Kkonnim (2)
Kkonnim (2)
Neriel, seated upon the jade throne, blinked in bewilderment.
Who could possibly have foreseen this? Not even Ast, a master astrologer since time immemorial and now the Tower Master of Observation, would have predicted it.
[...Your hand stopped.]
『Ah.』
The arms wrapped around her waist tightened.
Neriel flinched at the unfamiliar pressure and lowered her gaze. Lee Ha-yul, nestled in her arms, had turned his face up toward her with a sulky expression.
His eyes were red and glistening from crying.
The hand that had paused resumed its work, wiping the corners of his eyes and stroking his hair.
A sensation so impossibly soft and full it seemed to cradle her very soul.
Her clumsy fingers carefully combed through his pure white hair.
[Yeah... feels nice...]
Even that awkward touch made him grin and declare it good. As if he'd never thrown a fit, satisfaction spread across Lee Ha-yul's face as he melted into her touch.
That smile overlapped with the face that had been sobbing uncontrollably just moments before.
'......'
Neriel possessed a Curse of Silence.
It was a curse she'd placed upon herself, knowing she needed to elevate her Authority further to prepare for the invasion. Its cruelty surpassed even Ha-yul's.
Unlike Ha-yul, who could circumvent it with sound transmission or writing, Neriel had every method of communication thoroughly blocked.
She understood the pain inflicted by the Curse of Silence.
Yet Lee Ha-yul had ignored that terrible agony and cried out at the top of his lungs.
Even if the caster of the curse had died or weakened, the pain must have been unimaginable. And still, he'd wept as if the world were ending.
'Even now, there is so much I don't know about this child.'
A bitter smile touched Neriel's lips.
She had always intended to explain the circumstances to Lee Ha-yul. But there was no way to know how he would react—consumed by betrayal and fury.
Her circumstances were different from the other Tower Masters.
The sin of trying to use Lee Ha-yul was the same. But Neriel's deception had been more direct.
Inwardly, she'd steeled herself for the worst.
She might be cursed at or even beaten. It was an excessive thought, but he might even draw a weapon.
It was all Neriel's karma, so she resolved to accept it without flinching.
What a foolish resolve.
Lee Ha-yul could not cast aside someone he'd once given his heart to.
No matter how angry, he couldn't resent them. He just cried sorrowfully alone.
And when she embraced him even then, he calmed down instantly and nestled quietly into her arms.
He was such a kind and tender-hearted child.
'...And that child is someone we—someone I tried to use.'
Her chest throbbed at the undeniable truth.
Even if Ha-yul held immense potential and possibility, even if there was no other way to defeat the invasion without him. There was no excuse for having designated him as the one to oppose the invasion without ever asking his consent.
[Kkonnim.]
『Huh...』
It was a moment when guilt was eating her alive. Neriel's body trembled as a breath tickled her cleavage.
Lee Ha-yul had wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her ample chest.
[I didn't know Kkonnim was a woman.]
『Is... that so...?』
[Mm... honestly, I did think you might be. At first, Kkonnim's tone was really soft, remember?]
He spoke while pressing his face firmly against her chest.
Neriel's cheeks flushed at the unfamiliar, ticklish sensation.
Her two trembling hands, trying to feign indifference, ultimately did nothing but stroke Lee Ha-yul's back and hair.
[But later, your words got rough... yeah, that's right. You swore at me a lot.]
『That is...』
A sudden thought popped into his head, and Ha-yul lifted his face, puffing out his cheeks.
At first, Agapanthus had treated him with a warm and gentle tone.
But by the time Ha-yul started calling her Kkonnim, her speech had become curt and rough. The soft formal language had turned into brusque casual speech.
That sense of closeness was nice too, but the bluntness was real.
『That also... there was a... small reason for it.』
[What reason made you change how you talked?]
As he cocked his head, Neriel smiled sheepishly. With a pout, Ha-yul buried his face back in her chest.
As expected, Neriel was tall and her figure was voluptuous.
Warmth and comfort rose from the ample bosom that cradled his face. From deep within, the steady beat of her heart reached him.
'Kkonnim's embrace.'
She felt more like Kkonnim than the Tower Master of Growth.
