By Zephyria 
Baek Ryeo-il quickly hugged his mother’s sword, which the woman had set down.
She glanced back and snorted as if she found the situation absurd. Then, she began to crawl around the area.
After a while, having finished her patrol, the woman flopped down carelessly near Baek Ryeo-il. She then lit a small campfire using dry twigs she had gathered from every corner of the cave.
The fire was very small, but it was much better now that the field of vision had brightened slightly.
“Right, you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
Baek Ryeo-il stood awkwardly, watching her rummage through her sleeves. It sounded as if quite a few items were rolling around inside her sleeves; one wondered what on earth she carried in there.
“Ah, found it.”
She held out something wrapped in oiled paper. It looked like food, but it seemed suspicious, so he didn’t reach for it immediately.
“Why is such a little kid so wary? There’s no poison in it. Eat. The village is in total chaos right now, so I barely managed to get this.”
“…….”
Baek Ryeo-il reluctantly took the food. When he unwrapped the paper, there was a snow-white pancake inside. Seeing the glistening, oily pancake, a hunger he had forgotten rushed back to him. As he took a bite, it tasted incredibly delicious.
“Eat slowly. What’s your name?”
“……Baek Ryeo-il.”
“That’s a pretty name. This older sister is… just call me Mimi. Everyone calls me that.”
“…….”
“Are you always this quiet?”
“…….”
“I’m bored.”
The woman sat with her elbows resting on her knees, staring intently at Baek Ryeo-il as he ate. Then, as if remembering belatedly, she held out a bamboo water bottle.
“What in the world is happening in the middle of the night.”
The woman let out a long sigh. Then, observing Baek Ryeo-il, who seemed focused only on chewing and swallowing his food as if he heard nothing, she spoke cautiously.
“Do you know what the Demonic Cult is?”
Baek Ryeo-il shook his head.
“Right now, outside… No. You don’t need to know. Anyway, your parents were really strong. I had fallen asleep late into the dawn and didn’t even know what kind of chaos was breaking out outside. If your parents hadn’t saved me, I would have been in real trouble.”
At the mention of his parents, Baek Ryeo-il looked up. His eyes were sparkling. The pitch-black pupils, which had been maintaining a sharp guard against the stranger, softened in an instant.
“I’m not very good at fighting… I might not be able to help with other things, but I can watch over your son to make sure he’s okay… What, are you crying?”
Once his parents were mentioned, Baek Ryeo-il could no longer hold it back.
No matter how mature and smart he was, he was still just a four-year-old child. The fact that he was separated from his parents, in an unfamiliar environment, with a stranger, felt sorrowful.
Clutching the half-remaining pancake in his tiny hand, Baek Ryeo-il pursed his lips and wept silently. Tears as large as chicken eggs rolled down his cheeks.
“S-sorry. I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’ll apologize anyway. Don’t cry.”
“……When are my mom and dad coming?”
“I’m not sure… But your parents are quite skilled, so they’ll be back soon.”
Baek Ryeo-il tried his best to swallow his tears and nodded vigorously. After wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he bit into the remaining pancake.
When Baek Ryeo-il stopped crying quickly, Mimi let out a breathy laugh. However, she soon erased the smile and wore a serious expression.
“……What should I do.”
Baek Ryeo-il looked back curiously.
“Actually, I ran away from home. My family probably doesn’t even know I’m here, and if by any chance something happens…”
Mimi buried her face in her knees as if trying to hide the emotions showing on her face. After a long time, she muttered.
“Well, it’s probably better if I’m not there anyway.”
Crackle, crackle.
The firewood burned within the small campfire. When Mimi finally lifted her head, there was a slight moisture on her eyelashes.
At that moment, Baek Ryeo-il was staring blankly at Mimi. He had a deep and serious expression that was unlike a child. A wrinkle formed between his smooth, downy brows.
“What is running away from home?”
“……I wondered what you were thinking.”
Mimi let out a hollow laugh.
“You’ll find out when you grow up a bit more.”
However, that seemed to have made her feel better. She smiled and reached out to pat Baek Ryeo-il’s head, but he dodged quickly, leaving her hand waving uselessly in the air.
Baek Ryeo-il finished the rest of the pancake in the blink of an eye. Only then did he remember the person next to him. She had only been watching him eat; there was nothing in her hand. There had been only one pancake.
To think he had eaten it all by himself without knowing.
