Without Trust
Without Trust
The morning sun was chirping.
A phrase that expressed the weather outside in a nutshell. The sun was that bright, but my eyelids were heavy.
Following instinct, I burrowed deeper into the warm embrace.
I buried my nose deep in the soft valley and breathed in.
The sweet, savory scent of milk and a fragrance that naturally soothed the body and mind filled my lungs, and comfort rose up softly.
"Hehe, that tickles."
"Mmmnn..."
The embrace I had burrowed into wriggled. As if I'd let them escape, I hugged the slender waist tighter and rubbed my face in deeper.
"Don't go..."
"Where would I go leaving Ha-yul? I'm not going anywhere, so don't worry."
A giggling voice answered my reflexive whining.
"Our baby, you still want to do the nose thing?"
"Yees..."
[Sleepy]
[Drowsiness]
[Comfort]
The hand gently stroking my head was exceedingly tender. Being quietly groomed like this made me want to leave the embrace even less.
Noticing my mood, a hint of trouble seeped into the touch.
"That's not good... The sun's already high, so you need to get up soon..."
"I went to sleep... late last night... so isn't it... okay...?"
"I'd also like nothing more than to hold you here all day, but it's about time we go back to Siyoram, you know?"
"Gueek..."
The reality sharply shoved forward grabbed the nape of my reason and forced me upright.
I had stayed with the Tower Faith for several days because it was such an urgent matter, but strictly speaking, the Siyoram semester was currently in session.
And even if it weren't Siyoram, I can't just do nothing but nurse and laze around every day.
I already have a mountain of work to do; I can't just sit around eating and playing.
Groaning, I peeked up from her chest. Through the pure white sheets and skin, my gaze met a pair of green eyes like fresh sprouts. My drowsy face was reflected in those wide eyes, and then her gaze curved softly like a crescent moon.
"Oh my, our little one's opened his eyes?"
"Yeah... good morning..."
At my morning greeting, Ha-sol tilted her head and smiled with her eyes.
"Yes, I've never slept more happily in my life. Did you have a good dream too, Ha-yul?"
"Yes... I had a good dream."
[Happiness]
A very, very happy dream.
It was a dream where I was rolling around on a soft, sun-drenched meadow, and when I got thirsty, I quenched it from a river that flowed with milk instead of water.
Though reality wasn't much different from the dream.
"Phew..."
Thinking I should get up, I habitually brought my nose to the chest that had been filling my stomach and quenching my thirst all night.
As I nuzzled my nose against her fair skin, a sweet body scent wafted out richly. It was a fragrance that naturally made my mouth water.
- Gurgle...
I really was hungry.
The hand stroking my head stopped abruptly. Blinking, Ha-sol wore an enigmatic expression as she resumed her touch.
"You ate all night, and you already ate a moment ago, and you're still hungry?"
Maybe it can't be helped since it's not solid food.
At my look conveying that meaning, Ha-sol held back a smile, as if she had no choice.
"Alright. How about we eat—well, not quickly—how about we eat slowly and then head out?"
"Yes...!"
[Anticipation]
[Ha-sol Good]
Ha-sol's two hands cupped my head and drew me into her embrace.
.
.
.
The day we returned to Siyoram was Wednesday, well past noon.
It was partly because I woke up late, but we were also a little late because there were various things to handle when we left Erteria.
"Aha? So you were a little late because you were busy sucking on your mom's milk?"
"Eub-eub, eub-bu-bub..."
[Gyaaaack]
Yeon-hwa grinned and stretched both my cheeks out.
"Don't be too hard on him, Yeon-hwa. Feeding the baby is important, isn't it?"
A-rin spoke as if she was stopping Yeon-hwa, but she was just smiling without actually doing anything.
While making a teary face, I met a pair of bright yellow eyes.
"The baby's really lucky. To get a childhood friend who's taken care of him since he was little and now a mom too."
Even before I could send a look asking for help, Ellia, who was glaring at me with a pout, gently pinched my nose.
"How does a big-chested mom just keep popping up out of nowhere..."
"Ahem..."
