TL/ED – Miso
Seeing Lumia’s face go pale, I reviewed the situation.
No matter how generously I interpreted it, this was close to the end.
I had no idea what she ant by “dream.” The issue was simple. A princess in the Imperial Palace held a negative feeling toward , and that alone was a serious problem.
If the cause had anything to do with my magic.
As I quickly ran through possibilities in my head, I bent slightly and felt a weighty object inside my pocket.
Should I use this to test the waters?
“Princess.”
I slowly rose and kneeled first to avoid provoking her.
However, I made sure to speak before Lumia could say anything strange.
“I hope your noble self remained in good health, and that your household has been at peace throughout this ti.”
“…Uh, um?”
Even I didn’t know what I was saying. I was just trying to confuse her.
Seed it worked, as she tilted her head in puzzlent. Taking advantage of that mont, I addressed not Lumia but her two escort knights behind her, making sure they understood clearly.
“Since the last test, I have always hoped for another chance to et with Princess Lumia. I am truly relieved to see you in good health.”
“??”
“I’ve prepared a small birthday gift.”
So it wouldn’t be perceived as an attack, I carefully took the dagger out with both hands and placed it atop my palms.
Only then did Lumia cautiously open her mouth.
She looked baffled.
“…Jern. My birthday was five months ago.”
“I apologize. It felt inappropriate to request access to the Imperial Palace just to deliver a gift, so I had been holding onto it, hoping for an eventual eting.”
I lied without hesitation, not even wetting my lips first.
Then suddenly, sothing struck as odd.
“But… You rembered my na.”
“…How could I not.”
I had assud that, at best, Princess Lumia might rember only vaguely as an arrogant commoner. Or perhaps just as one of the Fallen.
If it were the latter, escape would be impossible.
Is it black or white? Right now, arrogant commoner counts as white.
While I waited nervously for judgnt, Lumia approached and carefully accepted the dagger I offered.
She examined it, drew it, and looked at the blade. Then she looked at with surprised eyes.
“Lykonian… Must’ve taken so ti to get this.”
I wasn’t sure what that was, but Alletus was the best.
Although the princess still flinched when our eyes t, she seed to like the knife. Her gaze toward softened noticeably.
I’ve never seen soone dislike a gift. And if sothing like a present could lift her mood, then… perhaps I could safely count this as white.
“I’m very glad it pleases you.”
Now, I hoped she would leave. I bowed deeply, trying to convey that aning.
As she looked down at with a strange expression, Lumia turned to the head of the security unit, who was bowing deeply nearby.
“Je, no… Why is this wizard here?”
“There was a very minor incident, and I intended to request his presence as an observer.”
“If it’s not urgent, may I take him with for a mont?”
“?”
“Yes! Of course.”
It didn’t even take 0.1 seconds for the security captain to betray .
Wait, don’t you have sothing you want to ask ?
As I looked up at the princess with all the forced cheer I could muster.
“I have sothing I wish to ask you.”
Hmm.
Seems it was black after all.
*
The princess walked without saying a word.
I didn’t speak either. I could tell she hadn’t made a final decision yet, so depending on what I said, I might still be able to turn things around.
As long as that possibility remained, I didn’t want to look desperate.
She stopped in a garden with a pond and blooming flowers. With a stern expression, she gave an order.
“Shut your ears.”
“Yes.”
The order wasn’t directed at .
Her two escort knights imdiately knelt and bowed their heads.
“They won’t be able to hear what we’re about to say.”
“I see. Do you have sothing to command of ?”
“You-”
Lumia paused, as if choosing her words, then t my gaze with difficulty.
Then she startled herself and quickly looked away again.
“How old are you?”
“…What?”
I had anticipated dozens of different questions, but the one she asked was so unexpected that I reflexively asked back.
However, I quickly responded.
“I’m eleven. Probably.”
“Probably?”
“I’m sorry I can’t answer more clearly. I grew up in an orphanage, so I don’t know my exact birthday. But since it’s been about a year since I last counted, I’m probably eleven now.”
“I, I see.”
Lumia nodded, then said sothing strange.
“If you’re that young and small, you’re basically nothing.”
Schizophrenia?
I had no idea what she ant. Was she trying to mock ?
“Then can you, by chance, shoot tentacles from your back?”
“No.”
It is schizophrenia.
Poor Emperor. As I thought that, Lumia sighed in relief and muttered to herself.
“You’re just a simple child. Nothing more…”
“Have I perhaps offended you in so way? If so, please tell and I’ll correct it.”
