By Zephyria 
For breakfast, we ate eojuk.
It was a dish made by simmering finely prepared assorted fish with salt and spices, meticulously removing the bones, then mixing the milky flesh with grains and a few vegetables before simmering it again.
A few more pieces of well-grilled fish were placed atop the white, delicate porridge, and everything tasted delicious. Even Ruben, who was sensitive to fishy smells, managed to finish a whole bowl.
The three children sat with us for the meal.
The children, after glancing around cautiously, chattered about how wonderful it was that their mother made such elaborate dishes whenever guests visited. They didn’t stop chattering even when their mother chided them with a hint of embarrassment. It was a heartwarming sight.
Ivan paid for the meal, which included the story and breakfast, and we promised to greet each other if we happened to meet on the road again before leaving the house.
Stepping outside, the carriage and coachman were nowhere to be seen. As I wondered what this meant, Ivan, as if accustomed to it, led the way and said,
“It’s not a distance that requires a carriage to Songbrue Port. If we take a boat right after eating, you might feel nauseous, so let’s walk a bit.”
“Mm.”
“Is Your Highness alright with that?”
“Ah… Of course. Yes, let’s do that.”
It was natural for my close friend to plan and act before seeking my permission, but it was not fitting etiquette when dealing with Ruben. I was bewildered, unsure if Ivan was being insolent towards Rubel or simply friendly.
However, Ivan didn’t give me a moment to resolve my doubts. “Let’s go,” he said curtly, then led the way with his wife.
Seabirds still cried out overhead. To my left, the sound of waves crashing and receding, cheolseok, cheolseok, somehow cleared my mind. Wondering how much further it was to the port, I was about to ask Ivan again when Ruben grasped my sleeve.
Did he want to walk holding my hand? Ivan’s hand being held tightly by his wife was a distracting sight, but they were married, and we were not yet. I felt a churning in my stomach as I thought about how to dissuade the child.
“Mika. How about we try calling a Sylph?”
“…Yes?”
Ruben looked at me with a serious expression and calmly explained his thoughts again.
“Of course, you don’t have a Sylph contracted separately, but there’s no Security Magic Circle here, and we’re right by the open sea. It doesn’t seem to be anyone’s territory, so perhaps we can call upon the Sylphs of this land?”
“…Ah. A Sylph… a Sylph?”
“Yes. I want to ask them beforehand if something happened at sea, if the Sylphs also saw the Golden Island. I suspect we won’t be able to call Sylphs once we’re on the ship, for reasons like ‘whose territory is this’.”
Ivan, who had stopped to listen, looked at me with a suspicious expression.
“When did you become a Spirit Master?”
“I haven’t become a Spirit Master. It’s just that luck has brought me into contact with someone I know who is a Sylph.”
“…”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, it suits you. In that case… it would be better to go somewhere more secluded.”
Ivan veered off the path we had been following.
Along the coast, where the path was well-maintained, a set of stairs was placed in a gap. The steps were narrow but not sparse, as if many local residents had trod upon them, making them sturdy. As we left the path, sand crunched softly underfoot.
Ivan still held his wife’s hand, and Ruben still held my sleeve.
A sense of embarrassment washed over me belatedly. This was not the time for me to be like this. I felt ashamed for not properly controlling the vain thoughts that flared up in my heart like wildfire. How could I be like this when the road ahead was so long and arduous? I admonished myself hundreds of times.
We stood eight paces from the waves, where white foam surged.
“…Is this what you call secluded? It’s so open, anyone with sharp eyes could see us from the path.”
“But the sound of the waves is loud. You can shout whatever you want, and no one will hear, so do as you please.”
I grumbled at Ivan out of a petty impulse, only to be met with pointless criticism.
I wondered if there was a special way to call Sylphs. I thought about it, but nothing came to mind. They said all I had to do was call their name. But would that really work? I called out hesitantly.
“Sylph.”
“…”
“Shouldn’t I call louder?”
“…Sylph!”
Nothing happened. It was even awkward.
I looked up at the sky for a moment, then at the distant sea. The sea breeze blew strongly, scattering our hair. Didn’t they say just calling their name would work? Feeling embarrassed and awkward, I cleared my throat.
“Is anyone there?”
I shouted loudly. Then, the flow of the wind split.
How could wind be visible? But it was true. The wind that blew suddenly glowed softly in the air, like moss growing on a tree trunk, and then clumped together. The wind, carrying the scent of salt, took shape before my eyes, which was incredibly fascinating.
The Sylphs I had seen until now were spirits from the start; they didn’t emerge from the wind like this. While I was momentarily surprised, small beings, one by one, poked their heads through the air, their eyes wide, and let out gasps of wonder.
Soon, a dense clamor filled the surroundings.
[Is it true! Did you really call us?]
[Friend? I don’t have any human friends!]
[Pretty friend! Friend of a Sylph!]
[We didn’t come by sea!]
[We didn’t come from the fields either!]
