Episode 76: Mirage (2)
“Let’s go.”
Hwaryeong trudged further onto the lawn. Sihyeon hurriedly followed after her. After walking a short distance across the plush, well-manicured grass, a fairly large path soon revealed itself.
Listening to the chirping of birds, they walked along the gentle slope for a few minutes before low-growing trees gradually began to appear. At first, there were wildflowers, and after walking a bit further, a tree-lined avenue made of sycamore trees emerged.
When Sihyeon’s pace slowed slightly because he was looking around, Hwaryeong frowned a bit.
“Why, did you lose something?”
“No. It’s just strange.”
“What is?”
Sihyeon pointed at a sycamore tree and replied.
“These trees usually have an immense number of caterpillars. So many that they fall down in droves when you pass by.”
“And?”
“I haven’t seen a single one yet.”
Sycamore trees have large leaves and are highly resilient to pests, but paradoxically because of this, they were notorious for harboring a lot of them. During the peak season for caterpillars, a gust of wind would often cause them to rain down like water.
“But it doesn't look like they've been spraying pesticides either. It’s fascinating.”
“…That’s because the gardener handles it here.”
“Ah. There’s a gardener. I’d love to learn from them. Those pests are a real headache.”
“If fate allows, you might meet him. He’s called the Tree Bachelor.”
Sihyeon tilted his head at the unfamiliar name he was hearing for the first time.
“The Tree Bachelor?”
“Yes. He’s a manager and gardener of Mirage. They say that ever since he was a child, his mother told him his father was the tree in the front yard. But after a flood washed it away by the roots, his obsession with trees grew intense.”
Sihyeon’s eyes widened. A tree for a father was absurd. Who would play such a malicious prank!
“Is he a fairy or a dryad?”
“No. Those cute things aren’t here. He’s probably a goblin or an old ghost dwelling in a tree. When a goblin sets their mind to deceive you, you can't beat them. The wicked ones are incredibly wicked.”
“Oh dear.”
Hwaryeong stopped walking.
It was a fork in the road. Without a moment's hesitation, she headed down the path to the right. With every single step they took, he could feel the surroundings shifting. There were several more forks after that, but she advanced without ever debating her choice.
“Oh? It’s a river.”
Suddenly, a river unfolded before them. A wide river blanketed by a low, thick mist.
“Mm. We’ll take a boat inside for about thirty minutes. That's our destination. If things get resolved without any trouble, the work will be finished within today. …We mustn't delay.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
In the direction Hwaryeong was looking, a wooden pier came into view.
Moored to the pier, which looked so dilapidated it seemed on the verge of collapsing, was a single wooden ferryboat. The boat was small and narrow, barely able to hold five or six people at most.
Hwaryeong tapped the arm of the hesitating Sihyeon.
“What are you doing? Get on.”
“I’m worried it might sink if I get on.”
“I’ll pull you out before you die, so just get on.”
“…Well. …That’s very reassuring.”
Sihyeon forced himself onto the boat first, but surprisingly, it didn't rock at all. The stability was unexpected.
The ferryman chuckled.
“I will give you a comfortable ride, folks.”
“Take us to Baemsagol.”
When Hwaryeong spoke, the ferryman stopped laughing for a moment and asked:
“The mist is thick today, so it’s dangerous, folks. How about going on another day?”
“It is not a ferryman's place to interfere.”
“Yessir. Understood, folks.”
Locking eyes with Hwaryeong, the ferryman flinched and untied the rope attached to the pier.
“Departing now, folks.”
The ferryman began to row. Though he seemed to be rowing casually, the boat surged forward rapidly. Once they reached a distance where the pier was no longer visible, the river water gradually revealed itself, but something was off.
“Today, you only need to look at one spot. When the next crescent moon rises, you can look at the second candidate site…… Are you listening?”
“…Ah, yes, yes.”
The river water had turned a deep, blackish-blue. The boat created ripples as it moved forward, but it did not sway. Unable to hold back any longer, Sihyeon asked:
“Is there something down there?”
Something whitish was swaying and undulating beneath the water.
“Memories one wishes to forget, folks.”
“?”
