Chapter 34
How to Overcome Depression (7)
Is that common sense here?
Thinking so, Ilena said confidently,
“Me? Nope, I have no idea. I have amnesia, remember?”
Iago blinked in surprise.
“B-but it was in that play we saw last time.”
“I fell asleep then.”
“R-right, but… wait, from the very start?”
“Yup. I wasn’t paying attention at all.”
Iago’s shoulders slumped for some reason.
“What does that painfully boring founding myth have to do with the Heart of Honua, anyway?”
Maybe it was connected to the vision she had just seen.
Ilena’s eyes sparkled as she asked, but he smiled softly and shook his head.
“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. You’re tired today.”
“No? This is the perfect time to listen. Oh, if it’s a founding myth, I might just fall asleep.”
Without missing a beat, Ilena plopped her head down on the pillow with shameless enthusiasm.
Iago, a small smile playing on his lips, brushed her hair back again.
“Then… lie down and listen.”
In that pleasantly low, cool voice, he began telling her an ancient legend of this land.
This was a long, long time ago—back when rabbits still lived on the moon.
“There aren’t any rabbits on the moon, Iago. You know that, right?”
Eyes wide, peeking out from under the blanket, Ilena interrupted without warning.
…At that time, there was a ‘round earth’ floating in the universe.
It was a quiet, beautiful land.
But it was ruined by human greed.
All the beautiful nature disappeared.
In its place were buildings reaching up to the sky and countless chunks of metal with bizarre powers.
In the end, the god decided to destroy the ‘round earth,’ leaving only the good people alive.
But no matter how hard the god searched, there was only one good person on that land.
One righteous man—
That was the ‘first human,’ Jake.
The god gave Jake a revelation:
Take the Heart of Honua, which holds my power, and go to the island.
So he boarded a great ship, crossed space, and arrived at this island.
“How do you sail a ship through space?”
“…Are you not going to take this seriously?”
“Sorry, go on.”
But Jake was afraid.
“Why?”
He had seen with his own eyes the god’s wrath destroying the round earth, once full of countless people, in a single day.
So he gathered 1,000 animals and held a sacrificial rite to summon the god, and said:
O God, O God, I am afraid.
The god replied:
What is it that frightens you so, my good child?
Look at that burning Mount Aufus. I fear that one day you will punish me and my descendants with fire and brimstone.
Do not fear. I will never punish my children in that way again.
How can I believe you?
As a token of my promise, I will give you my heart. Cast it into that mountain you fear so much.
Jake obeyed and threw the Heart of Honua into the volcano of Mount Aufus.
“It must have melted.” Ilena said flatly.
That was all she had to say after hearing such a moving legend?
For a sentimental man like Iago, her dry response was incomprehensible.
He hurried to wrap up the story.
“…And the moment the heart was thrown in, the blazing volcano went still as if by magic. As a sign of the god’s promise, eternal snow settled there.”
“But ten years ago, during the war, that snow suddenly melted, and then the abnormal weather began?”
“Yes. And along with that, you—Ilena, who can control the weather—appeared.”
Iago smiled gently as he nodded, but Ilena’s expression was nothing but bewildered.
Now, she finally understood everything—why everyone here was so uniformly kind.
This… wasn’t a novel after all.
Ilena turned her head toward the distant Mount Aufus.
Most likely, the Earth she had lived on had perished.
And this place was somewhere far in the future compared to her own time.
So that was why the royal relics had Korean written on them?
Did that mean she really was this so-called savior?
Should I tell Iago… that I actually possessed this body?
When her face darkened, Iago’s large hand gently touched her forehead.
“You’re tired, aren’t you?”
“…”
Ilena just stared up at him without answering.
After a moment, she quietly nodded.
“Yeah. I’m just tired, that’s all.”
There were still many things she didn’t understand.
But she didn’t have the courage to tell Iago that she was from another world—or the distant past—and not the original owner of this body.
What if he hates me? What if he thinks I’ve been lying all this time about being the oracle?
