Alon, momentarily stunned by Seolrang’s sparkling eyes, let out a soft sigh.

‘I did think about it, though.’

In fact, he remembered the promise he’d made to Seolrang.

When he made that promise, he’d also agreed with the Dragonkin tribe to reconvene in two years.

Still, what made him panic a little was that Seolrang seemed more earnest than he’d expected.

‘...No, I knew she was sincere back then, too.’

The reason he’d told Seolrang to think about it again in two years was mainly twofold.

First, Alon felt he needed to look after Seolrang’s mental state, and he worried that setting too long a timeline would disappoint her, so he tentatively chose two years.

Second, he assumed her affection (?) would fade with time.

The affection Seolrang showed him felt more like familial attachment than romantic feelings.

Alon already knew that.

To draw a parallel, it was like a little girl declaring, “When I grow up, I’m going to marry Daddy!” 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

So he’d expected that after about two years, her feelings would settle down, and the promise could be gently dismissed.

After all, no matter how much daughters adore their fathers, they gradually become independent as they grow.

Moreover, while Seolrang was already an adult in this fantasy world, she’d still seemed young by Alon’s standards two years ago.

‘...To be honest, she doesn’t seem much different now.’

Alon glanced at Seolrang, who was smiling brightly as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

Her radiant smile—completely free of worry—looked like a child’s.

It was the kind of purity that put others at ease.

In other words, she hadn’t matured much emotionally over the past two years.

Lost in thought, Alon hesitated over what to say.

“Seolrang.”

“Huh? Oh! Rine! What brings you here?”

Startled by the voice, Seolrang immediately brightened and beamed.

Rine returned her smile warmly.

“I had something to take care of, so I followed Godfather here.”

“Ah, I see~”

“But Seolrang, from what Godfather said, it sounds like the two years aren’t completely up yet. Shouldn’t you wait a little longer?”

“Oh, is that so?”

Seolrang tilted her head, confused.

Not missing the opening, Alon cut in.

“Well, there are a few months left.”

“...Um.”

Seolrang’s expression soured for a moment, but it quickly shifted back to cheerful.

“That’s okay! That just means I’ll get an answer in a few months!”

Her tail wagged enthusiastically as her optimism returned.

Seeing her bounce back, Alon was briefly at a loss for words, but he eventually nodded.

“...All right. Let’s talk again in a few months.”

“Got it, Master!”

For now, he decided to accept the delay.

*****

Shortly after,

Alon and his group moved to Seolrang’s guild.

“Wow! What’s this? It’s so cute!”

The moment they entered the slightly chilly guild office, a black creature popped out of the pocket on Alon’s chest.

Seolrang’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the black cat.

Thump~!

Before Alon could stop her, Seolrang quickly scooped up the cat.

Alon opened his mouth to speak, and Evan couldn’t help smirking in anticipation of what would happen next.

Just as they expected—

Swish!

The black creature’s entire body was suddenly covered in countless red eyes.

However—

“Wow! So many eyes now!”

“?”

“?”

Instead of being horrified by the dozens of grotesque eyes, Seolrang looked amazed and lifted the creature even higher.

Screeeeeech~!!!

The creature opened its mouth and let out a grotesque sound, as if it refused to be outdone.

“Wow! It even has a mouth now! Amazing!!!”

Her eyes shone even brighter as she swung the creature around like a toy airplane.

“This... isn’t how it’s supposed to go,” Evan muttered, stunned.

The black creature, equally bewildered, reverted to its normal form, tilting its head in confusion, its eyes trembling slightly.

Screeeeech~!

It let out another scream.

“Ah! Wait a second!”

Seolrang ran off with the creature, then soon came back with her arms full of something.

Before long—

“Wow! So cool!”

The black creature had been dressed in a cute knight doll outfit and was now held up in Seolrang’s hands like a doll.

[......Meow?]

Its round eyes conveyed utter disbelief.

It looked so dumbfounded it had even lost the will to intimidate.

“Do it again! Make all those eyes appear like before!”

[Meow?]

“That was way cooler!”

Her tail wagged excitedly as she cheered.

Watching the scene, Evan murmured, “Seolrang seems to have... a different sense of aesthetics than the rest of us. What do you think?”

“...Yeah.”

“Right?”

While the two of them were left speechless, Rine watched with a satisfied smile.

But it wasn’t long before the black creature started to sweat.

[What’s with all this noise!? ...Huh? Pfft, hahahaha! Huh? What is that?!]

Basiliora, apparently irritated by the commotion, burst out laughing when he saw the black creature in its knight outfit.

“A talking snake?!”

Seolrang immediately set down the black creature and grabbed Basiliora in his spirit form.

[Kek! Wh-what!?]

Basiliora gasped, coughing as if he’d been startled.

But Seolrang, her face full of curiosity, stared at him like he was a brand-new toy.

“Should I dress you up too? I’ve got some clothes left over.”

[What nonsense is this!? This great being will not wear clothes meant for some doll play— Wait, hold on!]

Ignoring his protests, Seolrang hummed cheerfully as she began to “decorate” him.

Watching the bizarre scene unfold again, Alon, Evan, and even Rine were left momentarily speechless.

