Birth Festival (3)
Birth Festival (3)
"Time has flown already. The conversation was so enjoyable I lost track of it. My apologies for taking up so much of your time."
[No, I truly enjoyed every moment of our conversation.]
I smiled and shook my head.
My conversation with Hong Seong‑jin ended smoothly, without a single slip.
All I gained from the conversation were embarrassingly kind compliments, advice as precious as gold, and the snacks and tea I kept savoring throughout.
None of the troubling things I had worried about materialized. What reason could I possibly have to be dissatisfied?
From what I experienced meeting Choi Ji‑yeon and the other family members last time, everyone in Yeon‑hwa's family seemed genuinely kind.
"It puts my mind at ease to hear you say that. I will be staying at Siyoram for the duration of the Birth Festival, so do seek me out if you need anything. And Yeon‑hwa, you wait here a moment."
"Ack, why just me again... Wait, the whole festival? I thought you were just stopping by briefly to see my face?"
Hong Seong‑jin, who had been speaking with a benevolent smile, shrugged at Yeon‑hwa as she blinked in surprise.
"Your mother told me to take my time and rest plenty while I'm here. Tsk, tsk. My son goes out gallivanting the moment he arrives, while I'm treated like an old man stuck in the back room... Either way, the head of the Taesan Family is also visiting, so I plan to meet up with him. It's been a while."
"Aha, Lady Ji‑ah... I wonder if she's with Sister Ji‑yeon by now?"
"...Honestly, of all names, she shares the same one as your mother. Every time you say that, I get mixed up."
Hong Seong‑jin let out a deep sigh and shook his head at the mention of 'Ji‑yeon.' Even I couldn't help wearing a wry expression at his reaction.
Choi Ji‑yeon, Lee Ji‑yeon.
Different surnames, same given name. From Hong Seong‑jin's perspective, hearing Yeon‑hwa go 'Ji‑yeon, Ji‑yeon' must feel as confusing as a filial‑piety firecracker casually tossing around her parents' names.
'Come to think of it, Yeon‑hwa has a friend named Seo‑yul, too.'
I'd suffered because those two shared the same name, once.
The day of the Calamity Flame Family's Regular Gathering. I went out to the back garden, made a slip of the tongue, got grabbed firmly, and my backside was repeatedly smacked until it stung.
The memory surfaced unbidden, and I found myself sneaking a glance at Yeon‑hwa. She flinched when my eyes met hers.
"Uh, uh? Why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong...?"
I pursed my lips and averted my gaze. ...No, not really.
Yeon‑hwa looked baffled under my sideways look.
It had been bewildering at the time, sure, but it wasn't a bad memory. If anything, it fell squarely into the good category.
"Well, never thought I'd live to see the day that little wild filly gets reined in and watches her step. Live long enough, I suppose."
Hong Seong‑jin, who had been watching our exchange with eyes full of wonder, shook his head.
"My dear boy. Today's meeting was a joy."
Words that signaled the meeting was drawing to a close. I nodded.
A fair amount of time had passed. I needed to head back to the mansion soon to pick up Seo‑yul and get ready to go enjoy the festival.
[Ah, may I ask one last favor before I go...?]
Just as I was about to rise with a bow of my head, a thought suddenly struck me and I froze, body half‑lifted from my seat.
"Hmm? Of course. Go ahead."
Though briefly puzzled by my sudden question, Hong Seong‑jin nodded with a warm smile.
Seems I really am being doted on. I let out a small breath of relief and touched the Confession Necklace.
[Um... the Beacon Fire Sword... may I see it... well, perceive it, just once?]
"The Beacon Fire Sword?"
The Beacon Fire Sword—the signature armament granted to the head of the Calamity Flame Family.
Technically a weapon that can be artificially crafted, but its status approaches that of a top‑grade artifact. A genuine treasure.
Hong Seong‑jin blinked as if I'd said something unexpected. But soon a hearty laugh escaped him, and his hand moved to his waist.
"Haha! Yes, you grasped the founder's Beacon Fire Sword during the Regular Gathering and stained it with your own Calamity Flame. Now that I think back, the peculiarity of your Calamity Flame may have shown itself from that very moment."
