Ch.273273. A Tumultuous Reunion

“I’m a bit worried.”

I was on my way down the mountain, following the Mountain Lord’s instructions to return to Norsweden for now to observe the situation.

But I couldn’t help being concerned about the strange entity that had appeared beyond the mountain range.

‘An enormous power.’

Honestly, even calling it “enormous” seemed somewhat inadequate.

A truly great power that even the Mountain Lord would be considered several levels below.

Yet I found myself familiar with it.

It felt exactly like the hundreds of millions of souls I had gathered.

It seemed like something had happened to Deus’s body and the souls, but…

‘Is that even possible?’

To leave the shop, one needs to use Deus’s physical body.

But would the souls really allow that to happen?

The souls came to me after hearing my words, and many of them were favorable toward me.

‘They wouldn’t stand by and let some random soul use my body as they please.’

Knowing this, I could leave the shop’s interior and explore the outside world without worry.

With hundreds of millions of souls, unpredictable situations could arise.

But this worked both ways.

‘The hundreds of millions of souls actually serve as watchers.’

No immediate answer came to mind despite my contemplation. For now, I needed to keep my distance and observe what this entity’s purpose was.

“Hmm?”

On the path leading from the mountain to the city.

When Deia, who was leading the way, stopped, Soho and I naturally halted our steps as well.

There was no need to ask what was happening.

A woman whose breathing alone was familiar to me was already standing ahead of us.

“Haa! Haa!”

It was the first time I’d seen her out of breath just from running, showing how urgently she must have rushed here.

“Just stay still for now. Don’t speak.”

Deia signaled me to pretend not to notice, but I shook my head.

We’d already been spotted.

I walked forward along the path, passing by Soho and Deia.

Her cheeks were flushed red against her pale skin, and I knew the moisture around her eyes wasn’t merely sweat.

“……”

No words passed between us. Explanations were, surprisingly, unnecessary.

Findenai stood there motionless, exhaling hot breaths with her mouth open.

I approached her carefully.

“I’ll speak first.”

After a separation that was both brief and long, this moment of reunion had finally come.

It would be unseemly to ramble on with various statements.

A journey.

They say travel is a time to escape from a tired life, relieve fatigue, reflect on oneself, and recover.

During this time, I’d seen many worlds, experienced various emotions, and sorted through my thoughts about those who had been by my side.

So I uttered a rather honest statement that I could make not as Deus Verdi, but as Shinwoo Kim.

“I missed you.”

“You…!”

As Findenai rushed into my arms, my body tilted backward from her weight. I carefully embraced her and enjoyed the brief moment.

Had it been a while since she’d smoked? Instead of the strong tobacco scent that usually surrounded her, she now smelled of somewhat musty books.

Just from that, I felt I could see how she had been living in Norsweden.

“You haven’t dirtied my study, have you?”

Spending time in the study in my room, occasionally feeling lonely,

Then falling asleep, comforted by the familiar scent.

That image seemed somewhat endearing.

I carefully embraced Findenai.

Findenai still said nothing. She just clung to me, holding me somewhat roughly as if she would never let go again.

Fortunately, I had a prosthetic body.

If I had been in Deus’s body, her effort to hide her tears by burying herself deeper into my embrace would have been in vain.

“If you squeeze too tight, I’ll break.”

I gently placed my hand on her head. The soft white hair of Findenai that I stroked down felt particularly welcome at this moment.

“You’re… back.”

A short exclamation, like a condensed single word, finally escaped her lips.

“Thank… goodness.”

“Yes.”

If someone were to ask me what the best part of this longer-than-expected journey was,

Many scenes would certainly come to mind.

The vast prairie I saw when first stepping outside the shop.

The vibrant animals I encountered while wandering through forests in search of cities.

The nameless coastline I reached by following the scent of salt.

The impressively Eastern-styled city of an empire.

But in the end, the answer was predetermined.

The best part of my journey, having traveled so many lands on foot, was…

Having a place to return to.

“Thank you for waiting.”

* * *

It felt like all stories had ended, but that wasn’t actually the case.

We all gathered in my office, which I hadn’t seen for a long time.

Kyaa!

Sebia, Illuania’s child, laughs while being held in my arms. I found it hard to believe that such a small child could contain so many possibilities and diverse emotions.

“She’s growing up healthy.”

I nodded at Illuania’s words as she brought in tea, and gently poked Sebia’s cheek.

It was a bit sticky with saliva, but that only made her more baby-like.

“That’s good.”

“……”

“For Deus’s sake too, you need to be sufficiently happy.”

Illuania, who was about to retreat after placing the teacup on the table, hesitated for a moment.

She looked back and forth between me and Sebia before smiling gently.

“Sebia is growing well, and the master has returned. I couldn’t be happier.”

Master.

She still calls me that, even though I’m not Deus.

A bitter smile formed on my lips, but Findenai, sitting beside me, crossed her legs and interjected.

