Ch.70Radaniya++

# 70. Radaniya++

“Sisters. Our brother. He’s gone.”

“Huh? Huh? Boss? Boss?”

“What? When?”

“…Wasn’t he following right behind us the whole time?”

Rewinding time a bit, to when Guild Leader Gong was just being kidnapped by Radaniya.

Saeax was the first to notice his absence.

They couldn’t understand the situation itself. This wasn’t something that could be explained away as simply being distracted by sightseeing in Ayord.

To begin with, Guild Leader Gong had been at the center of their group. If he had tried to slip away in any direction, wouldn’t at least one of them have noticed?

Their excited mood plummeted instantly.

They felt lost.

Ayord was vast and crowded. On top of that, they couldn’t even gauge when he had disappeared.

“I completely let my guard down because this is neutral territory. He probably hasn’t been harmed—”

“Whether he’s been harmed or not isn’t the point. What matters is that the boss disappeared somewhere without any of us noticing!”

“I know. Calm down. Lower your voice.”

The Ayors walking around the streets turned their attention toward them. The women quickly tried to tighten their robes and leave the area, but there was exactly one person who couldn’t do so in time.

It was Kutjukyeora, who had been excited.

And her radiant appearance was dazzling enough to catch the eyes of the Ayors.

Especially her hair, which shone brilliantly with the golden color that symbolized nobility and strength to Ayors, was an incredible point of attraction.

“Wow. Living in Ayord, and there’s a day I get to see humans. Beautiful human lady. Seems like you’re in trouble—would you like to experience what Ayor kindness is like?”

“Are you lost by any chance? If so, I can show you around every corner. All the visible places and the hidden ones too. How about it?”

“Instead of that, you must be tired from coming from far away. How about starting with delicious food that you can only taste in Ayord? Relax comfortably, eat something delicious, and let’s chat.”

“Ah.”

We’re screwed.

Kutjukyeora hurriedly turned to her companions for help, but…

“Were you together? You should have said so earlier.”

“Not just one, but four ladies in trouble? My, my. I simply can’t ignore this.”

“You can ignore it. There are plenty besides you.”

“Why don’t you ignore it? You insensitive fellow.”

They were already in a difficult situation themselves. It seemed like resentful eyes were visible from beneath their hoods.

‘Ugh.’

Kutjukyeora tried to smile forcefully to get out of the situation, but that forced smile only ignited the hearts of the Ayor men.

Because even that forced smile was pretty.

“Oh fuck, I’m telling you we’ll handle our own problems!”

“Oh! Such colorful cursing.”

Even Saeax’s curses and irritation sank into the swamp of sticky and sly Ayor men.

‘What do we do?’

‘What else? Since it’s come to this, let’s push forward.’

‘Y-yeah. They’re not human men but beast-men, so I’m too scared to refuse properly.’

‘This is all Anti-Seonghyeon’s fault. Anyway, it’s Anti-Seonghyeon’s fault.’

They put their hands inside their hoods, fixed their hair as Yebeobnojeong had instructed, and then lowered their hoods all at once.

The Ayor men surrounding them all sighed in unison.

**

“What you need to do is focus on me without any distractions. That’s all.”

“Do I need to stay still and not speak?”

“Preferably. I might speak to you a few times during the process. Other than that, it’s better to stay quiet. I need to concentrate intensely too.”

Having calmed down from her state of extreme excitement, Radaniya pulled out materials from somewhere and skillfully drew what looked like a magic circle around me.

With each movement, I could feel the dedication of someone who had studied sorcery for over 100 years solely for this ritual.

Despite her hands trembling with tension, visible even to my eyes, it was as precise as if printed by a machine. It was truly the epitome of concentration and physical control.

“I’m starting now. You might be surprised, but trust me.”

After finishing all preparations, Radaniya muttered something like an incantation for a while, then frantically dug in front of me. There was an old necklace there.

She picked up a gem about the size of two finger joints, and then violently smashed down on that necklace she had called her mother’s keepsake.

‘So this is what haeju (physical) means!’

About a minute later, the shattered necklace scattered dark golden light, which was absorbed into the gem in Radaniya’s hand. Seeing this, I admitted that I was clueless about magic.

And before my admiration could even end.

“Endure it.”

