"All right. It's a shame, but I respect your decision."
Seeing how determined Coleman was, Ku'er Ya stopped insisting.
Still, he felt it would be a bit of a waste if the kid had come all the way to this deserted island just to ask about Nen.
After all, it was truly remote and desolate.
"Hmm, how about we go look at some interesting treasures deep in the Kurta Mountains?"
"The Kurta Mountains?"
"Yeah. Didn't I mention it in my letter? This island is special. Whenever there's a full moon, a sandbar appears in the southwest, connecting the island to the mainland. Follow it, and you can go straight into the Kurta Mountains."
"The Kurta Clan lives on a plain not far from the coast."
Compared to entering the depths of the Kurta Mountains from the mainland, it was much easier to go in from this deserted island.
After all, on the mainland side, the Kurta Mountains were a gathering place for fierce beasts.
Anyone without some real ability couldn't get in. And even if they did, they might not find where the Kurta Clan lived.
The mountain range was like a dangerous, complicated maze.
Unless something was seriously wrong with them, no one wanted to venture in there.
But sneaking into the Kurta Mountains from the coast was just as impractical.
The surrounding waters hid all sorts of monstrous beasts, big and small, and they were vicious!
Get too close, and they'd tear you to pieces.
But those beasts seemed to have an unspoken agreement: anyone who walked along the sandbar connecting the island to the mainland would be left alone.
That was the conclusion Ku'er Ya had reached after nearly a year of observation.
"So, there aren't any Kurta Clan members on this island?"
Coleman raised an eyebrow. This guy had been really careless in his letter.
He'd clearly told me there were treasures like that on this island.
"Tsk. Kid, think about the name of that clan. It's obviously a place name. Where else on this continent is there a place called Kurta?"
Wasn't it the Kurta Mountains, the place known as the "Yellow Springs Mountains," where you could lose your life at any moment?
Ku'er Ya saw Coleman looking around with interest and shrugged. "Don't look at me like that. I came here to catch a creature called a Flying Fox Fish."
"As for how I found out the sandbar led to the mainland, and that it led to the clan's homeland, I just happened to see some Kurta while I was fishing."
Remembering the scene, Ku'er Ya smiled wistfully. "It was really beautiful."
Crimson, like rubies shimmering with light.
"Fishing?"
Coleman frowned. Were "artists" this eccentric these days?
Coming all the way to this godforsaken place to catch fish?
"Hey, the client was paying a lot."
Ku'er Ya was helpless, but the client had some leverage over him.
What could he do?
If they asked him to catch fish, he'd catch fish.
He could make some extra money, so it wasn't a bad deal.
"Of course, I had another reason, too. An artwork that had already passed away asked me to protect the Kurta Clan for ten years."
Ku'er Ya didn't explain why an "artist" would agree to such an unreasonable request.
He just smiled lazily.
There was an emotion in his eyes that Coleman couldn't understand.
Coleman didn't ask, either.
It was someone else's business, and it had nothing to do with him.
"Sure. We can go take a look in a bit."
He looked up at the full moon hanging high in the sky.
He knew why Ku'er Ya had asked him to come at this time.
Treasures were meant to be admired, after all.
"You can chat with them, too. The clan makes a kind of flatbread that's really good!"
At Ku'er Ya's suggestion, Coleman fell silent for a moment.
Then he asked, probing, "Why?"
"?"
"Why do you want me to take a liking to this clan?"
"Hm? You've got the wrong idea."
Ku'er Ya looked surprised. "I just want you to admire the pets I've raised so carefully."
A bunch of cats whose eyes changed color.
Cats were so cute!
How could anyone not like them?
As if showing off, Ku'er Ya puffed up with pride. "Those cats—I mean, those kids—I raised them so well! Every one of them has blond hair and brown eyes, and they're so... I mean, so strong and healthy!"
All right, got it, Coleman understood.
This guy was a total pervert!
And he liked raising them from childhood, too!
After turning Ku'er Ya's words over in his mind, Coleman thought he had the gist of it.
The guy wanted him to go easy on members of this clan if he ever ran into them.
After all, beautiful people were among Coleman's prey, too.
He didn't have any particular prejudice against humans, but beautiful humans would always earn an artist's favor.
"Artists" always wanted to possess that beauty, or preserve it at its most beautiful moment.
Honestly, when he learned that their eye color changed with their emotions, Coleman had been sorely tempted.
If he could somehow capture those shifting colors and preserve them in a painting, wouldn't it be beautiful?
Crimson eyes, flashing with anger, yet forced to stare blankly and lifelessly into the corner of a room.
Passionate, yet dead.
It fit Coleman's standards for a work of art perfectly.
But since Ku'er Ya had asked, he could at least do him that favor.
Who knew? Someday, he might be able to use this to blackmail the Human Puppeteer.
Coleman nodded casually to show he understood.
"Then I'll go take a look now."
"...In the middle of the night? Breaking into someone's home?"
What are you trying to do?!
Besides, that wouldn't be appropriate.
What if you scared those older and younger sisters?
Ku'er Ya frowned, watching Coleman with a complicated expression.
It was as if Coleman were about to do something heinous.
There was also a hint of disdain in his expression.
His eyes roved over Coleman's small frame before stopping at a certain spot.
He sighed and shook his head.
"No good. You're too small."
Coleman was stunned.
Coleman suspected this pervert was making a dig at him, but he had no proof.
He stared at Ku'er Ya in disbelief.
"What are you thinking?!"
Before you continue