Chapter 43
Alfred had told me that Perez had gone to Elahi, so I knew that much.
But I didn’t expect him to be in the forest.
That was a problem.
I quickly glanced in the direction Winter had disappeared and forced a smile.
“Haha, Grandpa! Hello!”
“Hoho, such strong words for a child…”
“These flowers are really pretty!”
“Hoho, such strong words…”
“Should I make you a flower ring with these yellow ones?”
“Hoho…”
I smiled sweetly while pretending to walk.
I quietly moved my left foot and stepped on my right shoelace to loosen it.
Then I stepped forward with the untied right shoe and spoke quickly:
“I didn’t say a bad word. I was just about to say, ‘Oh? My shoelace came undone,’ when you started talking to me, Grandpa!”
I covered my face with both hands like playing peekaboo, then opened them and laughed like a child.
It had to look cute.
I mean, I do have a cute face—my birth mother, Yudis, was very beautiful.
All I need is to gain a little weight. That’s it.
“Hoho…”
Perez just kept stroking his beard and didn’t answer.
This old man was the only person who saw me coming out of Yubel’s room the morning of the prophecy.
I was sure from his eyes that he suspected something.
If he thought I faked the prophecy, it could be serious trouble.
Why did I have to run into him here of all places?
‘Should I have used a cute baby voice too…?’
But this wasn’t some sweet family story.
I gave up on the baby voice and asked again cheerfully:
“So, Grandpa, what are you doing here? Picking flowers like me?”
He finally answered calmly, though his eyes were still sharp.
“I’m gathering herbs. Some people are sick in the village, and I had to come get medicine.”
That’s when I noticed the basket in his arm.
He must be treating sick villagers.
Even though he’s important, he still helps those in need.
…But wait—why didn’t he help with my bruises?!
“I heard you’re a really important doctor! Even here, you treat people?”
“There’s a strange disease going around. I need to check it out. You know, I’ve cured everything except one illness.”
“One? What is it?” I asked, curious but also cautious, in case he had been exposed to the evil force.
Perez burst out laughing.
“Impotence! Hohoho. Still can’t fix that one!”
…My goodness. Even in a fantasy world, that’s still incurable?
And why is he telling that to a child?!
I looked up at him in disbelief… and noticed something strange in his eyes.
‘Perez… He dies early in the original story, so I don’t know much about him.’
Trying to change the mood, I clapped my hands and smiled.
“Wow! You’re amazing, Grandpa! You can do it!”
But of course, he didn’t let it go.
“Yudis Rohia’s daughter—what are you doing here?”
He frowned.
“Everyone from Rohia was called to the capital…”
“Did they abandon you?”
Why would you say that to a kid?!
“And how did you get here? It takes over an hour by horse. Why are you here?”
Perez leaned forward with a gentle smile.
Ack! Don’t come close! You might be infected with evil!
I tried to step back and make up an excuse,
but suddenly…
Boom…
The ground shook hard with a deep rumble.
“An earthquake?” Perez looked shocked.
Now’s my chance!
“We have to run!” I shouted.
He nodded.
“If there’s a tsunami, we need to get away from the coast. Come with me—I can’t leave you behind.”
Perez reached for me.
Ahhh! Don’t touch me—you might transfer the evil!
I jumped away.
“Ahh! I’m scared! I’m running now! Grandpa, please help the others escape!”
He yelled something, but I was already gone.
No way an 80-year-old man could outrun me.
Once I couldn’t see him anymore, I stopped at a tree stump and caught my breath.
Rumble…
The shaking was getting worse.
I heard people screaming and weapons clashing in the distance.
I lay down, sick from running.
The shaking made everything blur.
Even a tree nearby couldn’t handle it and toppled over.
‘So this is why Winter dropped me off in a flower field…’
The tree fell just a few steps away.
I crawled into the grass and closed my eyes, trying to rest.
That’s when I heard soft footsteps.
“Why are you here?”
It was winter.
I slowly sat up, still dizzy, holding my head.
“Something happened, so I couldn’t stay in the flower field.”
Winter was soaking wet with seawater. Cold air surrounded him.
The ground still trembled, and I felt like I was seasick.
Winter looked at his clothes and muttered something—
Suddenly, his clothes were dry and clean again, no blood or water in sight.
He gently picked me up.
“If you drop me, I swear…!”
He looked at me and nodded.
“That was a good joke.”
“It wasn’t a joke!”
He flew up high and pointed down.
Below, I saw villagers and guards running together in chaos.
Huge waves from the sea were crashing near the village.
“I was shocked when you told me to erupt an underwater volcano and cause an earthquake,” Winter said.
This was my plan:
Make a quake and small tsunami using Winter’s powers to scare everyone away from the coast.
It was something Winter had done in the original story, just much later.
I had only used that idea early.
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?” I asked.
“I have?”
Winter tilted his head like it was news to him.
For the first time, his usually dark eyes looked kind of innocent.
“When was this?”
“Well, long ago, I guess… back when Joseph tried to frame you.”
Winter’s expression flickered between mischief and annoyance.
Oops—Joseph gave him a hard time in many timelines.
Winter let out a soft laugh.
“How much do you remember from yesterday?”
“…Huh?”
“Or a week ago? A month?”
I realized what he meant and bit my lip.
He didn’t remember everything from the many timelines he lived through.
“I don’t know what day it was, but… it must be a long time ago for you.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“No need to apologize.”
He flapped his wings and flew us toward the sea.
Flying through the clouds, the breeze on my face… it all felt new and amazing to me.
But to him, it was like breathing. I bet he found it all boring.
We looked down and watched as people finally began evacuating.
The floodwaters were rising, and the guards had no choice but to let people flee.
Everything was going well—until…
“Izana, I don’t think this was a good idea.”
“What? Why?”
I looked at him, confused.
Winter was frowning, staring far out at the horizon.
The waves were wild, but something was off.
His expression turned serious.
“It woke ‘him’ up.”
“…Who?”
I squinted at the sea—and froze.
Something black was rising from the deep.
“This has never happened before.”
Winter said something, but I didn’t hear it.
I couldn’t look away.
“I think the volcano was part of ‘his’ seal.”
The black thing rose higher—
It was terrifying, disgusting, like all the world’s sadness rolled into one shape.
“Don’t forget…”
It grew taller, almost touching the sky.
And when I realized…
…it was hair.
Huge, long, black hair.
Everything suddenly went dark, as if someone covered my eyes.
“That is our beautiful god.”
A bored, whispering voice filled my ears.
And just like that…
I died again.
