Wizard of the Deep Sea

TL/ED – Miso

Until now, there had been no reason to go up against a knight. Crimson Circle was a group of Fallen, and although there were some who had transformed into knights, I hadn’t seen anything because I was busy fighting Dersia.

I knew they were strong, and I had seen Linmel’s ability to have her movements erased mid-action…

But now that I was playing a deadly game of human chess in the same space, I knew for certain.

They’re not the same kind of human.

“What the…”

Frowning, I kept missing Hyun-cheong’s movements, then catching them again.

Every time I passed through one hallway, that guy walked through twenty.

He wasn’t even running. He would take a step, vanish, then appear at the next corridor. It was practically teleportation, like something you’d call spatial folding.

Naturally, at this rate, he would search every corner and still find me within a minute. Then he’d probably threaten me to open my workshop.

While running, I indirectly disrupted him.

– Clatter!

I predicted where Hyun-cheong was heading and knocked over all the flower pots lining the windows nearby.

[Huh? Why did the flower pots fall…?]

[Oh no, what a mess! Clean it up quickly!]

Hearing the sound of breaking, maids came rushing in with brooms and dustpans, sweeping up the shards and soil.

While they were mopping, Hyun-cheong arrived at that spot. Seeing the Heaven’s Judgement Knight, the maids turned pale and bowed repeatedly.

[W-we’re sorry!]

[It’s alright. Did you knock them over?]

[Well, when we came, it was already…]

[Hmm.]

Hyun-cheong glanced beyond the corridor for a moment, then turned around.

[Ah, weren’t you planning to go through here?]

[I was. Up until just now.]

Without hesitation, Hyun-cheong gave up on the space beyond the flower pots.

Simply put, I lost the psychological battle.

Of course, I hadn’t expected him to stop just because of some fallen flower pots. It was basically an ad saying, “I’m here. I knocked them over while running.” But he judged it to be a fabricated clue.

More precisely, he didn’t think I was foolish enough to plant something like that and then pass through.

Getting acknowledged by the enemy is always a little satisfying. So I, acknowledging Hyun-cheong in return, went to a room quite a distance away and locked the door.

– Click.

[…Hmm.]

A storage room several meters away.

I locked the keyhole of a small drawer inside that room.

Of course, a normal person wouldn’t be able to hear that. Even if they had their ear pressed right against the door.

But Hyun-cheong stopped walking, then returned to that exact room and opened the door.

Then, taking out a key from his inner pocket, he opened the drawer.

Naturally, the drawer was empty.

With no change in expression, Hyun-cheong exited the room. The whole process only took a few seconds, not very significant in terms of time.

So from this moment on, I made it significant.

– Click.

– Click.

– Click.

[…]

I turned the doorknobs of every room around Hyun-cheong at the exact same time.

This time, I clearly saw Hyun-cheong’s brow furrow ever so slightly.

It felt a bit too obvious, but something like this, if done within close range, could be explained with even 1-Star magic. They wouldn’t be able to use this as evidence to put me on trial.

While Hyun-cheong was unlocking every room one by one, I arrived at an annex where the maids were. It seemed to be a dormitory specifically for maids.

“Huff, huff…”

I thought I had built up enough stamina during training with Dersia, but with the precise control required while running, it felt like I was going to throw up.

Leaning against the wall, I took in a few ragged breaths, roughly brushed back my hair, and pushed open the door.

“Yeah, that’s right. Lately, Her Highness has been…”

“Really? Are you serious?”

“I told you, it’s true.”

I had already sensed it with current sense, but as expected of the royal family, even the maids seemed to enjoy a relaxed working environment.

When I boldly opened the door, no one even looked my way. But after I walked a few steps, all eyes naturally turned to me, since a man had entered a space full of women.

“…Oh my, what’s this? A boy just walked in?”

“Is he a noble kid someone here knows?”

“No. None of the noble children I know look like that…”

Most of them looked more confused than wary. Technically, I had entered a forbidden area for males, but it seemed no one really considered a boy just over ten as a “man.”

After a brief moment of hesitation, I just went for it.

“I came looking for my mother.”

“Uh, your mother…?”

“What… are you talking about?”

“Your mother is here??”

In an instant, the maids’ expressions turned serious.

