Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 81

Chapter 81

The first thing I did upon arriving at the ducal castle was change into comfortable clothes and climb the mountain.

Just the three of us—Kali, Bibi, and me.

"Bibi, how long are you going to stay sulky? Huh?"

"Grrr."

Bibi's tail drooped as he trudged up the mountain. Even his sulky face was so cute that I wanted to scoop him up and hug him.

"But I can't help it. If you eat all the fog, Sier won't be able to do his work."

By now, Sier's fog would be covering the ducal castle. Whenever we returned after being away, Sier would use his fog to scan the entire estate—like a security checkpoint. He'd spread fog everywhere to check if any rats had gotten in while we were gone... his mana capacity is truly insane.

Spreading fog is one thing, but detecting others' mana through it? Is that even possible? His head must be about to explode.

"Ah! Bibi!! Don't eat it! It's not food!"

Thanks to that, Bibi was thrilled. With delicious things everywhere, it was only natural for Bibi to eat the fog.

"Hari! Take Bibi outside for a while! He'll keep eating endlessly!"

"Oh dear, Bibi! Come here. We'll eat later, okay?"

I scooped up Bibi, who had his nose to the ground smacking his lips, and carried him out of the castle. And now, I was heading to the lake with Kali and Bibi to lay out a soft mat and lie down.

"Bibi."

Kali called Bibi in a low voice.

"Go on, chase it."

He raised his finger and created a small flame. Flames that bloomed around Bibi wandered through the air before shooting forward.

"What's that? A guided missile?"

"Guided, what?"

"No! How did you do that? Are you controlling it?"

"Of course."

Kali spun his finger, and the flame followed the motion. I couldn't help but gape at how his magic was advancing day by day.

With that, a target wouldn't be able to escape—it would keep chasing them. So cool!

"Me too!!"

"What?"

I grabbed my Goblin Club and infused a tiny bit of mana into the third golden gem. With a flicker, a small, cute flame popped out.

"Wh-what! Hey, Hariella! You said you wouldn't use it without my permission!"

Kali's shout reminded me of my promise, and I instinctively covered my mouth.

"Oh right! I completely forgot!"

In the moment I was distracted, the flame suddenly shot up into the air. Before I could cut off the mana, it descended rapidly.

"Uh...?"

In the time it took to blink twice—

Whoosh—!

It caught fire. On the bushes.

This was a forest, surrounded by flammable grass and trees. If I couldn't stop it...

"Ack! Wildfire!! Be careful with fire!! Always be careful with fire!!"

I screamed and ran toward the fire with my club, frantically beating it. The fire started spreading quickly. Thinking it would be disastrous if it spread further, I swung my club like mad.

Fortunately, since it was magic-infused fire, my strikes began to extinguish it.

"Ugh, damn it! Ack!!"

How long did I keep beating the ground? Eventually, all the flames died down, leaving only smoke.

"Huff, huff..."

Ugh, exhausting. If Bibi were here, he could have eaten it—where did he go!

"How stupid can you get?"

"What?!"

A large hand grabbed the back of my head and pushed it down.

"If you're a mage, use magic, you idiot. Why do you carry that around? You could have used the Duke's magic."

Now holding my head with both hands, Kali shook it back and forth.

"Ah, why didn't you say that earlier!"

"What? Who should be angry here! What did you say? You begged me, saying you'd only use it if I allowed it—and you forgot already?"

"...Hehe. Sorry."

I looked up at Kali with the most pitiful face I could muster. He ran his hand through his hair as if he wanted to tear it out, sighed deeply, and brushed the ash off my clothes.

"Hariella, every time you do this, I feel like I'm going crazy."

"Huh?"

Kali slowly bent one knee. Brushing off my messy skirt hem with a casual hand, he continued.

"I used to think that as long as I could get revenge, nothing else mattered. But now, it's a little different."

Kali had his head down, so I couldn't see his face.

"Hariella, promise me—no matter what happens, your safety comes first. Don't let yourself get hurt for anyone, not even me."

His voice was unusually serious. Come to think of it, Kali had always been sensitive even when ash touched me.

...And in the original, I was the one killed by him.

