Chapter 256

Chief Bardan’s decision gave us a little more time.

The decision bothered Hargan and some of the Dragon demons, who put on uncomfortable expressions, but I focused only on solving the Yakum problem.

After the decision, I visited the Yakums every day and stayed with them all the time when the sun was up.

I told stories of the things and adventures I had with Yakums on the Demon farm while looking deep inside them with my communication ability.

Thanks to the time I spent together with them, their vigilance against me got completely lowered, but unfortunately, their vigilance and hostility toward the Dragon demons did not decrease at all.

“Isn’t there a misunderstanding between you guys? Those Dragon demons have no intention of hurting you.”

Boo Boo Boo!

I tried to persuade the Yakums in many ways to change their mind.

But each time, Yakums reacted vehemently against it.

It felt very disappointing and frustrating.

The only achievement I achieved after coming here was that the Yakums stopped acting violently since I came here. The threat to the residents and facilities outside the Red Scales village disappeared.

However, this alone could not reassure the chief and the villagers.

Yakum’s hostility remained the same, and the Dragon demons were anxious that they could be attacked at any time.

I also had a headache at the frustrating situation that showed no signs of improvement.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

I threw myself into a comfortable chair and made a strange noise.

The most pleasant moment of my stay here was now when I relieved my day’s fatigue in the hot spring and enjoyed my laziness.

“Thank you for the hard work today, Sihyeon.”

Ryan, who washed up together in the hot spring, said as he sat in the opposite seat. I leaned back in the chair and answered helplessly.

“Not me, it was Ryan who really worked hard. You’ve been meeting with the Dragon demons and talking with them all day. It must have been a headache.”

“Haha! It’s not that much since this is what I normally do. Of course, it’s harder than persuading the Yakums.”

Yakum’s story drew a sigh from my mouth.

“Why are they so stubborn?….”

“Is there still no progress?”

“Yes. We should somehow resolve the misunderstanding of the Dragon demons and prevent conflicts with each other. It’s really not easy.”

I was proud to be a Yakum expert myself, but there was nothing I could do in this stubborn situation.

While complaining about the frustrating situation, Lia appeared with a tray.

“Have some drinks, you two.”

“Ah, Lia, What is Speranza doing……?”

“She fell asleep a little while ago after having dinner and playing with little Karshi.”

“I see.”

I scratched my head with a bitter look.

For the past few days, due to the Yakum problem, Lia was the one who was taking care of Speranza for most of the day.

“I’m sorry, Lia. I left Speranza completely to you.”

“Don’t say that. I really like spending time with Speranza. And Sihyeon is doing an important job for my village.”

Her eyes filled with trust made me feel bitter. This is because I felt uncertain whether I could meet those expectations.

“Would you like to try this?”

Lia put down the tray she brought in front of us. On the tray, there was a luxurious-looking bottle and a small cup.

She picked up the bottle and poured it carefully. As soon as the glass was filled, a very pleasant scent spread around.

“Wow… What is this? It smells really good”

“It’s a liquor made in the traditional way of the village by drying petals. If you drink it cold, you can get a very unique taste.”

I accepted the glass of alcohol while listening to the detailed explanation. I could feel the coolness in my hand holding the glass because of the cold alcohol inside.

Slowly, I brought the glass near my mouth and poured it at once. At first, I felt a tooth-chilling coldness.

And by the time the coldness gradually disappeared, the fragrant smell of flowers filled my mouth and nose.

It was as if the flowers that overcame the cold winter were in full bloom.

Even after swallowing the alcohol completely, there was a subtle scent of flowers in my mouth and a moderately rising odor.

The cold alcohol I enjoyed after the hot spring was fantastic.

“What do you think?”

“It’s really delicious. This coldness and the scent of flowers go really well together.”

“I’m glad you like it. Do you want some more?”

I quickly nodded my head and held out my glass. Ryan also seemed to like it very much, so he immediately followed me and put out his glass.

“It would be amazing to drink this in a warm hot spring.”

“Oh, that’s not possible.”

“……?”

“There have been many accidents while drinking in hot springs, so drinking it in hot springs has been prohibited for a long time.”

It seems that someone else has already tried the idea I had. While accepting what she said, I smacked my lips with a little regret.

After finishing about three glasses, I felt a little dizzy and had a tingling sensation. I didn’t notice it because of the fragrant scent of flowers, but it looks like the drink had a higher alcohol content than I thought.

I stopped having any more because I thought it would be hard to wake up tomorrow if I drank more. Lia carefully asked, arranging the bottles and glasses on a tray.