From their perspective, having spent most of their lives dealing with nobles, a child of unknown origin usually meant one thing, something along those lines.

Of course, if I pointed someone out directly here, that maid’s life would be over. So I worded it as gently and indirectly as I could.

“I heard someone here knows my mother. I’d like to speak with her.”

I raised my finger and pointed to someone.

The maids parted like waves. Seeing her startled expression, I spoke softly.

“Aliren nim.”

“What…”

“Could we talk in more detail?”

I met her eyes calmly.

To be honest, we didn’t look alike at all. If not for the name and the fact she had a limp, I would never have guessed.

But the important thing was that I had figured it out.

“Please.”

I bowed politely, while making a threat.

It was exactly that, a threat. At this point, she had to know I was aware of everything.

She would know better than me what would happen if it were revealed that a maid had an affair with a noble.

Even with my head bowed, I used current sense to observe her face. Though she kept a more composed expression than expected.

-Thump, thump… she couldn’t hide the sound of her heart starting to pound.

“…A-alright. I don’t know what this is about, but if it’s something I know, I’ll cooperate. But right now.”

“Now.”

“…Huh?”

“Right now, you’ll have to come with me and hear the explanation.”

I muttered through gritted teeth.

Hyun-cheong had already opened all the rooms I had set up, and my condition was extremely bad.

This level of current sense with just two pills taken. Without them, my brain might’ve melted.

It meant I must never use the abilities of the Deep Sea without medicine again. Disgusting as it was, the Crimson Circle’s drugs were incredibly helpful.

Hopefully this wasn’t some kind of human elixir made by killing children. As I glared at Aliren, she flinched and nodded.

“Y-yes. Then to my room…”

“That won’t do either.”

I shook my head again.

If we talk here, Hyun-cheong will definitely show up.

“You’ll need to come with me to a quiet place where we can talk in private. I’ll guide the way.”

“No, dear. That’s not possible.”

A maid who had been listening nearby interrupted, looking baffled.

“I don’t know what this is about, but Aliren’s legs are not well, so…”

“I know.”

Snap. I flicked my fingers.

A star lit up in my eye, and the chair Aliren was sitting on began to float gently into the air.

“Let’s go like this.”

“…!”

Magic, proof of noble blood.

The maids instantly stepped away from me. At the same time, realizing what Aliren had done, they turned frightened eyes toward her.

Just as I was about to leave quickly due to the time pressure, one maid cautiously approached and knelt down.

“What is it?”

“Y-young master…”

The most unpleasant title I could hear.

With a slightly annoyed expression, I looked at her as she trembled but begged for mercy.

“W-what… are you planning to do with Aliren…?”

There was a faint look of resolve in her eyes.

Short on time, I answered briefly.

“It’s not that this person had an affair with my dad and had a child and is talking about putting them on the family register so I’m trying to kill her, I just purely have something I want to ask. Don’t misunderstand.”

“…Huh?”

“It’s hard to believe but it’s true. Once I hear what I need, I’ll put her in a carriage and send her back carefully, so don’t worry. She has absolutely no connections with any noble. Besides, I’m not a noble myself.”

At this point, I’d done everything I could.

Carrying Aliren, I passed the maid who still looked a bit stunned and left the dormitory. Then I asked bluntly.

“Is there a back exit or something?”

“Ah, y-yes…”

Looks like I won’t have to climb the walls.

Leaving through the back door Aliren pointed out, I was instantly greeted by the snow-covered Capital. A boy floating on a chair with a maid was bound to attract attention, so I immediately ducked into an alley.

After that, I ran without pause.

“W-wait a moment…!”

“Keep your mouth shut, or you’ll bite your tongue.”

Turn, turn again, and turn once more.

It probably wouldn’t help much, but now and then I left behind some dummy footprints and erased my trail as best I could.

Only after reaching the farthest corner of the alleyways, a dead end with nowhere else to go, did I finally stop and set the chair down.

Facing Aliren, who clutched the armrests tightly with such force her veins were visible, clearly tense as the wind had scraped the nearby wall, I said,

“Sorry it’s not a cozy little cafe.”

“…Didn’t you say earlier that you wouldn’t kill me?”

Even as she breathed heavily, Aliren glared at me with certainty.

