Chapter 100

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“It’s taking a while.”

Outside the fortune-teller’s tent, Leonardo was worried, as Aria had not come out for over 30 minutes.

“Prophecies don’t come easily.”

Leonardo knew this as well.

A prophecy is a piece of information that comes to humans in some form, a fragment of the law of causality.

It was similar to an oracle, but there was a crucial difference with prophecies.

‘...It’s never a story that benefits the person involved.’

An oracle is a divine revelation that advises on the direction to take.

A prophecy is a rumor that can come from any direction.

The consequences of following a prophecy were at least better than those of an oracle. At least an oracle gave room for thought and direction, unlike a prophecy, which was less considerate compared to an oracle and divine revelation.

‘...I should go in just in case...’

“...Hey, Leo.”

Dean turned his head towards the alley outside the fortune-teller’s tent. From the way he was crossing his arms and grinding his fangs, he seemed lost in thought.

“Suddenly... I’m sorry to ask, but did anything happen when you joined the mercenary guild?”

It was a sudden question, unrelated to the current situation.

But thinking about his mercenary life, Leo answered.

“Well... if you think about it, joining itself was difficult.”

For a 10-year-old to register as a regular mercenary, not even as an irregular combatant, was not just difficult but almost absurd.

“The guild master was strongly against it at first.”

Mentioning his mother, Ren, only made the guild master more opposed to Leo’s joining. The current Leo thought the guild master didn’t want to see him follow in Ren’s footsteps.

“...Then how did you convince him?”

“I just told him I beat a werewolf named Dean, and he gave me a chance.”

It wasn’t a lie. The guild master knew Dean was a werewolf and a skilled hunter, even if only by rumor.

“How was that proper?! You fought so unfairly!!”

“What do you mean? Don’t you remember?”

When Dean tried to stop him from leaving the village, the werewolf said:

-If you want to go out and die, knock me out first. By any means.

So Leonardo pretended to be resigned, stayed still, and trained his body, setting up various traps in advance.

“So that’s all I did. If you didn’t like it, you should have set the conditions better.”

His tone was like that of a sibling trying to provoke, the kind of tone you’d hear in a close-knit family.

“Still, you have a conscience! How could you say you won that?!”

Breaking the tree to make it easier to snap was understandable. As a hunter, setting traps was a basic tactic.

“Faking an injury with fake blood?! Even now, it’s infuriating!”

“It was real blood. Just animal blood I got from Uncle Jeff.”

When Dean hit him and he flew, Leo deliberately rolled and acted like he hit a tree.

At the same time, when Dean approached out of concern, Leo used the fake blood he had in his mouth to completely cover Dean’s eyes and nose with animal blood, making him unable to function.

The rest involved breaking all the prepared trees to pin Dean down and subdue him.

[You were a troublemaker from a young age.]

<That’s why I thought I was a genius at first.>

But meeting Aria, a huge obstacle, made him realize it was an illusion.

“Even now, my broken bones ache!!”

“Then you don’t need the money your little brother gave you? Starting next month...”

“But the thought of my beloved money suffering outside made my heart ache even more...!”

Is he calling it ‘money life’ now? The pronunciation of ‘money’ comes from the ‘Dong’ in ‘younger brother’ and is very similar to the pronunciation of ‘money’ in Korean.

Is this a misunderstanding?

[Think of it as medical expenses. I wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if I were kicked out of the village.]

<I agree.>

After doing such a terrible thing and claiming victory, he slipped out of the village like a runaway.

Before the regression, he didn’t even think about going back, and when he worked for the family, he didn’t even contact them.

“So, did you adapt well?”

“I did, but it was a living hell.”

To be honest, mercenary life was a living hell.

The guild master advised him to gain experience by traveling with a veteran mercenary, and Leo agreed, teaming up with a middle-aged mercenary.

[But you were taken advantage of?]

<Not taken advantage of, but almost. Remembering it now, it feels really disgusting.>

One night, while staying in a cabin, the middle-aged mercenary secretly drank and tied him up with a rope while drunk.

<At first, I thought it was a joke.>

He had trusted the man.

He considered him a comrade.

While the middle-aged mercenary was taking off his pants and getting ready, Leo used a thick thorn on the floor to cut the rope binding his arms.

He then pulled out the thorn and, pretending to comply, stabbed the man’s groin with it just before he could act, and took the longsword to cut off his breath.

[...Was that the first time you killed someone?]

<At least the first time with someone I knew.>

He had been prepared to kill people as a mercenary.

However, for over a week, he felt like he would vomit every time he ate something, so he had to dilute his porridge with as much water as possible to barely digest it.

<After that, I was betrayed and nearly killed many times.>

Thinking of his peers as friends was also stupid of him.

Living in a nest of spider monsters meant you had to abandon friends, but it was still disappointing.