As long as he doesn't go crazy and try to kill me, I won't get hurt. So it's not me who should be making that promise—it's him.

"Promise me."

When I stayed silent, Kali gripped my skirt hem tightly—so tightly that veins stood out on the back of his hand.

I wish I could see his face.

"Alright. I promise. If I ever have to use your magic again, I'll be really careful. And you know—I have the hat and the Goblin Club. I'm invincible against fire. You know that better than anyone."

I gently stroked Kali's pink hair. His grip on my skirt loosened.

"I won't let a single strand of my hair get burned. That's good enough, right?"

"What if you break the promise?"

"Hmm... what do you want me to do?"

Anything but dying—your noona will do it.

"Grant me one wish."

"A wish? Hmm, if it's something I can do."

"Good."

Kali, who had been smoothing out my wrinkled skirt, stood up. After glancing at the scorched ground, he grabbed my wrist.

"When you use my magic, don't think about controlling it. Just think about unleashing it. Think about burning everything except yourself—and aim it forward."

It definitely felt different from Sier's fog. Even if hard to control, fog isn't threatening—but fire is different. It's magic that can destroy you if you're not careful.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

Bibi, having finished eating the flames Kali had shot out, came running back. He rested his paws on Kali's legs and panted, sticking out his pink tongue.

"Oh, you little glutton. Let's go up a bit more—we'll have snacks there, okay?"

"Grrr."

I held Bibi's tiny paw and shook it, and he licked my cheek. Defeated by his cuteness, I scooped him up and continued climbing the mountain.

"Bibi, you've grown, haven't you? Look how heavy you are."

He must be about 10kg now? When I tried to put him down, he clung to me, refusing to get off.

"You want your noona to get some exercise, don't you? Huh?"

Rubbing my face against the top of his head, I looked toward the lake in the distance—still as beautiful as ever.

Completely exhausted, I collapsed onto the soft mat I'd prepared. Bibi stared at the lake with sparkling blue eyes.

"See? The lake is the same color as your eyes, Bibi."

The moment I set him down, Bibi dashed toward the lakeshore.

Watching the dazzlingly shimmering waves in the sunlight, I thought of someone whose eyes were the same color.

"That lake—it's also similar to Lewena's eye color, isn't it?"

I could finally understand why the original described Lewena's beautiful eyes so elaborately.

But when Kali heard my words, his face crumpled unpleasantly. I hadn't expected genuine agreement, but why do you dislike her so much?

I lay down on the mat, looked up at Kali, and asked.

"Kali, why don't you like Lewena?"

"It's not about liking or disliking."

"Did Lewena curse you out behind my back or something?"

"The mana flowing around that woman is unpleasant. It feels like being dampened against my will."

"Even with opposite elemental affinities, it's rare for it to affect you this much. Is it because both of you have extreme tendencies?"

Or maybe it's because they're fated to be enemies.

"Anyway, I don't like her."

"Hmm, I didn't mind her. Being near her made me feel clear and refreshed. Maybe it's because my unique magic is a wooden club? Wood and water have good compatibility."

"What?"

Kali glared at me with blazing eyes.

"I said I don't like her!"

Seeing his full-blown sulk, I burst out laughing.

"Hmm, is that so? Our little Kali doesn't like Lewena. Since our little brother doesn't like her, your noona should understand. Fine. I won't get close to her. That good?"

I could see the veins popping on Kali's forehead in real time.

Even if it's just a one-year difference, it's still true that I've eaten more meals than he has. If you're that upset, you should have been born a year earlier.

Of course, he's never once called me "noona"... Wait, what? That's unfair. Why doesn't he call me noona?

"Kali, call me noona."

"...No."

"Hmm? Just once."

As I poked his side while lying down, Kali, who had been sitting quietly, looked down at me with an irritated expression.

"Eek! If you look at me that scarily, your noona gets scared!"

I was making a fuss, covering my mouth with both hands, when suddenly a shadow fell over my face. I blinked a few times, and when I looked again, Kali's face was right in front of me.

His long bangs brushed against my forehead—so close.

"Noona."

Huh?

Back   Next