At her master's muttering, Ha-sol let out a dry cough. Through her light green hair, I could see her earlobes heating up.
Placing a hand on her chest, Ha-sol slowly explained the situation.
"I'm sorry we're a little late, but Ha-yul was so hungry I couldn't help it."
"Well, he was exercising all night, so it's only natural."
"...Ahem! And I couldn't bring him out while he was whining that he was hungry, so I fed him inside first and that's why we're late..."
"In history, is there a case of a saint losing her purity within half a day of becoming one?"
"Pu—! Wh-why, why are you suddenly looking for a case like that...?"
Ha-sol's voice, which had been maintaining its composure, cracked. Yeon-hwa laced her fingers behind her head and averted her eyes.
"No, well, I was just curious. If there isn't one, this could be the first, you know."
"The f-first..."
"It probably would be the first, right? I know that even before the Great Cataclysm, there were essentially no living saints in religious circles."
While Ha-sol stammered, A-rin picked up the thread. A-rin, the corner of her mouth lifted in a smirk, playfully waggled her index finger left and right.
"And among those, a genuine saintess at that—the Holy Mother who is to be revered foremost among the saints of the Tower Faith—the very moment she finished her canonization, she grabbed the wrist of a cute boy who barely comes up to her chest and dragged him off to give him her mi—"
"Ack!"
Ha-sol cut her off with a yelp.
"How about we finish up quickly! If we all want to gather early and eat dinner together, we should finish at the right time!"
The place everyone was gathered was the main gate of the Great Mansion.
A few days' absence could be handled as external activity, but the other things that needed to be done didn't just disappear.
It was even more so because the midterm evaluation period was coming up soon.
It said it all that even my master, the professor in charge of my Special Admission, had to step out to her office for a bit.
"Mm-hmm, that's right. Since it's a special day regardless, let's all gather early this evening and have a little party."
Professor Liana smiled brightly as she clapped her hands together.
"Even if we missed a few days, it's not something that'll take hours, right? Let's get back as soon as we can and prepare. If you come late, the baby might end up preparing everything by himself."
"...Haah, understood."
Yeon-hwa, who had nodded, suddenly turned back to look at me. Seeing my cheeks still in her grasp, Yeon-hwa was surprised and let them go.
"Ah, sorry. But Ha-yul..."
"Yes, I'm fine."
I shook my head while rubbing my flushed cheeks with both hands.
I'm fine could mean two things.
Far from disliking my cheeks being tormented, I liked it, and there was no need for me to go out.
Yeon-hwa clicked her tongue as if she were envious, looking down at my Incarnation, which was currently being used as an armrest beside her.
Before going to the Reverse Side, I'd set up an Incarnation at Siyoram, just in case.
It's a doll with practically no combat ability, but it's built to quietly attend lectures.
Thanks to that, I was able to participate in lectures through my Incarnation while I was away.
"This is totally proxy attendance..."
"It's not a proxy if it's really me."
It's not just a simple doll.
It acts as a relay station for extending my Observation, and in an emergency, it can be a medium to swap places with my main body across space.
In extreme cases, I could even weave vitality energy and mana into the Incarnation and use it as a self-destruct bomb—
"Self-destruct? Se-elf-des-truct?"
"Why on earth do you keep thinking of such scary methods?"
"Pueeek..."
[Unfair]
I was going along nicely and got scolded again.
Even if I say self-destruct, it's just detonating a lump of vitality energy.
As I whined out my unfairness, everyone's eyes looked at me as if I were a baby toddling near rough waves.
I pouted my lips and grumbled. Ha-sol swallowed a sigh, bent down, and briefly kissed the top of my head.
"Ha-yul, we'll be back soon, so let's prepare dinner together."
"Okay, ehehe..."
My pouted lips quietly relaxed, and a bashful smile leaked out.
"But I'll still prepare in advance. If there's anything you all want to eat, please be sure to contact me."
Now that I was back at the mansion, I intended to show off my cooking skills before setting foot outside again.
'Is Senior Lee Ji-yeon not able to come?'
