Toward the Second Tower (2)
After we had settled Vincent into the medical wing, we followed the director to his office.
Pedro, Vincent’s nephew, kept fidgeting and shrinking into himself, unable to stay still.
"Um… is my uncle… going to be okay?"
The boy who had been watching us so carefully finally asked, his voice thick with tears.
"Don’t worry. The treatment went fine. It’ll take a little time for him to come around, but it’s nothing to frett over."
"That’s a relief. Thank you, Charlotte unnie!"
Mm. Being called unnie or noona still felt strange no matter how many times I heard it, but watching the gloomy kid smile and thank me like that didn’t feel bad at all.
"Pedro. I need to talk with these people, so wait out here—or you can go stay with Mr. Bean if you want."
"Yes, I’ll do that."
Pedro turned and left at once, and we stepped into the director’s office with Ryu Jinseong.
"Whew. It’s a good thing you were here. I’m really grateful."
Director Ryu Jinseong took off his hat and bowed his head in thanks.
Hyunseok waved it off, saying it was nothing, that if someone needed help then helping them was simply the right thing to do, and held out his hand.
"I appreciate you saying that, but when someone’s trying to express gratitude, brushing it off like that can sometimes come across as rude. Best to rein it in a little."
"Yes, sir. I’ll keep that in mind."
Then the director turned to me with a serious look and asked about Vincent’s condition.
"Vincent’s doing all right. He should regain consciousness soon. But…"
"Is there a problem?"
"Well… there’s a rather nasty curse on him. To break it, we’ll have to take down the monster that cast it."
"Hmm. Is it a serious curse?"
"Not the kind that will kill him outright, but leaving it alone won’t end well either. It’s a curse that keeps stirring up negative emotions."
As I spoke, I shot Yeonseo a quick glance.
She caught my meaning at once and stepped forward, picking up the thread.
"The monster that fled when we arrived is probably the one that laid the curse. And there’s that strange creature Charlotte fought earlier, too. We’re heading for the tower right now."
"Is that so? All right. Then I’ll stay here and keep people from going outside in case those things attack again—wait, that brat overheard us…?!"
He broke off mid-sentence, turned toward the window, flung it wide open, and clicked his tongue as he stared up at the rooftop.
"Is something wrong?"
Hyunseok asked, puzzled by the sudden change. Director Ryu scratched his head hard, then finally spoke to us.
"Looks like Pedro overheard everything. That’s exactly why I deliberately kept him out…"
"What? How did he even hear us?"
"Pedro’s an Awakened too. Only recently, of course. He can create threads and do all sorts of things with them, from what I can tell. He still can’t use them properly, so I’ve been making him practice…"
Just when I thought we might get through this without another reckless kid, here came another one charging off on his own.
I wondered if this was going to keep happening no matter which settlement we visited.
I had a pretty good idea where Pedro had gone, but just to be sure I asked the director.
"Can your ability tell us where Pedro went? I’ve got a rough idea, but I need the direction for certain."
"Give me a moment. I’ll check with the summons I’ve got scattered around."
He closed his eyes and concentrated. After a short while he wiped his dry face in alarm and told us Pedro’s location.
"That idiot… he’s heading for the tower. Stupid kid. He can barely use his power and the second Uncle Bean’s involved he charges off without looking…"
"Don’t worry. We’ll bring Pedro back."
Hyunseok told the director not to fret, gestured for us to move out, and we prepared to head for the tower at once.
Pedro kept spinning threads between buildings, swinging forward in half-circles the way a Viking ride arcs through the air.
"Uncle! I’ll save you for sure!"
For the only family he had left—Uncle Bean—Pedro flew toward the tower.
In the middle of that flight, a sharp shiiik cut through the air from far away. The thread anchored to the building snapped with a soft tuk, and Pedro plummeted.
"Waaaaah…!"
Luckily, several terrace awnings broke his fall and cushioned the impact, so he wasn’t badly hurt.
But the shock left him unable to move for a moment—and that was when a flock of harpies swept in around him with harsh kyaaak cries.
"Ah… ah…!"
Pedro scrambled backward in pure terror, but the harpies’ attacks soon tore his clothes and left him bleeding.
"Ugh… it hurts…!"
Fear had swallowed him so completely he couldn’t even think to use his threads to escape; he simply took the hits. Then one harpy fixed its claws on him, shrieked swaaeek!, and dove at terrifying speed. Pedro screamed, crossed his arms over his face, and squeezed his eyes shut.
