Chapter 46

How to Live as a Hero in a Magical World (46)

Kaian beamed and shouted to Pett.

"Mister! Can you see it? There, right there! The land of dreams and fantasy for escorts!"

The Flare Horse gradually slowed down.

Clop. Clop.

Only then did Pett notice the building Kaian was pointing at.

"That... place?"

"Yeah! That's it!"

No matter how he looked at it, it was nothing more than a tiny cabin.

An old, crumbling cabin that looked ready to collapse at any moment.

What part of this is supposed to be a land of dreams and fantasy...?

Unless those dreams and fantasies meant nightmares.

Then it made a certain amount of sense.

Well, he is a Reaper.

The boy was certainly committed to his image.

Seriously. What the hell is he planning?

Pett looked at the cabin again.

It was so old that even the dim lantern hanging beneath the eaves looked eerie instead of welcoming.

If someone actually lived in a place like this, surely it needed to be reported.

For dangerous construction or... something like that.

But what if...

What if that damned Reaper actually lived alone in this broken-down cabin?

Then I should report it for child abuse or something...

While Pett was lost in those useless thoughts, Kaian suddenly shouted.

"Once you leave the forest, the light of the northern entrance welcomes you!"

"Ah! You scared me! Wh-what was that?"

"Hehe. The escort guys love saying that all the time. Well, I can understand why. This place is on a completely different scale from the other three entrances. People are constantly coming and going."

Pett slowly blinked his dry eyes after being exposed to the wind for so long.

He barely listened to Kaian, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.

He assumed Kaian was messing with him.

If he had his way, Pett would've smacked the boy on the head and told him not to make fun of an adult...

If I do that, he'll probably split my skull open like a watermelon. What a miserable life.

Besides, what if this really was Kaian's house?

Can't he do something about his house with magic? Is he only good at fighting?

Meanwhile, Kaian expertly guided the Flare Horse behind the cabin.

A magic circle had been drawn there.

It was large enough to fit three or four cargo wagons with room to spare.

Kaian parked the wagon inside the magic circle, then gently scratched the Flare Horse's neck.

"Wait here for a little while. I'll see you again soon."

His face and voice were incredibly gentle.

Pett pouted as he watched.

Why doesn't he talk to me like that? He even stole my Artifact...!

But Kaian addressed him in the same blunt tone as always.

"All right, Mister Pett. Follow me."

Kaian threw open the door of the eerie cabin.

Creeeeak!

The old wooden door let out an unpleasant sound.

Kaian walked inside without hesitation, clearly used to it.

Pett followed behind with his shoulders hunched.

And inside...

An old woman who looked at least eighty years old sat dozing in a rocking chair.

Pett had been convinced the place was abandoned, so he nearly jumped in surprise.

Th-there's a person...! Someone actually lives here...!

His already hunched shoulders curled in even tighter.

Yet even now, his professional instincts as a former burglar remained alive.

Pett quickly scanned the interior with the eyes of a frightened rat.

Glance.

There was almost nothing worth calling furniture.

An old stove.

A kettle sitting on top of it.

A small dining table.

A chipped teacup filled with some unknown tea.

Glance.

A rocking chair.

A cane beside it.

And the blanket covering the old woman.

That was everything.

Pett stared in shock.

Is this really someone's house? Even the sewer I lived in had more stuff than this!

If he'd seen a house like this during his active days as a burglar, he would've left a few copper coins behind instead of stealing anything.

Then Pett suddenly remembered his mother, who had died after living her whole life in poverty.

Mother...!

Just as the unfilial son began seeing his dead mother in this unknown old woman and squeezing out tears...

Kaian completely ruined the mood.

"Hey, Granny! I'm back! Open the door for me!"

At that shameless greeting, the old woman slowly raised her left eyelid.

Her cloudy gray eye stared at the visitors.

Her voice sounded like dry firewood.

"Has half your tongue been cut off, boy? Every time I see you, your manners get worse."

Her presence was incredibly solid.

Pett enthusiastically agreed in his head.

Exactly, ma'am! This brat has absolutely no manners!

Kaian merely grinned.

"Granny, how much longer are you planning to work here? You should retire already. Go see the world. Maybe meet a nice old man."

The old woman waved him away in annoyance.

"Don't need it! You're still a brat, yet all you've learned is how to nag... Is it just one horse and one cargo wagon going through?"

"Yeah. They're super valuable, so take good care of them, please."

Kaian deliberately spoke in a cute voice.

The old woman clicked her tongue.

"Tsk, tsk. Foolish boy. The more people praise something as valuable, the more trouble it tends to bring."

Kaian's eyes lit up.

"Ah! So that's why all kinds of trouble keeps coming to me! Because I'm so valuable, right?"

"You little... stop talking like that!"

The old woman complained that the boy refused to lose a single argument.

Kaian laughed, clearly understanding the concern hidden beneath her grumbling.

"Oh, right!"

He used [Quick Draw] and pulled out a rattan basket.

"Granny, take this."

"What's that?"

The basket was covered with woven linen.

Underneath were plenty of beautifully ripe pomegranates.