With her family head succession ceremony right around the corner, Lee Ji-yeon hadn't returned to Siyoram yet.
If things went a certain way, she might really be tied up with her family until the ceremony.
In that case I'd just make a dish Lee Ji-yeon liked separately and deliver it with the Authority of Space.
"...That sulk disappeared ridiculously easily."
Senior Daera looked down at me and murmured.
A moment ago she'd been gazing blankly up at the sky or studying the winged garments rippling around me with a complicated expression, and now this.
Master, who'd let out a soft laugh, turned to leave, then tilted her head and looked back. Senior Daera was still standing in the same spot.
"What are you doing there?"
"I don't really have anything to do either, you know?"
"What?"
"All the lectures I registered for are practicum-based, and I barely have any assignments this time, so it worked out perfectly."
"Ah... I see."
Master nodded and tapped Senior Daera on the shoulder.
"Then stay by your junior disciple and keep a close eye on him so he doesn't do anything dangerous."
[I don't do dangerous things...]
"Won't I get pinned down by him while trying to stop him?"
Nobody listened to me.
Master, who'd let my sullen gaze slide right off her, pointed a hand at her nape.
"If he starts acting strange, grab him by the nape first. Like picking up a puppy... His strength will drain out and he'll go limp."
"Excuse me?"
[That's not true]
[That— gweck]
[She's just messing with you]
I silenced the Confession Necklace and shook my head. Senior Daera stared at me blankly, then without warning she lightly gripped the back of my neck.
- Ssqueeze...
A current of electricity spread out from my nape, zzzt, through my whole body.
The instinctive rejection reflex crumbled after hitting the "trusted individual" judgment, and an odd comfort washed over me as all the strength drained from my body.
"Gwehh."
"No, how is this actually real?"
Senior Daera hurriedly wrapped an arm around my waist as I went limp, her face bewildered.
.
.
.
All the by-products from Sicarius, a 2nd-Rank monster that had appeared in Erteria, were now in my possession.
More precisely, they belonged to me and the people around me, but there were experiments I wanted to run with Sicarius's by-products, so I kept them for myself.
[Heave-ho]
Behind the main mansion.
When I traced my hand across the open field, a tear split through the air. From the gaping subspace, Sicarius's corpse fell.
- Boom!
- Gyaaah...!
The ground gave a small tremor.
Sicarius was originally specialized in stealth and ambush, measuring just over three meters long, but its body had swelled by consuming Soul Ingots to well over a hundred meters in length alone.
The instant something that size went boom onto the field, the fairies who'd been creeping closer despite me telling them to keep their distance scattered in utter panic.
'Still not on the scale of a giant class above 3rd-Rank.'
For comparison, the Auplrüt we'd caught back in the Changhae territory was literally the size of a mountain.
By that standard, Sicarius was tiny even after being enlarged with Soul Ingots.
"Will you make armaments out of this one too?"
[Mmm... The materials are good, so that's the plan]
Seo-yul asked while hugging me from behind.
I fought to ignore the weighty feel pressing down against the top of my head, and without nod—ding my head, I just worked the Confession Necklace.
"Tch."
[...Still, it's no match for the Tower Master of the Dead, so we don't need to swap out your gear, Seo-yul]
Holding an awkward smile, I activated Observation.
Considering Sicarius had been beaten nonstop by the party and me, the quality of its by-products was actually quite decent.
Thanks to the massive consumption of Soul Ingots used for regeneration at the very end.
The only remaining damage was the huge hole bored clean through its chest by the Clear Lightning Flash.
Even if the area around the hole was scrap because of the lingering Heavenly Thunder, I could still make reasonable use of the rest.
But the by-products weren't what I needed to focus on right now.
I hopped up and stepped onto Sicarius.
At that, Seo-yul, who'd held back from following lest she get in the way, and Senior Daera both sent me sharp looks, telling me to stop doing dangerous stuff.
'How on earth did my credibility end up like this...'
I had no excuse for the past, sure, but haven't I been getting around safely lately?
I knelt down and placed my hand on the outer hide. Closing my eyes, I drew up my Innate Talent.
