Chapter 3
“That’s something I once said. To my mom—your grandmother.”
Now it was my turn to be surprised.
“Wow… I guess like mother, like daughter.”
In her previous life, those were words Celly would have hated to hear, but in this life she said them happily herself.
Up until then, her mom had been staring at her with a strange expression. Only then did she finally smile.
“I know, right? You saying the same thing I once said… What kind of trick of fate is this?”
Celly’s mom had also grown up in a single-parent household. And apparently, Celly’s grandmother had wanted to live in this forest for the rest of her life—but Mom had given up that dream because she found a different one.
“So you left the forest and achieved your dream?”
“I did.”
“Then I should also—”
“But I lost my mother because of it.”
“…Huh?”
How did it end up like that?
Celly knew her grandmother had died before she was born, but she never imagined it had anything to do with her mom.
“What happened?”
“The outside world is too dangerous. If I hadn’t gone out there…”
Her mom only gave vague answers before gently cupping Celly’s cheeks in both hands, looking at her as if she were a priceless treasure.
She was seeing the face of the mother she missed in her daughter.
‘Apparently I look exactly like Grandma.’
Celly had once seen her grandmother’s photo beside her mother’s bed.
“Celly, do you remember why I said the outside world is dangerous?”
“Because the Demon King appears.”
Celly had always thought that was just one of those lies adults tell kids to scare them—like “ghosts will come get you” or “the sack man will take you away.”
…Wait.
Was Mom actually serious all this time?
There really had been a Demon King in this world. But according to the books, powerful heroes had defeated him about ten years ago.
And yet Mom still feared the vanished Demon King.
“I just…”
Tears gathered in her mother’s eyes as she stared at her daughter.
Then suddenly she hugged Celly tightly.
“I don’t want to lose someone again.”
Did she lose Grandma because of the Demon King?
Now that she knew the reason, her mom’s irrational fear finally made sense.
‘She’s been keeping me inside the forest because she’s afraid I’ll die in the outside world like Grandma did.’
When she first heard that her admission letter had been hidden, Celly had wondered if she’d once again ended up with a terrible parent.
But after hearing the circumstances, she felt a little sorry for her mom.
Still…
The Demon King was gone now.
Yet her mom was still living in his shadow.
“When I lost my mother, I realized something. I don’t need anything else. As long as I have you.”
Holding Celly’s hand tightly, her mother clenched her fists and made a promise.
“Celly. You don’t have to give up on your dream.”
…Wait.
Permission to enroll in Spellmore just like that?
“I’ll ask the Dryad aunties to teach you magic.”
Of course.
At this point, Celly admitted it.
Her mother was impossible to persuade.
“The Dryads are the strongest magicians in the world, after all. Right?”
Nod.
“You like that too, don’t you?”
Another nod.
Celly obediently nodded along with everything her mother said.
Her mother smiled in relief, completely unaware of the truth.
The only reason her daughter agreed… was to gain momentum to break that promise.
And so, Celly ran away from home.
To the Empire’s greatest magic school—
Spellmore Academy.
* * *
At dawn the day before the entrance ceremony, Celly packed her things.
‘The outside world might actually be dangerous… so I should bring a weapon.’
She took something out of the kitchen cupboard.
Under the moonlight, the sharp object gleamed menacingly.
The weapon was…
A barbecue skewer.
There were no bad people in the forest—but there were hungry beasts.
After Celly once witnessed a giant eagle snatch away a mountain goat as big as herself, her mom had taught her:
“If someone tries to eat you, stab them with this.”
“……”
“Fast as lightning!”
“……”
“Accurate like a machine!”
She had basically taught her…
How to make eagle kebabs.
In civilized society, if someone walked around holding a lamb-skewer stick like this, crowds would probably part like the sea.
After all, nobody messes with crazy people.
So, self-defense: check.
But since low blood sugar makes anyone crazy, sandwiches were also packed: check.
And tomorrow’s 9 a.m. school registration…
Creep. Creep.
Celly sneaked into her mom’s bedroom.
