Poisonous Flesh

Vir sat quietly by a bonfire, in a sandy area. His cart was right behind his back. The night sky this time was quite bright with the presence of thousands of stars that seemed to promise a more beautiful life.

He grinned at the moon as it crawled closer to its highest point, then his gaze fell on the meat he was grilling by the bonfire. The flesh was the heart of the wyvern which he sliced into several pieces.

Well, the wyvern he had killed a while ago, along with the rider.

Four large wedges, each pierced with a short stick of twig. He just waits a few more moments before it is fully cooked.

To the right of the man, lay a leather pouch containing redbrew.

He didn't seem bothered at all even though he was out in the open.

Vir has never been afraid of anything. The dragons usually don't go directly to areas inhabited by humans, he just knows the behavior of the dragons.

At the very least, since the destruction of the four major regions: the Northeastern Country, the Southeastern Country, the Southwest Country, and the Northwest Country, now the dragons prefer to nest in the four regions that have become dead lands.

Or also in remote and inland areas that are rarely visited by humans. Or in the big rivers that are still wild and deep, or in certain lakes. What's more, in the ocean.

Vir was so familiar with all of that that he didn't feel he had to worry about himself sleeping out in the open. Except, perhaps, for large wolf packs and other nocturnal beasts.

But he seemed to know the sandy area well. So all the reasons to be afraid just disappeared.

The smell of roasted meat tickled his hunger. Vir grinned. He grabbed a skewer of meat, then sniffed the cooked meat with a big smile on his face.

"Time to eat!" Vir chuckled to himself.

He tried to take a bite of the roasted meat directly, however, since it was still very hot, Vir only got his lips and tongue as hot as burning.

"Damn it!" he snorted and chuckled again to himself. "Still hot!"

"Don't you love your life?"

Vir stopped his desire to try to take another bite of the hot meat. He glanced to the right.

A little girl was standing three steps away from him.

The man wasn't surprised at all because he didn't feel the little girl's murderous aura towards him, nor anything bad.

"Tch!" Vir snorted.

He acted like he just ignored the little girl by trying to take another bite of the roasted meat in his hand. Even though it was hot, Vir had made his full mouth tilt to the right and left.

"Hot, hot, hot…" he muttered incoherently.

The nine-year-old little girl didn't show any expression even though Vir ignored her. She stepped closer to Vir.

"You know that dragon meat is poisonous, right?" said the little girl who was now one step away from Vir. "Especially the heart part, very, very poisonous."

"Not again, you little brat!" said Vir with his mouth full and it was hot because the meat was still steaming. "Why are you following me, huh? What do you want from me exactly?"

She is the same little girl. The little bum who had previously begged Vir for money and food when he was in a village the previous noon.

The little girl carried a cloth bundle that looked big and full on her back.

But Vir didn't care about that. He didn't even care how the little girl managed to follow him and even knew that the meat he ate was the heart of a dragon of the wyvern type.

As with Vir who didn't pay attention to what she said, the little girl then sat in front of the bonfire ignoring Vir's questions to her.

When the little girl was about to grab a skewer of meat in front of her, Vir slapped her hand away.

"Hey!" Vir pointed at the little girl. "Don't you dare!"

"You don't even die," protested the little girl while looking at Vir without any expression at all. "So, I won't die either!"

"Stop it!" Vir glared at her. "Don't you even try, you little brat!"

"I'm hungry!" said the little girl, looking into Vir's eyes.

He stuck the skewer in his hand into the sand, then stood up, and approached his cart.

Vir grabbed a bright yellow fruit the size of a baby's head from inside his cart.

"Here," he said as he threw the fruit to the little girl. "Take this!"

Vir sat back down, grabbed his food again, and ate it until it was finished. Then grabbed the second skewer.

The little girl grinned softly. She wiped the fruit with the hem of her dull clothes, then ate the fruit.

Vir watched the little girl while chewing his food. "Tch, what an annoying girl!"

Vir had finished his two skewers of roast meat, then took a sip of redbrew from the leather pouch until the red liquid drenched his chin and chest.

After that, he just lay down on the sand, on his back, and used his hand as a pillow for his head while looking up at the sky.

The girl was only able to finish a third of the size of the yellow fruit, she put the rest of the fruit near the bonfire, then did the same with Vir. Lying on the sand just like that using her bundle as a pillow for her head.

She doesn't need to drink because the fruit she eats contains a lot of liquid.

Vir glanced at the girl, the light from the bonfire slightly brightened her dull face. The little girl looks so sad, Vir took a deep breath.

"You—" Vir wanted to say something to the little girl, however, he suppressed his wish.

The little girl glanced at Vir who was probably annoyed because she always followed him to this point.

"Argh, never mind!" the 30-year-old man shook off the wind. "Just forget it!"

And Vir closed his eyes, to get sleep.

The little girl watched Vir's face for long enough, then she took a deep breath.

"Why are you not in pain?"

"Can you not bother me?" said Vir without opening his eyes.

It turned out that the little girl knew that Vir hadn't slept yet.

"Just go to sleep!" said Vir. "And tomorrow morning, go wherever you like. Don't follow me, you damn it!"

The little girl turned her gaze to the stars above.

"Hardly anyone has ever survived after eating dragon meat," she said, "and you have instead chosen to eat the heart, the most poisonous part."

"Shut up, you little bastard!" Vir snorted.

"And you also like drinking redbrew," babbled the little girl as if she wasn't afraid of Vir at all. "In fact, the drink also contains compounds that can become toxic if they accumulate in your body for a long time."

"What are you saying, huh?" Vir said again without opening his eyes. "It's the cheapest and tastiest drink ever. A little girl like you wouldn't know that pleasure. What annoying! Come on, you better sleep! Don't bother me anymore!"

"Aren't you lonely?"

Vir keeps quiet. He tried to get to sleep quickly without being bothered by the nine-year-old girl's chatter.

The little girl smiled faintly while looking at one of the brightest stars above.

"The ancient people said that every human who dies," muttered the little girl as if deliberately inviting Vir to chat. "Then their spirits will become a star that adorns the night sky."

Vir opened his eyes and stared at the twinkling stars above. After all, he had often heard old tales that were little more than bedtime nonsense, he thought.

"Stars are just celestial bodies, nothing more," said Vir. "It has nothing to do with the spirit or soul of someone who has died."

"You think so?"

"Just forget it!" Vir took a deep breath. "I'm so sleepy, little girl. Don't make me kick your ass from here!"

The little girl grinned, her gaze fixed on a cluster of stars in another corner of the sky.

She let out a soft and long sigh, then closed her eyes.

***