Chapter 28: Pablo, II

A clear voice echoed incessantly on the other side of consciousness:

Mr. Pablo…

Mr. Pablo must…

Mr. Pablo must be good to us…

Mr. Pablo must be good to us!

“Ack!” The voice reverberating in his dream startled Pablo awake, and he kicked off his blanket.

“Huff, huff.” His forehead was drenched with cold sweat. He wiped it away as he grimaced.

“Damn! That’s the first nightmare I’ve had in my life!”

Throughout the night, Pablo couldn’t escape Louis’s parting words. Despite feeling groggy from the nightmare, he forced himself out of bed.

“What has me so uneasy?” A strange sense of foreboding made him tremble as he hastily got dressed.

He wouldn’t feel at ease until he confirmed those kids were safely locked up. As he scanned his room, something caught his eye.

“Where’s my Snow Tiger pelt?”

The Snow Tiger was a pure-white tiger that thrived in snowy climates. Once fully grown, it became one of the most formidable mythical beasts even monsters feared. Pablo had proudly displayed the skin of the Snow Tiger he’d beaten to death with his hammer on his bedroom wall, but now it was nowhere to be seen.

“Hmm…” A strange unease bubbled inside him.

“Ack…!”

Unable to bear this growing sense of dread any longer, Pablo strode out of his room and hurried toward the prison.

On the way, he encountered Bandit No. 2.

“Oh? Chief?”

“What’re those brats doing?”

“Pardon me? Oh, them? They’re fine.”

“They didn’t leave their cell, did they?”

“No, sir. They haven’t moved an inch.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, Chief. They’re being very complacent…extremely complacent.”

Pablo let out a sigh of relief at Bandit No. 2’s confident reassurance, feeling slightly less uneasy now.

“Let’s go check on them.”

“Yes, sir!” Pablo strode ahead of Bandit No. 2. When he arrived at his destination, he smiled proudly seeing his subordinates standing guard outside the prison.

“The chief is here!”

“You guys have been working har—” Pablo patted the shoulders of his men who had stayed up all night guarding the prisoners and then peeked inside the cage.

“…?!”

His jaw dropped as he exclaimed in shock, “Wh-what is all this?”

“What do you mean?” His bewildered subordinates looked at him strangely.

“What do you mean?”

“That stuff over there!” Pablo pointed frantically at something inside the cage.

Inside, scattered around Louis and the children, were various food items and warm blankets. There was also a stove for hot meals and drinks to quench their thirst.

And then…

“But why is that there?!” Pablo jabbed his finger toward the cage.

The hide of the Snow Tiger, which had gone missing from his bedroom, now served as a soft cushion for the kids.

“How—how did this happen?!”

Bandit No. 2 cocked his head, puzzled by Pablo’s trembling frame.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m asking what those things are doing like that!”

“What do you mean? Didn’t our chief bring all that in?”

“…What?” Pablo looked incredulous. “Are you saying…what exactly?”

“Why so many questions? He’s been diligently delivering these since last night.”

“…?!”

“I asked you why you were acting strange, but you wouldn’t answer me.”

“…” Pablo was at a loss for words. Seeing his subordinates’ consistent reactions, he realized they weren’t lying to him.

“Oh…?”

That meant that last night, he really had delivered all those items…

Pablo quickly turned back toward the cage and made eye contact with Louis as he sipped his drink.

“Hi there!” Louis waved at Pablo with sticky hands and grinned brightly.

It’s him!

The nightmare from last night. And the bizarre phenomenon happening to him now. The only thing out of the ordinary lately had been meeting this kid.

As Pablo pondered grimly, Louis gestured toward the bars.

“Mr. Pablo, could you open this for me?”

“…” Bandit No. 2 glared at Louis angrily and yelled, “Watch your mouth, you little brat! Do you know who he is?! He’s the captain of the Blood Axe Guild—the one even babies stop crying when they see!”

“Oh, really?” Despite Bandit No. 2’s grandiose introduction, Louis just shrugged it off as meaningless noise.

The twins woke up from the loud voice, yawning and clinging to Louis.

“Louis… It’s too noisy.”

“I’m sleepy…”

As Louis stroked their hair while they rested against his knees, he nodded once more toward Pablo.

“How long are you going to stand there? Are you not opening the gate?”

Pablo hesitated at Louis’s firm tone. “But that kid—”

“Open it.”

“…Huh?”

“Open it.”

“But Chief!”

Despite Louis’s stubbornness, Bandit No. 2 reluctantly opened the gate with an expression of discontentment at his chief’s refusal to back down.

Clank.

As soon as the gate swung open…

“Hey, wake up. Go sleep somewhere else.”

“Noooooo…”

“I’m sleeeepy…”

Louis sighed at the twins’ sleepy whining and gestured toward them.

“Help me get these two inside.”

“…” Pablo hesitated for a moment before picking up both children, one in each arm. The kids looked comfortable nestled against the burly man’s chest.

