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The banquet that started at sunset lasted all night. During that time, parents and children shared their farewell emotions, and Sophia, while the three were listening, unraveled the stories she had heard and seen while traveling the world as a drinking snack.

At one point, Setanta brought out the beer and mead he had hidden, which earned him a slap on the back from Kali. But wasn’t that just the kind of nostalgic and romantic memory you could only find at a drinking party?

The banquet continued all night and finally ended at dawn. The drunk people had to go to bed without even thinking about cleaning up the mess.

It was about half a day later that Sophia and Conra finally left the forest. Setanta and Kali, who had taken a short nap, got up and handed Conra the travel backpack they had prepared in advance.

Conra, who realized that his parents had already packed his travel bags even before Sophia visited, glared at them with sleepy eyes, but Setanta and Kali just laughed calmly.

“Haha, you still have a long way to go? Seeing that you haven’t awakened foresight even after learning my Druid techniques and Kali’s Alchemy.”

“Your divination and my calculation methods are different, so what can you do? Conra probably had a hard time achieving mastery because he was learning both at the same time.”

“Hmm, now that I hear it, that makes sense.”

Listening to their exchange, Conra was at a loss for words. He took the backpack handed to him and frowned deeply. That’s when he realized he was in Kali’s embrace.

“Don’t get hurt. Take care of yourself and come back healthy. Make sure to sleep well. Eat your meals on time. Be careful of food poisoning and colds. And most importantly, don’t forget that Mom and Dad are always on your side.”

“Ugh, I can take care of myself, you know?”

“Kid, you should listen carefully to what your mom says. It’s all advice that will help you grow. Dad also tries to follow what Mom says most of the time.”

“What? Just yesterday, you secretly brewed beer by stealing barley, and now you’re giving me advice?”

Setanta tried to awkwardly support Kali, but he was silenced by her sharp peck attack while she was hugging Conra. Seeing this, Conra suddenly felt a laugh bursting out.

While laughing on one side, Conra’s eyes were also reddening on the other. Setanta’s large, rough hand came down on Conra’s head.

“Have you heard that a man only cries three times in his life?”

“…Yes.”

Conra, who had already guessed what Setanta was going to say, hurriedly tried to calm his reddening eyes. But before he could, Setanta continued.

“That’s all a lie.”

“Huh?”

“Think about it. If you say you cry once when you’re born, then all the crying you did as a baby counts as one time, right? And if you only cry twice when your parents die, does that mean you can’t cry until we die? And you, you’re not planning to just cry once when we die and then wipe your tears, are you?”

“…Well, no, but.”

Conra answered with a somewhat awkward expression. Watching this, Sophia let out a hollow laugh. That Setanta was indeed an eccentric. Who would have thought you’d see someone arguing with their son about how many times they should cry after their death? Well, it was amusing, though.

“So, cry when you want to cry. Cry as much as you want until you don’t feel like crying anymore. And after you’re done crying, laugh. Laugh as if you’ve conquered the world. The one who wins in the end isn’t the one who doesn’t cry, but the one who laughs after crying their heart out. Got it?”

Setanta’s words gave Sophia something to think about as well. Indeed, even if he seemed like that, a Druid is still a Druid. Sophia was impressed. Conra also seemed to have felt something from his father’s words and silently pondered them.

Soon, the boy who had shed a few tears wiped them away with his sleeve and looked up at his parents. A brighter smile than ever was on his face. Seeing this, Kali covered her mouth with her hand, and Setanta smiled back with a satisfied and proud expression.

“Even though my father said that, my tears are still too heavy and precious to waste carelessly.”

At Conra’s usual bold retort, Setanta’s laughter turned into a hollow laugh in an instant. Naturally, Setanta’s expression of ‘This kid?’ made both Kali and Sophia, who were watching from a distance, burst into laughter.

“But I’ll keep your teachings in mind. No matter when or where, I’ll be the one with the last laugh. I promise you that.”

The boy declared firmly, thumping his chest in front of his parents.

“So, don’t worry and wait for me. I’ll learn a lot while following the Master and come back as a reliable adult. Both of you, stay healthy until then, okay?”

At his son’s promise, who was about to leave, Kali’s eyes reddened as she could no longer hold back. Setanta wrapped his arm around her shoulder and spoke to his son. Whether he realized it or not, his voice also carried a slight tremble.

“Alright. Mom and Dad will wait happily until our Conra returns as a great man. So you must keep your word.”

As he said this, Setanta stretched out a fist. Conra also bumped his fist against Setanta’s. The two exchanged promises with a light bump of their fists.

After saying goodbye to his parents, Conra turned away without hesitation. It was time to follow his Master, Sophia, and see the world as his parents had intended.

As Conra approached with his backpack, Sophia spoke.

“Did you say all your goodbyes? No regrets left?”

“It would be a lie to say no, but I’ll save those for when we meet again.”

“Good thinking. Then let’s get going.”

“Yes!”

With that, the two soon began to leave the clearing with the hut and oak tree. Unlike when they arrived, there was no guidance from the wisps, but it was okay. Neither Sophia nor Conra were the type to get lost in the forest.

