Chapter 96………………………………………
Lin’s eyes widened at Kaidan’s sudden words.
Recognizing the red eyes that seemed to seek an answer, Lin replied without the slightest hesitation.
“Yeah!”
The brisk and hearty response made Kaidan’s eyes widen in surprise.
Kaidan, moving his dry lips a few times, spoke in disbelief.
“You’re agreeing… just like that?”
“Yeah. Of course.”
Lin answered simply.
“Because it’s your request, Kaidan.”
“…….”
That alone seemed reason enough.
Facing Lin, who smiled brightly and spoke so naturally, Kaidan paused for a moment.
The red in his eyes flickered as he gazed at the girl’s smile.
After a brief silence, Kaidan tried to lift himself.
“Kaidan! Are you okay? Doesn’t it still hurt to move?”
“I’m fine.”
Lin, surprised, reached out to support him, but before she could, Kaidan, frowning in pain, planted his hands on the bed and raised his upper body on his own.
Exhaling once, Kaidan composed his expression and looked at Lin seriously.
“I think I need to tell you why I told you to refuse the position of the saintess.”
“Ah……”
“Actually, I should have told you this first before saying not to.”
Kaidan chuckled lightly despite his still-stiff expression from the pain.
“I didn’t expect you to accept before even hearing everything.”
The faintly joyful expression seemed almost to hide the heavy emotions flickering in his red eyes.
Blinking at this unfamiliar expression, Lin opened her mouth, but Kaidan interrupted with a grin.
“You’re agreeing because it’s me?”
Lin’s mouth formed an “O” in surprise at hearing words she was about to say come from Kaidan.
Kaidan chuckled again and spoke.
“The position offered by the Holy Nation… always carries poison.”
“Poison?”
“Yes. Even if it looks glamorous on the outside… it would suit a snake more than a fox.”
Kaidan’s nose wrinkled when mentioning the fox.
As if recalling something, he continued with eyes full of disdain.
“The Law King of the Holy Nation. Numen is my parents’ enemy.”
In Kaidan’s deep voice, the red eyes burned with an unextinguished flame.
Watching the red light of anger, Lin recalled:
“The Law King punished Kaidan’s parents, didn’t he?”
From outside, what was known about the previous heads of the Tigris family was limited.
The Tigris heads who were sentenced by the Law King later died in an unfortunate accident.
Though the punishment isolated them gradually from those around them, the accident itself was just a carriage mishap—no one could be blamed.
“My parents’ enemy?”
But Kaidan’s tone seemed to point the Law King directly as the murderer of his parents.
Whenever Kaidan spoke of the Law King, Numen, his red eyes held layers of deep-seated resentment.
“Kaidan.”
Fearing the fire in his eyes might even consume him, Lin held the boy’s hand tightly.
She wanted him to know he wasn’t alone.
Feeling warmth from her hand, Kaidan’s furrowed brows softened.
“…That’s why I didn’t want you involved.”
“You were worried about me?”
“Mm. Not just that. I also acted to prevent my ally from getting entangled with hostile forces. It wasn’t solely because I was worried about you.”
His long explanation lacked persuasiveness.
Seeing Lin’s cheerful smile, Kaidan couldn’t help but smile as well.
“If your stomach hurts, take more of this medicine. Or ring this bell to summon me. Hoho.”
Clack.
After the children’s laughter filled the treatment room for a while, the attending doctor came in, handed Kaidan some medicine, and left.
Though badly injured, Kaidan had regained his vigor like a beast.
Lin, who had been worried, now beamed at him.
Seeing all the children regain their energy, the adults left, relieved.
They allowed the children to relax for the patient’s recovery.
Now, only the two of them remained in the treatment room.
Kaidan, thinking only he and Lin were left, checked that the door was securely closed, then looked at her seriously.
“Lin, I have something to tell you.”
“!”
His determined expression showed he had made up his mind after long contemplation.
Seeing this, Lin recalled Kaidan’s appearance when he had come to her after she woke from the hunting ritual.
“Of course! You tried to tell me before, but left, right?”
“You remembered?”
“Of course! I couldn’t stop thinking about it.”
At her unexpected words, a flush colored Kaidan’s face.
Excited that her long-standing question was finally being answered, Lin missed the fleeting blush on the boy’s face.
Ahem, ahem!
Kaidan coughed awkwardly, hiding his flushed cheeks. Only after calming did he lower his hands.
Composing his expression, he gazed at Lin with serious eyes.
“Do you remember the power you used during the hunting ritual?”
“Divine power?”
“Yes. You call the power that destroys monsters that, right?”
“Yeah!”
Watching Lin nod confidently, Kaidan recalled that time.
‘This…! How is this power…?’
When she had carried the wizard’s servant as a black panther, Kaidan vividly remembered the thrill when he first encountered the overwhelming force that had covered the entire forest.
The power, as radiant as the sun, had erased monsters like shadows.
While everyone rejoiced at the results, Kaidan noticed something different.
Other beastmen had used this power too?
And learning that Lin Pegasus had used it… Kaidan had been contemplating ever since.
“I’ve been wondering if I should tell you.”
“To me?”
Lin tilted her head at Kaidan, who left out an important object in his sentence.
Seeing Lin’s confusion, Kaidan swallowed, steeling himself.
With a tension that hadn’t fully faded, Kaidan reached out.
“I mean this power.”
Swoosh.
A red mist formed into a spherical shape above Kaidan’s palm.
Lin recognized the energy from before.
“Ah, this… it’s the same stream you used during the hunting ritual, Kaidan, right?”
Even if the shape differed slightly, the familiar energy made it obvious.
Lin asked cheerfully, and Kaidan nodded in confirmation.
“Right. It’s my power that melts monsters. I call it ‘Parma Power.’”
“Oh… the power of ‘Parma’…”
The familiar sound seemed oddly comforting.
As Lin tried to recall more, a voice suddenly interjected.
[Wait, isn’t this the power I gave you?]
“!”
Startled, Lin almost shouted “Caligo!” but stopped herself.
However, Caligo, who usually hid its identity, flew boldly in front of Kaidan, ignoring the polite restraint.
“The doll can talk…?”
Kaidan’s eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected event.
Caligo, unfazed by Kaidan’s red eyes, flapped its wings and circled him once.
‘What… what are you doing, Caligo!’
Usually pretending to be a doll to avoid interaction, Caligo now moved with purpose, leaving Lin frozen as she watched its flight.
Unlike the startled children, Caligo flew calmly around him, then settled in front of Kaidan.
In a surprisingly clear voice, it asked:
[Are you a descendant of Argon Tigris?]
Kaidan’s red eyes widened at hearing the name of the Tigris family’s founder unexpectedly from the doll.
