By Zephyria “⋯As this is a story about dreams, it may seem far-fetched to many. I ask for your understanding that I cannot formally convey this through Rubel’s mouth. However, as I am at a certain realm and have had a similar dream before, my uneasy heart cannot be put to rest.
When fighting at the divine source of the Ninth God, there was a suspicious cave within the divine source.
The world inside the cave was like a white chessboard, and various souls drifted and walked upon it. You remember Nadi, the beautiful disciple from the Oasis, don’t you? I believe Nadi was also trapped in the same space, and I assumed that space was completely destroyed when the Ninth God was vanquished.
However, in my dream last night, I saw Elwin Seonbae intently examining something in that space. I am not certain, but it seemed as though he was examining something incomplete. Seonbae’s expression and actions did not appear forced, nor did they seem bewildered, but it is undoubtedly an ominous sign.
I asked Spiritus for help, but as he is the God of Dreams, he often has fleeting dreams and does not take mine seriously. I asked Rubel, but he said that with just one dream, he could not afford to miss the opportunity as Emperor to personally survey the entire Empire. He also mentioned that it has not even been a year since the Ninth God died, so it would be best to watch and see.
Therefore, I ask that you two Seonbaes examine it in advance and tell me without hesitation if there are any suspicious traces. I will go and help you both as quickly as I can. With my limited insight, I only worry that problems might arise in places where Mana is concentrated, like around the Sacred Tree or the cave where the Imperial Knights were captured.
I wish for the peace of you two Seonbaes who strive day and night for the Duchy. Thank you.
—Mikael Heart Shierun”
Hugh read the letter once more, the same one that had already been read to me.
But reading it did not mean I could fully understand it. Divine revelations are not originally given in clear language. Mikael, though a living person, had revelations that were as unclear as any god’s.
What should I do? Looking at Hugh, he scowled fiercely and glared at me.
“What, do you have any questions?”
“About what?”
“No, you were staring intently at something in some strange place. Do you have any weaknesses, like falling into a trap or being dragged somewhere? Tell me in advance. Who else would save you but me?”
It was a familiar refrain, heard since the days we searched for the Blue Star’s corpse.
In truth, I was certain of Mikael’s death when he went missing back then.
Gods speak enigmatically, but they do not lie. Spiritus had announced the Blue Star’s death. While there were many reasons for that Dragon to wander the continent helping Mikael, a sense of guilt for having finished preparing to let him go prematurely was also a part of it.
However, Hugh Benson had sought to postpone Mikael’s death as much as possible. The ways of mourning when someone dies differ by culture. For the few years I wandered the mountains, thinking it was an unusually long funeral, Hugh would worry about my end with a weak, withered-lizard-like expression.
“I have to save you. Be careful and live. Who else do you have if not me?”
Hugh looked so lonely and tormented when he said things like that, I remember just nodding instead of replying.
But after Mikael’s return, Hugh stopped saying such things. It was likely because there was no longer any need for grim speculation. Seeing Hugh, who was the first to express the same worry as before upon hearing Mikael’s nightmare story, warmed a corner of my heart once more.
“It’s really something,” I said, chuckling instead of answering. He urged me to reply.
“Don’t laugh, you brat, answer me.”
“Anything you’re curious about?”
“Yeah. Anything you’re curious about.”
What could I possibly be curious about? I turned my head without changing my sitting position and watched Hugh, who was nudging my shoulder with his head. Hugh Benson, who could read my thoughts just by looking at my face. His already crumpled expression contorted frighteningly.
He wouldn’t answer this time either, I thought. Unconcerned, I asked,
“Are you really not going?”
“Going where, me?”
“Owen.”
“⋯Yeah. I’m not going.”
“Why?”
Before that day, Hugh Benson had never spoken of what happened when he lived in Owen, and I had first set foot on Owen’s land during my journey with the Blue Star.
We spent a long time in Withrow. Naturally, we could go to Owen anytime. But Hugh deliberately avoided it. And at that time, I did not pry into Hugh’s past. I was satisfied with having Hugh’s present, and my own past was as quiet as an empty desert, so I assumed others’ would be similar.
The stories I did not receive because I had nothing to give back now cause me concern.
Hugh shut his mouth and lowered his head. I quietly counted the time as he gazed at his feet. Knowing he would usually say something like, “I’m going to sleep now,” and then suddenly leave, I thought about getting ready for bed.
“⋯He’s probably dead already, too.”
“Who?”
“Dan.”
Hugh’s hair rustled like a salamander fleeing as it brushed against my shoulder. That gesture felt incredibly fragile, and I was taken aback. He was ready to tell me this story now. Because of Mikael’s dream?
