Journal and Diary (1)
Journal and Diary (1)
A week had passed since the barrier stopped functioning.
"Prepare so that the balance doesn't tip too far to one side."
"You needn't worry."
The barrier, which had stopped functioning for an unknown reason, resumed normal operation the very next day.
"And sternly instruct the young priests not to bring out chocolates or candies under any circumstances."
"I gave those instructions yesterday, and the day before that too."
Still, several professors were walking around the grounds, spending their valuable time searching for the still-unknown cause.
"The arrival is at 1300 hours—"
"Yes, yes. I'll send all the worshippers back before that, so please, just go."
The Arena Academy branch of the Temple of the God of Amusement.
Lee Ye-sol, the priestess who had once helped Baek Ha-na change her clothes, let out a short sigh as she spoke to Claire.
"Executor. You've been repeating yourself for three days now. I had it memorized after two, and this is the third time—fourth, counting today. We know it all even without you saying, so please, just go already."
"......Mm."
Without any need to consider hierarchy, only the God of Amusement Vuar stands above Claire.
That is the sole entity she answers to.
The fact that a priestess like Lee Ye-sol can openly scold the Executor and even push her on her way says everything about the atmosphere among Vuar's followers.
"Take care now."
Thud.
Pushed out of the temple by Lee Ye-sol, Claire paused.
She retied her long, flowing hair with a black cord, styling it into its usual neat ponytail.
The Cession Battle had been indefinitely postponed due to the barrier incident, leaving her with plenty of free time. Having accepted Baek Woo-jin's proposal, she had been visiting his home regularly for the past few days.
Currently, the academy's interior was in a very chaotic state.
With professors and numerous clergy claiming they were hunting a nonexistent intruder and ransacking the campus and academy grounds, it would have been stranger if it weren't chaotic.
Even amidst all this, Claire's presence remained utterly distinct.
As if a master artisan had sculpted the pinnacle of beauty from ice.
A coldly beautiful woman with an air of chilling ruthlessness.
Regardless of her position as Executor, she was the type of woman who drew gazes with her looks alone.
—She's going again...
—How the hell does she get past it?
—No clue. Go ask her yourself if you're so curious.
—Are you crazy?
When a woman like her entered and exited the Infinite Labyrinth at the same time each day for days on end, rumors naturally spread.
Normally, she would have considered wearing her perception-inhibiting glasses, but the heightened alertness from the barrier incident made that inadvisable.
Above all.
[Wearing glasses suits you, but I prefer you without them.]
The client preferred her without glasses.
Claire stepped into the labyrinth.
Those who had been following her hesitated for a moment before turning back. News had already spread about several people who had followed her in and ended up trapped inside for a day.
"Haa."
Only after entering the labyrinth did Claire allow herself a short exhalation.
A quiet place, free from bothersome stares and irritating noise.
Her mind significantly more at ease, Claire let her feet carry her onward. The labyrinth guided the formally invited guest smoothly toward its master's residence.
The mansion, which was gradually becoming familiar.
Click.
The perpetually unlocked door.
Just as she had done when she first delivered cereal, she opened the mansion door herself and entered.
—Claire!!
—This little...!
—Ahng!!
A clamor came from the kitchen.
Claire hung her coat on the rack by the entrance.
Her pristine white coat hanging right next to the black one that Baek Woo-jin wore.
Leaving the coat rack behind, she walked toward the kitchen. With each step, Baek Ha-na's grumbling became clearer.
"Claire!!"
Baek Ha-na, clutching the top of her head, leapt from her chair and came running. Claire leaned down slightly and caught her in a hug.
In Claire's arms, Baek Ha-na pouted, jutting her lips out as she pointed at Baek Woo-jin, who was sitting at the table.
"Woo-jin hit me again!!"
Looking at the phone in his hand, Baek Woo-jin addressed both Baek Ha-na and Claire.
"Stop acting so spoiled. And you, don't just indulge every whim."
"I wasn't acting spoiled!!"
Baek Ha-na shouted.
"The little one doesn't even know what that means."
"......What's 'acting spoiled'?"
At Baek Woo-jin's remark, Baek Ha-na blinked and asked Claire.
"Pfft...."
"She laughed."
Claire struggled to hold back her laughter at the adorable and unpredictable child in her arms. As pure as her white hair.
"'Acting spoiled' is... let me see. It's when you get scolded by the Professor and then run into my arms, or when you keep insisting on sitting on the Professor's lap."
"Huhk...!!"
Baek Ha-na's eyes went round as if she'd been dealt a tremendous shock. She looked over at Baek Woo-jin, who still hadn't taken his eyes off his smartphone, and asked in a gloomy voice.
"If I act spoiled... is that a no?"
"......."
No answer came right away. Before long, Baek Woo-jin lifted his head and looked at Baek Ha-na.
"Twice a day."
"......Three times."
"......Fine. Three times."
A bright smile returned to the previously gloomy Ha-na's face.
Claire let out a short sigh and smiled silently at the sight of Baek Woo-jin lowering his head again.
Baek Ha-na was innocent. But there were times she was surprisingly cunning. The act she'd just pulled on Baek Woo-jin was one of those times.
Baek Woo-jin knew it. He knew it, and he went along with it anyway.
She enjoyed watching this relationship between two utterly different people.
She sat at the table and ate breakfast with Baek Ha-na.
The menu was the same cereal she'd brought before.
