IBMAW 11

Chapter 11

The Hunter’s Workshop

Just a little further, and he would be home. His steps naturally quickened.

‘Will they be happy?’

On modern Earth, money was everything. The bigger the number deposited into your bank account each month, the better. The larger that number, the more desirable you were as a marriage partner.

But here, even the wolf he was carrying would count as considerable wealth.

Even if he couldn’t properly process the hide and its quality dropped a bit, it could at least be used as a rug. And more importantly, there was plenty of meat.

Food was what mattered most.

Even though the dead wolf was thin, its size meant there was still a lot to eat. Even one leg was quite large.

‘I wonder if wolf meat tastes good.’

He didn’t really know, but at least it should be edible.

At the very least, he was sure Lizzie and Dorothy would be happy. They would definitely be more surprised than when he had gone out carrying just a water container. Maybe they might even respect him a little.

Not that he was aiming for that. It was just a thought.

With a light heart, he walked forward. Just as the house came into view between the trees—

A sudden scream rang out.

A child’s voice. Dorothy.

His heart began pounding.

Could it be a wolf had come down this far? Or a wild boar? Or a snake? What if it was a venomous one—

Without even thinking to put down the water container, he started running.

Soon he saw Lizzie rushing out of the house—and she began screaming too.

“…”

Juhwan kept running. Just in case. There might really be a wolf.

But it didn’t seem like that was the case.

He saw a small figure running like it was rolling across the ground and clinging to Lizzie—it was Dorothy.

Lizzie was trembling, holding a knife and pointing it into the air.

More precisely—toward Juhwan.

Dorothy clung to Lizzie’s waist, crying and shouting something.

There was no wolf anywhere around them.

Juhwan stopped at a slight distance.

It seemed he had frightened them.

They were crying… because of him.

Was it because of the wolf? Even though it was dead, maybe it was still terrifying.

‘They’re both women, after all.’

He realized he hadn’t been considerate enough.

On modern Earth, you wouldn’t bring a beast’s corpse in front of women like this. But here, he had thought it would be fine. He had thought Lizzie and Dorothy would be happy to see it.

Juhwan set down the water container and the wolf’s body.

Then he noticed—he was covered in blood.

The wolf’s blood and his own were mixed together, staining his whole body red. There were even other fluids here and there—probably from inside the wolf’s head.

Was it really okay to show himself like this?

As he hesitated and took a few steps forward—

Suddenly, Lizzie dropped the knife and ran toward him.

“Juhwan! Juhwan!”

She called his name while crying.

He didn’t quite understand what was going on.

As he stood awkwardly, Lizzie tripped and fell forward.

Startled, he hurried to her—but she stretched out her thin arm toward him.

“Juhwan!”

She was sobbing.

He didn’t know why—but surely it was because of the wolf.

Wait… was it forbidden to kill wolves in this forest? Was that why she was crying? Maybe wolves were some kind of guardian spirit here.

Or maybe they were animals only higher-status people were allowed to hunt.

He felt uneasy.

If they could communicate, he would immediately understand the situation. But not knowing made him restless.

As he was thinking that, Lizzie saw the wound on his arm—and screamed.

Then she burst into tears and began frantically checking his face, neck, and chest.

Her small, thin fingers moved over his body—up, down, and across—searching.

Before long, Dorothy came over too and began touching his shoulder, copying Lizzie.

Dorothy moved behind him, checking his back, while Lizzie examined him from the front.

‘They were just worried…’

It had been a long time since anyone worried about him.

His heart felt strangely ticklish.

He felt a little embarrassed—and a little happy.

His face seemed to flush on its own.

‘Of course… If someone goes out to fetch water and comes back carrying a wolf, anyone would be shocked and worried.’

Lizzie, being from this world, would know better than him how dangerous wolves were.

And in reality, if that sudden flame hadn’t appeared, he would have been in serious danger.

He might have died from the bite—or suffered a massive injury.

Juhwan gently grabbed Lizzie’s wrist.

“It’s okay. I’m not hurt. Well—I was hurt, but I’m fine now. It only bit my arm. I’m okay. I’m really okay.”

After repeating that several times, Lizzie finally stopped her frantic movements.

Without caring that she was getting covered in blood, she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried.

“####. ####.”

She repeated the same words over and over—probably something like “thank goodness” or “I was worried.”

Dorothy, either copying her or acting on instinct, also reached out and clung to his back, crying.

Sometimes she lightly tapped his back while speaking in a similar tone to Lizzie.

She was probably saying she was worried too.

After the three of them stayed like that for a while, Juhwan gently moved.

He had to deal with the wolf.

If he didn’t drain the blood and remove the organs quickly, the meat might spoil.

His grandfather had told him many times—if you didn’t drain the blood properly, the smell would ruin the meat.

He pointed at the wolf and mimicked using a knife.

Lizzie seemed to understand and hurriedly stood up.

