Alon, momentarily stunned by the sparkling eyes of Seolrang, let out a soft sigh.

‘I did think about it, though.’

In fact, he remembered the promise he made with Seolrang.

When he made that promise, he had also agreed with the Dragonkin tribe to reconvene in two years.

Still, the reason for his slight panic was that Seolrang seemed more earnest than he had expected.

‘…No, I knew she was sincere back then, too.’

The reason he had told Seolrang to think about it again in two years was mainly twofold.

First, Alon felt he needed to care for Seolrang’s mental state and feared that promising too long a period would disappoint her, so he set a tentative timeline of two years.

Second, he assumed her affection (?) would diminish over time.

The affection Seolrang showed him felt more like familial attachment than romantic feelings.

Alon was already aware of this.

To draw a parallel, it was akin to a young daughter declaring, “When I grow up, I’ll marry Daddy!”

As such, he expected that after about two years, her feelings would subside, and the promise could be gently dismissed.

After all, no matter how much daughters adore their fathers, they gradually grow independent as they mature.

Moreover, while Seolrang was already an adult in the fantasy world, she still seemed young by Alon’s standards two years ago.

‘…To be honest, she doesn’t seem much different now.’

Alon glanced at Seolrang, who was smiling brightly and wrapping her legs around his waist.

Her radiant smile, utterly free from worry, resembled that of a child.

It was the kind of purity that put others at ease.

In other words, it meant she hadn’t matured much emotionally over the past two years.

Lost in thought, Alon hesitated over what to say.

“Seolrang.”

“Huh? Oh! Rine! What brings you here?”

Startled by the voice, Seolrang quickly brightened up and smiled wide.

Rine returned her smile warmly.

“I had something to take care of, so I followed Godfather here.”

“Ah, I see~”

“But Seolrang, judging by what the godfather said, it seems the two years aren’t entirely up yet. Shouldn’t you wait a little longer?”

“Oh, is that so?”

Seolrang tilted her head in confusion.

Not missing the opportunity, Alon interjected.

“Well, there are a few months left.”

“…Um.”

Seolrang’s expression soured momentarily but quickly shifted back to a cheerful one.

“That’s okay! It just means I’ll get an answer in a few months!”

Her tail wagged enthusiastically as her optimism returned.

Seeing her resilience, Alon was momentarily at a loss for words but eventually nodded.

“…Alright, let’s talk again in a few months.”

“Got it, Master!”

For now, he decided to settle for the delay.

***

Shortly after.

Alon and his group moved to Seolrang’s guild.

“Wow! What’s this? It’s so cute!”

As soon as they entered the slightly chilly guild office, a black creature popped out of the pocket on Alon’s chest.

Seolrang’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the black cat.

Thump~!

Before Alon could stop her, Seolrang quickly picked up the cat.

Alon opened his mouth to speak, while Evan couldn’t help but smirk in anticipation of what would happen next.

Just as they expected.

Swish!

The black creature’s entire body was suddenly covered in numerous red eyes.

However—

“Wow! So many eyes now!”

“?”

“?”

Rather than being horrified by the dozens of grotesque eyes that appeared, Seolrang seemed amazed and lifted the creature higher.

Screeeeeech~!!!

The creature opened its mouth to let out a grotesque sound as if it wouldn’t be outdone.

“Wow! It even has a mouth now! Amazing!!!”

Her eyes shone even brighter as she swung the creature around like a toy airplane.

“This… isn’t how it’s supposed to go,” Evan muttered in disbelief.

The black creature, equally bewildered, reverted to its normal form, tilting its head in confusion with slightly trembling eyes.

Screeeeech~!

It let out another scream.

“Ah! Wait a second!”

Seolrang ran off with the creature and soon returned with her arms full of something.

Before long—

“Wow! So cool!”

The black creature had been dressed up in a cute knight doll outfit and was now held up in Seolrang’s hands like a doll.

[……Meow?]

The creature’s round eyes conveyed a sense of utter disbelief at the situation.

It seemed so dumbfounded that it lost even the will to intimidate.

“Do it again! Make all those eyes appear like before!”

[Meow?]

“That was way cooler!”

Her tail wagged excitedly as she cheered.

Watching this scene, Evan murmured, “Seolrang seems to have… a different aesthetic sense than the rest of us. What do you think?”

“…Yeah.”

“Right?”

While the two were left speechless, Rine observed with a satisfied smile.

But it wasn’t long before the black creature began to sweat.

[What’s with all this noise!? …Huh? Pfft, hahahaha! Huh? What is that?!]

Basiliora, who appeared annoyed by the commotion, burst out laughing when he saw the black creature in its knight outfit.

“A talking snake?!”

Seolrang immediately put down the black creature and grabbed Basiliora in its spirit form.

[Kek! Wh-what!?]

Basiliora gasped, coughing as if startled.

However, Seolrang, with a face full of curiosity, stared at him like he was a new toy.

“Should I dress you up too? I’ve got some clothes left over.”

[What nonsense is this!? This great being will not wear clothes meant for some doll play— Wait, hold on!]

Ignoring his protests, Seolrang cheerfully hummed a tune as she began to “decorate” him.

