The spirit reformed its shape, but now it was only slightly larger than a human. It probably looked at me, though it had no eyes, so I couldn't tell its expression.
"When I felt the third tremor, a very strong force from outside tried to peer into this place. It happened to be near where I was, and since it had a similar nature to mine, I touched it."
"From outside?" I asked.
"Yes. It had the power to manipulate memories using mist and seemed to be searching for the Caregiver. That must be you."
The King of the Innocent. The jellyfish. If the pervert of this world is the King of the Innocent, that would be a relief.
"Are you sure it's from outside? Not an entity of this world?"
"Yes. It knew that this place was a created dungeon and tried to enter me, just as Yerim entered Delta's body. But it was soon pushed out, and I acquired some of its power and information."
Spirits originally can't use skills, so performing feats like earlier is nearly impossible, it said. In other words, the attempt to manipulate my memories using mist was the jellyfish's skill.
Not only can it steal memories, but it can also alter them. A truly dangerous ability.
"So if we install the remaining discs, not only the Newcomer but the perverts can interfere and come in."
I wondered if the Newcomer could prevent that. It was worrisome that there was still no news.
"I will give you the remaining power. Unlike me, you won't be able to utilize it, but it will block the owner of this power from tampering with your memories at least once."
A thin mist wrapped around my body and then disappeared.
"You're not giving it to Yerim?" I asked.
"Yerim has that pearl. But others should be careful. Especially the contractor of the Fire Spirit..."
"What now?"
I was starting to get annoyed that it kept bringing up Yoohyun.
"It's not because of his attribute this time. Since some of his memories have already been stolen by the owner of the mist, he will be more vulnerable."
"It's true he lost his memories, but he recovered them," I said.
"As far as I know, not completely. The owner of the mist still holds some of his memories."
...The Newcomer did warn me. That some might have disappeared. Since Yoohyun had lost the most memories among those who were caught in the mist... Damn that wretched jellyfish.
"Be careful."
With those final words, the spirit's form blurred. Yerim looked at me worriedly.
"Didn't they say the lost memories were all recovered?"
"...I thought he'd regained them all, but it seems some are still missing. But since it's not causing any particular issues, you don't need to worry too much."
It must be something trivial. But even if it's a tiny, insignificant memory, I won't leave it alone. Though I told Yerim it was okay.
I will never let my brother be taken from me again. Not even a tiny part of him, ever.
"But the spirit... The one I'll contract with won't go around blurting out my inner thoughts, right?" Yerim asked.
"Well, I'm not sure. Ryn tends to talk... I don't know if that's really Yoohyun's thoughts, though."
At my words, Yerim's face turned pale.
"Even if it can't read my mind exactly, it'll always be with me... If I teach it well before it grows enough to talk, do you think it can learn what to say and what not to say? All the spirits here are too honest! What if it goes around spilling all my secrets like earlier?"
Yerim made a distressed face, saying it would be absolutely terrible. Honestly, I wouldn't like that either.
"Ryn doesn't tell everything to everyone. Myungwoo's Ismuare is more reserved than Ryn. Above all, if it cherishes you, it wouldn't do things you dislike. If you teach it, it'll understand."
"Really? It has to. Otherwise, I can't go outside! I'm already dying of embarrassment! Oh, and Uncle, you must never tell Han Yoohyun that I cried thinking about Mom and Dad!"
"Sure, sure. I won't tell."
"Well, Han Yoohyun probably cried too. He did, right? He cried a lot last time."
"Uh... Yeah. He did."
"Don't worry. I won't say anything about that. Han Yoohyun didn't say much about my grades either."
The surrounding water rippled. Yerim spread her mana widely around me as if to ascend to the surface.
"But Yerim, let's pay a bit more attention in the second semester. Last finals, you were busy because you had just awakened, so it couldn't be helped, but I think it's good to attend classes properly. You might feel it's not useful since you're already a hunter, but we don't know how the world will change in the future."
"Uncle, I'm actually pretty good at studying. I was really busy last time. Hunter training, going into dungeons, and with Team Leader Kim Ha-yeon from the legal team. I even studied law with her!"
