The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 19



Only Krnovel

Episode 19

This must be a dream, right?

A child running and laughing passed through my body.

Well, it seems like it was a dream.

Is this your longed-for hometown?

I looked up at the sky. Clouds like flocks of sheep were moving leisurely. Far to the west, on the faintly visible mountain peaks, there was still unmelted snow.

Flowers with crimson petals were in full bloom at the foot of the hill, and a low wind blew like a rake, making the petals fly.

The view of the town was visible through the flower petals that obscured the view.

Low, simple roofs. People moving between houses that are built close together like friendly sworn brothers.

A boring place where even if something big happens, it’s only like a cow giving birth to a calf.

I am familiar with it.

It’s a given.

Because it’s my hometown.

Even though I think it’s annoying, I miss it so much that it appears in my dreams like this…

Altera looked at the child running towards her.

He seemed very happy to see me running towards him, waving his hand.

Altera also smiled.

I’m sure you know this face.

As the child approached and its form became more familiar, Altera tried to call the child’s name with force.

“… … .”

Secondly, because it was a dream, I couldn’t hear anything.

The child who came up to me stretched out both arms as if asking to be hugged.

Altera thought as she looked at the child who was smiling brightly and looking so cute.

Who the hell is this?

*

“wisp?”

“That’s what I said.”

“That’s a lie. It’s just a joke to keep adults from playing at the graves.”

“No, I’m not kidding. It’s true. I saw it.”

“really?”

“okay!”

It was a conversation that flowed out among the children gathered together.

Where is this? After thinking for a while, Quilbian realized.

outside.

And remember.

This is something I experienced outside.

I looked at the children around me. I don’t remember their names. But as I looked at them, my heart warmed and a smile came to my face.

It means it is precious.

“Quil!”

The kid across from me called.

Should I answer?

There was no need to worry.

I opened my mouth in my dream.

“why?”

“Are you going to go?”

“That doesn’t seem fun. Why don’t we go under the bridge instead?”

The other children looked frightened at the mention of “under the bridge.”

“It’s really dangerous there. My uncle told me never to go there. They sell medicine, dangerous magic tools, and most of all, people.”

“Isn’t that what makes it fun? That’s how you become a man. You have to play dangerously to become a real man.”

In my dream, I said with a grin.

Although I didn’t particularly like the behavior, I somehow understood the mindset of wanting to enjoy the risk.

“Never under a bridge. Quill, let’s go to the graveyard. Jack-o’-lantern! If we find a real will-o’-the-wisps, it’ll be an unforgettable memory. Don’t you think so?”

“Now that you say it, I’m tempted again. Alright! Let’s go to the graveyard.”

The children exchanged glances and smiled brightly.

“But Quill, are you done with the work?”

“I gave the pigs all the food. They got beat up a few days ago for freezing their feed. That’s why I got up really early in the morning and sprinkled it.”

“We’re right. Just get a little bigger, and we’ll just smash those little shits to pieces.”

The outside didn’t seem to be all that beautiful either. By the way, who got hit by him?

I stood up in my dream.

“While we’re on the subject, let’s go now. Let’s sneak out before the sun sets and then… … .”

“A beggar who spends a night at the grave.”

“Okay. No one will run away, right?”

Everyone nodded curiously.

The children moved.

“There goes the cart.”

“Just stick with it like you’re working. Then no one will say anything.”

Suddenly, the world turned upside down. I was so dizzy that I couldn’t come to my senses.

“excuse me!”

The surrounding scenery had changed.

The children were in the middle of the forest.

Quilbian came to his senses. In the dream, I was looking at something with surprised eyes.

“It’s a will-o’-the-wisp!”

The children shouted again.

wisp.

Yellow flames flickered on the flat stones embedded in the ground.

Some children were happy, some were scared.

Me in my dream.

“I’ll catch that.”

He was walking towards the will-o’-the-wisp, his voice trembling slightly.

*

My eyelids fluttered open as if a door was being flung open.

I wanted to exhale, but for some reason my mouth just opened and no air came out.

The throat that had been croaking for a while let out a breath in an instant.

Quilbian lay on his side, tears streaming down his face.

I saw a book lying around. The messy room somehow felt reassuring.

My rapid breathing calmed down and my trembling body became calm.

I put my hand on my forehead and felt cold sweat. I wiped it off with the back of my hand and straightened my upper body.

It was still night.

I took a deep breath to collect my thoughts and looked to the side. Altera was asleep with her eyebrows furrowed.

Am I having a nightmare?

“What was it?”

The content of the dream was vivid until the moment I opened my eyes, but it became blurry in the brief moment when I caught my breath.

All that comes to mind is that I was in the forest and approached a strange flame.

Strange fire.

In the distance, someone whispered, “Wildfire.”

Yeah, will-o’-the-wisps.

Goblin and will-o’-the-wisp. It can’t be a coincidence that they have the same name. Did I come here after approaching the will-o’-the-wisp?

Quilbian threw off the blanket and stood up.

Sleep completely disappeared. I looked out the window.

Soft lights illuminated the living quarters. An ascetic holding a lantern was seen wandering in front of the building and then suddenly stopping.

Quillvian held his breath and hid under the window.

That’s how you were watching at night.

“Umm… … .”

Altera groaned and tossed and turned. What kind of scary dream must she have been having to do that?

I was wondering if I should wake him up.

Altera opened her eyes wide.

