Chapter 127 - A Wizard's Natural Enemy (3)

Click, clack.

As I played with the blocks, stacking them up, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

'Huh? I built this pretty well.'

It was Leaning Tower of Pisa-tier.

So proud~.

A triumphant look settled over my soft, chubby cheeks.

Then I heard clapping beside me.

Clap, clap, clap~.

Gremory scooted right up beside me, smiling brightly.

"You built it really well."

I jolted back to my senses.

Startle! Double startle!?

".........!?"

I wasn't supposed to let my guard down... but before I knew it, I'd gotten completely absorbed in stacking blocks!

Such careless orphan behavior! If I'd slipped up, that was enough time to get abandoned three times over.

".........."

Starting from the top, I carefully took apart my block structure piece by piece and put everything back into the toy box.

"Huh? You're not going to play anymore?"

"...I'm done."

Gremory's red eyes gleamed as she watched Yo-han from the side, his cheeks puffed out in a sulk while he put his toys away.

"...Ah, I can't take it anymore."

Gremory grabbed Yo-han, pulled him into a hug, then gently nibbled his soft cheek with her lips and tugged at it.

Her beautiful crimson eyes curved into an affectionate smile.

"Nom~ I'm going to gobble up all that grumpiness."

"Waaaaaah!"

I struggled to get away, but naturally, it was useless.

Mwah, mwah~.

For a little while, she sucked on one of my cheeks and smothered it with kisses.

Then Gremory let me go and chuckled softly, sounding apologetic.

"Hehe~ Sorry. You're just too cute."

".........."

"Oh, look at the time already. I'll make you some yummy num-nums."

Gremory got up and went into the kitchen.

"Hmm~ hm~ hmmm~."

I could hear her relaxed, cheerful humming and the rhythmic sound of a knife tapping against the cutting board.

The vermilion glow of sunset spilled into the kitchen through the window, making Gremory's red hair, which fell all the way to her waist, seem to shine.

I watched her back for a moment, then finished putting away my toys.

A little while later.

After making dinner, Gremory came back into the living room to get me.

"...You put all your toys away while Mommy was making your num-nums? Mommy could've done it."

Seeing the toys all cleaned up, she gently stroked my head.

"My Yo-han is such a good boy."

I kept my mouth shut as she patted me.

This was why I hated having a child's body.

Whether it was affection, abuse, or neglect, a child had no choice but to take whatever their guardian gave them.

They might love me today and throw me away tomorrow.

It was basically a life no different from livestock being raised by someone else.

...Anyway, I was hungry, so I headed to the table.

"Want Mommy to lift you up?"

"I'll do it myself."

Heave-ho, heave-ho. I clambered up onto the child's chair and sat down.

On the children's sectioned meal tray were bite-sized rice balls mixed with stir-fried carrots and sprinkled with seaweed flakes.

There were also octopus-shaped sausages with little cuts in them and some broccoli.

"Ta-da~ Today's num-nums are super-nutritious rice balls!"

Gremory sat down beside me with a beaming smile.

"Would you like Mama to feed you your num-nums?"

"...I'll eat by myself."

I silently stared down at the tray.

It certainly was a nutritionally balanced meal.

I scooped up some rice ball with my spoon and put it in my mouth.

Munch, munch~.

The carrots inside had been sliced thin and small, then stir-fried in oil, which made them easy to eat.

'Hmm~ Not bad.'

Munch, munch~.

Watching me eat, Gremory asked in a gentle voice.

"Is it good?"

I answered honestly.

"It's good."

"I'm glad."

And so I finished my meal.

To help myself digest, I pattered around and around in circles on the children's noise-dampening mat spread across the living room floor.

Pitter-patter~ Round and round~.

Gremory approached after finishing the dishes, taking off the wet pink apron.

"Okay~ You've eaten your dinner, so now it's time for a fun bath."

I pressed my lips together and furrowed my brow.

Scrunch~.

".........."

If I had my way, I wanted to say, 'I'll wash myself', and I could bathe on my own....

But the bathroom tiles were slippery, and I could get hurt, so bathing under a guardian's supervision was safer.

If I stubbornly insisted on doing it myself and got hurt, she'd probably just think I was even more troublesome.

And so Gremory carried me off in her arms.

We entered the bathroom, which was filled with warm steam.

Shhhhhhhhh~.

The bath ended with the shampoo and body-wash suds rinsed away under warm water.

Dressed in my pajamas, I had Gremory dry my hair with a hair dryer.

Vwoooooom-.

I became nice and dry.

Soft and fluffy~.

Maybe because the warm bath had left my whole body loose and languid, sleepiness began creeping in, and my eyelids drooped slightly.

"Yaaawn...."

