Chapter 24
Elshunain, who had briefly fallen into a state of mental collapse, suddenly clapped her hands together.
Ah, that’s right. The bracelet!
Her face lit up as she stared at the bracelet shining beautifully on her right wrist. But that hopeful expression quickly shifted into one of dismay.
“….”
So what if she had it!
She didn’t know when to use it!
Normally, Elshunain wouldn’t even know Killian was on his way back.
Since the New Year Festival hadn’t ended yet, suddenly using the bracelet to appear next to him would be extremely suspicious.
So, if she were to use it, it had to be right when she learned at the estate that Killian had returned.
And then maybe she could make up some excuse to explain it!
‘Should’ve conserved the teleportation scrolls.’
Thinking Ashray was nearby and could just make more, she’d wasted the scrolls on her trip to the Golden Tower and now had none left.
After ruffling her hair in frustration, Elshunain suddenly lifted her head.
‘That’s it! Ashray!’
Ashray was disguised as her to fool Mikhail, so that meant Killian would—
‘…Wait, there’s no way Killian wouldn’t recognize Ashray.’
Ashray was probably cloaked in magic, but Killian—essentially the strongest on the continent—would surely sense something off.
That’s why she’d tried not to let Killian spot her while resolving the Golden Tower issue.
“Ugh…”
What was she supposed to do?
Crouched in a hidden spot, pulling her hair in frustration, Elshunain suddenly jumped to her feet.
‘Oh, right! There’s that!’
While Elshunain and Killian were away, Ashray was enjoying an unexpected vacation.
‘Ah, this peace. I love it. This is why I like humans.’
A wave of a hand brought luxurious food to his table, the bed was cozy and fluffy, and with Killian absent, there was no need to stress about being caught.
It was perfect.
Except for one thing.
“Elshunain-nim!”
A knight burst in, resembling that brown dog he once saw—what was it again?
‘Golden something…? Retriever? Exactly like that.’
The way the man panted and rushed toward him really did seem dog-like.
“You were in the garden! I’ve been searching everywhere!”
That’s because he’d run away to avoid him.
Did he not get the hint?
With the blank expression of a freshly harvested potato, Ashray stared at him bluntly.
Oblivious as ever, Mikhail solemnly placed something on the table: three coins.
“……”
Ashray’s expression began to twist with annoyance.
“…Aren’t you sick of this?”
“I’ve devoted myself to taking you as my master, Elshunain-nim! A knight must train each day as if it’s their last!”
His voice echoed with passion, like that of a knight calling for justice on his knees before a land ravaged by demons.
Without relaxing his sour expression, Ashray dismissed the memory and said bluntly,
“When did Elshunain—ah, I—ever become your master?”
“Ahem. It was the moment I realized you’d been holding back all this time to let me win! When you finally revealed your true skill, I felt a shiver down my spine!”
“……”
So that’s what happened.
He’d played slap coin with Elshunain. Of course.
‘That guy never holds back.’
Ashray and Peridot had also been obsessed with slap coin at one point.
And Elshunain had never shown mercy. They’d always lost badly.
Feeling a strange kinship with Mikhail, Ashray softened slightly and muttered,
“Fine. One round. Sit down.”
“Ooooh!”
Mikhail’s face flushed with excitement as he delicately placed both hands on the table and prepared for a slap coin match.
A few minutes later…
“Huweeehhh! Elshunain-nim! Why would you do this to me?!”
“…What now?”
As Mikhail started bawling huge tears like chicken eggs, Ashray backed away nervously.
What the hell? He won, didn’t he?
Was slap coin always this destructive?
“Ooouuuuugh…”
He cried like the saddest person in the world—then suddenly, he got mad.
“Elshunain-nim! I’m disappointed!”
“…I didn’t even do anything.”
Ashray was incredibly exhausted by Mikhail’s look of betrayal, as if he were the worst person on Earth.
Even though Mikhail had struggled at first, he’d eventually dominated the game by flipping the coins in succession.
Ashray couldn’t understand the reaction.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
“Sniff… Y-You let me win again on purpose! Sob!”
“…Huh?”
I didn’t let him win.
“What are you talking about?”
“You didn’t go all out! I know you were going easy on me! I want a real match! Waaah!”
Ashray had fought with all his strength and truly lost.
But Mikhail, having somehow improved dramatically, thought Ashray was mocking him.
He couldn’t believe he’d actually won.
‘Elshunain would’ve beaten him easily, but I’m not Elshunain! What am I supposed to do?!’
Ashray snapped, annoyed and incredulous.
“Why don’t you reconsider the result for a second?”
Mikhail paused, then suddenly smacked his forehead and spoke like a machine gun.
“Oh no! What a wise response to such a foolish question! You idiot, Mikhail! Elshunain-nim was trying to teach me a deeper lesson… and I acted like a fool… sob.”
He went on.
“I didn’t realize you were telling me I’m not good enough yet! I’ll keep training and come back stronger!”
And without letting Ashray stop him, Mikhail leapt away, shoulders trembling dramatically like a tragic opera hero.
Ashray felt the strong need for salt.
What the hell is wrong with that guy?
Ashray was still dumbfounded when he slumped back into his chair with a rotten expression, resting one leg over the other lazily.
That’s when it happened.
“…Huh?”
Flap flap!
“What’s this feeling…?”
He sensed something familiar flying toward him with speed—a white bird.
“A paper bird?”
It wasn’t a real bird, but one made of paper.
Ashray recognized it immediately. It was one of his magical inventions.
Looking around quickly, he jumped up and snatched the paper bird midair. Clutched in its beak was the scale Elshunain had taken from him.
There was only one person who would send this now.
‘Elshunain.’
Did something happen?
With urgent hands, he unfolded the paper bird. The writing was clearly hers—hurried and flowing.
His eyes widened.
‘Nice, it got there safely!’
Elshunain smiled as the bird flew back into her arms.
The paper read “Request accepted.” It was Ashray’s handwriting.
They had once used these birds during the demon wars, when they were often separated.
It was a magical tool Ashray invented. By placing a strand of the recipient’s hair or a fingernail in its beak, the bird would fly to them on its own.
But only Ashray could register users, so it wasn’t publicly distributed in the Empire.
And out of the five people involved, Elshunain herself was not one of the registered recipients.
She was not of the human world, but a spirit of the spirit realm.
Her current body wasn’t even her real body.
‘Even though I’ve only been to the spirit realm once…’
Her soul had already used up most of its power in that realm and was fading, unable to return.
So Elshunain could send paper birds and have them return to her—but could not receive one directly.
‘That’s why Killian never thought to send one to me.’
Thank goodness.
If he had, her location might’ve been exposed before she was ready.
“Ahem. Let’s send another paper bird to Ashray…”
She flew the paper bird out the inn window. It moved fast—should reach Hounbergt in minutes.
Meanwhile, she paid for the inn, hid her bag under her clothes, and sat patiently, waiting for Ashray’s reply.
It finally came as the sunset began creeping in.
“Killian’s return has reached the Hounbergt estate. The golden retriever is absolutely thrilled.”
Elshunain tilted her head after reading the white paper.
Golden retriever?
She shrugged and placed her hand on the bracelet.
“To Killian.”
She whispered softly, and her body swoosh—vanished from the inn. When she blinked again, Killian was right in front of her.
‘Ugh, why! It’s always like this when I teleport!’
And she had landed—delicately—on Killian’s lap.
Of all places, in a spacious carriage with plenty of room… it had to be there.
