Eat The World Tree

Chapter 213: When Tilting The Glass (2)

“What kind of sight is this?”

I stood far from the mansion’s door, gazing at it.

A massive outer wall woven with various spells.

I spread my magical energy to sense the surroundings.

‘Wow.’

I couldn’t help but admire it at first sight.

If the traces of artifacts appeared as red dots, the entire area centered around the mansion was covered in red.

All of it was composed of top-notch magic with high-level spells.

Moreover, hunters employed there were constantly patrolling the area.

It was tough to break through that security system created by hundreds of wizards.

It wasn’t like I could just walk in and say, “I’m a friend of Sansuyu. Can I just see her face?”

I circled around the mansion’s outer wall, looking for a gap.

‘They’ve even blocked magical interference, so I can’t use spatial magic even if I memorize the coordinates.’

I walked along the wall, examining it carefully.

In case I got caught, I wore a mask over my face.

After some time, I discovered a faint crack in a corner of the wall.

‘A hole?’

A clear, circular hole.

Sss.

As I rubbed it with my hand, the wall crumbled away.

When I removed my hand, the wall began to slowly restore itself.

This part of the wall had poor magical treatment. I confirmed there was no one around and began to break down the wall along the circle.

Crack!

Like breaking a cookie, the wall crumbled like sand, and soon a fairly large hole appeared.

A gap big enough for a fifteen-year-old child to fit through.

With a bit more work, it could fit an adult.

‘Champi.’

It seemed like the perfect hole for that person to fit through.

It really seemed to be the case.

Seong Jiho said that Champi appeared suddenly in the most unexpected places.

She must have secured a way to sneak into the mansion.

I wrapped my hand in magic and gently widened the hole.

Once the flaw in the spell was exposed, widening the hole wasn’t difficult.

I looked inside through the open hole.

The back of the mansion. An uninhabited place.

Through the hole, it seemed like I could see a path of intrusion.

‘Sansuyu’s room is.’

The rightmost room on the third floor.

Was I really risking my life to give her a drink?

Suppressing my presence as much as possible, I climbed the wall.

Knock, knock, knock.

Three knocks on the window.

I wedged my fingers into the crack of the window and held on with just my strength.

At the same time, I removed the mask with my other hand and put it inside my chest.

A full moon in the night sky. Scattered clouds.

Like a thief sticking to the wall of a luxurious mansion, I was on full alert.

A gust of wind blew, scattering my hair.

Clatter!

As the window opened, her golden hair fluttered outside.

Wearing a translucent silk nightgown, Sansuyu placed her hand on the window and her chest, looking at me cautiously.

In the bright dawn.

“Ah.”

Sansuyu’s clear eyes sparkled once in the moonlight.

Her sickly skin had turned even paler than before, having lost its former health.

“Shiheon-”

I covered Sansuyu’s mouth and entered the room.

I immediately closed the window.

“Is there anyone outside?”

I whispered quietly, and Sansuyu shook her head.

It seemed she wasn’t under that much overprotection with guards outside the door.

The hand covering Sansuyu’s mouth felt damp. When I removed it, she coughed.

“Cough, cough.”

I adjusted my posture and helped Sansuyu sit on the bed.

I placed the liquor and snacks I brought under the bed and placed my hand on Sansuyu’s head, who looked pale.

Her forehead was icy cold.

“What are you doing, drinking in this state?”

I chided, and Sansuyu sniffled, looking at me with half-open, drowsy eyes.

Seeing her unable to speak due to her illness made me feel bad.

What could she have done wrong?

Even so, drinking in her current condition was a bad idea.

“How, cough. Did you come?”

“Is that the question right now? Are you very sick?”

Sansuyu looked around her body with a dazed expression and furrowed her brows.

She seemed to be out of her mind.

Even breathing appeared difficult for her. Her chest heaved irregularly, and there was no focus in her eyes.

Sweat was soaking her nightgown, clinging to her skin in patches.

She wasn’t even wearing underwear, revealing her bare skin.

Given the situation, my eyes didn’t wander there.

“Close your eyes.”

“Okay.”

As I activated the power of healing in my hand, I instructed Sansuyu.

She responded by closing her eyes without a word. I brought my hand to her forehead.

Buzz!

The power flowed through my palm.

Swoosh!

‘Huh?’

Rapidly too.

It felt like my soul was being sucked out through my hands.

In the blink of an eye, the green power was absorbed into Sansuyu’s body.

Despite having refined this power through countless self-healings at the orchard, this only meant Sansuyu’s physical state was that much of a wreck.

Flash.

Sansuyu’s closed eyes snapped open.

“?”

She looked at her hands and touched different parts of her body, her face showing confusion.

Her face, though faint, regained some color.

“Shiheon. What did you do?”

Meanwhile, my body was limp as if all energy had been drained from it.

‘So this is the side effect of suddenly expending power.’

“Not, in pain… It doesn’t hurt.”

Seeing the amazed look on Sansuyu’s face lifted my spirits.

“Are you okay?”

Sansuyu placed her palms on her cheeks and blinked like a Pikachu.

“Did Shiheon do it?”

“Yes. I’m tired.”

“…Amazing.”

Of course, it’s amazing.

That level of power could save a dying person.

It’s strange that even after receiving such power, Sansuyu’s body was still in such a terrible state.

I reached out to Sansuyu’s forehead.

Sansuyu slightly squinted her right eye but did not reject my touch.

Her forehead was still cold.

