Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

“You didn’t seem surprised at all.”

 

It seemed he needed to learn how to act surprised from now on.

 

“Is that so?”

 

Hwashin glanced sideways at Cha Jaeha standing next to him. Jaeha seemed to have come back after changing his clothes, looking sharp in a black coat. Actually, it was hard to see his outfit clearly in the night, but since he was the protagonist, Hwashin just assumed he looked good.

 

Hwashin turned his gaze forward.

 

The night breeze was refreshing. The night view before his eyes was fantastically beautiful. Plus, the protagonist he had grown so fond of was standing beside him. He felt so happy that he wondered if he might die soon.

 

But since it would be a shame to die just yet, he put that thought aside for now.

 

“Why are you back here?”

 

In spite of the sudden question, Hwashin simply asked back.

 

“That’s what I wanted to ask you.”

 

He turned his face sideways, resting his chin on his hand.

 

“Why did you come back?”

 

It was a casual question, posed with a nonchalant attitude. Watching him, Cha Jaeha shifted his gaze from the night view to the empty rooftop.

 

Returning to the place where he had used his ability after everything was resolved was like a habit for him.

 

“I had a lot of time today.”

 

He slowly moved his steps. On the opposite side, far from the warehouse building. He stopped at the spot where he had thrown the Purgatory Sphere.

 

Looking at the scorched floor, he thought.

 

He thought he almost got it, but he was still far off. If that fire had reached that child, what would have happened to him? It was fortunate that only the floor was burned.

 

It was fortunate it wasn’t a living person.

 

“That’s all.”

 

His melancholic gaze returned to Hwashin. Leaning against the railing, Hwashin faced him.

 

“Really?”

 

Hwashin smiled lightly.

 

“No other reason?”

 

“Even if there was, I have no reason to tell you.”

 

Hwasin responded with an “I see,” and didn’t add any more questions here. He already knew why Cha Jaeha had come back here anyway. And given his personality, he had no expectation that Jaeha would honestly tell him everything.

 

Hwashin answered in a similar nuance.

 

“I just came here too. To sort out my thoughts.”

 

“Sort out your thoughts?”

 

He looked at Hwashin with an expression that said, ‘There are thoughts in that brain?’

 

Hwashin nodded with a face that said, ‘Yes, my brain has thoughts.’

 

“Yes.”

 

After a moment of silence, Cha Jaeha asked first. Perhaps it was a question he had wanted to ask for a while.

 

“Did I really see wrong about you putting out that fire?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“At the arena I mean.”

 

Oh, that. Hwashin snapped his fingers as if he had just remembered. He had to hide it then, so he had said it like that. But now, since everything was already revealed anyway…

 

“If you’re really curious, I’ll show you.”

 

Hwashin raised an index finger as he spoke.

 

“Can you create a flame on your finger?”

 

It was easier to show than to explain.

 

“If you don’t want to see, that’s fine too.”

 

Haah. Cha Jaeha let out a shallow sigh and lit a small flame like a lighter at the tip of his straight index finger. And that flame flickered and disappeared at Hwashin’s single word, 「Extinguish」.

 

His eyes widened then narrowed back.

 

“It’s real.”

 

Cha Jaeha looked startled but didn’t overreact. Instead, he seemed to have expected this much.

 

(But now that he thought about it, was there ever a scene in the book where Cha Jaeha overreacted? That was a key point to check.)

 

“Since the manifestation of awakened abilities is ultimately achieved through mana, it seems I can control it too. The method of using the ability seems to be broader than just using it like a lighter. Like today.”

 

Jaeha looked at his finger with a thoughtful expression before hiding his hand in his coat pocket.

 

“It’s enough to know I wasn’t mistaken.”

 

“Shall I tell you one more thing?”

 

Hwashin judged that now was the time to say that one more thing. His 200-year-old intuition was telling him so.

 

“My ability. I think it will be helpful to you, Mr. Cha Jaeha.”

 

“….In what way?”

 

Cha Jaeha frowned. He seemed to have a rough idea. Certainly, with this level of ability, he could eliminate Jaeha’s biggest worry. If he could control mana, he could help ensure his fire wouldn’t burn anything other than the intended target.

 

However, Jaeha had never spoken about that worry to anyone. So it was natural for him to react defensively to the suggestion that it could be helpful.

 

“I didn’t mean anything by it. I just said that because we had good teamwork today.”

 

Hwashin shrugged his shoulders once more as if it wasn’t a big deal.

 

Cha Jaeha stood still in that spot for a while. But in the end, as if refusing to answer Hwashin’s words, he turned around and flung open the rooftop door.

 

However, just before closing the door and leaving, he paused for a moment.

 

Since he didn’t turn around, his expression was still unseen.

 

“…Thank you for today.”

 

The gap in the door gradually narrowed, his figure slowly disappearing from half to a quarter.

 

“Because of you, the child lived.”

 

With those last words, Cha Jaeha completely disappeared into the darkness. Left alone on the rooftop, Hwashin turned his gaze back to the night view.

