“Joyful tis pass in the blink of an eye, or so they say. It seems to be true.”
“Pardon?”
The Sage began to speak to the three who were preparing to leave.
“It’s been a while since I felt what it’s like to live among people. I enjoyed it. I usually spend every day in Eden, and apart from Lady Sephirot, I hardly get to see anyone.”
“Don’t you frequently leave Eden, Sage?”
“I’m surprisingly prone to loneliness.”
Maronnie’s mouth fell open.
The Sage—a person who had transcended common emotions—was expressing regret about their departure.
To outsiders, the Sage was often perceived as the embodint of reason, unaffected by emotions.
And to an extent, that perception was accurate.
But even the Sage could not entirely shed the lancholy of farewells.
“Why are you all looking at like that?”
The Sage blinked at the gazes of the three.
“Would you believe if I shed tears?”
“Oh, no, not at all.”
“Ha-ha, just think of it as a sign of how much I value you all.”
“Yet you’re sending those you care about to the lion’s den. Does this make sense?”
After Maronnie’s objection, Lee Shiheon muttered bitterly while silently packing his belongings.
“Because I trust you.”
The Sage replied with a bitter smile, brushing it off.
Their preparations to leave were complete.
The guest room, now emptied of their belongings, felt desolate in an instant.
Clothing, personal effects, and in Lee Shiheon’s case, a mask and attire for survival.
There was nothing left for the three to do in Eden.
After listening to the Sage’s plan over several days, they now had to return to the Cradle.
Without moving to the entrance, the Sage raised her hand, conjuring her magic on the spot.
Sephirot, who had silently clung to the Sage’s robes, finally spoke up.
“Blanche! Tree King!”
Sephirot pointed at Maronnie and Lee Shiheon in turn.
Her hand then pointed to Sansuyu.
“Big chest!”
“…?”
“Lady Sephirot! Stop that!”
At the Sage’s scolding, Sephirot sulkily lowered her head.
Sansuyu looked confused, while Lee Shiheon stifled a laugh.
Maronnie glared at Sansuyu’s chest with a defeated expression.
The three had received training in Eden.
Though their emotional rifts had deepened, so had their bonds, albeit imperfectly.
For Maronnie, who had muddled through the emotions of that drunken night, it felt even more uncertain.
Still, human relationships were often like this.
Conflicts, especially among peers, tended to fade with ti.
No matter how it may seem, the three were good people.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have set foot in Eden to begin with.
Sephirot’s gaze swept over the three.
Her ambiguous eyes, holding the wisdom and knowledge of the world, seed to pierce their very essence.
“It’ll be fine!”
With the slurred speech of a child, Sephirot shouted confidently.
The smiles that ford on the four faces watching her were unanimous.
“Then, let’s keep in touch. Rest well today. Starting tomorrow, it’s back to work.”
-Flash!
The magic emanating from the Sage’s hand activated instantly.
Though they were leaving Eden, the four would inevitably et again to thwart the Cradle’s attacks.
After a few parting words, the three vanished.
Left alone in the now-empty room, the Sage stroked Sephirot’s head with a firm smile.
“Lady Sephirot, have you eaten?”
“No.”
“What would you like to eat today?”
“Shrimp!”
“All right. I’ll make a delicious breakfast, so get ready.”
“Bubbly-bubbly?”
“Yes, bubbly-bubbly.”
After washing her face and brushing her teeth, Sephirot waddled to the bathroom like a chick following its mother hen.
The Sage turned back before leaving the room, her gaze lingering on the three neatly made beds.
“I’m surprisingly prone to loneliness.”
Why did she say sothing so unnecessary? The thought flitted through her mind.
Eden had been her sanctuary for over a century.
Letting people into Eden was a rare occurrence.
Having people like Lee Shiheon, Maronnie, and Sansuyu stay for weeks was nearly unprecedented.
For the current Sage, it was a first.
Reflecting on her words, the Sage quickly realized the reason.
It was true.
She was lonely and liked being around people.
For once, she was honest with herself.
But as the Sage, decorum must be maintained.
She seldom revealed such emotions to others.
The fact that she expressed regret this ti was likely because…
Perhaps, indeed.
-“…I truly didn’t an to.“
It must have been due to what happened that night.
The Sage cupped her face in her hands.
“I don’t know why I did that.”
Embarrassnt from the mistake she made caused her face to flush.
Two flushed faces sipped their drinks continuously.
Lee Shiheon’s expression had gone blank, seemingly having surpassed his drinking limit.
The Sage herself was tipsy, feeling light and pleasantly drunk.
There had always been an inexplicable wall between the two.
The Sage, a figure of awe and renown. Lee Shiheon had always been overly wary of her.
Her intentions were unclear.
Everyone who observed the Sage’s actions remarked as much.
Yet, in hindsight, the Sage’s objectives had always been accomplished.
She played the board like a ga, earning both reverence and fear.
For Lee Shiheon, the Tree Spirit King, it was natural to distrust the Sage.
Even without outwardly showing it, an unbreachable wall had ford between them.
Two people who could never intertwine on a personal level.
Their fates forbade it.
Both the Sage and Lee Shiheon were acutely aware of this truth.
-Clink!
Yet, a single glass of wine permitted them to cross that line.
Alcohol clouded their minds.
And Lee Shiheon allowed her to approach.
‘If I handle this well…’
Even through her muddled thoughts, the Sage made a decision.
She, too, needed to assess Lee Shiheon’s character.
‘I might be able to understand his true intentions.’
But the Sage had forgotten sothing important.
-Sway.
Her vision blurred, and her head wavered.
She, too, was drunk.