“Let’s call it a night. Drinking might not be a good idea.”

I patted the sweat-soaked blanket.

Every time my hand touched the blanket, a fragrant floral scent wafted up.

However, it seemed Sansuyu caught a different scent before the floral one.

Despite not being fully recovered, she perked up like a ghost.

“The smell of tteokbokki.”

“Hey… later.”

“I want to drink.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to drink?”

Even though it’s experimental…

As I was about to say that, I closed my mouth and sighed.

Sansuyu was already rummaging through a plastic bag, taking out a bottle of liquor and tteokbokki.

She looked like a child welcoming a father who brought home fried chicken in the evening.

“No, you can’t.”

When I took the tteokbokki from Sansuyu’s hands, her excitement vanished in an instant.

Her deflated expression was adorable.

As I pulled her cheeks down from her forehead, her cheeks stretched like sticky rice cakes.

Tap.

“You touched my cheeks again…”

Sansuyu, who had slapped my hand away, was now touching her stretched cheeks.

She had a sullen face.

“Heh. Let’s drink after everything is done.”

“After everything? What’s that?”

“Well, I wonder.”

I took the plastic bag, kept the tteokbokki separate, and put the liquor back into the bag.

Leaving Sansuyu sitting on the bed, I climbed up to the window.

“If you feel sick, message me right away. And Sansuyu, if anything happens, tell me.”

“Anything?”

“Uh… wait. Yeah. If anything even slightly strange or bothersome happens, consult me.”

“Is it necessary?”

“Absolutely.”

If anything happened, Seong Jiho would contact me in advance, but it was quicker to get a message from Sansuyu first.

“Got it?”

“…Got it.”

When we tip our glasses.

I hoped it wouldn’t be too far off.

I couldn’t just force the kid to drink because I wanted to.

With the pharmaceutical experiments in full swing, who knew what effect alcohol might have.

“Shiheon is weird.”

But her personality hadn’t changed yet.

That alone was a positive aspect.

Before throwing myself out the window, I spoke to Sansuyu.

“See you tomorrow.”

Sansuyu blinked and nodded without any change in expression.

“Okay.”

“Young lady.”

Seong Jiho bent down and whispered into young Sansuyu’s ear.

“Young lady?”

Flash!

Her eyes snapped open at the second call.

Without a single complaint, she got up and rubbed her eyes.

“…Mr. Secretary, you’re here?”

A voice filled with bright emotions came out of her mouth.

Wearing angelic white pajamas. Her dainty hands and feet.

“It’s time to get up.”

“I slept in strangely today. I’ll get ready quickly.”

As Seong Jiho left the room, Sansuyu got up, washed up, changed into neat but difficult-to-wear clothes, and practiced vocal exercises in front of the mirror.

“Ah ah. Ah! Ah~ Hem hem. Done.”

After strapping a child-sized sword to her waist and clearing her throat once more, she opened the door.

“Let’s go have breakfast, young lady.”

“Good morning.”

Seong Jiho followed behind her.

With a graceful gait, Sansuyu walked step by step towards the dining room.

Despite the considerable distance, her steps showed no signs of faltering.

Her golden hair swayed with each step.

In the flower pots and jars placed every two steps, bright yellow flowers, symbolic of her name, were embedded.

Everyone she passed bowed their heads to her.

Dignity. A distinct presence even in a crowded place.

The golden light that drew others in.

Click, clack.

With each step.

The vibrations echoed loudly in the silent hall.

Standing in front of the dining room, she spread her shoulders, and the secretary opened the door wide for her.

Creak.

“Hello, Father.”

“Yes.”

San Hyukwon focused on his meal with a stern face.

Her mother had left her long ago.

Sansuyu sat with impeccable posture next to her cousin’s family.

And in front of her was…

“…?”

Something soaked in red broth.

With square fish cakes and cheese topping it off.

Sansuyu blinked.

Swish.

As she took a bite of tteok with a fork, her body reacted.

Chewy.

An unstoppable taste.

Swish, swish.

Spicy and chewy.

A word that doesn’t exist in reality popped into her mind.

“Uh… young lady.”

Seong Jiho, looking flustered, spoke to Sansuyu.

She couldn’t hear him. Sansuyu was silently focused on the tteokbokki.

Tteokbokki. Tteokbokki… The richness of her life. The thrilling spiciness that made her feel alive.

“Young lady?”

…

…

…

…

…

“Young lady.”

Flash.

Sansuyu opened her eyes blankly and blinked.

“Tteokbokki.”

“Pardon? Tteokbokki?”

Sansuyu stood up, sweating.

She touched her much softer and puffier cheeks compared to before.

What kind of dream was that?

It felt like she had recalled something from long ago.

Everything was buried under the tteokbokki.

“…Miho?”

“It’s Jiho.”

“Shiho.”

“It’s Jiho.”

The spicy scent of tteokbokki tingled at the tip of her nose.

Sansuyu turned her head to follow the scent.

An empty tteokbokki bowl was placed on the bedside table.

“…Young lady, didn’t I tell you not to have late-night snacks? Especially since you’re not in good health.”

Recalling yesterday’s events with sleepy eyes, Sansuyu clearly remembered Lee Shiheon’s face.

Her body felt lighter than before.

Previously, even moving was exhausting.

Seong Jiho looked at Sansuyu puzzledly and sighed inwardly.

“Anyway, get ready.”

“…Huh?”

Forester Selection Competition.

“It’s time to go now.”

Today was the day.