The Master Painter and the Forbidden Room – Part 01
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Translator: Kell
Prologue
A demon, I thought.
A woman was standing in the middle of a crystal-clear lake nestled between dense trees. She was undressed, her skin as white as snow.
Her silvery hair fanning out on the water surface was like fine silk threads, and the somber face slightly visible through her wet hair possessed a supernatural charm that could corrupt even a saint with a single glance.
Her beauty was haunting, too sinister for a goddess. One look could rip a man of his life and soul.
Closer. I could not tell which came first: the thought or my body moving.
As I leaned out of the bush I was hiding in, a branch snapped under my feet.
The woman turned around. But who would think of running away when those mysterious violet eyes were gazing at them? I wished to be trapped in her eyes like this for eternity.
The woman opened her mouth.
Smooth and eloquent words slipped from her red lips. Though I could not understand a word she said, the voice that touched my earlobes was pleasantly sweet. It was as if she was reciting a witch’s incantation.
“Chapter of Hunting, Page Four: Redaest! Grant me power, for I am Zero!”
Light flashed, followed by a loud boom. It felt like my body was being ripped apart.
Although I was tormented by pain and the fear of death, my heart was satisfied. If the price for appreciating such beauty was one’s own life, I would gladly give mine.
But I can’t just die and leave them alone.
As I was stewing my lunch of mushroom soup, the quiet forest rumbled.
I didn’t even bother asking what was going on. The only thing that could produce such a boom in a serene forest was either an army with a lot of gunpowder, or a witch with terrifying magical power.
Although one would find it hard to believe, my current employer was the latter, presently bathing in a lake where the sound seemed to have come from.
Putting all the information together, even a dumb guy like could easily guess the source of the commotion.
It was none other than Zero, an extraordinary witch who invented Magic, a technique that brings about supernatural phenomena with a single incantation.
I rushed to the lake, clearing away branches and shrubs in my path. “Hey, witch!” I roared. “Why the hell are you using Magic in broad daylight?! Do you want the Church to find you and burn you at the—Aaaaahh!”
As I gave her a proper scolding, I shrieked and turned my body in the opposite direction—a shameful display, if I do say so myself.
Zero was in the middle of washing herself, which meant she was naked. Looking at the naked body of a woman with captivating beauty would rob me of my sanity.
Even when I had my back turned to her, I closed my eyes, and yelled, “I’ll listen to your excuses later, so put on some clothes first!”
Zero let out an exasperated sigh. “You rushed here and shouted at me without asking for my side first, then told me to get dressed without checking if I am safe. I would appreciate it if you would worry about me even a little.”
“How am I supposed to worry about a walking weapon that can blow up a giant with a single incantation?”
“As far as I am concerned, you are the walking weapon, with your fearsome appearance.”
Frowning, I let my ears droop and wagged my tail. As Zero said, if I had to describe my appearance in a nutshell, I would be a large, bipedal carnivore—a half-human, half-beast called a Beastfallen. Sometimes monsters like me were born from completely ordinary parents.
According to Zero, it was because of some sort of Sorcery called a Beastowal that my ancestors or relatives used in the past.
Zero said she could reverse the spell’s effects. That’s why I’d been traveling as her bodyguard. But things had changed a bit lately, and I’d decided to stay in my monster form for a while.
Zero was on a quest to stop the Magic she created from spreading throughout the world and causing chaos, and I was on a quest to kill a certain witch who abused Magic and killed my friend. For the sake of our mutual interests, staying as a monster with extraordinary physical capabilities was much more beneficial.
But that didn’t mean that she was a helpless woman compared to me. If she were to get serious, she could reduce me to ashes in the blink of an eye.
“Do you prefer a walking ball of insanity, then? If you don’t want to be tortured or burned at the stake, don’t use Magic, even in the woods.”
“Something was lurking in the bushes.”
“What?” I almost turned around. “Are you dressed?” I asked.
“I do not really mind being seen naked.”
“Well, I do! I’m a sound, adult male.!”
