Sixteen-year-old Sid stood at the entrance of the forest.
He had grown taller, but his face still carried the uncertainty of youth. His green and brown eyes gazed silently into the depths of the forest.
“…”
Throughout the world, remnants of magic still lingered.
With the passage to the spirit realm severed, only the remnants of spells, now waiting for their inevitable decay, remained.
And even here, in the forest near Crossroad, traces of that power still existed.
For the past five years, Sid had trained diligently under Dearmudin.
By now, both his theoretical knowledge and practical skills were more than sufficient to begin dismantling lingering magic.
However—
“…”
Instead of tracking the residual magic in the forest, Sid turned away.
A gust of autumn wind ruffled his red hair.
As he brushed it back into place, his gaze landed on two children waiting for him at the forest’s entrance.
“Big bro!”
“Big brother!”
Emerald Cross and Sapphire Cross.
The mischievous twin heirs of the Cross Border Marquisate grinned at him, flashing their signature sharp teeth.
“You’re here again today?”
“Is there something fun in this forest? Huh?”
As the twins bounced toward him, Sid let out a small, wry smile.
“There’s a faint magical presence in this forest. I was just checking it out.”
“Oh? Then does that mean we can see the mist? The huge mist? Show us, big bro!”
“Idiot. It’s not mist. It’s called magic residue dismantling. And only our big brother Sid can do it in the entire world!”
Emerald, who had watched Sid train before, eagerly wanted to see the unusual phenomena caused by magic dismantling again.
Sapphire, on the other hand, scoffed at Emerald and puffed herself up as if she deserved the credit.
Sid simply shook his head.
The twins’ green and blue eyes widened.
“You’re not playing mist games today, big bro?”
“No, not today.”
“But big brother, isn’t magic dangerous? That’s why you’re getting rid of it, right?”
“The adults seem to think that all magic left in the world is dangerous, but…”
Sid glanced back at the forest before turning to the twins again. A gentle smile appeared on his face.
“I don’t think that’s necessarily true.”
Now the last person in the world who could see mana, the one chosen by magic itself—Sid saw things a little differently than Dearmudin.
To him, magic was a living entity.
If the remnants held no malice… If they wouldn’t cause harm even if they activated… Then was there really a need to erase them?
“Magic is, after all, just a way to fulfill people’s wishes.”
Sid’s eyes deepened in thought.
The twins clasped their hands together and let out an awed “Ooooh—”.
They had no idea what he meant, but it sounded cool.
“Anyway, big brother, you’re going to play with us at the autumn festival this year, right?”
Sapphire suddenly grabbed Sid’s arm, her blue eyes sparkling with expectation.
Emerald quickly latched onto Sid’s other arm, whining.
“You’ve barely played with us since you started studying, big bro! This time, you have to!”
“Hmm…”
Sid let out a troubled laugh.
He had been born a mage—but in a world where magic was vanishing, his fate was to end the lives of the remaining spells.
A mage who killed magic.
Yet, Sid loved magic.
To put it simply—he loved studying it.
Even Dearmudin, the head of the Ivory Tower, often sighed and told him, “Slow down a little!”
Truthfully, Sid had been planning to head to the Ivory Tower’s Crossroad branch right now to start his afternoon studies.
He hadn’t expected the twins to ambush him like this.
What should I do…?
As Sid hesitated, the twins shook his arms aggressively, chanting “Play! Play!” over and over.
Just then—
“Sid!”
A voice called out.
The children turned to see Lilly approaching the forest entrance, pushing her wheelchair.
“What are you all doing here? Hurry up and come eat lunch—oh my! Emerald and Sapphire are here too?”
Lilly covered her mouth in surprise.
Technically, she should be using honorifics with the twins.
However, Evangeline had raised them together since they were very young, and they had always been treated informally.
Evangeline had even told Lilly to just treat them like the local kids for now and worry about formalities later.
“Auntie Lilly! Hi!”
Emerald waved both hands cheerfully.
Sapphire, on the other hand, hurriedly straightened her clothes, grabbed the hem of her dress, and performed a perfectly polite bow.
“Good afternoon, Mother.”
