotics nor antipyretics. Moreover, Shango’s unusual appearance made it difficult for him to even visit a physician here.
“It’s definitely a disease that can be treated. So let’s go back, together.”
How many lives had Set let go of with his own hands?
Yeon Ji-ho reached out and intertwined his fingers with Set’s thick ones. As they clasped hands, he looked up at Set, and the heaviness of his expression was clearly visible.
Set was not indifferent to death just because he was called a demon. Yeon Ji-ho understood that about him well.
“One hundred and eighty-seven injured. Among them, fifty-five are seriously injured, and seventeen are dead.”
Even at the report from his aide, Set’s expression did not change. His unwavering focus on polishing his armor darkened the aide’s face.
The man was called a demon. If he easily shed tears over the death of others, he would not be a demon.
Rustle…
After the aide finished the report, he opened the tent’s door and left. Set remained alone, still silently polishing his armor. Then he suddenly noticed the droplets of blood that had spread across his wrist.
He wiped his wrist with the blood-soaked cloth. However, the already blood-soaked cloth could not fulfill its purpose and only made his hands even more drenched in blood.
Still, Set did not stop wiping. At some point, he quietly looked down at his bloodied hands.
His eyes, gazing at his blood-soaked palms, were hollow. Leading a war with his own hands meant killing without distinction between allies and enemies. Set murmured as he looked down at his bloodied hands.
“Demon.”
His murmur resembled a lament.
“I am, a great demon…”
There was no way he could have so much blood on his hands otherwise.
He had officially participated in the war at the age of fifteen and had taken command at eighteen. Set was not indifferent to death. He simply could not survive without being indifferent.
Yeon Ji-ho wanted to save a life that would have extinguished without his intervention. But his worries were not solely for Shango.
He wanted to soothe Set’s heart, which had merely accepted death. For this pitiful man who could not even shed tears over the death of his close aide.
“Can we really save him, Shango…?”
His voice trembled with the question. The choice to save someone was something Set had never been able to make.
He was not a demon. He was a human who could shed tears over the death of his people.
“Yes.”
Yeon Ji-ho suddenly hugged Set’s neck. Taken aback by the sudden embrace, Set briefly rested his forehead on Yeon Ji-ho’s shoulder. As he reached out and wrapped his arms around Yeon Ji-ho’s waist, Set took a deep breath and finally lifted his head.
He approached Apophis and Isquis, who were waiting for orders.
“Apophis.”
“Yes!”
“Let’s go back.”
At the single phrase “let’s go back,” Apophis’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
We’re going back. Even when they had been burned just now, Set had never said such a thing. He had only ever said “return” or “revert.”
Truly… he had found a ‘place to return’ to. Apophis’s gaze sharpened.
“Yes. I will prepare to return within an hour.”
“Isquis. We will move Shango. Prepare for infection.”
“Yes…!”
Isquis’s wings flapped rapidly. He seemed to be going out to gather supplies to move Shango.
Apophis also left the scene. It seemed he needed to prepare to draw out the mana that had not yet been filled.
When the two left and only Yeon Ji-ho and Set remained in the corridor, Set turned around. There, under the moonlight, he saw Yeon Ji-ho smiling brightly. He spoke slowly.
“Later, Set. After we find all the Gorgon beasts.”
“…Okay.”
It was a fleeting exchange they had when Isquis had briefly taken him away. However, Yeon Ji-ho had not forgotten the promise he made.
“Let’s go back together.”
“…”
Set looked down and silently gazed at him. Thump, thump… His heart beat steadily.
“If you go alone, you might feel lonely there…”
Some called Set the master of the Gorgon beasts. The only one they followed blindly was Set.
But that was no longer true.
“Let’s all go and live happily.”
Set was merely one of those beasts. Even the beasts that wandered the battlefield without a place to go now had a place to return to. Set looked down at the small hand extended toward him and thought.
“Not only the protagonist can live happily after the story ends.”
His pitiful soul recognized him as its master. The position of the protagonist, such things mattered not at all. He simply wished to be by Yeon Ji-ho’s side.