How long did he stay like that? Certain he must have been badly wounded, Pedro slowly opened his eyes and lowered his arms.
The harpy was gone. A grating kiiik came from his left; he turned and saw a harpy impaled on a flaming sword and pinned to the wall.
"What are you staring at? Get up. You said you were going to save your uncle."
The young, slightly low voice made him lift his head. Charlotte stood there looking down at him, her hair blazing like living flame.
"Th-thank you for saving me…"
Pedro bowed his head in gratitude. I immediately brought my fist down on the top of his head.
With a solid thud he clutched his skull and dropped straight onto the ground.
"Ugh, why’d you hit me all of a sudden…"
"Hey! You really have to ask? Who just runs off without a word? You can’t even fight properly!"
"B-but…! My uncle was in danger…!"
"Haa. Pedro. I get that you’re worried about your uncle, but charging out like this only causes trouble for everyone else."
"You said he was fine! But the atmosphere felt weird, so I eavesdropped for a second and heard the word ‘curse’…!"
Whether living alone with his uncle had made him sharp, or whether Awakening had heightened his senses, Pedro’s instincts were good enough to catch the scent of that tiny opening.
That still didn’t make running off alone the right call, of course.
I was about to give him another piece of my mind when Hyunseok’s hands settled on both my shoulders and he spoke to Pedro instead.
"Pedro. Charlotte didn’t tell you on purpose because she was more worried about you. And we were already about to move out to break your uncle’s curse anyway. Then you suddenly bolted, so we had to come after you without proper preparation."
Only then did Pedro realize how wrong he’d been. He lowered his head again and began to apologize.
"I’m sorry. I ran off on my own… But please! Let me come with you!"
"Kid. No matter how well we fight, protecting you at the same time is hard. You know that, right?"
Yeonseo, who had been watching him, snapped the words out with an angry face. Pedro flinched and stepped back, then immediately stepped forward again.
"I know that perfectly well. I know I’m weak and won’t be any help… But I still want to save my uncle and become a hero who helps everyone!"
"Haa. Being a hero means you have to be able to protect yourself first before you stand in a position to help others. What can you even do right now?"
"Th-that’s…!"
Pedro and Yeonseo kept trading arguments without giving an inch. At last Hyunseok stepped between them and pulled them apart.
"All right, both of you, calm down. Yeonseo, you’re right. And Pedro—the moment you decide you want to become a hero, you’ve already disqualified yourself."
"What? What does that even mean?!"
"The hero you want—is it the kind people put up on a pedestal, or the kind who helps people even if no one ever knows?"
At Hyunseok’s words Pedro’s arms went slack. He pressed his lips tight and simply stood there.
Wow… coming from a world that actually had real heroes, he can say things like that.
I looked up at Hyunseok’s serious, faintly bitter expression, then became aware of the warmth of his hands still resting on my shoulders.
"So… how long are you planning to keep them up there?"
"Huh? Oh—sorry! Did that hurt?"
"N-no, it wasn’t… that… Ahem. Anyway, Pedro, we can take you along, but don’t expect us to protect you perfectly."
"I knew you’d just tell me to go back… Wait—you’ll take me? Really?!"
At the words “we’ll take you,” Pedro crowded right up into my face.
I shoved his face away.
"Too close! Haa. In exchange, you have to explain your ability properly. Then I’ll teach you how to keep yourself safe."
"Thank you! Charlotte noona!"
I thought he was finally backing off—then he threw his arms around me. I panicked and tried to push him away.
But in a woman’s body that hadn’t been reinforced with divine power, I couldn’t even shove off a boy only a little bigger than me.
"Just… get off…!"
I failed to pry him loose and was about to give up when Hyunseok’s hand shot between us, split us apart, and pulled me straight into his arms.
"Charlotte doesn’t like that. Let go already, Pedro."
"Ah… I’m sorry… I was just so happy you said you’d take me… haha…"
Pedro scratched his head and apologized. I hadn’t seen his face, but looking up from inside Hyunseok’s embrace I saw something else entirely—
an expression sharper and colder than any I had ever seen on him before.
Why is he suddenly making a face like that…?
I might have figured out the reason for that fierce look, but the cries of the harpies still circling overhead snapped us all back into combat stance at once.