A few of them clung to the back of my right hand, rubbing their cheeks against it. It seemed the claim about a mark remaining here was true. I raised my right hand so the Sylphs could confirm it more easily and looked around.
Ruben was observing the appearing Sylphs with a serious expression. I wondered what he was discerning with his child’s gaze. The Baroness’s bewildered face and Ivan’s calm face, patting his back, also caught my eye. I was bewildered, but how was he not surprised?
Regardless, I said what I needed to say. I spoke aloud so everyone in my party could hear.
“I called you because there’s something I’m curious about.”
[Curious? What are you curious about?]
[The wind knows everything! I am the wind!]
[Me too! I know everything too!]
It seemed incredibly easy to get answers from them as they bickered about who would answer. I had no specific knowledge, so my questions were vague. I gently pushed away a Sylph trying to climb from my palm to my wrist and elbow with my index finger, placing it back on my palm, and asked,
“I was wondering if anything has been happening at sea lately.”
[… ]
[… ]
Why did they suddenly fall silent?
They must have had something in mind. But they suddenly did somersaults, or deflated like falling leaves and slumped onto the white sand, only looking at each other.
When I poked the small Sylph on my palm with my finger, it let out a low groan and finally replied,
“It’s a secret.”
As if waiting for the dam to break, multiple laughs erupted simultaneously.
[That’s right! It’s a secret.]
[You can’t tell! A secret is a secret.]
[Yes! We decided to have a secret wedding! We hid it well.]
[If Sylphs hide things well, no one knows.]
[Right! I’m a good wind.]
Amidst the burst of laughter and the noisy chatter, I caught a peculiar word. Ruben pointed it out without hesitation, in a calm and gentle voice, so as not to startle the Sylphs.
“You decided to have a secret wedding?”
[Ah.]
[How do you know? It’s a secret!]
Ruben smiled wryly. Then, he shamelessly uttered a lie.
“I heard it too.”
[How? How did you hear the secret?]
“From a friend of the Blue Turtle.”
[Hyaaaak! Really? Truly?]
[Amazing! The bride said no!]
[Right! She said it was a complete secret!]
[But if it’s a friend of the Blue Turtle?]
[Right! If it’s a friend of the Blue Turtle, you can tell!]
…Could that Blue Turtle, the legendary turtle, truly exist?
It was absurd. The Makrir, which was well over a hundred meters tall, felt more realistic.
…As I thought that, something suddenly occurred to me. If the Statue of the First Goddess’s Head had a body in similar proportions to a human from head to toe, it would be about 150 meters. The Blue Turtle was said to be the size of two ships stacked together. If so, perhaps…
Was the Blue Turtle… another form of a god?
The First Goddess remained fully intact even after discarding the statue made from her body and moved to the Magic Territory. It was said she was diligently searching through that junkyard for a way to appease the Ninth God.
Then, perhaps the Blue Turtle also shed its body and slipped away to cause other trouble.
While I was lost in thought, Ruben had subtly coaxed the Sylphs and was now engaged in a suspicious conversation.
“You really didn’t see the wedding ceremony?”
[No! We really, really wanted to see it!]
[Me too! I wanted to see it too!]
“That’s a shame. I wanted to congratulate you. Perhaps it’s because the wedding was held at sea?”
[Yes. It was in a place the wind couldn’t reach.]
[Even when we pulled up the waves this high, it didn’t reach!]
“Even after knocking on the sea five times?”
[Yes! Five times! We did it five times five times, and still!]
The group of Sylphs pounded the ground in frustration. Each time they did, a grain of sand the size of a fingernail was dug up. With fists like that, even hitting it five hundred times might barely create a ripple.
But Ruben, with a serious face, sighed, “Oh dear,” and continued his questions.
“Then, you saw the Undines, right?”
[No! They said they couldn’t see it either!]
“Nereids?”
[Nereids!]
[Nereids saw it! That’s why they cried.]
What was this strange remark? I couldn’t hold back and joined the conversation. Since there were so many Sylphs to answer, I thought it would be fine to ask about this.
“…Cried? Who is this Nereid…”
[A very big Undine. If there are five Undines, it becomes a Nereid!]
[It’s not five! It’s a bigger Undine.]
[Right. It’s very adult.]
Ruben provided the answer.
“A mid-level water spirit is called a Nereid. Perhaps the deep sea is the domain of mid-level spirits…”
The child’s voice trailed off. Ruben coaxed the Sylphs again.
“You don’t know why they cried?”
[Yes! That’s a secret too!]
[They cried so hard. But it’s a secret.]
[If you’re nearby, you cry too.]
[That’s why we don’t go near the crying Nereid.]
“Why?”
[I hate crying!]
[Right. I don’t want to cry.]
I asked a few more questions, but the Sylphs repeated the same things. There was a secret wedding, a Nereid was sad, the wedding took place in the deep sea…
Ivan, who had been listening quietly, suddenly added,
“Where is the Blue Turtle now?”
All the spirits’ expressions froze simultaneously.