[Ah, that was...]
Cold sweat trickled down my back at his words.
The founder's Beacon Fire Sword. I had stained its blade—once as clear as transparent glass without an owner—with my Calamity Flame back then.
Had it reverted by now? I wasn't sure. But something in my gut told me it probably hadn't...
[That wasn't really my intention...]
"I am not blaming you, so don't squirm like that. Did the family not already tell you they would let the matter rest? On the contrary, your mother was racking her brain over whether to formally bestow it to you."
[Pardon?]
Bestow? Bestow what? A question crossed my mind for an instant, but it was swept away the moment the sword emerged from Hong Seong‑jin's waist.
"Here. Hold it once."
[Ah, thank you...]
He extended the hilt toward me as I stood there blinking dazedly. I bowed my head and carefully took it.
Hot.
The founder's sword I had perceived at the Calamity Flame Family's main estate was transparent. A sword meant to hold Calamity Flame, yet empty because it could not contain it.
Hong Seong‑jin's Beacon Fire Sword was different.
A crimson blade that had been heated by Calamity Flame for well over decades, that had swallowed the fire and cut down foe after foe.
When I cautiously brushed a fingertip along the edge, I could clearly sense the staggering fiery energy contained within.
For now, suppressed at its master's command, but the moment it was unleashed and swung, a tremendous torrent of Calamity Flame would erupt.
[Admiration]
But that wasn't the only part that inspired awe. Beyond the decades of accumulated Calamity Flame, the sword itself was magnificently designed from the very blueprint.
It was more than just a tool for slashing, thrusting, and hacking.
It was an armament solely for a Calamity Flame manifestor. A sword that endured the flame, stored it within, and helped control that notoriously ill‑tempered fire.
In terms of function alone, maybe it wasn't so different from a computer.
As a result, the design was immensely complex.
So complex that even blueprints with particularly difficult structures couldn't hold a candle to it.
As I observed the Beacon Fire Sword in fine detail, a sharp ache bloomed in my head. A sensation like the inside of my skull being scratched raw.
'...It's almost identical to the blueprint. Only a few sections have changed. So that blueprint really was the real one, huh?'
With a strange expression, I cross‑referenced it against the information lodged in my mind. Data forcibly crammed into me by the founder's Beacon Fire Sword. I'd been half‑skeptical at first, but it turned out to be accurate after all.
[I got a good look at it... hmm, it broadened my knowledge. Thank you.]
I rubbed the spot between my brows hard, then reverently extended the Beacon Fire Sword with both hands.
"Yes. So, what did you think?"
Hong Seong‑jin, who had tucked the returned sword back into his waist, shrugged and asked.
I nodded to myself as I perceived the Beacon Fire Sword slip cleanly into a subspace the moment it reached his hip.
[Indeed, a truly incredible sword.]
'Making one for Yeon‑hwa later is going to be a real pain.'
Just thinking about that day made me feel proud and gave me a headache in equal measure...
.
.
.
I left Yeon‑hwa and Hong Seong‑jin behind—she said she had something to discuss with him—and headed for the mansion.
- Bark!
- Myeong‑myeong!
- Hek‑hek...!
[Whoa.]
When I reached the mansion at a moderate pace and opened the front gate, puppies of every shape and color came flooding over me in a rush.
These were the spirits I'd released onto the mansion grounds. By now they had grown enough to be mid‑level spirits and were content to play on their own.
They must have felt truly stifled cooped up in subspace all the way up to mid‑level, because the moment I'd let them out, they'd started tearing across the estate like wildfire.
As I was stroking the puppies clustered around my feet—two or three times each—Rio came fluttering over from the distance with a pyororong, wings flapping rapidly.
"Oh, Your Majesty, you're back?"
[Yeah, I'm back. Nothing special happened, right?]
"Yes, yes. Princess Lee Seo‑yul is still asleep, and Queen Dowager Atra is in the underground training hall."
[I see. Thanks for letting me know.]
"Ehehe..."
