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Time passed, and the moment arrived when Jinseong’s interest in magic and divine objects revealed its limits.

He stored the spells in his mind as if taking photographs, deducing the functions of the divine objects from their shapes, the energies they emitted, and the reactions they displayed when close to living beings. He even managed to figure out their applications and usefulness.

But no matter how thoroughly he examined them, knowledge alone didn’t bring closure.

Knowledge held value only when it was deconstructed and recombined, not merely hoarded.

Jinseong continuously explored how to use the spells he obtained from the warehouse, how to apply them in various ways, and how to mitigate the expected costs. He also pondered whether he could achieve similar effects using the divine objects he knew with the magic he possessed and whether dismantling them for different applications would be useful.

He remained holed up in the warehouse like a Taoist honing his skills, completely oblivious to the passage of day and night, lost in a world of magic and divine objects.

And so, how much time passed?

“It’s all recovered,” he declared.

The costs that had afflicted his body were now over. His frantically twitching muscles returned to normal, the rats he’d endured while trying to sleep had vanished, and even the facial muscles that had often contorted into monstrous expressions were now returned to a state that would do justice to facing others.

With the end of the costs, Jinseong began to move in order to uphold his earlier words.

He first sent a group message to Lee Yang-hoon, Iserin, Iarin, Ella, and Anastasia.

‘I’m leaving now.’

Without waiting for a reply, he turned off his smartphone and spoke to Rise, who was praying alone in the expansive space.

“I’m off.”

His announcement was alarmingly straightforward.

Yet, even at this, Rise merely nodded respectfully while kneeling, without a trace of disappointment.

“Understood. Safe travels.”

She nodded as if affirming his words, wishing him a good journey without even asking where he was headed. However, sensing a sense of attachment from him as he turned to leave, she softly called out.

“Do come back whenever. I will always be waiting.”

It sounded like a simple farewell, but her words bore significant weight.

To return meant this place was indeed Jinseong’s home, and to say she would wait conveyed her desire for him to return quickly and spend time with her.

With that, Rise sealed her lips, seeing him off.

She continued to watch his retreating figure until it vanished from view, kneeling still until she could no longer feel his presence within the range of divine power.

Only when he stepped outside the shrine did she let out a small sigh of disappointment.

Crack.

Thump.

As she watched Jinseong depart, a hint of disappointment on her face, something approached her.

It twisted its joints unnaturally, tongue extended and dragging along the ground as it slithered towards her on all fours, having turned itself upside down.

Then, contorting its body, it stood upright and brought its face close to Rise, firing off a question.

“Why aren’t you asking anything?”

A question laced with coldness.

But Rise didn’t seem scared; she merely frowned slightly, as if bothered.

“Seitani, please move your face away.”

She gathered her divine power in a fan shape, adopting a threatening stance as if she would swing it at Seitani at any moment. Startled, Seitani collapsed to the ground, moving away from her in a clumsy sideways crawl.

“Hehe, you’re not scared anymore?”

“Yeah. How many times do you think I’ve been pranked by you?”

“Such a pity, such a pity.”

When it seemed the distance was too great to reach her with the fan, it cocked its head, asking more questions.

“Aren’t you curious about a lot of things?”

“Why aren’t you asking anything?”

“You were curious about that person’s identity, right? Hmm?”

“Whether they’re a foreigner or Japanese.”

“Whether they are mixed blood or not.”

“Even about their name and surname.”

“Without properly stating them.”

“Just referred to as a deity.”

“And when going outside, as the next Shinto priest.”

“Only asking to be called Saigo.”

“You were curious, right?”

Seitani bombarded her with continuous questions as if trying to agitate her.

It felt as if it had multiple mouths open at once, the questions tumbling over one another.

But its inquiries pierced through to Rise with uncanny clarity.

“A person who uses strange magic.”

“Someone who wields weird magic not seen in Japan and knows about it.”

“Having too horrifying magic for their age, executing it without hesitation.”

“Impossible to believe they’re Japanese.”

“But it’s hard to believe they slipped through Japan’s strict magical observation from a foreign land.”

“But what could it be? There was mention of Korea.”

“Discussing warriors. Saying ties had originated from a warrior who fled to Korea.”

“Then this deity…”

Seitani grinned widely, its mouth stretching.

“What the heck could their identity be?”

Yet Rise merely regarded the grinning Seitani with a calm expression.

“It’s strange. They seem well-versed in Japanese and familiar with Japanese culture.”

“But something about them feels odd, like something’s off.”

“Are they Korean? But Korea’s magic has collapsed, right? So are they Japanese? Huh? Huh? Huh?”

“Aren’t you curious? Why didn’t you ask?”

“You’re from which country, what surname you carry, what name you have, what work you do, and why you’re wandering around. Is wandering around the same as being abroad? Why are you roaming foreign lands?”

“You wanted to ask, right?”

It was as if Seitani aimed to plant seeds of doubt in her mind.

As Jinseong returned to Korea after passing through other countries, Iarin immediately asked him.

“Big brother, where on earth have you been? You smell like the airport!”

Her words brimmed with curiosity.

 

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