The spirit that had peeked into my memories died on its own. I tried to figure out why, but nothing came to mind.
Could it be a mental shield created from dimensional travel and reincarnation? Or maybe the spirit’s own mental strength was just too weak.
"Whatever it is, I'm glad it’s over."
After all, it was a spirit that intended to harm people. I felt relieved that it could be purified before anyone got hurt. There was a faint sense of pride in me.
Holding the ominous red mana stone, I approached Master Cha Ju-yeon, who still looked somewhat flustered.
“The ghost dropped this.”
“Uh, right… that’s… for you, Gyeoul…”
Cha Ju-yeon trailed off, hesitating for a moment before accepting the mana stone.
“I’ll purify it first, and then return it to you.”
“Purify it?”
“Yes. Spirits' mana stones are often cursed.”
“Oh…”
I remembered learning in the guild’s underground mana stone storage room that each mana stone had its own processing methods.
“I’ll just purify it, and I promise to give it back to you.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course, it’s no trouble.”
With the mana stone in her pocket, Cha Ju-yeon placed her hand on my cheek. She tugged at my cheeks and moved my limbs around, as if checking for any injuries.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“Nope. The ghost just died by itself.”
“Right… I’ve never seen that happen before, either.”
Cha Ju-yeon glanced at me while inspecting the mana stone, her surprise barely concealed.
It must have seemed strange for the spirit to die on its own. Honestly, I was the most bewildered of all.
“Why do you think the spirit died?”
“Hmm…”
Instead of answering, Cha Ju-yeon gave me an awkward smile, as if she knew something but wasn’t telling.
What’s going on? I tilted my head, watching her, and saw our guild master, Kang Jin-ho, approaching us, pulling the handcart.
“No one was hurt, right?”
His tone suggested he knew what had happened. Cha Ju-yeon raised her hand in a reassuring gesture toward him.
“We’re fine.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Sleeping in the cart, Saebyeok and Levinas looked so peaceful. I leaned against the cart to watch them, my tail wagging contentedly at the sight.
‘They’re so adorable.’
I used to be just like them. I reached out and gently stroked their heads, listening to the two masters’ conversation.
“Master?” Cha Ju-yeon approached Kang Jin-ho with the mana stone in hand. His brow furrowed as he looked down at it.
“That’s…”
“Could we discuss this privately?”
“...Alright.”
Both masters glanced at me, their ears and tails twitching in response to my presence.
“Gyeoul, shall we head back now?”
“Yes, let’s go back.”
We’d collected plenty of scrap metal, and I had the mana stone from the spirit. There was no need to linger any longer.
---
Inside the Dawn Guild’s meeting room, the two masters sat with the red mana stone between them.
“Master, I’ve never seen anything like this in my life as an adventurer.”
Cha Ju-yeon tapped the mana stone, and a faint, toxic aura seeped from it, causing both of them to frown.
“What did you see?”
“The spirit vanished simply from reading Gyeoul’s memories.”
“I see.”
Kang Jin-ho’s calm response made Cha Ju-yeon’s eyebrows rise. It was as though he already knew Gyeoul’s past was traumatic.
“Is it something you’ve already resolved?”
“No, not yet.”
“Then you do know something, don’t you?”
“I know a bit, but not the details.”
He had seen some videos of the bullying, but he was aware that it was only a small part of the suffering Gyeoul had endured. Only Gyeoul knew the true extent of the pain.
“It’s not something that should be ignored.”
Unresolved trauma only festers over time. Considering that a spirit had given up reading it, Gyeoul’s past had to be incredibly harrowing. Cha Ju-yeon, who had grown fond of Gyeoul, was understandably worried.
“What can we do? We can’t just ask her about it.”
Kang Jin-ho saw no need to reopen Gyeoul’s wounds.
“It’s alright. We have this.”
“The mana stone?”
“Yes.”
Cha Ju-yeon picked up the mana stone. Though the spirit had been purified, the stone still radiated a dark energy.
“What do you intend to do with it?”
“When the spirit died, it left traces of Gyeoul’s memories here.”
“I’ve never heard of that.”
