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Chirurururuk.

Chirurururuk.

It was an exceptionally clear night filled with the sound of insects crying.

It felt like it had just been daytime, yet the moon was already rising.

Amidst all this, I was climbing the mountain path, facing the moonlight.

The gentle scent of grass and the autumn breeze should have put me in a good mood.

“Hu…”

But my expression as I walked was anything but pleasant.

How could it be good?

‘I’m dead tired.’

It felt like I had been with a typhoon all day.

I hadn’t done much, but for some reason, whether it was the situation or what, I felt like I was about to lose my mind from exhaustion.

I had a mountain of things I wanted to accomplish today, but all I managed to do was attend a memorial service and eat White Horse Stone.

I couldn’t get anything else done.

Was it because I ran out of time? No.

The reason was solely one thing.

As I walked a little further up, I caught sight of the field I had prepared earlier.

It was a remote place, a bit distant from Hanam, with high, rough mountains that rarely saw human presence.

After glancing around my surroundings, I swung my hand and threw whatever I had been holding.

“Ugh!”

With a short scream, something dropped to the ground.

Woo Hyeok-!

“Huh?”

Seeing the scene unfold, I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

The thing that had been thrown down was surprisingly floating in the air without touching the ground.

Its identity was the troublesome Tolly that had been bugging me since earlier.

After finishing my conversation with Lady Mi, I immediately went back to Tolly and took him with me up the mountain.

But as soon as I grabbed him, a strange sound of disappointment escaped me, yet it wasn’t the time to worry about such things.

There were so many things I needed to figure out.

“Can you fly?”

Even though we were in human form, did that mean he could still fly since he originally could?

As I found it fascinating to watch, Tolly reacted.

“Caw…”

‘Caw?’

“Caw, you scared me-!!”

“Hm?”

I widened my eyes at the way he screamed.

Look at that?

“Why are you throwing things around like that…!! What if you get hurt!”

“What’s wrong with you?”

What’s with this guy?

“You can speak well now?”

He had seemed like a clueless, innocent child not long ago.

But now, he looked completely different.

His pronunciation was clear, and there was strength in his eyes.

This meant…

“Were you acting?”

“Hmph.”

So, he was pretending to be naive on purpose.

I asked him in disbelief at the absurdity of the situation, and Tolly started smirking.

“It’s not an act. I was just staying still.”

Tolly frowned as if he found something unsatisfactory.

Maybe it was because he had my childhood face, I felt an urge to hit him.

But I held back for now.

“Why?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why were you just sitting there?”

The reason for him to be deliberately innocent and still.

When I asked that, Tolly answered with a grumpy expression.

“People like it when I’m like that.”

“…What?”

“Little humans are liked by people when they act naively. They are generally harmless since they pose low risks, right? Of course, I don’t think I look like one of those harmless humans since I take after my dad.”

“Hu…”

With such a long statement, I had very few reactions.

All I could do was stare in disbelief and note my distaste.

That was something a child no older than seven or eight should never say.

Sly.

This kid… was way too sly.

Especially with my own face saying such things.

Doonshil… thud.

The one flying lightly landed on the ground.

At the same time, the Red Martial Robe fluttered slightly.

I had wondered why I felt so familiar with that outfit he had been wearing since earlier.

“Is that my clothes?”

“Yep.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Of course, being a Red Martial Robe meant it was part of the Gu Clan’s attire.

And since it had been mentioned that he was found naked, it meant someone had brought that outfit to him.

It seemed oddly familiar, but it shocked me to realize it was indeed the outfit I used to wear as a child.

However,

“…Where on earth did you find it?”

Where could he have obtained the clothes I wore at that age?

I should have thrown them away ages ago, yet here was Tolly wearing them, and it seemed strange.

“Someone gave me the clothes.”

“This? A white mom.”

“Huh… what?”

I frowned at what I heard.

“What do you mean?”

“A white mom gave it to me.”

