A bird's cheerful song filled the air as it flew across the sky.
"Huh...?"
Raon blinked dazedly as he listened to the bird's melody falling from above.
"Why is there an unfamiliar village in front of me?"
A small village stood right before him. There were several houses built with red bricks, and seeing the smoke rising from the square chimneys strangely warmed his heart. It felt just like looking at the annex building.
'Where am I?'
He had only broken the old woman's mask that Merlin was wearing to heal her, but he couldn't understand why he ended up in a place like this.
'Is this the mental world? But for that...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked around.
'The sensations are too vivid.'
Judging by the familiar scent wafting from the village and the flow of the wind that he could feel on his fingertips, this seemed to be reality rather than a dream or the mental world.
'Or did I die?'
When the light burst from Merlin's mask, if the Fallen had launched a surprise attack, his body might have exploded before he could even feel it.
'No, that's too much. Larian would have protected me.'
-Squish!
A groan sounded from below his feet as he shook his head, thinking he couldn't have died.
-W-where is this place?
Wrath rose up with his eyes half-open. He still looked like a blue cotton candy.
-Where have you brought this king!
Wrath shouted, demanding to know their current location immediately.
'Seeing you beside me, it seems we're not dead.'
Raon smirked as he watched Wrath grumbling about having a headache. The fact that Wrath was pulled along in his spirit form suggested that he himself wasn't dead yet.
'But it feels so real that it seems genuine... Huh?'
Raon's eyes widened as he tried to touch a nearby tree with his hand.
'What the...'
He couldn't grasp it! Like a ghost, he couldn't touch the tree or its leaves.
-Hmph!
Wrath narrowed his eyes as he looked Raon up and down.
-You've ended up in the same state as this king! Now you shall know the pain of being in spirit form!
He burst into a satisfied laugh, as if pleased that Raon was in the same predicament.
'Is this what being in spirit form is like?'
Raon clicked his tongue as he examined his body.
'It's certainly peculiar.'
His senses were even more acute than when he was alive, but nothing touched his hands or feet. He could understand why Wrath was obsessed with food.
'Shall we go in?'
Raon briefly licked his lips as he looked at the village.
-Into that village?
'I think I know where this is.'
He had become a spirit while trying to remove Merlin's mask and was pulled into this village. This must be Merlin's mental world.
-It must be that madwoman's past, then.
Wrath nodded as if he had figured it out too.
'That's right.'
Raon took a deep breath before entering the village.
"The weather is nice today."
"Nice? It's going to pour soon!"
"Did you use magic to read the weather again? I keep telling you to let nature be natural."
"The cultivation magic Lady Sella developed this time is amazing, isn't it? The harvest has nearly doubled!"
"Her magic is always reliable, of course."
"Where have the kids gone again! It's almost dinner time!"
As befitting a small village, everyone was engaged in conversation without anyone being left out. It seemed to be a warm place, just as he had felt when he thought of the annex building.
'I need to find Merlin...'
Raon narrowed his eyes as he scanned the village.
'I don't know how to find her.'
-This king loathes to say it, but that madwoman's face is quite fair. She should stand out even as a child.
Wrath tilted his chin, saying someone with Merlin's looks would be noticeable from a young age.
'That might not be the case.'
Raon shook his head calmly.
'The body Merlin has in the present world isn't her real body.'
He wasn't sure of the exact process, but Merlin had taken over the body of the person who wore the old woman's mask to descend into the present world. The face of Merlin he saw in reality and the face of Merlin here would inevitably be different.
-Hmm, that's certainly true.
Wrath nodded as if he understood.
-Even if that Fallen or whatever was involved, that madwoman did steal someone else's body.
He frowned as if something had occurred to him.
"Tch...."
Raon clicked his tongue briefly as he wandered around the village without a word.
'Being in spirit form is quite inconvenient.'
It was frustrating that he could pass through walls and doors, but couldn't use martial arts or aura.
'It's fortunate the village is small, at least.'
As he was sighing and thoroughly searching the village, he heard children's laughter from a small clearing between houses.
'Maybe...'
Raon turned his steps towards the clearing where the children's voices were coming from.
"You can't even do that?"
"You're so slow..."
"Even kids younger than you can do it."
"You're a disgrace to Para. A disgrace!"
Children who seemed to be just over ten years old were surrounding a girl with purple hair, mocking her.
"I-I can do it too..."
The purple-haired child raised her head weakly.
'Huh?'
Raon's eyes widened as he looked at the purple-haired child.
'Merlin...?'
Despite her young age, the purple-haired child had an aura that seemed more fitting to be called beautiful rather than pretty. It seemed that in a few years, she would have exactly the same face as the Merlin he had seen.