He never imagined a day would come when he'd be held in Kkonnim's arms.
A gentle smile touched his lips as he buried his face even deeper.
[So soft.]
[So comfortable.]
[Really big chest.]
『Ahem...』
Neriel coughed lightly. Heat crept up her neck at the rather embarrassing remarks.
In the past, even a cough or a change in skin color would have triggered the curse as a form of communication. Fortunately, it was fine now.
『Is there anything... uncomfortable...?』
[No, it's really comfortable.]
Then I'm glad.
Holding back more words, Neriel simply offered her embrace and stroked his hair and back. That action alone conveyed her heart.
[I like Kkonnim.]
Neriel's hand stopped for a moment. A complex yet proud emotion filled her violet eyes.
『...Perhaps it would be better to reserve such judgment... until after you've heard the full story.』
Soon her faltering hand gently patted his back, soothing him.
『For me, those are... very joyful words... but still, to judge so hastily...』
[Yeah, it's okay.]
He smiled soundlessly and hugged her slender waist tightly. Their stomachs pressed together, and his softly fluttering wings wrapped gently around Neriel's body.
Lee Ha-yul was skilled at interpreting others' emotions.
Various feelings and mental images seeped from Neriel.
Guilt, regret, pity, tenderness, kindness, warmth, affection, ache...
Without needing to dissect each one, they were all just the feelings of someone who treasured him and was sorry.
[I like Kkonnim.]
[Deep relief.]
[I'm not misunderstanding anymore, so you don't have to fight through an explanation.]
『The me of the past... might have been different.』
[Even then, it's okay.]
He no longer needed to hear the circumstances. These feelings alone were enough to resolve his doubts about Kkonnim.
Perhaps her intentions were different in the past, but he could vividly feel the emotions Neriel held right now.
『......』
Neriel closed her mouth.
Aside from the difficulty of continuing, she couldn't speak carelessly in the face of such boundless trust.
『Tha... nk you...』
[Yeah, hehe...]
Closing her eyes, Neriel hugged Lee Ha-yul with all her might.
It was tight enough that it should have been stifling, but Ha-yul just smiled radiantly and burrowed deeper into her arms.
Holding Ha-yul, Neriel felt a profound satisfaction.
Neriel, too, no longer harbored any unease.
She still hadn't explained the situation. Ha-yul might throw a tantrum, but he would not hate or despise her.
'Which is exactly why I must hold you closer and treat you better...'
Ha-yul's nature—unable to let go of someone he'd once cherished—was an endearing trait, but it also had plenty of potential for exploitation.
For a being with such power to be swayed by the desires of others.
It was an unpleasant way to put it, but what could be more terrible than that?
『You've likely received a rough explanation... from the other Tower Masters.』
[Yeah, I did.]
『As you know, I used an incarnation technique... to set out and find the savior's soul...』
[Yeah, yeah.]
Ha-yul kept nodding his head.
Every time he bobbed his head, his face squished into her chest and tickled her, but Neriel chose not to point it out and continued her explanation.
『In that process, I...』
[Ah, hold on.]
Ha-yul abruptly cut her off and popped his head up. Neriel tilted her head, placing a hand on his cheek.
『Is something... the matter...?』
[It's hard for you to talk right now.]
Her difficulty was plainly visible. Moreover, a quick check with Observation showed that Neriel was in no condition for a lengthy explanation.
『I appreciate the concern... however...』
At his worry, Neriel's eyes curved softly.
But speaking was essential to explain the situation. Using alternative methods like Ha-yul did would be exhausting, so she had to push through.
[Mm, mm, mm... there's another way.]
'Another way? What could...?'
Shaking his head, Ha-yul focused on something.
A thin thread of light sprouted from Lee Ha-yul's head. It wasn't roughly made of mana, but a line connected to his consciousness.
It was a phenomenon Neriel knew well.
The Authority of Harmonization.
『What...』
Neriel's mouth fell open.
The Tower Masters had granted Ha-yul their Authorities, directly or indirectly.
Space and Observation had been granted directly from the start.
Harmonization had bound the five Authorities together through the Status Window, providing various functions within that framework.