“What kind of insane term is that?”

“Hmm? A white mom is just a white mom.”

“Wait, who is this white mom you’re talking about…?”

I stopped mid-sentence and thought for a moment.

White mom.

White color.

White…?

No way.

“…Are you talking about Nangong Bi-ah?”

“Yep.”

“But why use that kind of term?”

What’s with the ‘white’ and the ‘mom’?

Setting aside why she had my childhood clothes, I was at a loss for words over the ridiculous term.

‘White’ seemed to refer to white hair.

And the word attached to it didn’t make sense.

“Why is she your mom?”

“Huh?”

“You’re talking nonsense.”

Why would you turn a perfectly normal woman into a kid’s mother?

Even more,

“Why do you call me your dad when I’m not?”

“A dad is a dad.”

Tolly said with a grin.

What the hell does this mean?

‘That brat was all sad when I said I wasn’t his dad earlier.’

And now he was wearing a look that was almost a smirk.

That kid…?

Fine, so he was born and fed on my energy, so I can accept that he calls me dad. I can grudgingly accept that.

But.

“Why is she your mom?”

Where did this ‘white mom’ come from?

As I asked with curiosity, Tolly nodded as he looked at me.

“She isn’t a mom, though.”

“Right, she’s not a mom!”

“But she likes it when I call her that.”

“What do you mean?”

“If she likes it, then it’s fine. A yellow mom liked it, and a green mom seemed to especially like it.”

“…”

What is this, color play?

Yellow, green, and black.

What’s funny is I could vaguely guess who they were talking about.

And the fact that they called them that because it made them happy meant…

“You meant to use that to your advantage, didn’t you?”

“It’s just that being good is good…”

Boom-!

“Gah!!”

I swung my fist at that little head.

Slapping him on the crown, Tolly clutched his head in agony.

“It hurts! Ugh…!! Why did you hit me!”

“Because it was warranted! Who gave you the permission to make kids call their moms their moms? You wanna die?”

“You didn’t have to hit me! That’s just violence!”

“Oh really?”

I thought he was just articulating well, but now he was talking back a bit.

And that made me like him even less.

“So I’m your dad, right?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Then this is less violence and more education. Yeah, think of it as family education.”

“That’s… such nonsense.”

Tolly quickly distanced himself from me while telling me how unfair that was.

“Dad didn’t get that kind of education either!”

“How do you know that?”

“I know! I know everything!”

Tolly screamed confidently.

“…”

I had nothing to say to that.

He was right.

‘Indeed. I didn’t receive that education.’

Though my father was terrifyingly frightening, I didn’t remember being beaten much.

It was more like neglect.

So I didn’t receive that kind of education growing up.

“But that means you should know better.”

With a smirk, I moved closer.

As I put some force behind it, I moved right up to the now-occupied space of Tolly.

“Eek!”

He flinched and tried to step back, but my hand was already reaching out.

I know that kids like him should be given a bit of a beating to grow up right.

Isn’t that why I am in this mess?

As I recalled that just before I was about to touch him—

“NO!”

Flame Burst-!

“Hmm?”

A fire erupted from Tolly as he screamed.

A familiar blue flame. It was a flame similar to my energy.

Tolly was now covered in flames, as if wrapped in the Technique of the Flame Wheel, and I curiously watched as the flames grew larger and larger.

<Growl!!!>

Before long, with a fierce roar, a giant figure revealed itself.

“Oh.”

It was the appearance of Tolly I remembered.

The appearance of a beast with an enormous body.

He had returned to that shape.

‘So he can revert back to his original form.’

That was a relief.

‘What if he couldn’t revert back?’

If he couldn’t take that form, I would have been troubled about how to make use of him in the future.

Fortunately, it seems his human form isn’t fixed.

The difference is that he is smaller than his maximum size?

‘Well, that’s fine; he can grow and shrink at will.’

What mattered was not the appearance but the essence.

