Chapter 415

I feel guilty because I made an irreversible mistake.

It seemed this matter required a deeper conversation. While Seonwoo Yeon was still thinking it over, the casually dressed man standing with his ankles half-submerged in the water continued speaking.

"I heard our Yoonseung even bought a house. He was living there, and all he had left was to build a better life..."

"Sir."

"I ruined everything. I've been studying spellcraft for a while now, but all I've managed to confirm, over and over again, is that resurrection is completely impossible."

"First of all, I'll say this again. Don't go into the sea..."

"In any case, it's irreversible! And I know that so well that now I practically wish I could die!"

"You must not jump into the sea."

The civil servant tried to stop him once again, her tone unintentionally formal.

And yet, despite hearing all those warnings, the blond alien continued wallowing in self-blame, unable to stop.

"If I'd stayed in Seoul, this ridiculous thing wouldn't have happened, right?"

The commotion went on for a while.

In fact, there was only one reason the otherwise deserted beach had become so noisy.

"No, how could that incident possibly be Kim Giryeo's fault?"

Kim Giryeo genuinely believed that everything had happened because of him.

Seeing this, Seonwoo Yeon immediately spoke up.

"You're simply another victim who was hurt by what happened."

"Do you really believe that?"

"You're in no position to compare yourself to the perpetrators who actually caused the crime, so what is all this nonsense all of a sudden?"

But despite her thorough and earnest explanation, the alien remained deeply unconvinced.

"That's true, but..."

More than anything, he didn't seem particularly comforted by what she said.

"Honestly, I did contribute to this incident to some extent."

"Yes?"

Then what exactly was the mistake he had been blaming himself for all this time?

"I made a fuss about retiring for no reason..."

An Awakened affiliated with the Association, which was famous for offering near-guaranteed long-term employment and was practically the embodiment of job security, flinched in surprise.

"I'd already made it clear that I intended to leave the Hunter industry. From Ahn Yoonseung's perspective, how difficult must it have been to ask me for help first?"

"Kim Giryeo-ssi."

"At first, I was his lifesaver. Later, I briefly became something like a senior mentor. How could Ahn Yoonseung possibly have asked someone like that to step into his personal affairs? Especially when I'd shamelessly built up such an intimidating image..."

However, his lament over that particular point was surprisingly brief.

"Ah! But even thinking about it again, I still don't understand. Why didn't he call me before things got that far?"

A few seconds later, the man on the beach ruffled his blond hair and launched into a new line of thought.

"I clearly told him he could call me anytime without hesitation!"

"Is that so?"

"And I said it in a very, extremely, seriously earnest tone!"

Now the mage before her was getting angry.

More precisely, he had begun doing the strange thing of questioning the deceased, asking why he had insisted on observing formalities.

"Hmm."

At that moment, however, the civil servant—the only person there who had remained calm—finally spoke.

"From my perspective, it doesn't seem like Hunter Yoonseung ignored your advice..."

Fortunately, a picturesque sunset stretched across the horizon, so even if the conversation dragged on, there was no shortage of scenery to look at.

"What did you say?"

"The case had a rather complicated structure, so it's understandable to get confused. But Hunter Ahn Yoonseung learned about Choi Jinhee's death and took action within just twenty-four hours."

"..."

"During that time, there were even police reports and media coverage. From Hunter Ahn Yoonseung's point of view, the initial response must have seemed almost flawless."

"..."

"Whether it was that hunter or anyone else, no one would've thought to suspect a third party during such a short period."

For reference, Earth had a concept known as a "white lie."

But right now, there was no need for one.

Simply pointing out the truth was enough to offer comfort.

"During that brief period when he returned from Chuncheon to Seoul, the guild decided to launch an attack. Who could've predicted that?"

"..."

"And when the situation became too dangerous, he called the Awakened he trusted most."

"..."

"It's absolutely not Giryeo-ssi's fault..."

But what kind of abrupt objection was this?

"Me, a third party?"

The blond mage stiffened his neck as if he were about to raise his voice.

Fortunately, nothing worth worrying about actually happened.

"Well, that's actually true."

Even if he wanted to get irritated for no reason, there was honestly nothing he could argue with.

Ever since earlier, Seonwoo Yeon had been saying nothing but things that were entirely correct.

So Kim Giryeo, as though resigning himself to the fact, eventually swallowed whatever he had been about to say.

"...."

"...."

Once the mage fell silent, the sound that eventually filled the space between them was the crashing of waves.

'He suddenly went quiet.'

Unfortunately, Seonwoo Yeon wasn't eloquent enough to smoothly restart a conversation that had broken off so awkwardly.

For reference, this was what she was thinking at that moment.

'I was really depressed over Hunter Ahn Yoonseung until this morning. How long has it been since I last came to see the sea like this?'

