Ellis" eyes widened at the sudden bouquet. She alternated between looking at me and the bouquet with a puzzled expression. After a short ensuing silence, she finally opened her mouth, “Excuse me... I already have a darling.”
There seemed to be a serious misunderstanding. Well, it was understandable since I suddenly appeared and handed her the bouquet. On second thought, it was a bit out of the blue. I felt a bit sorry. I told her, “It isn"t like that. Will you look at the flowers?”
“Flowers...? Her eyes pa.s.sed over my face and headed toward the bouquet. Ellis" eyes gradually widened as she saw the five colorful flowers. She probably recognized it. According to Helena, she told me not to worry because it would definitely be recognized.
“This...” Ellis looked closely at the flowers with a deep gaze. Then in a completely different mood from before, she asked seriously, “I"ll ask you again. Why did you come~?”
I looked into Ellis"s eyes and answered, “Helena sent me.”
“...I see. Do you know the pa.s.sword?”
She was certainly a cautious woman as Helena had said. I noticed her intentions and shook my head. “No, there was no such thing from the beginning.”
Perhaps her words were just a test. Ellis smiled as if to prove I was right. “Follow me.”
I followed her to a huge fireplace in the hall. The fireplace was clean because a fire hadn"t been lit yet. Ellis shook the bell attached to the fireplace with a fixed beat.
Rattle, rattle. Rattle, rattle.
“......”
What was she trying to do? I was curious and watched her actions closely. Ellis shook the bell and stood still like she was waiting for something to answer. Finally, the reply she had been waiting for came.
Rattle, rattle.
It was a bell sound that rang out with a different beat than before. Ellis looked at me and smiled. “Can you please turn around for a moment?”
“Um, can I do this?” I frowned and closed my eyes. It was to show that I had no intention of looking at all.
Ellis laughed when she saw it. “Yes, this works.”
She seemed to manipulate something as I closed my eyes. Something rattled like bricks were moving. Was it the bricks of the fireplace...?
“You can open your eyes now.”
I opened my eyes the moment she said that. The inside of the fireplace suddenly rose and I saw a staircase that went down. If I watched TV series or movies, there were secret pa.s.sages in places like this...
In fact, I had a rough idea.
“If you go down there and reach the end, there will be a dead end. Don"t panic. The door will open and he will show up. Take this and you won"t have to worry about falling down.” Ellis gave me a small lantern floating in the air. It seemed there was magic attached to it. It wouldn"t be necessary if Solar was here but Solar was currently doing an important job.
I thanked her and started going straight down the stairs. The lantern that floated behind me followed me and revealed the way.
“Where am I going?”
The spiraling staircase was lasting longer than expected. I had been on the second floor so I was probably pa.s.sing the first floor and going underground. Once I finally reached the bottom, I saw a huge s.p.a.ce. I walked to the end of the path as Ellis had told me. There was nothing to see along the way. There was just a peculiar smell and the lonely sound of my own footsteps. There was only my shadow cast by the lantern.
Finally, I reached the dead end that Ellis had mentioned. All that was left to do was to wait.
“...Hmm. It"s really complicated.”
It might be for security, but I thought this was a bit much. Why buy flowers like that to maintain security? Additionally, things like "angel," "eternity," and "memory." It was a bit fresh because I had never experienced it.
“...Wait.” Just then, something flashed in my head. It was really creepy, like I had found a missing puzzle piece 10 years later. I unfolded the paper with the meaning of the flowers from earlier. “Is this perhaps...?”
I thought I had seen something similar somewhere before, and now I remembered. I pulled out another piece of paper from my inventory. It was old stationery that was a bit faded. It remained unopened as it waited for its owner.
[Sarah"s Letter (Quest Item)]
[Rating: Normal
Sarah"s letter to a man called Aren.
“I will forever remember the always s.h.i.+ning angel who was my joy.”]
The moment I saw it, the first thing I muttered was, “Oh my G.o.d.”
My mind was tangled in a complicated manner, like a twisted thread finding its way. Sarah"s letter and the flowers. Was it just a coincidence? There was also that sentence on the outside of the letter. They were the same as the meaning of the flowers I bought earlier.
“Don"t tell me...”
The wall that was blocking the way slowly rose along with the shaking of the ground. Finally, once the wall completely went up, there was a man standing there in modest clothes that was unlike a n.o.bleman. He reached out to me. “It is nice to meet you. I am Aren.”
* * *
Park Muyeol and his companions headed west of Fortren. The people gathered here were more than expected. In addition to the group he previously met at the training camp, there was Mido that he met at the Colosseum. Her voice echoed in his ears, “Raise your hand if you need buffs!”
“Me! Give me one, Noona.”
The pink brush and palette in Mido"s hand moved. Subsequently, the painting in the air clung to Park Seongchan"s body. It was an image of a pink cutie holding a small sword.
“Ohh, it is amazing. However, this cutie is a bit... Ah, I don"t know. I"m going first~”
Mido didn"t hunt with them. She just buffed them from behind. If she was in a party with them, then the people hunting wouldn"t get a lot of experience. There was still a level difference so the easiest way for Mido to help was to use buffs from behind. In fact, it was a great thing. No, these people were great.