If my transformation brought about a change in Tolly, then it was likely the reason the beast form was the same.

But how would the beast form be?

‘There’s definitely a change.’

While externally it seemed that there wasn’t much difference, the presence was different.

It felt incomparable to the Red Demon Beast.

‘Not quite at the level of a Bae capacity… but lower than that, maybe?’

As a beast, slightly less than the white level.

To be precise, it was somewhat weaker than the demon just before I initiated the Sacred Spear.

Even that was a considerable strength.

<Growl!!!>

Tolly displayed his teeth and let out a growl.

Watching him, I merely stared at the boy quietly.

He wasn’t trying to fly off.

He probably knew he would be caught soon enough.

After observing him for a while, I let out a slight sigh.

“Hey.”

<Growl.>

“Can you switch back to human like that?”

<Growl...>

Essentially, that meant he could do it.

“Then come back.”

…

He hesitated for a moment.

Watching him, I clicked my tongue.

“Won’t you get hit just for growing bigger? Just come back. I promise I won’t hit you.”

<Growl...?>

“Yeah, I really won’t hit you.”

I didn’t originally intend to hit him at all.

The hit I gave him earlier was just an impulsive act.

I actually wanted to throw away my excuse of ‘education’ and just hit him on impulse, but…

‘But he’s also got my childhood self in there…’

When I actually tried to hit him, I felt hesitant.

What’s more, the bigger problem was that I couldn’t control my own strength right now.

‘Even with that hit earlier.’

The force that was supposed to be lighter ended up stronger than I intended.

Though I meant it as a light smack, since I am at the level of a first-rate martial artist, it could have seriously injured Tolly.

I was lucky he had a high durability; otherwise, it could have led to real trouble.

“…So, come back for now. If you stay like that, I might have to seriously hit you.”

<Growl....>

At that point, Tolly finally began to move after hearing my last comment.

Flame Burst–!

The flame similar to earlier enveloped his body, and as it faded, Tolly’s smaller form landed back on the ground.

“…Are you really not going to hit me?”

“I won’t.”

With a light sigh, I looked at him again.

The more I looked, the more he resembled me.

“Hey.”

“Yeah. Dad.”

“No… I’m not your dad… Never mind, that doesn’t matter.”

What’s the difference in titles? I’ll let it pass for now.

“How did you end up like that?”

I was curious as to why he had become that form, and I asked him.

Then:

“Don’t you know, Dad?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I knew.”

“If I knew, I would have said so first.”

“…”

That was a pretty dense response.

…Should I just hit him now?

‘Damn it.’

He had not just my face but also my tone.

Do the people I converse with all feel this way?

‘No wonder I’m getting more frustrated.’

It suddenly made me realize how everyone I spoke to seemed to get irritated.

I’ll have to hold back next time.

Anyway.

“So you don’t know the reason?”

“Just after eating, I came to and found myself like this.”

“Then how did you end up in my residence?”

“When I got smaller, there weren’t any hiding places… But there was a white mom there.”

“…”

So it turns out he just happened to run into Nangong Bi-ah.

Why was she in my residence, anyway?

I’ll have to ask later when I see her.

But right now, what was important….

‘He also doesn’t know the reason.’

If I change, then he also changes no doubt.

And although a change occurred this time, what could be the reason for a demon becoming a human?

Moreover, why was it that he was caught this time?

If he could just turn into a demon, it would have been easy to just hide.

‘And now I’m in a position where I can’t say he should leave.’

Since I’ve already set up his residence.

It would’ve been awkward to just say it’s not possible now.

“Hmmm.”

“Dad?”

Despite ruminating it over for a while, no answer was forthcoming.

So what to do?

‘What else can I do?’

There was only one predetermined answer anyway.

“For now, you go.”

“Yeah…? Where?”

“Do you remember the lady who just came by?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Go live at her house.”

“Huh?”

Tolly made a blank expression at my words.

