I Don’t Want To Be An Ojakgyo

When Cory just continued to stare at me with a baffled gaze, I took that opportunity to put on a jacket. It looked like either Hazel or Hestia had brought my clothes to the sick bay. Some of my clothes were in the drawers.

I thought it only had my own clothes, but there was a luxurious pajama set that I'd never seen in my life that was neatly folded in the drawers as well.

Not only that, but there were warm socks, gloves, and other items that I'd never seen before. I couldn't help but think of Yves. It was out of nowhere, but Yves in the dream truly was absolutely unrecyclable trash.

"I can't do anything about it even if you look at me like that. I really have to go right now. I don't have enough magic though. Can you give me some stones?"

Cory continued to stare at me with an expression that told me to just stay in bed. I decided to just tell him what I needed instead.

What I needed right now was a large quantity of magic stones. My current state was weak enough, just as he said, for it not to be strange for me to pass out right now. I had hidden my paleness through my magic, but I was still finding it hard to stand straight. My magic felt like it was poking at my insides and was stirring up a mess within me.

All I wanted to do right now was to just transport Cory to where the DuBois marquis couple would be attacked.

But I didn't want him to witness his family being threatened like that. He'd be miserable.

That was why I needed a ton of stones. If I was going to use as much magic as I wanted without using my own unstable magic, I needed stones. I had a basic idea of what the attackers were planning, so if I had magic I would be able to do something about it alone.

No, it would be kind of hard to do on my own. I needed to consider the fact that I could pass out in the middle and I needed to take one or two more mercenaries as backup.

I stood on one foot and hopped a few times as I struggled to put on my socks. I was so dizzy that I couldn't really find my balance. Whoa.

I listened to Cory's protests with one ear and let it go out of the other as I grabbed my bag.

Cory continued to try and stop me from leaving. I spoke calmly.

"Don't worry about me right now. Fuss over me later, all at once. I'll listen to everything the day after tomorrow while we're eating."

At my firm response, Cory sighed as if he gave up. He began speaking once again.

"Is it that urgent?"

I nodded my head rapidly four times.

"You'd probably run out even if I told you to lay down and rest, right."

I nodded my head five times.

When I nodded resolutely, he stood up and walked towarsd me.

"Then take me with you."

I nodded my head so quickly that I felt dizzy. Cory helped me stay standing as he spoke.

Cory seemed to calm down after that. He helped me stand and put a bunch of his magic stones in my pocket.

"If you're going to be in danger, let me be in danger with you."

I was originally planning on hiring mercenaries along the way, but Cory looked so desperate as he looked at me that I couldn't help but nod.

We were in a bit of a rush, so we headed over to the DuBois residence immediately. I tried to use my magic to fly over there in the beginning, but Cory told me save my strength as much as I could as he held me up with his magic. We used magic to fly, so it didn't take too long to get there.

I thought about finding a mercenary who could help, but I soon gave up. Mercenaries were famous for following money, but they always had their own backing and they weren't very trustworthy. So I decided to just be content with Cory for now.

The DuBois marquis family was famous for their line of normal type magicians. Because of that, the DuBois family's residence was designed more for convenience than style. There were various devices and stones floating in the sky that improved area magic connection for ease of communication, and there were semi-permanent magic spells drawn around the residence here and there.

These semi-permanent circles were kind of like gifts that the former DuBois marquises left their descendants. Some of the circles were so old that you could feel how old it was with just a glance.

Within these, the oldest and most unstable semi-permanent circle was one related to time. It was the oldest and still incomplete.

The contents of the circle were so complicated that I couldn't tell exactly what it did, but I was sure that it was related to time.

Magic circles all had their own time limits, but the longer it remained, the higher quality the circle was. This particular circle that was near the residence stretched the time limit to as long as it could, and it was incredibly difficult to replicate.

You could create threads of magic by following the instructions to making magic stones, and that would be the material used to create these semi-permanent circles. Being able to stretch out stones into threads was only something that could be done by those who were blessed with the power. The DuBois family had a lot of members who were gifted with that particular power. Cory was one of those people as well.

After arriving at the DuBois residence, I looked around here and there as I looked at the unknown time-related circles. Seeing how the DuBois marquis' personal Unhorse* was still in the residence, it looked like they hadn't gone out just yet.

Cory wordlessly followed me and, seeing that we were heading to his home, looked strange.

He just kept staring at me without a word as I flew around here and there and looked at the circles floating in the sky. Even when he looked at me strangely, I wordlessly kept doing what I needed to. Cory and I spied on his family.

When the marquis couple and Viedielle all left the residence together, Cory opened his mouth speak.

"……Shushu. You were this curious about my house?"

This wasn't the goal, but I was so entranced by the circles in his residence that I nodded blankly.

