# 28
* * *
Unable to sleep properly the night before, Jin-ha skipped breakfast and went for a walk in the garden. The garden, just past dawn, was cool and damp with the morning chill not yet dissipated.
The garden was filled with light green new leaves everywhere. Looking at this scene, Jin-ha thought that perhaps the season in this otherworld was late spring.
It was a beautiful season.
Spring came to Jin-ha’s city too, but it wasn’t this fresh and beautiful. In the gray city full of steel, concrete, and glass, spring had nowhere to stay even when it arrived. People flocked to large cities in search of safety, and the government had to demolish even parks within cities to secure places for them to stay.
Of course, when such decisions were first made, there was much controversy, but in the battle between preserving parks and providing shelter for refugees, the latter ultimately won. It couldn’t be helped. Refugees kept pouring in, the country lacked manpower to protect the land at that time, and it was a time when survival took priority over happiness.
“Ah…!”
Jin-ha, who had unconsciously activated his Information Eye, groaned and staggered. His magical power was still not completely stable and continued to grow, pulsating around his heart.
He couldn’t activate the Information Eye with such unstable magic. For Jin-ha, who was accustomed to scanning his surroundings with the Information Eye whenever he encountered something unfamiliar, this was quite a significant penalty.
As he leaned against a tree waiting for his fluctuating magical power to calm down, something bumped against his knee. Startled, Jin-ha turned to find a small sheep.
Meeh—
The sheep, with its black face and legs and a snow-white body, repeatedly butted its head against his knee.
Looking down at the sheep in bewilderment, Jin-ha hesitantly reached out to its fluffy head. The sheep, with its bushy hair covering its eyes, quietly enjoyed the touch.
“…Hello.”
The sheep, seemingly accustomed to human touch, leaned its cheek toward Jin-ha’s hand and bleated “meeh” again. It appeared to like people.
“What are you doing in a place like this?”
Although it looked clean and well-cared-for, a sheep wasn’t an animal that belonged in a garden. Looking behind the sheep, Jin-ha noticed holes scattered throughout what would have been beautifully trimmed trees by the gardener. The holes formed a line at the height of the sheep’s head.
Jin-ha glanced around discretely to see if there might be a gardener nearby and said to the sheep:
“You’ll get in trouble if you’re caught doing this.”
“It won’t get in trouble.”
Jin-ha, startled, jumped to his feet. The person who had approached without making a sound was Legas.
“Legas.”
“Good morning, Mr. Lee Jin-ha.”
After greeting Jin-ha, Legas glanced dismissively at the sheep.
“The gardener might cry a bit, but there’s no servant in our tower who would dare scold the sheep. If you were to scold it, Mr. Jin-ha, that would be fine… No, in fact, I would appreciate it if you could.”
Legas’s tone, which had been gloomy as he continued speaking, suddenly became cheerful. He looked at Jin-ha with expectant eyes.
“Would you scold it?”
“Pardon?”
“The sheep has been naughty, so I’d appreciate if you could scold it a bit.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you, Mr. Jin-ha.”
It was a suspicious request. As Jin-ha stared at him, Legas grumbled while looking at the sheep with disgust.
“This sheep once chewed up all of the Master’s pile of documents. Do you know how hard I had to work to rewrite those reports?”
Indeed, that was a grievance worth harboring. This wasn’t like Earth where one could simply press the print button again.
“But if you want to scold it, why don’t you do it yourself?”
“Oh, haven’t you heard? The sheep used to be an animal the Master kept in his room. I wouldn’t dare touch it. But since you currently have the Master’s attention, you’re at least of equal rank…”
“Wait. If it’s from before…”
Words from the Agency’s magician flashed through Jin-ha’s mind.
“Is this the sheep that the Master supposedly hugged for three months and ten days…?”
“So you’ve heard. Yes, this is that sheep. By the way, its name is ‘Sheep.’ The Master named it.”
Isn’t that hardly considered naming it?
Jin-ha stared down at the sheep, which was now chewing on his pant leg, unsure how to react. This sheep, which was once said to have stayed in the Master’s room, was now living in the garden, chewing on ornamental trees.
