TMBIPYMEN Chapter 11

Yustar, who had been staring at her intently, moved the corners of his mouth in something between a smile and not, his expression softening.

"Are you angry?"

Layla's lips twitched. Cold spread through her entire body.

People screamed and retched.

The village security guards who arrived belatedly hurriedly covered the man's pulverized corpse, but blood continued to flow, soaking the ground. It flowed and flowed like a river, seeping into the stream that ran through the village.

Amid all that noise, Layla closed her eyes for a moment. It was something she often did when her mind was troubled, but this time it didn't calm her much. If anything, the sounds she didn't want to hear only became clearer.

"Are you angry, Layla?"

Layla opened her eyes and looked at him from beneath her hood.

"I'm not angry. I just... can't accept your methods."

The security guards began glancing at the two of them. Yustar gave them a pleasant smile, then guided Layla away with a natural manner.

At that moment, Layla simultaneously felt the urge to shake off Yustar's hand and the desire to grip it even tighter. It was as if her own desires had split in two.

"Whether you accept it or not, setting that aside... he was already a deteriorating vengeful spirit anyway. You saw it too, didn't you? If left in that state, he would have stuck to that spot and harmed innocent people."

"I know that. But you... you could have just eliminated him. Right? Like you did in Ridgecarse."

Yustar nodded cheerfully.

"I could have."

"Then why didn't you? You forcibly pushed that man's soul into the red-haired man's body, didn't you? Can you even do something like that? You said you weren't a medium."

"I'm not a medium. But I can do such things."

As they turned into the alley of a deserted inn, Layla shook off Yustar's hand.

She looked around, then removed her hood and shook her disheveled hair. A pair of red eyes stared intently at Yustar.

"How can you do that? Is it also using the power of a magical artifact?"

"No, this is... a power I possess. To be precise, it's a power someone is lending me."

For an instant, Layla recalled the black smoke that had been undulating behind his shoulder. What was that? Was it the 'someone' Yustar was talking about? Was it his power?

Her head felt like it would burst from the questions arising one after another. Taking a deep breath, Layla said,

"You really are human, right?"

Yustar laughed. That smile once again, regardless of Laila's intentions, broke down her barriers. Something that made up his core being flowed into Laila's heart like water, whispering that there was no need to worry.

"Don't worry, Laila. No matter what anyone says, I'm a person just like you. We're the same."

Layla gave a dry laugh.

"Normal people wouldn't talk to a real witch like that."

"I'm not exactly normal. Anyway, the reason I can do things similar to mediums without being one is because of that. But I can't even compare to a real medium. That's why I need you."

Layla, who had been biting her lip with her arms crossed, finally let out a sigh as if giving up. Wind blowing from beyond the alley swept through Yustar's long hair. Whoosh.

"Well then, shall we go? Witch lady. We still have one more thing we promised to do. I won't stop you if you want to see more of the town, but there seem to be quite a few things similar to what we saw earlier wandering around."

Even without such threatening words, Layla loathed crowded streets. She pulled her hood back on and walked toward Mrs. Nolren's inn.

Mrs. Nolren had cleaned the problem room as promised.

Of course, it wasn't as clean as the other guest rooms, but at least most of the dust was gone and the sheets were clean. Though cobwebs still hung in the corner of the ceiling, the spiders themselves had disappeared.

When Yustar closed the door, Layla removed her hood first.

Her black, bob-cut hair, just reaching her shoulders, swayed slightly and was faintly reflected in the hazy mirror. Though barely visible, facing her own reflection so closely felt strange.

Then Yustar's figure suddenly appeared over Layla's shoulder. Seeing them standing front to back, she was newly struck by how tall he was.

He was nearly a full head taller than Layla, with broad shoulders. Yet wearing his form-fitting uniform, he looked more sleek than burly.

"Don't you have any thoughts about sharing the same room with me?"

Layla glanced at Yustar's hand resting lightly on her shoulder and thought, 'Now that you mention it, I hadn't even thought about that.'

"Should I be worried?"

Layla asked. At that moment—was it her imagination? The face of Yustar reflected in the mirror seemed like a different person for an instant.

It wasn't completely changed, but another appearance seemed to pass over Yustar's original face like a very thin cloth. A face so sensual it made her chest tighten...

