Chapter 178 – Fae World (3)

Sungchul spent a leisurely time in the gorgeous Fae World . Sungchul felt his body and mind recharge, and feel his inner fire relight once more . It had been an unplanned vacation but Sungchul was satisfied . He spent roughly ten days in the Fae World . Unlocking another Soul Stone was an added bonus .

Sungchul decided to head back to the other world .

Before the door that leads back to reality, the Fairy Elder handed Sungchul an item giving off blue light .

It was a newly sprouted leaf of the World Tree . It was an extremely precious item said to be able to resurrect even the dead . Sungchul had no need for it now, but it might come in handy in the future since in the Other World there are more powerful individuals hidden than are known .

Sungchul said his goodbyes with the Fairies and returned to Adelwight’s lodge .

When he saw her again, she was visibly emaciated .

“Did you starve yourself?”

Sungchul thought that something might have happened to Adelwight but didn’t worry too much . Due to the enormous amount of time that she had lived, it wasn’t uncommon for her to do something drastic for the sake of stimulation .

Adelwight returned Fal Garaz to Sungchul .

“Your goal has always been to save that child, right?”

Adelwight asked carefully as she returned the hammer . Sungchul nodded . But something was wrong .

Adelwight often speaks to Sungchul in a mixed formal and casual tone . Her way of speaking fluctuating was a common occurrence . Adelwight typically spoke to Sungchul casually but she sometimes addresses him formally . She usually used a formal tone when they meet again after a long time apart . She had met so many adventurers in her life that it was difficult to treat Sungchul differently from the others . And after a while she becomes accustomed to it and return to speaking casually with him . But even then she sometimes revert to a formal way of speaking: When something troublesome has happened .

‘Is there some sort of problem?’

After noticing the shift in her speech pattern, Sungchul thought to himself that Adelwight might be struck by whimsy .

“That is so . ”

He answered as if it was the most obvious thing .

“You know, I was wondering . ”

Unlike before, it was back to a casual tone . Sungchul confirmed to himself that she was being fickle as he turned to face her . Adelwight continued to speak .

“What are you going to do if the Calamities continue after you save that child?”

“Of course I will fight if I am to be harmed . ”

“What if there is no danger to you? What if you and everyone you are trying to protect are all safe from the Calamities? At that point, will you continue to fight for the others who are left behind?”

Adelwight opened her eyes wide and observed Sungchul .

Sungchul made a confused look .

“What? I thought you were going to say something serious, but this is it?”

“It’s an important question to me . ”

“You’ve asked me before, don’t you remember?”

Though inundated by countless memories, Adelwight clearly remembered that moment in the past . She, also, clearly recalled his answer at the time .

Unlike Adelwight’s serious attitude, there was no hesitation in Sungchul . He replied .

“Like I said before, I am not a hero . ”

It was the same answer as 9 years ago . Adelwight let out a sigh of relief in her mind .

‘Thank goodness . He didn’t change . ’

Sungchul continued to speak .

“I fight for salvation for myself and my people . That is all . ”

It was an answer Adelwight wanted to hear . Looking deep into his eyes, not a single change in his mind could be detected . Sungchul was still the Sungchul of her memories . But the scenes from the future she had seen through Fal Garaz continued to nag at her mind .

‘Just what was that vision? A simple mistake? Misunderstanding?’

Adelwight began to think that it might have been because she had lived far too long as a human being .

‘In the next era, I’ll have to raise a pupil . ’

*

 

Time has come to depart once more .

Adelwight gave Sungchul personally handmade lunches as a present . Sungchul wasn’t too excited about it but he thought it would be good to have for the boring travel so he put it in the box Phoebe Canvas had been carrying . Bertelgia saw that and began to flap around in panic .

“Ugh… Don’t put food in something you store severed heads!”

“It’s ok . I washed it clean . ”

“That’s not the issue!”

While she was watching the back and forth exchange between Bertelgia and Sungchul, she recalled a particular scene she had seen through the Fal Garaz .

A single volume of book .

‘I wonder what was that about? Does it mean that the book affects the Destroyer’s behavior?’

Although Adelwight had looked into the future, this time not even she could explain nor predict the future . As the ancient witch watched on, Sungchul’s party headed to their next destination .

The target was New Ixion .

The Magician’s Paradise said to be created overnight by a pure white witch .

Note: As you might have noticed, this is the shortest chapter the author wrote aside from the prologue .