HH Chapter 23

When I woke up, a new window titled ‘Main Story Progress’ had been activated.

[Main Story Progress: 1%]

‘Only 1%?’

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In a way, it was to be expected. Last night was the first time I had gone out at night to investigate for clues.

‘Why did the progress window suddenly appear?’

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I frowned, pondering a crucial question nagging at me. While it was helpful to know the progress, it also felt unsettling. Thinking about whom I met right before it appeared…

‘Don’t tell me it appeared because of the ghost….?’

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No way, right?

“…….”

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Morning came. 

As I left my room, I glanced at the spot where I had encountered the ghost the previous night.

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That man had been standing in front of the mirror. And since the key was hidden there, I couldn’t even get close.

‘No one’s there now.’

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Should I just take a quick peek?

I tiptoed towards the mirror, muffling my footsteps. Just as I reached out for it, I heard a door open nearby. It was Haylan.

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“…Hello?”

Self-consciously smoothing down my hair, as if I hadn’t been about to examine the mirror, I turned to greet Haylan.

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“It’s time for breakfast.”

“…….”

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I opened my arms as if inviting him for a hug, and Haylan, after giving me a look of disdain, walked out of his room.

‘Why is he listening so well today?’

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I was a little puzzled, but I decided to take it as a positive sign. He was being so docile and quiet; he was like a little angel.

As I went down the stairs with Haylan in front of me, the mansion servants, once again, rubbed their eyes in surprise.

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‘Well, it is really surprising. The guy who always stays in his room has come out two days in a row.’

Haylan ate heartily, as if he had a good appetite early in the morning. He seemed slightly embarrassed himself, sneaking glances at me and the servants as he nibbled at his food.

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‘See, I told you he loves to eat….’

I almost teared up, imagining how this child might have gone without food for days simply because he couldn’t die from starvation.

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“What?”

“Have some of mine too.”

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“……Hmph.”

He still didn’t say no outright. His white cheeks puffed out adorably as he chewed, and I had to resist the urge to pat his head.

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After breakfast, Haylan seemed a little drowsy. He still refused to walk on his own, so I held out my arms, and Haylan, sighing dramatically, readily leaned against me. A sweet scent of strawberry jam wafted from his round cheeks.

The ground was still a little damp, but unlike yesterday, it wasn’t raining, making the walk much more pleasant. The neglected garden, untouched and devoid of any signs of life, still felt desolate and bleak.

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“It feels good to be outside and get some fresh air, right?”

“Not at all. Don’t presume to know how I feel.”

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Despite his gruff words, Haylan snuggled closer and wrapped his arms loosely around my neck as the wind blew. At that moment, I felt a surprising warmth in my chest, as if I’d gained a younger sibling.

“Why are you smiling?”

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“…….”

“……What is it?”

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Haylan tilted his head back to look up at me. His brown hair tickled my cheeks as it danced in the breeze. I gently stroked his hair and said,

“Having clear likes and dislikes is a very good thing.”

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Although he might say he disliked it  with his own mouth, Haylan’s overall reaction were very clear. You could tell if you paid attention.

“Please tell me whenever you like or dislike something. I’m here because I want to be helpful to you, Haylan.”

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“…….”

Haylan turned his head away instead of answering. It was only natural since it had only been a day that’s why he hadn’t opened up to me yet. Unlike me, who had been fond of him even before we met.

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“Shall we go back inside?”

I turned back. I had things to do today, so I couldn’t spend too much time on the walk.

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“I’ll come get you for lunch.”

“…….”

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I put Haylan down and headed towards my room. Our rooms were both on the second floor, so it wasn’t strange that we walked up the stairs together, but….

‘Why is he following me?’

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Our rooms were in opposite directions. My room was to the left of the staircase, and Haylan’s was down the hallway to the right.

Wondering why the sound of footsteps hadn’t faded, I glanced back and saw Haylan following me at a distance, and I couldn’t help but look at him puzzled, ‘What’s this?’

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Somehow, we arrived in front of my room. I stared at him, then turned the doorknob and muttered to myself,

“You can’t come in here….”