Witnessing the bizarre scene once again, Alon, Evan, and even Rine momentarily lost their words.

***

The next day after arriving at the colony.

“Godfather, I’ll be stepping out for a bit.”

“Understood. How long will it take?”

“Hmm… probably a day or two. Why?”

“If you don’t return within that time, I’ll assume something’s wrong and come to find you.”

Rine paused in her movement.

With a soft smile, she expressed her gratitude before heading out.

Shortly after, Alon also set out for the ruins early in the morning.

‘…I need to ask about what Linisius said and the rites, I suppose.’

As he organized his thoughts—

“Seolrang.”

“What?”

Evan, looking curious, gestured toward the small snake.

“How do you even touch Basiliora?”

“What do you mean, how?”

“Well, Basiliora is in a spirit form.”

Seolrang, as if it was nothing, snapped her fingers and replied, “Well, by passing the Trial of Essence?”

“The Trial of Essence?”

“Yep, with this.”

She showed the gauntlet on her hand and added, “Passing the Trial of Essence grants you abilities, one by one. Only our race can use them, though.”

“That’s quite an impressive item,” Evan admired.

Hearing the conversation, Alon also internally marveled.

While he knew there were secrets hidden in Seolrang’s essence, he hadn’t expected something like this.

“So, you gain a new ability every time you pass a trial?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“How many abilities have you acquired so far?”

“…Five?”

“How many trials are there in total?”

Seolrang counted on her fingers before exclaiming, “Oh, eight!”

“Eight?”

“Yep! But I haven’t passed the sixth trial yet.”

“Why not?”

“Well, the condition is… anger? But I haven’t really had a reason to get angry. According to the essence, this trial is a turning point.”

“A turning point?”

“Yeah, like determining whether I’m qualified to be a king or not… something like that?”

Evan nodded thoughtfully and shrugged.

“Well, even so, you’re taking it easy now, right? You’re already strong enough.”

“Nope.”

“Huh?”

“Why not? I need to get stronger to avenge and protect Master, of course.”

“…The marquis?”

“Yep!”

When Evan glanced at Alon in confusion, he muttered, “Isn’t the marquis already strong enough to not need protection anymore?”

“Even so, I want to protect him!”

Seolrang lifted the black creature high with pride as she declared her determination.

Alon couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Being on the receiving end of someone’s kindness was a rather pleasant feeling.

As they exchanged such lighthearted banter, they continued traversing the desert.

After some time—

“We’ve arrived!”

With Seolrang’s cheerful voice, they finally entered the ruins.

***

Immediately after arriving at the ruins.

As usual, Alon headed straight for the central tower.

[It’s been a while.]

Spotting the Dragonkin tribe, who had been waiting and looking at him, Alon muttered involuntarily.

“…Blue?”

[Ah, so you’re finally starting to see more.]

Unlike before, when he could only see shadows and white outlines, this time Alon could see the blue of the Dragonkin’s eyes.

He stared at the Dragonkin’s eyes in wonder before quickly gathering himself and getting to the point.

“…There’s a lot to discuss after two years. Do we have enough time?”

[Don’t worry. I did expend some effort refining what you left, but there’s plenty of time to talk.]

With that assurance, Alon organized his thoughts and began recounting from two years ago, starting with the observer’s story.

Eventually—

[Wait a moment. Are you saying you didn’t see the past in the end?]

“That’s correct. Instead, I saw an eye.”

[…That’s impossible.]

The Dragonkin tilted its head, baffled.

[Explain the situation in detail.]

Alon described the events in greater detail, from looking into the mirror to the massive eye speaking in a space that resembled the cosmos.

After listening quietly for a while, the Dragonkin tapped its chin thoughtfully and summarized what Alon had said.

[So, in essence, you’re saying that just before you could see the past, a colossal eye blocked it. An eye so enormous it defies imagination.]

“Correct.”

The Dragonkin fell silent, deeply pondering the matter.

After a long while, just as Alon began to wonder, the Dragonkin spoke again.

[Do you remember what I told you about the “black thing” before?]

“…The black thing?”

[Yes, when you asked about it, I said something about earning the favor of a higher god.]

Alon nodded.

“You mentioned something like that, yes.”

The Dragonkin nodded in return.

[At the time, I assumed the black and blue things I mentioned corresponded roughly to that idea.]

“…So, why bring it up now?”

The Dragonkin’s expression grew serious.

[To put it briefly, I believe I made an error in my assumptions.]

“…You misinterpreted the information?”

[Correct. The ability of the Bronze Mirror to record history is absolute, as you might have heard from the observer. Interfering with the mirror, even for the “black” or “blue” I previously thought of, should be impossible.]

“…Is tampering with the mirror really that difficult?”

[The black and blue entities I initially thought of were beings who, despite losing their names, managed to seal more than half the power of the black ones in their battle. They are among the top five gods.]

After a pause, the Dragonkin added, [Yet even they cannot interfere with the Bronze Mirror’s power.]

“Why not?”

[Because the Bronze Mirror predates even us. For anyone to interfere with an artifact from that era without issue…]

The Dragonkin let out a hollow laugh.

[…would mean they are far higher beings than the five gods of the past.]

The words left an ominous weight in the air.