Chapter 74
“Haaah….”
Water that had filled her lungs poured out in an instant, leaving her with a sharp sense of relief as her breath finally returned. Her eyes flew open wide.
“Sophie…!”
“Miss!”
The first things she saw upon regaining consciousness were Benjamin and Joshua—both with rare tears clinging to their lashes—and Lorei, who was muttering “Miss” over and over again.
“…Sophia.”
And Payton.
The voice of Leon, which had been echoing in her head, was gone. The pain in her body had also vanished without a trace.
“How long…?”
She was about to ask how long she had been out when Payton handed her a cup of water and answered before she could.
“Four days. I already sent a carrier pigeon to Bled. Told him we’d be late.”
“…Ah.”
“I barely stopped him from setting sail to come after you. If he left too, that would’ve been a problem, right?”
That it had only been four days was surprising enough, but that Bled had been about to recklessly come looking for her was even more shocking.
Judging by Lorei nodding repeatedly, it must be true.
Looking at Lorei’s reddened eyes and her brothers’ faces, now relieved after so much worry, Sophia opened her lips softly.
“…I’m sorry.”
If she hadn’t chased after the mouse on her own—if she had at least gone with someone else—if she had thought of others, then she wouldn’t have collapsed like this.
Then they wouldn’t have spent four whole days worrying and crying over her.
She lowered her head slightly, gripping the water cup tightly—when someone’s hand gently touched her head.
“As long as you’re reflecting on it, that’s enough.”
When she lifted her head slightly, she saw Joshua smiling faintly. Beside him, Benjamin spoke in a gentle tone, like soothing a child.
“Next time, tell me or someone else first. Got it?”
As she nodded, Lorei softly wrapped her hand around Sophia’s.
“You’re not in pain anywhere, are you?”
“…No.”
“If you promise me there won’t be a next time, then that’s enough for me.”
“I promise.”
Seeing Lorei’s satisfied face, Sophia took a sip of water—only for Payton to suddenly raise his voice.
“Alright! Since Sophia just woke up, I’m going to kindly explain what happened!”
“…”
“The place where you collapsed—that was the workshop of the magician who makes magic potions, remember? Looks like you got doused in one of those potions.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know what kind of potion it was, but—wait, you know?”
She had already heard the explanation from Leon. Payton, robbed of his big moment, asked in a slightly sulky tone,
“Then what dream did you have? I hope it wasn’t a bad memory.”
“I dreamed of Grandpa.”
“…That ‘Grandpa’ means me, right? Not your real grandpa?”
“Yeah.”
“…I don’t think the memories I gave Hemil were very good ones.”
“They weren’t your memories.”
“Then whose?”
“Leon’s.”
“….”
“I dreamed of that boy’s….”
Before she could finish speaking, Payton pulled Sophia into his arms.
“…Oh no. It must’ve hurt so much. You must’ve suffered so, so much….”
“…”
“You must’ve wanted to wake up so badly… You must’ve struggled desperately to escape….”
The rambling words spilling from his mouth were probably all the emotions Payton had felt while experiencing those memories in the dream.
Because he had gone through it himself—because he had felt that pain—he could worry about such things.
But his voice was trembling with fear even as he worried for her, so Sophia gently stroked his back and whispered,
“I made a promise with Grandpa in that dream.”
“…A promise?”
“Yeah. That I’d never let go of Grandpa’s hand.”
Understanding what she meant, Payton pulled back slightly and looked at her with wide eyes.
“…You made a promise like that? Why?”
“Because in the dream, I had no choice but to let go.”
“…I’m not someone who can hold your hand like that.”
Payton shook his head repeatedly, muttering “no” under his breath.
“I’m not someone who deserves to be treated like that, Sophia….”
“Grandpa?”
“I’m not someone who should… be treated that way.”
Drawing a line himself and then looking hurt by it—what was that supposed to mean?
“Sorry. I can’t… put it into words right now. I need to clear my head. You all go ahead and talk without me!”
Rising abruptly from his seat, Payton forced a smile as he left the room, but everyone could tell that smile was fake.
“What’s his problem now?”
As Joshua said, really—what was that about?
“Payton is here?”
“Yes.”
“Then that child must be here too.”
Since they had ordered him to stay by her side.
The one who pushed back the long hood of their robe blinked violet eyes up at the sky.
“But isn’t it way too hot to be all wrapped up like this?”
