Salvation Through Delusion C104

Chapter 104

The sun had already set, but there was no other time to pay a proper visit, so I had no choice but to call on the guest staying in the annex. To both Dr. Kim and me, she was one of the most important people in Tuvine.

Yet the moment Count Ewik saw me in the reception room, her entire body began to tremble like an aspen leaf.

“C–Count, are you all right?”

“Sa, sa, sa—”(구구 also happens to be the Korean onomatopoeia for a pigeon’s cooing sound)

Sa-sa-sa?

“A pigeon…?”

She shook her head vigorously, squeezed her eyes shut, and forced the words out.

“Th-the Savior, they said…”

Ah. That. Damn it—she must have heard the rumors. In a quivering voice, she asked,

“Y-you really can see Lord Utraiinu?”

“Well… yes.”

I answered as casually as possible, just in case she panicked, and glanced around.

“He’s not here right now.”

“Gah!”

She staggered backward.

“Are you all right?!”

“A-amazing… They say that the moment a human meets Lord Utraiinu’s gaze, terror overwhelms them… And yet you’re perfectly fine. You truly are the Savior.”

This time, I almost stumbled back.

Wait—his eyes are terrifying? Those tiny little dots?

Thanks to the filter, Mengdok’s eyes just look like two specks to me, so I had no idea. Come to think of it, Bichon was also terrifying once he opened his mouth. I guess Mengdok’s eyes are the creepy part.

…Yeah. I should never turn that filter off. Ever.

I quickly tried to clear up the misunderstanding.

“No, no. I can’t really see him properly. If I saw his true form clearly, I might have screamed too.”

But despite my explanation, Count Ewik’s eyes only sparkled brighter as she looked at me. It was… a lot of pressure.

Still, if I wanted to keep fooling Tyroc, I had to maintain the Savior act. Flat denial wasn’t an option, so I answered vaguely.

“It’s just that things turned strange and the word ‘Savior’ came up. It’s not like ‘Savior’ is written on my body. You’ve heard, right? The other Savior supposedly bears a mark. So I might be the Savior, or I might not—it’s really up to individual judgment—”

“You are the Savior!”

Why are you deciding so fast?!

As I stared at her in disbelief, her eyes seemed to shine strangely. Her hands were still trembling where she held mine, but now it was clear—she wasn’t shaking from fear. It was excitement.

“Count, perhaps you should think a bit more carefully before—”

“Yes, Sa-Savior.”

Deceiving someone I actually knew made my chest feel tight, like I was committing outright fraud.

“I only see and hear what’s there. As you know, nonhuman beings only favor humans they’ve taken a liking to. If Lord Utraiinu had no business with me, he wouldn’t even speak to me.”

“Y-you even converse with him?!”

…Damn it.

“N-no, it’s not exactly a proper conversation—”

“A-as expected of the Savior.”

This was a different kind of miscommunication from Mengdok. And as she spoke, her fingers fidgeted around my hand, clearly wanting to say something.

“If there’s anything you wish to say, please do so freely.”

“I-I’m quite lacking, you see… S-so perhaps Lord Utraiinu might find me pitiful, or look down on me…”

“Not at all. He’s very fond of you. He even calls you ‘Flower Petal.’”

“F-Flower Petal…”

Count Ewik’s face flushed red with embarrassment. She really did look like a flower petal then.

“That… that was my childhood nickname. After my family died, no one’s called me that anymore…”

Her voice trailed off, her eyes growing damp. Wanting to lift her spirits, I hurriedly added more.

“Oh, and Lord Utraiinu often praised you to me when he had the chance. He said you’ve started growing beautiful poisonous plants again now that you’ve recovered.”

Her eyes slowly widened, her mouth parting, and then—larger than any smile I’d seen from her before—it bloomed.

“I-I really am good at growing poisonous plants!”

If only you’d try growing peppers too.

I swallowed that thought. I didn’t want to dampen her rare moment of liveliness.

I had come to thank her, and it was a relief that I could at least bring her some happy news.

“As you may have heard, I’m leaving tomorrow. I wanted to thank you beforehand.”

“For… thanking me?”

