HSRD 19

Chapter 19

As I tilted my head while looking at it, Kateri smiled and said,

“That’s the writing system of our village. Do you know about ancient nymph scripts?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve heard that different nymph tribes use different writing systems.”

I had actually learned the Evening Glow nymph script from my mother.

There was no reason to use it anymore, since my entire clan had been wiped out.

At my words, Kateri nodded.

“That one is the script of the Silver Moon nymphs. It says you are being invited to our village.”

“Ah, I see.”

Only after hearing her explanation did some of the words begin to make sense.

Since all nymphs used different scripts but shared the same origin, many words were similar.

“It does say ‘invitation’ here!”

“That’s right. For reference, our village can only be visited during the full moon.”

“Wow, there are fixed visiting dates?”

“Yes. In the past there weren’t any, but now there are nymphs like me who have left the village to live in the human world, and sometimes we receive outside guests, so we created new rules.”

“Ah, I see.”

“When the full moon rises, the barrier surrounding our village disappears. So it’s best to time your visit accordingly.”

Saying that, Kateri snapped her fingers again.

Another sheet of paper flew out from the stack where the invitation had come from earlier.

She spread it on the desk and pointed at a spot.

“The location is here. The northernmost part of the Empire.”

“…Inside a forest?”

The place she pointed to was the massive Radon Forest wrapping around the northwest of the Empire.

Looking at the northernmost section, I blinked.

“Is it even possible for people to go there?”

“Don’t worry! If Aigle takes a train to the northern region, the rest will be handled by the village nymphs.”

“Will they know I’m coming?”

“When you enter the north, our elder will notice immediately.”

“I see…”

What is that? Do they have some kind of nymph detection sensor?

Thinking that, I carefully kept the invitation.

Still… could I even go north?

‘I’ve never once left the capital since I started living at my uncle’s house.’

My conservative uncle and aunt would never allow me to go somewhere so far alone…

Should I just wait for Daphne Sain to return?

At that moment, Kateri grabbed my hand tightly.

“Aigle. I didn’t want to pressure you, so I kept quiet… but please, please come to our village. Please.”

Her expression was serious and sincere.

With eyes like that, how could I refuse outright?

I quietly abandoned the idea of waiting for Daphne Sain and nodded.

“Alright.”

At that moment, a new system window appeared in front of me.

First Sub-Quest Completed!
Reward: Ancient Relic Effect Enhancement.

* * *

On the way home by carriage.

I kept staring at the reward displayed in the system window.

“Ancient relic effect enhancement…”

Was it because I had once asked for a detailed explanation of rewards?

Fortunately, this time there was an explanation.

Reward: Ancient Relic Effect Enhancement
Randomly selects one ancient relic in your possession and enhances its effect.

After calmly reading it, I waved my hand and made the window disappear.

Then I leaned back in the carriage.

‘Why does it have to be random?’

Why can’t I just choose the relic I want to enhance?

If I could, I’d upgrade “Reasonable Fabrication” and use it whenever I need to cover things up.

‘And even though there’s a description, there’s still no explanation of how to use it.’

Will it activate automatically like the regression ability did?

While thinking that, I looked out the window.

The carriage was slowly moving away from the forest where the Magic Tower stood.

Suddenly, I remembered my conversation with Kateri before we parted.

“I’ve heard that feeling of familiarity between nymphs is normal.”

“Yes. Nymphs naturally feel goodwill toward each other, regardless of tribe. Like comrades walking the same path.”

At her words, I blinked and carefully asked,

“Actually… I met someone I felt strangely familiar with at first sight. Like we had lived together for fifty years.”

“Is that person a nymph?”

“No, a beastkin. Can that kind of feeling happen with beastkin too?”

Kateri smiled warmly, as if amused.

“Fufu, Aigle. That does happen. Sometimes you just feel an instant connection with someone~”

She gently patted my hand with sparkling eyes.

“I’m jealous. That youthful feeling… I wonder when I last felt that…”

“It’s not like that.”