“If we don’t, everyone will start screaming about ‘the evil god.’”
“I didn’t think that evil god talk would still be around. And I’ve put on more weight too.”
“Even in the face of calamity, there are always those blessed enough to survive. Such people leave traces—in words, in writing, in paintings, in something.”
“Hm….”
“That’s the only miracle humans can create—magic.”
The one who said that gruffly removed his hood and tied back his long black hair. And that wasn’t all—he took off the robe entirely and slung it over his arm.
“Really? Then why are you taking yours off too, Wheel?”
“Unlike you, Lord Rang, I’m not notorious as an evil god.”
“…Hah.”
Wearing an exasperated expression, Rang followed Wheel, who reached their destination first and opened the door.
Inside, shattered bottles littered the floor, and unknown liquids had stained it with sticky patches.
“Oh dear. How are we supposed to find the potion to wake Hemil now?”
Rang clicked his tongue and stepped inside.
The bottles were broken everywhere, pieces clashing into one another. It would be hard to find any intact potion.
“This is troublesome.”
“I’ll find whoever did this.”
“…No. Leave it.”
Rang picked up a shard of glass and examined it, dismissing the idea. There were footprints in the spilled liquid, not just one person’s—but an adult’s and a child’s.
“Probably just a kid who wandered in and caused trouble.”
Then their guardian came to fetch them and left more footprints.
“Are you sure it’s that simple?”
“Who else would I suspect? No one but me knows what this place really is.”
Wheel thought of a certain magician who was said to know everything—but didn’t voice it.
“Even you only learned about this from me today.”
Rang placed the shard on the desk and touched the spilled liquid with his fingertips.
Too much time had passed. All the memories stored in the potion were gone. Even if they had come the moment this mess was made, the memories wouldn’t have been intact.
“You said you’re going to the temple?”
“Yes.”
“The Central Authority… They claim to hate magicians so much, but they still can’t let you go.”
Wheel was under special orders from the Central Authority, but since Rang was here, he had postponed carrying them out.
“The temple, huh… That kid might go there.”
“Shall I accompany you?”
“No. Why would I go somewhere like that without Ren?”
For all his hesitation, Rang gave a clean answer.
“I’m sick of the underground.”
As Wheel shut the door with a nod, he asked another question.
“With the workshop like this, how will you wake Hemil?”
“I won’t. Things won’t fall apart without him. It’s just a little…”
“A little?”
Rang didn’t answer right away. Instead, he pulled a slip of paper from a shard of glass and picked it up.
[Record No. 997 – Beniro Rancel]
The other slips had the same words, only the numbers were different.
“It’s just a little sad that I can’t dream about that kid anymore.”
His eyes were filled with a sorrowful light, but Wheel showed neither pity nor sympathy. If anything, what flickered in his gaze was anger.
“…I’ll take my leave now.”
Judging he wouldn’t be able to hide his expression any longer, Wheel decided to leave while Rang wasn’t looking.
After a day of being cared for with utmost attention, Sophia decided that since she had made everyone worry so much, they should resume sightseeing starting today.
“I’m all for it! I love traveling!”
Payton acted as if nothing had happened yesterday—when he had left the room so abruptly—as if he had decided to pretend it never occurred.
Before they set out for a proper outing, Benjamin called Sophia over for a moment.
“We didn’t get to talk yesterday, but Josh and I tracked down the owner of that necklace you had.”
“You found them?”
“Yeah. Luckily, it belongs to a kid who lives here. Looks like they lost it when they bumped into you while boarding a boat off the island.”
It was a relief that the lost item was being returned to its owner.
“But… that kid was so insistent about thanking you personally that Josh told them to come here later….”
“Well, if I didn’t say that, I don’t think they would’ve taken the necklace back. They looked like they’d cry if they couldn’t thank you properly—what else could I say?”
Judging from their words, she didn’t need to hear more to understand the situation.
“So… that kid is here now to meet me?”
“…Yeah.”
Benjamin dipped his head slightly, looking guilty.
“If you’re uncomfortable or this is too much trouble, I’ll go send them away. Of course, Josh will come too, since this is his fault.”
“Yeah.”
Joshua nodded in agreement and raised a fist—only for Benjamin to quickly lower it. But Sophia already understood what that meant.
If words didn’t work, they’d use force.
“I’m fine with meeting them.”
No way was she going to let that happen.
After all, it was probably just an ordinary kid who wanted to say thank you.