The taste was tailored to children, but the nutritional profile targeted parents, which is why Baek Woo-jin had approved it.
Baek Woo-jin, who had been staring at his smartphone for a long while, got up and took the two empty bowls to the sink.
"Claire!!"
"Yes."
Claire had been watching Baek Woo-jin's back momentarily when she felt a tug on her arm. She pulled her gaze away and looked down at Ha-na, who had gotten off her chair, and stood up.
Holding Baek Ha-na's hand, Claire headed to the library, which was filled with books.
A space she was visiting for the fourth time.
Claire walked further in, still holding Ha-na's hand, to the rocking chair placed deeper inside. On it lay the fairy-tale book they'd been reading yesterday. She picked up both Ha-na and the book and sat down.
She settled Ha-na into her lap first, bracing her with both arms so she wouldn't fall, and opened the book, tilting it to match Ha-na's line of sight.
What Baek Woo-jin had asked of her was truly nothing much.
To read books like this and explain the words Ha-na asked about.
And to provide guidance on matters difficult for a man to teach and that could be sensitive later.
Finally, to facilitate interaction with the temple's young priests.
Baek Ha-na was still inexperienced in many ways, so Baek Woo-jin had no plan to send her to school until those issues were resolved.
He also couldn't just keep her cooped up at home forever. Judging that she needed social interaction for her emotional development, he had enlisted Claire's help.
Even the youngest priest was three years older than Baek Ha-na, but perhaps because of that, not only the young priests but also the other clergy and holy knights adored her. And truthfully, both her appearance and her actions were adorable.
—Vrrrr.
A small vibration buzzed from within her coat.
"Lunch!!"
"So it is."
Lost in Baek Ha-na's questions and the Korean fairy tales she herself had never read before, Claire had been equally absorbed, and neither had noticed the time pass.
Ha-na hopped out of Claire's lap, leaving her behind as she dashed off toward the study where Baek Woo-jin would be.
Left alone, Claire put the book back on the chair and quietly closed the library door. Before long, Baek Ha-na, who had run out first, returned with a fluffy white coat on and the light, billowing wrapping cloth draped over her head.
"Lunch~!!"
Apparently pleased with the food prepared by the temple, Baek Ha-na hummed a nonsensical tune as she passed Claire and scampered toward the entrance hall.
"We mustn't leave before you say goodbye to the Professor."
—Okaaay~
Claire walked down the quiet hallway and carefully opened the door of the study at the very end.
'...A comforting scent.'
A space filled with a gentle warmth that settled one's mind.
She could see Baek Woo-jin seated in the study, scribbling away at something.
"I will have her back before 1900 hours."
"Right."
A short reply.
Claire lingered for a moment watching Baek Woo-jin, then quietly stepped back and—
"Keuhk—!!"
Baek Woo-jin suddenly heaved up a handful of dark red clumps.
"Profes—"
At the sight of Baek Woo-jin reaching out a bloodied hand, Claire fell silent.
He roughly wiped the blood from his lips.
"It's nothing. Don't worry about it and be on your way."
"......Yes."
Nothing?
With a stench this horrifying wafting from it?
Unable to bring herself to say the words, Claire quietly closed the study door.
"Claire. Are you angry?"
"......."
At Baek Ha-na's question from where she waited in the entrance hall, Claire quickly swept both hands down her face.
Then, she took the hand of the little girl who was staring up at her, gauging her mood, and said,
"I was hungry... Yes. It was because I was hungry."
"Aha."
Claire held the hand of Baek Ha-na, who nodded along with pure empathy at her lie, and they left the mansion together.
**
Fwoosh—!!
The dead, congealed clots that reeked of rot were instantly consumed by fire and vanished.
"......Much lighter now."
As my body recovered, I had expelled the stagnant, dead energy that had accumulated within it.
The heaviness that had been eating away at me from the moment I opened my eyes in this body had greatly subsided. Moreover, by purging that mass, space had opened up within me, allowing me to accommodate more mana.
Aside from being a bit sudden, it was a highly satisfactory outcome.
'The heaviness hasn't completely disappeared, so I'll have to go through this a few more times.'
I resolved to do it somewhere Baek Ha-na couldn't see next time. The reason was simple: the smell was truly frightful.
"Tsk...."
Along with the dead blood clots, the logs I'd painstakingly written had also burned away.
It wasn't a lack of control; it was that these dead blood clots were so unique that this measure was unavoidable.
'So it's eight years.'
The period for actively working for Baek Ha-na's sake.
The plan was set.
More than half of the necessary preparations were complete.
Through Kim Seong-won, I'd secured advance slots in a Rift hugely popular for student training purposes, and by using the internet, I had roughly pinpointed the locations of most key figures and several items.
'There's no need to worry about variables.'
The being known as 'me' was already the biggest variable of all.
And I was the one who could resolve any variable that occurred.
I opened a new page. Then I transcribed the conversations and actions I had shared with Baek Ha-na last night before bed.
'...Puberty.'
Baek Ha-na, who acted cute, constantly tried to sit on my lap, and always wanted to sleep together.
What would happen when puberty hit that girl?
"......I can't picture it."
The epitome of an innocent child.
The thought of such a child scowling and throwing tantrums.
'It might be a little bothersome, but... it'd be amusing to see.'
That would also be a precious memory, after all.
·
·
·
February 3, 2023.
Exactly one year from the day I began living with Baek Ha-na.
That kid's change arrived sooner than expected.