Youngest 032

Clouds drifted away, and the moon emerged. In the moonlight, his bluish-gray eyes shimmered with a mysterious light.

“Khalid…”

When I called his name, he smiled crookedly.

“Yeah.”

“You…”

As if spellbound, I started to walk toward him again.

“I didn’t expect you to welcome me like this.”

Khalid rose to his feet as if he’d done this a thousand times and spread his arms wide.

“I—”

My slow steps turned to a run without me realizing it.

And then—

“I told you not to block me out!”

Thud!

My headbutt made his body sway.

Startled, his animal friends scattered in all directions.

“Wow, a headbutt. That’s a new one.”

“It worked because I hit you with weak fists! Why!”

I shook my fists, full of defiance, but Khalid only chuckled lightly, rubbing his stomach.

“Hmph.”

Ironically, I was the one whose eyes brimmed with tears.

My head hurt more than his! What is his body made of, anyway?

“You could at least warn me before you pull something like that. I tensed up without realizing—don’t tell me it broke?”

It was a deeply humiliating thing to hear as the attacker.

“And what do you mean I blocked you? When was that, anyway?”

“So you did block me!”

“I told you—I was broken just now, remember?”

“Don’t treat me like an idiot.”

I growled again. Khalid, a head taller than me, looked down steadily.

“So, Master. What are you doing here?”

His eyes softened into gentle curves. The corners of his mouth curled upward, dazzling.

“After abandoning me, even pretending you were dead.”

Uh-oh, that was definitely an angry face.

I unconsciously took a step back. He stared at the widening gap between us, then suddenly closed the distance and grabbed my shoulders.

“No. No more running away.”

“Wait, hold on—”

“Now that I’ve finally caught you.”

“What?”

“I finally found you.”

Caught what? Did I hear him wrong? As I tilted my head in confusion, Khalid gave a hesitant smile.

“So, what are you doing here? Hiding that you’re a mage, obviously. But those clothes… Surely not.”

His eyes, swirling with shades of gray and blue, scanned my hair and outfit.

“That’s not it, right?”

Awkwardly, I scratched my cheek. My short-cropped hair aside, I was wearing the clothes I’d bought at the boutique a few days ago.

Finely tailored, elegant, and neat—

Boys’ clothes.

“The Duke of Zevert can’t be that oblivious. Right?”

“Well, it’s the result of a series of misunderstandings, you could say.”

“…”

Khalid clamped his mouth shut, so stunned he seemed to forget how to speak.

I seized the moment and changed the subject.

“And what about you? You showed up out of nowhere, caused an explosion—what if someone had seen you!”

“So you wanted me to just stand there and watch while the magical beast rushed at you?”

“The knights would have handled it—”

“No one saw me, so it’s fine.”

His unwavering stance left me speechless. When I glared at him, Khalid glanced sideways and mumbled.

“My body just moved on its own… What else could I do?”

With a short sigh, I let it go.

He was always like this. Ever since I’d saved him from that cave prison, he’d followed me like a stray pup.

‘Of course, no stray pup ever looked that dangerous.’

He’d even offered me his Oath Sigil as an extension of that.

Our magic, bound as one root, left the initiative entirely in my hands. Until I severed the bond, he had no choice but to act as my retainer.

‘Would you really die if I asked you to? Why do you twist your own fate like this?’

It couldn’t be helped.

But if he ever showed the slightest sign of regret, I would cut him loose right away…

“…”

Gazing at the boy before me, my eyes naturally met those of the squirrel balanced on his head.

Munch, munch.

Seeing its gentle eyes quietly nibbling an acorn, I couldn’t help but sigh.

“You’re really fearless. Luring me all the way here from the walls as a squirrel.”

“What do you mean, ‘luring’? Why say something so embarrassing?”

What on earth is he talking about?

“I told you.”

Khalid stirred his magic briefly. Instantly, the yellow light faded from the squirrel’s black eyes.

“I’m the one protecting you.”

With its soul returned, the squirrel sniffed the air and scurried off.

“Don’t say you’ve forgotten my vow.”

The corners of his lips curled into an even deeper arc.

