“Alright, enough with the boring nonsense. It’s time for you to tell me about everything you’ve been through out there lately. I’m… kinda looking forward to it~”
As she spoke, the Black-Haired Woman remained seated on the balcony, her body turned at a slight angle to reveal a side profile as pale as paper, almost sickly. Strands of her dark hair danced chaotically in the wind, and the center of her pitch-black eyes reflected a crimson glow. She licked her lips, her bewitching beauty captivating and seductive. Then, as if struck by another amusing thought, she spoke again.
“Hey, Teacher An, why don’t you give me a lesson~? Just like you do with the kids at Dawn Academy.”
“Uh… please don’t call me Teacher An. That’s weird…”
The last time he’d come to the [Heavenly Key], the boy had already told her about setting up education for children of age in his territory. She knew all about it, which was why she was teasing him like this.
The True Ancestor was an incredibly multifaceted person. Whether it was her unlikable side or the parts you couldn’t help but adore, she had it all… After all, she was such a capricious, unpredictable woman.
At this moment, she even exuded a youthful liveliness that rivaled Iyefut Cape’s.
“No way~ Pfft, hahaha~ Little Bug, you’re getting shy.”
Sang could feel his face heating up. It wasn’t just because she’d teased him about the teacher thing—there were other reasons too…
As he grew older, this body of his had entered what they called puberty. It was easy to get all flustered.
No matter how many times he’d seen her, this woman’s beauty could still make anyone lose themselves… The only one who could compare was Snow Hill. As for that girl Iyefut Cape, she still fell a bit short.
But she was a bad person…
No, that wasn’t right. She wasn’t even human.
While Sang was lost in these strange thoughts, she vanished in a flicker of Instant Teleportation and reappeared right behind him. She wrapped her arms gently around him from behind. It felt utterly eerie—almost no sense of touch, no body heat at all. She was like something that didn’t belong in this world.
Even so… when she held him like that, the boy could clearly feel that she was real. She truly existed.
Afterward, Sang recounted his experiences in Rita, even explaining the gap between the distorted rumors circulating outside and the actual facts. “I clearly only beat Morton Montgomery, but to protect Iyefut Cape’s reputation, they pinned everything on me. Now the humans out there think of me as some hero who defeated a slavelord… Sigh. If this keeps up, I’m gonna end up with an idol’s burden…”
It was pure hype, the kind that set you up for a fall.
Sang was pretty shameless in some ways. He didn’t mind if people trashed him or called him out—he actually feared the praise more.
You could curse him, but don’t compliment him!
Spare him, please.
But he never expected—
Hearing his words, the True Ancestor suddenly burst out laughing, her body shaking with mirth, her beauty overwhelming. As she laughed, she said, “That’s hilarious. You always manage to stir up the most interesting things… Little Bug as a hero? Hahaha, humans really do love pinning their nonexistent hopes on the strangest things…”
Faced with the True Ancestor’s mockery, Sang’s emotions were a tangled mess—He really wanted to punch her. She looked so good laughing; one hit would probably make her cry for ages, right?
“Nonexistent hopes? In your eyes, are all human efforts just pointless?” Sang asked.
The True Ancestor nodded. “Yeah… In this world, the hopes you humans cling to don’t exist at all.”
Sang had no idea why this girl, who’d spent her whole life cooped up in the High Tower, was so certain of that. But he didn’t want to dig deeper. The more they talked, the more troubling things came up.
“That said, it looks like you’ve mastered the [Layer of Power]. Want to test it out against me? Or maybe find some powerhouse to challenge me with that force of yours?”
Damn!
Sang jumped when he heard that, thinking she’d somehow overheard his urge to punch her. He waved his hands frantically. “No way! My puny power isn’t worthy of you…”
Even as he said it, a weird thought bubbled up in Sang’s mind—If he could team up with Snow Hill one more time using the [Layer of Power], channeling the strength he’d had back in the Northern Region… maybe he’d actually stand a chance. Could he kill the True Ancestor?
But… for some reason, compared to when he’d first arrived at the [Heavenly Key], he no longer harbored any killing intent toward her now.
He didn’t want her to die…
“Also… last time Snow Hill drained my blood and we used the [Layer of Power] together, you were clearly upset. But this time, when you hear I used it with Iyefut Cape, you don’t react at all—not even a little. You’re even laughing so happily. You don’t mind?”
“Why… would you have such a weird question?”
As she spoke, the Black-Haired Woman spun gracefully, a strip of white cloth fluttering loose. She perched on the Black Coffin with her legs pressed together, her flawless pale feet dangling and swinging playfully. She eyed the boy with amused scrutiny.
In that moment, Sang realized something—Why did her reaction make him feel a sense of disappointment?
The True Ancestor saw that he’d caught on and smirked. “Slave mentality…”
Sang: “…”
“Little Bug, do you think you’re free now?”
“Well… sort of on parole, I guess.”
“Hahaha~”
“What’s so funny…”
Though the True Ancestor was laughing, that really was how Sang saw it. The fourteen years in Kaen Town: free man. The year in the [Heavenly Key]: prison. Now, coming back every half month, not allowed to stray too far in between, checking in regularly—wasn’t that basically parole?
With another Instant Teleportation, the True Ancestor went from sitting on the Black Coffin to standing on the balcony, gazing out over the continent.
“Little Bug, what makes you think the people outside are free? Or that you’re not free here?”
“Who knows… I don’t wanna get into such profound stuff. I’m just a fifteen-year-old kid…” At times like this, Sang shamelessly played up his age to act innocent.
“Uh… already fifteen? If I remember right, you were fourteen when they sent you here. Feels like time flies…”
For some reason—
When the True Ancestor let those words slip, her back seemed much more desolate, radiating that abyss-like loneliness of countless years.
Time flies—that sensation was an incredible luxury for her.
On a whim, the next second, she pulled a wooden harmonica from the cleft of her chest and played a tune. It was that same melody, half bright and cheerful, half melancholic.
It went on for a long, long time… then abruptly cut off.
“By the way, you’ve grown taller…”
“Huh… have I? I didn’t even notice…”
Sang really hadn’t noticed. A year ago, he’d been 1.6 meters tall. When he’d gone north, he’d been 1.6-something meters, and now he was probably around 1.67. He wondered if he’d break past the 1.7-meter limit from his previous life…