A gravelly, phlegm-filled voice cut in to answer.
“This is a river where memories people want to forget gather, folks. If you peer into it, you can read the memories, folks.”
Hwaryeong wore a displeased expression but did not deny it.
The man was right.
As he looked down into the river, stories were playing out like a movie.
There were thrilling tales filled with passion and betrayal like a soap opera. There were suspenseful stories of dark violence and crime, deep as an abyss. Even for someone like him who rarely lost his composure, heartbreakingly sad stories of love and parting unfolded.
“Wake up.”
“!”
The river water was right in front of his nose. He had bent his body so far forward that his face was nearly pressed against the water. A second later, and he would have fallen in. Hwaryeong was gripping Sihyeon by the scruff of his neck.
Startled, Sihyeon put strength into his arms and hauled his body back up.
“Gasp.”
Panting heavily, Sihyeon slumped onto the floor of the ferryboat. His stomach suddenly began to churn.
“You should be looking for your own story. If you immerse yourself in other people's stories, you won't even realize you're drowning.”
“Other people's stories are fun, after all. Hehehe.”
The ferryman sounded rather disappointed.
Hwaryeong’s eyes blazed with fire.
“You talk too much.”
“Oh dear. My mouth shall remain shut now, folks.”
Sihyeon felt his chest grow stuffy and his throat go dry. A slight wave of nausea. Was it motion sickness? Because he knew he would feel better the moment he touched land, he tried to endure it, but the discomfort steadily worsened. At this rate, he felt like he might vomit into the river—no, onto someone else’s memories.
Sihyeon rummaged through his bag and found his special motion sickness remedy. Hwaryeong’s eyes turned toward him.
“What is that?”
“A motion sickness remedy I made. Actually, I prepared it thinking we were going to some deserted island in the West Sea, but I didn't know I'd end up taking it now.”
Sihyeon swallowed a single pill and patted his chest. A Druid’s blend was always instantaneous in its effects; his stomach calmed down comfortably in no time.
“It smells nice.”
“Do you need one too, Lady Hwaryeong?”
Hwaryeong shook her head.
Instead, he could feel the ferryman staring intently at Sihyeon's hand. It was a look of pure craving……?
“Would you like some?”
Offering a motion sickness pill to a ferryman. Sihyeon, fully expecting a refusal, thought it felt like black comedy, but unexpectedly, the ferryman stretched out both hands. Fortunately, the oars were rowing themselves in place automatically…….
Sihyeon placed the mouth of the bottle against the ferryman’s palm and carefully tapped it. A deep green pill the size of a pinky nail rolled out. When Sihyeon tried to close the bottle, the ferryman gripped and pressed down on it. A few more pills tumbled out.
Does this ferryman get severe motion sickness?
When Sihyeon tried to pull away from the somewhat forceful grip, the ferryman put strength into his hand again.
“Stop.”
Hwaryeong spoke sharply, glaring at the ferryman.
“Weren't you undergoing punishment for touching other people's memories?”
“!”
The strength drained out of the ferryman's hand, but the pills had already vanished into his sleeve. Sihyeon hastily packed his bottle away. Though it lasted only a brief second, it was true that it felt as if the man had been trying to steal the bottle.
“When extending kindness, make sure to find out if the recipient deserves it. This place is no different.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
At her cold words, Sihyeon’s face flushed hot. He had let his guard down too much out of fascination.
It felt like they had been on the boat for a very long time, yet it also felt like not even five minutes had passed. The ferryman’s hands grew busy as he hauled in a rope.
“Arrived, folks.”
“Come back in two hours.”
The ferryman bowed obsequiously and slowly rowed his pitch-black, rotten-looking oars back out into the river.
The pier was a bit slippery.
“Shall I hold you?”
Sihyeon instinctively held out his arm, only to lock eyes with Hwaryeong, who wore an amused expression. Hwaryeong grabbed him by the elbow.
Together, they walked out into the mist.
He couldn't see an inch ahead at all.
As Hwaryeong's fireball illuminated the path ahead, black roof tiles faintly revealed their shape.
“The first candidate site is here.”
“It’s a tile-roofed house?”
