Hot Spring (1)
Hot Spring (1)
The Changhae territory is not land suited for growing crops or raising livestock.
But with a long coastline rich in seafood, the dining table naturally fills with bounty from the sea.
"Did the food perhaps not suit your palate?"
My wandering thoughts came to a halt.
Across the table, Kim Yu-yeon had stopped eating and was looking at me with a worried expression.
I quickly shook my head.
-No, not at all. It's really delicious. I love seafood.
Truthfully, I don't especially love seafood.
More precisely, I don't go out of my way to eat it. I'll eat it if it's served, but I've never sought it out.
But there was no reason to let Kim Yu-yeon, who'd gone to the trouble of inviting me to breakfast, see any sign of that.
I adjusted my utensils and observed the table.
A sumptuous spread laid out over the white tablecloth. A mouthwatering salmon steak sat before me.
I speared a piece with my fork and tasted it. As expected—
Tasteless.
'The senses and the silence. Seems both are the type of curse that persists even after the caster is dead.'
Since I hadn't expected anything, there was no disappointment. I chewed quietly, managing my expression with practiced ease.
-This is the most delicious salmon I've ever had.
"I'm glad it suits you. If there's anything more you'd like, please don't hesitate to say so."
Completely taken in by my expression management—All-Rounder included—Kim Yu-yeon smiled brightly.
Beside her, Baek Wol-seon, the head of the Changhae family, also nodded.
"Even if it is not related to the meal, whatever our benefactor desires, we will do everything in our power to provide."
-Y-yes... Thank you...
My eyelids fluttered faintly at his deferential tone.
He had always been courteous to guests before, but today, ever since this morning, Baek Wol-seon had begun showing an attitude that went beyond courtesy to outright deference...
"Ha-yul, do try some of this, too."
The cause was, naturally, A-rin.
Of course it was.
His daughter's body had nearly been stolen by a bastard of an Outer-realm Tower Master.
And I'm the one who rescued her, even while going missing in the process.
Plus, A-rin, who had been psychologically unsettled just yesterday, was now smiling brightly and filleting fish for me.
In a small sense, I'd saved his precious daughter. In a larger sense, I'd saved the heir of the Changhae family.
His attitude toward me was bound to change significantly.
"Ha-yul, say ah~"
"Nyom."
"...Khm."
...Or maybe not?
At A-rin's attempt to feed me by holding food to my lips, Baek Wol-seon let out a subtle cough.
"Our benefactor is not a small child who cannot hold his own utensils, how could you..."
"But he is a small child. Even back at the mansion, he eats well only when someone feeds him like this."
'Kek.'
I choked at the sudden attack. Baek Wol-seon's mouth closed, likely having not expected her to agree so openly.
But A-rin's beaming offensive didn't stop there.
"When I offer, Ha-yul takes it nicely. But if I don't, he won't eat. Left alone, he just skims through his meals, so you have to take proper care of him."
"A balanced diet is more critical for a superhuman than for an ordinary person... A-rin, when you return to Siyoram, do take some of the family's nutritional supplements with you."
"Yes, I'll take as much as we need. Here, ah~"
A-rin smiled and placed a piece of fish between my lips.
"Mmph...?"
I blinked as I accepted it, watching for Baek Wol-seon's reaction.
It was grilled fish, simply cooked without heavy seasoning, but the flesh was plump and had a satisfying chew.
The octopus leg that followed was the same.
As I was chewing quietly, I felt a gaze beside me.
A-rin had propped her chin in her hand, the corners of her eyes curved into soft crescents.
"Is it edible?"
"Mm, it's good."
"Good. You used a lot of energy, so eat plenty."
When I smiled shyly and answered, A-rin's smile grew even more radiant.
...As for the remark about having used a lot of energy, I averted my eyes discreetly from the slightly sulky look that came with it.
Just then, a sound transmission flew from A-rin.
-Eat a lot, for your body's sake, too. The really delicious stuff... I'll feed you once we're inside.
-Okay!
My face lit up brightly at the message resounding in my head. A-rin giggled and fed me another bite.
I worked to swallow the food and then speared a piece of seasoned fish, bringing it to A-rin's lips.
"You eat, too, A-rin. Here..."
"Oh my, how did you know I like this?"
Well, because the information I'd observed was so extensive.
I let the question pass with a smile, and A-rin tucked a lock of hair gracefully behind her ear and accepted the bite.
"Mmm~ So delicious, because of who fed it to me."
-Still, the food someone else makes for me is much, much more delicious.
"Ehehe..."
At the praise clinging to me simultaneously through voice and telepathy, a goofy smile settled on my face without my willing it.
Kim Yu-yeon's smile deepened as she watched A-rin and me, while Baek Wol-seon's expression grew several layers more complicated.
.
.
.
After the meal had concluded in that warm atmosphere,
and before we left the table, we shared a serious conversation over tea that had been brought out in place of the dishes.
"Traces of the Tower of Bitter Cold that appeared near Seolgyeong still remain."
Baek Wol-seon sipped his tea and continued.
"The observation corps reports no signs of renewed activity, but with the traces remaining, it is difficult to lower our guard."
The traces of the Tower of Bitter Cold, which had intruded into the Changhae territory, still lingered.
Though the pouring army had stopped and the environmental devastation had vanished, the Tower itself remained, and there was no avoiding the unease.
I swallowed a sip of tea and nodded.
