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Chapter 60
“Ahaha! Cadel, what the hell did you say? What did you say that made my father approve of my adventure? I can't imagine! What did you say? Huh? Cadel!”
“Noisy…….”
It didn't seem like they'd talked that long, and with his physical and mental fatigue at its peak, Cadel felt ten years older. Cadel rubbed the corners of his eyes and sagged his shoulders, and Lydon hugged him tightly, rubbing his cheek against the top of Cadel’s head.
Cadel didn't even have the energy to shake off Lydon, who was bothering him. With a sigh, he took a heavy step as he rolled his eyes at the weight on top of him.
“But are you sure you don't want to say goodbye to your father? I don't know about your friends and other relatives, but I think you need to talk to him.”
“Hmm, not really. I don't need it? Saying goodbye isn't fun. It's boring.”
“……Are you his real son?”
Loud laughter rang in his ears. Shaking his head, Cadel remembered Hyron's last words.
‘Take care of my precious son, Cadel.’
That precious son didn't even bother to say goodbye to him, saying it was boring. Cadel felt sorry for Hyron.
‘Well, there's no need to interfere in other people's household affairs. Because I have achieved my goal!’
There were no obstacles standing in their way out of the forest. Recalling that fact, his fatigue went away and his whole body felt refreshed.
‘The barrier still remains, but that's because Hyron said he would release it right before leaving.’
It would be impossible to convince all of the Fairy Tribe in such a short time. So Hyron decided to get Lydon and Cadel out of the forest safely first and then took his time trying to convince his people.
Whatever the outcome, it was after the escape, which was fortunate for Cadel.
‘I also got a bunch of unexpected gifts.’
Worried about his precious son's travels, Hyron granted Cadel guardianship of his son and packed him with a variety of supplies.
Rare herbs that could be sold for a fortune outside, artifacts imbued with special powers, and even magic books ― stolen from humans trespassing in the forest! The rewards were well worth the effort.
‘Let's start by pulling out the artifacts we need to use right away.’
Pushing away Lydon who stuck to him like gum, Cadel pulled a necklace from his bosom.
A wing-shaped pendant with a red jewel in the center. The name of the necklace was [Wings of Illusion]. If you infuse mana into this pendant and wear it on yourself or others, the wearer's appearance changes.
Once the wearer's appearance has been altered to the wielder's liking, it can only be reversed by the wielder's mana. Of course, it is possible for the wearer to remove the necklace on their own, but it is said to take a considerable amount of mana to do so.
‘It feels a bit like a dog collar, but it's easier to control…… Lydon through that.’
It was still difficult to reveal Lydon's identity outside. Therefore, this was a gift from Hyron to keep Lydon from flapping his wings and flying off on his own.
‘How do I change his appearance? I'll have to get rid of the wings first. Hmm…….’
When Cadel, who had blown mana over the pendant, was contemplating a change in appearance, Lydon, who had been pushed out for a while, sneaked up behind Cadel and pulled him into a tight embrace again.
Unable to hold on, Cadel stumbled, and Lydon laughed softly as if he found the sight amusing. His next words were.
“What else are you thinking so hard about? So cute. Why is Cadel so tiny and cute? I feel like if I hit you while you’re thinking, you will roll away. Haha! Look at your face, you’re so cute!”
Cadel's troubles were neatly put to an end. Cadel smiled softly and placed the necklace in Lydon's hand as he hugged him.
“Put this on. You'll have to wear it until I break your seal, so don't take it off without permission.”
“Is it a gift?”
“Sort of.”
Lydon quickly accepted the necklace and put it on without a doubt. The corner of Cadel's mouth twitched upward as he watched.
* * *
Meanwhile.
The twin elders, Bornu and Norbu, had been sent by Melphis to maintain the barrier, but they were facing the crisis of a lifetime.
Crack. Crack.
“Heek! No, Norbu! The barrier is breaking again! Hurry up, pour your mana!”
“I just poured it over the crack! Now it's Bornu's turn!”
In front of the twin elders, whose voices were rising and falling in fear, the hilt of the greatsword, for what seemed like the umpteenth time, was halfway through the barrier. The red aura surrounding the greatsword crackled menacingly as it pierced through the cracks in the barrier, and Norbu drew on what little mana he had left and flung it back to the other side.
In the meantime, Bornu drew on his mana to fill the hole created by the greatsword.
“You little rats…… You're annoying me. All right, go on. I'm going to rip it apart and come in and kill you all.”
The moment Bornu discovered the dreary voice that flowed through the hole and the bloody eyes swirling with red waves, he shuddered involuntarily and stumbled backward.
“Bornu! What are you doing!”
“Sca, scary human…….”
“You're supposed to be protecting the forest, you idiot! Elder Melphis is scarier than that human!”
He knew. He had the duty to maintain this barrier, and the duty to completely block the invasion of menacing outsiders. However, he hadn't seen such a scary human with the intention to kill in a long time.
‘Bad memories keep coming back.’
Unlike their youthful appearance, Bornu and Norbu were fairies who had lived for a long time, before this forest was called the ‘Forbidden Forest’. They were of a generation that remembered the intense pain of when their homes collapsed to humans. The more he did, the more fiercely he knew he had to block uninvited visitors, but the trauma at that time became shackled and grabbed his ankle.
And while Bornu was haunted by the past.
“Wh, what? Why is the barrier…….”
Norbu watched as the barrier that covered the sky slowly dissipated. He discovered a hole in the sky and belatedly poured out his mana, but there was not enough left to restore the fast-depleting barrier.
“Bornu! Wake up!”
“Uh uh? The, the barrier is…….”
Even Bornu's combined efforts could not keep up with the pace at which the barrier was crumbling. The twin fairies tried their best to draw on their mana, but the barrier had been built by half of the elders in the first place.
Here, right now, they only had two people. Even rebuilding the barrier was impossible with the mana exhausted through repeated restoration work.
In front of the barrier that completely disappeared like that, they saw two humans with glaring eyes.
“We can finally get in. I thought we'd be drilling holes in the barrier all day.”
“Shut up. Get them quickly. We need to find out where Commander is.”
It was a rare aura user. Besides, there were two of them. He didn't feel good. With his mana exhausted like this, he wouldn't be able to completely block them.
He needed to ask for help!
With that judgment, Bornu began to flap his wings.
“Let's get rid of those pesky wings first.”
The new black-haired man disappeared before his eyes. An eerie voice, accompanied by creepy killing intent, rang in his ears. The moment Bornu belatedly realized that something was wrong.
“Stop, stop! Don't do anything, both of you!”
Unannounced flames wrapped around Bornu's back.
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