“Neither have I. This is the first time I’ve seen anything like it.”
It was an extremely rare case, close to impossible, caused by the spirit’s sudden death while accessing memories.
“So, you’re suggesting we look into her past through the stone?”
“Yes. Knowing what happened will help us help her.”
A child whose past was tragic enough to destroy a spirit. Behind Gyeoul’s ever-present smile, there was hidden sorrow.
To Cha Ju-yeon, Gyeoul seemed like a ticking time bomb, one that would only hurt herself. That gentle child would never harm anyone else.
“The problem is that it will expose Gyeoul’s past.”
“We’ll make a vow of secrecy.”
“Alright.”
Though the vow carried no consequences, it was a pledge of honor as adventurers. The two masters trusted each other not to misuse the knowledge.
“Then…”
Hmm. Kang Jin-ho stroked his chin, exchanging glances with Cha Ju-yeon. The main concern was who would be responsible for examining the child’s memories.
‘It has to be someone with strong mental resilience.’
Kang Jin-ho found himself deep in thought, aware that most of his guild members had fragile mental strength.
---
Back home, I sat with the kids, drawing. After some thought, I decided to draw zombies—a person getting bitten by a zombie.
‘Why do I keep thinking of zombies?’
Did I have some connection to zombies? As I turned the paper to inspect my drawing, Levinas tapped on the table in front of me.
“Hey, hey!”
Levinas’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.
“What is it?”
“Did you really see a ghost earlier?!”
“Yeah, I really did.”
“Ooooo.”
Raising my hands like a ghost, I gave a playful scare. Levinas’s eyes went wide with shock.
“Gasp…! Did you see what it looked like?! How did it look?!”
“Hmm… its body was translucent, and its face was all pale…”
I described the spirit I had seen. Levinas shivered in fear as I described its appearance.
“Th-thank goodness Levinas was asleep…”
I could see goosebumps on her arms, showing how scared she was.
“Sorry, was that too scary?”
“Y-yeah. Levinas is very scared.”
Levinas scooted closer, pressing her shoulder and thigh against mine, seeking warmth and comfort. The child’s natural warmth was soothing.
“Hehe.”
Her warmth made my tail sway happily. It felt nice knowing she found comfort in being close to me.
Maybe it would be nice if Saebyeok joined us too. Just as I thought that, Saebyeok suddenly got up and ran to her room.
“Maybe Saebyeok was scared too.”
“Seems like it…”
Maybe I’d scared them too much. Feeling a bit guilty, I watched the door Saebyeok had disappeared into, unable to move. Levinas took the initiative in my place.
“I’ll go check on her.”
“O-okay…”
Levinas carefully peeked into the room. She seemed to be checking on Saebyeok when suddenly, she leapt back.
“Eek!”
Leaping almost to the ceiling, Levinas ran back to me, grabbing onto my clothes and hiding her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“G-ghost!”
Levinas pointed to the room where Saebyeok had gone.
‘A ghost?’
Did an evil spirit appear in the room Saebyeok went into? I looked toward the room in surprise, only to see Saebyeok emerging with a blanket over her head.
“Ooooo.”
Saebyeok let out a low groan, moving toward us. It wasn’t a ghostly moan; it was her usual, flat voice.
‘Oh dear.’
So, Saebyeok was playing a prank. She has a surprisingly playful side. I scratched my cheek, then patted Levinas’s back to reassure her.
“It’s okay. Saebyeok’s just playing around.”
“The D-darkness King?”
“Yeah.”
“Really…?”
“Yes, really.”
Levinas cautiously peeked out from under my shirt, watching as Saebyeok continued her slow, groaning approach.
“It really looks like a ghost…”
Just then, Saebyeok, still under the blanket, tripped over it and fell forward with a soft thud. Thanks to the blanket, she didn’t seem hurt.
“The ghost fell over!”
“It’s Saebyeok, I promise.”
It was time to properly calm Levinas down. I walked over to Saebyeok, pulled back the blanket to show her face, and—
“Huh? She’s not here?”
It was definitely Saebyeok’s voice… but there was no one under the blanket. My ears and tail stood on end in surprise.