Chapter 09..
After walking about three hundred steps, I saw the small black dots in the distance and my lips curled up slightly.
‘We could go in now.’
So kind, really. Everyone’s like that.
Of course, that includes Suryun too. Maybe she was quite worried about me; she kept repeating things she had taught me over the past few nights, saying them like a review, adding plenty of nagging.
But I didn’t dislike it. How could I hate something done for me?
“…And though you are bright and talented, Dohee-nim, if you ever need my help, you must send me a letter at once. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Thank you. You were kind until the very end.”
When I hugged her neck and rubbed against her, I could see the corners of her lips turn up. At first, she had built walls, but now I could feel many of them had fallen.
“It’s strange. I normally do not like children, yet the more I see you, Dohee-nim, the more my eyes follow you.”
Perhaps because this was the end, Suryun seemed more honest.
“You learn so quickly. When I teach one thing, you understand ten. Wherever you go, you will always be my pride.”
Oof… that stings a little.
‘Well, it’s only natural for me. Even though I look like a five-year-old child, my mind is more mature than Suryun’s.’
But being treated like some kind of prodigy is a little embarrassing. Still… compliments feel nice, so I stayed quiet.
“My heart already feels a little empty. Who will listen to my stories so attentively now?”
I gently stroked Suryun’s cheek, which looked lonely, and shook my head.
“Dohee could listen well because nuna’s stories were interesting.”
“I thought you might say that.”
It was true. I memorized entire books because they were so interesting. I learned so much about this world I had been too busy surviving to notice. It was fun enough that I forgot to be nervous about being scolded and even begged to learn more.
Before we arrived, I mentally reviewed what I had learned about the Yin-Yang Hall.
‘The Yin-Yang Hall is divided into the West Hall and the East Hall, but sorcerers are only in the West Hall, right? The East Hall has Taoists.’
I was curious about what a sorcerer was, but from Suryun’s explanation, they were something like detectives or mercenaries. They could chase after spirits or killing intent, and use divine power to suppress and attack.
So they tended to be free-spirited but generally aggressive and hot-tempered…
‘Basically, they’re short-tempered fighters.’
I rubbed my arm at the chill that ran through me. I’d better keep a low profile.
“…Nim. Dohee-nim?”
“Yes?”
“As I said before, if your body suddenly becomes hot or feels strange, you must send me a letter right away. The time of blooming has come.”
“I understand. But are you really not going to tell me what blooming is?”
“I cannot tell you yet.”
She says to write her but won’t explain?
What was so special about blooming? Suryun had taught me many things, but never revealed that.
“You’ll have plenty of time to know in about seven years. I’ll tell you then.”
Well, nothing I could do if she said no. I just nodded.
Seeing me nod, Suryun smiled faintly.
“You will do well. Unlike other boys, Dohee-nim is calm, neat, and listens well.”
Oof again.
“Yes, Dohee will do well.”
“There’s no need to make promises. I believe in you. Don’t worry.”
We had reached a large door without realizing it, and Suryun stopped.
She looked at the door, then at me, took a breath, and knocked. A man’s formal voice came from inside.
“Who is it?”
“We come from the Crow Clan.”
“The sorcerer who received the True Name?”
The surprised voice was followed by the door opening wide. A man in green clothes stood there, looking as startled as his voice sounded.
“Are you the sorcerer who received this term’s True Name?”
“It is not I. Here.”
“Up we go,” Suryun said, and set me down on the ground. The man’s gaze fell on me, dressed in a black-and-red ceremonial coat.
‘Don’t shrink back because it’s the Crow Clan. Smile politely.’
I already learned in the Crow household how much a smile could change things.
I gave the man, who was staring at me with a stiff expression, a bright smile.
“Hello, my name is Dohee! Please take care of me!”
I greeted him energetically, as I had learned.
But maybe the overly cute greeting didn’t seem trustworthy; the green-clad man’s face hardened.
I wondered why, but then he suddenly froze, hand reaching toward my cheek. He stopped short, gasped, and blushed before shouting:
“Are you mocking me? How could such a little child be the sorcerer who received a True Name!”
Ah, he’s angry. But what was that earlier?
‘It looked like he was about to touch my cheek… or not?’
While I was wondering, Suryun snapped back angrily.
“A child? Watch your words!”
“Do you not know what happens if you lie about receiving a True Name?”
Oh, I know. I know very well.
‘I’ve heard countless times how serious it is.’
The gift said to be given to only one sorcerer or Taoist favored by the gods: the True Name.
Some even lied to try to receive it in the past. But those who wagged their tongues falsely could never again borrow the power of the gods.
That’s why the True Name was called the domain of the divine. I understood its weight now.
‘I thought it was just some name I happened to receive, but it’s heavier than I imagined.’
Especially for sorcerers, it carried more weight than for Taoists. It gave far greater potential and sharper senses, and some who reached godlike heights even achieved divine manifestation.
The power borrowed from the Name varied depending on the god’s rank.
‘I don’t know how strong mine is—I haven’t seen it myself.’
It still amazed me how my life changed because of a single name. I was still the same person, but suddenly I was something special.
“What god’s True Name did you receive?”
“According to Dohee-nim, it was a form no human eyes could dare to see.”
“Then how can you prove it’s a True Name? There has never been such a young sorcerer in the West Hall! And a Crow, no less!”
The man clearly didn’t believe Suryun.
‘Will they throw us out at the door?’
That can’t happen. This was too precious a chance.
I stepped forward as planned. At least this would convince him.
As I approached timidly, the man flinched and stepped back, unlike how he spoke to Suryun.
‘Does he dislike me that much?’ I felt a bit sad but pushed out my voice.
“The person who called me Dohee’s hand was warm.”
Then I tugged lightly at his trouser hem, and he naturally crouched down to look at me. Like in the dream, I gently patted his head and continued:
“And he said this while doing it. ‘I call you Dohee, so the whole world must too.’”
At my words, the man’s eyes widened, and he suddenly stood up, exclaiming:
“That’s the formal phrase from the first True Name ceremony…?”
I didn’t know what a “formal phrase” was, but it was a good guess that dream words would mean something.
Still, that probably wasn’t enough. So I lowered my gaze and pressed his conscience harder.
“They said in the dream that if I got a name, they’d treat me really nicely here…”
“N-no, it’s just that your appearance is so small and cute—I mean, young-looking, so…”
“Then… are you calling Dohee a liar…?”
I clenched my little fist under my chin and looked up at him with the saddest, most pitiful eyes I could manage.
