IBRIP l CH 143

Chapter 143 

When I said “human traffickers,” Hojen’s mouth fell open.

“Kid, the way you said it so calmly, I thought you were telling me Noe got bitten by a puppy or something.”

Honestly, after meeting that insane magician earlier, I’d almost thought, Well, human traffickers aren’t that bad in comparison.

I coughed lightly.

“Anyway, I told him not to use his powers no matter what and just stay still. I also told him to come find me again tonight in my dream.”

Hojen rubbed his forehead hard and groaned.

“…Alright. So tonight in the dream, I should ask Noe where he is and then we go rescue him?”

“We need to do that, yes. But we also need to check that bell you mentioned. The best way is to throw it into a fire—if it melts, it’s not a holy relic. If it doesn’t, it probably is.”

“Objects in dreams don’t have physical form. Even if you throw that bell into fire in a dream, it’ll be fine.”

“Then we’ll just have to let Noe check it himself—in the dream.”

Hojen’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean? You’re not saying we should bring Noe into my dream, right?”

Of course, that’s exactly what I meant.

“Absolutely not.”

He waved his hands in alarm.

“If that kid goes into someone else’s dream, he often loses his sense of self. Four out of five times, he even forgets his own name.”

“He doesn’t forget in my dream.”

That shocked Hojen so much he forgot to wave his hands.

“What? How?”

I shrugged innocently.

“Who knows?”

I could feel Winter staring at me with narrowed eyes, but I ignored him and smiled.

Winter sighed quietly.

“…I can connect two people’s dreams. More precisely, I can make them share the same dream. Since Noe comes to her dream, if I connect your dream to hers, we can safely bring Noe right to the bell.”

Hojen’s face darkened. He rubbed his face, coughed repeatedly, and shook his head.

“It’s… complicated to bring Noe into my dream.”

“Why?”

He started shaking his leg nervously.

“…Because Millia is in my dream. Well—she’s dead now, so what’s in my dream is her grave.”

“Wait, what? The bell isn’t the only thing in your dream?”

“The bell originally belonged to Millia.”

“And you never told Noe that?”

Was this guy joking? My voice rose without meaning to.

Noe ran away—and became more unstable—because he didn’t know where Millia was. And she was in Hojen’s dream this whole time?!

Hojen buried his face in his hands and let out a deep sigh.

“When Noe brought Millia into his dream, he didn’t wake up for a year. Then Millia died three months later. He still can’t fully control his powers. If I had told him back then… if I had told him she starved to death… what do you think would have happened to him?”

I glanced at Winter in shock. He looked surprised too.

Leaning close, I whispered to Winter,

“You never realized?”

He frowned slightly, then nodded slowly.

Hojen continued,

“I thought… better to let him live with the hope she might still be alive somewhere. You think I’m cruel enough to make him suffer on purpose? If I were, I would’ve told him the truth—how his mother starved while he cried himself to exhaustion, how the calluses on her hands from archery turned thin and weak. I could have made him carry that guilt forever.”

So he’d hidden it so well that even Winter never noticed.

Honestly, I knew better than anyone how much this secrecy had messed things up. Still… I couldn’t fully blame him.

“I couldn’t do it. I know better than anyone the pain of losing Millia. I couldn’t give Noe that burden too. And what if, after just waking up from that one-year sleep, the shock made him never wake up again?”

In countless timelines, Hojen had never once broken his vow to protect Noe from Millia’s death.

I realized that this fact itself might be the key to opening Noe Rustin’s heart.

“Millia herself asked me to hide it from Noe.”

Hojen looked up slowly. His eyes were tired and worn down, but still held unshakable determination.

“I admit, I wasn’t a great father to him. Over time, he started feeling more like a passing guest than my own son. But… I can’t lose him. I can’t watch his heart break.”

I shook my head confidently. I usually avoid being “sure” about anything—but right now, I had no doubts.

“Noe Rustin’s heart won’t break. As long as you keep being at least a not-too-bad father to him.”

Looks like your dad likes you more than you think, Noe.

***

Later…

“You’re coming too?”

I lay down on the magic circle Winter had drawn. Hojen had gone to bed early, saying he was sleepy, before Winter even finished drawing it.

“I want to see what’s in your dream that can suppress Noe Rustin’s rampages.”

I pouted, but I couldn’t exactly forbid him from coming. Once all three of us were lying on the circle, it began to glow.

The scent of Seraphine incense reached my nose. I’d been smelling it so often lately that my body automatically started to feel sleepy.

I slowly closed my eyes… and when voices reached my ears, I opened them again.

“Hello?”

“Uh… hello?”

Someone greeted me, so I rubbed my eyes and greeted them back out of reflex.

As my vision cleared, I saw a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes smiling at me. She was stunning—I stared for a moment before snapping back to my senses and looking around.

I was inside a small, unfamiliar cabin.

“If you’re awake, come outside.”

The cabin door was wide open. Outside, Hojen was standing under a sky full of stars.

I glanced once more at the woman, bowed slightly, and hurried to Hojen.

“That’s Millia in my dream,” he said, pointing to a mound of earth at his feet.
“And that over there is the Millia who shouldn’t be here.”

His voice sounded oddly subdued.

Then I heard Millia’s voice from the cabin, sounding excited.

“Oh my, you’re really handsome!”

I turned and saw Millia openly staring at Winter. Winter’s expression, however, was strangely tense.

“…Dragon boy, stop chatting with another man’s wife and get over here!” Hojen called.

Winter walked past Millia toward the grave, his expression even more unreadable.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“…Nothing. But bringing Noe Rustin here like this won’t work. Can you recreate whatever it is in your dream that keeps him stable, but here?”

Alright—looks like the tricky moment has come.

I quietly studied the surroundings, looking for something I could explain away easily… and then closed my eyes.