“…….”
Baek Ryeo-il stared blankly at the empty paper in his hand.
“No, no. It’s okay. I’m not hungry. Really. Actually, it wasn’t even food that was hard to get. Don’t cry!”
Mimi quickly noticed what he was thinking and hurriedly comforted him.
“I’m not crying.”
“Right, good boy.”
He hugged the sword, which was taller than himself, tightly.
“Don’t do that, just lie down and sleep. I’ll wake you up when your parents come.”
Mimi took off her outer garment and spread it wide on the floor like a blanket. Baek Ryeo-il hesitated for a moment. However, since he was full, drowsiness began to wash over him and his eyes grew heavy, so he curled up and lay down.
“Why don’t you let go of that sword? What if you get hurt?”
Baek Ryeo-il stubbornly shook his head and hugged his mother’s sword even tighter.
However, he could not fall asleep easily. He blinked his wide-awake eyes for a long time while staring at the pitch-black cave wall.
Lying on the cold floor with only a single piece of clothing beneath him, he missed the warm embrace of his parents.
I won’t cry.
Baek Ryeo-il made that resolution, but before long, he began to sniffle.
Then, a warm heat enveloped him. Mimi lay down beside him and wrapped her arm around his back.
“We will survive and go back home.”
Mimi spoke as if comforting herself. Although she pretended to be fine on the outside, he could tell that she was also afraid deep down.
Though she wasn’t particularly reliable or reassuring, Baek Ryeo-il’s trembling gradually subsided.
“Shall I tell you a secret?”
At the word ‘secret,’ Baek Ryeo-il’s ears perked up.
“What is it?”
“I’m only telling you. You mustn’t tell anyone. Got it?”
Baek Ryeo-il nodded.
“Actually, I obtained a very precious item.”
Mimi patted her chest. It made a sound that was too dull to be bare skin. It seemed she had placed something thick inside.
“Are you curious? Do you want to see it?”
Nod, nod, nod!
Satisfied with Baek Ryeo-il’s enthusiastic reaction, Mimi grinned and sat up. Even though there were only two of them around, she acted exaggeratedly cautious, looking around, which sent Baek Ryeo-il’s expectations skyrocketing.
However, as soon as she pulled out the item, Baek Ryeo-il’s face quickly turned cold.
“……It’s just a book.”
Greatly disappointed, Baek Ryeo-il turned his back and lay back down on the floor.
“Do you know how amazing this is? You know, have you heard of the Divine Physician? The legendary doctor who swept through the Martial world three hundred years ago! This is a book written by that person! Aren’t you curious where I found it?”
He wasn’t curious.
Since Baek Ryeo-il showed no interest, Mimi was the one who became agitated. Feeling deflated, she put the book back into her bosom and flopped down.
“……There must be a way to cure my illness written in this book. Then I can return to my family with my head held high. My family won’t have to suffer because of me.”
Mimi muttered.
“But I can’t understand the contents at all! Do you know how much effort I put into getting this secret manual! Does it make sense that I haven’t understood a single page in over fifteen days?!”
She suddenly began to stomp her feet and pull at her hair. Baek Ryeo-il half-sat up and watched her having a fit as if she were a strange object. He had never met such a noisy person.
“……I’m a stupid idiot.”
Soon, as if her energy had run out, she went limp.
After the brief commotion passed, a quiet silence settled over the cave. The small campfire, lit so that the light wouldn’t leak out, grew weak as if it were about to go out.
Baek Ryeo-il tossed and turned, uncomfortable on the uneven floor. When a warm hand patted his shoulder, he quickly felt a sense of stability and breathed evenly.
“Good night. When you wake up, you’ll be able to meet your parents.”
The softly whispering voice faded away. Baek Ryeo-il fell into a deep sleep.
He had a dream.
In the dream, Baek Ryeo-il went to find his parents himself.
Having often seen his parents practicing swordsmanship, Baek Ryeo-il swung his sword magnificently just as they did and drove away the enemies.
Then, his parents clapped with bright faces.
As expected, our son is amazing.
Our son is the best!
Baek Ryeo-il shrugged his shoulders with flushed cheeks.
Then, he shuddered and opened his eyes in the cold cave.
“Mom? Dad……?”
They had not yet returned; they were nowhere to be seen. There was no one in the cave. The outer garment Mimi had spread out was still there, but the person was gone.
He was alone.