Chapter 68
With a refreshed look on his face, Peyton stepped outside and immediately looked for Sophia.
“Leon! I did super well! Praise me!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
Sophia patted Peyton’s head, humoring him half-heartedly, but her eyes turned toward Rune, who was slowly walking out behind him.
Since Peyton’s words were always a little too unreliable, she needed Rune’s firm assurance.
Catching her meaning, Rune quickly approached her side and gave a relieved smile.
“I think it went well, my la—…”
Rune stopped himself mid-sentence. He was about to call her my lady, but then hesitated. After all, right now Sophia’s appearance was Leon, a man. Not someone who could be called a lady.
“Ah…”
Unable to finish, he grew flustered, uncertain how to address her, and Sophia, seeing his troubled gaze, gave a small smile.
“Sophia.”
“Th–that’s…!”
“I just wanted someone to call my name.”
Here, even Peyton called her Leon, and no one addressed her as Sophia. It left her feeling a little lonely. And she couldn’t very well keep calling herself Sophia out loud, could she?
“Go on.”
When Sophia urged him to say it once, Rune hesitated, lowered his head slightly, and whispered very softly:
“…phia.”
“I can’t hear you.”
“…So…phia.”
Still unsatisfied, Sophia kept staring at him, and Rune, his face bright red, slowly lifted his head and spoke a little louder:
“Sophia… you’re too mean….”
His blushing cheeks, the troubled little frown.
Ah, this is rather…
“I could get used to this.”
“…What?”
“Call me that in casual speech too, Rune. Always.”
While Rune was busy trying to cool his burning cheeks, Sophia said this with genuine seriousness.
‘You two keep drifting off into your own little world, but could you at least remember that Peyton and I are here too?’
Ah.
“Do you know how to leave this dream?”
Sophia asked while Rune was ladling out a simple vegetable soup for breakfast, but Rune only shook his head apologetically.
“They didn’t tell me.”
Wait—Jay and Lucion were the ones who sent Rune here for her sake, and yet they didn’t tell him how to get out?
“They only said… I’d find out naturally when I disappear.”
“…Disappear?”
“They said because I forced my way into this magic, I wouldn’t be able to stay long.”
After finishing with the soup, Rune forced a smile and tied up his loosely fallen hair again.
“Still, I asked about everything else… so I’ll tell you everything I know.”
“….”
“I just want to be of help to you for as long as I can stay, my lady.”
Under the blazing sun, knowing the only shade she could rest in would soon vanish—how could Sophia not feel regret?
But she didn’t let it show. She simply nodded, as if she understood, and listened closely to Rune’s words.
This world was created by a mage named Hemil Devitt. He brewed potions that contained someone’s memories, and when one drank or used them, they could enter those memories.
Hearing that made Sophia recall when she had been doused in an entire bottle. So that was the cause.
“Tada! I’m up, guys!”
“….”
“Wow! Smells delicious!”
Just as Rune finished his explanation, Peyton stumbled in, his hair sticking up in a mess.
“Sophia.”
Rune smiled gently at her and, carrying a bowl toward the table where Peyton sat, spoke:
“It’s all right. We still have plenty of time.”
She had told him to speak casually, but he had refused firmly. So now he used a half-formal, half-informal tone, awkwardly mixed, to comfort her.
That there was still plenty of time before he disappeared.
“…I didn’t think I let it show.”
Of course, it was Rune. No matter how much she tried to hide it, he always noticed right away. Just as he had recognized her true self, even in disguise.
It took them about four days to reach the neighboring Silver Village.
The reason for coming wasn’t anything special. When Leon couldn’t find work in their own village, there had been someone kind enough to give him jobs. That benefactor had once again asked for a bit of help.
“Hey, Leon!”
Not long after entering the village, a broad-shouldered man waved at them cheerfully.
Bill Wharton. A man Sophia could never thank enough. She dipped her head slightly and greeted him sincerely.
“Hello. Thank you again this time, sir.”
“What are you thanking me for? I just needed some strong young hands!”
Bill shrugged as if baffled, brushing off her gratitude.
It was his way of saying she didn’t need to bow her head so much. Leon’s amused voice echoed in Sophia’s mind.
‘Such a warmhearted man.’
As if she needed to be told—she had thought that from the start.
Since the job was helping prepare a wall for a mural, they stayed at Bill’s house for several days while working.
