episode_0010

Ignisca.

A land of spirits, yet…

A place of passion and enterprise where fire spirits, in particular, rise to prominence.

Here, wind spirits undergo a unique coming-of-age ritual.

Like the wind that roams the world—

They must depart from Ignisca, circle the planet,

and successfully return to their starting point, completing a journey around the world.

However, participants are given only a week’s worth of food, water, and a small sum of money,

and must complete the journey relying solely on their own strength.

Though the success rate was so low that failure didn’t mean exclusion from the community,

those who succeeded were guaranteed considerable wealth and fame.

The wind spirit Ifrit Pirel, who had just turned 100 and reached adulthood,

boldly took on the challenge and discovered an unexpected talent.

Pondering how to sustain supplies and funds while completing his journey,

he decided to start a business.

But Ifrit, who had nothing to his name, naturally had no goods to sell—

nor any means of processing them.

After much deliberation, he resolved to gather and sell magical herbs.

Though his formal education was lacking,

his travels through mountains and fields had exposed him to countless plants,

making him more knowledgeable than anyone about the stationary green beings.

He skillfully distinguished medicinal herbs from poisonous ones,

and through aggressive salesmanship, attracted many customers.

After three long years, Ifrit finally returned to Ignisca.

As a wandering merchant, with a considerable fortune amassed.

······.

Ifrit realized he had an innate talent for commerce.

Though setting up a shop in Ignisca to sell spices was appealing,

compared to the vast world he had seen, Ignisca felt far too small.

Ifrit decided to leave his homeland.

The spirits of his homeland expressed regret at the departure of such a prosperous merchant,

but for Ifrit, who had no parents to care for,

Ignisca was no longer a place of attachment.

Venturing into the wider world meant encountering a multitude of beings.

For fifty years, Ifrit traveled through many lands, selling spices.

His warm personality was evident in the kind smiles he gave his customers,

becoming a charm that effortlessly drew people in.

He built extensive connections, even within the Golden Compass, one of the top merchant guilds.

Then, one day, another thread of fate connected him to the cosmos.

On an ordinary day of wandering and selling spices,

a woman carefully examined the blue-patterned spice jars.

From this unusually captivating human woman,

Ifrit felt an emotion he had never experienced before.

A desire to show her kindness without expecting anything in return arose,

but it was quickly overshadowed by an intense urge to possess her enchanting body.

The human woman picked up a spice jar, turning it over in her hands,

then, seeing the price tag, resignedly began to walk away.

Watching her retreating figure,

Ifrit felt that if he didn’t act now, he would regret it.

He grabbed the most expensive spice jar and chased after her.

The wind spirit barely managed to stop her.

With trembling hands, he offered her the jar.

At first, she looked bewildered,

but upon hearing Ifrit’s sincere words, she accepted it gratefully.

······.

That became the start of their bond,

and the two began spending more time together.

Ifrit and the woman spent days in deep conversation,

drawn to each other’s inner selves.

Their relationship blossomed into marriage.

Lying beside the human woman,

the wind spirit alternated his gaze between her and the night sky outside the window, lost in thought.

He wondered if the world’s mesmerizing secrets, which he had so longed to uncover,

were perhaps embodied in the hands that embroidered the Milky Way on the spring breeze of youth.

······.

Months later, Ifrit’s wife gave birth to a baby girl.

He named her Aren Pirel,

vowing to raise this child, with her radiant crimson eyes, with all his heart.

Ifrit loved Aren dearly, and his wife cherished her just as much.

For his family’s sake, he even considered giving up his wandering trade to settle down.

It was too much for his young daughter and wife to accompany him every time.

Aren grew quickly.

Her magical abilities far surpassed those of her peers, earning her high expectations.

It seemed only a matter of time before she enrolled in the Ignisca Royal Academy as an elemental magic major,

eventually working at the Magic Ministry headquarters in the Arcelion Magical Kingdom—

a bright future awaited her.

Everything seemed perfect.

…Except for one thing.

Aren’s crimson eyes.

In truth, the meaning behind their color was painfully clear.

Ifrit told himself it was just a coincidence.

He lived believing that.

But the truth is sometimes brutally simple—and thus, all the more cruel.

As Aren grew, she displayed greater aptitude for flame magic than wind magic.

