NOVEL WEB Chapter 142
When night fell, I woke to the sound of someone pacing outside the door like they were waiting for something. As the wolf rose, Perry, who had been sleeping beside me, stirred but looked still tired, so I gently patted her and she closed her eyes again, slipping back into colorful dreams.
When I finally stepped outside, I was met with Baek So-yul, who had a slightly startled look on her face but quickly apologized.
“I’m so sorry! Did I wake you?”
I shook my head. After all, I didn’t really need sleep. If she had come at this late hour, there had to be a good reason.
“Can we talk for a moment?”
Once we made it to the rooftop, the late winter chill greeted us. It felt pretty cold to me, so I wondered how she must feel.
With the leftover money from Kang Tae-jun, I poured some cocoa. The sound of it trickling into the cup made her hesitate as she carefully sat down on the bench, and I joined her.
“Do you have something to say?”
As the cold breeze wrapped around us, she hesitated for a long while, almost as if debating whether to speak or not.
Just then, she suddenly handed me her cup. The way she offered the cocoa as if it were the most natural thing made me chuckle.
“…?”
Watching her cock her head in confusion made me smile. My hand instinctively fell to touch the fur I had kept since the moment I first met her. And naturally, that memory came rushing back.
‘Your disaster is over.’
…Right. That’s what it was.
To her, it might have been nothing special. She would’ve done that for anyone, really.
But for me… it was an absolute salvation.
Saved without reason, and only she believed in me.
I’d never forget that day for the rest of my life.
I held the cup and savored the warmth that reached my hands.
To be honest, it was just a small act of kindness… but the kindness from her felt a little different.
‘Why is that?’
I cautiously took a sip of the cocoa.
It tasted like drinking something I had never tried before, and it felt really sweet.
“….”
I quietly caught my breath.
Absently fidgeting, I stopped my fingers.
Feeling her gaze on me, silently waiting.
“….”
My paper cup crumpled a little.
I was saved, but what about her?
Alone, with no one to share her burdens, just by herself.
The stories I faintly heard from her were just so bitter.
It surely couldn’t have been easy.
At times, she must have wanted to give up. Maybe she even wished to just collapse and surrender to despair. Walking that lonely path, no one could ever judge that solitude.
And yet, she didn’t stop.
She just kept moving forward, righteous and steadfast.
Yeah. Even so, she moved on.
So, if that’s the case, then I too…
“Um…”
I squeezed out my courage.
A sentence I didn’t want to say. I just wanted to say, ‘Please stay with me.’ A childlike desire to cling and whine held me back.
Shaking it off, I decided to get straight to the point.
Otherwise, I felt I might run away.
“…I’m going to the Square.”
She listened quietly, saying nothing. Her calm gaze felt like it was filled with consideration.
“I want to be with you. I want to be together.”
I felt relieved that I had blurted it out so quickly.
It felt like saying it straight was the right choice.
“But, I don’t want to be a burden.”
In the deep, dark early morning, my voice quietly echoed, painting the rooftop with my words.
“If I won’t interfere with you, then can we do this together?”
I met her gaze.
Her red glowing eyes… but I never once felt scared.
In fact, I wished for her to keep looking at me.
I wanted the place she looked to always have me, and for the place I looked to always have her.
The place she was was where I wanted to be, and I wanted her next to me…
“So… can you wait for me?”
Just thinking that made the chill fade and melt away. Even waiting for an answer felt like a pleasant thrill, and that was when I truly realized.
“Ah.”
I really do like him.
I noticed my heart, which had been thumping lightly, now pounding fiercely.
There’s no way this feeling is a delusion. My reason and emotion were giving the same answer.
Truly, with no doubt.
The moment I recognized that fact, a spring breeze blew in.
The cold wind, the dark night receded, and sunlight bathed us, warming us. Hesitatingly, my lips parted from the ones they were attached to.
…I like you.
The rapid thump of my heart felt like it was going to burst. My mind went blank, and I couldn’t tell if I had spoken or not.
Did I get the message across? Or was it lost?
Even though I wanted to say it, part of me wished I hadn’t, and those opposing feelings tussled inside me.
In that tranquil rooftop, I felt like I was the only noisy one. I worried my thundering heartbeat could be heard too loudly.
In that moment, or perhaps it felt eternal, a low voice cut through deeply.
“Yeah.”
Thump-thump— that word nearly made my heart explode.
“…!”
The emotions I had kept suppressed burst forth, swelling and threatening to spill over.
I wanted to scream that I liked him as I embraced him. The desire to share this feeling was deeply engraved in my soul.
With such yearning erupting from within, my outstretched hand…
“I heard the news. I’m also going to the Square.”
“Starting tomorrow, let’s work together.”
I was completely caught off guard by those unexpected words.
As I stared blankly, Baek So-yul tilted her head in confusion.
“…Huh?”
All I could do was ask back in a daze.
***
Once Baek So-yul left, her eyes wide like broken machines, the wolf sat down on the bench and stretched. We wasted time waiting like that as we anticipated the day we’d set off for the Square… And just as the sun began to rise, Euna came up to the rooftop.
