Kiyuhyun was staring at his phone, deep in thought. A text message had come from Kwon Jiyul.
[Kwon Jiyul]
You ㄴ ㅎna ㅁl
“Hmm……”
What does this mean?
Chapter 9. The Eternal Flame Carries Love
The human-like Cthuga stared at me intently. His red eyes were filled with confusion, irritation, and longing.
Unable to withstand the pressure, I slowly backed away, but Cthuga moved closer. Heat enveloped me, and I could now hear his breathing.
"Answer me. Castaway, why do you smell like Heesun?"
"Me? Could you be talking about Park Heesun?"
With his arms crossed and standing askew, Cthuga tilted his head.
"Yes. I could never forget this unique smell."
"Why are you sniffing people like that!"
I recoiled in shock.
I had showered in the morning, but this field was like summer, and I had walked for a long time with Pepe.
Cthuga looked embarrassed when I glanced at him as if he were a strange person. I spoke carefully.
"Park Heesun is my grandmother."
I hadn't expected her name to come up again. What kind of relationship could there have been between the eternal flame and my grandmother?
As soon as I answered, the flames subsided, and the atmosphere became calmer.
"K, kuh. So, you're her granddaughter. Granddaughter, right. Here, eat more."
Cthuga pushed the tuna plate toward me, but it had long since burned to a crisp.
"……"
"……"
"The hospitality here is too meager."
"Pepe, diligent, wronged."
"What did you say?"
"Tuna, tuna, tuna."
Pepe, unable to bark at his owner, quickly brought back more tuna.
I ate a piece of the newly sliced, half-cooked tuna. It was well-grilled and delicious.
"Ah, try this. It's delicious."
"……I've eaten a lot."
"Ooh? Boy, you need to eat a balanced diet to grow like me. Come on, if you finish this, I'll give you my autograph."
"Ha……"
"Why, whyyyyy (This guy is looking at me like 'What a troublesome human.')."
For a moment, I forgot the current headache and enjoyed the feast, but Cthuga spoke again.
"So, how is Heesun doing?"
"……She passed away."
"……!"
Cthuga took a deep breath, his face showing shock.
"Is that so. I see. It's already come to that."
His expression was filled with deep regret. It felt strange to see this human-like ball of fire grieving over my grandmother's death.
"I had good times with Heesun. But…… it's a sad thing. Human lifespans are so short. I, an immortal, always long for the shadows of mortals."
Muttering, his words faded into the air.
Wait, could it be……?
A possibility I didn't want to think about flashed through my mind.
Since I was very young, my grandmother had lived alone. I thought my grandfather had passed away early, but…… now that I think about it, I've never heard a single story about him. Not only that, there isn't even a single photo left. It's as if he never existed from the beginning.
And my uncle, Kwon Jiwoon, and I are all Awakened. Three Awakened in one family in a row. Isn't that a pretty rare probability?
No way.
No, that's ridiculous.
I stared at Cthuga.
"Um……"
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Cthuga, with his red hair and red eyes, looked exactly like a human.
What if it's possible for a god-like being like Cthuga to have a child with a human, and that blood flows through me?
Could the reason for the consecutive Awakened in our family be due to this secret of birth?
Miyum's eyes lit up as if she had reached the same conclusion. Even though she was pretending not to, her excitement was evident. She seemed like a K-drama enthusiast who loves birth secrets.
I cautiously voiced my suspicion.
"No way…… Then are you our grandfather?"
Drip.
Cedric spilled the juice he was drinking.
"……"
"……"
A dead silence where even breathing could not be heard.
Under everyone's focused gaze, Cthuga answered with a wistful expression.
"No, Heesun and I had a pure relationship."
"Phew……"
Thank goodness. I'm relieved to be free from the suspicion that 25% of my blood might be non-human.
My precious humanity, my precious genes. I will continue to live as a human.
"Was my grandmother an Awakened?"
"No, she wasn't an Awakened. But she could read the flow of the stars."
Like astrology…… I asked again.
"Then how did you meet my grandmother?"
"At that time, Heesun lived in a cabin in the forest. I met her by chance while wandering away from the Etheric Plane, and I was captivated by her abilities."
The story seemed to be getting longer. The fire spirits brought more sea bream sashimi and alcohol. After eating a piece of well-grilled sea bream and exhaling vaporized alcohol, Cthuga continued.
"Heesun had a very picky palate and would only eat freshly cooked rice for every meal."
"……What?"
"She only slept on a heated floor. So, I chopped firewood and fetched water every morning."