Her eyes rounded, and I bowed deeply.

“Thanks to the gift your spirit gave me, I was able to survive. Truly, thank you.”

Flustered, she waved her hands repeatedly, blushing. Fearing she might keep waving forever if I stayed, I decided to take my leave.

“Until we meet again, please stay healthy, tend to your beautiful poisonous plants, and continue your research into new species.”

I turned toward the door, but she hesitated, then called out.

“One of my ancestors once visited the Forest of Crimson Tides.”

Yes, I know. That’s why the entrance was on Ewik land.

I thought she might ask whether I’d been there too, but she wasn’t even looking at me. Her gaze was fixed on the floor, both hands clenched tightly together.

“If… if you ever go to the Forest of Crimson Tides, please be sure to find the Master of the Forest.”

“The master of the forest?”

“A divine beast?”

She shook her head. Then, glancing around as if afraid of being overheard, she lowered her voice.

“I-I don’t know. My ancestor said this: if the Master of the Forest could be brought into the human world, Tuvine would return to its former beauty. At the very least, that means the divine beast of your family isn’t the one.”

That made sense. That divine beast had already been summoned to the human world. So did that mean there was another divine beast? Or perhaps something even higher?

I pondered briefly, then shook my head. This wasn’t some endless chain of overpowered beings from a web novel.

“Former beauty?”

“A very, very long time ago, when nonhuman beings like spirits and fairies filled the world. If they were to return to humanity’s side, if even blades of grass and pebbles held special power again, then this land would be protected from monsters.”

Her words sounded like a fairy tale—an impossible story from another world. Perhaps that was why her voice had grown so quiet.

Still, it was clearly a secret she hadn’t shared with anyone. Her restless hands made that obvious. I smiled deliberately, broadly.

“That would be nice.”

“You… you really think so?”

Of course. Why wouldn’t I? If anything, I finally understood what she meant.

“People don’t want monsters to disappear because of black magic stones. So they chose that power over the small strength of spirits and fairies, and in the end, most of them left this land.”

Her brows drooped sadly.

“B-but I understand them. The world changes… there’s no single right answer.”

I deeply agreed. The world changes. Tuvine had already learned to coexist with monsters; it was normal now. Still—

“Perhaps it’s time for a new change. A world where monsters disappear.”

At my words, a slow smile spread across Count Ewik’s face. I smiled back and bowed.

“Thank you for telling me.”

As I turned to leave, she hurriedly added,

“My ancestor wanted to find the Master of the Forest, but returned without ever meeting them. Yet on their deathbed, they realized something: even if they had met that being, they wouldn’t have recognized them as the Master of the Forest.”

For the first time, Count Ewik met my eyes directly.

“Lu… I hope you find the Master of the Forest.”

Then she whispered, as if sharing a secret.

“They say the Master of the Forest is the strongest living being of all.”

As the black sky slowly began to turn blue, the person Hoiga had been waiting for finally returned.

Tyroc—covered in white dust and the fluids of monsters.

He had said he had an important engagement today, and it certainly looked like he’d taken care of it.

Yet his disheveled appearance didn’t matter at all.

Because Tyroc passed Hoiga without even sparing him a proper glance.

And there was no smile.

The man who always wore a sunlight-bright smile now looked utterly expressionless—so cold it made Hoiga’s heart lurch.

They hadn’t exchanged a single word, yet it already felt like rejection. His chest felt as though it were being carved apart, his breathing growing difficult.

“Tyroc.”

Hoiga forced out his name in a trembling voice as he followed. Only then did Tyroc flick him a glance—but he didn’t stop walking.

“I have something to say.”

“Come back later and make a proper appointment.”

“No! If not now, there won’t be time.”

Still, Tyroc didn’t stop. Left with only one option, Hoiga brought up the one topic guaranteed to halt him.

“Are you really planning to give up on lifting the curse of the House of Koon?”

Halt.

Just as expected, Tyroc stopped. But when he turned, Hoiga’s heart clenched again.

There was no emotion at all in his cold gaze. If it had been filled with anger or irritation, perhaps it wouldn’t have hurt so much. Why…?