“I happen to like Hanoks. And coincidentally, it’s hunting season.”
“Hunting season?”
When Sihyeon asked back, Hwaryeong brought a finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
Hiss, hiss, hiss.
Shwek, shwek.
Incessant, sharp hissing sounds echoed from somewhere.
Hwaryeong whispered.
“Find it.”
Sihyeon replied in a low voice as well.
“Just a moment. I can’t see very well.”
Because of the mist and clouds, the boundary between the ground and the sky was blurred.
“I should have brought a lantern or something.”
“That is precisely why I am needed here. Handling two matters at once happens to be my style as well.”
He understood that she needed to hibernate in a place where light was required. Then what was the other matter? As Sihyeon wore a puzzled expression, Hwaryeong spoke.
“I told you it’s hunting season. I have to eliminate the cause of this place turning into this state. So, where do you think it is?”
“…Over there.”
With a certain expression, Sihyeon gazed toward a spot where natural energy was heavily condensed. Just as the boundary between light and shadow was ambiguous, the boundary between shadow and darkness was blurred too.
The spot Sihyeon picked was somewhere right between shadow and darkness. Her eyebrows twitching, Hwaryeong turned and took a step, causing fireballs to drift up around her. The fireballs grew steadily larger, illuminating the area Sihyeon had pointed out.
Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss.
Hiss, hiss, hiss.
Hundreds of black snakes were tangled together.
It was a snake pit.
“Step back.”
Hwaryeong spoke firmly, gesturing for Sihyeon to move to the corner. Sihyeon was briefly captivated by the overwhelming sight—a first for him—before carefully stepping backward upon hearing Hwaryeong's command.
“Once I deal with those bastards, your job is to check if there is anything unusual here. If you point out where the balance has broken, I will either repair it or call a manager.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Sihyeon nodded.
“And do not step forward any further. It will become troublesome if you draw attention.”
The moment Hwaryeong's words ended, the fireballs plummeted downward.
Boom!
Hwaryeong's hair fluttered wildly as the creatures were exposed. Though the vast majority of the hundreds of snakes turned to ash, there was barely any change in the natural energy they possessed. Sihyeon widened his eyes and focused. There was something more.
Amidst the dark mist, a pair of bright yellow eyes with elongated, black slits appeared.
“Lady Hwaryeong!”
“I know.”
Without a shred of agitation, Hwaryeong extended her hand into the air.
In an instant, a fireball incomparably larger than anything prior materialized over Hwaryeong’s hand. It was a power so intense it sent a shiver down his spine.
“Let’s finish this in one go today.”
Hwaryeong spoke in a bored tone.
Screeech—!
As the surroundings brightened due to Hwaryeong's fireball, the creature's body gradually came into view. It was a serpent of monstrous length. Not only was it massive in size, but it also radiated a staggering amount of natural energy. Looking at the creature’s dense, diamond-shaped scales, Sihyeon muttered involuntarily:
“An ulongi?”
Screeeeech—!
The massive body writhed as it turned its head. Its vertically slit pupils were locked dead onto Sihyeon. Noting this, Hwaryeong clicked her tongue.
“I told you to stay still.”
“!”
Without hesitation, Hwaryeong hurled the fireball. Instantly, an intense light plummeted, strong enough to vaporize the mist.
Screeeeeeech—!
Even though more than a third of its long body had been blasted away, the ulongi was still alive. And its eyes were still fixed on Sihyeon.
“What's this? Why has it gotten stronger?”
“Pardon??”
Hiss, hiss.
Hwaryeong muttered under her breath.
“This has become annoying. That thing only attacks one target.”
“What??”
The yellow eyeballs locked gazes with Sihyeon.
The ulongi coiled its remaining body. A posture right before a strike.
The hairs on Sihyeon's head stood on end.
Hyaaaa!
In an instant, the ulongi launched itself through the air. He heard Hwaryeong shout:
“Damn it. Run!”
Time felt as though it were slowing down. The massive form of the ulongi surged right down toward Sihyeon.
At that exact moment.
Sihyeon’s eyes flashed a brilliant blue as he siphoned in the natural energy like a whirlwind.
“Bind!!”
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