“Fret not. You are clearly a sound, adult male. I am saying that I, a kind-hearted witch, am willing to accept your extremely sound desire to see my naked body.”
“Just put your clothes on already!”
“I forgot to mention. I have been dressed for a while now.”
Damn it. I wanna smack her so hard.
Shaking with anger, I finally turned back to the lake, but not before taking a quick glance to make sure she was actually dressed.
“So, who was it that you destroyed?” I asked.
“I have no idea, but he is completely gone now. He came too close that I felt my life was in danger, so I had no choice but to use Magic.”
“No choice, eh?”
“Or do you want me to be attacked by thugs, chained, dressed in beautiful clothes, and auctioned off to the public? A witch as beautiful as I am would fetch a very high price. I would be confined to a room inside a treasure house and spend the rest of my life as part of a strange man’s collec—”
“You’re free to let your imagination run wild, but if there’s a bandit out there capable enough to chain an extraordinary witch, I’d like to see the body to be on the safe side, if that’s okay.”
“I was just getting to the good part,” she grumbled. “While I am locked, you come to rescue me, fully-prepared to die. You regret that you slacked off in your job as a bodyguard, leaving me alone in the lake, and you tearfully beg for my forgiveness, but I, a kind-hearted person, do not blame you. What do you think? A beautiful tale, wouldn’t you say?”
“Slacking off? Who was it that told me to prioritize cooking over protecting you?”
I was her bodyguard, true, but she was the one who ordered me to make some hot soup for her to drink as soon as she was done bathing. In her words, “Forget about guarding me. Just make soup.”
Zero tilted her head a little. “As you can see, I protected myself,” she said, pointing to the bare soil that was once bushes.
She was missing the point, but arguing with a witch who negotiated with demons was simply futile. I only fought battles I could win.
Zero and I strode through the blasted trees and stopped when we spotted a human lying in the middle of the devastation.
“Did you kill them?” I asked.
“No. I was aiming for the trees. They probably fainted from shock.”
“Maybe we should just kill them to avoid future problems.”
“Spoken like a real mercenary. I can see why they called you the Black Beast of Dea—”
“Aaaaah! Stop! Don’t mention that name!”
“Oh, it is fine. I like how ruthless you are.”
“Shut up, and think about what you said!”
I curled my finger and flicked Zero’s forehead hard with my claw. She let out a human-like groan, holding her forehead in pain.
I crouched down beside the unconscious man. He was wearing tattered clothes, and had an unshaven face. His dingy getup made him look like a middle-aged man at first glance, but a closer inspection revealed that he was still young, just over twenty.
“Doesn’t look like a bandit,” I said. “Looks like a thin bean sprout.”
People who fought for a living, no matter how slim they were, usually had some semblance of muscle. But this man was nothing but skin and bones.
The only thing he had with him that qualified as a weapon was a small fruit knife inserted in the waist. Such a small knife, of course, could only be used for peeling fruit.
He looked more like a petty thief than a battle-hardened bandit. That, or a peeping tom.
”U-Ugh…”
The man let out a grunt. He opened his eyes and looked at me. I thought he would scream, but he was surprisingly quiet. A single tear fell from his eye, trickling down his cheek.
“Ah, are you a gatekeeper of hell who will lead me to the afterlife? Terrifying and sinister.”
Is he talking about me? I guess he is, given the situation.
“I have finally fallen into hell. I am too sinful! Ah, my Goddess!” He heaved himself upright. “I was a devout believer! Why did you forsake me?” Arms wide open, he looked up to the heavens, appealing to his god about the hardship he’d been through. The whole thing looked like an act you’d see in a picture.
What is this pretentious tone? Is he an actor or something?
As Zero and I watched the man’s monologue in silence, he finally began to sense something wrong with the situation and his actions. He looked around curiously.
He wasn’t in hell, of course, but a peaceful, yawn-inducing, ordinary forest, with a few toppled trees.
The man put his hand to his chin and cocked his head. “Seems pretty peaceful for hell,” he said. “It looks like the lake I was in a while ago. If God created hell, He should’ve done so after seeing a few masterpieces first.”
He frowned deeply.
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