The Magician’s Memorial - Chapter 3



Only Krnovel

Episode 3

My body reacted first.

Quill straightened his back with a blank expression. The water rose up, but he held it back.

“why?”

Quill asked back as if nothing had happened. The girl said nothing.

The brief silence was heartbreaking. It was the limit. He spoke, moving his eyes busily.

“If you have nothing to say, I’ll go.”

I was trying to pass by a girl.

“no.”

My wrist was grabbed. My anger reached the top of my head. When I tried to roughly shake my wrist off, the girl shook her head urgently.

“There’s someone behind you!”

As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps were heard.

“Follow me.”

“Let go.”

“I know a place where there are no people. It’s a place where I am alone.”

“Hurry up,” said the girl, speaking with regret. Quilbian blankly stared at the girl and then started walking towards the place where she was being dragged.

I went over the small hill behind the friendship house. On the way, my stomach started to hurt several times and I almost threw up, but each time, the girl spoke.

“Hold on a second. This isn’t right.”

“If you go here… … .”

“You know the warehouse? Throw it up there.”

The sense of relief that I could spit out the disgusting food was greater than the sense of crisis that my true intentions had been revealed.

I saw three warehouses lined up side by side. I sat down in the stream next to it and vomited out what was inside.

Even after pouring everything out, he still felt like vomiting. Quill washed his mouth with the stream water and wiped his face.

The ship that had been raging became comfortable in an instant.

As the pain subsided, my worries increased. How should I look at the girl behind me?

The brain that usually spouts out correct answers was unable to come up with any answers.

“I won’t tell anyone.”

The girl spoke to me.

“I just felt sick. It’s nothing.”

“Lies. If it was just a stomachache, you would have told the kids and gone to the bathroom. If it was something serious, you would have told the ascetic. Isn’t that right?”

“I hid it because I thought my score would be lowered.”

I stood up, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. I just had to calmly return to the attitude that it was okay to talk.

“The food was terrible, wasn’t it?”

Quill couldn’t look the girl in the eye. He couldn’t figure out why. He kept his eyes fixed on the rocks on the floor and spoke.

“No, it was delicious as usual.”

“I saw your expression.”

“What did you see?”

The girl approached me briskly and held out something she had been hiding behind her back.

It was a dull-colored cloth, and it was bulging. What was inside it? Quill answered with his body instead of words.

I stepped back, frowning at the unbearable, strong smell.

I was like, “Oh no,” but it was too late.

The girl squinted her eyes.

“Nothing different than usual? Really?”

The table was spread out. A horrifying dish was revealed. Just looking at it gave me the creeps.

“Try it.”

“This? Why me?”

“You like it.”

“I might have been hurt.”

“It’s not damaged. It’s just food that came out.”

The dark food is coming closer.

Quill waved his hand. The cloth fell to the floor, scattering food on the floor.

“I’m not hungry enough to eat what others are eating.”

She spoke as if making excuses. The girl was moving her feet and covering the food with dirt.

“I don’t eat it, I just secretly collect it and throw it away. This is food that I absolutely cannot eat.”

“If you don’t eat the food, you get a penalty point. If you take it out, you get a penalty point.”

“I know. But I can’t eat it?”

“Try to eat it. The ascetic always said that if you eat food with a devout mind, you will be healthy.”

“okay?”

The girl smiled. It was an ominous smile.

“Then I will give you all my food tomorrow. No, not just tomorrow, but from now on. No! I will tell the rationer to give you double the amount. I will get a penalty if I make a fuss, but the ascetics will listen to me. As you said, food makes you healthy.”

“You, you, why are you doing this to me!”

The girl’s laughter disappeared.

Tears welled up in her round eyes, as if she had never smiled before.

“Save me.”

“what?”

“I’m going crazy. I tried to endure it. I tried to understand it. I’m crazy, I’m wrong, I’m not good enough at studying!”

A girl came up to me and grabbed me by the collar.

“Please, save me. Please.”

He collapses. His knees give out, and he half-slumps down. Quill reaches out and grabs his arm.

The swaying body felt strangely light. It felt as if if I pushed it, it would fly away rather than fall down.

It was only then that I noticed the girl’s wrist.

It was strange. The girl was always like this. Even when she was beaten, and even when she was given a punishment instead of a penalty.

But why didn’t it seem strange?

Why does it seem strange now?

“you…….”

“Please, save me.”

What should I do?

The answer was obvious. Take him to the ascetic. He will give him the proper treatment and he will be fine soon.

Even if the girl said something, she could say she was hallucinating because she was in pain.

If you do that, everything will become clear and comfortable.

“Save me.”

My thoughts suddenly stopped as the voice faded away.

Quilbian couldn’t help but give the wrong answer, even though he knew it was wrong and against the rules.

“Okay. I’ll save you.”

*

Save me.

It was only when I laid my head on the pillow that I realized what it meant and what was coming next.