"Do you want to take a look around next time?"

I nodded at Cory's question. I wanted to ask him properly to come visit and take a look at those semi-permanent circles.

"Let's go back, Shushu. I'll let you come and have a look next time."

Cory seemed genuinely concerned about my current state. He put his hand on my forehead and spoke. Seeing how Cory's hand felt colder than usual, I guessed that I was running a small fever.

I rejected Cory's offer to go back to the sick bay and tried to leave the general vicinity of the DuBois residence. The marquis' personal Unhorse was leaving the residence and was heading to the city.

Now that the marquis had left his residence that was layered with protection, his attackers would soon be on the move as well.

The sun was setting and making way for the moon. I wordlessly followed the Unhorse and, when Cory saw that I didn't plan on going back, sighed as he followed me.

I chased after the marquis couple and Viedielle as I checked on them. Because of that, Cory watched as his family happily bought his birthday gifts and ordered his cake.

Cory's eyes were wide as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He looked happy, but he really looked a bit awkward.

When I asked if he was happy, Cory looked slightly embarrassed as he nodded.

I felt slightly guilty that I had messed up his family's surprise party for him. But Viedielle was so obvious that Cory seemed to have been expecting it.

"…..you've been in the cold too long."

Cory kept checking on my stated as we followed the marquis and marquess through the city. He frowned as he muttered to himself.

After I rejected his requests to go back and rest about ten or more times, Cory had stopped asking.

He glanced down at his shoulders and seemed to regret not bringing a blanket. Instead, he wordlessly took off the school cardigan he had on and wrapped it around my neck like a scarf.

I could smell Cory's distinct scent of junk food on his clothes. When I nodded at him in thanks, he nodded as well.

After Cory's parents and Viedielle finished shopping, they got back on the Unhorse and were about to return to their residence.

Just as I had read in dream Cory's documents, the attack sprang to life just as they finished shopping and were on their way back to their residence.

Behind the Unhorse, the horseless carriage that seemed to gently glide down the road, a few magicians and a few assassins stuck behind it. In front of the Unhorse, there were some direct attack magic circles drawn on the ground. It had been scrubbed clean of any traces of magic so that it would be undetectable.

The DuBois marquis was, apparently, not too strong when it came to attack or defense spells. Instead, he was talented in magic theory or spatial spells–spells that had a lot to do with day-to-day life. Because of that, the DuBois marquis had been attacked and killed, just like that. He couldn't survive when the attack had been meticulously planned and executed in the front and in the back.

Cory watched at the scene unfolding in front of him. He bit his lips as his eyes opened wide. One of his lips curled up in disbelief.

"….Shushu."

His voice shook as he called my name.

"Did you rush over here in your current state because you knew about this?"

Cory's voice was filled with rage. Of course, the rage wasn't directed towards me. It was directed towards the group that was trying to attack his parents and Viedielle. When I nodded at his question, the air around him grew even angrier.

It was said that the scariest people were those who never got angry. Cory's magic began to fluctuate erratically, ready to murder. His sharp green eyes pinned themselves at the assassins and magicians as they shone brightly.

I watched as Cory looked like he was seconds away from decimating the entire area and stretched my arm to rest it on his shoulder. This was the time to be calm and rational.

I patted him slightly and told him my plan.

"Cory, you need to null those direct attack circles installed over there. I'll face the rest of the assassins and magicians on my own."

Direct attack spells were terrifying pieces of magic that burnt anything that passed over its circle and basically dissolved it right then and there. If nothing passed by it after a certain amount of time passed at first, it could even choose its own target to attack.

The only person who could quickly and safely nullify that kind of high-level spell was Cory. I was planning on protecting the people in the Unhorse as much as I could before we got close enough to the attack circle. If Cory could just nullify that circle, I could leave the rest of the situation to him.

At my words, Cory looked down at my hand on his shoulder. He shifted his gaze on my face as he wordlessly stared at it. He frowned slightly.

"…..your magic is incredibly unstable right now. It wouldn't be strange for you to pass out right now."

He still let out an incredibly dangerous aura around him as he adjusted the cardigan around my neck.

"You should rest over here."

Cory tried his best to control his expression, but he couldn't erase the murderous tinge in it.

He tried to leave me behind to face everything on his own. I grabbed his arm.

T/N:

*Unhorses were mentioned earlier in the story (when they first got out for break and when Hylli, Shushu, and Swanhaden visit Caradil for the first time)! They're basically magical carriages that "glide" around without horses.

Shushu mentioned that they were being used by the DuBois family even though they were incredibly new at the time, and also mentioned that they're exponentially more expensive than regular horse-drawn carriages. The rides are supposed to be a lot smoother (it's essentially floating, so no bumpy rides) as well.