“Phew…”
It was still quite early to be heading to work, but the wolf nodded.
“You’re here early.”
“Yeah, but…”
After telling us to wait a moment, the wolf soon returned with a yawning Fairy-type Monster rubbing its eyes. Were they hesitating to approach?
“Uh, um…”
The wolf nodded, as if to say he already knew.
“You don’t need to worry. I’ve already informed Hong Yu-ri and the swordsman. And…”
He swallowed the last part. The truth was, being here wouldn’t do much for her development. This was confirmed by yesterday’s events and our time in the dungeon together.
What she needed wasn’t practice or anything like that.
Just real experience. Hong Yu-ri, who isn’t a Mage, also didn’t know the path she needed to take.
Euna’s method, if we’re to compare, was somewhat similar to how the monsters handle magic. Most likely, she wouldn’t need anything like spell chanting. It was only meant to materialize an image. Her path was something she had to carve out herself, something no one else could guide her on.
With that in mind, it would be quite beneficial for her to be with Baek Rok. While it may seem like a low-level dungeon with no significance to me, it would provide plenty of real experience for Euna.
But I still held onto my worries about whether she could endure it…
“Kyu~.”
With a rather weak cry, the next moment we found ourselves in the Fantasy World.
The wolf tugged Euna’s waist with his tentacle.
“Huh? Huh?”
Euna, sputtering, realized she was on something’s back—specifically, atop the wolf who revealed his true form. When she tightly gripped his rough black fur, Perry, too, wrapped her long tail around the wolf’s neck.
“Hold on tight.”
“…Okay!”
It was already her intention without saying it. She wouldn’t fall off even if her hands slipped, as she was effectively bound by his tentacle…
As the wolf began to run, Euna squeezed her eyes shut against the rushing wind, but somehow, she felt at peace. She expected a terrifying gale, but that wasn’t the case.
The sound of the wind was twofold. The wolf’s strong winds cancelled out the gales.
“Wow…”
Once Euna lifted her head, she was finally taken aback by the scenery of the Fantasy World. It really felt like there was another world out there. Unlike the fairies, the wolf was running alongside her, and Euna could only stare, lost in thought.
“Kyu~?”
In a plush display, the wolf seemed to be showing off their home, and Euna absentmindedly nodded in agreement.
Who wouldn’t be enchanted? In this world that felt like a dream… before long, the wolf came to a halt, making Euna tilt her head in surprise.
“A, a great war?”
It had hardly been any time at all, right…? How far could it be from Seoul to Daegu…? As Euna widened her eyes in shock, her surprise was far from over.
“……?”
She turned at the sound of hooves breaking the silence, and upon seeing the approaching Baek Rok, she covered her mouth. A pure white deer that seemed almost divine was coming towards her.
“Wolf~!!”
Though she couldn’t understand a word, the lively voice seemed to call out—Could it be that the white deer was actually speaking? But right next to it, something small with wings quickly darted past her.
“A, a fairy?”
That was the only way she could describe it. It immediately rushed towards Alpha, rubbing its face against him. Seeing that moment felt so natural that Euna briefly thought of how envious she was and shook her head emphatically.
Meanwhile, the white deer looked down at Euna, making her gulp. This was the first time she felt an animal was beautiful. Just as her gaze wandered for a moment, she turned her head and opened her mouth.
“You come here quite often.”
That calm voice… it was definitely a language. Having heard about the Fantasy World from the wolf, Euna realized he was the deer named Baek Rok.
“It’s not that I have a grievance. It’s just… no, you wouldn’t be dim enough not to know.”
The Fantasy World was, after all, a realm of beasts. Though they’d gotten permission, perhaps it still wasn’t entirely welcomed? The wolf also didn’t plan to let just anyone in, so he nodded in agreement.
“He’s not someone who’ll get in the way, so please.”
“Are you planning to leave immediately?”
At that question, the wolf nodded. While it was possible to return to the Fantasy World, it might be unlikely that he would come this far while staying in the Square.
“Understood. But if he’s a bother…”
“Then feel free to send me back anytime.”
Even though he said that, he didn’t think he’d cause any trouble. With her abilities, she would surely lend a lot of help. Once he comforted and let go of the third winter child, it seemed it was finally waking up.
As Euna looked up at the fairy and Perry, looking as if she hesitated, she finally asked.
“Are we leaving now?”
Since she spoke in the fairy tongue, he guessed she wouldn’t have understood. At her question, the wolf nodded.
“Yeah. I will return after the work is done. But if it really gets too tough…”
Though he prepared food and drinks, if it really came to that, he would return to the real world. But he wanted to avoid that happening if at all possible.
‘By the time everything’s over, I wonder how much I can grow…’
Left with no time, the wolf called for Perry and promptly turned his body, but paused at Euna’s voice.
“That won’t happen. So.”
Turning his head, Euna was waving her hand. Soon, she smiled shyly and said,
“Next time you come…”
Her words trailed off. Yet, the wolf nodded, as if having understood.
As he slowly moved away, Euna waved her hand until his figure completely disappeared.