Chapter 60

# Chapter 60: <Just Flip It>

Kale arrived at the nearest village to the Dark Forest and got off the carriage. Harris Village. The first impression he had upon seeing it was simple.

"Ruined."

More than two months had passed. Harris Village was still dark. Kale cast his gaze upon it. The ground was still covered with pitch-black ashes.

He looked straight ahead. The deputy commander's bitter voice echoed.

"It's all burned."

Kale turned his gaze to Deputy Commander Hilsman.

"Where is the grave?"

"I'll find out."

Deputy Commander Hilsman's calm demeanor was a rare sight, but it was inevitable.

A massive stone wall. Harris Village, facing the stone wall leading to the Dark Forest, had turned completely black, burned to the ground. Only the skeletal remains of what were once houses remained, and everything else existed only as traces.

"The fire was intense."

"Can you even feel that?"

"Despite my appearance, I'm of the sea race."

Witura smiled slightly in response, but her eyes soon clouded over. However, Kale had no time to worry about her. He moved his steps toward the children who couldn't get out of the carriage.

"Mace."

"…Young Master."

Mace, the eldest of the wolf children, was stiff as he looked at the village. Kale could easily guess the reason. They must be thinking of their hometown.

"Do you know why I brought you here?"

Mace couldn't answer Kale's question. He and his siblings hadn't heard from Kale why they were here. Neither Butler Hans nor Vicros had come, and the number of guards had been reduced to a minimum, with the children among them.

Mace looked at Kale with a questioning gaze. The young master, whom Raku had instructed to serve, crossed his arms and said casually.

"I'm about to make a lot of money."

"Huh?"

Not only Mace but also the children who couldn't get out of the carriage were bewildered by the sudden talk of money. Ignoring their reactions, Kale continued.

The Magic Tower and the Queen of the Jungle. With these two, they would make an enormous amount of money. He would provide the maritime routes to the territory.

"So, I plan to use some of that money to rebuild this village."

The word "village" resonated in the children's ears.

"And I also plan to build a villa where we, the children, and the party can play together."

"…I heard the Dark Forest is dangerous."

"Are you serious?"

Kale countered Mace's statement and looked around. On and Hong were getting out of the carriage, and a black dragon was flying somewhere. The whale people were approaching a well covered in ashes.

"Will it be stronger than you and your siblings as they grow?"

His indifferent voice reached the wolf children.

"I promised Raku that I would take good care of you. If so, you need a place where you can live like wolves."

A cool smile appeared on Kale's face, as if there were no difficulties at all, and a refreshing breeze passed between them. When the black ashes mixed with the wind and flew far into the sky, Kale's voice filled the space again.

"I'll create that land for you. Grow splendidly before Raku returns."

Kale frowned as he looked at Mace and the wolf children.

"Answer."

"…Yes, yes!"

"Yes!"

Unsatisfied with the children's lackluster response, Kale left with a displeased expression. Mace, who had been watching Kale head toward the stone wall, turned his head. His siblings were looking at him.

Mace spoke.

"…Let's grow."

With those words, Mace looked around the village. Perhaps the black village would one day become a warm place like the hometown in his memory. Mace could feel that his siblings shared the same sentiment, even though they didn't respond verbally.

They were, after all, the same wolves.

Unaware of the wolves' resolve, Kale tapped the stone wall.

"Thick."

Kale turned his head. The only stone door on the wall. Beyond that door lay the Dark Forest. Of course, Choe Han didn't use this door; he leaped over the ten-meter-high wall.

"Is the Dark Forest beyond this wall?"

"Yes."

Kale glanced at the approaching Witura. She had dyed her blue hair and eyes brown and altered her face to a blurry, hard-to-remember appearance. Only her voice remained as beautiful as ever.

"Beyond the wall, it's not very visible. As a mysterious place, it must have a unique appearance. Is the wall sturdy?"

Witura smiled and lightly pressed her index finger against the wall. Her finger sank into the wall.

"…Ha ha."

Witura awkwardly laughed, looking embarrassed.

Indeed. A terrifying race. Kale turned his head, pretending not to notice. The long-haired siblings were still inexperienced in controlling their power on the ground. Kale quickly changed the subject.

"Similar."

"Huh? What's similar?"

"Beyond this wall. You said it would have a unique appearance, right?"

"Oh."

Kale shrugged at Witura's small sigh and continued, turning his back to the wall.

"The Dark Forest is just like any other forest."

Kale said to her as she walked beside him.

"But what's inside is different."

For some unknown reason, the Dark Forest often saw the appearance of mutated plant species and mutated monsters. In the case of monsters, they were easily distinguishable from ordinary monsters due to their different appearances. However, plants, while similar in appearance, had properties that had changed to toxins or toxic gases.

'And some monsters that appear in the Eastern Continent can also be seen here.'

That's why it was a mysterious place. The Dark Forest was the only place where traces of the Eastern Continent could be found.

"Young Master!"

Kale nodded at Deputy Commander Hilsman's call and said to Witura.

"Take care of the children."

"Yes. There are many young beastmen."

Witura watched Kale, who sighed in annoyance at her words. Ignoring her, Kale approached Hilsman.

"Let's go."

"Yes."

Kale headed to the destination with only Hilsman. They soon arrived.

"Here it is."

A place with numerous graves. Where Choe Han had buried the people of Harris Village.

Hilsman stepped back from Kale and stood with the soldiers, looking at him. Kale's visit to Harris Village was surprising, and finding the graves first was even more surprising.

The deputy commander quietly stepped back to give Kale some alone time. Of course, Kale didn't care, or rather, didn't pay attention, as he looked at the graves.

"…Impressive that he didn't go mad."

It was impressive that Choe Han hadn't gone mad.

Most of the graves seemed to be simple earth mounds, though some effort had been put into them. Instead of tombstones, flat stones with names inscribed on them were used. Kale counted the graves.

Choe Han had buried all the bodies in these graves with his own hands.

Kale often thought. The deaths of the people of Harris Village, recorded in print. The characters used as a device for the protagonist's awakening. Was that all there was?

'It doesn't seem so.'

Lately, he felt it wasn't so. The reason was simple.

The Dark Forest, the mermaids, the massacre of Harris Village.

These three things gave Kale a hypothesis. However, this was a matter to be passed on to Choe Han through Raku when he arrived, or to Choe Han if he came with Raku.

The problem of Harris Village was Choe Han's domain, not Kale's.

"Hilsman."

"Yes, Young Master."

Instead,