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Chapter 312

Late at night, even after returning for dinner, Yeon-woo continued to think about magical techniques in her head. It wasn’t just empty words when she said she would focus until today.

She looked around, staring intensely at one spot, then endlessly gazing down at the floor.

Yet, nothing on the other side was revealed. What tricks might Moon Gi use to employ magical techniques?

Countless hypotheses unfolded in her mind like a bookshelf, only to be folded back up again. Not a single nutritious thought came to mind, but Yeon-woo’s imagination soared endlessly.

Yeon-woo wasn’t particularly gifted in imagination. Although she had improved compared to before, she could easily tell that with her granted magical techniques, she was merely a supplementary means at best.

If there was a strength to note about Yeon-woo, it was her concentration. Even when she first manipulated mana, it was the same.

With a lack of talent and time, she had extracted the best efficiency in a short time through overwhelming focus and repetitive tasks.

Though the methodology was abstract and elusive, it was clear that there were things that could be gained through repeated simulations.

Time was definitely not infinite. How effectively one used the limited resource of time was perhaps the easiest standard to evaluate a Hunter’s potential.

In that sense, Yeon-woo was someone who could use time more efficiently than any other Hunter in the world.

With a blessed mental strength that allowed her to be deeply absorbed in one thing for a long time, she could even treat time that should be wasted as part of her training.

It was as if she could use her brain at maximum efficiency without a moment’s rest. If she put it this way, she might feel like the boss of a black company, but truth be told, she couldn’t deny there was something unsettling about it.

She immersed herself endlessly. What is the correct orientation? What does magic require? What must exist to perceive the Sword Saint’s sword marks? Endless pondering swirled in Yeon-woo’s head.

Yeon-woo was oblivious. She didn’t know that she was approaching magical techniques through the way of Gonryun, not Geumomun.

How could she possibly know? Of course not! What she had learned here was purely the way of Geumomun, not the study of Gonryun.

Pursuing the magic of Geumomun through the study of Gonryun. Taming her mind through desire. It sounded absurd, yet Yeon-woo was actually realizing it.

*

“Chirp chirp!!”

As morning arrived, Yeon-woo found Tae-oh and Shar sprawled on her abdomen, mimicking birds.

With the richness of the scenery surrounding them, numerous birds chirped, creating an acapella show reminiscent of a ten-member choir in the forest.

“Ugh, wake up, it’s morning.”

“Hehe, we gotta get up quickly and wake Mom to eat together!”

“Yeah, yeah….”

With the children’s urging, Yeon-woo stretched her arms wide as she awoke.

Objectively speaking, she wasn’t weak in the mornings, but with the kids getting up too early lately, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was actually weak in the mornings.

Nea was in the same boat. Especially as her condition had recently worsened, getting up early wasn’t easy for her.

That said, the children weren’t tormenting Nea to keep her awake. In fact, it had been Nea’s request for them to wake her up early.

Yet, with a desire to gently rouse his sick wife, Yeon-woo had asked the kids to let him wake up before disturbing Nea.

After stretching and checking her body’s condition, Yeon-woo got up. It hadn’t been long since dinner, just a few hours of thinking, and she still couldn’t use magic, but for some reason, she felt lighter.

Could it be thanks to the fresh ingredients provided by Geumomun? There were methods to become an immortal in Taoism, so it could be related.

Thinking this, Yeon-woo carefully opened Nea’s door and tiptoed to the side of the bed.

The room, heated by magic, displayed Nea snuggled under her blanket. Was she cold, or was this just how she slept?

Whatever it was, seeing her sleeping figure, which lately he could see often, was unbearably cute no matter how many times one looked.

‘Shar looks super cute when sleeping too…’

Of course, that didn’t mean she wasn’t cute when awake, but the contrast of her usual self brought out a different kind of charm. It wasn’t that Shar wasn’t cute; not at all!!

Yeon-woo gently placed her hand on Nea’s forehead as she slept peacefully. It felt a little hotter than usual.

Still, it could probably be considered just a slight fever. That was Yeon-woo’s impression, the designated caregiver for Nea’s condition over the past few months.

“Hmm…?”

“Oh, are you awake?”

She hadn’t intended to wake her up, but since that happened, there was no helping it. Yeon-woo slowly removed her palm from Nea’s forehead with a soft smile.

“The kids are waiting. Get up quickly, Nea. Or should I wash you?”

Thinking quirkily she might be horrified at such a comment, Yeon-woo playfully teased. To his surprise, Nea replied in a sleep-laden voice.

“Ugh… okay…”

“…Huh?”

“What are you doing…? You said you’d wash me, didn’t you?”

Caught off guard by Nea’s behavior, with her clinging to his arm, Yeon-woo could only be flustered. What was happening? What in the world was going on??