‘I thought so from the very beginning…’

No mess or squalor could hide his beauty, regardless of his age…

Deep navy-blue hair tinged slightly with blue, eyes an uncanny swirl of gray and blue, and under his left eye, two upright beauty marks.

‘If only you’d just grow up like this.’

…He was the very definition of the phrase.

“Sigh, all right. Now put your magic away.”

“You’re the only one who can sense magic around here, anyway.”

Khalid replied with a bit of a sulk.

He possessed the ability to temporarily bind and command another’s soul.

But only for animals.

Magical beasts as well, though he avoided it, saying their power was tainted. As for human souls…

‘That’s forbidden.’

He said to break that rule would bring a terrible price.

“Anyway, you keep dodging the question—it really sounds like you don’t want to say why you’re here.”

His low words made my shoulders flinch. He’d struck home.

‘How could I possibly say it!’

That I’d fallen into the world of a book, that the massacre ending was imminent, and that I was here to find a hero to stop it!

Biting my lip in silence, Khalid said, “Fine,” picked up the bag and sword he’d set down.

“Tell me on the way, then. Let’s head out.”

I slowly closed my eyes, then opened them again.

“Where are we heading?”

“We have to run. The Mage King knows you’re in Babylon.”

“Uh, I don’t want to.”

The answer popped out on its own. As I stepped away, Khalid’s eyebrows shot up.

“You don’t want to… What are you even trying to do here?”

“Sorry. I can’t explain yet. But I won’t be leaving for a while.”

I held his gaze and spoke clearly. Khalid’s hand, gripping his sword, tightened.

“Even if I drag you away by force?”

“You’ve never beaten me, have you…?”

“But only on land rich with magic, Master.”

“Ugh, look at that smug face.”

“Have you forgotten? All I have is magic.”

He lifted his wrist, a small golden bracelet glittering. It was a magical device to restrain his overflowing power.

Khalid wasn’t well-versed in magical theory, but his innate power was ridiculous—enough that even that artifact couldn’t contain it all.

He was my polar opposite.

“Ugh, bragging about magic is forbidden!”

My jealousy slipped out as a childish jeer.

“You’re dodging the issue again.”

Khalid shook his head with a sigh. I laughed softly and took another small step back.

“Later. I’ll tell you later, so just drop it and don’t show off with your magic—just say you understand…”

“Hah.”

For a moment, silence fell. Khalid, staring down at me, bit his lip and dropped his head.

“You’re dodging me again, ready to throw me away…”

Wait, what?

I was flustered. The boy’s fist was clenched so tightly it looked bloodless, and his sturdy shoulders were trembling, ever so slightly…

Wait, what’s this?

“K-Khalid? You’re not crying, right?”

“I can’t sense your magic. They say all the mages who headed for the Canalran Gorge are dead… What was I supposed to—”

“I-I’m not dead!”

Startled, the words tumbled out before I could think.

“What?”

Khalid’s head snapped up. His cheeks were dry, but his shock made me stumble over my words.

“I freed them. The others. I helped them escape.”

His eyes widened a touch.

“What… do you mean?”

“They can’t use magic anymore since I smashed their cores, so they’ll live out their lives in weakness—probably have shorter lifespans, too. But they said it was all right, so… anyway, they’re alive!”

I flailed my arms in my eagerness to explain.

It had been my final operation.

The unit of mages crossing the Canalran Gorge was ambushed by dark beasts. It was a crisis, but also an opportunity.

I’d planned to abandon them and run away to meet Mister Leviathan. But… the faces of the remaining child mages haunted me.

I staged our extermination by the dark beasts so it would seem everyone had died.

“Hah… Then whose bodies were those?”

“Decoys made with dirt.”

“You made all those by yourself?”

“I didn’t need that many, anyway…”

Just a few arms and legs tossed around was enough.

Khalid bit his lip until it bled and finally burst out.

“Then why didn’t you make your own decoy better? Why were you the only one left to be discovered?!”

I shut my mouth, smiling sheepishly. But if I explained, he’d just get angry…

Yet Khalid immediately caught the reason for my silence. He lifted one corner of his lips in a cold, lopsided smile.

“…You did it on purpose. So suspicion wouldn’t fall on the others. To draw attention to yourself.”