And the thoughts she entertained now would vanish completely by morning.
Even so, the Sage pushed forward with her question.
“Shiheon.”
“Yes?”
Lee Shiheon answered in a slightly dazed voice.
Though his face appeared earnest, his tone was completely altered.
At this level of inebriation, she could ask without hesitation.
“Is there anything troubling you?”
“Troubles? Hmm, troubles. Ah, just like that, all of a sudden?”
“I feel like you might have a lot on your mind.”
“Well… thanks to you, I’ve got one more thing to worry about. If that counts as a trouble, then yes.”
His speech wavered between formal and informal,
Yet his drooping, powerless voice and dreamy expression evoked an odd sense of endearnt.
Maternal instincts—sothing close to it—seed to stir within her.
“Because of ?”
“…I still don’t understand what you’re thinking. You don’t seem to be on the side of the World Tree, but you’re not with the Flowers either.”
“That’s true.”
“Then why did you call us here?”
“You already know.”
To satisfy Sephirot’s quest for knowledge.
Lee Shiheon frowned deeply.
“No, that’s not it.”
“…”
“You’ve got other agendas, hidden from the World Tree.”
His drunken state had erased the boundaries.
He freely prodded at what they had been hiding.
The Sage widened her eyes.
“Do you have a reason to think that?”
“My instincts.”
Intuition.
If true, it was a frightening ability.
Experience, power, knowledge—even rhetoric—Shiheon could still pierce through the Sage.
That exceptional quality deserved acknowledgnt.
He was destined to succeed and make his mark in the world soday.
Yet Shiheon didn’t probe further.
He was drunk, rambling, and quickly moved on to the next topic.
“And troubles. Yeah, I’ve got plenty of those.”
“…Like what?”
The Sage’s heart raced as she asked Shiheon.
She was tense, having montarily seen through his guarded exterior.
As the Sage—
For the first ti since becoming one…
Lee Shiheon, unintentionally touching her heart, clicked his tongue as if unaware of what he’d done.
“Lately, every trouble I have seems to be because of you.”
“Well, that’s…”
The Sage’s lips quivered.
Lee Shiheon’s frank bla wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
It had been a persistent sentint since they first t.
Yet, drunk and with her heart pounding now, she couldn’t help but feel an old pang of sorrow she hadn’t experienced in ages.
“Shiheon, do you not trust ?”
She spoke without thinking, under the influence of alcohol.
“…Are you kidding? Of course I don’t.”
His response ca just as carelessly, fueled by his own drunkenness.
The Sage lowered her head, swallowing her drink in silence.
Watching her dejected deanor, Shiheon mumbled as he sipped his drink again.
“Even so…”
They said alcohol revealed one’s true feelings.
Whether that was true or not remained uncertain.
Sotis, hidden thoughts slip out, but more often than not, alcohol scrambled the mind and prompted unfiltered words.
“…I hope you’re a good person. I want to believe that.”
So she couldn’t discern whether his words were genuine.
“…”
“If you’re the Sage, how many people could you save?”
Shiheon’s words ca out like a soliloquy.
“I always think about it. Honor, power, knowledge, wealth—how many impoverished lives could be improved, how many could be saved from disasters?”
For Shiheon, who had beco the enemy of many, it was an enviable prospect.
Once, he had dread of being a politician.
This was a sentint he could feel, even if he wasn’t aware of it.
With a sip of alcohol, he spilled his thoughts.
“I really envy you.”
“Really?”
“Ah, my head…”
Shiheon closed his eyes.
Nodding off, then snapping awake, he looked at the Sage.
The faint smile forming on his lips lingered in her mind.
The Sage replayed his words over and over.
To envy soone—
Not out of childish jealousy, but because they could do so much good for others.
Had she ever heard such words directed at her?
It wasn’t that people like that didn’t exist.
There had been many who loved humanity and sought to beco a guiding light, like saints.
But Lee Shiheon—the Tree Spirit King—was born under prejudice and faced inexplicable hatred.
His existence held special significance.
And for soone so exceptional to say such things to her, it was hard not to be taken aback.
‘…’
And so, she couldn’t help but feel a human connection toward him.
Her emotions, which had long since cooled over her century-long life, were reignited by the aid of alcohol.
Neither the Sage nor Lee Shiheon intended it, but it was almost a miracle.
Curiosity.
She found herself genuinely intrigued by this person.
Not as the Tree Spirit King, the otherworldly candidate to be the World Tree’s spouse, the current Cheonma’s disciple, or the man with the greatest potential of their generation. ℝ𝔞ɴổᛒĘ𝒮
No, it was simply curiosity about Lee Shiheon as a person.
“…Isn’t the table a bit far? Would it be okay if I sat closer?”
Before being a Sage, she was human, after all.
There were a few more things she wanted to ask.
Pure questions, devoid of any ulterior motives.
Leaning on alcohol, the Sage spoke words she wouldn’t usually say, and Lee Shiheon answered without hesitation.
With the wall between them shattered, their bond deepened quickly.
A quiet room, just the two of them.
But having drunk well past their limits, they soon fell silent.
Topics about hobbies, favorite drinks, food preferences, and daily routines.
Even while slurring their words and fumbling, they continued their conversation.
Under normal circumstances, they could have easily co up with endless topics for small talk, but the alcohol dulled their minds.
The silence brought about a subtle shift in the atmosphere.
“…”
Lee Shiheon barely held onto his consciousness, looking like he could fall asleep at any mont.
The Sage, too, realized her words were becoming increasingly incoherent.
It was ti to sleep.
That decision was made, but only briefly.
Not long after, she made a mistake.
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