“Sihyeon, are things not going well?”

“Ugh… It’s not as easy as I thought.”

“You said that Yakum’s violent behavior was because they were attacked by a Dragon demon first, right?”

“Yes. The demons in the village said they never attacked first, but Yakum remembers it.”

After a few days of communication with the Yakums, I found out that it was true that they were attacked by a Dragon demon.

The attack caused a great deal of damage to the Yakum herd. There were many who still had a lot of wounds on their body and many who couldn’t move.

The question was, Who attacked….

In the memory I peeked from the Leader Yakum, there was clearly someone who looked like a Dragon demon, a  most threatening Dragon demon.

I looked hard around the village just in case to check whether there was a similar demon, but that attempt too ended in failure.

Since they were completely denying the fact that they attacked first, there won’t be a positive response even if I seek the help of the chief in this regard.

As Lia felt sorry looking at me having a hard time solving the problem, she leaned slightly toward me and said.

“Sihyeon, is there anything I can help you with?”

“…….”

“It’s okay, I won’t tell the chief or the villagers about what’s burdening you. If it’s something I can help with, I’ll help, so please speak comfortably.”

My eyes shook at Lia’s sincere words.

After thinking for a while, I slowly opened my mouth.

“I saw a Dragon demon in Yakum’s memory.”

“…….”

“…….”

Lia and Ryan waited for my next words with stiff faces.

“He had overwhelming power enough to easily deal with Yakums, and the atmosphere around him was also very different from the Dragon demons I saw so far. It felt like everything around him was twisted.”

I went on to explain the appearance of the Dragon demon in the Yakum’s memory. It was a vague memory, but it was not difficult to explain because it was such a strong impression.

As a Dragon demon, he had a large horn, but there was a small scar on those large horns, and his hair, which grew up to the bottom of the shoulder, reminded me of a shabby traveler.

The most impressive thing was the crazy smile and red eyes on his face when he attacked Yakums!

Even though I only peeked at the memory for a while through the communion ability, the madness of the Dragon demon gave me goosebumps all over my body.

Ryan, who heard the explanation until the end, was lost in thought, stroking his chin with one hand.

“Hmm. If there was a Dragon demon with such a strong impression in the village, I would have recognized him right away…”

“Right? I looked closely at the villagers, but I couldn’t find anyone similar at all.”

“There is a possibility that he intentionally hid…… Lia do you….?”

“Lia…”

Looking at Lia who had a grim expression on her face, I called her in a worried voice. She looked confused, lost in her own thoughts as if she could not hear our voices at all.

“Lia? Lia?”

“Ah…”

It was only after a few more calls that Lia’s mind finally came to reality. I asked, looking at her shaking eyes.

“Lia, do you know the Dragon demon that I just described?”

“…….”

She couldn’t answer easily.

But Ryan and I were able to infer an answer from that reaction alone. We waited quietly for her to make up her mind.

Time passed. Lia once again went into deep thought, and after thinking for a while, she finally opened her mouth with great difficulty.

“The Dragon demon that Sihyeon described…… I think I know.”

“Really?”

With a surprised look on my face, I asked her again, and she nodded clearly. Ryan also couldn’t stand the accumulated tension and asked her.

“Miss Lia, who on earth was that Dragon demon who attacked the Yakums? Is he really the Dragon demon of this village?”

Ryan and I waited for the next words from Lia’s mouth. On the other hand, Lia, who was hesitating for a while, slowly gave an answer.

“That’s…… I think it’s my father.”

“……?!”

“……?!”

At the completely unexpected answer, Ryan and I completely lost our words and looked blank.

At the unbelievable fact, I just opened my mouth to say [Come on! Don’t joke], but looking at the tense and confused Lia, that didn’t seem to be the case.

When I was about to say something after thinking about it.

BANG, BANG, BANG!

Diur’s voice was heard beyond the harsh knock on the door.

-Lord Cardis, sorry to disturb you at this late hour. Can I come in for a moment? It’s really urgent.

“Mr. Diur? Ugh, come in.”

As soon as my words ended, Diur roughly opened the door and came in. I had a strange foreboding looking at his panicked face.

“Lord Cardis, We’re in trouble.”

“What’s the matter?”

“Hargan and the warriors sneaked out of the village. I don’t know the exact time, but I think they left the village quite a while ago.”

“What? Why all of a sudden at this late hour…….”

Diur replied with a grim look.

“I think they’re going to attack the Yakum herd.”

“……?!”