I felt like the scenery was smashing my head with unrelenting force.
This twisted feeling wasn’t just me; Hayun beside me was flailing her arms in search of support.
“What the heck is this…?”
Words wouldn’t come out right. My thoughts were getting buried under my voice. My eyes screamed this was reality, yet my brain just wouldn’t accept it.
It was as if our eyes were shoving food into our mouths, insisting this was real.
In the end, Hayun and I had no choice but to step out of the city for a moment.
Living in the Forest of the Demon Realm, I felt this strange sensation I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
Even faced with bizarre situations, I took a deep breath and recalled how we had passed it off back then because it was the Forest of the Demon Realm, feeling a bit better.
Gasp! Gasp!
Unfortunately, Hayun, overwhelmed with distorted perceptions and disharmony, couldn’t stand and was kneeling, catching her breath.
“Snap out of it, it’s okay. We can figure out what happened, one step at a time.”
Patting her back, I scanned the area around Nirva with my eyes. This was definitely Nirva, the place I had visited a few days ago through a warp.
It looked so familiar that it became almost unsettling.
Countless people were passing by, glancing at us. Their gestures of concern for our poor condition confirmed everything was real.
They weren’t mere illusions conjured by Sharcarl to trick us.
The ghost town had regained its original form in just a few days.
It was something I could no longer deny.
“I-It’s okay now.”
Hayun slowly got to her feet. She took a deep breath, smoothing her startled chest and once again checked her surroundings in Nirva.
“Yeah, Nirva… the city I know.”
“…Let’s head to the Len family mansion first. We might find out something there.”
With that, we moved back into the city. Even as we calmed our startled hearts and began to look at things rationally, our brains felt like they were stuck, refusing to accept it.
“Hey! Fresh fruits just in today, come taste!”
“Hey! Carry it properly! If you break it, you’ll pay for it!”
“The city seems lively these days.”
The noise of the people echoed in our ears. Every sense was confirming this was the truth, dragging us back into that strange feeling.
“Ah…”
Hayun, standing in front of the Len family mansion, could do nothing but gasp. Even from outside the barred door, it was clear the mansion was not being maintained at all.
The weeds in the garden had grown so tall they were sticking out, peeking at us at the entrance.
This was a stark contrast to what we had seen in the ghost town of Nirva. As soon as Hayun reached out, the mansion groaned as if welcoming an old guest.
“It’s in terrible shape.”
“Looks like the rumors about firing all the staff were true.”
The Len family mansion appeared even older and more shabby now. The former mansion had faded colors but was tidy and well-kept.
In stark contrast to the bustling servants who greeted us back then, the mansion’s interior was desolate.
The first place we headed was the banquet hall, where Sharcarl had sat on the throne.
As with the other doors in the mansion, the banquet hall creaked ominously as it revealed itself.
Spiders had spun webs across the ceiling, lavishly using the giant banquet hall as their home. Even rats were scurrying among the leftover tables and chairs.
The figure of the long-lived archmage, who had once sat on his throne of skulls, was nowhere to be found.
“…”
Apart from my footsteps echoing in the center of the banquet hall, there was complete silence. Absolute stillness.
As I looked around from that central spot, I started to grasp the situation.
“I miscalculated.”
“Huh?”
Hayun asked what I meant, and I calmly explained as I turned to her.
“That the Nirva we first visited wasn’t actually Nirva.”
If the ghost town of Nirva and the current Nirva were identical, the culprit was undoubtedly Sharcarl.
I didn’t know how he did it, but he was the only one capable of delivering such a massive transformation single-handedly.
However, I felt no trace of his mana in this place. No mage, not even a god, would change an entire city without leaving some hint behind.
“I can’t sense Sharcarl’s unique morphed mana in this banquet hall.”
Sharcarl had never been here.
Thinking that actually put my heart at ease. It meant an ancient beast hadn’t settled deep within the kingdom.
But it all concluded to one thing.
‘Did the eccentric make a mistake?’
No, it couldn’t be a mistake.
Someone interfering with warp coordinates was rare, and straying off course even more so.
It meant he had deliberately transported us to a false Nirva.
I didn’t know why he did it for now, but the anger at being tricked began to bubble in my chest.
“So where is the Nirva we initially went to?”
I grimaced and answered Hayun, who had asked a very good question.
“The Forest of the Demon Realm.”
I couldn’t comprehend how or why Sharcarl had recreated Nirva there.
And I couldn’t fathom why the eccentric had sent us to the Forest of the Demon Realm either.
Regardless, the answer lay within the Forest of the Demon Realm.
“Then we should gather some weapons.”
If we were heading into the Forest of the Demon Realm, it made no sense to go in without at least a decent sword. I wondered if there’d be a good blacksmith in Nirva, but then Hayun clapped her hands excitedly.
“There’s probably a lot of weapons stocked up in the Len family’s storeroom. Let’s check it out!”
I felt a bit guilty, but there was no reason to refuse Hayun’s suggestion. If someone like Heaven Len had it, he likely had plenty of items he wouldn’t even use stashed away.
Skillfully leading me to the mansion’s storeroom, Hayun sliced through the locked safe door. Her stance was so clean it surprised me.
“You’ve improved a lot, huh?”
“Do you think I just sew every day? I spar with Sen, you know.”
Sen, who had properly scarred the face of a current pirate officer and got away. Thinking of Hayun, who sparred with her regularly, it made sense she’d grown.
The storeroom was indeed covered in dust.
Just the thought of using a sword pulled from here made me scrunch up my face due to the mustiness.
However, when I looked at a few swords that were neatly lined up, my thoughts changed.
“Just some cleaning up, and they’ll be good to go?”
Surprisingly, there were several decent swords. I figured I should grab enough to be safe since there was a risk of them breaking like last time.
“Ah…”
Hayun’s gaze fixed on a certain spot.
Even in the dark storeroom, a white glow stood alone, not losing its dignity. The violet cloth draped over it seemed to be for protection from damage.
As Hayun carefully lifted the cloth, a beautiful sword revealed itself. It radiated an aura of being a fine sword, and she picked it up with trembling hands.
“Baekunryong.”
With a tearful voice, Hayun tried to speak, “It’s Mother’s sword.”
“…”
Heaven Len, who had assassinated his own brother and sister-in-law with poison to take over the family. He had consumed their wealth while accepting their daughter, Hayun.
This sword was crafted in the East, where artisans comparable to dwarves lived, making it a true treasure.
It was not only practical but a treasure that any noble who collected swords would pay a fortune for.
Heaven Len had deliberately kept Baekunryong in his storeroom to enhance its value.
After lying in wait for so long, the blade had finally reunited with its rightful owner.
*
With her eyes slightly red, Hayun tried to turn her head away, hiding her face from me, but I had seen everything.
She bent forward and tried to cover her face with her hair, but it didn’t entirely work since her hair was short.
Yet, the sword she kept by her waist, remained in her grip, which I found endearingly brave.
As I left the mansion, I didn’t plan to dwell on this topic any longer, so I asked her.
“Are you planning to stay here, or go back to the academy?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Can’t you at least pretend to think about it?”
Crossing her arms, Hayun naturally rested her chin on her hand and momentarily pretended to think before responding.
“No, I’m not.”
“Thanks for at least pretending, I guess.”
Hayun knew well that the Forest of the Demon Realm was a dangerous place. Nevertheless, she held the responsibility of finding out what Heaven Len had become entangled in and what he was trying to do.
“Ah, it’s usually a bit pricey.”
I muttered with a smile.
“I’ll give you a friend discount.”
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