I almost screamed in surprise.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Quilvian.”

The voice was clear. It didn’t sound like someone who had just woken up.

“Don’t move at all. Do you understand?”

Without even having time to ask the question, “Why?”

Knock knock.

There was a knock on the door.

Goosebumps ran through my entire body. There was no way a cadet would be wandering around at this hour. The one outside the door must be a goblin who calls himself an ascetic.

A narrow room with no place to hide.

“Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, you won’t get caught.”

Before he knew it, the amulet was in Altera’s hand. The shape of his hand changed three times.

It’s a decision.

“texture.”

Quilbian could see the Nak that Altera possessed beautifully pouring out.

The talisman became soft and then melted and disappeared.

“Never move.”

After another warning, Altera stood up. Quilbian covered his mouth with both hands and looked at Altera’s back.

“What’s going on?”

Altera spoke. Her voice was hard. It was a voice that did not convey even a trace of emotion.

I felt like I had suddenly become a goblin.

“Hyodan-nim has arrived. It seems he has smelled something again.”

“okay?”

Altera opened the door.

The soft light of the lamp came in through the crack in the door.

There were three ascetics standing outside.

However, it was not in human form.

Does that mean there’s no need to worry about it since the cadets are asleep at night?

The goblin whose arms were so long that they barely touched the floor spoke.

“They say it comes from friendship.”

“In this building?”

“okay.”

“I don’t feel anything.”

Altera approached the window with a calm gait. She opened the window wide and sniffed.

“You guys?”

“We don’t know either. But since Hyo-dan is in charge, there must be something.”

“Could this be the aftereffects of the guys I killed a few days ago?”

“He declared that it was not. He said it smelled different. It smelled very sweet and dangerous.”

“Really? Then I should look for it.”

A goblin with long arms suddenly entered the room. Its face remained human-shaped, but it was even more terrifying because it had no expression.

“By the way, I can’t see the ingredients you said you had with you?”

“I buried it in the forest for a while. I thought it would be good if it was given the characteristics of the land.”

“There was something like that in the old ways. When Nak changes, show it to me. If it’s useful to me, I’ll pay the price.”

That was when.

A crack appeared in the goblin’s neck and then it fell off.

Thump, thump. The face that bounced on the floor and rolled arrived right in front of Quilbian’s nose.

One eye was filled with pus, and the other was swarming with tiny, unknown bugs.

Just looking at it made me dizzy.

I almost twisted my body, forgetting Altera’s words telling me not to move.

“It keeps falling down, as if the magic is broken.”

“Throw it away and wear this one.”

The goblin behind him spoke.

“I like this.”

“It’s a lowly hobby.”

A long-armed goblin came and picked up the head. The bugs that had been stuck in the head scattered and splashed onto Quilbian’s face.

“He’ll be here in 20 minutes. You should join him then.”

“Okay. I’ll clean up and go down.”

The goblins left the room.

Altera closed the door. The sound of footsteps grew distant.

“Okay, you held out well.”

Quilbian pulled the bug off his face. He had shuddered when it hit him, but he calmed down after hearing the goblins talking.

“Are you looking for me?”

“It’ll be Twella.”

“Then we should go to Twella. It’s dangerous.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m just concerned about the old reverberations. Right now, Twella is practicing while perfectly controlling her narc. There’s also a barrier I’ve set up around her. So Twella won’t be in danger. Rather, you’re the one in danger.”

Quillvian looked down at his body.

The situation that Altera was worried about.

“Have my Nak become so numerous that the goblins are interested in them?”

“The total amount is small. But it is unique. Those who are sensitive will quickly notice it.”

Altera rummaged through the drawer and took out some thread. It was black thread.

“Roll up your sleeves.”

She folded up her everyday clothes that came down to her wrists, revealing her forearms.

“It’s a stopgap measure. It will take some time to design a proper spell using the right tools.”

Quillvian looked at the black thread wrapped around his arm.

“Does it seem like it’ll break any moment?”

“It’s okay because I have salt in me. Just don’t let the other cadets catch you washing up. They’ll think it’s weird.”

“yes.”

Altera wiped her face with a handkerchief.

“I was shaking so much. I was afraid you would flinch.”

“I almost did that. But then I kept looking at them and calmed down.”

“okay?”

“When I didn’t know, I was just scared, but now that I know, I just feel disgusted. I’m pretty good at enduring disgusting things.”

“ha ha ha.”

Quilbian said cautiously.

“Will the goblins kill the children like last time?”

“If there is someone whose resistance is high and whose magic is broken, they will be caught and released like that time.”

“If there is a child who has been caught, there is a way to save him… … .”

The image of Toren’s face, bleeding and dying, kept coming to mind.

“None. We’re not ready for an all-out war yet, so we have to stay quiet for now.”

Altera said firmly.

I can’t do anything.

In my dream, I spoke confidently as if I could do anything.

“Don’t feel guilty. In the end, you’ll be the one saving those kids out there.”

Altera added with a smile.

“The lead actor can’t do everything, so supporting actors like us have to do the little things.”

“yes?”

“There is something like that.”

“You must not leave the room until I come back,” Altera warned as she left.

The room became quiet.

Quilbian, left alone, recalled Altera’s face from a moment ago.

His eyes, which had been speaking so reassuringly and affectionately, were strangely cold.

It was the kind of look in her eyes that made it seem like none of this had anything to do with her.

(Continued in next episode)