Chapter 67 …
〔Caw!〕
〔Caw!〕
The crows squawked in a frenzy, like an audience watching a famous actor’s play. And that same excitement spread even to the monsters whose places had been taken once the crows migrated. The monsters, who had been bowing as if before a king, began to slowly move away from where they had been clustered. They too realized that their king was approaching.
Seidin tried not to turn her head toward the deer-human, who had instantly stolen the monsters’ attention simply by appearing, and kept her mouth shut. She hopped down from the back of the crow king, who was already shaking its rear impatiently.
Once she distanced herself from the crowd, she shouted firmly:
〔I’m not going to that deer-human! Friends, I know you crows are dazzled by pretty, shiny things, but if you act so fickle… all you’ll get is…!〕
〔Caw!〕
〔You’re not listening to me!〕
No matter how much she grumbled, the crow king completely ignored the words of its ten-year friend and began to run forward on its two legs. The original female lead might have thought its body had shrunk, but the crow king was still massive. To Seidin, who had always lived among crows and within the monsters’ territory, the crow king’s size was still enormous. Brutally so.
Seidin was therefore startled. Naturally so, as there were more than a dozen monsters rushing toward her.
“Ah!”
Luan, who had followed Seidin, wrapped her protectively in his arms. His sharp gaze blocked the charging monsters from all directions.
It was a very simple tactic, but it worked.
And indeed, the monsters’ rush came to a halt. They only called out to Seidin mournfully. The various cries struck her ears, and overwhelmed, she waved her hands and said:
“Quiet! Ah, Your Majesty, thank you.”
“It seems dangerous. Let’s move somewhere else.”
Luan gently held Seidin’s shoulders as he spoke. But Seidin shook her head.
“I’m fine. I know they’re utterly captivated by me.”
‘If they were cats, I’d be catnip.’
Seidin exhaled deeply and stepped forward. Free from Luan’s embrace, she held the Book of the Demon in one hand and her overflowing mana in the other. The Book of the Demon, already starving, was filling itself by gulping down the mana in her hand. It had no idea that it was entering the den of monsters.
Seidin’s footsteps brought her to the side of the original female lead, who sat with her back turned.
Normally, the female lead would have already been enchanted by Seidin’s scent, but with her black hair hanging down and eyes fixed ahead, Seidin thought:
‘Hmm. She’s really sulking.’
And rightly so. The person mediating the “negotiation” had fainted into deep sleep.
‘I couldn’t help it. I’m just a weak little black mage. Not a magnificent holy-power wielder like Luan or you.’
At the time, the pure mana from the Gate of the Demon World, the endless surge of Luan’s holy power reacting to it, and her own holy power blocking it to protect them—it was pure chaos.
Caught in the middle, the weak black mage, the deer-human, could understandably have been overwhelmed.
‘I’m still exhausted, and my limbs are shaking.’
Seidin quietly sighed to herself and cautiously approached. She sat down lightly beside the female lead, who still had her back turned.
“Long time no see.”
〔Caw.〕
She spoke briefly, in crow language. Clearly, she was too angry to speak human words. Seidin pondered how to approach her.
‘The female lead isn’t easily swayed by prettiness.’
In the original story, she had abandoned all human-like behavior. Yet, she couldn’t completely forget everything her parents had taught her during the ten years she lived with them.
The reason she had tried to forget being human was simple: the more she remembered, the more it hurt.
The deeper one looked, the more memories could destroy oneself. No matter how happy those memories had been.
‘Like when I pretended I hadn’t fallen for Luan.’
Though she liked Luan, she had acted as if she didn’t. She intended to give him up if she couldn’t save him completely. That was the right path in her mind: letting go of her feelings to ensure Luan could survive and prevent the world from ending.
‘But no. Now I know. Forgetting memories isn’t right.’
Seidin smiled faintly. If the female lead could change her mind like she had, a better path would appear. She wanted to show her that even painful memories should be embraced.
Gathering her courage, she extended her hand to the already tight-lipped female lead. On Seidin’s palm was a small three-leaf clover.
And the clover was a pale blue-green, impossible to find in the Forest of Shadows. The color of new spring grass. Saturated with mana, it stood out in the patchy Forest of Shadows.
But the original female lead frowned, pouted, and said:
〔Caw.〕
“You can’t only speak crow language. Why not use human words?”
〔Caaaw.〕
“Of course, for Your Majesty and me, you being a crow would make things easier. You’d follow us for some chicken. But you’re not really a crow, are you? You’re human. You just want a safe place with your crow friends.”
“…I’m not human.”
She frowned repeatedly and snatched the three-leaf clover from Seidin as a crow would snatch chicken.
The delicate leaf crumbled in her hands. Seidin smiled faintly at her expressionless face.
Actually, the clover had been given to her as a child by her parents, before the Gate of the Demon World had swallowed the Forest of Shadows. Before the forest was consumed by mana.
But it seemed she had forgotten. Like she had forgotten all her memories with her parents, she had lost the memory of that small clover.
There was no way to share her suppressed memories, buried deep in her subconscious.
Seidin sighed shallowly. There was no need to force memories on someone who wasn’t ready.
She decided that if the female lead ever wanted to recall and share her memories, she would listen. She wanted to be a friend to her, who still seemed lonely. Saying so now might seem intrusive.
Feeling deflated, Seidin whispered, watching the female lead stubbornly speak in crow language:
“I should have mediated the negotiation properly, but I was so exhausted I dozed off. Still, I fully acknowledge my fault.”
〔…….〕
Luckily, she didn’t respond in incomprehensible crow language. She only stared at Seidin with sharp golden eyes. Unlike Seidin’s neatly combed hair, her own black hair hung messily to her shoulders as she laughed arrogantly. Seidin realized that she was being viewed as untrustworthy, perhaps a cunning trickster.
Seidin exhaled deeply. Asking Luan to negotiate now seemed impossible.
So she chose honesty. To openly admit her mistake again. For Seidin Herace, this was the only way with someone who didn’t trust her.
“You should have been fully alert the moment you entered the palace…”
〔…….〕
“I’m sorry. I fainted because I couldn’t withstand the waves of power from Your Majesty, your holy power, and the Gate of the Demon World.”
〔…….〕
“This is all because I’m weak.”
The female lead snorted. She glanced at Seidin, who looked a bit sullen.
Though this pretty deer-human didn’t realize it, there was a deadly gaze from behind her—someone stronger in holy power, the so-called “Emperor.”
But she, like in the Forest of Shadows, refused to bow because she was weak. After all, it hadn’t been them who failed to uphold the suspicious contract from the start.
They had promised to secure a new place for the crows and protect them. But the mediator had disappeared for two days, the temporary enclosure was a mess, and the Emperor had yet to show himself.
If human contracts were this sloppy, they might as well have fought from the start.
But…
‘She helped my friend, so maybe I let it slide too easily…’
The deer-human was both an untrustworthy mediator and a mysterious being who had helped a friend.
For her, it was a crossroads: whether to trust Seidin Herace or not.
At that moment, Luan began walking toward the princess, who was bowing to the monster leader in the distance. Seidin noticed Luan’s deadly gaze and turned around. Luan’s expression softened as he approached.
“My princess, is something troubling you?”
