Sincerely, Vanessa [EN]: Chapter 131

Deep shadows under his eyebrows. Closed eyes. Long, lowered eyelashes.

If all that light goes out….

My breath hitched, and I felt faint.

The boy, who was looking down into it with me, whispered softly.

“Now do you believe it?”

“…You’re really Bam Vandalu?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re really Bam Vandalu, revive the magic circle right now! Why are you here? You promised to protect Friva. You clearly said that!”

It was a story recorded even in history books: the wise king and Bam Vandalu. The king of the past loved peaceful Friva so much that he entrusted his most loyal subject and dearest friend with a final request: to watch over Friva in his stead.

At the desperately trembling voice, Bam Vandalu subtly lowered the corner of his lips. He sat on the floor, curling up and hugging himself.

“I’m like a trace. The great Bam Vandalu is already dead, no different from being gone. I remain here as the origin….”

Vanessa looked down at her toes. Her lips, chapped from lack of sleep, were tightly shut.

“Great wizards can perform miracles with just their will. Yes, I made a promise to my close friend to watch over Friva, and that’s why I remain here now.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“The black monster has already awakened, and I don’t have the strength left to subdue him. What used to require just a bit of dancing is now impossible. Funny, isn’t it?”

Vanessa covered her eyes with her palm. Her eyelids felt hot, and she was dizzy. Even with her weak movements, Bam Vandalu didn’t lose his smile.

“But I can tell you how to put him back to sleep. I am a very great and wise wizard, after all.”

After a few deep breaths, a chilly voice squeezed out from between her lips.

“I’ll let you off for calling me ‘nuna’ [an affectionate Korean term for older sister] at your age. Just tell me the method quickly. I’m in a hurry, so as fast as possible.”

Bam Vandalu chuckled.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The water hovering in the air was pulled down, filling the bottom of the limestone lake. The magic circle was perfectly hidden, and the small boat hidden behind the stalagmite creaked as it approached on its own.

The two crossed the lake by boat. But even after that, there was still a long way to go.

“Did you forbid movement magic inside this space?”

“Yes.”

“Then can’t you undo it? Why are we walking?”

“As I’ve said before, you shouldn’t try to get everything in life so easily.”

There was a faint sound of teeth grinding from beside her. Bam Vandalu shamelessly pretended not to hear and hummed.

“Why do you have such a young face? You should have a beard down to your waist.”

“It makes people let their guard down easily. You were fooled too, weren’t you? Just a little dirt on my cheeks and you gave me that pitiful look! Puahaha!”

Vanessa cooled her anger by looking at the small stalactites bulging on the ceiling. She had met one of the most outstanding geniuses in history, but the level of conversation was only this.

“It’s my turn now! Why did you come all the way here?”

“Are you asking even though you know everything?”

“I know that man has fallen. Valder, I mean. I only know Duke Valder from a very long time ago, so I find it a bit strange. He was very upright back then, and he still is now, right?”

A stubbornness passed down through generations. Bam Vandalu chattered cheerfully as if he were a very young child.

Vanessa felt the tips of her fingers tingle again at the word Valder.

*Does Bam Vandalu know how to wake him up? If the monster really falls asleep again, will he be able to wake up too?*

She couldn’t bring herself to ask right away. She was afraid of getting an answer that there was no way to wake him up…. If the magician who has been called the wisest on the continent doesn’t know, who else could know?

“But is that all the reason you came all the way here?”

“It’s not ‘all.’ You’ve been taking care of Friva for over a thousand years just because of a friend’s request, and if you don’t understand this…”

Vanessa spat out firmly.

“You’re no different from a fool.”

Bam Vandalu grumbled to himself for a moment. *To talk like that even knowing who I am, really, these kids these days!*

The sound of neat footsteps and erratic footsteps echoed through the cave walls.

“Why did you make me fall into this cave in the first place?”

“I wanted you to see the magic circle in the lake. Unlike my expectations, you were still lacking in ability… but Valder fell with you and protected the other magic circles. You were really too slow….”

Bam Vandalu shook his head as if he was frustrated. Vanessa somehow felt a little indignant.

“What’s slow? I’ve been learning at a very appropriate pace. How many times have I been called a model student!”

“With the power you have, you should have grown several times faster even without knowing the conditions. Well, it’s because there are many good people around you who try to protect you. Or, should I say, people who are overly worried.”

At least four people flashed through her mind. Among them, someone who was both the first and the last made her breathless, made her tremble, and hurt her inside.

Even if she tried not to think about it, he and the teacher popped up in too many things, and she couldn’t stop it. They were melted into everything.

Her voice sank weakly again.

“How did you figure out my magic conditions?”

At Vanessa’s question, Bam Vandalu gave a strange smile.

“If you believe that I am Bam Vandalu, you should also know how old I am. After living for about a thousand years, there are things you can guess. And I’ve known you for a very long time, longer than you think.”

“Me?”

“Yes. When children like you are born, the sky cries out. The stars tremble and chatter, and the clouds scatter and run away.”

As he whispered it like a great secret, Vanessa also held her breath.

“Children like me.”

“Yes. Children born with magical power that can shake the world. With simple magic, they can make mountains rise, care for rivers so they don’t dry up, and enrich the land.”