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My room was a safe zone. My personal sanctuary where Haylan, the resident danger, was forbidden. But Haylan simply looked at me curiously, then stepped right through the open doorway as if to prove me wrong.

“Why are you surprised? It’s my house. I can go wherever I want.”

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“…….”

My sanctuary had been invaded! I was too shocked to speak.

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‘How did he get in? No, more importantly, why did he come in?!’

Even thoughI found Haylan cute, he was still a ticking time bomb as far as I was concerned.

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While I was frozen in place, Haylan looked around my room, then climbed onto a chair and sat down. He started staring at the handmade talismans I was working on.

I anticipated what Haylan would asked and immediately answered,

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“I was making scrolls.”

“Now that I think about it, you said you were a mage.”

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“Ah, it’s nothing strange, its just defensive scrolls!”

And as you know, I’m a mercenary. 

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I incorporated my situation into the explanation, saying that scrolls were essential because dangerous situations were frequent in my line of work.

‘Though it’s actually a lie.’

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It was more efficient to draw magic circles on the spot than to carry scrolls around. Besides, defensive magic wasn’t my specialty, so I just copied those from a book.

“……Dangerous situations?”

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Haylan repeated my words softly, then looked at me and asked,

“What dangerous situations could there possibly be in my house?”

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“Of course, this house is safe, but you never know.”

“…….”

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Haylan seemed to ponder my words for a moment before turning his attention back to the items on the desk.

“This won’t work no matter what you do. The conditional formula is completely wrong.”

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“Huh?”

I went over to him and checked for errors, comparing my work to the open book next to the paper. It was unfinished, but I was sure I hadn’t made any mistakes in copying.

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“Look here.”

Haylan pointed at the first line with his finger and explained. It was the part about the scroll automatically activating when a hostile being came within a certain range.

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“You wrote the equation with the equals sign reversed. That completely changes the nature of the spell.”

He explained that the error transformed the scroll from a defensive spell into an offensive one, causing a conflict with the subsequent formulas and preventing the scroll from activating at all.

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‘Oh, I see. No wonder it wouldn’t work; the first line was messed up.’

I nodded, taking his words to heart. I’d been in such a hurry to make the scroll because of the ghost that I had simply just copied the words from the book without understanding them. Since I didn’t understand anything, there was no way I could have found the mistake….

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‘Wait, does that mean the book is wrong?’

I literally just copied it? 

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Haylan glanced at the <Mastering the Basics of Defensive Scroll Creation> book I’d opened next to me, then looked up to me and spoke,

“Shall I teach you?”

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Swoosh.

[A new quest has occurred!]

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[Sub Quest: Create a Defensive Scroll
Create one proper defensive scroll with the help of your mentor.
*To Do: Create a scroll (0/1)
*Reward: 50 Solra]

A new quest suddenly appeared. More importantly, Haylan is offering to teach me how to make a defensive scroll?

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‘Why? I thought he found me annoying?’

I was utterly baffled. I was already struggling to understand why he had even entered my room in the first place. I hesitated for a moment, then asked Haylan,

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“Are you a mage?”

“I only know the theory. I can’t use magic because I have low mana.”

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A faint spark flickered from his tiny fingertip.

“I have no talent for it, anyway.”

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As he said, that was the extent of his abilities. The fact that a simple spark for a few seconds depleted all his magical power meant… Haylan was incapable of activating most spells.

The amount of mana one possesses is directly proportional to the user’s physical strength and experience. Even a  prodigy whose magical talent manifested at a young age would be limited in the magic they could wield if they had low mana.

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And Haylan, who was only five or six years old physically, would naturally have a minuscule amount of mana.

‘But theoretical knowledge is different.’

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Despite his unchanging physical form, Haylan had lived for an unimaginable amount of time. Unless he’d wasted all those years, he would naturally know far more than me.

“If you don’t want to….”

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“I do! Please teach me!”

I quickly grabbed Haylan’s outstretched hand. I didn’t understand why he had suddenly came to my room and offered to teach me magic, but doesn’t this felt like some kind of affection event? 

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Besides, learning magic would be helpful for me in the future, so there was no reason to refuse.

 

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