Chapter 60

***

The next day, I woke up early in the morning and went to purify the water.

But while I was away from the hut, Arthdal ​​frantically looked for me.

I’m sure that he must be looking for me to ask me to do something again. Or, he might ask me to go hunting.

“Where else can I see a noble lady hunting fish with a harpoon? Let’s go to the river together tomorrow.”

I remembered the absurd words Arthdal ​​said last night.

If I go hunting with him again, I’m really going to go crazy.

I got fed up and put a coconut bucket filled with purified water on the kitchen table. Then I asked Ruzef, who was sitting in front of the fireplace.

“So, where is Arthdal who was looking for me like crazy?”

“He’s……”

Ruzef rolled his eyes in bewilderment.

Enoch, who was walking down the stairs from the second floor—probably on his way down after cleaning up the splattered monster meat—said to me, “He went for a walk.”

“What……?”

The guy who made a fuss that this forest was dangerous was going out for a walk alone?

“He won’t be back for a while.”

“Yes……?”

Enoch spoke as if it was no big deal, so I kept my mouth shut without asking any more questions. That’s weird.

Just then, Kayden walked into the hut laughing.

“Hahaha! Hey, Ddakkari! Have you looked outside? Why is Crown Prince Arthdal up in a tree? He can’t get down!”

I listened to what he said and looked back at Enoch.

“You said he went for a walk?”

“……”

“Why did he climb a tree?”

As far as I can remember, Arthdal has a phobia of heights. Even in the royal palace, I know that his room is only on the first or second floor, not on the high floor.

“He kept looking for you…… I just told him where you were.”

Enoch replied, avoiding my gaze.

“Why am I on a tree?”

“……”

“You mean Arthdal believed that? Does it make sense for a cowardly crown prince to just believe those words and go climb a tree?”

“It doesn’t make sense.”

Kayden, who was listening to our conversation, approached me. He put his arm around my shoulder, looked at Enoch, and smiled like he was dying of fun.

“Given Crown Prince Arthdal’s personality, there’s no way he would climb a tree on his own. Unless someone knocked him out and put him there.”

“……because he was noisy.”

In the end, Enoch confessed his crime, and I looked at him in bewilderment.

Did you knock Arthdal out and put him on a tree? Why?

“He won’t bother you until dinner, so get some rest.”

Enoch replied calmly as if it was nothing and patted my head. Then, he took his sword and went out of the hut, saying he was going to go hunting.

***

Eventually, it was late in the afternoon that Arthdal ​​was able to come down to the ground.

I thought he was going to make a fuss, but as soon as he came down, he fell asleep as if he had used all his energy to overcome his fear of heights.

The sight of him crouching down in front of the fireplace and sleeping was even a little pitiful.

Tomorrow is the day I go to where Yuanna woke up. Since it is the place where the important clue of the key was found, I will have to explore carefully.

I checked my bag over and over again and finished all preparations in advance.

“Margaret.”

Kayden, who was standing at the entrance to the hut, called me.

“There is something I want you to see.”

I put the crossbody bag on my shoulder, got up from my seat, and asked him with a smile on my face.

“What do you want me to see?”

“Remember the round egg you saw before? The silver one that looks like a bird’s egg.”

It was clear that he was referring to the small egg I found on the way back to the hut with Enoch and him after picking mushrooms.

“Why? I left it deep in the forest. No way, is it really a monster egg?”

At my question, Kayden shrugged his shoulders and pointed out the open door.

“It’s not too serious. Go and see for yourself.”

There was neither Enoch nor Ruzef in the hut. I wish we could go together.

Reluctantly, I went with only Kayden.

As I was looking at Kayden’s broad back, who was ahead, I had an ominous feeling.

I touched the outside of the crossbody bag. This is to check if I have the flare gun and grenades with me.

“How far do we have to go?”

“I saw it from the cliff side.”

As soon as Kayden finished talking, all the tall trees were out of sight and the view became clear. We just reached the cliff and a wide river could be seen.

Kayden finally stopped in front of the cliff. He pointed to the round egg right in front of the cliff.

“Look at that.”

The egg was a little different from the last time I saw it. It was obviously as small as a finger, but now it seems to have grown to the size of Kayden’s fist.

I tilted my head at the sight of the bird’s egg lying on the edge of the cliff.

“What I told you to look at, not the egg, but the bottom part.”

Kayden pointed to the flowers that lay like nests under the egg.

Strangely, all the flower stems withered. As if poison gas was spewing out of the egg.

“Do you think it’s a monster egg?”

“I think it’s the egg we saw then, but it’s grown. And it’s weird that its location keeps changing. This isn’t where you brought it, right?”

At Kayden’s words, I held my chin and nodded.

“No, not here.”

I remember going deep into the forest and placing it among the trees. I didn’t even come to this cliff. Was it the same egg in the first place?

“And here’s the weirdest part. Try touching it.”

“Huh……. why?”

“I can’t touch it.”

Kayden said so and touched the egg.

Then suddenly black smoke started coming out of the egg and wrapped around it.

When Kayden’s hand slightly touched the smoke, a spark splashed. He hurriedly withdrew his hand.

“Are you okay?”

I was surprised and grabbed his hand. Kayden smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“I’m fine. Did you see it? The egg rejected me.”

“But, it may not be the egg we saw then.”

“The energy is similar to that of an egg at that time. Even if the mana is gone, I can still feel the energy flow faintly.”

After Kayden spoke decisively to me, he made an offer, “Would you like to touch it?”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay. Trust me.”

Kayden looked at me with a very serious face—that was not like his usual—and nodded his head. I stared at him for a moment, then slowly lowered my head.

The black smoke coming out of the egg had disappeared. It’s not someone else’s but the Archwizard’s words, so it will be okay, right?

I hesitated and carefully put my hand on the silver egg.

“Huh?”

As Kayden said, I was able to touch the egg without a problem. It doesn’t emit the black smoke I’ve just seen before.

“Why does it only accept you?”

I raised my head while touching the shiny egg. Kayden was staring at me.

“Well, I don’t know.”

I don’t know either, so I’m seriously thinking about it.

But after a long time of deep thought, I felt something strange and raised my head.

Then my eyes met Kayden, who was staring at me with an expressionless face.

“Kayden?”

“It’s not weird. You’re always the only one who gets an exception.”

In a frightening atmosphere, I stepped away from him. But Kayden approached me and stared at me.

He held his chin and spoke to me in a serious tone.

“Why you can touch it but I can’t? Is it because my earring is broken and the flow of my mana stagnates? Is it because the mana flowing in my body is weird? But it started flowing smoothly since I did what you told me to do, Margaret.”

I was lost in thought for a moment at what Kayden said. In fact, I didn’t know exactly how to break through the flow of mana either.

Archwizard Kayden, also known as Mage, doesn’t know, how do I know?

“All I know is that if energy is circulated through physical work, mana naturally circulates. I don’t know the exact reason why that is.”

I shrugged and thought with a serious expression. In the original story, it was only mentioned that ‘physical strength’ had to be consumed, but there was no further explanation.

And it was purely coincidental that I discovered that mana flow could be controlled through physical work rather than physical intercourse.

But does that have anything to do with touching this egg? No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think it’s related.

Why did he suddenly bring this up?

Then I suddenly thought.

‘Did I ever tell Kayden that the reason I put him to work was to circulate the mana flow in his body smoothly?’

Never. I never said that directly to Kayden.

For a moment I got goosebumps and couldn’t move.

“Do you know why I said this and why I brought you here?”

Seeing my expression, Kayden smiled.