Chapter 21

Jaekani still hadn’t decided whether to forgive Huikyung or beg for his forgiveness. But now that everything he knew had been burned to ashes, he realized he had no choice. To survive, he had to stick with Huikyung somehow. After all, wasn’t he an Esper? Surely, he had some sort of plan if he’d gone to such lengths.

In response to Jaekani’s firm demand to take responsibility, Huikyung muttered, almost as if to himself:

“How old are you now?”

“Ten.”

Jaekani decided to fully commit to this lie. After all, Huikyung didn’t know his real age, did he?

“Ten? Then seven or eight years left…”

“Why—why seven or eight years?”

“You said you were ten.”

“…Wouldn’t it be five years? You’re an adult at fifteen, aren’t you?”

“Fifteen? That’s no adult. That’s just a pimply brat.”

So adulthood didn’t start at fifteen? Jaekani wiped his tears, trying to hide his confusion.

“Well, at least it’s not ten years. Small mercies, I guess. Ugh, just my luck…”

At Huikyung’s grumbling, Jaekani’s jaw dropped.

“Just your luck? Just your luck?!”

What? Just his luck?!

That was ‘Jaekani’s’ line.

He’d been the one stuck with this shameless beast disguised as a human! He’d lost his community, his home, his sense of belonging, even his father. He’d even lost the friend he’d been looking forward to spending time with for the first time ever.

Jaekani gritted his teeth, unable to suppress his anger. If he could, he’d beat Huikyung’s smug face into a pulp. But unfortunately, Jaekani was a powerless child, and Huikyung was an Esper with vastly superior physical abilities. The power dynamic was clear.

Huikyung averted his gaze from Jaekani’s eyes, where blue flames seemed to flicker.

“…Follow me.”

Jaekani shot daggers at Huikyung’s back with his glare, but Huikyung didn’t look back. His broad shoulders moved steadily away, as if awaiting divine punishment for his actions.

Huikyung’s stride was much longer than Jaekani’s, nearly double in speed. After just a moment of glaring, Jaekani realized Huikyung had already become as small as a fingertip in the distance.

Hearing what sounded like a wolf’s howl from far away snapped Jaekani out of his thoughts. He hurriedly wiped his tear-streaked face and quickened his steps.

“Where are we going?!”

“Outside the village.”

“No! We have to bury him!”

Huikyung stopped in his tracks.

“If I blow up the body until it’s unrecognizable, will that stop you from whining?”

His tone was uncompromising. While he hadn’t taken Jaekani’s plea for responsibility seriously, he was deadly serious when it came to Jaekani’s insistence on burying his father.

What a heartless bastard. This was how he repaid Jaekani’s efforts?

Fuming, Jaekani followed Huikyung, his footsteps quick and determined, fearful the man might leave him behind.

Thinking back, every sentence out of that man’s mouth was foul.

Up ahead, Huikyung reflected on the same. He cast a sharp glance over his shoulder at Jaekani, who was focused on his heels, oblivious to the look.

Well, there’s no point pretending I’m above this now, Huikyung thought grimly. True, I’ve done my share to ruin his survival odds.

Still, if we’re going to stick together, I’ll have to take a moment someday to teach him proper manners, Huikyung resolved.

‘I trusted you!’

Flames are often associated with the color red, but in truth, the hotter the fire, the whiter it becomes.

What Jaekani saw was a fire so white, it resembled snowflakes.

This child, who had shared a fleeting moment of memory with a stranger in the dark, had already grown attached.

Huikyung stared at the crown of Jaekani’s round head.

“What are you looking at?”

Seriously…

Swallowing his irritation at the cheeky retort delivered with an upward glare, Huikyung remained silent.

* * *

The place that was once a village now existed only as a secret preserved in history. The remnants of the village amounted to little more than crumbling walls, no longer serving their purpose.

In such a state, it was no wonder intruders, creatures, and wild animals came and went as they pleased.

Jaekani didn’t know who among the villagers had survived—if anyone had survived at all. But with the village in ruins, everyone would likely scatter. Assuming they were alive.

“Even if we don’t bury him, can’t we at least set up a marker?”

Jaekani asked as he stepped over the ash and rubble of the burned village. He knew what Jaebad had done to Huikyung, but he still hoped, if not for a burial, then at least for a marker. Even a simple cross would suffice. He knew Huikyung lacked any respect for the dead, so the answer was predictable.