Mana Affinity Expansion Ability
Homogenization - Soul?Ingot
Squish! My hand sank through the outer hide.
This wasn't a physical penetration. The hand, having dug into the spiritual layer, groped around the interior.
An odd sensation.
It's hard to explain entirely through the sense of touch in the first place.
It felt like cramming hundreds of slimes of different elasticity and textures into a narrow box, then grinding and mixing them together.
- Tk!
My hand, which had been feeling its way to a place I could call a core, seized on something hard and angular.
What I slowly drew out with force was a blackish lump. A murky gray swirled through its interior at a sluggish pace.
It was a Soul Ingot manufactured from a monster.
Not one I'd made. Sicarius had possessed it from the start, but it was a Soul Ingot that had never been used.
A bomb?
Apparently in the 12nd Iteration I'd used Soul Ingots as bombs. The possibility existed that, while handling Sicarius's by-products, I'd stuck it in and said "eat this."
But Observation ruled out that possibility.
This wasn't a bomb.
'A blueprint...?'
The components of a Soul Ingot and the conditions for its composition.
That foundation was observed with extreme ease.
To begin with, this Soul Ingot's form was faithful to the fundamentals. At the same time, its protections were released. It had been left open to make looking into the detailed elements easy and interference more convenient.
'That bastard... Haah, just what is this person thinking?'
It was impossible to figure out their motives. I furrowed my brow, reining in the address that had grown rougher after earlier "key" remarks.
Even this Soul Ingot alone was an unbelievable boon.
As far as I knew, the unique ability that handled the soul at the most advanced level was the Soul Ingot.
Simply analyzing this Soul Ingot would grant me spiritual realization, and if I could understand its Innate Talent, I would eventually be able to manifest the Soul Ingot itself.
'Whatever the reason, this is genuinely good for me.'
It's far better than learning by banging my head against it alone.
As I nodded to myself while using Observation on Senior Daera's prosthetic arm, Senior Daera gave me a worried look.
"Junior~ you aren't touching something filthy right now, are you?"
"Dad, dad, you shouldn't be poking weird things with your hands? Is it dirty?"
[...Knock it off, please]
I put the Soul Ingot into my subspace and got to my feet. I nudged Sicarius's corpse with my foot.
Unfortunately there were no Mana Crystals. As it was a relatively young specimen, that part couldn't be helped.
'As I thought, using the by-products as combat personnel beats processing them.'
- Whoom...!
When I flicked my hand, ripples spread from my fingertips. From within the wide undulation, a massive book slid out.
A book nearly the size of my torso. It was the undead for Sicarius, which I'd pieced together bit by bit with the Authority of Knowledge.
'Undead are the most convenient and accurate method, but...'
My thoughts reached the Soul Ingot I'd put in my subspace.
The spiritual contents that spill out when the vessel, the physical body, is destroyed. That's what an undead is.
In other words, the soul.
The Soul Ingot recklessly sculpts even the flesh together with it, but its roots and veins coincide considerably with necromancy.
'I'm not planning on carelessly throwing away a 2nd-Rank's corpse and soul.'
Even if it died without even being able to breathe because its compatibility against me was that lethal, this was unmistakably a 2nd-Rank.
A threat rank so rare that fewer than ten specimens have been discovered in the entire 200-plus years since the Great Cataclysm.
For now, I'll research the Soul Ingot while trying my hand at crafting hybrids using assorted monsters.
'So Sicarius's use has been decided, then...'
I faced a new concern.
Before Lee Ji-yeon's family head succession ceremony, I planned to complete the Reverse Side to a certain degree and gather the fairies scattered across the world.
The plan was progressing well.
The Reverse Side I'd briefly visited still had lower spirits popping into existence left and right, and upper-spirit children were subjugating monsters as a form of hobby or stroll.
The Fairy Tree at the center of the plan was growing vigorously too, so only time remained.
Still, it was only a plan so far, and I wanted to raise its success rate and safety further.
'As expected, I'll have to drop by the Observation Tower soon, partly to tinker with the devices.'
More precisely, to the Tower of Observation that was operating the observation devices.