At one point Peyton insisted he wanted to try painting too, and thus they witnessed the birth of a mural reminiscent of the one they had seen together back on Mesios Island—a truly memorable day.
“Can I write my name here?”
Staring at the finished picture, Peyton asked Bill with unusual seriousness. Sophia couldn’t help but ask why.
“Why?”
“…Because I want to leave proof that I existed here.”
“….”
“That I once touched freedom, the outside world.”
Peyton had run away from home in search of freedom. But deep down, he already knew—
This happiness wouldn’t last.
With Bill’s permission, Peyton beamed and scrawled his name under the picture of the moonlit night he had put the most effort into.
“Your handwriting is terrible, kid!”
“Hey, I can get better with practice! No need to tease me!”
Flustered, Peyton shouted back, and Sophia, watching him, saw that his handwriting was exactly the same as the one she’d seen on Mesios Island.
“As long as it’s cute, it’s fine.”
“That is cute?”
Since Peyton seemed happy, Sophia defended him, but Rune tugged lightly at her sleeve and asked seriously:
“No, it’s not.”
Then, realizing what he had just done, Rune released her sleeve with an awkward smile.
Sophia tilted her head, not understanding the true intent of his question, while Leon’s tongue-clicking only deepened her confusion.
“I brought bread!”
“Aria!”
Bill’s wife, Aria, came in carrying a large basket of bread. Bill rushed to her, kissed her forehead, and took the basket.
“Thanks.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Has Helly still not come home?”
“Don’t even ask. Not a single word. I don’t know what he’s doing or where….”
Both Bill and Aria bit their lips, clearly worried about someone.
Sensing something was wrong, Sophia asked:
“What’s happened?”
“Well….”
Bill stroked his bearded chin before answering.
“My son, Helly. He went to Geul Village months ago, but we haven’t heard a thing.”
“…Didn’t he say when he’d be back?”
“He said he’d be back within a month….”
But months had passed. Definitely suspicious.
Come to think of it—Geul Village….
‘Where were you before you came to our village?’
She recalled asking Peyton that question once.
Turning her head, Sophia looked at him.
Geul!
That was the very village Peyton had stayed in before coming to Rozdet.
Catching her look, Peyton tilted his head, not knowing her intent.
“What?”
“Don’t you know anything?”
“Know what?”
“You said before you came to our village, you stayed in Geul Village.”
Only then did Peyton realize what she was asking. He thought hard, digging into his memory, and finally shook his head.
“Not really? When I left, everyone just saw me off normally.”
“Nothing strange happened?”
“Nope. It was really peaceful.”
Then maybe Helly didn’t run into trouble there. Or maybe something happened after Peyton left.
“The people there were really kind. Maybe he just decided to stay longer?”
“I hope that’s all it is.”
No news is good news. Relieved, Aria brightened up again and went back into the house.
“Was the atmosphere there really that good?”
“Yeah! They could’ve been suspicious of me, but they weren’t at all. Oh! There was one person who really stood out to me there!”
Peyton plopped down beside Sophia, eager to tell his story.
“He was in love—like, really beautiful love. His name was… Ol… Olli! That’s it, Olli!”
“Beautiful love?”
“Yeah. His wife was really sick, but Olli traveled thousands of miles, braved beast-infested forests, even dove into the deep sea to save her.”
Sophia let out a small breath of awe. A love so desperate and all-consuming would surely be unforgettable.
“He was covered in scars. Honestly, he looked worse off than his wife. But he refused treatment until she fully recovered.”
“Why?”
“Because he said he only wanted to live once she could breathe easily again.”
The man’s resolve, his deep care for the woman—it all came through vividly. Peyton smiled softly, recalling it.
“They must both be doing well by now, right?”
“Of course.”
If Peyton was involved, there was nothing he couldn’t heal. The wife must have recovered, and Olli too could finally live peacefully.
“That’s moving.”
“Right? I thought so too.”
He clapped once in admiration, then continued.
“To be able to do that much for someone—that’s incredible.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think I’ll ever meet someone I’d risk everything for?”
“Who knows.”
“Do you have someone like that, Leon?”
The sudden question made Sophia freeze. Someone she would risk everything for?
Her gaze naturally drifted to Rune. And there he was, looking right at her too—their eyes meeting perfectly.