<In the end, they all died.>

After that, he had a few opportunities to make comrades, but by then, his distrust of humans due to his teenage years and trauma was so severe that he never considered having anyone around.

“...So, did you have any close mercenary friends back then? Someone who knew Ren?”

“...Both my mother and I became quite famous in the mercenary world, but we never joined any specific group.”

This made tracking his mother, Ren, even harder. However, one characteristic was that she received a silver-grade mercenary badge but mostly took on low-risk, guaranteed-pay missions.

And this was just a personal guess, but whenever it was time to advance to a higher rank, she would always take a break from missions or fail them.

The guild staff and master said this was an overreaction, but for some reason, whenever Leo asked for access to the archives, this thought would come to mind.

“Maybe... it’s too difficult for her to advance too much.”

Indeed, becoming a gold-badge mercenary would increase her income, but it would also reduce the chances of getting easy missions.

Therefore, to keep her promise to return home as quickly and safely as possible, Ren must have made such judgments and choices.

She wasn’t poor even with a silver badge.

“...So... Ren was definitely a mercenary?”

“Why are you asking this now? The archives even had pictures and printed photos.”

He checked several times to avoid confusion, carefully verifying habits and actions, but found nothing unusual.

Even the unique scar on her wrist from a burn was confirmed.

“...Dean, why are you suddenly asking this?”

Anus asked, puzzled by Dean’s sudden and strange question.

“...Just because. You don’t talk much about your mercenary days.”

Dean touched his nose, looking uneasy.

It was the first time he hoped his sense of smell had dulled.

“...But Aria is taking too long. Let’s...”

Before he could suggest checking, a girl emerged from the tent.

She looked more serious and contemplative than a typical girl.

“...Was the prophecy not good? Should I go see the fortune-teller too?”

Aria met Leonardo’s eyes, but it felt like she wasn’t focused. Her gaze was shaky, as if looking at a black bird in the dark.

“...Leo.”

Aria asked, her voice and eyes trembling.

“This year... we are 19, right?”

“...”

Many thoughts came to mind.

Why is she asking about our age now?

Why emphasize ‘we’?

Could the fortune-teller have mentioned the regression?

Or the past? Or the future?

If so, how much does she know?

If she really knows, why doesn’t she just ask?

Should I hide it? Should I tell her?

How do I hide it?

If I tell her, how much should I say?

Is she just probing?

If so, how...

“...Technically, Leo’s birthday is ambiguous, so it’s hard to say he’s exactly 19.”

Then Dean casually interjected.

“...His birthday is ambiguous?”

“His birthday exists, but it’s based on the day he came to the village, so it’s not certain.”

Anus clicked his tongue, saying Ren, as a parent, never revealed her son’s birthday.

“...Ah...”

Dean’s expression darkened, not just because of the gloomy story, but because a previously uncertain theory now seemed credible.

“Every time she came, she always brought gifts.”

Like a snake-shaped doll, a horn flute that made a nice sound when blown, and sometimes carved wooden horses or swings.

“Not mentioning his birthday... must have had a reason.”

Leo had some guesses.

The reason for not having a birthday was likely related to his unknown father.

Ren always changed the subject when it came to his father.

She said she would tell him when he was an adult... so the rest was now clear.

‘...I should be grateful for being raised in the village.’

Especially if he was an unintended child.

“...I see.”

“...It’s hard to explain.”

Aria, with a sad expression, forced a smile.

“I’m fine.”

“...Me too...”

“Leo.”

Aria cut through Leo’s lie.

Like a hero slicing through everything.

“If you’re fine,”

Leo lifted the tent flap and headed towards the fortune-teller’s door.

“I’m fine too.”

But his body paused for a moment at her words.

“...Mi...”

The seer wasn’t looking at him, apologizing.

Her gaze was clearly on Aria.

But the intensity of that gaze felt like it was directed at him.

“...Thank you.”

Instead of an apology, gratitude filled the space.

“Thank you always.”

At any moment.

At any time.

With gratitude, Leo tried to leave.

“...If you’re grateful...”

But.

“Don’t be grateful anymore.”

Aria’s contradiction held him back.

Aria’s understanding of Leo’s contradiction held him back.

“...You worked hard...”

At any moment.

“...You didn’t give up...”

At any moment.

“...You... were the best...”

For the pain he endured.

"..."

<......>

'.........'

Aria’s face was dry of tears.

But for some reason.

It felt like she was crying.

It felt like Aria’s tears were flowing down his cheeks instead.

Author’s Note

The ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail, forms a circle.

This symbolizes an infinite cycle, representing completeness.

Additionally,

the body between the head and tail is always growing and changing, symbolizing change.

In alchemy, it also symbolizes the philosopher’s stone, which transforms base metals into gold.

Then, what does a two-headed ouroboros symbolize?