46. Old Tale (12)
The next day came.
The custom uniform made for him had been completed with surprising speed, but perhaps because his build was still far smaller than that of a fully grown adult, when he looked at himself in the full-length mirror, he did not feel especially satisfied.
That said, the design itself was not all that different from Stella’s cadet uniform.
Its overall color scheme leaned blue, and the abundance of decorative ornaments was a little annoying, but as expected of the family of the (fake) female lead, the uniform itself looked quite good.
Once he put on the mask as well, the disguise seemed good enough.
Someone as sensitive to mana as Isaac Morf might still be able to perceive his unusual constitution, but people like that could hardly be common.
“Shall we go…”
His mind felt rather troubled, but for now he decided to bury all his worries deep inside.
Nothing would change just because he worried.
Morf Grand Duchy.
Morfran Forest.
It was not all that vast, but this place—said to be where the disciple of the Founding Mage, the great Morf, had sealed away a legendary magical beast—was forbidden ground to all except the bloodline of the Morf family.
To maintain the seal upon that beast, the ice magic of the Morf bloodline was absolutely essential, and so for a thousand years they had guarded this place.
Because it was dangerous, they had no choice but to forbid entry to outsiders.
And now, in the present, a thousand years after the sealing of the magical beast—
Morfran Forest had, for the first time, been forced to allow an outside power to set foot on this land.
In addition to the Red Sun Knight Order of Adolevit, a great number of mages from the Mage Association and the Magic Towers had joined as well.
Most likely they had all been brought in by Hong Si-hwa.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Hong Si-hwa Adolevit.”
“Alek Vailen of the Mage Association.”
“I am Kasak, vice master of the Blue Crystal Magic Tower. It is an honor to meet you.”
“I am Director Verdon of the World Mage Organization.”
“Likewise. I am Isaac Morf, Grand Duke of Morf.”
The meeting of the Adolevit magic knights in red uniforms and the Morf knights in blue.
Because this was not a meeting that had come about by proper means, the Morf knights were glaring at the Adolevit military with terrifying eyes.
Her impression is completely different.
Baek Yuseol stood toward the back and watched Hong Si-hwa quietly.
She definitely gave off a markedly different atmosphere from the playful figure he knew ten years later; now she felt much more firmly composed, calm, and cold.
After shaking hands, Isaac and Hong Si-hwa entered the command tent.
The mages from the Association and the Towers followed, as did Isaac’s aide Wilhelm.
Baek Yuseol carefully stepped in after them.
Wilhelm clearly did not approve of it, but perhaps because Isaac had already ordered it, he said nothing.
The air inside the command tent was unmistakably tense and icy.
As the knights of the two nations glared at one another as if ready to kill, Baek Yuseol quietly took up a place behind Isaac.
“First… I wish to say how sorry I am that we were forced to bring troops into the Grand Duchy of Morf.”
“I too find it most regrettable.”
“According to calculations from the Stellar Tripod of the Red Sun Magic Tower, in less than a month from now, the barrier sealing the magical beast will begin to weaken.”
The Red Sun Magic Tower of Adolevit was considered one of the leading candidates for the title of “Great Tower” after the Full Moon Tower, and was one of the greatest magical institutions in the world.
It was particularly famous for a unique magical calculation method called the Stellar Tripod.
“No matter that it was sealed by the disciple of the Founding Mage, the great Morf, and maintained with the exceptional magic of the Morf family, the very fact that a single barrier has endured for a thousand years is itself a miracle.”
Their computational power—able to calculate magic from centuries in the past to magic of the future—was to such an extent that one could almost say a ghost had possessed them.
And according to their information, in one month, the magical beast in Morfran Forest would awaken.
It was, frankly, a ridiculous story.
In the end, they were acting on the conviction that their own ideas and calculations were correct, and were pushing ahead with unmatched force.
Even to the point of inflicting serious harm upon the Grand Duchy of Morf.
“…Princess Hong Si-hwa.”
Isaac Morf spoke to her with a hardened expression.
“If this matter goes wrong, you will bear immense diplomatic responsibility.”
“Of course.”
Hong Si-hwa answered without the slightest disturbance and gestured behind her.
Two of Adolevit’s adjutants came forward and unfurled a magic scroll upon the table, revealing a holographic full view of Morfran Forest.
“This is rather… offensive.”