"Law?"
"About how much trouble I can cause without it being a problem~ Like the acceptable level of legal violations based on the social status of S-class hunters and the circumstances. It's hard for high-ranking hunters to strictly abide by the law when monsters are popping out of dungeons. Han Yoohyun said the team leader also sat him down and taught him."
I should visit her with some fruit. Yerim and I slowly began to rise toward the surface.
"Team Leader Ha-yeon is apparently quite famous in hunter legal circles. Especially since the guild leader himself is young, she was involved in almost all laws related to minor hunters."
She worked to remove unnecessary restrictions on minor hunters' activities while also emphasizing their protection. Yerim said that they're now trying to raise the minimum age for minor hunter registration, and if she'd awakened a bit later, she wouldn't have been able to become a hunter.
"Originally, she was supposed to go to Breaker, but the old folks opposed appointing a woman as the legal team leader, so she came to Haeyeon. Haeyeon doesn't have much of that. Hyuna unni also said that the young master is fair, which is nice."
"That's just like our Yoohyun."
"He dislikes everyone equally except for his hyung."
"...It's not that extreme, is it?"
Yerim burst into laughter.
"Actually, it's more accurate to say he's only interested in Uncle. Disliking is still a form of interest."
"But he cares about you and Peace too. I'm not just defending Yoohyun; I really think so."
"Well, um. I was a bit surprised when Han Yoohyun said I deserved to know. I didn't show it, but I was proud, feeling that he'd truly acknowledged me. That's a secret too."
"As a hunter, Yoohyun probably trusts you more than me."
A bright smile spread across Yerim's face again. As we slowly headed toward the sea's surface, we chatted about various things. Childhood stories, and for the first time, detailed stories about Yerim's parents emerged.
They were words I couldn't ask lightly, and that Yerim had hesitated to bring up, mindful of me as her current guardian.
"When I was with Uncle, I tried not to think about my parents as much as possible. I told you before that I imagined another uncle coming to take me away. Thinking about that made me happy, but thinking about Mom and Dad hurt."
So perhaps that's why the keyword effect appeared as "Uncle" instead of her parents. She said that while it's still sad, she thinks of her mom and dad much more now. I wondered if applying the keyword now would make her feel like I was one of her parents. I'm glad that's not the case.
Whoosh—the water surged as we emerged above the surface. The sunlight had grown stronger and felt particularly dazzling.
"Hyung, nothing happened?" Yoohyun approached and asked, saying it took too long for just a conversation.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But it seems the jellyfish is waiting for us to come out."
My brother's expression instantly turned cold. For both of us, but especially for Yoohyun, that jellyfish is someone who makes our blood boil. Still, since neither side can do anything now, I told him to calm down.
"Hey, everyone gather around!" Yerim waved the pearl and shouted.
"It's hard for you to come directly to where I live. But instead, we can make a spirit egg!"
"An egg?"
"I've heard of that!"
Some spirits excitedly chatted even before Yerim explained. They really are talkative.
"It's hard to make."
"It doesn't hatch easily."
"How long will you live?"
"Don't worry; they said it would hatch soon. The pearl will form the foundation of the egg."
Saying that the preparations were complete and they just needed to imbue their power, the spirits began to flock.
"Me, me!"
"Me too!"
"Over here!"
"Line up in order! Any spirits who don't keep order won't be accepted!"
At Yerim's command, the spirits lined up neatly. The sight of all sorts of forms forming an endless line over the ice-covered sea was truly spectacular. Moreover, as time passed, instead of decreasing, the line kept growing. I wondered if we could finish today.
"I don't know much about spirit eggs, but if that many spirits are pooling their power, will a stronger spirit be born?" Moon Hyuna asked.
"Well, it probably will have some effect," I replied.
At our words, little Ryn tapped her tail on Yoohyun's shoulder.
"But Ryn is the first, so she'll be the strongest among them. She'll never lose!"
"Since it's like a younger sibling, you should get along."
"But that's water! Hyung, fire and water don't get along," Ryn protested.
"You and Yerim aren't on bad terms."