Growth had been granted by selecting him as a Special Admission Cadet at Siyoram, and Knowledge was handed over when Ariel met him in person.
But the Authority of Harmonization had never been handed over directly.
The Tower of Harmonization merely connected the five towers and, through the Status Window, linked Gracia to Lee Ha-yul.
'Then how...?'
Did Gracia transfer the entire Authority? That was impossible. If she had, the connection between the five towers should have been severed by now.
Neriel's bewildered gaze naturally drifted to a corner.
In the corner of her vision, strings of text were scrolling rapidly upwards.
[The Tower Master of Harmonization collapses on the spot.]
[Ugh... ngh, hng, hngh... ugh... agh...]
[The Tower Master of Observation, horrified, backs away from the screen.]
[The Tower Master of Knowledge wears an awkward, uncomfortable expression.]
[The Tower Master of Space blushes and shakes her head.]
The network was in pandemonium.
It was thanks to the interference from two Tower Masters vanishing, allowing the simple conversation to proceed.
『...Did you... manifest the Authority of Harmonization... by interfering with the Status Window...?』
[Yep.]
It was a struggle to speak, but she had to ask. At the reply, Neriel's expression went blank.
'Is that even possible?'
She didn't even know in theory.
It was true that the Authority of Harmonization connected Ha-yul and Gracia.
But to ride that connection—not just to interfere with the other party, but to forcibly manifest their Authority from the outside?
'It should be impossible...'
Impossible.
A ridiculous phrase. It wasn't something she, who had supported Ha-yul hoping for impossible victories, should be thinking.
[We can connect with the Authority of Harmonization, mix Knowledge with Observation, and receive the explanation by viewing the memories together.]
『Is... that so?』
[Yep.]
[And since we'll be inside the mental world where the curse has less influence, the curse will affect you much less.]
Ha-yul nodded along.
The last time he'd used this on Lee Ha-sol, he'd stupidly fumbled the controls and peeked at unnecessary thoughts, but now, after a few more practice rounds, it was different.
The thread sprouting from Ha-yul's head wriggled as it approached Neriel's head.
The thread touched her head.
In that instant, the sensation knocking on her consciousness was familiar.
- Knock, knock...
'...Pfft.'
There was a difference.
If Gracia felt like a brisk knock on the door, Ha-yul seemed to knock carefully, quietly waiting for an answer.
'Don't laugh at me.'
'Ah, you're already this far...'
Her surface consciousness had already been reached, it seemed. At Ha-yul's sulky thought, Neriel smiled faintly and opened the door of her consciousness.
And then, their consciousnesses connected.
.
.
.
Watching Neriel's memories directly, receiving the explanation in the mental world where the curse had less influence.
A perfect plan.
Giving himself a mental round of applause, Ha-yul waited for the memories to replay.
- Crackle.
Soon, the landscape of memory surfaced. As if drops of paint were falling, the black world took on shape and color.
The background was a bright, spacious room.
It had relatively little furniture, but many cardboard boxes and storage bins gave it a cluttered feel.
Ha-yul scanned the surroundings before his perception snapped back to one spot.
A computer desk against the wall. On it, a monitor shed its glow, and a woman was resting her hands on the keyboard.
He couldn't see her face from behind.
But he could see her soft brown hair, simply tied up, and the ample chest evident even from the back.
The woman Ha-yul had rushed to save.
'Kkonnim!'
To be precise, it was Neriel's incarnation on Earth who had chatted with him. Eyes sparkling, Ha-yul looked around again.
'When is the real Kkonnim coming?'
The memory still only contained Ha-yul.
It seemed she needed a moment, since there was a lot to skim through in her own memories.
He'd just have to wait a bit for Neriel to arrive—
"Ah, for god's sake...! I told you to stop skipping meals and eat! You're going to seriously collapse like that...!"
?
Bang, bang! The woman slammed the desk and clutched her forehead.
"Ha... seriously, geez... what am I going to do with this..."
Leaning her head back, the woman let out a deep sigh. The muttered lament was thick with worry.
"Should I just, like, kidnap that guy and make him eat?"
At that menacing murmur, Lee Ha-yul's eyes shook.