I had no intention of dragging this out either.

“Greg. Ren. Do those names mean anything to you?”

“…!”

There was no need to check her pulse with current sense.

Her emotional response was written all over her face. She might as well have confessed. So I kept the explanation to a minimum.

“Looks like you know them. Then do you know where they are and what they’re doing now?”

“I don’t.”

Aliren shook her head with what seemed like genuine confusion.

“And if this is about that incident, then you’re mistaken.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have no connection to those children.”

“Hm.”

I looked at Aliren.

She wasn’t exactly confident, but her expression carried a certain conviction in her words.

So this was the type she was.

“I don’t know who hired you or what you were told, but send me back. I have nothing to say.”

“Is that so? That’s odd, because the records from the orphanage say otherwise.”

“…”

Aliren’s expression stiffened slightly.

Just slightly. With a sour look returning to her face, she snapped back.

“Fine, yes. I did do some volunteer work at the orphanage. But is that a crime? Those weren’t the only kids I helped. From the start, no matter how deeply you dig…”

Watching her trying to explain, I nodded.

“Now that you say it, that does make sense.”

“…You kno- Huh?”

When I nodded, her expression subtly shifted.

“I made a mistake. Connecting you just because you volunteered at the orphanage is a bit of a stretch.”

“Ah, yes.”

“Sorry for the trouble. I’ll send you back now.”

“…??”

I wasn’t just saying it.

I really did decide to send her back, and just tell Ren I couldn’t find anything. That seemed to be the best call.

But not even thirty seconds after I started walking, carrying Aliren again, she spoke up from behind me.

“Um, excuse me-”

“Yes. Do you have a question?”

“Well, um, I really don’t have any connection, but still, since they’re children from the same orphanage… I do know them?”

“I figured.”

“So, um… I just wanted to ask. Why are you looking for those kids?”

“They both fell. Greg died trying to rescue his sister from a knight, crushed by the Burden. Ren will soon burn to death, consumed by her world.”

“…What???”

Aliren gasped in a much higher pitch than before.

“W-wait. What do you mean? Is this some kind of twisted joke?”

“It’s not. Those children were cursed with a terrible gift because one of their parents was a wizard. They became wizards themselves.”

“…!”

“And while growing up at the orphanage, they faced many hardships. Unlike the others who had vague but solid hope that their parents would return for them someday, perhaps because they saw that hope trampled right before their eyes… yes. Both of them fell.”

I turned around as I spoke.

Aliren’s eyes trembled without rest.

“…Those children no, where is Ren now?”

“There’s no reason for me to tell you.”

“W-why not!”

“You’re not related.”

“Ugh…! That’s…”

As Aliren bit her lip, I responded coldly.

“And even if you were related, I wouldn’t want to let you meet. Isn’t it better to at least not be rejected at the end?”

“…I’m not related.”

“Yes. I know.”

That was the answer I had expected.

I wouldn’t blame her for valuing her own safety more than a dying child’s. I kept walking, giving her that respect, and then Aliren added,

“It’s true. You think I’m their mother, don’t you?”

“That’s what I heard.”

“I’m not. That’s the one thing I can say with certainty.”

“…?”

Aliren swallowed dryly and looked at me desperately.

“I didn’t give birth to them myself, but… I know who their real mother is.”

“…”

I locked eyes with her for a moment before asking,

“Who is it?”

“Kathren. She was a maid like me.”

“Then where is she now? If we go back to the palace, can we meet her?”

“No.”

Aliren bowed her head with a sorrowful expression.

“She died a long time ago.”

“…What?”

“It was a tragic end. She wasn’t satisfied with just a one-night stand. She truly believed they loved each other. Even after being told that the best outcome would be getting assassinated by the noble’s mistress, she still went through with it, quitting her position as a maid to give birth to those two. She was a foolish woman.”

Aliren, now confessing everything, didn’t seem to be lying.

So, if this was true.

“You’re not their real mother.”

“Yes. She really… was a foolish woman…”

…Greg and Ren had truly misunderstood things.

Aliren continued speaking with her head still lowered. Transparent tears were dropping onto her skirt.

“Kathren was my closest friend. At first, we got close because our names sounded similar, but after that, we became inseparable. I helped her a lot, thinking it would be hard for a woman to raise children alone. But Kathren never took care of her kids. She kept going back to that noble.”

