The Changhae Family (2)
The Changhae Family (2)
Seated on the plush sofa, I fidgeted with my hands.
Inside the quiet room.
Unlike the snow tumbling in torrents beyond the window, the room wasn't particularly chilly.
Two black fur cloaks hung on the coat rack beside the window.
"I must apologize for requesting this meeting so abruptly."
The voice from across from me carried the same cool composure.
I studied the man seated on the opposite sofa.
Sky-blue hair, bound in a single tail trailing down his back. His eyes, fixed upon me, were a clear sky-blue as well.
The presence my Qi Sense caught was familiar: an Innate Talent where biting Cold Energy and gentle Water Energy coexisted—yet the sheer scale of that Innate Talent was immensely vast.
Baek Wol-seon.
Current head of the Changhae family, a superhuman known to the world by the title Ice-Pot Autumn Moon.
And, most significantly, the father of Baek A-rin.
"To seek out an honored guest who has journeyed so far in this manner is hardly proper conduct, yet circumstances compelled me to commit this discourtesy."
Setting down the teacup he'd just sipped from, the man—Baek Wol-seon—dipped his head slightly.
I lifted my hands, which had been politely folded on my lap, and gave a quick wave.
[Not at all. The facilities you so readily provided have been such a comfort and a pleasure that I'd meant to offer my thanks.]
"Mm, I am relieved to hear you've had a pleasant time."
Baek Wol-seon nodded slowly, a measured rhythm. I laid my hands back on my knees and inclined my head slightly.
[If it wouldn't be too forward, I'd ask that you speak comfortably with me...]
"How could I speak casually to the head of the Association?"
[As I mentioned to Kim Yu-yeon just a moment ago, I hope that you'll think of me now not as the Association President's proxy, but as a Siyoram Cadet and a friend of Baek A-rin.]
"Hm."
Baek Wol-seon, who had been shaking his head with some firmness, fixed his gaze on me.
I swallowed quietly and straightened my back. After regarding me keenly for some time, Baek Wol-seon narrowed his brow.
"As I thought, I simply can't tell. Even with you right before me, I sense no hint of Azure Sea's presence."
[My constitution is a bit unusual. The presence doesn't reveal itself until I manifest it.]
I raised mana in my hand above the table. Azure Sea mana, filtered through Homogenization, bloomed forth.
With it, the Azure Sea Innate Talent spread through the room.
"Hoh..."
Water Energy and Cold Energy traced a single cycle, like twin serpents swallowing each other's tails. Baek Wol-seon let slip a note of wonder.
Seated beside him, Kim Yu-yeon also delicately covered her mouth with her hand, eyes rounded wide.
...I kept an eye on Kim Yu-yeon's reaction as I straightened my back with extra care.
- [Mine.]
- ...Pardon?
The slip of the tongue back in the hallway... or rather, the true feeling that had leaked out.
Kim Yu-yeon's startled reaction to it had been observed in crisp detail, saved by Knowledge, and kept flickering in my head...
'This precious, infuriating necklace.'
I would never dare curse a gift from Ellia, but I couldn't entirely suppress the resentful sentiment.
From the very first incident—those words of admiration that slipped out upon seeing Baek A-rin's chest and calling it large—to the slip just now.
I'd lost count of how many times this necklace had shoved me into an awkward mess.
'It wasn't this bad at the start.'
That first incident was my fault, admittedly. My control was still clumsy then.
But for it to keep happening even now is a little strange.
Circuit manipulation? Obvious. I'm even starting to wield Three Ends reliably at my current level—so you mean to say I can't manage one mid-to-low-grade artifact?
'I wonder how the changes are occurring.'
Is it simply because my unique ability and constitution are so peculiar?
I know that artifacts that feed on my mana begin to change.
The prime example is the Sky Wing Feather.
The purification I received from Ariel, of course, and even the Proof of Protection now dissolved into me—its shift was subtle, but positive.
The Confession Necklace hasn't undergone any dramatic change yet either, but...
"Indeed, thank you for showing—well, that. Even seeing it with my own eyes, it feels as though my Qi Sense is being toyed with."
[Yes, yes.]
I drew my mana back in. The moment Homogenization ceased, the Azure Sea Innate Talent subsided as well.
Baek Wol-seon looked surprised for only a moment before he let out a soft breath and spoke.
"I'll speak comfortably, as you've asked. The reason I wished to borrow a moment of your time is, first of all, to give you an early look at the summit's schedule."
[Yes, I'm happy to hear it.]
"...You told me to speak comfortably, yet you yourself speak so formally. Is that it?"
[Eh...?]
"Well, don't mind the age gap. Among superhumans, what do ten or twenty years really matter?"
Baek Wol-seon chuckled and gave a light shrug.