There Rio was, answering me point by point. When I stroked the top of Rio's head with my fingertip to show my appreciation, Rio beamed brightly and flapped those wings at me.
Not that I didn't already know everything through Observation. Still, it didn't hurt to be reported to like that.
And these reactions were cute, anyway.
[I'll go see my master for a bit. If Seo‑yul wakes up while I'm gone, can you tell her to wait?]
"Nehp, understood."
Rio squared up in an instant, as if the earlier silly grin had never happened. I let out a quiet laugh and headed down to the mansion's underground.
The mansion's training facilities were mostly concentrated below ground.
Because of that, my master mainly went back and forth between the underground and the first floor, and since I was in and out with her, I already knew which facilities she usually used.
My steps toward where my master was grew gradually faster. I was about to see her soon, but an inexplicable sense of impatience and restlessness crept in.
I sped up and arrived at the facility. I pressed the round button next to the large door.
- Bzzzzz...
[Masterrr.]
As I held the buzzing button down, I whispered it quietly, and the presence I sensed inside strode briskly toward the door.
- Hmm, is your talk over already?
[Yes, it just finished.]
Soon, my master's voice came through near the button.
She had also attended the opening ceremony, but when I said I needed time to speak with Hong Seong‑jin, she returned to the mansion first.
Just hearing my master's voice lifted my mood. But I pouted my lips and pressed the button again and again.
[Open the door, please.]
- Ah... hmm... Could you wait a moment? No, why don't you go upstairs and rest a little? I will wash up quickly and join you.
An evasive voice came from beyond the door. The door did not open.
I could understand the psychology behind it.
I held the Authority of Observation, and I'd been living alongside my master.
Because of that, I knew perfectly well that she had been exercising until just now, and that she felt self‑conscious about showing herself drenched in sweat and giving off a much stronger body scent than usual.
[Hnnng... please open it...]
- Hmm...
I knew that, yet I didn't want to back down. Normally, I might... might have stepped back out of consideration for her. But right now, I stubbornly insisted, pressing the button down over and over.
Right now, my head hurt too. It ached from analyzing the Beacon Fire Sword, and truthfully, I felt a lingering dizziness from the sudden mana drain during the opening ceremony.
Also, even though I'd been with Yeon‑hwa, I'd been in front of Hong Seong‑jin so I couldn't act spoiled as much as I wanted...
- Zing...
For a brief moment, an embarrassed and troubled voice reached my ears.
Then at last, unable to overcome my wheedling, the door slid wide open to both sides, revealing my master looking awkward.
She was in short shorts and a sleeveless top, equally drenched in sweat. A cool damp towel hung around her neck.
Beads of sweat still clung to the tips of her hair, and steam rose faintly from her flushed, fair skin.
[Ehehe...]
Without hesitation, I sprang up and wrapped myself around her.
Skin that was warm and heated, yet sleek with sweat.
I buried my nose between her full breasts and nuzzled in. Her body scent, much deeper than usual, flooded my nasal passages.
[Happiness]
[Squishy]
[Moist]
[Body scent]
"Doesn't it... smell too much? Like sweat..."
[Mmmh... it's really good. Master's scent is good... Snff snff...]
"Uhm... haah..."
My master grew even more embarrassed at my answer. In the end, as if resigning herself, she let out a deep sigh and pulled me tightly into her embrace.
As if she wasn't going to indulge all my acting‑spoiled anyway, pretending to be helpless. I smiled brightly, wrapped the Sky Wing Feather around her waist, and breathed in her scent to my heart's content.
[Masterrr... let's go see the Birth Festival together with Seo‑yul...]
"Yes, I was just loosening up while waiting for that... and as expected, I got caught like this."
My master murmured softly, shrugged, and pressed a kiss to the crown of my head as I acted spoiled in her arms.
[Heh.]
"Mmm..."
Amid a mind melting into her body scent, I briefly perceived the corners of my master's lips curling upward through the strands of my hair.
* * *
[The Artifact 「Purification」 seethes with jealousy, demanding to know why you're holding this green young brat again.]
[The Artifact 「Proof of Protection」 is at a loss for words.]