Chapter 32. The First Hero (26)
Ella landed on Seongchan's shoulder.
Through their emotional connection, he could feel that she hoped If would calm down and sort through its feelings.
At the same time, a strong sense of guilt came from If.
It was blaming itself, wondering whether it had made things harder for its master.
Even if you're having a hard time, If, I'm not.
[Really?]
Seongchan placed a hand on If's back.
A gentle warmth spread into his palm.
See? You're warm. Not hot. Just right. That's proof you're controlling the fire much better than you're worrying about.
If was anxious inside, but the flames themselves weren't shaking.
It had become capable of controlling its fire even while nervously watching Seongchan's reaction.
[Oh... you're right.]
Until Seongchan placed his hand on its back, If had been completely consumed by the thought that it might have caused trouble.
But the moment his hand touched it, the anxiety vanished almost as though it had never existed.
Even If seemed amazed by the feeling.
The fire stabilized.
That's proof you're getting used to controlling fire. Once you're really skilled at it, you'll probably be able to think about other things and still control the flames perfectly.
[Really?]
To If, that still sounded impossibly far away.
For a long time, it had felt like it was standing in place.
Then, after successfully making Wild Pig Soup together with Seongchan for the first time, it had begun controlling its flames without making mistakes.
Every successful experience accumulated inside If's body.
And now, despite feeling worried, it had managed to keep the fire steady.
It was a small experience.
But it created a small, precious seed of confidence.
Think about how you used to be. Compared to then, you've changed a lot.
Seongchan pointed toward the cauldrons.
If stared at him for a moment, confused about where it was supposed to look.
Then it followed his finger.
Finally, it understood.
[I was expecting too much from myself.]
If looked at the two cauldrons boiling fiercely while it controlled both flames at once.
Until now, it had been so obsessed with the thought that it had to succeed that it had forgotten what it was already accomplishing.
A huge smile spread across If's face.
Then it suddenly froze and looked at Seongchan.
Why did you stop smiling?
[Am I allowed to smile?]
If had once belonged to the retired cook Osle.
Laughter had the power to shake emotions.
Osle believed that when someone was seriously studying cooking, laughter became a distraction.
He had often told If not to laugh.
So the instant If smiled, memories of Osle surfaced in its mind.
It's fine.
[I did it! Even though I'm this happy, I can still control the fire for two furnaces at the same time!]
Right. Both sides are steady.
Seongchan glanced at the flames.
But lower them a little. They're getting stronger.
[Ah... yes.]
Seongchan laughed.
If laughed with him.
Even while smiling, it kept the fire at a stable level and maintained the heat needed for the Wild Pig Soup.
Once the two of them laughed, Ella relaxed as well and joined in.
While sharing emotions with his spirits, Seongchan noticed Na-ye.
She wasn't looking at the spirits.
"Silnyang... Silnyang... come out."
Apparently watching Seongchan communicate with his spirits had made Na-ye think of Silnyang.
"You don't need to say it out loud. Silnyang can hear you even if you only think it."
Na-ye looked at him in surprise.
Some spirit users mistakenly believed they had to speak aloud for their spirits to understand.
Perhaps it was because most people called a spirit's name when summoning it.
But a spirit could also be called through thought alone.
Though there is a condition. The trust between them has to be strong.
There were other methods as well.
The important thing was making the spirit want to enter this world.
[Just call me.]
[If you only think of me, I'll come anytime.]
There was a difference between merely thinking something and speaking it aloud.
Words carried effort and sincerity.
Spirits could feel that sincerity.
And when Seongchan looked at Na-ye and Silnyang's relationship...
"Is that so? Now that I think about it, Silnyang did come when I called inwardly before."
"Right. Silnyang hears you through your heart too, so don't overthink it. The more stressed you become, the more stressed your spirit becomes too."
[I'll comfort you.]
[Hmm...]
Ella immediately rubbed her cheek against Na-ye.
If hesitated over what to do, then decided to focus on controlling the cauldron flames.
"I see."
There was no simple answer to this problem.
Na-ye needed to realize it herself.
Seongchan looked toward the source of her stress.
Park Seokdu was staring anxiously at the cauldrons.
Na-ye has the right personality and mindset for a shield hero.
Park Seokdu is simply good at exploiting that personality.
Na-ye viewed every member of the Rice Ball Guild as someone she had to protect behind her shield.
It was foolish.
Painfully foolish.
Even if there were people among them harboring malice, she still tried to embrace them all.
And that's exactly why I can't dislike her.
When Seongchan had first become a hero, everything had been unfamiliar and difficult.
Everyone had doubted one another.
No one trusted anyone.
By the time he became exhausted and began thinking all heroes were selfish bastards, he met Lee Na-ye.
She had been different from the others.
Even when her own body was breaking apart and death was clearly approaching, she stepped forward before anyone else and protected everyone with her shield.
Na-ye had shown him miracles like that more than once.
Because she was there, Seongchan had survived many situations where he should have died.
She had earned a permanent place in his heart.
That connection remained even after regression.
Unless something unusual happened, he usually began each new regression by finding Na-ye first.
Bubble... bubble.
Steam rose from the cauldron.
The meat was cooked perfectly.
Seongchan looked toward the other pot.
"Come to think of it, you believe this one is some kind of scam, right? You and the Rice Ball Guild members are still going to eat it?"
He pointed toward the cauldron containing Wild Pig Soup made from Park Seokdu's meat.
"Of course. I don't know what kind of trick you pulled, so I'll judge after tasting it myself."
"Thanks to Hero Park Seokdu, I'm getting one platinum for free."
"That's my line!"
Park Seokdu looked confident.
Seongchan gave him the same expression.
Then he opened the lid, took a bowl and ladle from his high-grade subspace pouch, and scooped up a large serving.
Splash.
He filled the bowl and placed it on the table.
Park Seokdu sat down.
There's no way he can make old meat taste good.