I asked carefully, not wanting to provoke a patient. Lumia gave a sharp glare, as if to say, “How dare you say that?”
“You…!”
Our eyes t, and she quickly turned away, like a startled snail.
“You keep appearing in my dreams!”
“…”
I took a mont to process that sentence and then closed my eyes with a serious expression.
“I will do my best not to understand what that ans. My apologies.”
“?”
Lumia tilted her head at my reply, then frowned deeply.
“No, not like that! I don’t an sothing romantic. They’re nightmares. Since the day I lost to you, I’ve had one almost every week!”
“Ah.”
So that’s what it was.
Looking quite down, Lumia began to confess sothing close to a prayer.
“…That was my first loss. Maybe that’s why, but every ti I dream, that mont keeps replaying. You appear in it… obviously because you were the one who defeated . There’s no other reason. None at all.”
Must’ve been quite the shock for her to lose to .
But given how she lost, it makes sense. Still, it seems she didn’t find out I’m one of the Fallen, and I don’t have to worry about being killed by the Emperor. With that comforting thought, I bowed my head.
“I’m sorry for causing you distress. If it helps ease your anger, you may punish until you feel satisfied. That way, perhaps I won’t appear in your dreams again.”
“Forget it. That’s not the kind of victory I want…”
Lumia, looking weary, sat by the pond and sighed.
“I know it’s not your fault. It’s just… because I’m weak. My heart is fragile.”
“…”
I hadn’t noticed earlier because she kept turning away, but I could now see faint dark circles under her eyes.
So of that was my responsibility. I still had a goal to achieve, so I cleared my throat and stood up.
“Pardon , but may I make a small request?”
“A request?”
“Yes. It’s my first ti in the Imperial Palace, and I find it truly beautiful. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to take a short walk around.”
Lumia looked puzzled for a mont, then nodded.
“That’s not difficult. I’ll assign you a maid, so go take a look around.”
“No.”
I shook my head, then knelt politely and extended my hand.
“I would like to talk with you, Princess.”
“…Huh?”
*
Thanks to her permission, I discovered sothing.
Lumia was a perfect access pass.
“So I had no choice but to set the tree on fire.”
“…Did it not occur to you that you might get arrested for arson?”
“I was seven at the ti. I thought I’d just get a spanking and that would be the end of it.”
“Huh, really.”
Just walking beside her made knights step aside, and maids opened doors on their own.
All I had to do was use current sense to scan for a limping maid. There was nothing easier than this.
The price was simply a casual conversation. Stories about how I’d lived, mostly about my ti in the orphanage, excluding anything related to my fall.
As we walked through a corridor filled with red carpet and warm orange lighting, with earnestly searching for Ren’s mother, Lumia glanced at with an exhausted expression.
“From what I’ve heard, you haven’t changed one bit since you were a child.”
“I believe I’ve changed quite a lot.”
“Yes, I suppose. But that’s not what I ant, um…”
Lumia rolled her tongue, as if choosing her words carefully.
“From everything I’ve heard so far, you seem like soone who doesn’t know what regret is.”
“I’m not sure what you an…”
“In other words, given the sa amount of information, even if you were to return to the past with future knowledge, you would still make the exact sa decisions.”
“Hmm. Is that such a strange thing?”
“It is. Very much so. People make choices and feel regret. They imagine what could have been had they chosen differently, and they tornt themselves, assuming they made a mistake. But you…”
The princess narrowed her eyes and looked at .
“Even if you went back, you would make the sa choices again. Not even those full of arrogance dare to do such a thing. I wonder why that is.”
“I don’t fully understand Your Highness’s words. I, too, feel regret and pain over bad choices. But I cannot deny that even if I were to go back, I would choose the sa path.”
“Why?”
“Because the choice was made after enduring enough pain. Even if I were to suffer a bit longer, the result wouldn’t change.”
“…Ah.”
At my answer, Lumia let out a small sound as if realizing sothing and nodded.
“I see now… You’re not in your right mind.”
“Ahem.”
“Ah, don’t take it too seriously. I’ve occasionally heard stories about those who decided not to doubt instead of trusting their choices, but this is the first ti I’ve actually seen one, so I misspoke.”
“What’s the difference?”
“Trust requires a reason, but not doubting needs none. The latter is the thinking of a madman.”
The content of the conversation was sharp, but the mood itself wasn’t bad.
Lumia still couldn’t et my gaze directly. But unlike before, she no longer flinched as often.