“Why is Shinwoo your master? We’re equals.”

“……”

“Aren’t we?”

Well, it’s just like Findenai to return to her old self after just a short time.

“Don’t call me Shinwoo.”

I didn’t like how casually she used my name.

As I frowned slightly in warning, Findenai’s eyes widened, and she quickly glanced at Deia sitting across from us.

The two seemed to be in agreement as they nodded and said in unison:

“It really is Deus.”

“Definitely Deus.”

“……”

I wasn’t sure what they had just confirmed, but it was slightly irritating. Anyway…

Since we needed to start the discussion, I gestured to Illuania.

She carefully opened the door and asked Darius, who was standing outside:

“Are you feeling better now?”

“H-huh! Y-yes! I’m f-fine!”

The tremor in his voice perfectly described the current state of Darius.

His eyes were red from crying so much as he re-entered the room.

He cleared his throat and looked at me again.

And then.

“Kuhub! Hueuuk! Hueueuuah!”

He started crying again.

“Ah, shit.”

Findenai, who had said she couldn’t stand seeing a grown man cry and told him to go outside to sob, immediately tilted her head up, pretending not to see.

“As the head of the family… Hah, I don’t know anymore.”

Deia, who had repeated the same words several times already, finally gave up and curled her body, covering her face with both hands.

Kyaaaa!

Sebia was the only one in the room who seemed to enjoy watching Darius cry.

“Ah, huik! No! Huup! My, my little brotherrr! You’re, huuk! You’re baaack!”

“I get it. Thanks for calling me your little brother, but we need to proceed with the discussion. This is already the third time.”

This was the third time he had gone outside to compose himself because he couldn’t stop crying.

At this point, it was clear he couldn’t pull himself together.

It showed how much he cherished me, but everything has its limits.

After three such episodes, the emotional impact was starting to fade.

“Looking at him, you’d think he was your lover. You two didn’t sleep together at night, did you?”

Findenai finally couldn’t hold back and made a bizarre comment.

I felt a surge of displeasure and glared at her, but Findenai met my gaze and grinned.

“Damn, you’re so fucking adorable. Should we just kiss?”

She’s not some old man looking for a compensated date…

“Watch your language in front of the child.”

“Then let’s get a room. But if we leave here, it won’t end with just a kiss.”

“I said, in front of the child.”

I used Sebia as an excuse to escape her words.

However, as the meeting still wasn’t progressing, Deia finally pulled out a mana pistol from her chest.

“Instead of disgracing the family, let’s just put this against your temple and pull the trigger. How about it? With Dei… no, Shinwoo and me here, there’s no succession problem.”

“…Shinwoo?”

“Tch.”

Deia, who had tried to match something, clicked her tongue and fidgeted with her mana pistol.

“Hueuup! I-I’m fine! Now! For the crisis in Norsweden, I-I, kuhung!”

“Ah, should I just shoot him myself?”

Hearing Darius’s response, Deia sighed, and Findenai grinned and suggested:

“Let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors.”

“Sure, Illuania and big brother Shinwoo should join too. I’ll exclude Sebia since she doesn’t have the strength to pull a trigger yet.”

“……”

“Kuhueuup! M-Mia! Kuhueong!”

Kyarrrr!

With the eldest Darius crying and the youngest Sebia laughing, it seemed it would take some time before the meeting could proceed.

* * *

[…Hmm?]

Late in the evening.

The Dark Spiritmaster, sitting on the roof of the palace in Greyfond and gazing at the moon as usual, felt a slight tremor in her body.

How should she describe it?

It was like a ripple that had started from very far away, flowing and flowing until it faintly reached her.

[What was that just now?]

The Dark Spiritmaster, who had been swinging her legs while sitting on the railing, turned her gaze toward where the ripple had come from.

Very, very far away, but…

It was from the north.

That is, in the direction of Norsweden.

[…Could it be?]

The Dark Spiritmaster slowly levitated with an ambiguous expression. Despite being dead, her heart raced at the possibility.

Clank!

She tried to move closer to the north but couldn’t get too far from Heralazard’s staff.

[W-well, since I’m not certain, I won’t tell Stella.]

The Dark Spiritmaster was about to surreptitiously fly north after catching it through mana, but…

[…I should tell Owen.]

She needed to inform the next Spirit Master, who played the piano on the roof every day.

If she suddenly disappeared, he would be confused.

So when she quietly arrived at Owen’s room in the royal palace, the boy in pajamas looked confused.

“Huh? You haven’t left yet?”

[Pardon?]

What did he mean?

How did he know she was leaving?

And “yet”?

“Stella said she felt a strange energy from Norsweden and left ten minutes ago.”

[…..]

Upon hearing those words, the Dark Spiritmaster immediately turned and headed outside.

[I won the rock-paper-scissors for the right to meet Deus first when he returns!]

Mentioning her previous rock-paper-scissors victory, the Dark Spiritmaster began flying rapidly toward Norsweden.