Chapter 195 – Boy!
Samuel greeted with a bright smile as if we were old friends.
It was the kind of smile that made anyone who saw it feel comfortable and at ease.
“Do you rember ?”
“Of course! Wasn't our first eting as intense as a lover’s first love?”
A crisis hit from the very beginning.
As intense as a lover’s first love?
The Wailing Hill, where corpses were piled high in every direction?
Well… it was intense.
“It would have been perfect if pure white snow had fallen at the ti.”
“You were curled up among the corpses. If it had snowed, you would have been freezing.”
“Tsk, you’re too cold for soone at the age to be intoxicated by romance, boy. We can’t be friends.”
“It’s Alex.”
“Even your na is like a flower. How about Alex Freesia? What do you think of adding that at the end?”
“I already belong to a family, so I must decline.”
“To reject so swiftly—like a sharp dagger straight to the heart. But tell , how did you end up here? This forest isn’t a place just anyone can enter… Wait.”
Samuel, who had been approaching warmly, suddenly stopped in his tracks and began scanning his surroundings.
He stepped toward the window, glanced outside, then looked around near the door.
Then, he awkwardly stroked his mustache, adjusted his hat, and approached again.
“That little rascal isn't with you, it seems. I saw you with that kid before, but I guess you got separated?”
“If you’re referring to Lily, she’s here with .”
“Gasp!”
“…No, she’s resting in the cabin right now. I’m the only one who ca to see you, Sir Samuel.”
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I just needed to stretch my body for a mont—felt a little stiff all of a sudden.”
With a large bag slung over his back, Samuel had just been propping his foot up on the windowsill when he grabbed the bag with both hands, shook it a few tis, and then naturally set it down beside the table. He took a sip of tea, closing his eyes as if savoring the taste.
Please, stop.
I let out a small sigh and shook my head.
He wasn’t malicious, just…
His transparent lack of pretense was probably why people entrusted him with delivery requests no matter where he went.
Despite his eccentricity, he was known to be reliable when it ca to handling requests.
His main clients were witches and the black market.
However, he never took direct requests from Demtor.
That was due to his ties with the witches—but since he still received interdiary commissions through the black market, he was essentially connected to every major faction.
Yet even Samuel had one person he could never bring himself to approach.
“So even back then, you were afraid of Lily.”
That person was none other than Lily Base.
During her ti as the Great Witch, just hearing her voice was enough to make him flee. From the way he reacted, it seed he had been avoiding her presence for a long ti.
The reason was obvious.
‘That mustache…’
Samuel Barber was a man whose very essence was embodied in his mustache.
And Lily? She was obsessed with plucking it.
She claid that pulling out each strand helped relieve her stress. On the other hand, if she couldn’t pluck them, she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she did. She’d chase him relentlessly, tornting him until she got her way.
That was why Samuel absolutely dreaded Lily.
If it weren’t for that ‘item’ that only witches could craft, he would have sided with Demtor rather than the witches a long ti ago.
“You received the Witch’s Whisper. You have a request for ?”
Samuel placed a fresh green leaf on the table.
It looked like Cordy's work.
Ortain, as she was known, was a witch who specialized in the earth’s ley lines.
She could attach her Will to any living entity connected to the land within her domain, allowing her to observe, listen, and communicate from afar.
The Ordor Forest was her territory.
Avoiding her gaze within this forest was impossible. She was probably eavesdropping on our conversation even now.
However, I knew of a place within this forest where her surveillance couldn’t reach.
The Millennium Tree.
The ley lines flowing through the Millennium Tree carried energy beyond her vessel’s capacity to handle, making it impossible for her to manipulate her Will near it.
If I wanted to speak privately with Samuel, I would have to move our conversation there.
But there was no need.
This was just a business transaction.
“You want to open a Spatial Portal?”
“Yes. From the Witch’s Garden to the Elletor Fortress.”
“That’s not too far… but what’s the cargo?”
“Humans.”
“Humans??”
“Yes. A little over ten thousand.”
“Hahahaha.”
At the ntion of ten thousand people, Samuel shook his head and finished the rest of his tea in one gulp.
“Who told you about ?”
“I heard about you from Lord Dorneth.”
“Ah, I have quite the history with Beneta’s ruler. I used to visit just to catch a glimpse of his companion, Sharbadin. Even now, I can still picture that dazzling smile.”
“If Lord Dorneth hears that, he’ll co after you with a hamr.”
“Hahaha, you really do know him well. He’s a lovestruck fool—should I say, a hopeless romantic?”
“You still haven’t answered my request.”
“Trying to change the subject, are you?”
“Are you refusing?”
“Hmm. I don’t know how much you’ve heard about my abilities, but Spatial Portals are as delicate, finicky, and dangerous as undressing a woman.”
“Are you saying it’s difficult?”
“I’m saying that if I fail, I’ll get a slap across the face. Transporting ten thousand people would put a trendous strain on my body.”
“I will compensate you.”
“Money is aningless to .”
He could earn an astronomical amount with a single job, so he must have already accumulated vast wealth.
Yet he never stopped taking on requests.
The reason was tied to his own abilities.
The Curse of the Rift.
Samuel’s unique Spatial Energy slowly eroded his body over ti.
Just like how Lily gained Lethargy when she obtained her Full Moon Talent, this was a kind of penalty that ca with possessing extraordinary abilities.
However, it wasn’t an unbreakable divine punishnt. Its progression could be halted—or at least delayed—through tools or elixirs.
The tea he had just drunk—Twilight Leaf Tea—was one such redy.