 

“A word of thanks, huh.”

 

That eerie expression of gratitude, chillier than the cool breeze, somehow made a corner of his heart feel warm.

 

***

 

“Pii!”

 

Hwashin discovered the ‘crack’ and the crying animal when he was descending the building alone.

 

After thoroughly admiring the dark chocolate-coated éclairs left in the display case of a closed dessert shop, Hwashin looked around the area.

 

He made sure to stomp on any unremoved vines or rotten leaves he encountered along the way.

 

It wasn’t long before he noticed the ‘crack’. Next to the escalator going from the fourth to the third floor, behind a rack of discounted spring clothes, he sensed the ‘crack’.

 

Lifting the bottom of a light trench coat for late spring, he saw the ‘crack’ open with a woong- sound.

 

“…Haah, dragons.”

 

As soon as he saw it, Hwashin let out a short sigh.

 

‘Crack’.

 

The ‘crack’ could be anywhere, but it shouldn’t be anywhere. Mages sometimes said this ‘crack’ was a kind of mark.

 

If you asked what kind of mark it was, the answer was simple. It was proof that the dimension was broken.

 

The reason Hwashin came back here was because of this ‘crack’. To understand why he was here, why the book’s plot had changed, and why time was not normal. He needed to know the starting point of all these distortions.

 

He was mistaken to think it would be near the gate.

 

“How nice if it wasn’t here. It’s such a hassle to fix this.”

 

Hwashin plopped down on the floor.

 

The gap, cut horizontally about 3cm above the floor, looked like a piece of cloth had been cut. The cut gap was open, protruding forward.

 

– What are you going to do?

 

‘What else? I am going to fix it.’

 

A golden knitting needle suddenly appeared in Hwashin’s hand. He stuck the needle into the torn part of the dimensional fabric. A thread, perfectly sized for the needle, was tied to it.

 

Hwashin began to sew the ‘crack’ just like using a needle. If the mages of the time had seen this scene together, they would have whispered.

 

‘That crazy guy… He’s finally reached that level.’

 

‘It’s that level, that level indeed.’

 

‘No, who uses magic like that when they’re not even a god?’

 

‘…Don’t try to understand. Just don’t.’

 

(Actually, he was speaking from experience.)

 

The split crack gradually came together. The thread disappeared within the interwoven space, revealing a clean white wall in front of him. It was proof that it was being properly mended.

 

It was important to ensure it reconnected without distortion and didn’t intertwine with other dimensions again.

 

“Three mages are in a house. One of them is naughty~”

 

While performing this tremendous task of connecting dimensions, Hwashin alternated between humming and singing childish songs. He was wearing a bored expression, like someone reattaching a doll’s head.

 

“All done.”

 

Finally, the end was in sight. Just one more knot and the ‘crack’ would be completely closed.

 

As he brought the needle close, a creature suddenly popped its face out of the crack. Though its white color resembled his friend, Dragon, its size didn’t, and it was covered in soft fur rather than reptilian scales.

 

It didn’t seem like something that would come from a dimension where dust or a mix of past and future light existed.

 

“Pii!”

 

The animal, clinging to the crack with hands smaller than coins, poked its face in and out several times. Soon, its long, sleek body came through the remaining hole towards Hwashin.

 

The ‘animal’, standing in front with its small round hands clasped together, met Hwashin’s eyes.

 

“Pii!”

 

Each time it made a sound, the fur on its nose bridge seemed to vibrate slightly.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Pyae!”

 

Moreover, its small, long body was incredibly fast, swiftly climbing up Hwashin’s body. It climbed up his extended arm and onto his shoulder, wrapping warmly around his neck like a scarf.

 

Hwashin had never heard from Dragon about such life forms living in dimensional cracks. He grabbed the animal’s back to lift it up for a closer look.

 

The little weasel dangled, flailing its short limbs.

 

‘A weasel?’

 

Yes, he had certainly never heard of such white weasels living in dimensional cracks. With its round black eyes like buttons staring at him, it was unmistakably—

 

“Just a regular weasel.”

 

“Pii!”

 

The weasel seemed unhappy about being held in one hand. It twisted its body fiercely, trying to escape his grasp. But Hwashin wasn’t one to let go easily.

 

Looking closely, the end of its wagging tail was dark brown. As soon as he placed the white weasel on the ground, it wagged its tail and scampered back up to his shoulder.

 

Then it urgently pawed at Hwashin’s arm.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Pii!”

 

“…You want me to close it quickly?”

 

Although the weasel couldn’t possibly understand, Hwashin deliberately spoke to it. But surprisingly, this peeping creature nodded its head.

 

“Pii!”

 

What the hell. Hwashin tilted his head once and then inserted the needle back into the crack. Finally, he completed the last knot, and the dimension was completely sealed. After checking around to ensure there were no distortions, Hwashin sighed deeply.

 

His back became hunched from the exhausting work.

 

“Oh dear. What am I doing at this old age?”

 

Groaning, Hwashin stood up, the weasel on his shoulder chirping happily, “Pii, pii.”