Chapter 06
Even to the elder’s eyes, Dohee was excessively pure and clear-hearted. That said, she was by no means a fool. On the contrary, her behavior was careful and diligent, as if she were already mature.
The way she diligently picked up even small stones that others might trip over and placed them in the flowerbeds had left a deep impression in his mind. It was as if she were trying to find her role and do it well, no matter how small.
“If only she didn’t have black hair and red eyes, I might have thought she wasn’t a crow.”
Unlike other crows, she had none of the cunning or slyness typical of her kind. Even the faint, ticklish smile that bloomed on her thin cheeks carried the same sense of innocence.
“She’s not bad, but she’s the first true-name shaman born into the clan. Being too soft won’t be good for her.”
Honing hesitated at the elder’s words.
“Does Dohee really need to change?”
She thought she was fine just as she was, but she had to swallow that thought. After all, everything was decided by the elder, the head of the clan.
After some thought, the elder stood up.
“This won’t do. If she remains this way, she’ll be difficult to handle later, so I’ll personally take over the rest of her training.”
“Eh? But Elder—”
“You will continue handling all other aspects, as you have until now.”
“But… I started her training, so I should see it through until the end—”
“Are you questioning me, Honing?”
When the sharp aura from the elder’s pale eyes spilled out, Honing, who had been about to protest, froze. Clenching her hands tightly, she eventually bowed her head.
“…No, sir.”
For the first time, Honing had almost defied the elder, and even as she left the room, worry gnawed at her.
“Can such a delicate crow endure the elder’s harsh training?”
Her needless worry kept her on edge.
Honing usually followed any decision the elder made, but she wanted to oppose him taking over Dohee’s training. She feared that the child she adored might lose the innocence she cherished.
The thought that Dohee’s pure red eyes might lose their focus and vitality terrified her.
“Please, let that not happen. Please, let Dohee remain as she is.”
After Honing left, the elder clicked his tongue.
“Fish cannot live in clear water. How can they not understand that?”
The crows had been born under an ill omen, shunned and forced to work in the shadows. Surely, they would be rejected again, simply for being crows.
Yet how could someone with such a delicate disposition endure it?
“She needs to become more ruthless and cunning.”
Only then, once Dohee became a true-name shaman, could she uphold the clan’s prestige and lead it to prosperity. Honing would eventually understand that this harsh necessity was for the future, the elder reasoned.
“I’ll make sure she comes to her senses.”
Half a day later, the mercilessly minded elder entered the room where Dohee was asleep.
“Have you woken?”
A voice rang out, clear and lively, betraying no trace of sleep.
“Yes! Did you sleep well? Hehe.”
Through the slight opening of the door, red eyes stared at the elder, wide and alert.
For a moment, the elder was taken aback by the clarity in those eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
“Hmph. From today, I’ll take over the remainder of your training.”
“You, Elder?”
Dohee tilted her head, but there was none of the fear from the first day.
“Yes. There’s something I must teach you besides mere knowledge.”
“What is that?”
“Child, do you know that you are unlike a crow?”
After a moment of thought, Dohee nodded.
“Yes.”
“Therefore, I will personally teach you the mindset of a crow.”
“The mindset of a crow?”
“Yes. So listen carefully.”
Dohee obediently knelt, watching the elder as he took his seat. For some reason, this unsettled him.
“I thought I had abandoned all emotion when I became the clan elder.”
Unlike the elder, Dohee’s emotions shone through transparently, making them polar opposites.
This was why he worried for the future. If Dohee grew up and left his guidance, turning against the clan, there would be nothing they could do once her awakening was complete.
“So I must instill loyalty to the clan now.”
Having made his calculations, the elder smiled a sly, cunning smile.
Thus, the training began. First, he explained to Dohee the persecution and suffering the crow clan endured from other races.
Simply for having black hair and red eyes, crows were seen as harbingers of death and thus shunned. Even Dohee flinched slightly at this. The elder guessed it reminded her of what she had endured herself.
“She empathizes.”
Determined to cultivate resentment toward other races, he threatened her.
“Even there, many will torment you. Because you are a crow.”
“Ah… yes…”
“You may be powerless at first and suffer, but once you gain strength as a true-name shaman, things will change.”
Seeing Dohee’s face darken, the elder revealed his true intent.
“So, when you become a true-name shaman, the first thing you must do is seize control of the Yin-Yang Bureau.”
“Eh?”
“To take revenge. To crush everything under our feet and show that the Western Bureau is under our clan’s control.”
The thought made the elder’s pale eyes gleam with delight.
To think that those who had always been despised could now reign above top predator races like tigers, wolves, and foxes—it was intoxicating even to imagine.
However, Dohee’s careful question snapped him out of his reverie.
“But… if we do that, wouldn’t others band together to fight us?”
“Huh? Who dares challenge a true-name shaman?”
“But everyone hates us, right?”
“…!”
“And if someone does something we dislike, we’d dislike them even more, right, Dohee?”
Her innocent smile hit the elder’s weak spot.
“…So, what are you trying to say?”
“Well… can we do only half?”
“Half?”
“Yes, half.”
Clapping her hands brightly, Dohee’s proposal was something the elder had never considered.
“And if I do well, maybe everyone will like me and the crows too.”
“Impossible…! That can’t happen—”
“I’ll work hard so you won’t have to worry, Elder. I already did this much yesterday.”
She held up a sheet of paper densely covered with notes, almost entirely black with her diligent writing. The elder was speechless at the sight.
“I’ll study hard and get strong. Then, when I meet a good shaman, I’ll say: Dohee is a crow, but see how strong and amazing I am.”
Beaming with her teeth showing, Dohee was like sunlight itself.
“A futile delusion.”
No one could truly love crows. No matter what they did…
“But what have we ever done? Really?”
They had resented, envied, and been wronged, yet they acted according to others’ expectations. With nowhere to stay, they hid in the shadows and took lives. The process had never been enjoyable.
“We wanted to live openly too.”
To walk freely in daylight like other races, to shop in the market—she had only wanted a normal, peaceful life.
“And you think you can change that?”
The child’s innocent eyes seemed far too fragile to believe it. Even now, as a confirmed true-name shaman, one would doubt her.
Yet the elder had never seen anyone promise something with such unwavering sincerity.
Those trying to escape the moment usually had timid eyes and voices. How could Dohee, abandoned at birth and hardened by hardship, always maintain a straight gaze and speak clearly? He wondered.
Then, a small warmth touched the back of his hand. Startled, he snapped.
“Wh-What—! What are you doing?”
Normally, she would have recoiled, but Dohee did not withdraw. Instead, she gently held his hand with both of hers. Her soft, warm hands pressed against his rough, calloused ones.
“Ehehe… Dohee was really scared of you at first, Elder, but now I can hold your hand like this.”
What did she mean? The elder frowned, but Dohee paid him no mind.
“So, if everyone knows crows aren’t bad, maybe they’ll like us too?”
Dohee pressed her face against his hand, her smile blooming like spring flowers. She didn’t look like a crow, yet strangely, she seemed like one, creating an oddly mesmerizing charm.
