Chapter 3 - Kelpy

Click, click.

The stagnant rainwater splashed on the horseshoe. The rainwater also splashed over the hood on the travel cape over the leather coat. It is an oiled cape made for travel use, but it can’t hold on to the pouring rain for long.

“Completely die. Just die.”

Does this damn world have a background of England? It rains when I’m bored. It was raining so hard that my clothes couldn’t dry up.

Ed lifted the hood and looked far ahead. He happened to see a place on the side of the road where he could avoid the rain. A place where some rocks came together and stuck together like dolmens.

Although it wasn’t that big, It was enough to spend the night.

Ed, who drove the horse under the rock and escaped the rain, tied the reins of the horse nearby, and looked around together while avoiding the rain. It would have been nice to start a fire, but he didn’t want to go through the trouble of lighting up wet trees.

He took off his travel cape and shook it off the rainwater with all his force. After blowing off the rainwater, he spread it out on the rock next to him. He then leaned against the rock and watched the rain pour.

Since when?

It must have been since people were no longer hit by acid rain, blaming air pollution. The fact of not getting hit by the pouring rain and not being able to see it well.

In that sense that the place was not polluted yet, I was able to fill my emotions by looking at the rain rather than worrying that it was acid rain.

Ed’s eyes glistened into the dark as he searched his bag for the beef jerky and squished it in his mouth while watching the rain pour.

It was a light in the lamp when I saw it not being blown out even in the rain and when I saw the distance of the light, it looked like a light hanging from the left and right side of a wagon.

He must have been traveling in a wagon to a place where it rained and became muddy. But he noticed the light tilting.

“Oh, boy.”

I thought he was going to have a hard time. I couldn’t hear well because of the rain making his voice stuffy but hearing all the shouting and stuff, and it felt like he was trying to stop the wagon.

But how can a wagon wheel come out easily in a mud-like this?

It would have been upsetting and annoying if it was my wagon that had fallen out, but since it was somebody else’s business, I was able to enjoy the moment without any pressure being felt.

As I looked at the light while opening the beef jerky, the light shook, and I could feel it approaching closer.

After a while, I was able to see people coming through the rain. The only place to avoid the rain near here was under this dolmen. So, it was a meeting that was inevitable.

It was a girl about ten years old and a knight that wore sheet metal armor. There was also a maid holding an umbrella together with a bald horseman. The bald horseman had two reins in his hand.

In other words, those who ride in double wagons are at least aristocrats.

I thought she might be the daughter of a well-known family if she had a knight as an escort.

As they approached, they suddenly changed seats when they saw Ed sitting under the dolmen.

The Knight blocked the girl’s front.

I wondered what he was doing, but I didn’t bother to argue. It was just a silent frown at the light from the lamp they were holding.

The bald horseman stepped forward and spoke.

“The wagon wheels have come off. So, can we stay out of the rain together with you?”

Ed was rather surprised. He’s never seen a group of aristocrats ask a traveler for permission in this damn world.

Ed nodded his head.

The bald horseman came under the dolmen while looking at Ed. There wasn’t much room left as Ed was also keeping the horse out of the rain.

While the horseman took the horses to a nearby tree and tied them up to at least avoid a little rain, the maid brought a blanket, laid it on the rock, and seated the girl.

She then covered the girl’s shoulder with another blanket. Meanwhile, the knight was keeping an eye on Ed.

Ed read the Knight’s interval. It was a distance enough to be reached by a swinging sword inside the dolmen. However, if the interval is this much, he can surely deal with it while his opponent is getting his sword out. So, he decided not to worry about it and continue chewing his beef jerky.

The horseman rubbed his head and shook off the rainwater after coming back from tying up his horses.

“I think we should light some fire up since I don’t think the rain is going to stop easily.”

The horseman’s complexion rotted at the knight’s question.

“The trees are all wet, so it’s hard to light a fire.”

The knight looked at the horseman without further explanation. With that silent look, the horseman let out a short sigh and dived back into the rain.

While the horseman was looking for firewood, Ed swallowed the beef jerky he was chewing and sucked his fingers. A situation where there is nothing else to do.

I closed my eyes, leaning against the rock. There was no way I could sleep with another strange party. So, I decided to relieve my fatigue by closing my eyes.

Although I did not make the next appointment with Aklan, they would appear in front of me again.

So far, I’ve been chasing demons by relying on rumors. But if I get involved with Aklan, I’ll be able to catch much higher-quality demons.

Although the first important thing was to have enough skills to hunt them.

I was sitting with my eyes closed, but I opened my eyes slightly because of the commotion that the horseman returned and was about to start a fire. It is usually not difficult to light up fire on a wet tree.

It probably would have been possible If there was an occultist, but for just an ordinary person, it’s hard to light it up.

Still, the horseman tried to light the fire somehow. As I watched the scene, I closed my eyes again and heard a growl. When I opened my eyes and saw the place where the sound came from, the girl turned her head, and her face blushed.

The knight looked at the girl and looked back at Ed.

“Are you a traveler?”

Ed opened his eyes and looked at the Knight when he looked as if he was asking why the Knight cleared his throat and spoke.

“Do you have anything to eat? I’ll give you a reward.”

Ed agonized for a moment over the question and looked at the girl. If she is only a 10-year-old noble child, then her stomach would have never starved before.

