After taking turns to hit the punching machine a few times, we decided to take a break.
It seemed a bit silly to rest just because we hit the machine a few times, but we had already been wandering around for quite a while.
“You know there’s going to be fireworks soon, right? We should grab a good spot to watch, and while we wait, we’ll need to buy some snacks. It’s better to head there early.”
I nodded at Elia’s explanation that it would be hard to synchronize if we went separately later.
We sorted out our personal errands and set the meeting place and time.
[Seo-yul, make sure to stick close to the adults, okay? Don’t let go of their hands!]
Since we also needed to swing by the restroom, I reluctantly had to send Seo-yul over there.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason; I had my own errands to run, too.
“…Okay.”
Seo-yul pouted, squeezing my hand tightly, but eventually let go with a reluctant look on his face.
Seeing him dislike the brief separation made me feel guilty for not being able to spend more time with him…
“Alright, come here.”
Seo-yul trotted over to Elia, who had her arms wide open. Standing beside her, Yeon-hwa clenched her fists with a frustrated expression.
“…I heard fairies are influenced by their spirit compatibility, right?”
“Ahaha, I’ve heard that too!”
Elia responded with an awkward smile as she held hands with Seo-yul.
“Well then, everyone, let’s get ready and gather here.”
With that, everyone scattered for a bit.
“Master?”
However, Master didn’t leave and stayed seated. I tilted my head in confusion, noticing Master carefully adjusting my hair while staring at a certain direction.
“What if we go together?”
That was an unexpected question. But as soon as I confirmed what Master was looking at, I gasped.
“It’s fine. I’ll just greet them briefly and come back quickly.”
I shook my head, and Master’s eyes filled with concern. But soon, as if recalling that we were in Shio-ram, the worry faded from her gaze.
“Well, it should be safe here… and it’s close by… Just be careful.”
‘……’
Her gaze made me feel like she saw me as a trouble-prone child, but in the end, this was all my karma, and I couldn’t put the blame on anyone.
“I’ll be back soon.”
– smooch
“Ugh.”
Anyway, wasting time like this felt odd. I planted a kiss on Master’s palm, turned around, and walked away with a hurried step.
.
.
.
I headed to a café nearby.
Out of all the cafés in Shio-ram, it wasn’t anything special. The only distinguishing feature was a tiny balcony sticking out from the top floor.
– Vroom…
I entered the balcony and canceled the recognition-impairing magic.
The café was busier than usual due to the festival in full swing, but the terrace at the top floor had hardly anyone around.
“……”
“……”
To be exact, there were two patrons.
At the end of the terrace, where you could easily see the bustling crowd below.
As I got closer, I noticed Choi Ji-yeon glancing my way while looking down at her cup of coffee.
Her posture was rigid. Usually, she had a tough demeanor like a rock, but this was different.
While her usual solidity came from confidence, right now, it was a mix of tension making her body stiff.
Thinking about Ji-yeon’s past, it wasn’t surprising.
After all, she had changed too rapidly recently. The Ji-yeon I knew from Shio-ram was used to being that timid.
I greeted Ji-yeon and gently stroked my necklace.
[…Hello.]
In front of her, a woman sitting cross-legged and looking down at the street turned her gaze toward me.
“Ah, nice to meet you.”
She uncrossed her legs and gracefully bowed her head as she rose from her seat.
The dusk had settled significantly. The shadows cast by the lamps on the terrace stretched long.
Having spent quite some time in this world, the tall woman appeared quite familiar.
With brown hair cascading to her shoulders and a face chiselled as if sculpted from stone, her features revealed no hint of emotion.
Her dull green eyes, hard to gauge in depth, looked down at me.
“I am Lee Ji-a, the head of Taesan.”
[Yes, I am Lee Ha-yul.]
The head of Taesan and Ji-yeon’s mother. She nodded back at my introduction.
“I apologize for the intrusion while you were enjoying time with your friends. I just happened to glance from a distance while walking with my daughter, and it seems I’ve caused some concern.”
[There’s no offense taken. I had also heard from Ji-yeon that you had arrived, so I intended to greet you later.]
To be honest, I was also curious about how she recognized me despite the recognition-impairing magic, but I swallowed my questions.
After all, I could easily see through the recognition-impairing magic myself, so it wasn’t unreasonable for Ji-a to have similar abilities.
“I’m just grateful for your kind words.”
Ji-a nodded her head and took a sip of her coffee.
Her coffee was jet-black… not just brown, but so dark it felt like pure black.
As I peeked at its contents, it was a bitter concoction with no trace of sweetness whatsoever.
It felt quite awkward to swallow something like that.
‘…Does she have weird taste buds too?’
For me, who couldn’t taste well, I could just gulp it down, but it seemed almost impossible for someone with a decent palate to savor and swallow something like that.
Is it just a matter of preference?
I took a seat beside Ji-yeon, in the empty spot next to her.
Sitting close to Ji-yeon made me acutely aware of how tense she was.
She was practically curled up, looking like a little shrimp.
I had noticed this even in the original story, but… was her relationship with her mother, Ji-a, that awkward? To be so tense and rigid?
I couldn’t tell. After all, Ji-yeon wasn’t one to chatter about her family in the original work. I had only heard that their relationship was a bit stiff, and it truly appeared that way in the original.
‘…This isn’t good.’
I felt uneasy seeing Ji-yeon looking like this.
With a heavy sigh, I listened closely to the sounds around.
‘Sounds…’
No small sounds could be heard.
The festival outside was in full swing. Although it was dark, the excitement hadn’t died down.