Entry to Morfran Forest by outsiders was strictly forbidden, and the place was practically the heart of Morf territory.
Yet they had mapped the terrain in full detail and even produced a chart of it.
It was so rude that it crossed into a severe matter capable of causing major diplomatic friction, but Hong Si-hwa merely dipped her head slightly and apologized as though it were nothing.
“My apologies. The Adolevit royal family judged that this matter must be handled with the utmost seriousness.”
“Then I suppose I too must judge the Adolevit royal family’s rudeness with utmost seriousness. Once this matter is concluded, we shall meet again in an official setting.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Was exterminating the magical beast truly important enough to accept that level of loss?
Or was it that Isaac’s words were not worth worrying about at all?
There was so little emotion in Hong Si-hwa’s voice that it was impossible to tell what she was truly thinking.
“To be honest, this is something we should have discussed long ago.”
“What do you mean?”
“Regarding the very existence of this magical beast…”
Just as the operation meeting seemed ready to devolve into a war of nerves instead—
Hm?
Baek Yuseol turned his head because he sensed something strange from outside the tent.
Naturally, he had no ability to see through walls, so he could not see anything.
Still, thanks to the sharpened instincts of Mana Leakage Body—which had developed to an unusual degree under Silver Age November’s blessing—it was certain that he alone could feel something strange that no one else present had noticed.
Because this presence—
…That’s Dark Folk, isn’t it?
And yet no one was reacting at all.
That could only mean no one had realized.
So this is what 7-star senses are like…
With modern magic, distinguishing Dark Folk was almost impossible, and even Baek Yuseol himself could not do it without the broken functions of the Jikbakguri Glasses.
Yet to think it could now be sensed through pure perception alone.
That’s not the important part.
He turned toward Isaac.
The man was in the midst of angrily firing off words at Hong Si-hwa.
“So what you wish to say is that the Morf family deliberately refrained from killing the magical beast so that it could be used as a weapon of war?”
“Yes. That is correct. According to our calculations, your family has long since had the ability to kill it.”
“How absurd. The Thousand Demon Fox Flame Spirit cannot be killed. It has nine lives, and it revives! Even the great Morf could do no more than barely seal it. For a thousand years after that, my family has lived by guarding this place to ensure the beast does not awaken. And now you call it a weapon of war? Absurd.”
Isaac looked genuinely furious at Hong Si-hwa.
Though Baek Yuseol had not spent long with him, he had never seen him this heated.
“Hah… surely you people did not follow her here because you think the same?”
Isaac Morf cast his gaze in turn toward the mages representing the World Mage Organization, the various towers, and the Mage Association.
But they gave no answer.
With stiff expressions, they remained silent.
Which, in effect, meant that they agreed with Hong Si-hwa.
“This is maddening…”
Isaac removed his monocle and rubbed his brow.
Estimated rank: 9-risk or above—the legendary magical beast Thousand Demon Fox Flame Spirit.
The one who sealed that creature, which had overthrown numerous nations and become famous as a “global threat” after killing multiple 8-Class mages—who had been extremely rare back in that era a thousand years ago—was none other than his ancestor, the great Morf.
But even Morf himself had been unable to discover a way to truly kill the Flame Spirit, so for generation after generation, the family had lived with the duty of sealing it and protecting the world from the beast.
And now, at this late point, they were being accused of having preserved it for use as a weapon of war.
All it could do was draw a hollow laugh from him.
“…You people have made the wrong choice. Mark my words: if you awaken the Thousand Demon Fox Flame Spirit from its seal, you will not live to see a good outcome.”
“We have investigated the Thousand Demon Fox Flame Spirit thoroughly and prepared for every possibility. You need not be concerned.”
Confidence—or arrogance?
Isaac swept a large hand over his forehead, barely suppressing the sigh that wanted to escape.
Never in his life had he encountered such a case.
What would his ancestors have done in a moment like this?
What would the great Morf—or if not him, then at least his wise father, were he still alive—have said?
This is worse than I thought.
Watching Isaac Morf’s distress, Baek Yuseol quietly slipped out of the command tent.
The war of nerves was nearly over, and the actual strategy meeting was about to begin.
He would not be participating in combat directly anyway, so there was no pressing need for him to hear the battle plan.
It would not hurt to know it, of course, but something had come up that he needed to confirm immediately.
