“May I ask why you are standing here, sir? If you would rather not answer, that is quite all right,” Glenn ventured, sensing the man was not entirely unfriendly.
He had not expected a response, yet the man spoke at last, his voice low and rasped with weariness.
“I am trying to decide whether I should save her. If I do, I will have to go all the way back to Duder to find a clinic. But if I do not… it does not sit right with me.”
“Uh…” Glenn had not anticipated that to be the source of his hesitation. After a brief pause, he offered, “Perhaps I can help. If you are willing, you could take these belongings back to my house, and I will escort this… lady to the clinic. How does that sound?”
The man was silent for only a few seconds before nodding curtly.
Seeing this, Glenn smiled and extended his hand. “A pleasure to meet you. I am… Glenn Nibankru.”
Since it was unlikely he would run into anyone who knew the body’s original owner, he decided to use his real name. Translated into this world’s language, it did not sound out of place.
The man looked at his outstretched hand, then slowly clasped it. “Black Raven.”
Black Raven? What an odd name…Glenn could not help but think, though his expression remained polite and neutral.
He told the man where his home was and where the key was hidden, without much concern for potential theft.
For one thing, there was nothing of real value in his house; for another, the man’s willingness to save a stranger suggested he was not the sort with a base character. Besides, Glenn had already memorized the man’s scent—thanks to a werewolf’s keen nose, tracking him down later would be child’s play.
Once Black Raven took the bundle of belongings, Glenn immediately knelt beside the unconscious woman lying among the weeds.
She appeared to be in her fifties, streaks of gray in her hair, her face etched with deep lines. Her plain attire marked her as a commoner.
There was blood at the corner of her mouth, and her arms were bruised and swollen—clear signs of blunt-force trauma. Torn fabric and shallow cuts hinted at knife wounds, though none were deep enough to be fatal.
After some quick first aid, Glenn hoisted her onto his back and turned to the silent man beside him.
“I will be off then, Mr. Black Raven. Do not forget to drop those things at my house.”
The man nodded once. Glenn gave a small wave before setting off toward Duder.
After parting ways with her friends, Layla returned home as usual—only to freeze at the sight before her.
The furniture lay overturned, the floor littered with debris, as though a storm had swept through. But what struck her most was not the chaos—it was the absence of her mother.
“Mom! Mom! Where are you? Oh, God, please—please keep her safe!”
Tears welled in Layla’s eyes as she frantically searched every corner of their small house.
But there was no trace of her mother.
She burst out the door and began asking the neighbors.
It was Mrs. Mann, the woman across the street, who answered. Hearing the commotion, she opened her door just as Layla, wild-eyed and trembling, appeared before her. Understanding dawned instantly.
“My dear girl,” she said, beckoning urgently, “it was Bob—he has come back! He was drunk, out of his mind, beating poor Mrs. Derry in your home. I saw him chasing her that way!”
Father?Layla’s heart seized. God only knew what that madman might do to her mother.
Without another word, she gathered her skirt and sprinted in the direction Mrs. Mann had pointed.
Carrying a woman who weighed nearly a hundred pounds for over ten kilometers was not difficult for Glenn in his current form. After some inquiry, he finally found a small private clinic.
Inside were three doctors and two nurses. Once the woman was taken in, one of the doctors approached him.
“Sir, are you a relative of the patient?”
“No,” Glenn replied at once. “I found her injured on the road.”
“I see. Then, would you be willing to cover her treatment costs?”
“Sorry, I do not have any money on me. Best wait until she wakes and let her settle it herself.”
“…Very well, sir.”
Glenn waited a while longer; he decided it would be best to make sure she regained consciousness before leaving.
Not long after, a doctor came to inform him that the woman was awake. Glenn rose to go. “In that case, I will be on my way—”
Before he could finish, the clinic door burst open. A familiar figure rushed in, eyes glistening with tears. She seized Glenn’s hand, breathless and trembling.
“Sir—please—were you the one who carried an injured woman here just now?”
Layla?Glenn froze in disbelief.
Duder was neither a large nor a small town; most people knew one another. A man carrying a bloodied, half-dead woman through the streets was bound to draw attention.
Layla had searched the town for hours, nearly weeping herself dry. When someone finally mentioned Glenn, hope flared. She memorized his appearance and ran all the way here, ignoring her exhaustion.
When Glenn nodded, her eyes widened, and she rushed past him into the ward.
The moment she saw the pale figure on the bed, she threw herself to her knees beside her.
“Mother…” she sobbed.
The woman reached out with trembling arms, pulling her daughter close. “My poor child…”
Glenn stood in the hallway with the doctors and nurses, quietly watching.
“What a touching scene,” one of the doctors murmured.
“Yes,” the nurses agreed, dabbing at their eyes.
Only Glenn stood apart, lost in thought.
She truly is a beautiful girl—her eyes, her delicate features, the grace in her expression. No wonder the body’s former owner had taken notice of her, even remembering her name in full.
Perhaps recalling the man who had saved her mother, Layla composed herself with effort, steadied her breath, whispered something to her mother, then approached Glenn.
Her eyes were red, but shining with gratitude as she bowed deeply.
“Thank you, sir—truly. If not for you, I cannot imagine what might have happened. Please, may I have your address? I wish to thank you properly in person, I beg you.”
Seeing such a lovely girl pleading so sincerely, Glenn thought briefly that the thanks belonged to Black Raven. But explaining that would be troublesome.
My house? You would not want to see it… You would probably faint from fright.
He considered refusing, but she looked too determined to give up easily. So he nodded.
“Bayek. Enter through the main gate and keep walking straight. There is a row of large houses—mine is the one sandwiched between a villa and a three-story building.”
I will have the beast watch over her from afar,he thought privately.That should be enough.
Layla’s face lit up with relief. She bowed once more. “You are such a kind and noble gentleman.”
Heh… if only you knew what is to come,Glenn thought with a hint of mischief.
“Bayek?”
The doctors and nurses exchanged puzzled looks—they had never heard of such a place. Glenn had expected as much.
Seeing their confusion, he merely smiled. “It is rather remote,” he said simply, and took his leave.
The two towns were close enough—if Layla truly wished to find him, she would.