Miracle

Once the pheromones had fully worn off, Karen and Han Minjae made their way back to the campsite where they'd agreed to regroup.

"Master!"

The other three, who'd headed toward the center of the gate, came back with a few scratches between them, but the moment they spotted Karen and Minjae they lit up with bright smiles.

What's with him, though? Did they have it harder over there?

Lee Jeong, the A-rank hunter who was always so sure of himself, looked thoroughly cowed after whatever had happened while they were apart. He seemed to be going out of his way to keep his distance from Samsaek in particular.

"Karen! Are you okay?"

The instant Chaerin spotted the blood on Karen's body, she came flying over.

"Look at all this blood. How badly are you hurt?"

She ran her hands over him, checking every inch for wounds. But the Elixir had erased every trace of injury, and all her fingers found was smooth, unbroken skin.

"I already treated everything. I just lost a lot of blood, that's all."

"Thank god. I'm so glad."

Chaerin buried herself in his arms. The cool-headed party leader was gone; in front of Karen, she had turned right back into a puppy.

"Ahem."

Lee Jeong, who had never seen this side of her, coughed in surprise, but Chaerin paid him no mind at all. The moment she'd seen Karen's blood-smeared face, her heart had dropped straight through her chest. The danger was over now. She could afford to be a little clingy.

"If something had happened to you..."

She couldn't finish the sentence, but Karen could fill in the rest. She had come because he'd asked her to. The weight of that responsibility must have been crushing.

"It's okay."

He gave her back a light pat.

"Lee Jeong, sir. Monsters might sneak up on us, so why don't we go hang some bells around the perimeter?"

"Huh? Right now? It's the middle of the day."

Han Minjae dragged the clueless, staring Lee Jeong away. Samsaek, ever the quick one, had already vanished the moment Chaerin threw her arms around Karen.

Once every presence around them had faded, the two of them sat down on a broad tree stump that served as a makeshift bench.

"You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said you were dizzy, right? Lie down here."

Chaerin patted her own thigh.

"I'm fi—"

His words said otherwise, but a wave of dizziness made his body sway. He caught himself with one hand against the ground, but Chaerin had already seen it. She sighed.

"Why are you so stubborn?"

Seeing Karen look this frail for the first time made her chest ache. Worried he might feel embarrassed, she put on a tough front and, before he could react, grabbed his head and pulled it down.

"Come here! It's not even a big deal."

Like a boxing jab, Karen's head was on her lap in an instant. She'd said it like it was nothing, but when he looked up from below, her ears were flushed crimson.

"Is Lisa dead?"

"Yeah."

"...She was a little odd, but I never thought she'd be that kind of person."

Chaerin hadn't just let anyone into a party assembled to find medicine for her brother. She'd picked her combatants not only for their skill, but from people she'd actually worked with before. Even the porter had been Han Minjae — someone with a decent reputation and an actual rank.

"She needed Mandrake for her brother, too."

"Then... even so—"

Chaerin found herself at a loss for words. She understood how Lisa had felt. But that didn't mean she could forgive putting them all in danger. Then again, what was there to do about someone who was already dead?

"The Musashi Guild was behind it. Lisa gave me this before she died."

Karen pulled a scrap of cloth, written in Lisa's blood, from his coat and handed it to her.

"I'm going to kill those bastards."

The moment she had a target for her revenge, Chaerin's eyes shifted back into those of the Witch of Severance, killing intent rolling off her in waves. Watching her face, Karen let out a small laugh.

"Let's take care of your brother first, then worry about that."

"You're right. But I'm so pissed."

"Ah!"

"Ah, sorry! Did that hurt a lot?"

In her rage, Chaerin had unconsciously clenched the hand she'd rested on his chest. Watching her get so worked up and then so flustered, she really did look like a tiny animal...

"You're cute."

"...You're only saying that because you're in pain and can't talk back."

Before, only her ears had gone red. Now her entire face was flushed.

"Samsaek!"

Karen smiled at Chaerin, then called out toward the forest.

"Samsaek! I know you're nearby, so get out here."

Samsaek, who'd been perched on a nearby branch, hopped lightly to the ground and padded over. Karen had known the little guy would be close.

"Kku-ing, it was going so well! You two were this close to dating!"

"D-dating?"

Chaerin covered her cheeks with both hands, mortified by the sudden remark.

"What dating?"

"Kku-ing? If you're stuck together like that, you're basically dating, right? Isn't this what they call having a thing?"

"Quit talking nonsense. Take this and go find the Mandrake."

