Troublemaker Baby (3)
Troublemaker Baby (3)
Liana's primary means of transportation was flight.
Controlling wind spirits to fly, ignoring the terrain below, was fastest and most convenient.
She could also move by using earth spirits to shift the ground itself. That method was plenty fast and convenient too—arguably even superior in terms of security and stealth.
But Liana preferred flying.
Even before she awakened her unique ability, Liana had always enjoyed a refreshing breeze.
Her hometown was full of hills and mountains, and right behind her house stood a large hill.
Whenever she climbed to the top and sat quietly, a crisp wind would blow.
Lying down roughly on the grass, closing her eyes, and listening to the sound of the wind always made the hours fly by.
That was why she preferred flying.
Maybe because he had learned spirit arts from Liana, Lee Ha-yul also preferred flying with the wind spirits.
So while Liana cut across the sky, Lee Ha-yul stayed quiet in her arms without complaint.
They flew like that for a while, periodically landing to rest out of consideration for Lee Ha-yul's condition.
During those breaks, Liana would grab a quick meal herself and feed Lee Ha-yul both food and medicine.
Of course, for Liana that meant field rations, and for Lee Ha-yul it meant a thin porridge easy to ingest and digest.
And then, when she gave him his medicine...
- Squeeze...
[Soft]
"...You've picked up a strange habit."
Every time, he kept reaching a hand toward her chest.
He'd stay still normally, but the moment she gave him medicine, he'd naturally reach out and knead her breast.
'Is it because I let him hold my breast the first time I gave him medicine?'
A peculiar habit had taken root. Now he even fussed if she didn't let him knead her breast while taking his medicine.
Liana looked down at Lee Ha-yul with an odd expression as his hand fidgeted against her chest.
Lee Ha-yul, who had somehow turned into a child.
He had been full of childlike dependency even before, but now it was even worse.
A healthy mind lives in a healthy body, as they say.
No matter how strong the spirit, if the body is worn down, the mind inevitably fares worse.
A kid who was already clingy had gone through something like this... it was understandable that with his body shrunken, Lee Ha-yul's mind would regress further.
'Cute, though.'
Beyond mere understanding, Liana was even feeling something like maternal love.
With a kindly smile, she stroked the head of Lee Ha-yul, who was absorbed in her breast.
The way he buried his face in her chest craving warmth, the way he kneaded and fussed—it all looked like a baby fussing at its mother's breast.
Of course, nothing came out, so Liana couldn't actually nurse him, but still.
That was how she managed his food and medicine. And whenever she spotted monsters or undead while caring for him, she simply dispatched spirits to handle them on their own.
Lower spirits were usually enough. If it looked like a hassle, she'd dispatch a mid-level spirit, and that was that.
- Whooosh!
A fresh gust of wind blew past.
Liana's hair rippled gently.
She turned her gaze and spotted a bird flying in from the distance.
Not just any bird.
It was no creature of flesh and blood, but a Wind Bird formed of wind—a mid-level wind spirit returning after dealing with the monsters.
Mid-level spirits gradually develop a sense of self.
Along with self-awareness comes something like individual personality, giving each one a distinct temperament and traits.
Liana extended an arm toward it. That spirit, maybe because its form resembled a bird, had a habit of perching when you stretched out your arm.
The wind spirit flew closer.
"?"
And then it zipped right past Liana's arm.
It gave her arm a cursory glance, then flew straight to where Lee Ha-yul was cradled in her arms, nuzzling against him.
- Chirp chirp!
[Wind Bird]
[Cute]
[Cool]
At the spirit's affectionate nuzzling, Lee Ha-yul smiled warmly.
A pure smile that seemed to brighten the whole surroundings.
Even the wings on his back fluttered as if expressing his happiness.
Lee Ha-yul stretched out his arms and hugged the spirit tightly, as if it were a stuffed toy.
It was a deeply heartwarming scene.
The adorable child who perfectly fit the word 'fairy', and the bird of wind nuzzling him affectionately.
A picture of it taken and put up for auction somewhere would fetch a high price.
It was a sight she had seen many times over these past few days.
As if showing off his species' nature, every spirit contracted to Liana, without exception, fawned over Lee Ha-yul the moment it appeared.
"Heh..."
Liana let out a hollow laugh, gave the spirit a few moments to fawn over him, then snapped her fingers.
- Snap!
A rift in space opened behind her, creating a pulling force.
- Cheep!
The wind spirit, after pouring out its affection, fluttered its wings as if satisfied and was sucked into the rift.
[Regret]
[Bird]
As if disappointed, the necklace clicked and relayed his feelings.
Liana chuckled softly and patted Lee Ha-yul, who was burying his face in her chest with a sulky look.
"Baby."
[...I'm not a baby.]
"You look like a baby to anyone."
Liana laughed again.
Just yesterday he was asking to be called a baby and patted more, but today, maybe his reason was slowly returning, he blushed and shook his head slightly.
"We'll arrive soon. Our baby is going straight back to Siyoram for a thorough checkup and hospitalization."
[...Do I really have to be hospitalized?]
"Of course you do?"
Liana said it like it was obvious.
Did he seriously mean to come back acting perfectly healthy after a major incident like this?
Lee Ha-yul flinched and averted his gaze. It seemed he knew how absurd his question was.
"You'd better be prepared for a scolding when you get back, you know."
At her follow-up words, Lee Ha-yul's body stiffened. The wings behind his back drooped.
Lee Ha-yul had once again sacrificed his body to save people, many more than he had saved in Sipnaha.
If the subjugation of that Twin-headed Poison Dragon had been delayed?
It would have been hunted down eventually, but who knows how the already poison-ridden land might have changed in that brief window.
