“Don’t worry too much about that fish; I’ll handle it well, old man.”
“Ugh, um… Okay, I’ll ask you…”
However, even as Luke said that, he still wore a worried expression.
Sorith didn’t seem to know the exact identity of the fish yet, but Luke was certain it was a Tigalodon. If an expert were to come and see it, they would inevitably think about what might happen.
If I were to speculate first, then the reason Tigalodon was said to be ‘extinct’ was that the piece of Tigalodon was missing from the ‘World Tree’s Gate,’ where all species were engraved.
That is the simplest way to confirm the extinction of a species.
But for some reason, Tigalodon was here like this.
Whether it was a new mutation born somewhere, identical in form, or if it had gone extinct but a few individuals had, due to some incident, naturally restored themselves across time, or if it had never been extinct to begin with and there was some error in the World Tree system, is still unknown…
‘No matter how I look at it, something big is definitely going on.’
Regardless of how the conclusion turns out, one thing is clear: there will surely be a massive ripple effect.
Even if it doesn’t necessarily involve punishment.
And Luke didn’t want to stand at the center of that controversy.
He didn’t want to draw attention to himself over such a ridiculous matter.
Now was the time to focus on recovery, research, and growth; it wasn’t the time to be under the gaze of others.
He didn’t want unnecessary attention and controversy.
That’s why he had even postponed his appointment with Ras…
If he had known beforehand that Tigalodon had become such a precious creature, he wouldn’t have thought of fishing for it in the first place.
But how could anyone have known that Tigalodon was extinct? Five thousand years ago, Tigalodon was a disaster that most sailors commonly experienced while sailing.
“……”
“……”
Luke and Shirud once again locked eyes, then turned away.
It was frustrating and disheartening.
Unable to endure the heavy atmosphere, Luke wanted to leave the place quickly.
Thinking that, he handed back the towel he had borrowed from Sorith, checked the time, and stood up as if he were busy.
“Oh, it’s already this late. I should be going; Yerna might be waiting.”
“Are you already leaving? Since you’ve met your classmate, why not have a meal together and catch up on how you’ve been doing?”
“Hmm, let’s talk later when we meet. I’m not really hungry, so I’ll take my leave…”
“Well then, it can’t be helped. Shirud, you should say goodbye to your friend who’s leaving.”
“…Take care.”
“Be well, Shirud.”
Luke noticed that Shirud’s expression didn’t seem good.
It looked like the face of a child who had broken a cherished vase of their parents.
Though Tigalodon was something much larger and couldn’t be compared to a broken vase.
Perhaps his own expression wasn’t that different, so he quickly exited the place and called Yerna.
—–
As Luke parted ways with Shirud and sat by the roadside, looking up at the darkened sky and reflecting on the day’s twists and turns.
He spotted two familiar faces in the distance and dusted himself off, waving.
“Luke, are you alright? You look really tired.”
“Hm, indeed. I am quite tired.”
“Oh my, but what happened to your cane?”
Yerna, who looked at Luke, standing unsteadily, asked worriedly.
“Ah, I dropped it into the sea while playing with Shirud.”
“Oh dear, be careful…”
It wasn’t actually a mistake, but Luke was too exhausted to explain the series of events that had occurred with Shirud today, so he just gave a vague excuse.
The fact that he had ‘dropped it’ while ‘playing’ with Shirud was the perfect truth.
Ultimately, the cane, now unable to function as a cane, was already flowing somewhere in the sea.
Yerna asked with concern.
“Are you having trouble walking without your cane?”
“Haha. It’s fine; I can walk without it now. It’s just that I’m quite tired right now.”
That was indeed true.
Circles naturally possess flow.
They continuously release the built-up mana to the heart and create artificial flow when needed, using that flow to influence the external mana.
That is the act called ‘turning the circle.’
However, if used excessively and roughly, that flow can become uncontrollable.
This phenomenon is called ‘circle overflow’ or ‘circle overload.’
And here is one characteristic about mana.
Mana tends to stabilize itself, so the mana in the circle will also stabilize after a certain amount of time.
During that time, Luke was waiting for it, but by sharing Shirud’s circle, that time was significantly reduced.
Shirud’s circle was reconstructed based on what Luke thought was the most perfect circle, so it naturally resonated most perfectly with his own circle.
Mana is inclined to be more attracted to identical properties, and the stable flow of Shirud’s neatly refined third circle immensely influenced the stabilization of his own circle.
Looking at this alone, it might seem like he was using Shirud, but he had taught Shirud several beneficial spells, so it shouldn’t matter.
After all, it’s common for mages to jump into the flames to gain new spells.
However, he never intended to exploit Shirud’s circle like this from the beginning.
It’s true that since the moment he accidentally met Shirud, he thought about stabilizing his circle by using Shirud’s circle in exchange for magic.
However, he only held back that thought because it could develop into a bad habit for Shirud.
Originally, a circle must be sufficiently qualified in its own right in order to think and define itself before moving on to the next phase; hence, just openly stating the answers beside him, like Luke did earlier, isn’t how it should be.