When Cory just continued to stare at me with a baffled gaze, I took that opportunity to put on a jacket. It looked like either Hazel or Hestia had brought my clothes to the sick bay. Some of my clothes were in the drawers.

I thought it only had my own clothes, but there was a luxurious pajama set that I'd never seen in my life that was neatly folded in the drawers as well.

Not only that, but there were warm socks, gloves, and other items that I'd never seen before. I couldn't help but think of Yves. It was out of nowhere, but Yves in the dream truly was absolutely unrecyclable trash.

"I can't do anything about it even if you look at me like that. I really have to go right now. I don't have enough magic though. Can you give me some stones?"

Cory continued to stare at me with an expression that told me to just stay in bed. I decided to just tell him what I needed instead.

What I needed right now was a large quantity of magic stones. My current state was weak enough, just as he said, for it not to be strange for me to pass out right now. I had hidden my paleness through my magic, but I was still finding it hard to stand straight. My magic felt like it was poking at my insides and was stirring up a mess within me.

All I wanted to do right now was to just transport Cory to where the DuBois marquis couple would be attacked.

But I didn't want him to witness his family being threatened like that. He'd be miserable.

That was why I needed a ton of stones. If I was going to use as much magic as I wanted without using my own unstable magic, I needed stones. I had a basic idea of what the attackers were planning, so if I had magic I would be able to do something about it alone.

No, it would be kind of hard to do on my own. I needed to consider the fact that I could pass out in the middle and I needed to take one or two more mercenaries as backup.

I stood on one foot and hopped a few times as I struggled to put on my socks. I was so dizzy that I couldn't really find my balance. Whoa.

I listened to Cory's protests with one ear and let it go out of the other as I grabbed my bag.

Cory continued to try and stop me from leaving. I spoke calmly.

"Don't worry about me right now. Fuss over me later, all at once. I'll listen to everything the day after tomorrow while we're eating."

At my firm response, Cory sighed as if he gave up. He began speaking once again.

"Is it that urgent?"

I nodded my head rapidly four times.

"You'd probably run out even if I told you to lay down and rest, right."

I nodded my head five times.

When I nodded resolutely, he stood up and walked towarsd me.

"Then take me with you."

I nodded my head so quickly that I felt dizzy. Cory helped me stay standing as he spoke.

Cory seemed to calm down after that. He helped me stand and put a bunch of his magic stones in my pocket.

"If you're going to be in danger, let me be in danger with you."

I was originally planning on hiring mercenaries along the way, but Cory looked so desperate as he looked at me that I couldn't help but nod.

We were in a bit of a rush, so we headed over to the DuBois residence immediately. I tried to use my magic to fly over there in the beginning, but Cory told me save my strength as much as I could as he held me up with his magic. We used magic to fly, so it didn't take too long to get there.

I thought about finding a mercenary who could help, but I soon gave up. Mercenaries were famous for following money, but they always had their own backing and they weren't very trustworthy. So I decided to just be content with Cory for now.

The DuBois marquis family was famous for their line of normal type magicians. Because of that, the DuBois family's residence was designed more for convenience than style. There were various devices and stones floating in the sky that improved area magic connection for ease of communication, and there were semi-permanent magic spells drawn around the residence here and there.

These semi-permanent circles were kind of like gifts that the former DuBois marquises left their descendants. Some of the circles were so old that you could feel how old it was with just a glance.

Within these, the oldest and most unstable semi-permanent circle was one related to time. It was the oldest and still incomplete.

The contents of the circle were so complicated that I couldn't tell exactly what it did, but I was sure that it was related to time.

Magic circles all had their own time limits, but the longer it remained, the higher quality the circle was. This particular circle that was near the residence stretched the time limit to as long as it could, and it was incredibly difficult to replicate.

You could create threads of magic by following the instructions to making magic stones, and that would be the material used to create these semi-permanent circles. Being able to stretch out stones into threads was only something that could be done by those who were blessed with the power. The DuBois family had a lot of members who were gifted with that particular power. Cory was one of those people as well.

After arriving at the DuBois residence, I looked around here and there as I looked at the unknown time-related circles. Seeing how the DuBois marquis' personal Unhorse* was still in the residence, it looked like they hadn't gone out just yet.

Cory wordlessly followed me and, seeing that we were heading to his home, looked strange.

He just kept staring at me without a word as I flew around here and there and looked at the circles floating in the sky. Even when he looked at me strangely, I wordlessly kept doing what I needed to. Cory and I spied on his family.

When the marquis couple and Viedielle all left the residence together, Cory opened his mouth speak.

"……Shushu. You were this curious about my house?"

This wasn't the goal, but I was so entranced by the circles in his residence that I nodded blankly.

"Do you want to take a look around next time?"