“!!!”

She thrust the gem into my chest.

‘Holy fuuuuuuck!!!’

Pain?

Is this something that can be dismissed with just the word “pain”?

I wanted to roll around on the floor. I wanted to scream.

But whether due to the external force of the magic circle, my body remained fixed in place, and I was desperately holding back my screams by gritting my teeth. Though I knew nothing about magic, I instinctively felt that messing up here could be disastrous.

“You endured well! Now listen to my words, and keep wishing to accept me into yourself, over and over. Any vague imagination, any kind of imagination is fine, just keep it going. Without interruption. Until I tell you to stop.”

After a hellish time passed, Radaniya sighed with relief, saying we had overcome a major hurdle. Then, rather than incantations, she began to speak words that seemed more like they belonged in her memoir.

“On a spring day about 257 years ago, an Ayor was born. That Ayor’s name was Radaniya. She was an ordinary girl whose dream was to travel around the vast world.”

Perhaps because I was sitting on the magic circle, or perhaps because her calm words were also part of the ritual.

Like when I had seen someone else’s memories before, Radaniya’s life unfolded like a movie in my mind.

Her adorable baby days, her carefree youth. The tragic period when the Ayor race had to scatter before she could even complete her coming-of-age ceremony. And then the stories she had told me about the construction of Ayord and everything that followed.

I was genuinely immersed in this woman’s life. I wanted to free this Ayor from her terrible shackles. I wanted to add a touch of spring to her long and lonely life, stained with forced devotion and bitter battles, without even a chance to enjoy her youth.

“…Now, Radaniya, daughter of Myures and Tiana, born in the Brayer Plains to which she can never return, seeks to make the final vow of her life with the person before her.”

When I met Radaniya’s obsidian-like eyes, they overlapped with the panorama in my mind.

“What is your name?”

“Seonghyeon. Ban Seonghyeon.”

“My spirit and flesh will be bound to Seonghyeon’s heart until the end of my life or until the end of Seonghyeon’s life. Until that day, I will continue this wretched life, and I will protect Seonghyeon who made this possible.”

Light began to shine from where the gem was embedded.

“This vow cannot be destroyed by anything except death.”

“I agree.”

“Until death do us part.”

Flash—

[You have completed the quest ‘Liberate Radaniya’.]

[Quest details – Undo the Eternal Vow (Ayord) placed on Radaniya and become the new subject of the Eternal Vow]

[Reward – ‘Legendary Ayor’ Radaniya]

When the light completely faded, the quest completion message appeared. I could tell the ritual was over.

“Radaniya.”

“Hic…”

“Now you don’t complain when I call you by your name?”

“Huaaaaaang—!”

The moment I confirmed that the restraints were released, Radaniya’s tear ducts, which had been desperately holding back tears, exploded.

“Uh… Cry all you want.”

“Sob, hic, just once. Call me just once more.”

“Radaniya.”

“J-just one more time.”

“Radaniya.”

Radaniya, who threw herself into my arms, was smaller than I expected. Perhaps because titles like Legendary Ayor, Builder of Ayord, and Eternal Mother were so grand, but in essence, she was just an ordinary woman.

“It worked, right?”

“Mm-hmm. *Sniff*. We’ll need to check if I can follow you when you leave Ayord… but yes. I don’t even need to check right now to know. The ritual was successful.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Mm-hmm…”

Radaniya, perhaps embarrassed about crying so much in front of a human much younger than herself, kept rubbing her face against my chest without looking up. I wanted to tell her that this behavior made her look even younger, but for the sake of someone who had just been liberated after 200 years, I held back.

Just as she was savoring that sense of relief and happiness.

“Urgh… Kuh…”

“S-Seonghyeon? Seonghyeon! Ah…”

My heart suddenly beat hard once, and then overwhelming pain engulfed me.

‘Ah… Am I screwed?’

I, who had maintained my sanity even when Radaniya thrust the gem into my heart, lost consciousness as the last thing I saw was a dignified-looking black cat licking my cheek while crying sorrowfully.

“Meow… Meow… Meow…”

[I’ll have to… stay like this for a while… I’m sorry…]

The black cat curled up beside the human man who now held her lifeline, rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes in concentration.

Determined to maintain this space at all costs, at least until he woke up.