He might have been a bit reluctant at first, but they're fine now.
"Hyung! Humans and spirits are different! Ryn hates water!"
Ryn shrieked, and the nearby water spirits stared at her. The small lizard flinched and hid inside Yoohyun's collar, grumbling softly that she didn't like it.
I wonder what attribute fire likes—maybe wood? Do they have wood spirits?
"I should try to obtain more spirit eggs when we return," I thought.
They say I can hatch them. It would be good to have various attributes, as well as more of the same attribute. It seems multiple spirits can contract with the same person. What colors were there? Green might be poison. It could be plants, but if it's poison... I glanced at Noah, who was standing quietly to the side.
There's no guarantee that a poison or healing-type spirit would make a contract with Noah, but perhaps the person who needs a being that cherishes them the most is Noah. So I wanted to find a spirit for Noah.
It would be nice if others could make contracts too.
As the spirits continued to share their power, the pearl in Yerim's hand began to emit a blue light. It also became slightly smaller and gradually transformed into an oval shape.
The seemingly endless line had shortened considerably. Finally, the egg, now entirely bright blue, received the power of the last spirit. All the spirits gazed at the egg. After a brief silence, the white whale raised its long fin.
"Farewell, Yerim."
"Goodbye! Bye!"
"We won't forget you! We like you!"
"Me too! Bye!"
"Take care on your way back."
A flurry of farewells poured out. It felt as if I could see countless voices shimmering in blue as they gently descended. Yerim also shouted and waved her arms vigorously.
"Take care, everyone!"
As Yerim turned around, her face seemed for a moment as if she might cry, but soon she brightened again. She flew over to us, carefully cradling the blue egg.
"Let's go now."
"Yes, let's go."
"Should I give the egg to Uncle now?"
"It would be a problem if it hatched here. They said it would take some time, but just in case. Keep it safely in your inventory. Does it go in?"
"Yes, it does. It shows up as an item."
We didn't mention what would happen to the spirits left behind. Yerim already knew. It might become a painful memory when she recalls it, but perhaps one day she'll be able to talk about it again.
I wonder how it will be for me.
We departed from Drosia before sunset. The Libenua Forest, which we found by diligently searching old records, was quite a distance from Drosia. It was a forest near a vanished city, which could be considered the predecessor of Drosia. Even though it was far, they said it would take about half a day to get there using Medsang's Floreau.
Once we install the fourth disc there, only one will remain. I wondered what would happen to Sigma, whether we could safely bring the spirit egg out, when I would finally see Seong Hyunjae, and...
The King of the Innocent, lurking outside the dungeon.
"Yoohyun."
I was looking out at the snowfield dyed red beyond the window, then turned my head. My brother, who had been carefully examining items and skills from the points shop, looked up at me.
"Do you remember a watch?"
"A watch?"
Yoohyun tilted his head as if he wasn't sure.
I approached where he was sitting.
"Remember when Seong Hyunjae tried to give me a watch?"
"...Did you not want to refuse it, hyung? But I wanted to give you a present first..."
Yoohyun's words trailed off. His red eyes blinked slowly. On the back of his hand, Ryn emerged from his skin and opened her mouth.
"What's wrong, Yoohyun? It's in your inventory, the watch. Not in the current inventory, though."
"...What watch?"
"Yoohyun?"
I gestured to Ryn not to say anything. It seemed that it wasn't just the memory that was erased. He seemed unable to recognize any conversation related to the missing memory.
"It's nothing, Yoohyun."
"...Hyung?"
"Should I buy you one? A wristwatch, I mean. You probably already have several."
"No, I don't. Just the guild-issued stopwatch. They break easily, and I don't really like accessories like that. Of course, if you give me one... But wearing it all the time..."
A deep worry appeared on Yoohyun's face. It would probably get damaged frequently. It would be cumbersome to take it off and put it in the inventory every time something happened.
"I'll buy you as many as you want. Why are you worrying? Your hyung has lots of money now."
You can break as many as you like. Whether you lose them or they get damaged, I'll keep buying more. And I'll find a way to get your memories back.
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