"They're in season. Don't give them away to anyone. Eat them yourself, okay?"

"Tsk. You didn't need to bring me something like this."

The corners of the old woman's lips twitched.

She reached out to accept the basket...

Then suddenly grabbed Kaian's left wrist.

Only then did she fully open both eyes.

Blink.

Unlike her cloudy left eye, her right eye shimmered mysteriously with five different colors.

Clear.

Brilliant.

As if time itself had never touched it.

Kaian looked uncomfortable.

"Why does everyone like grabbing my wrist so much? My wrist is delicate, you know. You're strong too, Granny. You can't just grab it like that."

He joked lightly, but this time the old woman didn't react.

Her expression became serious as she stared at the butterfly mark on Kaian's left wrist.

Kaian followed her gaze.

It was the familiar butterfly mark engraved there when he'd made his contract with Eldarin.

It is the symbol of an ancient contract. A mark related to the source of your mana should have appeared.

Eldarin had told him the butterfly would show him the right path.

I never understood what that meant until now...

But after killing Sarvel, a red spot had appeared on one of the butterfly's wings.

Kaian was beginning to vaguely understand what Eldarin had meant by the right path.

The old woman looked directly into his eyes.

"The weight of one wing has changed."

Her left eye was gray and unshakable.

Her right eye shone with five mysterious colors, impossible to read.

Under the pressure of those contrasting eyes, Kaian couldn't think of anything to say.

The old woman asked calmly,

"Do you know what this means?"

Kaian quietly looked away.

That alone was answer enough.

The old woman sighed softly.

"So you do know."

Kaian bit his lip.

How could he not?

The red spot radiated the same kind of energy as the raging fire that had once filled his Imaginary World.

I never thought I'd encounter something like this again...

Then the old woman's wrinkled hand gently wrapped around Kaian's left wrist.

The warmth of her hand was surprisingly kind.

"So anger was the emotion that first set the wheel of your destiny in motion."

There was no criticism in her voice.

Only concern and comfort.

The red spot.

Red was the symbolic color of fire mana.

Among the five types of mana, fire was the most explosive and destructive.

If suppressed, it would eventually erupt with several times the force.

Anything standing in its path would burn.

Mages who immersed themselves too deeply in fire mana were often driven by violent anger and fighting spirit.

They were easily consumed by destructive impulses.

They always lived closest to death.

That was why...

"I hoped it wouldn't be red."

Regret and sorrow filled the old woman's eyes.

It was the remorse of an adult who had failed to protect a child's heart.

And the sympathy of a wise person who could already imagine the trials waiting for him.

"Why did you take such a heavy burden with your very first step?"

"...I'm sorry."

Kaian's apology broke something inside the old woman.

Her reply trembled faintly.

"You have nothing to apologize to this old woman for."

The old woman didn't know every detail of Kaian's circumstances.

But from the moment she'd first seen him, she'd been able to tell just how much guilt and responsibility drove the child forward.

There was a certain atmosphere around people who had been forced to stop being children far too early.

Kaian carried it strongly.

His early maturity saddened her.

It irritated her as well.

Lately, he'd even gotten better at hiding the shadows inside himself.

Such a useless skill to become good at.

Even so, she didn't scold him.

Nor did she carelessly shed tears for him.

Those tears weren't hers to cry.

Someday, Kaian would have to cry them himself.

Realizing the sincerity behind the old woman's concern, Kaian calmed his shaken emotions.

Then he smiled brightly.

"Don't worry, Granny! Next time I come, I'll have some other colors filled in too!"

The path guided by the butterfly was probably a path without extremes.

A path toward balance.

Kaian decided to think positively.

He had embraced the heart of fire once.

That didn't mean it had to be the only emotion he carried forever.

"Hmph! Who said I was worried? Don't need it."

The old woman returned to her usual blunt expression and picked up the cane beside her rocking chair.

Then she struck the floor three times.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

Perhaps it was some kind of knock.

The wooden floor glowed green and split open, revealing a hidden entrance beneath.

Then the old woman raised her cane and placed it between Kaian and Pett.

Whoosh!

"Boy. I've confirmed your [Tag]. But this rat-faced fellow doesn't have one."

Overwhelmed by her presence, Pett began trembling like a leaf.

"T-Tag?"

Only then did he realize that the old woman before him was the gatekeeper of the northern entrance.

Ugh, these damned mages...! If you're strong, act strong! Show it! Make it obvious!

First the escort boy, and now this.

Lately, Pett had begun doubting his ability to judge people.

The old woman glared at him with her strange mismatched eyes.

"You're not an escort. Anyone who isn't an escort cannot enter ⟨Saint Dust⟩."

"S-Saint... what? I-I'm not going there."

Pett desperately looked between Kaian and the old woman.

He lamented the fact that the only person he could rely on right now was the damned Reaper.

And the Reaper was yawning like he was sleepy.

"Yaaaaawn."

Pett wondered if he needed to fall to his knees again and recite his tragic life story.

Then Kaian casually said,

"What do you mean you're not going? Of course you're going. S-Saint... whatever. That's the northern entrance."