It was a completely out-of-character display of grace from one of Crossroad’s most notorious little troublemakers.
Everyone watching broke into a cold sweat.
Emerald leaned in and hissed under his breath.
“What the hell are you doing…?!”
“I have to make a good impression early! If I marry big brother Sid, then Auntie Lilly will be my mother-in-law!”
“WHAT?! Sid is way too good for you—ugh!”
Sapphire’s fist shot forward like lightning, sinking straight into Emerald’s gut.
Sapphire’s punches were so fast and precise that neither Lilly nor Sid even noticed.
All they saw was Emerald collapsing and Sapphire still beaming with a bright, businesslike smile.
Lilly, oblivious to the chaos, gestured toward Crossroad.
“Perfect timing. You two haven’t eaten yet, right? It’s a bit late, but let’s have lunch together.”
“Hehe. Since Mother is inviting us, how could we possibly refuse? We would be honored to join you.”
“Y-You… That doesn’t suit you at all… Did you eat something bad—urk!”
Regardless of the commotion, Lilly, Sid, and the twins walked together along the forest path, heading back toward the city.
Before long, a cozy house came into view.
A small residence nestled at the edge of the forest—Lilly and Sid’s new home.
When Sid had started studying magic, he needed a place where he could freely sense and practice with mana.
So Evangeline had built them this house, right next to the outskirts of Crossroad, where the forest began. It was also conveniently close to the Ivory Tower’s Crossroad branch.
Lilly had been delighted at receiving a free house, but Sid had mixed feelings.
It meant that his mother, with her bad leg, had to travel farther for work.
However, he knew that expressing concern would only make her feel worse—so he kept it to himself.
That had been five years ago.
By now, mother and son had completely adjusted to life here.
“I didn’t cook anything… actually, I just bought everything on the way home, but anyway, eat up!”
A basket filled with sandwiches, salads, and other ready-made meals sat on the table.
As Evangeline’s aide, Lilly was constantly busy, and with the upcoming festival, she barely had time to breathe.
Cooking? That was out of the question.
This time, she had simply grabbed something on her way home.
Sid picked up a sandwich and muttered.
“You don’t have to come all the way home just to bring me lunch. I can make something simple myself…”
Lilly smiled.
“I work hard so I can spend time with my son. If I can’t even have a meal with you, I might as well quit my job.”
On weekdays, Sid usually ate lunch at the Ivory Tower, and Lilly ate at work.
But today was the weekend.
She had taken a short break from her weekend shift to buy lunch and come home.
Lilly felt guilty for not being able to cook for Sid.
Sid felt guilty that his mother, who was already busy and had trouble walking, was working even harder because of him.
In the end, all they did was silently pile guilt on top of guilt.
“This is delicious!”
“Heehee!”
The twins, meanwhile, chomped down on their sandwiches without a care in the world, giggling as they ate.
Unlike them, Sid took slow, deliberate bites.
Lilly watched him with a soft smile, as if she were admiring a picture.
When did he grow up so much…?
“…”
For a brief moment, as she looked at her grown-up son, a shadow of a man who was no longer there overlapped with his image.
Lilly quickly shook her head, banishing the thought.
“Oh, right, Sid. Come with me this afternoon.”
As their meal wrapped up, Lilly gathered the dishes and spoke.
“I already talked to Dearmudin about it. Actually, he was the one who suggested you come.”
Sid blinked, surprised.
Lilly chuckled.
“The man who saved both of us back then is in Crossroad right now. We should go and thank him.”
As they entered downtown Crossroad, the streets were packed.
The festival hadn’t even started yet, and already, the city was overflowing with people.
Surveying the tourist-filled alleys, Lilly let out a sigh.
“Our tourism industry grew way too fast without any proper planning… We worked hard to expand lodging this year, barely managing to match last year’s visitor count… but now even more people are coming. Ugh, what a headache.”
“Then what will you do, Mother? Isn’t this a big problem?”
“We’ll just pull the same trick as before.”
Since Crossroad’s old military barracks were no longer in use, they had been converted into temporary lodging under the branding of a ‘military experience stay’.
For some reason, it was wildly popular.
Maybe it was because of the cheap price.
Maybe it was because people wanted to experience wartime barracks life.