“Was she murdered?”

“It would’ve been better if she had been. That man wasn’t cruel enough to kill the woman who bore his child, but he also wasn’t bold enough to accept her either. A pitiful little man. He kept rejecting her, again and again, until Kathren ended her own life.”

“…”

“I couldn’t choose. How was I supposed to treat children who carried the blood of a man I hated and the friend I loved…”

“So you sent them to the orphanage.”

“Yes. I suppose I wanted to forget. But I found myself visiting them. Every time I saw the father’s face in them, or their mother’s… I didn’t know what to do. Eventually, I made a decision-”

Aliren raised a trembling hand and split open the pendant she had been wearing.

Inside was a faded document.

“I received this the night it happened. If I signed this, I would’ve become their legal mother. But Greg misunderstood.”

“Hm.”

I didn’t need to hear the rest to understand.

Looking at Aliren as she cried, I muttered,

“To be honest, I’m not sure you have the right to hate that noble.”

“…What did you say?”

She lifted her head. Her eyes, now red, were filled with unmistakable rage.

I couldn’t care less. I scoffed and replied,

“You said he wasn’t cruel enough to kill the woman who bore his child, and not bold enough to take her in. But isn’t that exactly what you’re describing yourself as?”

“…What?”

“You could’ve chosen to hate them as the children of your friend’s murderer, or love them as the final trace of a dear friend. If you had picked even one of those, neither of them would’ve fallen.”

“…W-what are you talking about?”

“The Inner World doesn’t break easily. Even Crimson Circle, who literally tears off arms and legs as a first step, struggles with it.”

Why did Wihwa make the target dream happy dreams?

It was to create a fall. A drop.

It wasn’t about dragging them down underground from the earth. It was about letting them fall from the sky to the ground.

“Because you loved them, because your love made those children see you as their mother regardless of who their real mother was, they ascended to the sky. And because they learned you were not their real mother, because they realized they had been abandoned twice, they fell to the ground.”

“…I, I didn’t mean to.”

“Yes, you probably didn’t know they were wizards. Or that they were Fallen. You must’ve only learned what those conditions meant recently. So, honestly speaking, you didn’t do much wrong. You just had terrible luck. That’s all, and you can move past it. But-”

As I scraped away at the surrounding stone wall, I asked,

“-Can you move past it like that?”

“…”

Aliren opened her mouth, about to say something.

But she hung her head low, and trembling, she murmured,

“…I want to see them.”

“What would you do if you did?”

“A-apologize…”

Watching Aliren grit her teeth, I furrowed my brows.

Naive. She didn’t even understand her own feelings.

Personally, setting aside good and evil, she’s the type I dislike.

But what could I do?

The client requested it.

Click, I inserted a key into a door I had created.

“This is-”

“Do as you wish from here.”

“…”

I briefly glanced as Aliren hesitated, then slowly reached out toward the door.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t curious about their reunion, but I had no time to care about that.

“…Hoo.”

As expected, it didn’t work.

I let out a strained laugh, focusing my current sense on a knight cutting through all my decoys and approaching directly.

A knight who kills wizards.

A Heaven’s Judgement Knight who kills such knights.

An elite among them, handpicked for dealing with dangerous beings like the Fallen.

It was necessary to assess the capabilities of such a potential threat.

“Let’s see how this goes.”

It was insanely dangerous, but I had to enter the Deep Fusion state.

Even then, I couldn’t guarantee victory.

I was thinking that when.

“What the hell can a dumbass like you even hope to do?”

“…!”

Tap.

A hand touched the back of my neck.

Instantly, chills ran across my whole body. I had definitely extended my current sense to the highest sensitivity.

And yet, even in this moment, with this unknown figure’s hand on my neck, I couldn’t feel a thing.

Within current sense, nothing existed behind me.

As I froze, unable to breathe in this one situation where sensation surpassed my current sense, the hand began roughly kneading my shoulder.

“Ack, aack.”

“Why so tense? For such a tiny runt, you sure got a lot of fears.”

“…Br-Brimdal?”

I looked up at the tall dwarf with an incredulous expression.

He wasn’t some unknown assailant.

…He was just an assailant.