The Thorn that Pierces Me

Only five types of people roamed outside the city like Calix.

Mercenaries hunting maenok, holy knights with divine power from the temples, criminals sentenced to hard labor in places like mines outside the city, outsiders like this woman.

And... thieves.

People thought that the maenok were uncivilized, ignorant individuals who had offered their souls to the devil, Caesar. But maenok was not such a monster.

Maenok was a creature that was purposely and artificially created by design. However, this fact was kept confidential, known only to a few high-ranking priests and knights in the temple.

Thieves knew part of this secret and were bold enough to leave the city to steal belongings from outsiders.

When he first met this woman, she was also held captive by these thieves.

At that moment, a strange premonition prompted Calix to pull her hand toward him. She complied quietly. Even as his large hand pressed against her cheek, she offered no resistance. Calix examined the insides of her mouth, where her tongue lay.

“The tongue is there.”

He wondered if her tongue had been cut, but even her teeth were all intact. Of course, he felt all of that earlier when she was caressing him.

Still, he checked, just in case.

It wasn’t odd for her, an outsider from another world, not to understand the language here. But upon closer inspection, it seemed she couldn’t make any proper sounds.

“Ugh.”

Impulsively, Calix inserted his finger into her mouth. Heesoo, startled by the sudden action, pulled her head back slightly.

But she didn’t resist this either. Considering what she put into her mouth earlier, a finger was nothing to be so shy with. As he stirred her mouth with his index finger, he felt the slight movement of her tongue.

There seemed to be nothing wrong with her ability to move her tongue.

‘W-What am I doing...?’

The truth was, he already knew! The way she moved her tongue, the way her lips curled, the way she swallowed his ‘thing’.... Calix already knew it all. But he just wanted to put his finger in her mouth to feel that soft inside again.

Yes, that was actually the case.

‘Damn.’

Her presence kept prompting impulsive actions from him. Calix tried to speak casually, hiding his agitation.

“Then why don’t you speak? Are you not speaking, or can you not speak?”

“....”

“Or, do you....”

The question of whether she had a disability rose to his throat. He knew she wouldn’t understand, but he found it hard to ask directly. Asking directly seemed too rude.

“So you really can’t say anything?”

“....”

“This isn’t going anywhere....”

Watching her just blink in response was exasperating. She couldn’t speak, nor could she understand a word.

‘What am I supposed to do with her?’

There were six cities in this country. To enter a city, one had to pass through the city gates, which required perfect identification using a magic stone necklace.

The reason behind all this inconvenience was the emergence of ‘maenok.’

People whose souls had been taken by the evil Caesar wandered outside the cities, who were also known as the ‘maenok.’ Maenok hunted people for food. Hence, ordinary people never ventured outside the city.

Only five types of people roamed outside the city like Calix.

Mercenaries hunting maenok, holy knights with divine power from the temples, criminals sentenced to hard labor in places like mines outside the city, outsiders like this woman.

And... thieves.

People thought that the maenok were uncivilized, ignorant individuals who had offered their souls to the devil, Caesar. But maenok was not such a monster.

Maenok was a creature that was purposely and artificially created by design. However, this fact was kept confidential, known only to a few high-ranking priests and knights in the temple.

Thieves knew part of this secret and were bold enough to leave the city to steal belongings from outsiders.

When he first met this woman, she was also held captive by these thieves.

The outsider was destined to labor alongside the criminals. They had no other choice. The woman, too, was supposed to have been sent to the mines, but she was held captive by the thieves....

Suddenly, he remembered the fake magic stone necklace he had seen in the hut. It had definitely belonged to her.

“Ariana de Black Castle.”

It meant she was Ariana from Black Castle. Calix knew at a glance that the necklace was fake, but it would have been enough to get through the city gates.

It was clear the woman had been captured by thieves before she could be sent to the mines. Calix facepalmed in great frustration as he tried to get a grasp of what was going on.

“Ariana.”

He spoke out the woman’s name summoned by the fake magic stone. However, she showed no reaction.

“Is your name Ariana?”

“....”

“From Black Castle?”