Chapter 34 34 – The Keeper’s Story

The sun had set long ago. Ritor and Emily sat in an open space, only separated by a bonfire between them. Meanwhile, Garthur lay on the ground snoring from exhaustion.

The villagers had already offered the minotaurs to stay at their place. However, Ritor felt their home was not enough to accommodate him and Garthur.

Moreover, he had to restrain himself from slashing their heads. His desire to slaughter humans still rages.

"So, you really helped the village girls from the goblins?" Emily looked at a pig roasting over the fire.

Ritor, gently twirling the animal so that it cooks evenly, snorted. "I'm not going to answer. You've asked that many times."

"It's just…. Before I was in that cave five hundred years ago, there were a few minotaurs left." The woman with pale purple hair sighed. "I never heard any story of them helping humans."

"Look, if I lied, the villagers wouldn't have given us these meats." Ritor held back his anger. Lord Vorn had given the minotaur an ultimatum not to attack Emily. "Did you see I forced them to give it to them? Did they look forced to do that? No, did they? They seemed happy to give this to us."

"You're right…." Emily was at a loss for words.

The woman was also holding back her rage. She still couldn't accept that her undead cave was damaged like that.

However, if she kills Ritor, then she is in danger. If the minotaur's master turned out to be the real Vorn, Emily couldn't imagine what punishment she would receive.

She still remembered the demon lord's infamous cruelty story. Five hundred years ago, she read records about it.

Ritor took the pork off the fire, placed it on a large wooden plank, poured the bottled sauce over it, then chopped it up.

"Sir Ritor..." Lana, one of the country girls that Ritor had helped, brought a tray filled with large sponge cakes. "I just baked dessert. Hope this is enough for you and your two friends."

"Thank you." Ritor was still cutting the roast pork without looking at Lana. "Just put it there."

Lana put the still slightly steaming sponge cake to the ground. But instead of leaving, she just stayed there, glancing at Emily a bit.

"Go back to your house…. Lana." Ritor was a little awkward saying the girl's name. The minotaur still hadn't taken his eyes off the roast pork. "It's cold out here, and your parents must be worried."

"My father has accepted you, sir..."

Ritor stabbed his knife into the wood he'd used for the roast pork, causing Lana to flinch.

"I'm not human, Lana." Finally, Ritor raised his head. "I'm a monster. Your father must still be worried."

Lana was about to argue again, but Emily added. "I'm also a monster like Ritor, even though I have a human form. So, I'm fine on the outside."

Lana pursed her lips, then smiled again. "Very well, Sir Ritor. As you wish. Goodbye. Enjoy your meal."

Lana finally got away from that place.

"Hey, it turns out you're a caring monster, huh?" Emily chuckled.

Ritor began to separate the portions of his cooking. "No, I restrained myself from crushing her head. My nature is to destroy humans, but my Lord asked me to suppress it."

The former undead cave keeper sneered. "Really? I don't believe you...."

The woman's words were cut short as Ritor held out a piece of roast pork leg. "Is this enough?"

Emily couldn't lie to herself. The aroma of the food piqued his appetite. However, she shook her head. "As an undead, I get energy from the ground, so I don't need to eat..."

"But, can't you eat, though?" Ritor raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that doesn't mean I can't..."

"Your saliva says otherwise." Ritor interrupted the woman again.

Emily hastily wiped the saliva flowing from her mouth without her noticing. She froze for a few seconds, then finally accepted that piece of meat and ate it.

Although the food was a bit tough, the explosion of flavors in her mouth made her want to cry. After all, she has been eating nothing for five hundred years.

But she held back her expression to not show any joy.

"Get up and eat!" Ritor stuffed the roast pork into Garthur's mouth. The subordinate got up and immediately ate even though his eyes were almost closed due to sleepiness.

When she saw Ritor start to eat, Emily frowned. She felt something strange.

"I assume you're his boss, right?" Emily spoke to Ritor while pointing at Garthur. "Why did you eat the head?"

"Because I like heads? So what?" Ritor asked back with his mouth full.

"Your share is also smaller than his…." Emily fell silent, lowered her food, then spoke again. "You remind me of my old master."

"You want to tell me about your past?" Ritor hit his pig's head to get the brain out. "Stop it. I don't want to hear you talking anymore."

"Why? Isn't chatting better than silence?" Emily snorted, taking another bite of her food. At first, she wanted to be angry, but sensing this was an opportunity to annoy Ritor, she continued. "Back then, my master was a genius. She was a magic expert and was also a renowned blacksmith."

Ritor scooped up the pig's brain and put it in his mouth. "You didn't hear what I said, did you?"

"She gave me a second chance by raising me from the dead on the battlefield." Emily studied the pork bone in her hand. She was surprised that she could eat that fast. "She was the first to discover necromancy, you know? Without her, I wouldn't have studied that branch of magic."

Garthur, finally awake, asked the woman. "So, how did you become the keeper of that cave?"

Ritor gave Garthur a sharp glare. The subordinate immediately focused on eating again. Ritor looked unhappy that Garthur had provoked Emily to say more.

"So, you two want to know what's next, right?" Emily rose from the ground, pulled a knife from her belt, then cut the sponge cake. "Unfortunately, that's for another day."

Seeing Ritor raise an eyebrow again, Emily smiled and bit the piece of cake in her hand. Once again, she wanted to cry because of the deliciousness that filled her mouth.