“…Th-thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, I was able to see the beauty of the Imperial Palace.”
I had swept through the palace using current sense, but I still hadn’t found Ren’s mother.
However, I did find a thod. In many ways, Lumia had been helpful.
“You approached not because you weren’t afraid, but to convince yourself I wasn’t soone to fear. I’m not a fool.”
“Your tone is a bit muddled.”
“…That too is your fault.”
Lumia gave a sideways glare, sighed, and then snapped her fingers to call a knight.
“I’m sorry for keeping you so long. You must have your own duties. This knight will guide you.”
“Hmm, yes. It was a short eting, but I enjoyed it.”
Now then, what excuse should I use to slip away this ti?
I was still thinking when.
“There’s no need for that.”
A cold voice rang out, and sothing suddenly appeared within my current sense.
It was similar to how Linl’s movents had been erased. But this ti, distance itself had vanished.
A speed on the level of sothing appearing from nothing.
“…”
I slowly turned around. There knelt a middle-aged knight in black armor, neither large nor small in build, but exuding a quiet pressure as he knelt respectfully before the princess.
…Fast, no. Before that, I can’t even perceive him.
The knight politely introduced himself.
“Heaven’s Judgent Knight of Wax Wings, Hyeon-cheong. I greet Princess Lumia.”
“Wax Wings…?”
Lumia received the greeting naturally and looked at Hyeon-cheong, who was kneeling.
Her gaze was filled with curiosity.
“I’ve never heard of such an organization.”
“It’s a unit recently established to carry out specific tasks. The main purpose would be dealing with and preventing Fallen.”
A slow, deliberate voice. And emphasis on handling before prevention.
Above all, Wax Wings. Wings made of wax…
A na filled with overt hostility, with no intention of hiding it.
Having completed his formal duty as a knight before the princess, Hyeon-cheong now turned his gaze to .
“I’m here in relation to that task, I ca looking for this boy.”
“Jern? Is he connected to the Fallen?”
“Yes. He claims to have engaged one in combat. And there are a few suspicions as well.”
He heard.
Naturally, he wouldn’t have a favorable opinion of . I t Hyeon-cheong’s gaze directly and replied.
“That was sothing that could easily be taken as an insult. If I offended you, I apologize. However, I believed the suspicion itself was reasonable.”
“Of course.”
Hyeon-cheong answered gently, even to an eleven-year-old.
But that was only in appearance. His tone simred with restrained anger.
“It is a valid suspicion. But I, too, believe I have the right to pose a valid question, can a 1-Star wizard survive a battle with a Fallen?”
“I was lucky.”
“So it seems.”
Hyeon-cheong slowly walked forward and lowered his gaze to et mine.
“You’d best continue to be that lucky.”
The pressure was intense.
I tried to remain calm as I spoke.
“…If you have questions, please feel free to ask them.”
“That Fallen. Where did it run off to?”
“It disappeared into an alleyway. I apologize that I can’t give more detailed information.”
“I see. Thank you for your cooperation.”
As if that unsatisfactory answer was enough, Hyeon-cheong rose from where he had been.
He turned as though to leave, then suddenly shifted his gaze back to .
“But you really are sothing.”
“…Pardon?”
“I heard about you. An apprentice of the Black Magic Tower at your age, was it? You’re more of a genius than any wizard I know.”
“Ah, yes. That’s thanks to being a student of Dersia-nim.”
“Hmm…”
Hyeon-cheong returned and casually made a request, seemingly without any hidden motive.
“Could you show your workshop?”
“My workshop.”
“I’m curious. What a genius like you keeps in his workshop.”
“There’s really nothing special in there. I don’t think it’s worth showing.”
“That nothing special is exactly what I want to see.”
He grabbed the handle of an empty room nearby and opened the door.
“I’d like a look.”
“…”
He’s not going to let walk away, is he?
Naturally, if I opened the workshop now, everything would fall apart.
“I’m sorry, but-”
Just as I was about to force my way out of it.
Lumia stepped forward with a slightly displeased expression, beating to it.
“That’s enough.”
“…Princess, Your Highness.”
The other knights imdiately bowed their heads deeply at the sight of Lumia.
But as expected, a Heaven’s Judgent Knight was different. Even before a visibly angry princess, Hyeon-cheong bowed calmly and offered a rebuttal.
“Please forgive . It was only a casual request. If making it in front of Your Highness is the issue, I will excuse myself.”