Ed had a smile on his face.

Even if she’s a noble, a child is a child. I’ll look like a kid if I talk to her, but we haven’t talked yet.

Ed said while pulling the jerky and dry bread out of his bag.

“Two silver nips of coins.”

The knight’s eyebrows wriggled. That’s true. If you bought this much in the village, you could have bought it with ten nips of coins.

“Hey.”

“Not if you don’t have money.”

The girl opened her mouth when she saw Ed put the beef jerky and dry bread back in his bag.

“Who said I didn’t have money?”

When the girl winked at the maid, she approached. Ed received two pieces of silver from the maid and handed her the beef jerky and bread. While the maid returned with the beef jerky and bread, the horseman managed to light up the fire.

It was full of smoke, but where did it light up?

The horseman blew out and saved the embers. At that time, the girl who frowned while chewing on the beef jerky handed by the maid handed it back to her and spoke.

“Bake it for me.”

When Ed saw the maid baking the beef jerky on the fire that had just been lighted up, he put the bow down next to him on his lap. The traditional arrow was not taken out, but because of that act, the knight kept an eye on him while holding the handle of the sword.

Either way, without saying a word, Ed looked at the pouring rain with the bow on top of his lap.

There is a demon that appears on a rainy day. Kelpy, the devil.

Not everyone meets Kelpy on a rainy day. It just increases the odds.

But grilling beef jerky on fire?

There is a high probability of him appearing. That’s why I prepared for it. If nothing really happens, I can just rest like this and break up when the rain stops, but if not, I’ll have to fight Kelpy.

While I was listening with my eyes closed, I heard a horse screaming in the sound of rain. Then came the gruesome sound of chewing bones.

Bite!

While the knight pulled out his sword at once and blocked the girl’s front, Ed took out his arrow without saying a word and hung it on the protest.

The knight saw the figure and asked.

“What’s going on?”

Perhaps he was asking because he had prepared the bow in advance, so Ed slowly rose from his seat and answered.

“They say Kelpy runs wild on rainy days.”

“Kelpy?”

Kelpy’s name is quite famous. To the point where Kelpy says that he’s going to catch all the kid’s that cry on a rainy day.

The knight held the sword nervously and said while blocking the girl’s front.

“Lady, close your eyes.”

Ed saw a girl frozen close behind him at the words of the knight. A frightened girl and a maid are holding her. The horseman was also standing at the back of the knight with a whip.

Ed released the intension on his body, hoping they would help. The sound of munching disappeared as I waited with the bow ready to shoot at any time.

Judging from the speed of eating two horses, he must be quite a big guy.

Splash!

I could see the demon appearing in the dark while the rain was pouring on the light of the campfire that had been struggled with. It looked like a four-legged horse, but no one would call it a horse if they saw the sharp teeth on its mouth opened.

Besides, I’m standing on my feet, but him being 3 meters tall, he is more than twice the size of a normal horse.

Kelpy’s black eyes went through the crowds. The eyes looked as if they were smiling.

Ed looked back at the dolmen with a sudden thought. Well, there can’t just be a good place like this to avoid rain in the forest. No aristocrat would have built a rock this big in the middle of the forest.

Maybe it was his trap. He would’ve still appeared even if the beef jerky wasn’t roasted.

The moment kelpy opened his mouth, and a long tongue flew towards the knight. He still swung his sword and cut off the tongue, fitting the name ‘knight’.

But the tongue bent the knight’s wrist, avoiding the sword. Kelpy rushed as soon as the knight tried to pull his arm reflexively. It was too fast for the knight to respond due to him rushing in with his tongue pulled.

Quang!

The knight’s chest armor was crushed. It bounced back and flew away. The knight must have been stunned by the shock as he couldn’t get up with his head down. As he moved forward with great force, I thought he was going to show something, but I guess I expected too much from a knight living in this kind of countryside.

“Sir Bardel!”

The girl shouted out his name, but no answers were heard. Still, by listening to his low breath, he didn’t die.

Then the bald horseman bravely swung his whip. But if he was going to do that, why doesn’t he swing it with his eyes open?

Kelpy’s tongue hit the bald horseman’s head straight away, avoiding his whip.

Wood-deuk.

The bald horseman’s head turned to his back and fell over the campfire. The flames blew everywhere.

It’s unknown whether the knight is still alive or dead, but the bald horseman is definitely dead for sure. The girl shouted urgently with a frightened look on her face.

“Save me!”

Ed was not willing to let his opponent live if he was the devil anyway. At the end of the world, demons had to be caught again and again. They were also useless.

But I didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

“How much?”

“I’ll give you as much as you ask for!”

While Kelpy was thinking about who to target next, Ed simply replied.

“Keep that promise.”

If I go to see her parents get the compensation saving her, It will just be a hassle. The nobles of this world have a sense of goodness that no modern conglomerate can compare to

After this business, I was only going to take the money she had now. Let’s kill him first.

When Ed stepped forward and covered the girl’s front, Kelpy rolled his eyes and threw his tongue. Ed simply tilted his head to avoid the tongue poking through just like a spear blade. He then flew the arrow.

The arrow pierced through Kelpy’s tongue.

Oh my gosh!

Ed mumbled while he was hanging a new arrow on the protest.

“What kind of tongue so long like this? Bring it on!”