Of course, even if he suggested washing, he meant something simple like helping her wash her face, but he wasn’t expecting her to lean in so eagerly, making him feel flustered.

“Ugh, hurry…”

Nea urged with a voice laced with the sweetness of sleep. Yeon-woo took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks a couple of times.

He needed to get himself together. It was time to control his desires. If he acted indecently here, who knows what words Nea would have once she woke up?

“Alright, Nea. Hold on to my arm. Slowly. Good, that’s it, you did well.”

Although Nea’s body, half-lost in sleep, brushed against him, Yeon-woo calmly settled his mind. This… might even help with practicing magic?

Fortunately, Yeon-woo had been living with Shar and Tae-oh for about a year, and had become somewhat accustomed to helping someone wash.

If that weren’t the case, he would have been all in a fluster. It was all about experience.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, kiddos! Time for breakfast!”

“Ugh… what have I done…?”

Now somewhat awake after splashing water on her face, Nea emerged with Yeon-woo into the living room, greeting the waiting kids.

“Thanks for waiting! Let’s eat quickly and prepare for the picnic, picnic!!”

“Yeah, yeah, got it.”

“I’ll get ready soon, so please wait.”

Fortunately, seeing the excited expressions on the children, Nea quickly perked up, rolled up her sleeves, and headed to the kitchen. Naturally, Yeon-woo followed closely behind.

“Hmm? Yeon-woo could play with the kids if you want.”

“No, I’ll leave that to Dawn. Right now, I want to help Nea.”

To be honest, even if he made breakfast, it wouldn’t take long since there were leftovers from last night and today’s ingredients sent over by Moon Gi. Nea was quite an exceptional cook as well.

*

Yeon-woo’s eagerness to step into the realm of a master was certainly to defeat the Demon King, but there was a larger reason behind it.

It was no secret. It was certainly part of the method to extract Nea.

While it was impossible to slice open dimensions like Sword Saints and create routes for humans to pass through, if he could understand the principles and flow contained within, then perhaps he could research a way to create a “stable” gate capable of traversing through eternal time without the risk of blowing up the gate.

If he could dismantle and interpret the dimensional markings of the Sword Saint, he had enough time set aside to master magical techniques for it.

Even if he couldn’t master them in time, just as Moon Gi said, he could fully embody them later, so it wasn’t a problem.

However, things in the world often unfold in unexpected ways. Even for Yeon-woo, the regressionist, this was the case. Of course, before regression, Nea had never been by Yeon-woo’s side.

“Mom…”

“I hope you’re not hurt…”

Shar and Tae-oh held Nea’s hands, both ready to cry. Dawn was the same. She stood off at a distance quietly watching, her eyes filled with concern.

Though they weren’t her biological children, they had cared for her without differentiation, perhaps even more than their own children. Nea was likely a maternal figure to Dawn as well.

‘Have I… been too lazy?’

Yeon-woo thought as he covered his mouth. Perhaps that was the case. He had thought there would be a little more leeway. Despite knowing better than anyone that one cannot predict the future, he had let himself believe.

Foolish. He needed to move faster. Even knowing he couldn’t, he chastised himself.

“Ugh, it’s noisy. Let Mom sleep, kids.”

“Mommy…”

“Hmm, sister…! If we do this, Mom might get sicker…! Wouldn’t it be better to let her sleep…!?”

“Really? Hmph! Maybe that would be better?”

“Okay, it’s possible, so go play outside for a while. She’ll get better after a good sleep and will be able to play with you soon.”

Nea said this with a strong voice. Though she pretended to sound energetic, her frequent coughs felt terribly unsettling.

The children sensed the underlying sickness. They weren’t oblivious kids who couldn’t read the signs.

Both the Dragon and God capable of reading cosmic energies, as well as Tae-oh, the spirit, could easily notice the disturbance in the life force surrounding her.

“Sniff, good night…! Please, please get better…!”

As the children closed the door behind them, they bobbed their heads several times. Just then, Nea called out to Yeon-woo.

She had been standing in a corner of the room with a troubled expression, covering her mouth with one hand, and Nea was worried about him.

“Why are you standing there like a fool, Yeon-woo? Come closer.”

“…Oh, yeah, got it.”

As Yeon-woo slowly approached at Nea’s call, he was startled to see her reaching out with a pale hand.

It was an undeniably strange reaction. He had wanted her to grasp his hand. Nea pouted her lips in silence.

“…Am I too late?”

Having read the expression on her face, Yeon-woo still couldn’t grasp her hand. He suddenly didn’t understand why he was acting this way. He knew he should hold it, yet he couldn’t.

“…Yeon-woo?”

Seeing the strange look on Yeon-woo’s face, Nea looked up at him with a worried voice. Her complexion was pale. It was a face Yeon-woo had never seen since Nea had come into his life.

(To be continued)

 

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