Of course, the opposite is also possible: destroying mountains, drying up rivers, and polluting the land.

“When the world gets a little boring, children like you are born. Then it gets a little more interesting because even though they are born with the same enormous magical power, the ends of their paths are so different. I read their years together as if reading a book.”

Bam Vandalu stretched out his short, chubby arms like a child and said as if singing.

“The child born the time before last devoted himself to research, so he organized Alonso’s Law. As you know, it took a whopping 74 years to establish that law….”

“That’s very… how should I put it… amazing.”

“That’s right. But it wasn’t fun to watch. Even if I visited every few years, he looked the same. He kept the windows tightly closed and was only at his desk!”

“There must have been other people.”

“That’s right. There was also a child born three hundred years ago, but that child was executed before he could even bloom his abilities. I wonder how many terrible things he committed.”

“Why didn’t you stop him?”

He shrugged his small shoulders.

“Friva wasn’t in danger, and sadly, people always die. Crime is everywhere. It’s a terrible thing.”

“But you intervened with me. Why?”

At the question that hit the mark, Bam Vandalu closed his mouth.

“You appeared to me and showed me that the magic circle was dangerous, and you provided clues about the conditions for the realization of magic. It doesn’t match the previous story. You, who didn’t lift a finger even for terrible crimes…”

Vanessa, who was pondering her words, realized something.

“Ah, I see. This time it’s different. Friva was in danger, and it seems my power was needed to stop him?”

At the cold gaze that seemed to be accusing him, the long-lived, wise magician gave an embarrassed smile.

“To make excuses again, I didn’t touch anything.”

“Yes. I know that too.”

“And the fact that that man fell isn’t anyone’s fault here. If you have to say, it’s because he was too strong and was recognized as an enemy to be broken.”

Vanessa gritted her teeth.

“I know that too, but I can’t help but be angry with you because you only made timid interventions until things went so wrong!”

“I can’t be greedy beyond this,” Bam Vandalu said firmly.

“Because if I do, I’ll be the one to ruin everything.”

After that, only the sound of footsteps echoed in the silence for quite a while.

She walked for a long time, but she didn’t even know her legs were numb. She just moved repetitively like a tin can machine in Jenien’s yard. Creak, creak.

Finally, a familiar shape was visible not far away. The beautiful creature, who had been deeply asleep, unfurled its body and raised its head at the sound of footsteps echoing through the cave walls.

“Hel-lo,” Bam Vandalu greeted happily. What woke up was the dragon that she had seen with Gid a long time ago.

The dragon opened its yellow eyes wide and tapped the floor with its tail. The large, bumpy head swayed from above, expressing its joy.

Vanessa was startled for a moment at the sight she hadn’t seen in a long time. It was too big.

Regardless, the dragon pushed its huge head forward, asking Vanessa to scratch its snout. Vanessa avoided the sharp protrusions and scratched as best she could. The large nostrils flared as if feeling good, and then it noisily blew out air.

“Is it also because of you that the dragon didn’t attack me before?”

“I left traces of my magic on your collar. Dragons are really wise creatures,” Bam Vandalu smiled.

In the past, Gid tied the two people riding on the dragon with a shining string, but now Vanessa was doing that job. The dragon lay down flat as if it were natural, and the boy jumped on top of it.

Vanessa sat behind the boy and firmly secured her body with the string that seemed to be flowing with light.

At that moment, Bam Vandalu poked Vanessa’s hand. When the two’s eyes met, the boy tilted his head.

“Do you know where to go?”

“Aren’t we going to the black monster that you put to sleep?”

“That’s right. Aren’t you scared? They say it’s a monster that burned the world.”

It was a light voice, as if without any intention.

“You don’t have to go.”

He presented another path. He unfolded the unseen future and pushed it forward. Vanessa quietly listened to his voice.

“I wanted you to grow up to be able to stop nightmares. You have grown up that way, but I don’t force you. The end is ultimately your choice.”

“Having come this far? You decided to watch over Friva, and that’s why you approached me. Aren’t I needed?”

Bam Vandalu smiled brightly.

“I’ll just say I can’t do it this time. If I’ve done it for a thousand years, it’s time for my friend to let it go. Honestly, he’d be more dumbfounded that I was still keeping that promise.”

*He’s originally a bit forgetful. He probably forgot that he even made such a request a long time ago.*

Bam Vandalu whispered, slandering his close friend, the wise king.

“So it’s okay. This dragon will go wherever you want. It would be nice to sit at home, wrap yourself in a blanket, and drink a warm cup of tea. Other capable people will be doing something too.”

What she faced were kind blue eyes. The colors were not exactly the same as Vanessa’s. His were a bit darker, sometimes appearing black when there was not enough light. The years contained within were long, and the experience was deep, so it was thick as if it would understand everything.

But even he didn’t know something. Regardless of that great promise between Bam Vandalu and the wise king, there was something Vanessa desperately wanted.

She said slowly.

“I can do something there, right?”

“Maybe, yes.”

“Then that’s enough.”

It was a calm voice without any trembling.

“I want to go. Tell me the way.”

Only then did Bam Vandalu look ahead. As the pale hand stroked the bumpy back a few times, the dragon soon flew up.