Gremory wiped her damp red hair with a towel and said,

"Hehe~ Want me to read you a storybook before bed?"

"...No. I'll sleep by myself."

I unsteadily got to my feet and headed to my room.

Right, my room.

An empty room in the luxury Officetel.

I had turned five, and Mom... I mean, Mother, had gotten pregnant.

I asked her to let me have the empty room as my own.

I wanted to show her that I could sleep alone, that I wouldn't need much looking after.

More than anything, I thought that if I had my own room, my own space, in this huge home, then it meant I was allowed to stay.

I thought this was our home, a place where I belonged.

Of course, that had merely been my pathetic little delusion.

When I opened the door and stepped inside,

...the room was laid out exactly as I remembered.

Since there was still a risk of me rolling off a bed in my sleep, there was a mattress on the floor instead, with a soft, fluffy blanket spread over it.

I collapsed onto the blanket.

".........."

...And yet, for some reason, it didn't feel like my room.

Right. My room was the tiny One-room I'd rented under my first lease after leaving the Orphanage. ...Ah, but that place burned down too.

My eyes blinked sluggishly.

'...What kind of memory is this?'

None of this made sense to begin with.

Mom... Gremory wasn't pregnant, and I hadn't even been abandoned at the Orphanage yet.

And how could I have rented a One-room when I was only five years old?

I didn't think I'd fallen asleep yet.

Was I already dreaming?

I pulled the blanket over myself, and my eyes slowly slid shut.

But just before they closed completely, the image of a certain door flickered clearly before my eyes, with a nameplate hanging from it that read, 'Yo-han-ssi's Room!'

‧

‧

‧

Those were footsteps I'd never heard before.

The footsteps weren't especially loud, but it was the first time an adult man had entered this house, and I remembered shrinking back nervously.

Well, I'd only peeked through the crack in the door, so all I saw was a pair of long legs passing by.

The man talked with Mother about various things.

I left my door slightly open and lay under my blanket, pretending to be asleep.

I didn't know what they had talked about.

Afterward, Mother was admitted to the hospital for a safe delivery.

The housekeeper who came by from time to time took care of me.

I waited for Mother to come back, and she did return after safely giving birth to a baby girl....

But it had all been pointless.

Because this wasn't my home anyway.

".........."

...My eyes slowly opened in the darkness.

The room was still completely dark, so it was probably still nighttime. Apparently, I'd woken up in the middle of the night.

I was just about to turn over.

"Mmm...."

I felt someone's breath beside me.

When I slowly turned my head, Gremory was there, asleep with a peaceful expression, holding me in her arms.

The skin pressed against mine was warm.

My eyes slowly slid shut again. I fell asleep once more.

After that, ordinary days continued.

Waking up, eating, playing, sleeping... and sometimes falling asleep while listening to Gremory read me a storybook.

One day, I was sitting on the sofa watching a wildlife documentary with sparkling, excited eyes.

Sparkle, sparkle~.

Seeing me like that, Gremory asked brightly,

"Want to go to the zoo?"

It was a sudden outing, but I did want to go.

"I do."

At the zoo, I pressed my palms against the glass and watched a rock hyrax.

Beside me, Gremory read the exhibit description and said,

"Huh~ Its Korean name has 'raccoon' in it even though it's so tiny. But it isn't related to raccoons at all, and it's actually a relative of elephants. Fascinating, huh?"

"Yeah!"

...When I came to my senses,

I was already back home in Gremory's arms.

I must have gotten tired and dozed off without realizing it.

When I slowly opened my eyes, Gremory looked down at me and whispered gently,

"You're awake? Want me to put you down?"

I buried my face in Gremory's soft, sweet-smelling embrace.

"...I want to sleep more."

"Hehe~ Okay."

Gremory tightened her arms and hugged me snugly.

How much time had passed?

By now, even the occasional strange sensations and feelings that something was off had almost completely disappeared.

I was playing with toys in the living room when I heard the keypad on the door lock, and Gremory came home.

"Mommy brought you some delicious cake for a snack."

Gremory placed a plate with a slice of cake on the low, round table she used for tea.

"I'll make some black tea~ Let's eat together."

"Hehe, I'm eating first."

"Oh, reaaally~?"

I teased her as I sat down and looked at the slice of strawberry shortcake topped with whipped cream on the round table.

A peaceful, stable, happy life.

I had absolutely nothing to complain about. And yet, why....

".........."

There was nothing strange about it. It was just an ordinary, delicious-looking cake.

And yet something flickered at the edge of my mind.

Without thinking, I murmured,

"...Chocolate cake."

"Hm? Did you want chocolate cake?"

Listening to Gremory's voice from behind me, I took a bite of the cake.