"……"
I had to make a great effort not to blurt out the word that came to mind.
But after hearing the story about making charcoal and lighting the hearth to cook rice, I couldn't help but say it.
So, this is……
……a rice shuttle?
A wistful expression, but not a pleasant memory.
"But I am an immortal of the Etheric Plane. Due to the law of causality, I couldn't always be by her side. I could only move according to the flow of the stars."
"……"
Cthuga drained his glass. The smell of alcohol spread through the air.
"One day, Heesun called me and asked me to imbue a stone with my power so she could summon me whenever she wanted."
Wait, could it be that……
I subtly hid my hand under the table.
Cthuga's story continued.
Pleased by the prospect of being summoned at any time, Cthuga readily handed over a red stone imbued with his power.
However, the next day, my grandmother was gone.
Cthuga waited in the cabin until the flow of the stars changed, but my grandmother never returned, and the law of causality reached its limit.
In the end, Cthuga returned to his garden, and time passed until now. The only news he received was that my grandmother had passed away long ago.
It was a strange story. My grandmother, who seemed to have no interest in other planes or dungeons when she ran the café, had met Cthuga.
I felt the need to learn more about my grandmother's life.
But that's for later. For now……
I hesitated for a moment and then showed him my hand.
"Is the stone imbued with power this?"
"……!"
Cthuga's ring.
The name suggests it's his.
This ring was made by Grandma Kim Deok, but items require raw materials. Moreover, my grandmother and Grandma Kim Deok knew each other.
So, it's reasonable to think it was passed down like this: Cthuga → my grandmother → Grandma Kim Deok → me.
"How did you get that……!"
Whoosh.
Cthuga transformed back into a large flame. This living flame spewed anger in all directions, burning everything.
"Master, anger, run."
The fire spirits quickly retreated, and the flames rose.
"I trusted her and gave her the stone imbued with my power. She betrayed me! It wasn't meant for humans to use my power carelessly!"
"Ah, aah……!"
"Hey, hey, it's dangerous!"
Cedric pulled me back just as I was about to be engulfed by the flames.
Cthuga, who had been raging, quickly extinguished the flames. His drooping red hair looked dejected.
"Ha……. I felt something was off."
Cthuga muttered gloomily.
"I used the stone imbued with my power several times. She should have been summoned, but there was no response. Today, I finally succeeded in summoning, but a brick building appeared."
It was you!
Because of you, my entire shop was summoned here.
I found the culprit. If I could, I'd grab him by the neck and shake him.
"Master, heartbreak, sadness."
Pepe said something that sounded like comfort.
"Y… I understand your situation and the reason. But, um…… cheer up."
If Cthuga is the cause, he must have the solution.
"Is there a way to return the building to its original place?"
"It's none of my concern."
"Excuse me?"
"This is my garden. Once you enter, you belong to the owner of the garden, which is me."
"Excuse me?! Where have you heard of such a thing? It's like 'Draw a line, and everything that crosses it is mine'!"
I protested, but Cthuga's reaction was cold.
"The building still has Heesun's scent."
"Ah, yes. It's the building she lived in until she passed away."
"If so, the building is a trace of Heesun. You can leave, but you must leave her trace behind."
Is he crazy……
He keeps saying it was a pure relationship!
I should have realized it when he started talking about the scent.
What does real estate mean to a modern person, and he wants me to leave it behind!
But Cthuga was stubborn, and I had no confidence in defeating a being that seemed close to a god.
Just as I was stuck in this impasse,
Lime, who had been quietly sitting on my lap, bravely stepped forward.
"Meow. M… meow!"
"Hey, Lime!"
"Meow…… meow!"
Lime approached Cthuga, bouncing.
"Hmm? Aren't you the piece of flame that ran away recently? You're back."
So, Lime was indeed the piece that ran away……
The conversation between Lime and Cthuga continued.
"Meow, meow, meow, m… meow……"
"What? A legitimate successor of power? Qualified?"
"Meow…… m… meow."
"Hmm, hmm, yes. You didn't run away but followed, hmm."
"Meow, meow!"
"That human…… yes, hmm. The owner of □□ under the watch of □□, hmm……"
Why are you looking at me so anxiously and saying things I don't understand?
I want to avoid ominous conversations for a while after meeting the saint recently.
Cthuga turned his head after finishing his conversation with Lime. He looked at me with a lukewarm gaze.
"Granddaughter."
"Didn't you say you weren't related?"
"To me, the bloodline of mortals is meaningless. But meeting like this is a kind of bond. You are like my granddaughter."