Bloodline
"I think it's natural for people to grow more stubborn as they age.
Of course, someone who knows how to listen to others' opinions won't be quite as bad… but high-level mages in particular tend to be both stubborn and arrogant.
And unfortunately, Claire's master—Seated Duran—possessed both of those flaws."
"Ugh, damn… that was a real hassle."
Woojin grumbled as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Fortunately, his nose bone wasn't broken.
His body throbbed in several places from repeatedly getting hit by spells. He ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth before spitting, and thick, bloody saliva came out.
'This is a bit irritating.'
Thinking about it, he had spent the entire day getting beaten up. It felt unfair to just let it slide.
Maybe he should give the old man a punch even now.
When Woojin glared with that thought in mind, the frightened Duran shrank his neck like a turtle.
'…Ah, forget it.'
Beating up a tiny old man didn't feel right.
So Woojin simply said,
"Please release Claire."
"A–Alright."
Duran hurriedly dispelled the spell. The spherical barrier surrounding Claire disappeared.
Immediately afterward, Claire strode over.
Anyone could see she was furious.
As a result, Duran ended up surrounded from both sides.
"Master! Why don't you ever listen to people?!"
"Well… you saw it just now, didn't you? That fellow looks exactly like a champion of the dark-side priests."
It wasn't an unreasonable conclusion.
Even dark-side priests often mistook Woojin for one of their executives. His terrifying mental world and his use of power originating from the Demon Realm made it easy to misunderstand.
But reality and theory didn't always match.
The furious Claire shouted sharply.
"If Jin were a dark-side priest, would your head still be intact right now?! I was trying to explain because I thought you'd misunderstand, but you cast Silence right away!"
"Apologize properly!"
Claire kept firing off accusations.
Finally, Duran apologized awkwardly.
"Claire, I'm sorry for ignoring what you said."
"Who are you apologizing to right now? Not me—apologize to Jin!"
"Ah, right."
Duran hurriedly turned around.
The old mage bowed his head toward Woojin.
"It seems I've made quite a mistake. Please forgive this rudeness."
"…Hmm."
"It's alright. It was a situation that could easily be misunderstood."
Duran had reacted with hostility earlier because he was worried about his disciple.
Claire was talented but still young. One of his most diligent students had suddenly abandoned her studies and disappeared—then one day returned alongside someone who looked exactly like a dark-side priest.
From Duran's perspective…
It must have looked like Claire had joined some kind of cult.
"Could you explain your identity now? I still don't quite understand the situation."
"Yes, of course."
Woojin accepted Duran's request and began organizing what he would say in his mind.
Then—
Suddenly, a huge shadow fell over them.
Looking up, Woojin saw a large manticore.
Arwen peeked her head out from its back and called out loudly.
"Is everyone alright? I heard Jin-nim's thunder suddenly, so I came to check!"
It seemed she had come to help.
Her intention was admirable, but the situation had become awkward.
Duran muttered blankly,
"That… looks exactly like a dark-side priest no matter how I look at it."
It seemed the explanation was going to get even longer.
****
A long story followed.
They had gone through so many events that Woojin's memories were occasionally unclear, but each time Claire and Arwen added details to fill in the gaps.
Duran listened with his arms crossed.
Then he nodded repeatedly in amazement.
"Beast hunter Jin… I never imagined I would meet the protagonist of that story. I thought he was a fictional figure created by the Order Alliance."
"Why did you think that?"
"Because the story sounded far too absurd."
The hero who first tamed a wolf magical beast, saved the leadership of the Second Expeditionary Force, and even brokered an alliance with the gnoll tribe.
When Duran first heard the tale, he scoffed.
The story sounded so unrealistic that it might as well have been a fairy tale. There was no way such a superhuman existed.
That was what he had believed at the time…
'…Reality surpasses the rumors.'
The Jin he saw in person looked like a hero torn straight out of a mythic mural.
And the people beside him were no ordinary individuals either.
After observing Coco and Manta, Duran finally looked at Arwen.
"Show what you're hiding."
Duran made the demand.
A slightly flustered Arwen turned her head toward Woojin.
"Jin-nim, what should I do?"
"There's no reason to hide it anymore. Show him."
"Understood."
Arwen closed her eyes.
Then she revealed the moth-like wings she normally concealed.
Pure white wings edged with pink, like petals dyed with balsam flower dye. And fluffy antennae resembling feathers sprouted from her forehead.
Seeing this, Duran exclaimed in admiration.
"So you really do have fairy blood. Judging by it… you must be a descendant of a tribe that went extinct long ago."
"Do you have any idea which one?"
"Of course. I have fairy blood as well."
"You're a fairy too, sir?"
Duran chuckled.
"Can't you tell? You must have wondered at least once why I'm so short."
Duran was of gnome descent.
Dwarven gnomes were physically weak, but they possessed great dexterity, high intelligence, and lifespans more than twice as long as humans.
Once mocked as a "seated dwarf mage," Duran had spent over ninety years honing his magic.
Through that effort, he had eventually become the Magic Tower Master.
Hearing this, Woojin was secretly surprised.
'I thought he was only in his early sixties… but he's actually over a hundred?'
He had wondered why the mage's power was so overwhelming.
It turned out to be strength built from decades of experience.
Duran continued explaining.
"Returning to the main point… Arwen, was it? This young lady appears to be a descendant of the ancient fairy known as a Pixie."