Karen handed him a glass bottle containing the Golden Mana Bug.

"I have to harvest it myself. Just find the location."

"Got it."

Samsaek took the bottle in his mouth and headed toward the center. Even as he went, he kept glancing back and muttering. Karen had no idea what he was so disappointed about.

"Kku-ing, I was supposed to keep watching the live-action drama..."

After Samsaek vanished, a faint jingling drifted over from the distance — Lee Jeong and Han Minjae hanging the bells.

"It feels different from before, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does."

Was it the difference between day and night? If the bells from before had been terror itself, now it felt like listening to a beautiful church bell in an ordinary forest — not a gate at all. Without either of them suggesting it, Karen and Chaerin closed their eyes for a moment. After soaking it in, a thought occurred to him, and he spoke.

"Though I guess the situation's reversed now."

"Huh? What's reversed?"

"At least I'm not dizzy from being drunk, unlike a certain someone."

The memory of getting drunk at Karen's house and collapsing onto his lap came flooding back. Chaerin punched him in the chest.

"Ghk—"

She'd meant it as a light tap, but it packed a surprising amount of weight.

"Sorry! I can't control my strength."

Right — she'd just been beating monsters to death. She was probably still in combat mode. Or maybe she'd done it on purpose, just a little.

"Master!"

"Huh? You're back already?"

"It's right nearby!"

"Great. Let's go now. Any monsters or hazards around?"

"From what I saw, nothing."

"Good. Let's go."

"Are you going to be okay?"

Chaerin asked worriedly, looking at his still-pale face.

"I'm fine. We'll rest after. Mandrakes can relocate in no time."

Originally he'd planned to just locate it, rest a day, then go harvest. But it was right nearby, so better to pull it now and rest afterward. There was a small chance the Mandrake could move overnight. They periodically wriggled through the earth like moles, constantly shifting their habitat.

"Wait! Master!"

After only a few steps, the ground began to sway of its own accord, tilting left and right. The blood loss was catching up to him after all.

"Huh...?"

Now even the sky was moving. Karen's breath caught as his body suddenly felt like it was floating. His field of vision had tilted completely upward — he could see the treetops, and the clouds peeking through them. And then...

"Chaerin?"

A sharp jawline. Sun-red hair swaying. Chaerin's face.

"Kku-ing! I've seen this in a drama! The princess carry!"

Samsaek hopped in place, then started scratching at the ground with his front paws. He'd even unsheathed his claws — the earth tore up like tofu.

"...This is a first for me. Could you put me down?"

In more than a hundred and sixty years of life, Karen had never experienced anything quite this novel. Chaerin's lips were pressed tight, as if even she had needed to steel herself after doing it.

"Th-then you can do it for me later. I went first."

"Hahaha, alright."

And so, with Samsaek's fascinated gaze and guidance from the side, Chaerin carried Karen toward the Mandrake.

That look in his eyes... I've seen it somewhere.

The intensity of Samsaek's stare from beside them felt familiar.

I remember.

It was the exact same look he got when watching romance dramas.

"Huh? Over here... ahem. I think I spotted some rare herbs earlier."

"Lee Chae— ah! We still haven't finished hanging the bells."

They ran into Lee Jeong and Han Minjae along the way, but the two took one look at Chaerin and bolted as if they'd burned their hands on a hot stove.

"Grrrr."

"Chaerin?"

"Huh? No, there was a bug for a second."

"Really? I didn't see one."

A growl had come from above, laced with killing intent, like the snarl of a fierce dog. But when Karen looked up, all he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠saw was Chaerin's beaming face.

"That's right! They say love is something you seize!"

"...What are you even talking about."

Samsaek nodded with a look of deep satisfaction, as if he'd just witnessed something wonderful.

"Over there."

They arrived after only a short walk, just as Samsaek had said. The Mandrake's color was as extraordinary as its effects and its name.

"It really is rainbow-colored. And it's a pair, just like I heard."

The Mandrake Chaerin had seen hundreds — thousands — of times in photographs was right in front of her. The dream herb that would call her brother back to the living world.

Karen took hold of the pair, one in each hand.

"Master, you gonna ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be okay? In that famous magic movie, they scream and everyone just keels over."

In reality, pulling a Mandrake triggered a mental attack called a Scream. Despite the name, it wasn't fatal — it just knocked you out. And once the Scream went off, the Mandrake's medicinal efficacy plummeted. That was why the Musashi Guild's Mandrake treatment only had a twenty percent success rate.

But for me, this is easy.

With a smooth tug, Karen grabbed one root in each hand and pulled them out without the slightest hesitation.