"Should I be worried?"

When she repeated the same question, Yustar, who had been silent, burst into laughter. Then the shadow of someone else that had been cast over his face disappeared without a trace. Like shattering sugar glass.

"No, you don't need to. I promise. If I try to do anything, you can dry out my tongue completely."

"I told you that requires a tincture."

Layla brushed off his hand with a light tap, then grimaced. "Ah."

"What's wrong?"

Yustar asked gently.

"About the tincture. Mother left notes and things. And the ingredients too... there were all these hard-to-obtain ingredients at home. I lost all of it."

She waited for Yustar to say something, but her expectations were off the mark. Without Layla noticing, Yustar had stepped back, turning his head slightly toward his own shoulder with a somewhat peculiar expression.

"Yustar."

Layla called him. At that moment, Yustar frowned sharply, and Layla, startled by his suddenly changed expression, hesitated and clenched her fists.

But it didn't last long.

He didn't suddenly change and rush at Layla, nor did he make growling sounds like some beast. Yustar turned his head as if nothing had happened and wore a painted-on smile.

"I'm sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment. What were you saying?"

Layla's large eyes blinked slowly. She tried to find something strange about Yustar but couldn't discover anything. His surroundings were clean, and his demeanor was no different from before.

"The house burned down... all the precious ingredients are gone. The ingredients for making the tink."

"Ah, if it's something like that, don't worry. We can obtain them anytime."

"You don't even know what ingredients they are."

Yustar nodded as if to say 'that's true.' But he didn't seem to have any intention of retracting his statement.

"That's true. But whatever you're looking for, we'll be able to obtain it all. Trust me. By the way, pardon the rudeness in front of a lady, but may I lie down on the bed? I'm starting to feel tired now."

Then, before Layla could say anything, he plopped down on the narrow bed and removed his jacket.

He also removed the vest he wore underneath and unbuttoned a couple of buttons on his shirt. Beneath his collarbone that was slightly revealed, she could see a large scar. The scar seemed to extend at least to his upper chest, or if more severe, perhaps to his abdomen.

Yustar threw his clothes onto the backrest of an old chair and leaned his body down. The freshly changed sheets were clean but didn't have a particularly pleasant scent. They'd probably been taken from the corner of a drawer where they'd been stored for a long time.

Yustar let out a long sigh and covered his eyes with his forearm as he spoke.

"Earlier, Mrs. Nolren said... several people have already died in this room."

"That's right. She said that."

"What do you think, Layla? What could the 'evil thing' Mrs. Nolren is talking about be?"

Layla shrugged as if she didn't know.

"What we saw earlier, something like that?"

"Probably. Most likely something much older than that, stuck here... Which means there's someone who died in the inn, but Mrs. Nolren didn't tell us that story. If we ask what happened, she definitely won't answer."

At that moment, red dots seemed to flicker before Layla's eyes. But when she rubbed her eyes with a furrowed brow, they quickly disappeared.

"Layla?"

"Sorry, something got in my eye. Um... do you think Mrs. Nolren is... involved in this strange matter?"

"I suspect the probability is high."

"But Mrs. Nolren is still alive. Which means... whatever's here can't leave this place. And I don't feel anything right now. Really. There are things that only appear at certain times or when certain conditions are met. It could be that type."

Yustar tapped the spot next to him with the back of his hand, making the expression a professor might wear when looking at a clever student.

Layla looked at him for a moment, then sat down beside him without much resistance. Once seated, she realized the bed wasn't very wide. She had a strong premonition that she wouldn't sleep very comfortably tonight.

"Don't worry. You have special eyes, and with those eyes, I can handle whatever appears. Whatever it may be, Layla."

"That power you mentioned earlier, the power someone is lending you. Does that not include having eyes like mine?"

When Layla asked, Yustar raised the corner of his mouth in a momentarily cynical expression.

"No, that's not it. But I don't want to use that method. The being that lends me power isn't providing me with free service. When given something, it always takes something corresponding in return. The power to perform an 'overlay' is too much of a burden even for me."

"Tell me what that being is."

But Yustar slowly shook his head.

"Not yet. Not yet. I can't tell you that, Layla. Not until you know more about me."