The two who stayed behind watched the departing figures endlessly. They didn’t take their eyes off the two until they were out of sight and had left the forest on the ‘Jean Valjean’ tied outside.

+++++

It took less than half a day for the two who left the forest to reach the place where the polluted water veins were. However, that short time was enough to exhaust the boy.

The reason was roughly this. As soon as they left the forest, the two rode on Sophia’s beloved horse, Jean Valjean, which was tied outside the forest. The problem was that Sophia had come to the forest alone on horseback, so there was only one horse, Jean Valjean.

Fortunately, Jean Valjean was strong enough to carry both Sophia and Conra without any trouble, so Sophia suggested that they ride together.

So Sophia had Conra sit in front of her and held the reins. In other words, while riding, the boy had to maintain a position that was no different from being held in the arms of a female knight.

Even though he was just a boy who had barely turned 11, Conra had received proper sex education from his parents and was at an age where secondary sexual characteristics could start appearing at any time. Moreover, where would a boy who had lived in the forest with only his parents have had any experience close to the opposite sex?

For such an innocent boy, the experience of riding a horse while being held in the chest of a female knight was too stimulating. Even though Sophia was wearing armor, so all he felt on his back was the cold, hard touch of plate metal.

Even if it wasn’t the touch of bare skin covered by plate metal, there were many things that caught his attention, like the scent of her hair fluttering in the wind tickling his nose, or the sound of the nun knight’s breathing on the back of his neck.

Anyway, Sophia and Conra, who arrived at the place where the polluted water veins and the castle’s moat were, immediately moved to check the site. Conra, who had been exhausted, seemed to regain his strength once his feet touched the ground and was now seriously looking around the problematic site without any distraction.

Conra said.

“Wow. I heard from the Master, but it’s really serious.”

“That’s why we need your skills. This is something Druids or Alchemists specialize in, right?”

“That’s true. You found it well. Luckily, it seems like I can handle it. Leave it to me.”

Conra, who boasted confidently, immediately stepped forward and took out various tools from his backpack. Alchemy reagents and kits, dolls or tools probably for Druid spells, saplings, and plant seeds appeared from the backpack.

The boy, who had quickly combined some reagents, sprinkled one on the moat surrounding the keep and the other on the ground where the water veins flowed, then planted a few saplings on the embankment of the moat and the ground where the water veins flowed.

“The condition is so bad that it probably won’t be fixed in one go. I’ll have to use Druid techniques to grow the saplings instantly, then harvest and plant them again.”

As he said this, Conra took out some seeds and scattered them towards the moat, then lifted the spear he had brought. The next moment, the boy lightly tapped the spear shaft on the ground.

Sophia saw a greenish light spreading out in concentric circles from the boy the moment he tapped the spear shaft on the ground.

When the light touched the two saplings Conra had planted and the seeds scattered in the moat, something amazing happened. The seeds scattered in the moat sprouted and grew, forming a large colony of water hyacinths, and the saplings planted on the embankment of the moat and the ground above the water veins quickly grew into large, towering trees.

Conra carefully examined the grown trees, then cut off one of the thickest and freshest branches and planted it again a little further away.

“Master, could you gather the water hyacinths for me?”

“Sure, that’s easy.”

With those words, Sophia reached out towards the moat. In an instant, a combination of Void Manipulation and telekinesis covered the entire moat. Soon, a large number of water hyacinths began to be pulled out by her gesture. The water hyacinths had absorbed a significant amount of pollutants from the moat, as their roots were covered in sticky substances.

The boy’s mouth dropped open at the sight of all this happening with just one gesture from a person.

“Master, was that a spell just now?”

“There’s some spell element involved, but basically, it’s a slightly different skill. Why, do you want to learn it too?”

“Of course! It looks really cool and powerful!”

Sophia chuckled at Conra’s reaction. This kid knows what’s up. After all, she had developed and mastered this combination of telekinesis and Void Manipulation, the telekinetic manipulation technique, precisely because it seemed much cooler and more powerful. This aspect of Sophia hadn’t changed much compared to her previous life as Lee Beom-seok.

Anyway, Conra collected seeds from the water hyacinths Sophia had gathered and scattered them again in the moat. Soon, the boy tapped the spear shaft on the ground again. Another greenish wave spread out, and the saplings grew into towering trees, while the water hyacinths flourished in the moat.

After repeating this a few times, the polluted water in the moat had completely purified and started to shine transparently.

“Phew, the purification of the water veins is mostly done. I’ve used up most of the spells I memorized this morning. From here on, if we just tidy up the connection with the moat, the land’s natural purification ability should take care of the rest.”

“So, we’re done here for now?”

“Yes. For now, that’s it.”

“Then we should move on soon.”

Conra nodded obediently. Well, now that we’re done here, we should head back to the village the Master left from. Suddenly, the boy felt an ominous premonition and asked his Master with trembling eyes.

“Um, Master. If I may ask, how do you plan to travel back?”

The nun knight chuckled playfully at her trembling disciple.

“Of course, we’ll ride the horse back, just like we did coming here. We came all this way on Jean Valjean, after all.”

The boy’s face, upon hearing the calm reply, naturally stiffened with gloom.

 

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