Typically, one should silently observe and provide helpful advice.
However, it was unavoidable due to the Tigalodon.
If one were to help a baby bird by breaking its eggshell, the baby bird would ultimately die.
‘Yes, they must be able to break through on their own…’
Sigarmata might not understand this because it’s a dragon.
Dragons are granted the authority of the ninth circle from the moment they are born; they don’t understand what the eggshell symbolizes.
Therefore, if Parvati truly wishes to awaken, she must break through on her own.
Thus, for Parvati’s sake, Sigarmata must be stopped.
The moment the eggshell shatters, the unprepared egg will not be able to be born and will simply spill onto the ground.
Shortly after, Luke concluded his thoughts, stretched, and looked at Dayton with a fatigued expression, smiling mischievously.
“Dayton?”
Dayton shrugged with a wry smile, as if there was nothing he could do.
“Ha, alright. I got it. I understand.”
Dayton soon bent down and lifted Luke into a hug.
It was now a quite natural gesture.
Dayton’s body was fairly wide among men, so resting his head on his shoulder not only relaxed him physically but also provided significant psychological stability.
‘Speaking of which, I wanted to ask how things went with Yerna.’
“……”
He felt there was no need to deliberately open his mouth and question.
Dayton’s other hand was already holding Yerna’s hand.
‘He looks quite happy.’
Looking up at Dayton’s expression made Luke suddenly become curious.
What does it feel like when love is realized?
Luke looked up at Dayton’s red hair and the shining stars in the sky, pondering.
‘I wonder if Renie has placed flowers at my grave?’
He didn’t know if there would even be a grave.
——-
“Alright, let’s head back now.”
“Uh-huh…”
It seemed like Pyris had dozed off while waiting after eating watermelon, as she only sat up and rubbed her eyes when Luke woke her.
“Luke, um…ni?”
As if trying to focus, Pyris blinked her eyes and asked.
“Yeah, yes. It’s me, your sister. Anyway, wake up quickly; we need to take down the tent.”
“Uh-huh…”
Then Pyris let out a big yawn and buried her face into Luke’s body.
She looked like a dog welcoming its owner back after a long absence, and Luke couldn’t help but smile as he patted her head.
Soon, Pyris stopped rubbing her face and looked up at Luke.
“You smell like blue…”
“What?”
“Sister, did you meet Blue?”
“……”
Oh dear, do spirits have a good sense of smell?
How in the world did she figure that out? It’s completely baffling.
Free from Luke’s embrace, Pyris brightened up and gazed at the sea, her eyes sparkling as if she remembered something.
“Then before we go home, I need to say goodbye to Blue!”
At that moment, Luke felt a cold sweat trickle down his back.
Pyris’s farewell would surely not reach Blue.
Because Blue was already…
But Pyris, oblivious, walked with her hand in Luke’s towards the beach.
It was a tragic moment.
However, Luke couldn’t open his mouth.
How could he tell such a bright child about the death of a friend?
He couldn’t lie like other adults, saying, “He went to a far place” or “He went to a good place.”
So regrettably, silence was the best option…
“Goodbye! Blue! See you again later!”
“……”
Why did his chest feel so heavy?
It was clearly a happy scene, and Pyris wasn’t concealing her happiness, so why…
Not accustomed to emotions, Luke was also unfamiliar with this feeling that weighed heavily on his heart.
“Sister, why are you crying? Are you sad to say goodbye too?”
“…Ah, it seems so.”
“Don’t cry, sister; we can meet again later!”
Luke could only nod in response, as he could no longer bear to look at the pure smile of the spirit.
But he couldn’t say, “Yes.”
That would undoubtedly be a lie…
“…The sea breeze is cold; let’s go back now.”
“Okay!”
That was all Luke could say.
But, it was at that moment.
The cold sensation soaking his feet.
Was it a wave?
But the flow of this wave felt somehow similar to the one that had turned him over once.
‘It must be an illusion.’
Just as he was about to turn his head, another stronger wave crashed over him.
“……?”
Unprepared, Luke hastily lifted the hem of his skirt but still got slightly wet with seawater.
Pyris looked at the wave and soon smiled even more brightly, waving her hand.
“Blue is saying goodbye too! Hello!”
“What?”
Luke muttered, looking back.
“What the…? How?”
“Blue is just like me!”
“Just like you? You mean…”
Luke shouted in shock.
“Are you saying Blue is a spirit?”
“Yeah, that’s right! Exactly! A spirit!”
Oh my, a spirit?
“Blue was really a spirit?”
Seeing Luke’s confused expression, Pyris tilted her head and explained.
“But he can only move around at sea when he transforms. He envied my body, so I told him a lot about being friends!”
“But that kid doesn’t seem to be a spirit at all…”
“It seems he doesn’t know much because he just woke up. The language of spirits is hard.”
“……”
The language of spirits seems to have quite a level of difficulty even for spirits.
Could it be that the whale wasn’t even named or anything…
“Then was he just an avatar of a spirit?”
Luke placed his hand on his forehead, sighing.
What a truly chaotic day.
