46. Old Tale (13)
At times, Eizel would recall the memory from that day.
That reckless, childish time.
The day she had been scolded by the head maid, grown rebellious, and gone alone into Morfran Forest—the place her father had strictly forbidden her to enter.
“…I remember it. That day, I was being chased by a wolf monster. I truly thought I was going to die.”
Following behind little Eizel and the boy called Baek Seolgi—who was presumed to be Baek Yuseol—Eizel began telling Flame the story.
It was something even Flame had never heard before, so she listened with full attention.
“And then, at that moment, he appeared. That man. Even now, though I still don’t know his name or face, he was the hero in my memory. It was only a fleeting encounter, really, but… he was the one who saved me.”
As she watched little Eizel and Baek Seolgi wandering through the forest, she traced the memory back more and more clearly.
“I think after this… the knights…”
No sooner had Eizel finished speaking than knights in Morf’s blue uniforms appeared and surrounded Baek Seolgi.
He obediently returned little Eizel to the knights, but their suspicions did not disappear.
After all, Morfran Forest was a place where the entry of outsiders was strictly prohibited.
“Thinking about it now, it really is strange. How did he even get in here?”
“Who knows. Since it’s Baek Yuseol, he probably just found some way.”
“That’s true.”
He must have used some brilliant method they would never even think of.
Trying to understand his way of thinking was only a waste of energy.
They’d never figure it out anyway.
“Reveal your identity.”
“Baek Seolgi.”
“…That’s the name of a rice cake.”
“That’s why I hate rice cake.”
Watching Baek Seolgi give such a ridiculous answer in the middle of a grave interrogation by serious knights, Eizel and Flame became certain.
“It’s Baek Yuseol.”
“It really is Baek Yuseol.”
If it weren’t him, there was no way anyone would say something that absurd in a situation like this.
“Oh no…!”
When the knights got angry and tried to threaten Baek Seolgi, little Eizel grabbed at their sleeves and cried out to stop them.
What kind of Morf knight could ignore the face of a nearly tearful little lady that adorable?
Still, it seemed the knight of highest rank among them could not abandon his duty even in the face of the young lady’s tantrum.
His first priority had to be uncovering how Baek Seolgi had entered Morfran Forest at all, so that such a thing would never happen again—and also discovering his identity.
But then—
“I’m telling Father on you!”
“Pfft.”
“…Don’t laugh.”
“Mmph. I-I’m not laughing, hhh.”
“…Seriously, don’t laugh.”
In her translucent state, Eizel turned red as a tomato and bowed her head deeply, while Flame hurriedly turned her face away and struggled to suppress her laughter.
Fine. Honestly, she could accept Flame seeing this side of her.
But…
just imagining that Baek Yuseol had seen her like that was enough to make her want to die on the spot from embarrassment.
“I took a wrong turn. If you show me the way out, I’ll disappear immediately.”
Even after witnessing little Eizel’s tantrum, Baek Yuseol spoke as calmly as ever.
For a moment Eizel was actually relieved.
Then—
“Wait a moment.”
“Ah…”
A voice that was far too familiar to Eizel.
And far too dearly missed.
It came from beyond the forest.
Step! Step!
Every knight instantly turned and dropped to one knee, and even Flame looked toward the man with a strange expression.
Isaac Morf.
The father of the original romance-fantasy heroine, known only through stories.
“A-Aah…”
Eizel’s expression was already half twisted, and she looked as though she might burst into tears at any second.
But in the end she did not cry.
She clenched her lips shut and endured.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
“…Yes. I’m okay.”
She had missed him.
Missed him so much.
But she could not waste her emotions here.
Not until she learned what had really happened ahead—
not until she uncovered all the truth.
Baek Yuseol—no, Baek Seolgi—accepted Isaac Morf’s invitation and joined the dinner table.
But for some reason, despite the luxurious food laid right before him, he did not eat a single bite.
The reason was probably—
“The mask.”
“He must have some reason he can’t take it off.”
The two girls silently watched the meal.
Throughout dinner, little Eizel pouted at her father with food all over her mouth, and each time, Eizel’s expression twisted further and further.