Her hair, too, was a fiery red,

vastly different from Ifrit’s silver locks.

Ifrit agonized.

By all appearances, she wasn’t his biological child.

His wife remained silent.

Though tormented by inner conflict,

Ifrit chose not to confront the issue.

He believed that if he stayed silent,

his beloved wife and daughter would remain unharmed.

He wanted to protect his family.

Aren was only five—

he couldn’t bear the thought of her being hurt by adult matters.

As he wished, the family remained happy.

Ifrit always smiled when he returned home,

and spent his time playing monster-hunting games with Aren.

For a while.

Then, one day, a registered letter arrived.

It was from the Ignisca Investigative Bureau.

Assuming it was a mistake, Ifrit’s wife opened it without much thought.

The contents were shocking.

A fire spirit she had slept with just once before marriage

was suing Ifrit for adultery.

The wind spirit was dumbfounded.

While Aren slept, his wife came to him, sobbing, clutching the letter.

She confessed everything,

and Ifrit held her.

But the issue was no longer private.

The fire spirit who had sued him

had slept with his wife six years prior,

then, days before filing the lawsuit, forged her signature

to submit a marriage registration to the Ignisca Church.

In Ignisca’s patriarchal society, a marriage could be legally recognized

even without the wife’s presence.

Thus, the fire spirit claimed to be her lawful husband,

accusing Ifrit of violating his wife,

and demanded criminal punishment and exorbitant financial compensation.

The lawsuit was based on the absurd logic that the adultery had occurred before the marriage.

Ifrit, too, dismissed the lawsuit as ridiculous and reassured his family,

hiring a lawyer to submit a statement of his innocence.

But the world wasn’t so reasonable.

The fire spirit persistently lobbied the Ignisca Investigative Bureau,

and the Ignisca Church recognized his marriage as valid.

The case went to court,

and as news spread of Ifrit being tried for adultery,

his acquaintances began cutting ties.

The Golden Compass Merchant Guild issued a disciplinary order.

Ifrit appealed to his lawyer to protect his family and clear his name,

but the lawyer only advised him to settle quickly, as the odds of winning were slim.

The fire spirit’s settlement terms were unacceptable:

hand over his wife,

raise Aren (explicitly stated to be Ifrit’s biological child in the terms),

and pay 20 million Eldoris (2 billion won) in damages and alimony.

Of course, Ifrit refused outright and fought for his innocence.

But with his social network severed, the guild and lawyer pressuring him to settle,

and the psychological burden of losing everything if he lost the case,

the wind spirit ultimately signed the settlement.

······.

Separated from his wife,

Ifrit was left only with Aren,

who innocently asked when she would see her mother again.

But grief was a luxury the world wouldn’t allow.

Money ran short.

Ifrit thought he could start over,

just as he had when he first left Ignisca.

But the wind spirit, his reputation already tarnished,

found that the locals no longer returned his friendly smiles.

He resolved to leave for somewhere far away.

Where no one knew him.

Raising Aren cost a fortune.

His income as a traveling merchant wasn’t enough.

Ifrit decided the world no longer deserved his kindness.

He vowed to stop at nothing to protect Aren.

Then, he learned that in the country of Eldoria,

families received a monthly subsidy of 1,000 Eldoris (1 million won).

Leaving Aren at a nursery, he headed to Eldoria without hesitation.

In the city square, two matchmaking agencies stood facing each other.

One was deserted, the other bustling.

Ifrit chose the crowded path.

After a long wait, he finally entered the office.

A young human woman with violet hair in twin braids

exchanged a few words with him before haughtily summoning security.

The wind spirit was promptly thrown out.

His last hope shattered.

Ifrit grew to despise the world.

He became convinced it hid ugly secrets,

its true nature being sin and corruption.

Then, someone approached him—

uttering the same words he had once used

to advertise his magical herbs during his coming-of-age ritual,

and extended a warm hand.

······.

Ifrit decided to trust the world one last time.

But he reminded himself not to trust it completely.

To those ready to betray him at any moment,

he would no longer show his vulnerable side.

Following the human woman with warm yellow eyes

and sky-blue straight hair…

The wandering merchant,

who had sent love away on the spring breeze,

sorted through his thoughts.