-On that front, it should be fine for at least a few years.
"May I ask your reasoning?"
-The Tower Master of Bitter Cold who would lead that tower: when he forced his way into A-rin's body, I inflicted enough damage by my own hand to make conducting an invasion impossible for him.
The Tower Master of Bitter Cold had, in plain terms, become an invalid.
It was the price for recklessly attempting a half-baked Incarnation.
If he had entered in his true body, he wouldn't have been brutalized nearly so badly.
On top of the burden of forcibly summoning the Tower,
the Tower Master of Bitter Cold had his True Body's soul slashed to ribbons and incinerated by me—he simply has no capacity to sustain an invasion right now.
Even if he did, it wouldn't matter.
It would be a weaker invasion than last time, and I could simply fly over and this time kill him at the very root.
The Tower Master of Bitter Cold surely knows that himself, which is why he's probably holed up in his tower.
Of course, I have no intention of leaving it at that.
-By the end of this year at the earliest, I plan to trace the remaining pathway in the Changhae territory and counter-invade the Tower of Bitter Cold.
"Pardon?"
At my calm words, not just Baek Wol-seon—even Kim Yu-yeon and A-rin, who had been listening attentively, widened their eyes.
'Did that bastard think that just because he's holed up in a tower, I couldn't find my way to him?'
The trail is thick enough, so of course I can track him down.
The Tower of Purgatory has yet to begin its invasion.
Considering the degree of damage I dealt, the Tower Master of Bitter Cold will likely need decades just to recover.
I don't know when his invasion might resume, but the Tower Master of Bitter Cold, who specializes in disruption and backstabbing, is better dealt with quickly and decisively.
"...If our benefactor intends to strike the Tower of Bitter Cold directly, our Changhae family will commit its full strength as well."
Baek Wol-seon spoke with a hardened face.
"The Changhae family cannot be absent from the field when we repel the foreign enemy that nearly inflicted catastrophic harm upon our territory."
Baek Wol-seon spoke of duty as the head of the family. But in his expression, I could also read the desire for vengeance as a father.
-It is reassuring to have the Changhae family lend its strength.
Whatever the reason, it's good to have the Changhae family's support.
Of course, since they are A-rin's family, I'll do my utmost to ensure they take no losses, but still...
"Alright, so the official conversation is over, right?"
That was the moment.
A-rin clapped her hands together and rose from her seat. Baek Wol-seon quickly spoke.
"A-rin, I understand your condition has improved, but how about undergoing that postponed examination? And if you have time afterward, perhaps a walk with your father, it's been so long—"
"Ugh... suddenly my head..."
Abruptly, A-rin pressed her hand to her head.
I wasn't startled. Even Baek Wol-seon, who had initially panicked, and Kim Yu-yeon, who had flinched in alarm, were now just blinking.
Because it was a comically transparent act, one she wasn't even trying to hide.
"Uuugh... This is one of those headaches that only goes away if I'm holding Ha-yul... Mmmm... Haaah..."
Pretending to stagger, A-rin pulled me up from my chair and into her embrace.
She buried my head against her chest, pressed her nose into my hair, took a few deep breaths, and then her expression settled into one of profound peace.
That part wasn't an act; that part was for real.
"...I-if... that's... the case... it can't... be helped... I suppose."
A shocked expression on his face, Baek Wol-seon swayed unsteadily. That, too, wasn't an act; that was for real...
"So I'll be taking my leave now. Oh, we'll figure out lunch on our own with Ha-yul and Seo-yul!"
-Ah, thank you so much for the meal...!
A-rin giggled, wrapped an arm snugly around my waist, and turned.
I twisted my upper body and ducked my head politely, and Kim Yu-yeon, having shot a glance at Baek Wol-seon, smiled and waved.
On the way down the corridor outside the dining room,
as I quietly rested my hands on the arm curled around my waist, A-rin gently stroked my stomach and asked.
"Are you really going to counter-invade that tower?"
"Yes, it's best to clear it out as soon as possible."
"You're not pushing yourself on account of my family, are you?"
A-rin looked down at me steadily. Under that scrutinizing gaze, I flicked my eyes aside.
"...That's not the only reason..."
"So it is part of the reason."
"It's really not the only reason... Truly, dealing with the Tower Master of Bitter Cold as early as possible is just optimal..."
It was the truth.
Setting aside the Tower Master of Bitter Cold's backstabbing tendencies, his base influence alone affects global temperatures.
He's a lunatic who triggers global warming—and ice ages—with a single Authority.
Effects on that scale take some time, admittedly, but I'd rest easier just killing him before that happens.
"Hmmm... I really should've kept that necklace on you."
A-rin tightened her arm, pulling me even closer. Her soft chest pressed firmly against my face.
As I listened to A-rin's heartbeat near my ear, I tried shifting the subject.
"S-so, would it be alright if we went to Seo-yul's room? She's deep in training, so it'd be a good chance to bring her a meal, too..."
"Ha-yul."
"Yes...?"
A-rin, who'd looked lost in thought for a moment, spoke up.
"Shall we go to the hot springs in a little while?"
"The hot springs?"
"Yes, yes. Our family has quite a number of rather nice hot springs, you know?"
So suddenly? As I blinked, A-rin smirked and put her lips to my ear.
"I'll give you your num-nums there, too."
"I'll go."
My head nodded enthusiastically before I could stop it.