Not wanting to miss this opportunity, I asked about the story I hadn’t dared to ask.
“⋯Why?”
“Why? Lady Diamang was an otherworldly Black magician called Soho Cheon-nyeo, wasn’t she? If he was dragged there, he’d be dead.”
“Do you trust Raul?”
“That bastard deserves to have his mouth ripped open.”
“⋯That man knows you, so he might have said anything to draw you in.”
“⋯If he were going to find him, he would have done it long ago.”
The voice, released weakly, carried a gust of wind and painted a distant past.
Hugh Benson’s mother’s name was Berry, and his father’s name was Jason. Hugh himself chose his surname, Benson, based on the names of Berry and Jason.
Dan’s father, Patrick, was an acquaintance of Berry’s. Owen mercenaries who left their children in the same orphanage would jokingly promise each other, “If I die, you take care of the child; if you die, I will.”
Usually, mercenaries close enough to make such promises died on the same day, and since the cost of raising a child was enormous, it was a promise that was not well kept.
Hugh and Dan were two years apart. They were indifferent to each other at the orphanage. The younger one, the more significant a one-year difference was, and they were teased if boys and girls played together. They were like the sons of dads’ friends and daughters of moms’ friends, knowing each other only by face.
Then, when Hugh became completely orphaned, Patrick kept his promise and came to take Hugh in.
At that time, Dan was not old enough to roam the Dunmel Canyon. Patrick entrusted Dan to the orphanage and took Hugh to raise him as a young mercenary. He couldn’t afford to prepare orphanage fees for two people, and he judged that it was better for Hugh to wield a sword if he were to live alone in Owen.
Fortunately, Hugh had a talent for Swordsmanship. Even at a young age, he had good judgment and adapted well to high concentrations of Mana. In Patrick’s mercenary group, Hugh learned how to dispose of monster byproducts and identify monster weaknesses, accompanying them.
And during the rest period, when they returned to Bardiol once a year, he met Dan with Patrick.
Dan was jealous of Hugh, who accompanied his father. In Owen’s orphanage, there was a separate teacher who taught swordsmanship. She pestered Patrick every year, saying her skills had improved greatly and she wanted to go too, but Patrick did not allow it.
And Patrick also died.
With his dying wish to take good care of Dan.
Perhaps among the adults, they thought they should arrange a marriage between Hugh and Dan. Even if not, they must have wanted the two young mercenaries to overcome their difficult lives day by day, relying on each other. However, Hugh always felt sorry and awkward, as if he had taken Dan’s father away, and Dan always envied and hated Hugh.
Hugh Benson announced that he would cover Dan’s orphanage fees from then on.
And Dan refused.
“⋯Of course. He never once called me ‘Oppa.’ He always said, ‘Hey, you.’ ”
“⋯.”
“We were too… far apart to be family. I wish I had matured a little faster.”
Dan left the orphanage and joined a small mercenary group. Hugh checked on Dan whenever he visited Bardiol. Their rest periods rarely overlapped, but they would still greet each other occasionally.
Then, one day, a new opportunity arose for Hugh.
It was common for Shierun’s knights to lead mercenary groups. Knights would hunt monsters and receive a small amount of money in exchange for handing over the byproducts to the mercenaries. Some knights would even hand over monster carcasses if one simply followed them, doing odd jobs like running errands, lighting fires, cooking, and setting up and taking down tents, instead of money.
One of them, after observing Hugh intently, made him an offer.
He suggested Hugh enroll in Shierun Academy, offering to cover the admission preparation fees. He asked Hugh to come to the Widdrow Duchy with him immediately to register his identity. He said that with its well-established scholarship system, Hugh could become a good knight.
Hugh hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should visit Owen. However, a knight from the Sierran Empire was too busy to detour to Owen’s capital and return. To receive help from that knight, who had to resupply in Widdrow and then return to quell the Yuil Mountains, he had to decide immediately.
Hugh pondered for only one day and the next day, he followed the knight.
The knight entrusted Hugh to his acquaintance in Widdrow. With the help of the knight’s acquaintance, Hugh took a carriage to the capital of Shierun and took the entrance exam, passing it.
Hugh paused his story here. He squeezed my arm as if twisting it, pressing his forehead and temples against my shoulder and forearm, tapping them repeatedly. I let him, knowing he was in pain. Then Hugh said,
“Do you know… why I was nice to you?”
“I don’t know.”
“Because you were such an idiot.”
“⋯?”
I tried to turn to look at him, but Hugh did not show me his face. The end of his softly murmured voice trembled uncharacteristically.
Without replying, I gazed at the two cowlicks on his head. The next words followed.
“Me too.”