-Isn't this different from what you said! She looks exactly like that madwoman!
Wrath waved his hands, saying Merlin's face was the same.
'I... don't understand why either.'
Merlin had died 500 years ago and was reborn by putting the old woman's mask on a girl in the present world.
It was surprising that Merlin from the past had the same appearance as Merlin in the present.
'But her eyes are different.'
The eyes of Merlin without the mask were purple, with a red cross engraved in the center of her pupils. However, the current Merlin's eyes were just ordinary purple.
-Rather, the others' eyes have crosses engraved in them.
Wrath raised his finger as if telling him to look closely.
'Huh...?'
Raon let out a gasp as he turned his gaze following Wrath's hand.
'It's true.'
As Wrath said, it wasn't Merlin, but the children surrounding her who had blue crosses engraved in their eyes.
'It's not just the crosses.'
The children possessed such pure energy that it seemed as if they had directly absorbed the mana of nature. It was the innate quality of a gifted magician.
"Heh...."
Raon swallowed dryly as he saw that even the middle-aged woman doing laundry had crosses in her eyes.
'Could these eyes be a bloodline trait?'
Not everyone in the village had crosses in their eyes, but most did, and they also possessed pure mana.
"L-look..."
Merlin stuttered as she spread her hands with difficulty. A small sphere of flame floated above her palms. However, the flame couldn't be maintained and went out like a candle in the wind.
"I knew it!"
"Another failure!"
"She doesn't even have crosses in her eyes. She's not Para like us."
"I don't know why Lady Sella takes care of her."
The children mocked Merlin, clicking their tongues.
"N-no."
Merlin tried to create a flame in her palms again, but it disappeared even faster than before.
"You can't do it."
"Give up!"
"You can't even do basic magic."
"You have no talent. No talent."
The children shook their heads, muttering that it was enough.
"You're not even Lady Sella's real daugh-"
"You kids!"
As the black-haired child was about to mention Sella's name, the middle-aged woman who had been hanging laundry came running.
"I told you to stop bullying your friend!"
"Ahhh!"
At her shout, the children turned and started to run away.
"Where do you think you're going!"
As the middle-aged woman snapped her fingers, the fleeing children began to float in the air and were pulled back.
"We're sorry!"
"It was just a joke!"
"Ugh..."
The children mumbled apologies as they hung in the air like laundry.
"You shouldn't apologize to me, but to your friend!"
The middle-aged woman frowned, pointing at Merlin.
"S-sorry..."
"It was really just a joke..."
The children bowed their heads, rolling their eyes.
"Sob..."
Merlin didn't answer, covering her face as she sniffled.
"..."
-...
Raon and Wrath gaped at Merlin crying like an ordinary child.
'This is Merlin?'
-This thing is that madwoman?
* * *
"Sniff..."
Merlin vigorously wiped her eyes and nose as if trying not to show she had been crying, then entered an old brick house at the edge of the village.
"I-I'm back."
As she bowed her head weakly, a young woman walked out from the kitchen with a rustling sound.
"You're back early?"
She was a beautiful woman with a cool appearance, her smooth blonde hair neatly tied back, and her eyes also had blue crosses engraved in them.
"Did you have fun... Huh?"
The blonde woman with red eyes nodded with a smile, then slightly raised her eyebrows when she saw Merlin's reddened nose.
"Did you cry again?"
She sighed as if this wasn't the first time.
"N-no."
Merlin shook her head, saying something just got in her eye.
"I see. Well, you can't help it then. Just always be careful with your hands. A magician's hands and eyes are their life. Remember Lady Merlin's teachings?"
The blonde woman gently caressed the burn marks on the tips of Merlin's fingers. As if she possessed a special power, the burns slowly faded away.
"...Yes, Lady Sella."
Merlin couldn't look directly at the blonde woman she called Sella and lowered her gaze slightly.
"I told you to call me mom and speak comfortably."
Sella shook her head, saying it was okay to be casual.
"..."
Merlin didn't answer and just rolled her eyes. She seemed both embarrassed and hesitant.
"...Alright. Let's eat first."
Sella let out a short sigh and went back into the kitchen.
"I-I'll help."
Merlin sniffled and followed Sella into the kitchen.
"It's fine, go wash up."
Sella sent Merlin out again, telling her to wash her face and hands.
"Okay..."
Merlin washed her hands and face in a round silver sphere, her shoulders slumped as if dejected.
-That...
Wrath let out a gasp as he watched Merlin pouting.
-Is that really that madwoman? No matter how I look at it, it doesn't seem like her.
He shook his head, saying there was no way that crazy woman could be so quiet.
'I had the same thought.'
Raon let out a small, hollow laugh.
'She's so different from the Merlin I know.'