Thankfully Baek Seolgi gave no obvious reaction, but who knew what expression he was making behind that mask?
“Having someone witness my embarrassing childhood history… it really makes me want to die.”
“Really?”
Flame quietly watched little Eizel and Isaac.
Isaac personally cut the food with his fork and knife and fed it to little Eizel, but every time something like green peppers or vegetables came near, she pouted and complained.
“Still, aren’t you glad you get to see him like this?”
Ten thousand thoughts swirled through Eizel’s mind.
Why hadn’t I done better back then?
Why hadn’t I given Father more love back then?
Why was my younger self such an idiot that all I ever did was pout at him?
If only, back then, I had treated Father a little better.
Why was I like that?
“No. It hurts. It hurts too much.”
“…Sorry.”
Flame’s expression turned bitter.
She had never had parents in the first place, so she could not truly sympathize with the heart of someone who had lost them.
She should have kept quiet instead.
Now it felt as though her careless words had only brushed against Eizel’s wound, and that left her feeling heavy inside.
“I cannot help being curious about you. If there are parts you are able to tell me, would you mind speaking of them?”
While little Eizel was quietly picking at her food, the conversation between Isaac and Baek Seolgi continued.
“I’m just… a wandering adventurer with no fixed destination.”
“An adventurer. A profession brimming with romance.”
“Thank you.”
“I hear from my daughter that you cut down a Sharp Wolf in a single strike.”
That question sharply stirred the curiosity of both Flame and Eizel.
The Sharp Wolf was a 5-risk monster strong enough to destroy a small village on its own, and yet he had subdued it with his bare hand by grabbing it by the scruff.
Naturally, Baek Yuseol did not properly answer.
Not that they had expected to learn it so easily, but it was still disappointing.
“Well, it would be a little strange for a guy who runs around beating down 6- or 7-risk Dark Folk to lose to a 5-risk monster.”
“That’s true. Even though I’ve never actually seen him fight even once, judging from his usual behavior, I always thought he was hiding something.”
The conversation grew more complicated and longer.
Little Eizel, having finished eating, began to yawn as though sleep was creeping up on her.
Eizel desperately wanted to tell her not to go, to stay in that place longer.
But of course, there was no way her meaning could reach her younger self.
“Princess, are you done eating?”
“Mhm… I wanna go to my room.”
“Call Maid Pesila.”
And just like that, little Eizel exited.
And with her, Eizel’s own memory of that night cut off completely at that point.
It had happened too long ago for her to remember properly in the first place.
“Now then, with my daughter gone, let me make one straightforward request.”
Isaac Morf let the atmosphere sink heavily and looked at Baek Seolgi with a grave expression.
Baek Seolgi too straightened his posture and listened.
“First, I should say this.”
After a short silence—
“I will not live long.”
“…What?”
It felt as though Eizel’s heart had dropped.
“W-What… what is that supposed to mean, Father…?”
Of course, it was true that her father had died not long after.
But she had never imagined that even much earlier than that, he had already suspected for himself that his lifespan was running out.
“N-No, what are you saying, Father…”
Eizel asked him with a desperate face.
But tragically, Isaac could not look at her.
“Forgive me for not being able to tell you the reason. But this request is sincere. I will not be able to protect my daughter for long. In fact, if I keep her by my side, I may end up harming her myself. And when that time comes…”
Isaac looked straight into the eyes visible within Baek Seolgi’s mask as he said,
“Could you protect my daughter, if only for a little while?”
“No. No, Father, please…”
“Until she can stand on her own… no, that’s not it. Even if all that remains is her life, that would be enough…”
At this moment, Isaac looked more desperate than anyone else in the world.
“Please, protect my daughter.”
Her father’s final request.
To Eizel, it was a curse.
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The night wind in the forest was cold.
While Isaac, Hong Si-hwa, and the mages were in the middle of an operational meeting, Baek Yuseol secretly slipped out of the tent and approached the place where Dark Folk energy was drifting thickly through the air.
Having his identity exposed would be troublesome, so he adjusted his mask more firmly.
If he happened to run into a Dark Folk he had met in the future, that would be its own problem as well.
