Chapter 97
There were no problems for about a day after he left.
Siren played a tower-stacking game with Pamilla and read books with Chris. Since the maids showed interest in Southern-style weaving, she joined in and listened to the explanations. She also admired the results of Larisa’s handiwork.
Sleeping alone felt somewhat lonely, but it wasn’t unbearable.
Lying in the seemingly vast bed, she forced herself to sleep and found herself thinking of Yasamin.
Where was he now?
Was he hunting down the infected?
‘Huh?’
Where is this place?
She wasn’t sure when she had fallen asleep, but this was most likely a dream.
There was no way reality could be filled with such thick, hazy mist.
Splash. Splash.
Every step she took was accompanied by the sound of water.
It was a scene that the people of the South would surely love…
‘Ah, spring.’
A small spring lay before her, surrounded by a field of blooming daffodils.
The water was so clear and pure that she could see straight to the bottom.
As she stood there idly, watching the fish swim about in the spring, a faint whimpering sound reached her ears, prompting her to move again.
Not far from the spring was a cave.
The entrance was obscured by leaves and thick underbrush, but she felt an inexplicable urge to push through and go inside.
‘A puppy? No… That’s…’
A beast.
That was the only way to describe it.
It resembled a wolf, but its fangs were unusually large. Moreover, three golden horns jutted from its forehead.
Among the creatures she knew, none had such features.
‘A beast from the Age of Myth. It’s still just a cub.’
The moment it spotted her, its wary eyes gleamed with hostility, and a low growl rumbled from its throat.
Upon closer inspection, its hind leg was in tatters, as if it had been attacked by a far stronger monster.
With its white bone exposed, she could only imagine the pain it must have been enduring.
After a moment of hesitation, she reached out her hand.
“Shh, it’s okay.”
But the voice that spoke was not Siren’s.
“I’ll heal you. Just stay still.”
Grrr…
The young beast, with its three horns and triple tails, bristled in anger, baring its teeth.
Yet rather than frightening, it seemed… pitiful.
After all, this child was dying. If she didn’t heal it, it wouldn’t last more than a couple of hours.
Crouching at a safe distance, Siren let the energy of water flow from her fingertips.
She cleansed the wound, gently enveloped it, sutured it, and healed it.
Something she had always thought impossible for her—healing magic—was effortless within this dream.
“There, it doesn’t hurt anymore, does it?”
The young beast froze for a moment, as if in shock.
Then, whimpering, it glanced once at its hind leg and once at her.
“That’s right. I’m the one who healed you. So be grateful.”
…Wait a moment. Were these words really coming out of her mouth?
Siren hesitated, but her lips moved on their own.
“So, what hurt you so badly? Should I go and teach them a lesson for you?”
Grrrr.
“Oh? You don’t want me to? You want to handle it yourself? Ah, I see. You’ve got quite the pride, don’t you? Even though you’re weak.”
This wasn’t her.
This wasn’t Siren.
Aquafuran.
The haughty, imperious, incomparably noble goddess of water.
Why hadn’t she realized it earlier?
The face reflected in the spring hadn’t been her own.
She had been too focused on looking into the water to notice her own reflection.
“Are you planning to stay here? Come with me. You need to eat something.”
The beast’s three tails swayed. It had begun to trust the goddess who had healed it.
And so, Aquafuran gained a young beast.
As time passed, the beast grew larger, and one day, it sought out the creature that had nearly killed it, fought, and returned victorious.
However, the Aquafuran who had once found the young beast adorable gradually lost interest in it.
“There are humans down there, you know? At the foot of the mountain. There’s even a village. I was thinking of going down to take a look.”
“Why?”
“Do you know what music is? I heard it for the first time recently, and it was truly beautiful. Other gods live among humans, too. I thought I might try it myself.”
“But… why? You have me.”
Yasamin, who now took the form of a fifteen-year-old boy, pouted sullenly.
In response, Aquafuran… pinched the beast’s nose.
“You expect me to live my life looking only at you? And why would I do that?”
The goddess was merciless.
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