Vol 7 Chapter 10

"There's still scroll remaining."

Looking down at the scroll in his hand while catching his breath, Kapros saw it had become much thinner than before viewing it, and the end was ragged as if forcibly torn.

"...I couldn't watch anymore, so I pulled out."

When Superior answered through Kapros's mouth, Ilumine's face darkened.

"Once the seal is broken, that scroll will disappear on its own after some time. As I said, once you start viewing it, you cannot run away."

"..."

So that's what she had meant by that. Superior remained silent. Kapros took advantage of the pause to ask a question.

"Is it impossible to know exactly how long until the scroll disappears?"

"Well. Even with all my power infused, at most ten days."

That would be fine. While ten days might be just a moment to an elf who lives for hundreds of years, Kapros had previously managed to become a 3rd Circle Master in barely a week. That meant it wasn't too short a time for Superior to calm down and change his mind either.

"Then if I don't return within a week, please consider that we won't view any more and leave it be."

"Leave it be?"

"It's his choice anyway."

[ ...Where's that cold attitude when you were comforting me earlier? ]

Finally, Superior spoke again.

[ Tell Lumi I'll think about it for a week and come back. I know that once chosen, it can't be undone... But right now I need time to organize my thoughts. I've learned too many things just from what I've seen so far. ]

"Why don't you tell her directly?"

[ ..... ]

This guy, starting again.

While trying to resist tightening his grip on the staff, Kapros conveyed Superior's intentions to Ilumine. Ilumine let out a small sigh toward the Superior staff.

"To be honest, there are things there that can't be fully understood just through speculation. I had more to tell you after you saw everything... but I won't say it now. Come back when you're completely decided. Until then, child, don't come separately either."

"I'll do that."

"Give me back the scroll."

When Kapros obediently handed over the scroll, Ilumine looked at its torn end and quietly spoke.

"...I'm a bit tired. I don't know how many years it's been since I stood up. Well, now I should return to my original place."

Original place... did she mean that cave on the opposite side where she had been sitting from the beginning? Come to think of it, why did Ilumine always just sit in that empty place without even a bed to lie on? No matter that she was an NPC, that was certainly an unusual point.

"Why do you have to return there specifically?"

When he couldn't resist asking the question that suddenly came to mind, Ilumine made a short laughing sound like air escaping.

"If you're curious about that, finish watching that scroll."

"..."

"You remember where the house you stayed last time is? When you return, unpack and rest there. Follow behind me to exit just like when you came in."

With those words, Ilumine passed by ahead of him. While following the dots of light pooled in her footsteps again, Kapros decided to think about what those bad assumptions Superior had apparently made in the memory they had just seen might be. Though he would obviously find out later anyway, it would be good to guess ahead and try to persuade Superior a bit faster.

After leading Kapros to the fork, Ilumine said goodbye and went back into the left cave. He watched her disappearing figure before turning around toward the outside.

Come to think of it, Kion-hyung should be outside gathering the flowers Ilumine had asked for, wondering where he might be.

After searching, he fortunately found hyung crouched in the forest not far from the cave.

"Hyung."

"Ah, ah. Kar. You're out now? How did your business go?"

Kion-hyung, who had been crouched down digging the ground with his bare hands like children playing in sand despite his height and build, got up showing excessive joy at seeing Kapros. Though bits of grass fell from his pants because of this, hyung naturally paid no attention to such things.

"Well... I have to come back again later. Did you gather all the flowers?"

"Flowers.... Damn, don't even mention it."

With a dark expression, hyung cursed under his breath and glared at the pile of flowers on a nearby stump.

"It's harder to find than I thought, so I haven't finished yet. But there's only about twenty left, so I think I can finish if I work a bit more. Just a little more."

That should be done soon then. While nodding at that thought, hyung's gaze bore into his face from the side, intensely conveying the unspoken message 'So you won't abandon me and go first, right? Surely you wouldn't do that? I'll collapse within ten steps if you do.'

'Hmm... do I look that heartless?'

Scratching the back of his head, Kapros looked around once.

"Since hyung doesn't know where the lodging is, let's finish together and go."

"You'll help?"

Seeing hyung's eyes sparkling with expectation, Kapros smiled silently.

"...If hyung doesn't mind."

"Kar!"

Hyung threw his arms around Kapros's neck, roughly pulling him into an embrace while shaking him around frantically and bursting into loud laughter.

"How could hyung mind! You adorable thing. You loyal kid! Yes, let's go tear up all these damn flower bastards!"

Hyung, flowers aren't really bastards... He wanted to say that but couldn't open his mouth because his neck was being shaken too much. Before splitting up to help in earnest, hyung showed Kapros the silver-blue bell flower he had picked and explained its appearance in detail.

"Pick ones that look like this. The color is lighter than you'd expect, so it's a bit hard to find in the darkness, see? You have to look carefully through the surrounding grass."

As hyung said, the silver-blue bell flower was lighter in color than expected. A transparent blue close to water color softly illuminated the nodding flower petals like a small bell. When Kapros nodded, hyung thrust his fist into the air and shouted energetically.