As they walked down the dirt track toward what looked like the Kingdom of Lugunica in the distance, Luke slumped his head down the whole way, despairing about the world he was transported to.
He didn't even know whether it was good that at least Arc 3 hadn't happened yet since the tree was still standing.
'No way I would be so lucky that I can just live a relatively quiet life. I mean, I was transmigrated here, so I'm probably gonna have a part to play in all this...' He sighed and walked straight, thinking about what he had to do first when they entered Lugunica. They needed money too, of course.
"Finally picked your head up straight, ehh~? I assume you know where this place is, since you randomly shouted my name like that? Appreciate that, by the way." He giggled to himself as they walked side by side, looking like the oddest yet somehow matching companions.
"Yeah, I guess you could say that. I've never been here, but all you need to know is that this is a dangerous world, worse than our previous ones..." Luke said seriously to him, which he actually seemed to acknowledge.
"Worse than our previous ones? Geto told me that Curses were largely confined to Japan, which isn't that big. I'm guessing this world is larger than just a single country, huh~? You don't have to worry, for I am here~" He patted himself on the chest jokingly, but he definitely wasn't actually boasting.
But now there was the other problem...
"Walking takes too long! Isn't there a faster way to get there!? When I suggested I change my form to get us there faster, you declined because 'too suspicious' or some other shit. So, any other bright ideas??" He practically shouted his frustration out loud, but he was kind of correct. Luke did suggest walking instead, but this was taking longer than he thought it would.
"I'm just trying to keep us safe, he—" Luke was going to argue back before they turned toward the sound of trotting 'horses', which he suspected was just an earth dragon-mounted caravan being driven by a merchant. Although it was moving considerably fast, it was still quite a distance away from them.
Before he could wave for help, Mahito touched his shoulder with a knowing smirk, which Luke knew meant trouble. "Just watch how quickly I solve our little dilemma~" He made a shushing motion with his finger as they waited for the merchant to come closer.
'Just what the hell are you thinking of doing, Mahito...' Luke nervously watched as the caravan came closer. The rider was also now in view, nodding towards him in confusion as Luke did look very out of place.
"You a traveller or something? We have been getting a lot of them recently." The merchant spoke down from his seat as he stopped in front of Luke.
He had a deep voice and a solid build, suggesting that he'd been doing this labour for a while. But nothing could have prepared him for what was going to happen next.
"We're pretty new in this area, and we have no means of transport, so I was wondering if we could hitch a ride with you," I said politely while Mahito curiously checked out the earth dragon in the front like a little child.
Luke wasn't naive, and he knew he was planning some way to get this guy's caravan, and he was going to make it as sadistic as possible. But a part of him hoped that maybe Mahito was different now that he had been summoned by him.
"Kid, you don't understand our language or something? What do you mean 'we'?" The merchant picked up on the clearly incorrect usage of the word from his perspective.
Luke's eyes widened in realisation. He completely forgot that Curses were invisible to normal people.
Meanwhile, Mahito rolled his eyes at him and stuck out his tongue for finally remembering, knowing that he had just made himself look stupid.
"Luke~ Are you sure you've ever even encountered a curse? It's a pretty basic thing to forget~" Mahito teased, but there was a genuine questioning tone to his voice.
'Would it be a good idea to admit that I've never actually seen a curse? I'll just figure it out later...' Luke's expression didn't change as he continued listening to the merchant.
"Whatever. You know how rough this business is. I expect some compensation. How about one silver?" the merchant replied. Luke was disappointed by the fee requirement, but understood his predicament. Not everyone in the goods and services business was going to hit it big.
But suddenly, his eyes snapped to Mahito, where he could see his hands glowing slightly, and the face of the earth dragon changed before returning to normal as if nothing had happened. He definitely used his Cursed Technique on it!
Since the merchant's attention was mostly on him, and humans can't see Curses, he couldn't notice what had happened. Mahito then walked back to his side before smiling at him innocently.
Luke should've been angry or tried to stop him, but he genuinely didn't want to risk rejecting Mahito any further. He doesn't know how friendly he actually is toward him. Mahito could still easily kill him if he wanted to.
So, in conclusion, it's better if the merchant dies than him...
"I'm so sorry," Luke said as he looked down at his feet. The merchant seemed confused before turning his head toward his earth dragon, which had suddenly become erratic.
"Hey, girl, calm down!" He tried to calm it, and then suddenly his eyes widened in horror as his precious earth dragon looked back at him. Its face was completely disfigured, one of its eyes missing and its skin rotting. He couldn't say any more words as the now-transfigured earth dragon leapt up and bit down on him mercilessly.
Luke couldn't bear to see the gruesome sight. All he heard were his screams of agony and him shouting at him to help him. The worst part was hearing Mahito clapping and cheering the dragon on as she tore apart her former master.
Luke crouched down and covered his ears, trying to bury his head in his chest, trying to ignore everything he was hearing, trying to convince himself it wasn't his fault that a completely innocent man was dying so unnecessarily painfully in front of him.
"IthadtobedoneithadtobedoneITHADTOBEDONEITHADTOBEDONENOTMYFAULTNOTMYFAULT—!" He rambled quietly to himself. He was barely an adult, and now he had just lured a completely innocent man into a torturous death—and for what? His dragon and caravan? They could've just stolen it...
'I knew this was going to happen when I realised my summon was Mahito, so why am I so pathetic now? Why did I think Mahito would be even a slight bit merciful!? He probably had a wife and kid waiting for him at home, friends still waiting to share their experiences, and now? We just took it all away. And it's all because of me... because I was inwardly glad that he would die instead of me.'
These thoughts constantly plagued his mind as he sat in the driver's seat of the caravan, the transfigured earth dragon pulling it on its own, its increased strength making the journey faster.
Luke sat listlessly, letting the wind hit his face as he looked down at the 'monster.' Its face was now back to normal, and the blood and body of the merchant were also gone, probably thanks to the Curse sleeping casually at the back.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep as well, uncomfortably certain that the now-transfigured earth dragon could fend off any trivial threat. He didn't have nightmares about the merchant's gruesome death or recollections of happy memories.
All he could dream about was when he would become strong enough to fully take control of his situation.
'Let's hope I don't get any more lunatics...'