Merlin always showed extreme proactivity. He never imagined that the friendliness monster who called Sylvia, whom she had just met, "mother" and the fearsome Glen and Rector "grandfather" would have such a past.
-But...
Wrath looked at the kitchen where Merlin and Sella had gone with serious eyes.
'What's wrong?'
Raon looked at Wrath, feeling ominous.
-Aren't you curious about what this house is having for dinner?
Wrath licked his lips, saying he wanted to see it right now.
-There's a good smell, but I can't tell what it is!
He gestured quickly, suggesting they go into the kitchen.
"Sigh, I'd like to see your past too..."
Raon entered the kitchen, imagining how Wrath had become the Demon King of Wrath. In that time, Merlin and Sella seemed to have started eating at the round table.
-What is this?
Wrath rolled his eyes as he looked at the red dish on the table.
-It looks like tomatoes and cheese melted with sausage? It's like pizza, but something's different!
He licked his lips longingly, saying he wanted to eat it.
"How was your magic implementation?"
Sella raised her eyebrows slightly as she handed Merlin a piece of bread spread with butter.
"Did you maintain it longer?"
"A-about one second."
Merlin let out a long sigh, saying nothing had changed.
"It's okay. It will get better."
Sella smiled, saying it would improve gradually.
"You have talent."
"I-I don't have any talent..."
Merlin shook her head, biting her lip.
"I don't even have Para eyes..."
She bit her lip as she looked at the blue crosses reflected in Sella's eyes.
"These eyes aren't important."
Sella put down her fork and gave a gentle smile.
"What's important isn't the power of magic, but what kind of magic you learn and use."
She smiled, saying the path of magic is wide and long even without these eyes.
"Lady Merlin wasn't Para either. You know that."
Sella slightly covered her own eyes, telling her to remember well.
"Yes..."
Merlin let out a short sigh and put down her fork and spoon, seeming to think about what had happened earlier in the day despite Sella's advice.
"I'm done eating..."
She left the house again after saying she had finished eating.
"W-wait a moment!"
Sella reached out her hand, calling for Merlin, but she had already run outside.
"Sigh..."
Sella let out a short sigh as she looked at the bread Merlin had only half-eaten.
"Being a mother is not easy. It's much more complicated than magic."
She shook her head and started clearing the table.
'I should go out.'
Just as Raon was about to follow Merlin outside, thinking he couldn't get any more information here, a blue light suddenly burst forth in front of him, opening a dimension large enough for a person to enter.
'What is this place...'
He frowned and turned around to see Sella frozen in place, holding a plate. It seemed as if time had stopped.
-It looks like we're supposed to go in.
Wrath furrowed his brow, saying there was no other choice.
'I guess so.'
Raon briefly licked his lips before entering the blue dimensional gate without hesitation. A massive golden dais, more than twice the size of Glenn's throne, came into view. Sitting on the elaborately crafted, splendid throne was an old man with an ugly balding head and wrinkles all over, shaking his knees.
"I-I must find a way."
The old man, wearing a splendid golden crown, bit his nails in fear, repeating the need to find a solution. His entire body was deeply wrinkled, and his complexion was yellowish, making him look as if he could die at any moment.
"I absolutely cannot die like this..."
The old man with the crown chewed on his lips as he looked at the vast kingdom visible through the window.
"That's why I'm telling you to find a way!"
He screamed, throwing the medicines and healing artifacts placed beside the throne down the dais.
"W-we're sorry."
"But Your Majesty's illness is something we've never seen before..."
"We've never encountered a disease that accelerates aging to this extent."
The priests and healers below bowed their heads as if ashamed.
"Useless fools..."
He ground his teeth, showing deep anger. In that short time, another wrinkle seemed to have appeared on his forehead, as if he had aged again.
"If only that person were here, if only that person..."
As he trembled, calling for someone, the massive doors of the audience chamber opened. A man wrapped in a gray robe from head to toe entered. He approached the dais with confident but not excessive steps.
"Your Majesty. I have finally found a way to cure your illness."
The man in the gray robe bowed to the wrinkled king, saying he had found a definite solution.
"I-is that true?"
The king swallowed dryly and came down from the throne.
"Sage! Tell me quickly!"
He ran down the dais before the man could fully straighten up and stood in front of him.
"Of course."
The man called the Sage smiled faintly and removed the hood covering his face.
"Huh?"
Raon swallowed dryly as he saw the face of the man in the gray robe.
'The... Fallen?'
The face of the man in the gray robe was exactly like the mask of a handsome young man that the Fallen wore. His smiling expression was so similar that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were the same person.
"Your Majesty. Perhaps..."
The man with the Fallen's face clasped his hands together with a sly smile.
"Have you heard of a race called Para?"