Standing beside her sleeping mother, she took out a piece of paper from behind her back.
The admission consent form.
‘Good thing I hid this one. I had a bad feeling Mom would take it away.’
At the bottom, in the guardian consent section, a rainbow-colored fingerprint symbol shimmered.
Even though it was on paper, it looked like a phone lock screen.
‘I’ve never seen something like this before…’
Well, she hadn’t exactly been interested in the outside world.
But Celly, who had always been quick-witted in both her past and current life, pressed the glowing fingerprint symbol against her mother’s fingertip as she snored in her sleep.
Press.
Nothing stained her finger, yet her mother’s fingerprint appeared on the paper in black ink.
Then new letters appeared beneath it.
Admission consent has been received.
Registration: check!
Running away preparations: complete!
…Almost.
Celly looked quietly at her mother, who slept peacefully, completely unaware her daughter was about to run away.
She lowered her head.
Smack.
A kiss.
She gently kissed her mother’s cheek—a gesture she hadn’t done much lately now that puberty was creeping in.
Then she whispered:
“Mom, I love you.”
And…
I’m sorry.
She hoped that someday her mother would understand the feelings she couldn’t express right now.
‘I’m not running away because I hate you.’
Celly didn’t want to leave her mom either.
‘But children have to leave their mothers to become adults.’
She didn’t remember where she’d heard that, but the words resurfaced in her mind as she tried to comfort the sudden sadness she felt while preparing to leave home.
‘It’s time to go.’
With a ridiculously stuffed backpack on her shoulders, she headed toward the door.
Tap tap tap.
Tiny footsteps followed her.
When she turned around, the chick she had brought into the house yesterday—because the rooster kept bullying it—was following her with sleepy eyes.
“Peep, please take care of my mom while I’m gone.”
She placed the chick back into its box.
The chick suddenly woke up fully, puffed out its fluffy yellow chest, and declared:
“I’m runnin’ away from this damn house too.”
“…What?”
There was one downside to understanding animal speech.
Animals didn’t talk nearly as cutely as they looked.
“Have you ever heard that running away is a solo mission?”
She was already a ten-year-old who had to survive on her own.
And now another mouth to feed?
Even if a knife were held to her throat—
“I’ll wake your mom.”
Smack!
Celly instantly grabbed the tiny beak.
“Fine! But if we run away, we go our separate ways!”
“Sure, whatever. As a future hen that’ll lay one rich protein egg a day—essential for runaway kids—lots of places will want me anyway.”
“Hmmm… A hen, you say?”
Come to think of it, she had no idea how Spellmore handled meals.
This chick might become both a protein source and a small source of income.
Celly crouched down and opened the front pocket of her overalls.
The chick hopped inside.
Hehe, Celly’s such a dummy. She won’t abandon me.
Of course, Celly—who could talk to animals but couldn’t read minds—had no idea the chick had just thought that.
Now it was truly time to run away.
Celly stepped outside the cabin and took out a worn compass from her pocket, holding it up to the bright moonlight.
“Alright… if north is that way, then west is this way.”
Yesterday she had asked the birds for directions.
They didn’t know where Spellmore was, but they all said the nearest human settlement was to the west.
So Celly started walking quickly along the path leading west.
“If you leave at sunrise, you’ll arrive when the sun is overhead.”
Well, that advice came from birds.
Flying speed—not a human child’s walking pace.
Still, the registration was complete, so her acceptance wouldn’t be canceled.
‘But this time, I’ll definitely make it to the entrance ceremony.’
She hurried forward—
Then suddenly stopped.
“Child of the forest…”
A voice drifted past her ear on the wind.
Goosebumps spread across her skin.
In the moment she froze, the dandelion growing on the dirt path ahead of her suddenly grew larger.
And larger.
Until it was taller than Celly.
The thick dandelion stem rose like a tree trunk, blocking the path.
Then a woman stepped out from behind it.
It was too dark to clearly see her face.
But from that elegant yet firm stride alone—
Celly immediately recognized who it was.