"Above all, your standing is hardly beneath mine... and as for martial strength, I think I'm the one who's lacking. If we're weighing our positions, perhaps I ought to be using honorifics toward you?"
[How could I ever allow that...]
An utterly impossible question.
He's probably joking, right? But even as a joke, replying to it was painfully awkward.
Naturally, considering a superhuman's lifespan, ten or twenty years doesn't amount to much of a gap.
Still, that doesn't mean I can just start speaking casually to Baek A-rin's parents, does it?
- Squeeze.
Just as I was turning that thought over, Kim Yu-yeon, who'd been watching from the side, moved her hand discreetly beneath the table.
Her slender finger pressed firmly into Baek Wol-seon's thigh.
At the same instant, a strand of Sound Transmission passed between the two of them.
- Why are you tormenting the poor child?
- Tormenting? I was only suggesting we both speak more comfor—aaagh! I'm sorry! Please, no Body Reinforcement!
Mana gathered at Kim Yu-yeon's fingertip as her brow twitched faintly.
The power was so slight that even detecting it was difficult.
But pressed directly against his skin, Baek Wol-seon felt it vividly; he recoiled and gently caught her finger.
Only then did Kim Yu-yeon withdraw her hand, letting out a small laugh as she bowed her head.
"I apologize for the trouble."
[It's nothing...]
Having observed the scolding unfolding beneath the table, I hid a rueful expression and waved both hands.
"Ahem. The members of Calamity Flame and Taesan should arrive within a few days."
After a pause, Baek Wol-seon rubbed the spot on his thigh and continued.
"Once everyone has arrived, they'll rest briefly from the journey and complete their preparations before the summit begins. The main agenda of the summit is, as you know, the unique abilities you've manifested."
At the sudden return to serious subject matter, I straightened my posture.
"Naturally, you've already proven more than enough. But this will be a session where you do so before all of us gathered here, in person."
[Yes.]
"The method of confirmation will likely be a sparring match."
That much I had already anticipated.
Meetings among the Three Great Families do occur fairly often. Larger-scale ones like this aren't common, but since they've all gathered anyway, the atmosphere will be steered toward harmony.
And the signature form of harmony among superhumans is a sparring match to test each other's skill.
[No problem.]
Once upon a time I would have been nervous, but by now my abilities were more than sufficient.
At my self-assured reply, Baek Wol-seon let out a quiet laugh.
"That confident look suits you."
[Thank you.]
"Well, that was everything I wanted to tell you in advance. A servant will deliver any supplementary schedule to you promptly. The real substance will take place at the summit itself."
He meant I should know the plan ahead of it. Then again, wasn't this something a servant could have relayed just as easily?
"...From here on out, this is a more personal question, but..."
Right as that thought crossed my mind.
Baek Wol-seon abruptly laced his fingers together and rested his elbows on the table.
His eyes, now more serious than before, fixed sharply on me.
"What exactly is your relationship with my daughter?"
Here it comes.
I straightened up at the expected question, and Baek Wol-seon continued.
"I've been hearing about it since last year. I've been nearly deafened by reports of your extremely close relationship at Siyoram."
[Yes... as you say, I've been receiving great help from Lady Baek A-rin since last year.]
"I see. But at the end of last year, my precious child suddenly led troops straight into the heart of that—that immensely dangerous disaster, did she not?"
Hk.
"I wondered what the reason could be... and they told me she had to save her one and only, her very, very precious person."
-Fwoo.
The breath he exhaled as he finished speaking bore heat uncharacteristic of an Azure Sea Manifestor.
I bowed my head without hesitation.
[...I truly owe a debt I can hardly repay. Thanks to her help, I survived safely. I'm deeply grateful.]
"Not at all. From what I hear, the help our family has received from you is countless as well. That... unique weapon specialized for the Azure Sea?"
[Ah, here it is.]
I hurriedly retrieved the blueprint from subspace and placed it on the table.
Baek Wol-seon's eyebrows rose at the immensely thick book.
"Hmm... I have no talent for crafting and cannot decipher this, but..."
[The finished product looks like this.]
As if I'd been waiting, I detached a strand of my winged garment.
The winged garment, gathered into a tight sphere, wove itself into a long spear.
A white-and-blue spear like ice. At the force emanating from it, Baek Wol-seon's eyes gleamed.
"May I touch it for a moment?"
[Of course.]
The spear floated up and settled onto the table. Baek Wol-seon gently grasped it.
-Wooong!
Responding to the Azure Sea, the spear emitted a resonance. Water energy and cold energy faintly rose, as if coiling around it.
"...Indeed, truly a weapon on par with the Beacon Fire Sword."
After stroking the spear briefly, Baek Wol-seon glanced at the Beacon Fire Sword propped against my sofa and nodded heavily.
"This weapon alone is an immeasurable help."
[The actual manufactured version is somewhat inferior in performance to this one.]