What exactly are those Dark Folk bastards trying to do here?
Cockroach-like bastards who showed up without fail wherever they went.
He needed to understand what they were after.
Flame and Eizel.
How much time had passed after the two girls lost consciousness?
When they woke again and looked at each other, they could only scream.
“Kyaaaaaah!!”
“Gyaaaah! Y-You crazy bitch, why are you screaming all of a sudden?!”
“A g-ghost!”
“You’re a ghost too!”
“Eh…?”
After screaming at the sight of Flame’s translucent body, Eizel finally looked down at her own.
“H-Huh? You’re right…?”
The bodies of the two girls had turned transparent, and the ghost-like appearance made goosebumps prickle over their skin.
“This is…”
“…Looks like we really did successfully make the trip to the past.”
Flame said with calm eyes as she looked at the great mansion before them.
Only then did Eizel notice it, and her eyes widened.
“Ah…”
In her memories.
In her recollections.
The home she had lost.
And now… it shimmered vividly before her eyes.
Not an illusion, not a fake, but the real Morf mansion.
“It really is…”
The past of ten years ago.
They had returned to that time.
“…Hey. Are you okay?”
When Flame carefully asked the Eizel who had been staring blankly at the mansion for a long while, Eizel smiled faintly and answered,
“Of course! I have no intention of wasting this precious time drowning in emotion. Let’s go.”
“Where?”
“Well, first…”
She hesitated as she spoke.
“I want to find my father.”
“Yeah. I think that makes sense too.”
They had come to learn the truth about her father, so it was a natural decision in a way.
And so they started straight toward the mansion—
only to spot something that stood out immediately.
It was Eizel.
Eizel from childhood.
“Hup…”
Apparently anxious about something, the little girl glanced around nervously, then suddenly slipped over the wall and hid herself in the forest.
“W-Wait, she can’t go in there…!”
Only then did Eizel cry out in alarm, and Flame looked at her as if baffled.
“Isn’t that your younger self? Shouldn’t you remember this?”
“Uh, um… probably…”
She desperately tried to recall her childhood, but how clearly could anyone remember something from when they were seven?
At best, only important scenes drifted by like vague afterimages.
“L-Let’s follow her first!”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! That’s Morfran Forest. It’s extremely dangerous—you can’t just enter it carelessly… huh, wait…”
As she spoke, something seemed to return to her memory, and Eizel began to think furiously.
“I’m sure…”
“That little kid is pretty fast.”
Now that they had ghostly bodies, they no longer needed to walk or run, so Flame—reduced to the fate of simply flying through the air—quickly led Eizel in pursuit of little Eizel.
Eizel, however, still seemed lost in trying to remember something.
“Kyaaaaah!”
“What, what is it?”
The scream of little Eizel rang out.
They hurried over, only to find her being chased by a giant wolf monster.
“This is insane!”
On instinct, Flame pulled out her wand and tried to use magic—
only to realize there was no mana in her body at all.
Left with no choice, she tried to fling herself physically at the wolf instead, but simply passed right through it.
“What is this…?!”
It was the first time they learned that little Eizel had once faced a danger like this.
It had never been recorded in the original romance-fantasy novel.
“That’s really dangerous…!”
“…Wait. If the me in the past dies there, there’s no way the me now could exist, right?”
As if something had finally clicked into place, Eizel spoke calmly.
“That’s right. This really did happen. That nightmare of a day, when I got lost in the forest and was chased by that terrifying wolf monster…”
Little Eizel, running frantically, tripped over a stone.
And at the very moment the wolf was about to pounce on her—
Grab!
“…He appeared. That unknown hero wearing a tacky mask.”
Even now, ten years later, there had not been a single moment when she had forgotten him.
Her own masked hero, whose name and face she had never known.
That man had appeared, seized the wolf lightly by the scruff with one hand, and subdued it.
But then—
“…That…”
“No way…”
Look at him from this side, from that side.
Even rolling forward and looking at him, even doing a backflip and looking at him, there was no mistake.
“Isn’t that just… Baek Yuseol?”
Only the mask was different.
He was unmistakably Baek Yuseol.
“…It is, isn’t it?”
What in the world was this situation supposed to mean?
The sudden appearance of someone resembling Baek Yuseol in the past from ten years ago threw both girls into confusion.