"Huh?"

Chaerin and Samsaek stared at the Mandrakes in his hands, mouths slightly open. He'd just yanked them out like weeds?

"You just do it."

"How?"

"You just mess around with mana inside the Mandrake."

Inject a steady flow of mana through both hands, manipulate it to forcibly induce a dormant state... If he started explaining all of it, there'd be no end.

"It was that easy?"

Chaerin looked back and forth between Karen and the Mandrakes, faintly deflated.

"Kku-ing! Easy? It only looks easy because it's Master."

"Yeah, that's true. It's because it's Karen."

"Let's go home now."

Karen said it through a yawn. Maybe he was getting old. Camping used to be as routine as eating a meal, but now his whole body ached.

I miss a house with a sofa and a soft bed.

When had he started thinking of it as a real home?

"You need to rest for a day! Want me to carry you all the way to the gate entrance for three days like I just did?"

His thoughts were cut short. One look at Chaerin's face told him she was dead serious, so he quietly revised his statement.

"...Let's leave tomorrow."

Fortunately, the mana-drain phenomenon had been confined to inside the gate. Feeling a swelling sense of satisfaction, Karen returned home and made a phone call.

The ringtone barely had time to sound once before the other end picked up, voice bright with welcome.

"Manager Kang— wait, Director Kang. How are you feeling?"

"Oh? Isn't that important?"

"Right, I appreciate it. Look into something for me."

"It's simple. Look into the most powerful religion in the Alliance for me."

Just when Director Kang thought he'd gotten used to Karen, the man still proved impossible to predict.

"Yeah. I've got a few things I want to ask a god."

In Director Kang's heart, Karen was already halfway to being a god himself.

Well, of course he could.

Anyone else would have called it insane, but Director Kang just nodded along, completely convinced.

"No, take your time. It's not that urgent."

There was no need to rush. His power was back, and he had no plans to enter a gate for a while. He wasn't the type who chased thrills — why would he put himself through that kind of hardship?

The reason he wanted to meet a god at all was in case they decided to "restore the balance" like last time and spawned something like an Opposer. He was on Earth now, so he figured he should have a conversation with this world's gods, too.

I can't afford to get blindsided from ignorance like last time.

"Alright, time to go plant the vitality tonic—I mean, the Mandrake."

The moment Karen stepped outside, everyone who'd been waiting at the cafe came over to him. Chaerin, Minjae, even the two cafe employees. He led them all to the vacant lot Samsaek had been occupying, then called Minjae over.

"Dig."

"Yes, Sunbae-nim."

Minjae, who'd brought a shovel, dug two holes. Karen crouched down and planted the Mandrakes roughly, angling the leaves toward the sky.

"Cover it so the leaves aren't buried."

The Mandrakes themselves weren't large, so the work was done in no time.

"It's already done?"

Just like that? He was handling the infamous, notoriously difficult Mandrake as if it were nothing.

"Spread the fertilizer."

"Me? Is that really alright? I mean, I'm just..."

"Just spread it. It's not that big a deal."

The moment Minjae's words started stretching out, Karen cut him off. Left alone, the kid would have kept talking for another thirty seconds.

Moved beyond words, Minjae pulled a potion bottle from his coat.

"For me to be trusted with something this important..."

"Hurry up and pour it!"

Yesterday, Karen and Minjae had made the fertilizer that would make Mandrake farming possible, along with the Mandrake potion ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for Chaerin's brother. With a pop, Minjae opened the bottle and, hands trembling, poured it over the newly planted Mandrakes.

"That's done. Chaerin, this one's yours. Take it to your brother."

Karen pulled out a potion the exact rainbow color of the Mandrake's leaves and held it out to her.

"This is..."

"It's the Mandrake Remedy. Go on."

"Come with me. Yeah? Jaehyeong will be so happy to see you."

Chaerin took his hand as she said it, but Karen shook his head.

"Just say a miracle happened. If word gets out that I made it, do you have any idea how much of a hassle that'll be?"

It was rare, but there were cases of people waking from vegetative states that even made the news.

"You really never change."

To Chaerin, Karen was a truly peculiar man. If he manufactured and sold a medicine like this, he could seize wealth and fame from every corner of the world. But the goals and dreams that drove so many people didn't seem to mean much of anything to him.

"Kku-ing, have a good trip!"

"You've got this, Miss Chaerin!"

Seeing everyone off, Chaerin held the remedy carefully to her chest as she headed for the hospital. Through the rearview mirror, she looked at Karen's face and murmured,