Still, amid all the presence, it felt as if everything was muffled on this terrace.
All those presences were being stifled by the person sitting across from me.
Even the slightest hint of her remaining aura was enough to blanket the surrounding ambient energy.
‘Did Taesan have this sort of influence as well…?’
Ji-a, the head of Taesan, obviously activated her unique ability, Taesan.
Moreover, it was only natural that someone of the standing of a head of a three great families couldn’t rise without an extraordinary level of ability.
‘Yeon-hwa and Baek Ahrin were in the same category, after all.’
But Ji-a was special among them. She was the strongest head of Taesan throughout history and was even stronger than the heads of Geob-hwa and Chang-hae from the same generation.
Ji-a’s Taesan was described as exceptionally potent.
Just like Yeon-hwa’s Geob-hwa and Baek Ahrin’s Chang-hae, it was regarded as unprecedented throughout the history of their family.
While it became a major factor in Ji-yeon’s feelings of inferiority and self-loathing… anyhow.
“Since you have prior engagements, I’ll just say a brief hello.”
Ji-a placed her coffee cup on the table after taking a sip.
“Last time, my daughter was in great debt to you. I wanted to express my gratitude in person.”
That last time… must have been when we encountered the Twin-Headed Wyvern in China.
[It’s not that I did you a favor, but rather, we helped each other. I wouldn’t have been safe without Ji-yeon.]
“But it was you, Ha-yul, who was responsible for my daughter safely returning.”
Ji-a nodded.
“I have faced the Twin-Headed Wyvern in its prime.”
[Oh.]
“It was classified as a tier 3 Alpha in terms of its hierarchy; yet, its actual lethality was recognized to surpass even that, and I felt the same.”
At the time the Twin-Headed Wyvern appeared, Ji-a, who was the head of Taesan, participated in the extermination campaign and was a hero who made the largest contribution.
“Because I faced it directly, I know how strong and malevolent that monster is. Even if it was an imperfect corpse, it would have been nearly impossible for my daughter and her party to return alive without your help when they were first seen by the Twin-Headed Wyvern.”
– Flinch
Upon hearing those words, Ji-yeon’s shoulders trembled slightly at Ji-a’s emotionless gaze. She didn’t deny that returning alive would’ve been near impossible without me.
Ji-a, who had been staring without any movement, shifted her gaze and bowed her head again.
“Regardless, Ha-yul, you will always remain the benefactor who saved my daughter’s life.”
[…I also received a lot of help from Ji-yeon. I am equally grateful.]
“Yes, however, our debt feels heavier, and we cannot repay it sufficiently. Please do not confine us to the status of ingrates and do let us know if you ever need assistance, through my daughter.”
Ji-a steadfastly expressed her gratitude, emphasizing the debt. Meanwhile, I felt somewhat uneasy and nodded, bowing my head.
‘What is that presence?’
Unlike the ominous and unfamiliar aura, this was a normal response.
That presence made me uneasy. I had to adjust my necklace finely for fear of saying something weird, and I needed to compose myself to avoid showing any animosity.
It felt strange and ominous. Instinctively, I felt a rejection.
‘……’
I didn’t know what it was. But I had felt a similar sensation before. It wasn’t that long ago.
“May I ask you one thing?”
[Huh? Yes?]
Ji-a, who had been sipping her coffee, suddenly said that.
I felt a moment of confusion and tilted my head in surprise but nodded in agreement.
Ji-a gently set down her cup of coffee. Her dull green eyes submerged in my figure.
There was something odd about her gaze. She was clearly looking at me, yet it didn’t feel like she was seeing me.
“Death is close to you, Ha-yul.”
[Excuse me?]
“I am not simply talking about the depletion of your lifespan.”
As I waited for a response, her sudden words made me lean in even further with confusion.
Death is close to me.
The sound of those words alone felt hardly positive, but I held my expression steady.
Normally, I’d just scoff and let it roll off my back, but the person delivering this message… was a significant figure.
The strongest wielder of Taesan throughout the family’s history.
Taesan governs the land of life and stretches into the realm of life and death.
Ji-a, at the pinnacle of that, was especially skilled at managing and perceiving life and death.
Even if I was concerned about the strange and ominous presence surrounding us, hearing that person say that death is close to me was unsettling.
“It seems you’re not merely saying that death is approaching but rather that you are gravitating towards it without being able to escape.”
– That curse is gnawing away at Ha-yul’s life.
Considering this intertwined with my curse, it was indeed no trivial matter.
I held my lips tightly shut and calmly stroked the confession necklace.
[What do you mean by—]
“Mother, you’re going too far.”
Suddenly, in that moment, Ji-yeon, who had remained silent until then, spoke up.
– …! …? …!
At that instant, I heard it. The sounds of laughter and noise from the festival-goers washed over the terrace.
The overwhelming aura that had been smothering the silence burst forth suddenly.
The once-muffled sounds returned to the terrace as Ji-yeon stood up, disregarding her coffee gaze rigidly downward.
“How dare you say that death is close? Such observations shared with the living are excessively rude. Furthermore, claiming it cannot be avoided and that one is gravitating toward death… No matter how much you were granted permission to speak, I find such egregious assertions unacceptable.”
Ji-yeon, who had been all curled up, lifted her head defiantly.
“She hasn’t said it was absolute that it cannot be avoided. Moreover, even if death approaches, it doesn’t necessarily mean one must fall victim to it.”
Ji-a, usually unmovable in composure, widened her eyes in surprise as Ji-yeon boldly stared back.
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