No one really knew for sure.
Originally, the plan had been to demolish the barracks and build something new.
But since the “temporary” lodging was still going strong, Evangeline had suggested permanently preserving the buildings and turning them into a full-fledged accommodation facility.
That, of course, raised a whole new list of problems.
Where would they build the originally planned structure?
What about the zoning permits?
Who had to handle all the logistics?
Lilly sighed dramatically.
“As usual, it’s the people doing the actual work who suffer the most. Ugh, what a headache.”
“Hehe.”
Sid chuckled.
She always complained like this, but he knew the truth.
The bigger Crossroad’s tourism industry grew, the happier his mother secretly was.
“Ah! Kungtteok!” (TL Note: Royal Court Rice Cakes)
“Kungtteok! Kungtteok!”
The twins, who had been zigzagging ahead like bodyguards, suddenly shouted in unison.
A special Kungtteok store had been set up—one of Crossroad’s most famous delicacies.
Over the years, with continuous research and improvement, Kungtteok had become even more popular than Crossroad’s local fruits.
The latest hit?
Date-flavored Kungtteok.
It was so popular that stores couldn’t keep up with demand.
Lilly personally found it too sweet, joking that it would give her diabetes.
But everyone else?
They couldn’t get enough.
Right then, a familiar figure emerged from the crowd, clutching a giant paper bag from the Kungtteok stand.
“Kyaa~! This is it!”
Evangeline popped a piece of date Kungtteok into her mouth, mumbling in pure bliss as she chewed.
“The date-flavored ones were a genius move… We owe it to Damien for bringing back those seeds. I should set aside a share for him when he returns.”
A beat later, Evangeline finally noticed the group standing before her—the twins, Lilly, and Sid.
“Wait, Lilly? Why are you with these little troublemakers? Hey, you two! You haven’t been giving Lilly any trouble, right?”
“We haven’t, Mom!”
“We only cause you trouble!”
“That’s not something to be proud of, you little brats!”
The twins stretched out their hands with dramatic flair.
Evangeline let out a mock groan, then pulled out Kungtteok and placed one in each of their hands.
“The moment you get home, brush your teeth properly, got it?”
“Hehe!”
“Bleh~!”
At least for now, the Kungtteok kept them occupied, their focus entirely on nibbling at their treats.
As Lilly, also handed a Kungtteok, took a bite, she turned to Evangeline.
“My lady, what about Chain? We came to greet him since we heard he was in town.”
“He stopped by the graveyard first, but he’ll be coming to the manor soon. I actually came out to buy Kungtteok for him to try. Let’s head there together!”
And so, they made their way to the lord’s manor.
Midway through their walk, they ran into Chain and his group.
“Chain!”
Lilly was the first to spot them and waved enthusiastically.
Standing beside Chain’s wheelchair, Junior waved back.
But Chain himself remained motionless, his expression distant and unfocused.
Evangeline quickly whispered an explanation—that Chain had dementia.
Lilly let out a quiet sigh.
While she stood there in silent regret, Evangeline bounced forward and crouched slightly before Chain.
“Chain! Do you remember Sid? The baby you saved back then?”
“…”
“During the Gorgon incident! You, me, and Lilly all got petrified and went through hell together. You were the one who carried Lilly and the baby out of there. Do you remember?”
Slowly, Chain lifted his head and looked in Sid’s direction.
Sid hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
Lilly spoke gently.
“He’s grown this much already.”
“…”
“Chain… The child you saved has grown this much.”
Chain remained silent for a long time.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something—
He reached out.
The snack he had begged his wife to buy earlier, the one he hadn’t even taken a bite of—
He held it out toward Sid.
A brightly colored cotton candy, spun in swirls of pink, blue, and yellow.
“This…”
Chain’s voice trembled slightly.
“Do you… like it?”
Sid stared at the cotton candy, unsure at first.
Then—
“…Yes.”
He smiled shyly and carefully took it.
“I like cotton candy.”
From the trembling hands of a frail old man to the small, steady hands of a boy—
A cloud spun from sugar was passed down.
“I’m glad.”
A faint smile formed on Chain’s lips.
“I’m… really glad…”