“I like Uncle’s room. Let’s go there.” With that order, Pablo silently turned on his heel but paused to address Bandit No. 2.

“Wait here until I call you.”

“Chief…?” Confusion was written all over Bandit No. 2’s face.

With him left standing bewildered, Louis, Pablo, and the twins disappeared from sight. As they did, a small shadow brushed past above him.

Thud.

The huge door closed behind Pablo as he laid the twins on his bed. After tossing and turning briefly amidst the soft leather bedding, they fell fast asleep.

Louis felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck and turned to see Pablo looking confused. The bandit chief hesitated before finally asking:

“So…who exactly are you?”

“Who I am?” Louis smirked. “Don’t you already know the answer to that question?”

Pablo’s expression grew even more perplexed at Louis’s reply.

Suddenly…

“Loooooouis! How could you leave without me again?!” A tiny shadow dropped from the ceiling.

Pablo’s eyes widened at Fin’s unexpected appearance. “A f-fairy?”

Fairies had vanished long ago, and their existence was now known only through ancient texts. Naturally, Pablo couldn’t help but be astonished at seeing one with his own eyes.

Sensing Pablo’s gaze on him, Fin flew toward the surprised hunter. The tiny fairy crossed its arms while hovering right in front of Pablo’s face, which dwarfed it.

It cocked its head curiously. “Hmm…?”

“…?!”

“Ummm…” With a puzzled expression, Fin circled around Pablo, sniffing him occasionally as he flinched each time. Finally, Fin returned to hover before Pablo’s face, looking utterly befuddled.

“What is this thing?”

“This thing…?” Pablo felt helpless as Fin seemed to appraise him like some kind of specimen.

However, what came out of Fin’s mouth next froze Pablo solid.

“It definitely smells like dwarf…but it’s as big as an orc… Is this thing a dwarf or an orc…? Or maybe human?”

“…?!” Pablo was taken aback by Fin’s comment.

Louis chuckled at Pablo’s reaction. “It’s a mixed-blooded dwarf, probably born to a human and a dwarf.”

“But why is he so tall?”

“That…I’m not sure.”

As Louis and Fin continued their conversation, Pablo grew more tense. He stammered anxiously, “H-how did you know…?”

Louis turned his violet eyes toward him, still smiling faintly. “Didn’t I say…?”

“…”

“You already knew who I am.”

“…?!”

Staring into Louis’s gemlike eyes, a distant memory flashed through Pablo’s mind.

Pablo was born fifty years ago to a dwarf father and human mother—a rare occurrence in itself, but for them to have a child together was nothing short of miraculous.

Half dwarf and half human, Pablo inherited his father’s craftsmanship skills as well as his mother’s curiosity.

One day, when Pablo was still young, his father sat him down and explained:

“Son, there is something our kind must never do.”

“Never do?”

“It’s something we must avoid at all costs.”

His father wanted to impart the taboo of their race onto his son, which every dwarf father passed on to their offspring. Young Pablo blinked at how serious his father looked, not having seen this side of him before.

This was knowledge that every dwarf father passed down to their child.

Young Pablo cocked his head at his father’s unusually serious expression.

“What is it?”

“Well…” His father seemed parched just thinking about this taboo and reached for a nearby cup of alcohol with trembling hands. He gulped it down before exhaling heavily through his nostrils.

“Ahhhhh!”

In Pablo’s memory, his father had always been a jovial man, which made that particular day unforgettable—the sight of his usually cheerful dad being so fearful.

“Haah… My son.” Emboldened by the liquor, Pablo’s father continued. “If ever… If ever—”

“Yes?”

“…If you ever feel your knees go weak and uncontrollably tremble at someone’s mere presence or find yourself compelled to obey them against your will…run away as fast as you can.”

“What?”

“You’re not a pure-blooded dwarf, so maybe you’ll be able to escape this bloodline curse. But since you still carry my blood, I’m afraid it won’t completely spare you.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“I hope nothing happens to you, but if—if anything like that occurs…you must run for your life!”

“And what if I can’t get away?”

“Then you have no choice but to submit!” His father stared straight into Pablo’s wide eyes as he continued.

“And never forget this, no matter how much time passes. Our kind is known for our stubbornness, but since you’re half human as well, I hope that trait isn’t too ingrained in you.”

“But…who exactly are these beings?”

Slap.

Shocked by his son’s question, Pablo’s father hastily covered his mouth with trembling hands.

Mmph, mmph!

Pablo tried to wriggle free, and his father whispered urgently into his ear.

“Hush! Their ears are always open, my son! Never speak of them carelessly anywhere!”

“Mmph!”

“They are—”

That day, Pablo’s soul was forever imprinted with his father’s slightly quivering voice along with the taboo he must never forget.

Pablo snapped out of his reminiscence from long ago, his eyes wide with shock.

“No…no way!” He stumbled backward in disbelief.

Seeing Pablo’s reaction brought a wider smile to Louis’s face.