I shook my head, but she didn’t seem to hear me, lost in her own thoughts.

After that slightly strange conversation, I finally left the Magic Tower and returned home.

“Haah… it really wasn’t like that.”

Thinking about it again made me sigh.

The person I had used as an example was the Duke of Lapman.

And what I felt when I saw him was definitely not some romantic “love at first sight.”

‘If anything, it felt similar to when I met Kateri.’

But beastkin don’t inspire that kind of familiarity?

Then what was I feeling?

Was I just mistaking admiration for his looks as familiarity?

‘Hmm, I don’t know.’

I had asked because I felt something similar between Kateri and the Duke, but now I was even more confused.

After a moment, I shook my head.

For now, I should put that aside and think about what I learned today.

First—

‘My mother didn’t just die from weak health.’

The Evening Glow nymphs were wiped out.

I cut Kateri off earlier to avoid getting involved in something troublesome, but it seemed I was the only survivor because of these orange eyes.

‘Come to think of it… Radon also said something about passing these eyes down to the next generation…’

What on earth does all this have to do with each other?

At the time, I didn’t want to dig deeper.

Naturally.

‘Because I don’t want to get involved in troublesome things!’

But now that I think calmly, I realize I need to learn more about these orange eyes.

Why Radon left that prophecy. Why the Duke of Lapman is searching for them.

‘This is like a legacy my mother left behind after abandoning her homeland.’

Even if I ignore everything else, I can’t ignore something connected to my mother…

Haah, Mom. Are you listening?

Why did you leave me something so complicated?

I blinked my eyes, now turned blue again, and sighed softly.

Second— the Divine Messenger and the quest.

Why did the Divine Messenger give me these quests?

Is it also related to my orange eyes?

At first, I thought I was given the quest because I was the only one aware of Lapman Duke’s regression.

But this main quest…

I opened the quest window again.

Main Quest!
~Leave the capital and head to the Silver Moon Nymph Village!~

When it first appeared, I was too shocked about Kateri being a nymph to properly read it.

Now that I looked again, it seemed like I was destined to go there anyway—even without Kateri’s request.

‘What kind of secret is waiting there?’

For someone like me who dislikes adventure stories, this was troublesome.

Still… at least I didn’t have to wait three years for Daphne Sain.

And maybe I shouldn’t avoid the Duke of Lapman forever either.

‘If I had known I’d change my mind like this, I should’ve asked Kateri more about him.’

A slight regret lingered, but I pushed it away.

There will be other chances.

Kateri even said she wanted to stay in touch.

She probably knows rumors about the Duke too.

While fiddling with the Silver Moon village invitation in my pocket, the carriage slowly stopped.

After a moment, the door opened and the driver bowed.

“We’ve arrived, Lady Aigle.”

“Thanks.”

I got off the carriage and headed straight to my room.

The mansion was unusually quiet, even though it was evening.

Last time I returned from the Duke’s estate, everyone—my uncle, aunt, and even Lily—were waiting at the entrance, interrogating me about what I talked about.

Back then, I had to rely on improvisation to escape their questions.

‘If the Duke hadn’t told me to keep it secret, I would’ve been caught for sure.’

But now…

No one was here.

Magic Tower vs Duke of Lapman—

Duke wins.

Well, I’d probably be more curious about the Duke’s visit too.

I walked calmly to my room, changed out of my clothes with the maid’s help, and collapsed onto the sofa.

“Ah, I’m tired.”

“What would you like for dinner?”

“I’ll eat later.”

At my answer, Nora spoke with a slightly sympathetic tone.

“Lady Aigle…”

“Hmm?”

“The others have gone to watch an opera performance and then to a restaurant.”

“Oh, really? So they went out together.”

No wonder it was so quiet.

My uncle was strict, but he often took Lily out.

It was a perfect day for a family outing.

I lay back on the sofa and said casually,

“Then I’ll just eat something simple. Hmm… something spicy sounds good.”

“Are you sure that’s alright?”

“Hmm?”

At my question, Nora hesitated for a moment before quietly speaking.