Pixie.
A fairy with insect-like wings and antennae.
According to legend, pixies possessed beauty and a mysterious charm that could captivate others.
However, like most fairies, pixies were believed to have gone extinct after the Gates of the Demon Realm opened.
"That's what we thought… but it seems they survived by joining the dark-side priest faction. Truly fascinating."
It was the kind of discovery that would turn the academic world upside down.
As Duran began showing great interest in Arwen, Claire immediately grew defensive.
"I claimed her first, so don't get greedy. I'm already writing a thesis about Arwen."
Apparently she was worried about losing her research subject.
While listening to the two of them talk, Arwen muttered quietly,
"She literally did claim me first."
"…How exactly did that happen?"
"When you were charmed the other time—"
"W-What are you suddenly talking about?!"
Startled, Claire shrieked and cut her off mid-sentence. Seeing her flustered reaction, Arwen laughed and continued.
"That was just a joke. I just wanted to tease you… Anyway, there's no big problem now, right?"
"Yeah. The misunderstanding's been cleared up."
"Then what should we do now?"
Arwen asked the question.
It was something worth thinking about for a moment.
"Well… what should we do?"
Originally they had come to look around the ruins, but things had become strangely complicated after getting involved with the Magic Tower Master. They had ended up far away from the ruins.
Time to focus on the original goal again.
"I think we've talked enough. How about we go take a look at the ruins now?"
At that, Arwen made a suggestion.
"We can ride Manta."
"Good idea."
That would get them to their destination comfortably.
Woojin and Claire immediately climbed onto Manta's back and secured their waist belts to the saddle with thin ropes.
Duran asked curiously,
"What are you suddenly doing?"
"As you can see, we're preparing to fly. Would you like to ride with us as well, Magic Tower Master?"
When asked that, Duran hesitated.
"I'll just… walk back. Consider it a stroll."
"Master… are you scared?"
"Of course not!"
His pride had been struck.
The gnome mage quickly climbed onto the manticore's back. Apparently he didn't want to lose face in front of his disciple.
Woojin asked something he had been curious about.
"How did you end up accepting Claire as your disciple? I'm curious about the circumstances."
"Well, because she's the most talented."
There's a saying about an awl in a sack eventually poking through.
Anyone could see Claire's talent was extraordinary. A mage with exceptional learning ability and the diligence to read books all day.
Her abilities stood out so much that becoming the Magic Tower Master's disciple had been almost inevitable.
Duran looked puzzled and asked,
"Did Claire never tell you that?"
"No. I never imagined she had become the Magic Tower Master's disciple… This is the first I've heard of it today."
"Really? Why didn't you say anything?"
Claire cut into the conversation.
"I just… didn't want to brag too much. And there was a small problem."
"What problem?"
"Well…"
For some reason Claire hesitated.
Glancing nervously at her master, she whispered,
"…I secretly submitted a leave-of-absence request and ran away."
The strict old archmage did not like disciples neglecting their studies.
Since it would have been difficult to get approval for a leave, Claire secretly left the request on her master's desk and fled.
The moment she confessed that—
Duran, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly exploded.
"That's right!! You shameless girl! I was going to talk about that!!"
He had forgotten until now.
As the master began to unleash the anger he had just remembered, Claire shouted urgently.
"Manta! Take off right now!"
"Wait—"
WHOOSH!!
Without hesitation, Manta pushed off the ground and leapt high into the sky.
The lion beat its wings fiercely and flew south.
The speed was incredible.
Duran screamed, overwhelmed by both anger and fear.
"W-WAAAH!!"
And so, their flight continued in a rather noisy fashion for quite a while.
***
Gnomes tended to hold grudges for a long time.
Once Manta landed again, Duran forced his disciple to kneel and began scolding her relentlessly.
Watching the scene, Woojin chuckled quietly.
'They seem to get along well.'
That kind of bickering was only possible between a master and disciple who were close.
Since it looked like the scolding would take a while to end, Woojin sat down under the shade of a nearby tree to rest.
Then Arwen suddenly approached him.
"Jin-nim. We'll return to the hideout."
There didn't seem to be any reason for them to stay here longer.
Woojin nodded.
"Go back and rest comfortably."
"Yes. I'll see you later."
Arwen bowed politely.
Then she prepared to leave with Coco, tying the rope again between the saddle and the belt around her waist.
Woojin watched quietly for a moment.
Then he suddenly spoke.
"Arwen."
"Yes?"
"Are you feeling uncomfortable about something? You seem a bit more tense than usual."
He had felt that since earlier.
Arwen looked slightly surprised at the question.
Then she smiled brightly.
"I'm fine."
"I see."
Since she said she was fine, he didn't press further.
Arwen quickly finished tying the rope and sat comfortably on the saddle.
Everything was ready.
"Travel safely."
"Yes. I'll be waiting."
After exchanging brief farewells, Manta beat its wings and soared high into the sky.
Woojin quietly watched them disappear.
'Still… something feels different.'
Her atmosphere had changed slightly.
The reason was simple.
Arwen had finally learned about the identity she had always wondered about—her pixie bloodline.
Yet strangely, she now seemed reluctant to talk about it.
The way she deliberately made a teasing joke toward Claire to change the topic bothered him.
Had something changed in her heart?
'…I should talk to her about it later.'
It didn't feel like the right time now.
Reaching that conclusion, Woojin turned and began walking away.
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