I nodded at Cory's question. I wanted to ask him properly to come visit and take a look at those semi-permanent circles.

"Let's go back, Shushu. I'll let you come and have a look next time."

Cory seemed genuinely concerned about my current state. He put his hand on my forehead and spoke. Seeing how Cory's hand felt colder than usual, I guessed that I was running a small fever.

I rejected Cory's offer to go back to the sick bay and tried to leave the general vicinity of the DuBois residence. The marquis' personal Unhorse was leaving the residence and was heading to the city.

Now that the marquis had left his residence that was layered with protection, his attackers would soon be on the move as well.

The sun was setting and making way for the moon. I wordlessly followed the Unhorse and, when Cory saw that I didn't plan on going back, sighed as he followed me.

I chased after the marquis couple and Viedielle as I checked on them. Because of that, Cory watched as his family happily bought his birthday gifts and ordered his cake.

Cory's eyes were wide as he watched the scene unfold in front of him. He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He looked happy, but he really looked a bit awkward.

When I asked if he was happy, Cory looked slightly embarrassed as he nodded.

I felt slightly guilty that I had messed up his family's surprise party for him. But Viedielle was so obvious that Cory seemed to have been expecting it.

"…..you've been in the cold too long."

Cory kept checking on my stated as we followed the marquis and marquess through the city. He frowned as he muttered to himself.

After I rejected his requests to go back and rest about ten or more times, Cory had stopped asking.

He glanced down at his shoulders and seemed to regret not bringing a blanket. Instead, he wordlessly took off the school cardigan he had on and wrapped it around my neck like a scarf.

I could smell Cory's distinct scent of junk food on his clothes. When I nodded at him in thanks, he nodded as well.

After Cory's parents and Viedielle finished shopping, they got back on the Unhorse and were about to return to their residence.

Just as I had read in dream Cory's documents, the attack sprang to life just as they finished shopping and were on their way back to their residence.

Behind the Unhorse, the horseless carriage that seemed to gently glide down the road, a few magicians and a few assassins stuck behind it. In front of the Unhorse, there were some direct attack magic circles drawn on the ground. It had been scrubbed clean of any traces of magic so that it would be undetectable.

The DuBois marquis was, apparently, not too strong when it came to attack or defense spells. Instead, he was talented in magic theory or spatial spells–spells that had a lot to do with day-to-day life. Because of that, the DuBois marquis had been attacked and killed, just like that. He couldn't survive when the attack had been meticulously planned and executed in the front and in the back.

Cory watched at the scene unfolding in front of him. He bit his lips as his eyes opened wide. One of his lips curled up in disbelief.

"….Shushu."

His voice shook as he called my name.

"Did you rush over here in your current state because you knew about this?"

Cory's voice was filled with rage. Of course, the rage wasn't directed towards me. It was directed towards the group that was trying to attack his parents and Viedielle. When I nodded at his question, the air around him grew even angrier.

It was said that the scariest people were those who never got angry. Cory's magic began to fluctuate erratically, ready to murder. His sharp green eyes pinned themselves at the assassins and magicians as they shone brightly.

I watched as Cory looked like he was seconds away from decimating the entire area and stretched my arm to rest it on his shoulder. This was the time to be calm and rational.

I patted him slightly and told him my plan.

"Cory, you need to null those direct attack circles installed over there. I'll face the rest of the assassins and magicians on my own."

Direct attack spells were terrifying pieces of magic that burnt anything that passed over its circle and basically dissolved it right then and there. If nothing passed by it after a certain amount of time passed at first, it could even choose its own target to attack.

The only person who could quickly and safely nullify that kind of high-level spell was Cory. I was planning on protecting the people in the Unhorse as much as I could before we got close enough to the attack circle. If Cory could just nullify that circle, I could leave the rest of the situation to him.

At my words, Cory looked down at my hand on his shoulder. He shifted his gaze on my face as he wordlessly stared at it. He frowned slightly.

"…..your magic is incredibly unstable right now. It wouldn't be strange for you to pass out right now."

He still let out an incredibly dangerous aura around him as he adjusted the cardigan around my neck.

"You should rest over here."

Cory tried his best to control his expression, but he couldn't erase the murderous tinge in it.

He tried to leave me behind to face everything on his own. I grabbed his arm.

T/N:

*Unhorses were mentioned earlier in the story (when they first got out for break and when Hylli, Shushu, and Swanhaden visit Caradil for the first time)! They're basically magical carriages that "glide" around without horses.

Shushu mentioned that they were being used by the DuBois family even though they were incredibly new at the time, and also mentioned that they're exponentially more expensive than regular horse-drawn carriages. The rides are supposed to be a lot smoother (it's essentially floating, so no bumpy rides) as well.