“If it’s not too much, let’s stop here. You’ve done well today. I’ll take care of the aftermath of anyone daring to doubt you.”
His eyes, warm as he looked at her, suddenly flickered with coldness for an instant.
But when Ilena’s gaze met his, he smiled brightly again and stroked her hair once more.
“…Thanks.”
She forced her lips into something resembling a smile.
If he knew I wasn’t the oracle, not even from this world, there’s no way he’d keep liking me.
Even her parents had never loved her without expecting something in return.
She always had to fulfill her role as an heir or a good daughter to earn praise.
Never having been loved for just being herself made telling the truth even more frightening.
And she had no courage to give up this warmth she had felt for the first time.
Even if someone called her a coward, she couldn’t help it.
“Good night.”
Whether this was a novel’s world or the distant future of Earth—what difference would it make?
I’m good at hiding things anyway.
Maybe she really was tired, because lying still under his touch made her body feel heavy again as drowsiness took over.
As she drifted off, Ilena murmured softly,
“Mm. You too. Thanks for everything… and I’m sorry.”
A few days later, after the uproar from the elders’ assembly had somewhat settled.
People once again began to gather secretly in the great hall that should have been empty.
The twelve elder councilors were there, along with other leaders of the kingdom.
One elder clicked his tongue sadly as he looked at an empty chair among the twelve.
“That boy, Ilo. To choose demotion on his own…”
“Better this way. He was suffering so much after losing his son. It’s better for him to rest in the countryside.”
Those who knew Ilo’s past all wore somber expressions.
But only for a moment.
A knock at the conference hall door made the elders hurriedly clear their throats and put on solemn faces.
“Enter.”
They issued the command with maximum dignity.
The ones who stepped carefully inside were the king’s close secretary, Utter, and the palace’s senior attendant Andre, who currently served the oracle directly.
Both looked highly uncomfortable.
“It’s already been a month since the oracle came to our palace,” said one elder—who was meek as a kitten in front of Iago—now speaking with a grave face to Utter.
“How is it that we had no idea the two of them had gotten so close?”
Utter, wearing a we’re screwed expression, hurried to make excuses.
If the devout elders found out his ultimate goal was to make the oracle cry so it would rain, he was finished.
“Well! That’s because the oracle isn’t going to stay in Lihue permanently!”
“Hm… right, right. She’s only staying three months, isn’t she?”
“Yes! That’s correct!” Utter answered stiffly.
“So naturally, it would be hard for their relationship to continue…”
“Then we’d better settle things before that.”
Settle things?
Utter looked confused, while Andre seemed to realize the meaning and blurted out in dismay,
“Elder Mia!”
But the elders seemed deaf to everything else.
“But the oracle is from the north, isn’t she? This won’t spark a war, will it?”
“There’s no law against inter-regional marriage.”
“Indeed. Nowhere in the peace treaty does it forbid the oracle from marrying the king of Lihue.”
All twelve elders nodded in perfect unison.
“Marriage?”
Utter blinked at the sudden, massive word dropped into the conversation.
“But still, the north…”
“Ha! The north. They used to rule the poorest part of the island, remember?”
“Yes, yes. They only rose recently thanks to the unusual weather and the oracle.”
“And we in the south have been holding back for the sake of peace, despite having overwhelming military strength.”
Again, the twelve elders nodded together, voices raised in agreement.
Why are these old foxes suddenly so in sync today? Andre stared at them in disbelief.
There had to be another reason they were suddenly working together so smoothly.
But unlike the suspicious Andre, Utter was moved almost to tears.
“As expected. You truly are the elders!!”
Right… why was I only thinking about making the oracle cry to bring rain?
It was his bad habit—when he focused on one thing, he completely ignored everything else.
That was how he sometimes caused extreme incidents. The most recent one had been the oracle’s kidnapping.
If, instead of just bringing rain in three months, the oracle actually stayed in our Lihue Kingdom forever…
Utter’s innocent brown eyes began to sparkle.