“It doesn’t appear to as just a casual request. Even if you hold power over life and death, nobles included, as a Heaven’s Judgent Knight, you don’t intend to wield that small authority before royalty too, do you?”
“…”
“If you have sothing to ‘interrogate,’ I’ll send soone later, so do it then. Withdraw for now.”
“Understood.”
The authority of a Heaven’s Judgent Knight was considerable.
But even so, a princess is a princess, and a knight is a knight.
Without showing any emotional reaction, Hyeon-cheong bowed and withdrew.
Before leaving, he looked at .
“…”
“…”
It was then I realized, Hyeon-cheong had no intention of letting go.
After he left, I bowed to Princess Lumia.
“Thank you for speaking out on my behalf.”
“…It wasn’t for your sake. I just didn’t like how sharp his tone was in front of , so I pointed it out.”
Lumia deflected with a faint blush. I bowed once more and stepped back.
“Regardless of the reason, thank you. It was a short conversation, but I truly enjoyed it. I look forward to eting again.”
“Ah, wai-”
Before Lumia could stop , I casually walked off in the opposite direction of where Hyeon-cheong had gone, then once I was out of sight, I ran.
The reason was simple.
‘…He’s ruthless.’
Hyeon-cheong, caught in my current sense, hadn’t left. He was standing in a blind spot down the opposite alley, waiting.
If I turned back after so small talk, he’d catch from behind.
From now on, it was a race against ti.
I sprinted through the opposite alley, then paused briefly to catch my breath and swallowed two pearl pills at once.
Then I shoved all the other dicines into my mouth. Whether they were for stopping bleeding, relieving pain, or anything else.
I had no intention of using Deep Fusion. Still, I needed to go a bit deeper, so I had to do everything I could.
“Hoo…”
As I felt the dicine spreading through , I lifted one foot and tapped lightly.
Thud.
The sound carried as my current sense intensified dozens of tis and spread outward.
“…Ugh.”
I clenched my teeth imdiately.
My deep sea was quite fair.
If I held back and then used it, it cos with enhanced abilities, and a deepened burden in return.
Of course, I hadn’t avoided using it completely. Just earlier, I swept through the palace with current sense.
After the battle where I used Deep Fusion, scanning the palace like that counted as rely holding back.
But when I truly used it, it was on another level entirely.
[…so you did! And then.]
[Really?]
[…to escort her.]
[He’s there]
In an instant, every sound in the palace was forcibly understood and hamred into my mind.
Tongue and lip movents, and countless other details.
It wasn’t sothing I knew. It was sothing I beca aware of.
Was this the upgraded power of current sense?
“Tch.”
It took so ti to sweep away the irrelevant noise and focus on what I actually wanted to find.
As I scanned the palace, now covering a much wider area, I located a lounge-like room where several maids were gathered and chatting.
The problem was, most of them were seated.
To identify a limping maid, I had to get them walking.
“…Let’s try it.”
I muttered to myself and grasped the air.
-Clatter!
[Kyaa! What was that?]
[Who knocked it over?!]
“Hah.”
Even I couldn’t believe what I had just done.
It was nearly hundreds of ters away, yet I located it, sensed it, and influenced it.
All I did was knock over a mop bucket, but even so, this was undeniably an absurd ability.
If I beca even stronger from here, maybe I could crush an enemy’s skull from hundreds of ters away.
Of course, the burden would match. As my vision began to darken, I scanned the maids who were getting up one by one.
Normal. Normal. Normal.
And then.
[Aliren, you have bad legs, so just rest.]
[…Mm, thank you.]
Limping. And a na containing Ren.
Neglectful parent, found.
Just before I ran toward the place where the maid was, I checked where Hyeon-cheong was using current sense.
“…?”
He was gone.
Where could he have gone in such a short ti?
I expanded my current sense around the part of the palace where I was, and what I saw made freeze in disbelief.
“That crazy bastard…”
A laugh slipped out of .
After Lumia left, Hyeon-cheong had started wandering through every corridor of the palace. If I’d followed after her, I would’ve been caught for sure. The speed at which he was scanning was unreal.
Even with my current sense enhanced to this degree, I still occasionally missed him.
If the palace I was in didn’t have a labyrinth-like structure, likely designed in case of intrusions, I might have already been caught.
Like on a chessboard, there was a blindfolded queen and a pawn who could see everything.
Either I reach the other side first, or I get caught.
“…Tch.”
I clenched my teeth and started running.
There was no ti left to delay.
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