Ah, a sigh came out on its own.

“Did you call me?”

Drich, who was lying on the opposite bed, raised his head.

“No, nothing.”

I pulled the blanket over me and lay down on my side. The girl’s haggard face flashed across my mind, followed by images of disgusting food.

When I woke up, I had to go to the restaurant. I had to put that horrible thing back in my mouth and chew it like it was nothing.

It gave me goosebumps. I can do it once or twice, but what next?

Quilbian assessed himself coolly. It wasn’t a problem that could be solved by enduring it. It wasn’t something of that nature.

A method was needed.

It was hard for her to wrap up and throw away food like a girl. She eats alone in the corner of the restaurant. Since no one pays attention, she can secretly put it in a cloth and throw it away.

On the other hand, Quill always ate among his friends. He could be called the center.

If you talk at the table, you can say that it’s ‘absolutely’ happened because it went through quill.

There are dozens of pairs of eyes watching you, but you throw away food?

On that day, you will have an interview with the ascetic.

Interview.

Meeting the ascetic became a fearful thing. The change that came in one day was terribly disconcerting and painful.

Why did it turn out like this?

“Are you sleeping?”

Drich spoke up.

“No. Why?”

“I just thought you might be worried.”

At times like this, he was very quick-witted, so he turned around and looked at Drihi.

A best friend who has always shared a room with you. A study partner who has studied together with you. A trustworthy friend with whom you can share everything.

“doesn’t exist.”

Quill learned for the first time that lies can be so bitter and stinging.

“Really? Then sleep well.”

Drich quickly started snoring.

I sat up after hearing the snoring. I looked out the dark window and collected my thoughts.

First of all, he had to act while hiding the ‘truth’ from the ascetic.

The rule was that if you had ‘unclean thoughts’, you had to consult an ascetic. Rules were not to be broken.

But Quill smelled something wrong with the rules. The food smelled rotten.

I wasn’t sure if the rules were wrong, and if they were, what was wrong.

To base one’s actions on something that is unclear. This is something one would never normally do.

Quill looked at Drich, who was tossing and turning.

This sense of anticipation remained in a corner of my heart.

It’s a short wandering. The food will soon taste good, and the faith in the ascetic will be revived. The girl will also be able to be guided to the right path.

But deep down inside, somewhere I couldn’t call it a thought, somewhere I couldn’t do anything about, another voice was rising.

There is no turning back now.

The perfect world ends today.

*

To be honest, I wanted to break his leg. No. If he hurt his leg, he would bring food to the bedroom. Maybe Drich would come in and take him to the restaurant.

Quill woke up from his distracting thoughts at the touch of a hand on his back.

“You haven’t been feeling well since last night. What hurts?”

“It hurts. I just stopped for a moment to calculate the score.”

“Even if I calculate it for a hundred days, I will be first this time.”

Drich was walking ahead with a refreshing smile. Quilbian let out a short breath and mingled with the crowd into the restaurant.

Even the noisy children became quiet the moment they entered the restaurant. Rule 14. You must keep your mouth shut until you receive your food and sit down at the table.

A black lump rose into the bowl with a sticky sound. I smiled at the smiling server and turned around.

I saw a girl sitting in the corner. She was using the table for four all by herself. I headed straight for the island where no one was approaching.

“Quil?”

Ignoring Drich’s questioning voice, I stood in front of the girl.

“what…….”

I sat down before the girl opened her mouth. I felt eyes on me. The back of my head felt so hot that it felt like a hole was being drilled into me.

“what are you doing?”

The girl asked quietly, her neck cringing.

“Please save me.”

He winked at the girl whose mouth was twitching.

“The ascetic will be looking here and approaching. If he hits you, blink twice.”

The girl blinked rapidly.

“Okay. Just pretend to eat. That’s enough.”

There was a noise behind him. Quilbian picked up a spoon and put it to his food.

“Quilvian.”

Yeah, it’s really irreversible now.

Quill turned his head and looked at Altera.

“yes?”

“Why are you eating here?”

“Because he’s eating alone.”

“This kid has been eating alone for a while now.”

“I also thought it was right to eat alone. I broke the rules, didn’t I? I said something weird. Of course I should be punished. But after meeting the seer, I remembered what I learned a long time ago.”

“What is it?”

“We have to do this together. We have to study together and work hard together so that we can all undergo the awakening ceremony.”

There was no lie. I answered based on what I had learned. The intention may be different, but the words are consistent.

Hot breath swirled inside my throat. Heart, please beat slowly.

In contrast to the chaos inside, Quill’s expression was no different than usual. He was surprised at himself.

“okay.”

Altera smiled and turned around. Quill realized intuitively.

It’s a smile that hides doubt.

I reflexively got up and approached Altera, who was a few steps away.

Then he asked back with an expectant face.

“Can I get some special points?”

(Continued in next episode)