“Haha! My body is very light!”
“Yes. It feels like I"ve lost my hair!”
Momori and Tarmo launched an offensive toward the jewel mammoth at a faster pace. The spear and daggers in their hands moved at a high speed. Momori released skills with his right forearm while Tarmo used his left forearm.
“Electric Spear!”
“Shock Dagger!”
The two of them were particularly obsessed with the lightning skills they learned from the Magician"s Guild. It was because they liked the feeling of all the hairs on their bodies standing up due to the tingling sensation flowing all over their bodies.
“Good! Us Mukjeba Brothers are in charge of the hind legs!”
The moment that Muksabal cried out, attacks fell toward the hind legs. Park Seongchan and Muksabal were in charge of the right leg, while Jekyll and Baroque focused on attacking the left leg. Their cooperation fit better than expected.
“Grandfather Muyeol.”
“Huh?”
Park Muyeol, who had been observing next to Mido with arms crossed, c.o.c.ked his head.
“Grandfather, you"re not going out?”
“It is easy for me to kill that type of guy. They know that"s why I"m staying still. Their skills will soon become rusty if I go forward.”
“Ahh, yes, the power you showed at that time would be enough.” Mido nodded once her curiosity was resolved. She started drawing in the air once again. It was because the movement speed buff on the party members was gradually disappearing. She was currently drawing pink shoes with wings in the air. “Body Painting!”
The painting scattered into several pieces and clung to the party members. Mido smiled when she saw the message that the movement speed had increased. Park Muyeol was also smiling. “You look like you are having fun.”
“Yes, it is fun. I"m fulfilling my dream here. My original dream was to go to university and do my own paintings.”
“Oh~ really?” Park Muyeol looked into Mido"s eyes and then at the painting clinging to his arm. Just like the cutie drawn earlier, or the pink shoes that she drew now, he couldn"t understand the images at all. It was like Pica.s.so"s painting. He swallowed the words that wanted to emerge.
"I shouldn"t say that it is fortunate she didn"t go to art school."
He couldn"t say it when she was so happy. Now it was a hobby and she was just thinking about it.
“Ah, that"s right. Grandfather Muyeol, you are good at kendo, right?”
“Huh? Ahh, yes. Well, I was pretty good when I was younger.”
“Hihi. I know that as well. You are always on TV right now.”
“Don"t mention it. I thought I was going to die because I had a hard time getting out of the reporters earlier.”
“My friend is asking me to get autographs from you.”
“Really? Kuhahaha! Yes, yes, I"ll sign as much as you want!” Park Muyeol"s laughter echoed through the field. The people hunting turned their heads toward him. He fired a sharp glance at the group again. Of course, it went without saying that there was the Magic Power Hair Clipper in one hand.
“...ther. Grandfather!”
“Huh? What is it now?”
He heard Mido calling for him in the midst of the sound of the Magic Power Hair Clipper. Park Muyeol turned it off and glanced at Mido. She spoke with brightly s.h.i.+ning eyes, “Please teach me kendo.”
“Eh???”
“Kendo.”
“Why all of a sudden?”
“No, that...” Mido started to talk. It was approximately a month ago when she hunted with Chuntaek. Naturally, Chuntaek didn"t do anything. Mido was the one who hunted and raised Chuntaek"s level. In any case, she was given a decent sword by someone she knew. The first time she swung the sword, she said it was better than she thought. Since then, she continued to use the sword while doing personal broadcasts and the viewers said she had talent.
“...In any case, that"s why I want to learn. No, I will show you some swings, so can you take a look at them and judge my talent?”
Park Muyeol stared into Mido"s eyes. She had unshakable eyes and firm lips. She was now sincerely asking for herself.
"It is okay to see what type of talent she has."
In fact, it was a bit burdensome for Park Muyeol. He would never be merciful just because she was his friend"s granddaughter. If he taught her, Mido would give up because it was difficult. Of course, the ones. .h.i.tting the jewel mammoths over there were the elites who pa.s.sed his tests brilliantly. They weren"t as talented as his grandson, but they were patient and worked hard.
“I know. How are you going to show it?”
Mido replied, “I will kill that mammoth by myself. There isn"t much health left anyway.”
“Yes. Please wait a minute.”
Park Muyeol whispered a few words to his grandson, Park Seongchan. He was naturally telling Park Seongchan to get out of the way because Mido was going to hunt it. The whisper was quickly delivered and the group was seen moving away. Park Muyeol turned his head back to Mido. “It is ready.”
“Okay.”
Mido didn"t say much as she pulled out the sword called the b.l.o.o.d.y Butcher from her inventory. At first glance, the ugly sword wasn"t suitable for a woman to hold. However, she was confident.
Mido ran straight toward the mammoth and swung the sword at high speed toward the nearest front right leg. Her waist leaned to the side, her arm straightened, high strength was given to the sword-wielding hand, and the sword moved in a straight line to cut at the legs. Solid lines were drawn in 0.5 second intervals like she was making sas.h.i.+mi. Blood soared like a fountain. The center of the mammoth was disturbed and it fell to its side.
Park Muyeol saw it from behind and his eyes widened. “Hoh.”
Look at this?