“This place is…”
Dark Folk infiltrated human society, disguised their identities, and blended in perfectly.
So he had assumed this Dark Folk too was disguised as one of the soldiers or knights.
But that was not the case at all.
The place where the dark power was emanating from was somewhere far deeper in the forest.
As he pushed through terrain completely unfriendly to humans, something suddenly cracked.
Crk!
“Ugh!”
A gigantic tree shaped one of its branches into a fist and slammed it down exactly where he had been standing.
Kugung!!
He quickly sprang back, and this time dozens of branches came whipping toward his feet from behind.
A Living Tree…?
A tree that lived and moved.
It was said to grow by absorbing the blood of animals, and if you cut it, red blood would pour out just like from a human.
Because of that, it also went by the nickname Bloodwood.
Living Trees usually dwelled together in groups in one place, so the moment you found one, you could generally consider yourself dead.
For Baek Yuseol, however, that was a slightly different story.
[Blink]
Thanks to Silver Age November’s blessing, Blink had gained one additional charge, letting him move four times in succession.
Using that, he soared high into the air and landed atop the tallest Living Tree.
And what did he do next?
Nothing.
He simply stayed where he was.
The creatures could not catch him.
The strength of Living Trees was in using their countless numbers to bind a target so completely that even the strongest could not escape.
But they had one weakness—
they could not stretch their branches higher than their own height.
Taking advantage of that, Baek Yuseol secured himself a safe place without even having to fight properly.
Just as he sat on top of the still-wriggling Living Tree, catching his breath—
a voice sounded from beside him.
“Impressive.”
It was a deep, heavy voice.
When he turned to look, the person there was someone rather unexpected.
What…?
He was so surprised that his mind momentarily went blank.
He recognized the face.
Professor of New Moon Studies at Stella Academy, and in the setting, a Dark Folk and the closest confidant of the 8-Class mage Akihayden.
A man who served the leader of the Dark Divine Cult with unwavering loyalty and acted only for that one person—
arguably the man of deepest conviction in the entire setting.
Professor Raidin…
Wearing a refined formal uniform, Raidin sat atop the tree and gazed into the distance.
There, the humans’ command tent stood.
“You came looking for me.”
Without speaking, Baek Yuseol simply nodded.
Even a single word could be dangerous.
If Raidin remembered his voice, then that alone could create a severe temporal error and twist the future beyond repair.
“I have no intention of harming you.”
Baek Yuseol had been about to draw the Terriphon, but he thought better of it—if his identity were discovered, that would be bad.
So instead, he drew a spare wand and aimed it at Raidin.
Even if they fought, victory would naturally be difficult, and it would also cause problems with the causality of time.
Still, at least he could make a threatening gesture.
“You are impatient. Human mages are all like you.”
“I have no intention of fighting you. Rather, I came to save you all.”
Raidin felt somewhat different from the professor Baek Yuseol knew at Stella.
He could not say exactly what the difference was.
When Baek Yuseol gave a small up-and-down motion with the wand—a gesture asking what he meant—Raidin finally parted his lips.
It seemed Raidin too did not want to fight.
“The mages are once again trying to bring calamity upon this world. You call us Dark Folk and cast us as evil, but it is the reverse. It is always you who threaten the world, while we have always saved it from the shadows.”
After saying that much, Raidin rose to his feet.
Baek Yuseol quickly turned his head toward the command tent.
It looked as though the meeting had ended, because people were coming out and dispersing.
When he zoomed in with the Jikbakguri Glasses’ telescope function…
strangely, only Isaac Morf and Princess Hong Si-hwa remained inside.
The two of them had stayed behind to speak alone.
It didn’t look like the kind of conversation that would end well, and that made him uneasy.
“I do not hate mages.”
“Because all of you still possess the possibility of salvation.”
With that, Raidin dissolved into mist and vanished without a trace.
“…Typical cultist. What, are you trying to get me to confession?”
Just from the way he attached the word “salvation” to the end of everything, Baek Yuseol could tell perfectly well that the man was not in his right mind.
“Huu…”
Putting away the wand, he looked up at the night sky.
It was so dark that one could not see tomorrow.