*****

The next day after arriving at the Colony.

“Godfather, I’ll be stepping out for a bit.”

“Understood. How long will it take?”

“Hmm... probably a day or two. Why?”

“If you don’t return within that time, I’ll assume something’s wrong and come find you.”

Rine paused mid-step.

With a soft smile, she expressed her gratitude, then headed out.

Shortly after, Alon also set out for the ruins early in the morning.

‘...I need to ask about what Lainisius said, and the rites, I suppose.’

As he organized his thoughts—

“Seolrang.”

“What?”

Evan, looking curious, gestured toward the small snake.

“How do you even touch Basiliora?”

“What do you mean, how?”

“Well, Basiliora is in a spirit form.”

Seolrang, as if it were nothing, snapped her fingers and replied, “By passing the Trial of Essence?”

“The Trial of Essence?”

“Yep, with this.”

She showed him the gauntlet on her hand and added, “Passing the Trial of Essence grants you abilities, one by one. Only our race can use them, though.”

“That’s quite an impressive item,” Evan said, impressed.

Hearing their exchange, Alon marveled internally as well.

He’d known there were secrets hidden in Seolrang’s essence, but he hadn’t expected something like this.

“So you gain a new ability every time you pass a trial?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“How many abilities have you acquired so far?”

“...Five?”

“How many trials are there total?”

Seolrang counted on her fingers, then exclaimed, “Oh, eight!”

“Eight?”

“Yep! But I haven’t passed the sixth trial yet.”

“Why not?”

“Well, the condition is... anger? But I haven’t really had a reason to get angry. According to the essence, this trial is a turning point.”

“A turning point?”

“Yeah, like determining whether I’m qualified to be a king or not... something like that?”

Evan nodded thoughtfully, then shrugged.

“Well, even so, you’re taking it easy now, right? You’re already strong enough.”

“Nope.”

“Huh?”

“Why not? I need to get stronger to avenge and protect Master, of course.”

“...The marquis?”

“Yep!”

When Evan glanced at Alon in confusion, he muttered, “Isn’t the marquis already strong enough that he doesn’t need protection anymore?”

“Even so, I want to protect him!”

Seolrang lifted the black creature high, proud, as she declared her determination.

Alon couldn’t help smiling faintly.

Being on the receiving end of someone’s kindness was a pretty pleasant feeling.

Trading light banter like that, they kept crossing the desert.

After some time—

“We’ve arrived!”

At Seolrang’s cheerful announcement, they finally entered the ruins.

*****

Immediately after arriving at the ruins,

as usual, Alon headed straight for the central tower.

[It’s been a while.]

Seeing the Dragonkin tribe waiting for him, Alon muttered without meaning to.

“...Blue?”

[Ah, so you’re finally starting to see more.]

Unlike before—when he could only make out shadows and white outlines—this time Alon could see the blue of the Dragonkin’s eyes.

He stared at their eyes in wonder, then quickly pulled himself together and got to the point.

“...There’s a lot to discuss after two years. Do we have enough time?”

[Don’t worry. I did expend some effort refining what you left, but there’s plenty of time to talk.]

With that reassurance, Alon organized his thoughts and began recounting what had happened over the past two years, starting with the observer’s story.

Eventually—

[Wait a moment. Are you saying you didn’t see the past in the end?]

“That’s correct. Instead, I saw an eye.”

[...That’s impossible.]

The Dragonkin tilted its head, baffled.

[Explain the situation in detail.]

Alon described everything in greater detail—from looking into the mirror to the massive eye speaking in a space that resembled the cosmos.

After listening in silence for a while, the Dragonkin tapped its chin and summarized what Alon had said.

[So, in essence, you’re saying that just before you could see the past, a colossal eye blocked it. An eye so enormous it defies imagination.]

“Correct.”

The Dragonkin fell silent, deep in thought.

After a long while, just as Alon began to wonder, the Dragonkin spoke again.

[Do you remember what I told you about the “black thing” before?]

“...The black thing?”

[Yes. When you asked about it, I said something about earning the favor of a higher god.]

Alon nodded.

“You mentioned something like that, yes.”

The Dragonkin nodded in return.

[At the time, I assumed the black and blue things I mentioned corresponded, more or less, to that idea.]

“...So why bring it up now?”

The Dragonkin’s expression hardened.

[To put it briefly, I believe I made an error in my assumptions.]

“...You misinterpreted the information?”

[Correct. The Bronze Mirror’s ability to record history is absolute, as you may have heard from the observer. Interfering with the mirror—even for the “black” or “blue” I previously had in mind—should be impossible.]

“...Is tampering with the mirror really that difficult?”

[The black and blue entities I initially had in mind were beings who, despite losing their names, managed to seal away more than half the power of the black ones in their battle. They are among the top five gods.]

After a pause, the Dragonkin added,

[Yet even they cannot interfere with the Bronze Mirror’s power.]

“Why not?”

[Because the Bronze Mirror predates even us. For anyone to ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) interfere with an artifact from that era without consequence...]

The Dragonkin let out a hollow laugh.

[...would mean they are beings far above the five gods of the past.]

The words left an ominous weight hanging in the air.