It was definitely supposed to be strawberry shortcake with whipped cream... yet a rich chocolate flavor spread through my mouth.

Whoooooosh-.

I slowly turned my head to the side and looked through the glass wall, where the streets of a dark city were being swallowed by swirling white snow.

".........."

...Slowly, I turned my head forward again.

I saw the hazy yet vivid scene of a café.

A black-haired, blue-eyed nun was looking at me gently.

I looked at Ellie.

'If there isn't any cake for you, Yo-han-ssi, I'll share mine with you.'

I looked at the slice of chocolate cake in front of me.

'So let's eat together.'

I picked up the cake plate, scooped up a bite with my fork, and ate it.

Before I lost consciousness, Gremory had told me she would teach me about things I didn't know.

I hadn't realized it myself.

But apparently, I already knew.

It was a taste I recognized.

Pure goodwill. Affection.

"......Sweet."

It was a sickeningly sticky sweetness, the kind that felt as though it had been engraved into my veins.

Gremory hummed happily as she prepared the black tea, looking forward to having tea with Yo-han.

"Hmm~ hmmm~ Want me to make you chocolate cake next time?"

"...No thanks."

"Huh?"

At the calm, low voice that reached her ears, Gremory jerked in surprise and dropped the teaspoon.

Clang-.

Gremory raised her head, her wide crimson eyes turning toward the round table.

Three Grimoires were stacked on the table.

<De Vermis Mysteriis> <The Lesser Key of Solomon> <Baopuzi>

And instead of the tiny back of a little child,

she saw the back of a fully grown man in a long white coat, eating a chocolate cake that shouldn't currently exist.

Munch, munch... Clink....

I finished the cake and set the empty plate down on the table.

"There are two things I want to say first."

I raised a hand and extended my index and middle fingers in a V.

"First, whatever your goal was, it was an incredibly warm and happy time. Thank you."

My voice rang out, gentle but firm.

"Second, let's end this here."

"What?"

Gremory's vision wavered.

***

The glow of a bedside mood lamp spread softly through the dark bedroom.

Gremory, a faint blush coloring her face, looked at the man before her.

At Yo-han, all grown up.

"Ah...."

Calm eyes, a slender jawline tapering down into his neck and collarbones.

And what showed through his unbuttoned dress shirt....

Gremory's gaze drifted downward without thinking, then she hurriedly turned her head away, her face flushing with embarrassment.

"Y-Yo-han, we can't do this. I'm...."

"You're not even my biological mother."

The calm voice cut Gremory off.

"What?"

An image suddenly unfolded inside Gremory's mind.

[Grizzly and Gnome's Surprise Trivia, gnome!]

'Gyaaah~!'

'Even an unmarried single woman can adopt an orphan, gnome!'

Gremory staggered, one hand covering her face.

"Huh? What? Huh?"

'What is this? What's with that transparent outline? And the Gnome!?'

...No, but it was true.

Gremory and Yo-han weren't actually related by blood.

"S-Still...."

"If you hate me, if you don't like me, if I'm not good enough for you, then just tell me you don't like me."

I walked straight toward Gremory.

Gremory staggered backward until the backs of her legs caught on the bed, sending her tumbling onto it.

Boing-.

The soft mattress bounced beneath her, making Gremory's voluptuous chest sway as her beautiful red hair scattered around her.

I climbed over her and planted one hand on the mattress beside her face.

"...But if it's only because you're worried about what people will think, then keep your mouth shut."

Gremory stared up into the glistening black eyes looking down at her.

She wanted to simply close her mouth, reach out with both arms, and embrace him.

...But instead, Gremory averted her gaze and desperately forced the words out.

"E-Even if we're not related by blood... I'm still your mother."

I quietly looked down at Gremory beneath me.

"Fine. If after coming this far, that's really what you want to hear, I'll cater to your tastes."

I leaned down and whispered gently into Gremory's ear.

"I love you, Mom."

"⸺!?"

Gremory's face turned bright red in an instant.

***

A temple decorated in the Babylonian style.

"Bwahahahahaha-."

Joyous laughter rang loudly throughout the temple.

Gremory's legs gave out beneath her, and she sank to the floor.

Having awakened from the dream, I burst out laughing, staggered for a moment, then planted myself firmly on both feet.

<De Vermis Mysteriis> <The Lesser Key of Solomon> <Baopuzi>

The Grimoires that had been lying scattered across the ground floated into the air and came toward me.

Vwoom! Flap! Bind!

"Okay, okay. Thanks."

When I opened my coat, <De Vermis Mysteriis> and <Baopuzi> slipped inside.

Then I took <The Lesser Key of Solomon> back into my hand.

Wizard Kim Yo-han, perfectly revived.