"Even by that standard, if the functions are preserved, it's still a tremendous treasure."
Gazing at the cold spear blade, Baek Wol-seon shook his head and looked back at me.
His eyes had turned more favorable than at first.
"I've received a precious treasure. To create such a treasure... even those incredible rumors were only a fraction of the truth."
[...! Thank you.]
[Joy]
I bowed my head, reining in the corners of my lips at the reaction I'd secretly been hoping for.
The reason I'd made that gift in the first place was as a bribe for affinity-building like this.
I'd accomplished my objective.
"...Anyway. During the last tournament, my daughter apparently shouted something strange... 'Die, you playboy'?"
'Hk.'
"And among the rumors about you, there were especially many concerning your relations with women..."
[Hk...]
A statement I couldn't refute. As I shut my mouth tightly, Baek Wol-seon's eyes sharpened like ice.
"...My daught—"
"Clan Head, wouldn't you be keeping a newly arrived honored guest for too long?"
That was when.
Kim Yu-yeon, who had been listening intently to the conversation, lightly brushed her hand over Baek Wol-seon's.
At the unexpected support, both my words and Baek Wol-seon's were cut off.
"You've already conveyed the important points. Perhaps the minor stories can be shared at a later time?"
"Hrmm..."
At the gently soothing words, Baek Wol-seon let out a low murmur.
Soon, Baek Wol-seon nodded and bowed his head to me.
"...You're right. I've taken up the time you needed to rest from your journey. I apologize."
[No, not at all.]
[It was truly a meaningful time.]
I shook both hands toward Baek Wol-seon and subtly turned my head toward Kim Yu-yeon.
"Thank you for making the time for me."
Kim Yu-yeon smiled brightly and waved her hand gently.
'A kind person.'
I was deeply moved.
Despite my slip of the tongue in the hallway, she still looked out for me like that...
[I'm the one who should be thanking you.]
I bowed my head deeply to Lady Kim Yu-yeon.
* * *
From the moment Seolgyeong was selected as the conference venue, the Azure Sea's forces had been stationed there.
Not only personnel for conference preparations, but also to strengthen the security of the entire area.
The main family facility built in the center of Seolgyeong.
Baek A-rin, who had been exchanging greetings with the family members staying there, turned her head at the glad voice.
A woman approached, waving one hand cheerfully.
Her light blue hair and eyes, proof of the Azure Sea manifestation, were distinctive. The black fur cloak draped over her shoulders caught the eye.
Baek A-rin answered with a bright smile.
"I was wondering when you'd come, Yu-rim!"
"Ahaha, sorry. I had some branding work to do..."
When the woman who had hurried over, Baek Yu-rim, gave a sheepish smile, Baek A-rin shook her head.
"What's there to be sorry for? Being busy isn't a crime. And I heard you're heading out for an ocean subjugation a little later?"
"Yes, yes. Since complete subjugation of the sea is difficult, I'll be heading out regularly during the conference period."
The Changpa Unit, which specializes in water energy within the Changhae Family.
There was no way the best among them, the one who served as Changpaju, would have leisure time.
Above all, the Changpaju position had been held by many mages for generations.
This was because the free and compliant nature of water energy made mana manipulation simple.
This generation's Changpaju, Baek Yu-rim, was also a wizard accomplished enough to be on the verge of reaching mage status.
Even the black fur cloak Baek A-rin was currently wearing was a magic tool that Baek Yu-rim had personally branded with spell formulas.
"...Ah! That's right!"
"Hm?"
At that thought, Baek A-rin clapped her hands.
When Baek Yu-rim blinked her large eyes at this, Baek A-rin pointed at the fur cloak she was wearing.
"Could you perhaps make one more cloak?"
"A cloak?"
Baek Yu-rim tilted her head and soon examined the cloak Baek A-rin was wearing with concern.
"Is there something wrong with it? If so, I'm truly sorry. I'll make adjustments right away..."
"No, no, there's no problem at all. In fact, I'm using it with great satisfaction!"
Having shaken her head from side to side, Baek A-rin raised one hand.
"But I need one more. For someone about this tall..."
A question mark rose in Baek Yu-rim's mind. She had been about to apologize in case there was a flaw in the cloak.
The hand pointing around chest-level.
Even considering that Baek A-rin was tall, it was a small size. At the very least, a size too small for herself...?
"...Ah!"
A small size.
At that thought, Baek Yu-rim's eyes went wide.
Even out of touch as she was, she had heard of that person.
Also, the very person who'd caused this grand conference to be held.
The person in question, rumored to have a deep relationship with Baek A-rin, was widely known to have a modest build perfect for holding in one's arms.
"Yes! I'll pour my heart into preparing it right away!"
"Thank you."
As Baek Yu-rim spoke with determination after making her judgment, Baek A-rin nodded with satisfaction.