The silence between them continued peacefully for a while.

'Still, the beach really is beautiful.'

Perhaps because it was around dinnertime, the sandy shore remained quiet and deserted.

Whoosh.

The natural sea breeze made their hair flutter.

'The wind is pretty strong at the beach.'

Yet even with a wind strong enough to ruin anyone's hairstyle, there was someone who barely blinked.

"..."

The person who had come to see the sea with her—namely, the coastal resident Kim Giryeo—was now staring blankly into the distance.

He wasn't walking into the water, nor was he running around in a frenzy venting his frustration.

Until a little while ago, his behavior had seemed rather unstable.

But now, quietly watching the waves like this...

Could it be that he'd finally found some peace of mind?

"But no matter how much of a third party I was, having witnessed all of this firsthand, wasn't I still pathetic for an Archmage...?"

Apparently not.

Just when it seemed he had finally calmed down, Kim Giryeo failed to hold out for even a few seconds before voicing his negativity again.

"I thought I'd be able to brush things like this off easily, just like I used to."

For reference, the grief he was feeling was something she could easily empathize with.

Seonwoo Yeon nodded and focused on what the man was saying.

"I never thought losing Yoonseung would affect me this much. If I'd known, I should've made sure to protect him from the very beginning."

"Hmm."

"And I should've made him quit that exhausting, frustrating job a long time ago."

Hmm.

And I should've made him quit that exhausting, frustrating job a long time ago.

Hmm?

What was that supposed to mean?

"Honestly, isn't that obvious?"

An unexpectedly abrupt subject had surfaced.

"The reason nine out of ten people work is because they're worried about money."

"No, that's not it."

"I was an S-rank Hunter before I retired. With the wealth I'd accumulated, I could've easily supported one or two people."

"Yes?"

"If I'd used that money to separate Ahn Yoonseung from society, there wouldn't have been any problems, right?"

Maybe it was because he was an alien, but even the way he expressed grief was unusual...

Still, this wasn't something she could simply laugh off.

There was something strangely unsettling about the atmosphere.

"Besides, there was also the option of using [Tracking] magic to monitor him every day."

"Are you serious?"

"There were so many ways I could've prevented the accident, and yet... what on earth was I doing all that time?"

The blond man was no longer looking toward the sea.

"Calling myself an Archmage—how foolishly arrogant I must've been...!"

Swish.

Kim Giryeo turned toward the white sand where Seonwoo Yeon stood and faced her as he continued speaking.

His voice was steady.

His gestures were calm.

Judging by all outward signs, his demeanor was exactly the same as usual.

And yet, for some reason, she found it difficult to look him directly in the face.

"I suppose I've been too indifferent all this time."

A few seconds later, the man walked toward her with the setting sun at his back.

"Then, at the very least, I should protect the one who's left..."

He reached out toward the native named Seonwoo Yeon and spoke.

"I should at least properly protect and take care of the one person I still have left."

Because she, too, was someone the alien recognized as an acquaintance.

Protection and management.

Words that would make anyone uncomfortable.

"N-now, wait a minute! Kim Giryeo-ssi."

In a way, her reaction was only natural.

After hearing everything the Alphaurin had said, the human immediately rejected the idea.

"I understand what kind of feelings made you say that, but I... I don't like that sort of thing."

"You don't?"

Logically speaking, it was simply an offer she couldn't accept.

"You could buy whatever you wanted, watch anything you wanted, and go out as much as you liked, and yet?"

"But the condition would be that Kim Giryeo stays by my side and keeps me safe for the rest of my life, right?"

"That's true, but..."

Even with such tempting benefits, having her freedom restricted was a flaw she simply couldn't overlook.

"Still."

It was then.

The man remained standing with the sun behind him, his face cast in shadow and his expression impossible to read.

Then the great mage spoke to the woman.

"Still, don't you ever find working life unbearably tedious?"

The fact that she couldn't clearly see his expression might have been nothing more than a psychological illusion.

"Dragging your exhausted body to work every morning, to a workplace overflowing with individualism..."

"...."

"You probably tell yourself to hang in there and do your best, only to end up completely drained after getting into a huge argument with some rude client..."

For a while, his explanation continued without leaving her any room to interject.

"Besides, since you're a civil servant, if you end up under a boss who dumps all the grunt work on you, you'll be stuck suffering like that for half your life."

"That's true."

"I'll make sure you never have to worry about any of that again."

After hearing everything, Seonwoo Yeon's gaze changed.

"Have you... never once wished that someone would support you?"

But the new expression in Seonwoo Yeon's eyes wasn't one of empathy.

"I'm fine."

It was pure sympathy.

"Kim Giryeo, I'll say it again. What happened to Hunter Ahn Yoonseung wasn't your fault."