“I’m supposed to live there?”

“Yeah. You have to live there. There’s a reason for it, so even if it’s a bit inconvenient, just bear with it….”

“Gotcha.”

“Huh?”

His nonchalant reply surprised me this time.

“…You’re okay with it?”

“Yeah.”

Tolly looked completely unfazed.

“Why are you okay with it?”

“Hmm? Should I not be?”

“No…”

Was it because his essence was that of a demon?

From the perspective of a being that was once human, this situation felt somewhat peculiar.

“It’s fine. It seems like you can be comfortable there.”

“…Did you misread something?”

“Hmm?”

You’re saying you’d be comfortable living in Lady Mi’s residence?

I couldn’t understand Tolly’s indifferent remark.

It already feels burdensome just to walk next to her, and he was fine living there?

‘Ah, but then, Lady Mi would likely not be there a lot since she’s busy…’

The very reason I brought up the idea of living there was for surveillance, after all. She would not be there all the time.

Right, surveillance.

There was no reason to send him there unless it was for that.

Involuntarily, I was offering Tolly as a sacrifice.

But if need be, it wouldn’t be hard to pull him out.

You offer something in exchange and get something in return.

That was all I could do for now.

“Anyway… it’s settled. From tomorrow, stay quietly there.”

Just like the way I saw him earlier.

Pretend as if he knew nothing. I intended to say this, and Tolly nodded.

“Got it.”

“Just in case, I’ll say this. If you sneak around and get caught, be ready for some discipline.”

“…Tch.”

“Tch?”

“Nope.”

His voice had a hint of disappointment, as if he had intended to cause a ruckus.

What’s with this brat? Who did he take after to become such a sly one?

I really wanted to smack him, but I held it back.

‘Not yet… Not yet.’

I held back with all my might. I needed to survive this moment.

But afterward, I should handle this situation better.

‘…Let’s start with checking.’

I closed my eyes, leaving Tolly behind for now. I recollected why I had come up this mountain.

Due to consuming energy, I had sensed a significant transformation.

What level it was; that was what I needed to ascertain.

As soon as I released my Qi Perception, information from all directions flooded in.

The area of Qi Perception seemed to have increased tremendously.

The sensations were overwhelming enough to cover the surrounding mountains.

“Hu….”

I focused my mind and directed my energy.

Despite it being a rare mountain with few people, at this level, I’d likely have to keep it closed most of the time.

‘For now, I’ll shape my perception a bit slower.’

I began to move my hands gradually.

Both the Qi Perception and, more importantly, something else mattered.

Flame Burst.

A flame emerged atop my hand.

While my expanded perception was one part of it, there was also another aspect I felt was accumulating.

‘My firepower has increased.’

Even though my internal energy hadn’t increased, the density of my firepower had.

That was something I instinctively understood. I also knew I wouldn’t be able to control it right now.

If I tried to check it, I might wipe out everything in the area.

That was why I had come all the way up into the mountains; to ascertain it here.

‘Then, let’s see.’

How much had it really increased?

It was time to lift the curiosity I had kept bottled up all day.

‘If all goes well, it might be three times stronger than before.’

That much would be an unbelievable metric. But maybe it wasn’t, I concluded.

So I gathered my strength into the flame on my hand.

As it took on a profoundly blue hue, I aimed it at a rock in front of me.

“…For the first, just a light puff.”

I concentrated on maintaining without an explosion, directing all of my energy into it.

The expected result was a thin stream of fire.

Something barely enough to touch the rocks and dissipate.

But as I activated my energy to maintain it—

<Woong—-!>

There came a vibration.

KUAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….!!!

“…Eh?”

The flames erupted from my hand; they were no longer small, but gigantic.

The blue flame sprang forth and instantly engulfed everything ahead.

The rock I targeted was wrapped in flames and began to melt away.

“…?”

My expression was melting away just like that rock as I witnessed this result.

 

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