“Nope.”

“…Then can I at least grab some belongings? Survival essentials, you know.”

Whether or not the house was intact, it had held all the belongings Jaekani cherished. He thought of the flower ring he had carefully hidden between the pages of his textbook.

“Nope.”

“The outside’s dangerous! There are monsters, slavers—”

“I can beat them all.”

“How are you going to beat anything? You’re just a healing Esper.”

They were nearing the edge of the village now. The closer they got to the scorched walls, the more Jaekani felt a twisting sensation in his gut.

“They’ll have guns, the creatures have venom—what are you going to do, throw your severed arm at them?”

Huikyung stopped abruptly in front of a soot-blackened section of wall.

“Don’t talk about that. It’s disgusting.”

Right. Like talking about curry in front of someone eating dung. Or was it the other way around?

“…Are you really a healing Esper? Is that even true?”

It seemed unlikely, given how deliberate and calculated yesterday’s explosion and flames had been.

They had reached the outskirts of the village. The once-imposing wall, a shadow of its former self, had collapsed under the force of some tremor or blast. Now, even Jaekani could easily climb over what remained.

“No.”

“Then what are you?”

“It’s hard to explain, but I’m not that.”

With his hands in his pockets, Huikyung effortlessly vaulted over the remnants of the wall.

Jaekani hesitated at the boundary.

Once, the heads of intruders had been displayed here as a warning.

Jaekani had rarely ventured beyond this wall, and only under exceptional circumstances. Even then, it had been so long ago that it felt like another life. The world beyond the wall was unknown to him. To Jaekani, the wall had been more than just protection from creatures and intruders. It had defined the limits of his reality, the boundary between the real and the unreal. It had been his entire world.

Someday, when I’m fifteen, I’ll patrol the area. Then I’ll get to cross this wall.

That had been the thought once.

Jaekani took a deep breath. Squeezing his eyes shut, he jumped over the ruined wall. Grass crunched under his shoes, making a faint noise.

He had crossed into the world. And yet, nothing happened.

Slowly, Jaekani opened his eyes, which had been clenched shut so tightly that creases had formed on his eyelids. He expected Huikyung to be far ahead by now, but the man stood there, hands still in his pockets, watching the boy.

Jaekani couldn’t decipher the look in his eyes.

He turned to glance back. The village that had once been his everything now lay in ruins, scattered like ash. A barren wasteland, along with his nightmares, fury, and unanswered questions.

Jaekani turned his head forward again.

Still, nothing happened.

“…Are you done asking questions?”

“No.”

It was the first time Huikyung, so adamant about keeping his secrets, had offered even the barest hint of an answer. It wasn’t much, but Jaekani was grateful nonetheless.

There was too much for him to process: despair over his father’s death, betrayal by the truth of the village, the need to empathize with Huikyung’s suffering, and the bittersweet mix of dread and anticipation about leaving the village. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions.

So Jaekani simply alternated between glancing back, looking ahead, observing Huikyung, and staring at his own feet.

He felt so much, yet what he needed most right now was to keep asking Huikyung questions.

“What else are you curious about?”

A murderer, a traitor, and a victim, Huikyung didn’t seem the type to offer Jaekani a chance out of kindness. Yet Jaekani couldn’t help but think he was giving him an opportunity—a distraction to keep him from fixating on the ruins, his father, and the shattered village.

“Well… What about healing?”

“The higher the grade, the faster the recovery. Whether I’m a low-tier healing Esper or a high-tier Esper hiding my abilities, they can’t tell the difference.”

“Why did you hide it?”

“To avoid being deemed a threat and executed.”

“…If you’re wearing a controller, does that mean you can’t do anything?”

Trying to keep up with Huikyung’s increasingly brisk pace left Jaekani panting. He nearly collided with Huikyung’s leg when the man suddenly stopped again.

“Nope. I’m still crazy strong.”

What the hell? He’s so childish!

At Huikyung’s juvenile response, Jaekani pouted.

The flower ring hidden in his textbook came to mind again.

Huikyung must have considered himself a particularly useful card to play. Jaekani wondered which part of Huikyung’s actions had been genuine. Was it all real? Or had there been not a shred of sincerity?

Did Huikyung manipulate him deliberately? Or had Jaekani, by sheer coincidence, acted exactly the way Huikyung needed him to?