What followed was calm persuasion.

"Honestly, Giryeo-ssi, you're saying all this even though you already know the answer, aren't you?"

"The answer?"

"A person's life can't be entrusted entirely to someone else. That's what I mean."

"..."

"Even if you possessed all the power and wealth in the world, you must never try to control or confine another person."

First came surprise.

Then sorrow.

After passing through sympathy, the human's mood returned to a distinctly Korean warmth and friendliness.

"Hunter Ahn Yoonseung knew that too. That's why, even in such a difficult situation, he never would've blamed his seniors in the industry."

Sniff.

Kim Giryeo covered his face and lowered his head.

"Huh? Are you crying?"

Startled, Seonwoo Yeon asked, and the other person immediately revealed the truth.

"I don't cry."

"There's really no need to hide that side of yourself..."

"I tried crying once with this body, but that form of expression seemed entirely pointless. So recently, I completely blocked my tear ducts."

Pause.

Seonwoo Yeon quickly looked at his face after hearing that.

Perhaps because such a bizarre explanation had just left his mouth, the moisture in his eyes somehow seemed awkwardly trapped there.

"You were joking, weren't you?"

"Yes."

Swish.

In the meantime, the sun seemed to have shifted slightly.

Now that the shadows had receded and his face was fully visible, the mage finally lowered his hands and looked at his companion.

"I apologize for the strange remarks."

His expression had remained impassive from the beginning of the conversation to the end.

But now it was clear that the Archmage had finally worked through at least some of the turmoil inside him.

"Haha. No. Well, you really don't need to apologize..."

After they exchanged the customary apology, the conversation briefly fell quiet.

"..."

"..."

Since they were already at the beach, they took a moment to admire the waves reflecting the colors of the setting sun.

They also checked the time on their phone once, just to see how long they had been there.

"Seonwoo Yeon-ssi. Excuse me."

"Ah, yes!"

Kim Giryeo had been trying to sort out his thoughts through all sorts of small actions.

But no matter how much he tried, it seemed there was one subject he had to address before the grief would truly ease.

After some hesitation, he finally brought it up.

"Though it's a little funny after I just explained that I don't cry..."

"What?"

"Even if my face looks like this, I'm still incredibly sad."

"Ah."

"So I'm really sorry, but could you... grant me one small wish for a moment?"

"A wish?"

"I think that might help me feel at least a little better."

Well, as long as it wasn't more nonsense about locking someone away like a decorative guppy in order to keep them "safe," it didn't seem impossible.

"What wish?"

Seonwoo Yeon nodded lightly without giving it much thought.

"Please get married."

But that was a rather strange thing to suddenly say.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds...

A brief moment passed as Seonwoo Yeon's mind struggled to process the sentence.

Fortunately, just before the human might have started foaming at the mouth, the alien managed to offer an additional explanation.

"This is a wish I only developed after being reborn on Earth, but honestly, one of my dreams was to attend Ahn Yoonseung's wedding."

"..."

"I secretly hoped all along that he would build a happy family and eventually have children who would carry on traits from this planet."

"..."

"But from what I can tell, Seonwoo Yeon also has good genes. By the same logic, I'd be happy if you got married too..."

Of course, a child's personality was influenced not only by genetic information but also greatly by their environment.

If two good people came together, the process of raising the child usually wouldn't cause too much trouble.

The blond man quickly organized his thoughts and continued.

"Oh, but I'm not forcing you."

"...."

"In this harsh world, finding a decent partner—and then having and raising children—is no easy task."

"...."

"I'm fully aware of just how difficult those things are."

"...."

"Do you think I'd ever assume it was easy? Besides, I've obviously taken into account the possibility that you, Seonwoo Yeon, might have no intention of marrying, or that you might prefer a DINK household."

"...."

"But still... just for this moment, my heart feels too heavy. I just want to hear something kind, even if it's only out of courtesy."

"...."

"Could you perhaps tell me whether you're planning to start a family?"

The nonsense was delivered in an exceptionally polite tone.

Yet the alien looked far too distressed for her to scold him.

So Seonwoo Yeon reluctantly decided to grant his wish first.

"Uh... honestly, it's not something I've ever seriously thought about. I mean... I'm not against marriage, so I'll probably get married someday..."

"Really?"

"Y-yes."

Come to think of it, her family elders had never even pressured her to marry.

"Excuse me, Kim Giryeo."

"Yes!"

"But I need to warn you in advance. Under no circumstances should you say something like that in front of other people."

For some reason, her voice came out sounding slightly angry.

"Why? Ah, as expected, because it touches on personal matters?"

"Please don't use language like that so carelessly in the future."

"Understood. I'll correct myself."

"Anyway, you're always the one saying strange things..."

"I told you, I got it."