When Juhwan lifted the wolf onto his shoulder again, Lizzie’s eyes widened in shock. She alternated her gaze between him and the wolf.

Dorothy initially looked at the wolf with fear, not moving.

But seeing the adults remain calm, she seemed to relax.

She watched them for a moment, then ran around Juhwan in a wide circle, keeping some distance.

When the wolf didn’t move at all, her fear disappeared. She came closer, her eyes sparkling, and shouted something excitedly while jumping up and down.

Even as an adult, a man still had a childlike side.

Seeing Lizzie and Dorothy react like this made his shoulders lift proudly.

He felt a bit foolish for it—but his excitement didn’t fade.

Heh… pretty cool, right?

A slight smile formed on his lips.

But Lizzie’s face wasn’t very bright.

She kept looking at the wound on his arm.

Her face, already messy with tears, looked like it might cry again.

“…”

From now on, he should try not to get hurt.

It wouldn’t always be possible—but he should do his best.

Lizzie led him toward the forest.

A short distance from the cabin, near the edge of the woods, there was a small hut-like structure.

It was made of wood and wasn’t very large.

Lizzie pointed at the door, which was secured with a wooden latch. Then she pointed at the wolf and mimed cutting.

Yeah, he understood.

If this was a hunter’s house, it would naturally have a place to process prey.

His grandfather also had a small area behind the house for handling carcasses.

‘But…’

When Juhwan opened the door, a foul smell rushed out.

It was the stench of animal blood that had seeped into the structure over a long time.

‘I thought this was a toilet…’

When he first saw it, it was separated from the house and small, so he had assumed it was an outhouse.

He had even thought, “That’s a huge toilet.”

Maybe it doubled as a storage place for fertilizer, he had guessed.

But if this wasn’t a toilet… then where did they go?

There were no other buildings nearby that looked like one.

‘It can’t be that there’s no toilet… then where—’

He shook his head.

That train of thought was going somewhere he didn’t want to imagine.

Better stop.

Juhwan went inside and opened the wooden shutters.

The windows were larger than those of the cabin—probably for ventilation.

Light poured in, revealing corners that had been hidden in darkness. There were dark stains everywhere—likely blood and organ residue.

In one corner was a wooden barrel with a musty smell—probably for storing byproducts during butchering.

On one wall hung two knives—a large one and a small one. They were likely used for skinning and cutting bones.

Unlike those on Earth, they were very thick—almost like chunks of iron sharpened only at the ends.

Below them was a workbench made by cutting a tree.

In a corner were a small water container and a flat stone—probably for sharpening knives.

On the front wall were several wooden pegs jutting out—likely for hanging meat or fur during processing.

Other walls were cluttered with unfamiliar tools and some recognizable ones: leather pouches, strange wooden sticks, net-like objects, ropes, and long poles with snares.

Why hadn’t the villagers taken any of these?

It felt strange.

Maybe there was some superstition—like touching a hunter’s tools would bring a curse.

Or perhaps the village economy worked through trade—the hunter supplied meat in exchange for crops.

Or maybe—

“…”

If only he could understand the language, he wouldn’t feel so uneasy.

A sigh escaped him.

Anywhere you go, not knowing the language makes you an easy target to be cheated.

He needed to learn it quickly.

He could learn speech from Lizzie—but where could he learn writing?

From what he could see, very few people here could read or write.

Maybe the village chief knew.

But even if he did, would he teach him?

Knowledge was power—especially literacy.

If only a few people in the village could read, they might not want to teach others.

“Sigh…”

Anyway, first things first—deal with the wolf.

He needed to remove the organs.

That was the most urgent task.

After carefully inspecting the workshop, Juhwan frowned.

It didn’t seem suitable for draining blood or removing organs.

There was no proper drainage.

Maybe the previous hunter used a container and carried everything outside—but if so, it would be easier to just work outside.

Also, the smell was too strong. It probably hadn’t been used in a long time.

It was likely full of bacteria.

Without sterilizing it—at least with hot water—it would be unusable.

For now, he should leave the door and windows open to let sunlight disinfect it.

Juhwan stepped outside and headed toward the forest.

Looking for a suitable spot, he scanned the area—then noticed something.

A thick branch had a rope tied to it, hanging down.

Next to it was a large rock—perfect for working.

He turned to look at Lizzie behind him.

She was following him closely, like a chick trailing its mother.

She must still be worried about his injured arm.

But the forest was dangerous.

The smell of blood could attract other wolves.

If that happened while Lizzie and Dorothy were outside, he wouldn’t be able to fight properly.

Juhwan pointed toward the cabin, gesturing repeatedly for her to go inside.

Lizzie looked at his face, then his arm, then the wolf in the distance.

Reluctantly, she nodded.

Hesitating, she walked back toward the house, glancing back several times.

After confirming that Lizzie and Dorothy had both gone inside, Juhwan turned toward the tree with the rope.