A strange sense of kinship formed between Jin-ha and the sheep.
Perhaps this sheep represented Jin-ha’s future self. As Jin-ha stroked the sheep’s head, Legas interjected:
“Don’t sympathize with it. Sheep is an expert at pretending to be pitiful. You seem to be misunderstanding, but it has its own separate house over there.”
Legas pointed toward a direction where there was a verdant hill and what looked like a shed with a red-painted roof. The hill was surrounded by white wooden fences, but one side was broken.
“I heard there’s a time limit to the Master’s interest. When his interest fades, do you collect what he’s had?”
“Yes. He might want to see them again someday. It would be troublesome if they weren’t available when he wanted to see them again, so I collect and store everything.”
As the young man, a fanatical fan of the Master, enthusiastically justified the necessity of his actions, Jin-ha had an eerie premonition. A chill ran down his spine. Unconsciously stepping back, Jin-ha muttered:
“…Surely not.”
“Wait, no!”
“Are you denying what I’m thinking before I even say it?”
“Even I wouldn’t consider collecting people. The Master wouldn’t allow it.”
Implying that he would like to do so if the Master permitted it.
The small sense of intimacy Jin-ha had felt while watching the man show jealousy and sulk over the sheep vanished without a trace. Jin-ha resolved never to let his guard down around this young man in the future.
“What’s your business?”
“Here. A letter from the Master.”
When Jin-ha asked while barely concealing his fatigue, the man produced a paper envelope from inside his clothing. It was a snow-white envelope with magical sentences and what looked like flower petals embossed in gold. Stardust-like particles were softly falling from one tilted corner of the envelope.
Jin-ha instinctively cupped his hand under the falling particles as he accepted the envelope.
“Ah…!”
The moment he grasped the envelope, wind erupted from it. The fierce wind blowing in all directions caused flower petals to flutter. Jin-ha, having lost his grip on the envelope, covered his face with both hands and stepped back, but it was useless. The floral wind rushing toward Jin-ha swirled around him.
As Jin-ha looked around in confusion, a man’s voice resounded:
<Today’s appointment is canceled, Hunter Lee Jin-ha.>
It was the envelope. Both the flower petals and the voice were flowing from the envelope.
<Our next appointment is in three days. Until then, think carefully about what you should ask me. If you don’t guess correctly this time either, I’ll withdraw all promises.>
“Wait, what?”
<I’ll be looking forward to it.>
With those final words, the voice ceased. The floral wind subsided, and the letter, now transformed from an artifact to an ordinary piece of paper, fluttered down.
Jin-ha, still holding the envelope, blankly surveyed his surroundings. It was a surreal scene. The flower petals that had poured out from such a small envelope were piled up to his knees. And yet, such magic had been used merely to reschedule an appointment and send a warning.
Thanks to the blue flower petals, the area resembled a small pond. Jin-ha, standing dazed in the middle of it, only came to his senses when he felt the presence of the sheep beside him, chewing on the flower petals.
Barely concealing his bewilderment, Jin-ha folded the envelope and tucked it into his jacket pocket before turning to Legas.
“Threatening to withdraw promises at this point—is there no honor in the magic tower?”
“If the Master wishes there to be none, then there might not be.”
“Even so…!”
“You knew that everything depends on the Master’s word, didn’t you?”
Legas had said “for a while.” More precisely, it meant as long as Jin-ha adequately fulfilled his role as the man’s toy.
Jin-ha rationally assessed the situation. The man’s threat was meant to goad Jin-ha, who wasn’t being proactive enough in finding the “thing he was curious about,” even after being punished. So there was no need to think too hastily…
But, was there any guarantee that the man wouldn’t lose interest if Jin-ha ultimately failed to find what he wanted?
“All decisions in the tower follow the Master’s will. The Master is the god of this tower.”
Legas’s eyes shone fanatically as he added this. He smiled sweetly and bowed to Jin-ha.
“Then please do your best.”
Jin-ha, who had been staring blankly at Legas as he walked away, only came to his senses when he felt the sheep pushing its head into his hand, and then rushed back to his lodgings.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