Witches used it as a buffer against the backlash of failed spells. For Samuel, drinking it regularly helped slow down his body’s deterioration.
That tea was likely his paynt for a recent delivery.
But delaying the Curse of the Rift was only a temporary asure.
What Samuel desperately sought wasn’t slowing the decay.
He wanted recovery.
I extended an empty hand toward him.
At his puzzled expression, I smiled and said,
“Would you be willing to part with so of that tea?”
“If this is a joke, stop now. I don’t want to lose a friend I just made today.”
When did we ever beco friends?
I was tempted to tell him that I was Lily’s only friend, just to see how he’d react.
But I barely managed to suppress the urge. Instead, I repeated my request.
“I told you I would offer compensation. But I need the tea first to show you what that compensation is.”
“…Hmm…”
“I know exactly what your problem is.”
“Do you know a woman more beautiful than Lady Sharbadin? I never expected you to take an interest in my romantic affairs.”
“I do. There’s an even more beautiful lady resting over in that cabin. Want to set you up? You just need to prepare so food.”
“I can’t afford to lose my mustache. It’s my everything.”
“Enough nonsense. Just hand over the tea. Don’t you want to be free from the curse?”
“…So you do know.”
“Don’t act like you’re surprised.”
“Are you saying I can really be freed from the curse?”
“I’m about to find out. I don’t know for sure myself.”
Samuel stared at , dumbfounded by my confidence. After a mont, he rummaged through his bag, muttering under his breath.
“I haven’t t soone weirder than in a long ti. Just rember one thing.”
His expression hardened as he placed a tea leaf in my hand.
“I take compensation seriously. Don’t think you can look down on just because I’m a deliveryman.”
“I already knew you were weak.”
“Damn it.”
Samuel ran a hand over his face in exasperation, while I turned my focus to the tea leaf.
‘Enchant.’
The dry leaf began to glow faintly with a golden hue.
I thought of the Curse of the Rift—specifically, the rift itself—and asked Reto if my energy could counteract Samuel’s curse.
Reto’s response was:
[There is a possibility.]
Just as I had predicted, Reto showed a positive reaction.
[Your power corrects disorder. It strongly pursues stability. On the other hand, a rift corrupts sothing whole, making it incomplete. If your Sacred Power is stronger than his curse, you should be able to dispel it.]
This was an experint to understand my Sacred Power in greater depth.
If it worked, I could completely pull Samuel to my side. If it didn’t, I would simply find another way to persuade him.
I had already considered multiple alternatives before coming here, but the best outco would be if my Sacred Power proved effective against curses.
If this worked, I could have him wrapped around my finger.
“Here.”
“…Am I supposed to chew on it?”
“Who eats tea leaves raw? That’d be disgustingly bitter.”
“Kid, you’re making my life difficult today. Fine, I acknowledge you. I’ll even tell others about the legendary day Samuel was troubled by—”
“Just drink it already!”
Forget wrapping him around my finger—I wanted to sew his mouth shut.
Samuel cleared his throat before carefully brewing the enchanted tea.
As the liquid took on a subtle golden shimr, his expression turned serious.
‘So he realizes this isn’t just empty talk.’
Glancing between and the tea, he then took a long sip.
“Kuhh!”
Samuel clutched his throat as if he were dying.
His eyes, now glaring at , were full of resentnt.
“It’s hot, isn’t it?”
“…Krrgh!”
It was hot.
Having downed it in one go without letting it cool, he seed monts away from burning his mouth off.
But just as the pain subsided, Samuel froze.
“Wait…?”
It wasn’t the heat of the tea that had stunned him.
A soothing warmth spread throughout his body.
And then—
“What?!”
That warmth started repairing parts of his body affected by the rift.
It wasn’t pain he felt. It was relief.
His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
Across from him, I bared my teeth in a sly grin.
It worked.
Samuel shot to his feet.
“B-Boy!”
I shook my head.
The first thing I needed to do was correct his way of addressing .
***
The Witch’s Garden was filled with countless people.
All of them lay sprawled on the ground, asleep as if they were dead.
By the ti a day had passed, the witches had disappeared, and one by one, the sleeping humans woke with a smile on their faces, though tinged with regret.
“…Ah…”
Lochter was among them.
Stretching a hand toward the sky as he regained consciousness, he stood there in a daze.
Would I ever dream like that again?
Even as his mind returned to reality, the lingering warmth of that blissful dream still clung to him.
“No… No! Noooo!”
So were devastated.
Karl clutched his head, repeatedly smacking his forehead against the ground.
Gone was the long, flowing hair that had once reached his waist. All that remained was an empty sense of loss.
The rest of the group—and everyone else—displayed various emotions as they recalled their dreams with a sense of longing.
Yet, despite the different reactions, they all shared one common sentint.
“I feel refreshed.”
“I could go days without sleep.”
It was as if all their exhaustion had been washed away. Their minds were clear, as though they had been reborn, leaving behind the struggles and suffering of the past.
As Heinz ca to his senses, he began gathering the people.
The garden gradually regained its energy as people ca together once more.
“Has everyone recovered?”
At that mont, a voice called out from one side of the garden.
A voice everyone recognized.
The one who had led them all to this place.
As everyone turned toward the source, confusion flickered in their eyes.
Lochter, Karl, and Heinz were no exception.
Arthur Clayton.
Their gazes settled on him—only for their attention to imdiately shift behind him.
Floating in the air just above Arthur’s ankles was a small, blue ring of light.
A portal, just big enough for a single person to pass through.
Then, Arthur spoke.
“It’s ti to return to our castle.”
He smiled and gestured toward the hovering portal.
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