Moreover, when he killed the Twin-headed Poison Dragon, the undead rampaging across China largely subsided. It must have been the medium for the necromancy.
The essence of a hero is to protect the innocent.
From a hero's perspective, Lee Ha-yul's actions are extremely praiseworthy.
However.
From the perspective of Cadet Lee Ha-yul, little Lee Ha-yul, or Liana's disciple, it was a reckless act deserving of a scolding.
Liana had not scolded Lee Ha-yul.
It wasn't that she didn't want to.
She was merely holding off because he is a patient with a worn-out mind and body.
To prevent this from happening again, a stern scolding is necessary.
- Squeeze...
[It hurts...]
Liana reached out and pinched Lee Ha-yul's nose firmly. Lee Ha-yul winced and gently grasped Liana's fingers.
But perhaps too weak, or gripped by conscience, he couldn't shake off Liana's hand.
"Especially Atra... she's livid, they say?"
- Hic...
A hiccup burst from Lee Ha-yul's mouth.
"She was so angry she was practically foaming at the mouth, about to smash every piece of furniture around her, you know? It was all we could do to stop her..."
- Hic!
"And it's not just Atra. Cadet Hong Yeon-hwa, who loves our baby so much... and Cadet Ellia, who was looking after Seo-yul... everyone is really worried, and angry, and sad, they say..."
Did he sense the future? Lee Ha-yul's body trembled.
His face, frozen in fear, was both pitiful and adorable.
* * *
The house assigned to Atra in Siyoram.
At the far end of the second floor was a room used roughly as an office.
It was furnished with a bookshelf packed with books, a reception table and sofa, a work desk, and so on.
- Crumbling...
The bookshelf was smashed to splinters and strewn about. The books it had held were in much the same state, and every single piece of furniture was destroyed.
Even the protective magic was breached; the damaged ceiling creaked and dust sifted down.
The dust pattered onto the one desk still more or less intact.
"......"
Atra's eyes twitched for a moment. Her gaze swept over the dust on her desk.
After glaring at the dust for a moment, her eyes returned to their original position.
Her stare was fixed on the door straight ahead, glaring fiercely.
Veins stood out red in her eyes, which were dull and lifeless.
Dark shadows settled heavily under her eyes, with clear tear tracks still fresh.
- Yes
- I'll keep your words in mind, Master.
- There's nothing to worry about.
Suddenly, Lee Ha-yul's words rose in Atra's mind.
On the day of the closing ceremony... no, even before that.
When she expressed concern for Lee Ha-yul heading outside Siyoram, the responses he gave.
Don't worry. I'll remember what you said. I'll be careful. Nothing will happen to me. I'll come back safely...
"Crrk..."
She gnashed her teeth.
Boom...! The one desk still in shape squealed as cracks raced across it.
Even as the desk shook on the verge of splitting in two, Atra paid it no mind and kept glaring at the door.
'I have to properly scold him.'
Lee Ha-yul. Her utterly lovable disciple.
A child on whom she could normally find no place to lay a finger, but this time she absolutely had to scold him.
Saying he'd stay quiet during break, then sneaking into China, a gray zone.
That could be overlooked. If he had come back fine, a little shaken but with results... she could let it go with a light pinch on the cheek.
But promising he wouldn't get hurt, then wrestling with a monster near 4th Rank... and then going missing and driving a stake through her heart.
This cannot be overlooked.
It must not be overlooked.
So that this never repeats, a harsh scolding is necessary.
Atra steeled her resolve.
- Step, step...
The sound of footsteps.
Her sharply heightened senses caught a familiar gait.
It was Liana's step. The presence of Liana, who had found the missing Lee Ha-yul and promised to bring him back, saying he wasn't seriously injured.
- Step, step...
The footsteps drew near. The door opened, and the presence entered the building.
There were two presences. One was Liana's. The other... the other was...?
"...?"
Something was off.
It was different from Lee Ha-yul's presence somehow.
And it was so faint. She almost missed it even with her sharpened senses.
It was similar, there were commonalities... but also differences.
- Knock, knock
"Coming in~"
As Atra sat puzzled, Liana, who had come to stand before the door, knocked and opened it.
The door opened.
Atra's bloodshot eyes swept over the faces revealed as the door opened.
Liana. Green eyes and long black hair. A complexion slightly more lined with fatigue than usual. She must have worn herself out with the search.
Atra's gaze dropped lower.
And then...
'...?'
In her arms... a... a child?
Atra's thoughts froze.
Even in that state, her reddened eyes scanned the child held stiffly in Liana's embrace.
Hair as pure white as if rejecting any trace of color from the outside.
Exquisite features as if drawn stroke by stroke by a master artist, and eyes shut more from weariness.
A small frame that fit snugly in her arms, wrapped protectively by three pairs of dreamlike blue wings.
His dainty hands, sized to his form, trembled faintly as they clung to Liana's arm, a sight that gnawed at Atra's heart.
Lee Ha-yul.
Those three syllables rose immediately in her mind.
"...Uh..."
"Ahaha. Look at that reaction. I was the same... wait, why are you drooling...?"
A vacant sound escaped her slack-jawed mouth.
Creak... Atra rose from her seat and strode over swiftly.
"Huh?"
Liana blinked.
Suddenly her arms felt empty.
Looking up from her empty arms, she saw Atra already holding Lee Ha-yul, frantically cradling and stroking him.
"...I thought you were going to give him a stern scolding?"
As if she hadn't heard Liana, Atra kept petting Lee Ha-yul as though entranced.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Liana Bellus
●●●●●●●○○○(74▶75/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Kind Adult｣ ｢Soft｣ ｢Warmth｣