TLD Ch#06

“…As expected, time has taken its toll. It’s very old.”

“Oh dear, even this part is broken… how upsetting.”

What next caught her eye was a worn and damaged body. Of course, centuries had passed, and no matter how sturdy a stone body may be, it would have eroded and chipped from enduring rain and wind.

She gently touched Andeon’s cracked fingers. Then, she raised her hand toward him.

Sensing she was about to use magic, Andeon immediately tried to switch into attack mode to respond.

But what enveloped his body wasn’t a hostile attack or a spell meant to restrain him.

The moment he saw golden mana rising like mist from her fingertips, Andeon’s thoughts came to a halt.

His fundamental mission to eliminate intruders was overwhelmed by a powerful emotion—yearning—and it erased all of his protocols.

“Yes, now you can see who I am, right?”

<…Master?>

“You’ve done well, Andeon.”

As her magic gently caressed and repaired his damaged body, Andeon finally let go of all hostility.

Only one person could alter a being created by the archmage Asmoph’s magic—and that was the master.

Thus, despite the woman before him having a completely different face and voice from his former master, Andeon—who had built up a sense of self over the long years since her departure—recognized her as his master.

Her returning smile was beautiful. A face filled with confidence, one that naturally inspired reverence. That way of smiling was just like the old master.

Andeon felt a strange sensation, as if something long embedded within him was melting away. Whether it was dried dirt or yearning, he couldn’t tell.

He stood there for a long time, unable to take his eyes off his returned master.

—

“I see.”

As she walked through the front gates and toward the main keep, Karia listened as Andeon reported what had happened in her absence.

So that’s why all the alchemists vanished without a trace. After her “death,” they must have taken the opportunity to retreat into their labs and research until the end.

Well, alchemists were always more absorbed in their interests than in worldly matters like politics or economics.

Back when Asmoph held the title of duke, they reluctantly got involved in national affairs. But they had always been looking for a chance to escape.

She casually asked about Gilford and Eddie, but unfortunately, Andeon said he hadn’t seen either of them since.

<Master, where did you go?>

“Hm?”

“Oh, that… Ah!”

Andeon clearly didn’t understand what “gone” meant for a human. Whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, Karia couldn’t say.

She gave a bitter smile and tried to choose her words carefully. While lost in thought, a wild weed growing freely in the garden scratched a red line across her arm.

Karia winced in pain, and Andeon dropped to his knees with a loud thud, more shocked than she was.

“It’s fine, take your time. For now, I’m tired and need to rest in the castle.”

Such minor wounds were nothing to someone who had spent nearly 20 years on the battlefield. She just wanted to rest in comfort for now.

After rising from her sickbed and in just one day, she had thought through far too much. Driven by her desire to confirm her past life, she had endured a rough journey and used mana nearly all day, which had drained her mentally.

Behind those gates was her nest. A familiar, comfortable place. Her true home.

“Ah…”

But what she had failed to consider was that just as time had passed outside the castle, it had also slept undisturbed inside.

The golden-glimmering entry hall was now covered in cobwebs, and a wave of dusty, musty mold stung her nose.

When Karia wrinkled her nose at the dreadful state of the house, Andeon shrank his huge body anxiously.

<I-I will clean it up at once.>“Forget it. If you go in there, things will only get worse.”

Let alone cleaning, Andeon wasn’t even small enough to fit through the castle entrance.

He had been created as a guard golem for the castle—built large to intimidate intruders. No one had ever intended to let him inside.

Karia sighed deeply and turned away. If Andeon couldn’t do it, she’d just make someone who could. Yawning, she reached out into the air.

“A small, lightweight, but strong one would be ideal.”

Once again, golden mana mist rose as she gathered nearby sturdy stones. Creating golems was something she had done hundreds, thousands of times. It was nothing difficult.

But then, her eyes drifted to Andeon, who was quietly kneeling beside the castle, watching her.

‘Yes, I never thought about it before, but having a mind of its own might be nice.’

She truly found Andeon quite lovable. The way he recognized her on his own, the way he followed her with unending affection—all of it.

She had never thought of liking or disliking any of the golems she made through alchemy, so she was surprised by her own thoughts.

So, if she was going to make a new golem, she might as well make one like Andeon.

With that, Karia created a golem and gave it the ability to think.

“This should do it.”

The swirling mana slowly dispersed, revealing a small golem barely reaching her waist.

It looked similar to Andeon—just stones stuck together—but its limbs were well-formed.

The golem stared at her for a while, then curiously moved its arms and legs, turning its head and surveying its surroundings. It was clearly a different reaction from the golems she had made before.

<…Master?>

At Andeon’s concerned question, the mini golem ran up to Karia.

Its voice was higher and lighter than Andeon’s, with less resonance. If Andeon’s voice was like a church organ, the mini golem’s was more like a clarinet.

Karia leaned her back against the castle door, catching her breath. She really needed rest now.

“All right, golem I created—enter the castle, clear the cobwebs, open the windows to let in fresh air. Then go up the central staircase to the second floor. The first room on the left is my bedroom. Start cleaning there.”

<Cleaning? What’s that?>

The golem tilted its round stone head in confusion. Karia winced in exasperation.

It was her first time creating a golem with independent thought, and she’d forgotten to instill basic knowledge. She had grown careless, thinking of golem creation as second nature.

With a deep, weary sigh, Karia explained slowly.

“Cleaning means making the dirty castle clean again.”

“Because I left it empty for a long time.”

The golem seemed full of questions and kept asking. Karia answered patiently.

In the past, she would have deemed this magic a failure and erased the noisy thing to recalculate a new spell—but she was too tired now.

However, the golem’s next words made her abandon any mercy.

<Because the Master created you for that purpose.>Andeon answered instead of the speechless Karia, unable to tolerate the mini golem’s rudeness any longer. Though his master hadn’t ordered him, this was unacceptable.

Golems were born out of the master’s need—their very existence meant to fulfill the master’s wishes. Obeying was both duty and honor. What was this insolent thing even saying?

<Yes.>

Even after Andeon’s reasoning, the mini golem didn’t nod obediently. As the back-and-forth continued, Karia slowly furrowed her brows, then abruptly stood from where she had been sitting.

“Fine. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to.”

“Your will is your own. I can’t change that as I please.”

No point in wasting more time. Admitting her failure, Karia reached her hand toward the small golem.