Chapter 234

Creak, thud—!

“Nathan!”

Before the boat even touched the pier, Calypse leaped from the bow. Nathan caught the boy rushing toward him out of habit, but nearly fell backward from the unexpected weight. If Azar hadn’t quickly stepped behind to support him, they would have surely tumbled to the ground.

“It’s dangerous to charge at someone like that.”

When Nathan briefly scolded him, Calypse muttered something under his breath. Still, he turned Nathan around, examining him thoroughly for any injuries, and once satisfied with his condition, immediately clung to him again as had become his habit. Then, glaring with narrowed eyes at Azar, who stood watching this whole sequence with a dumbfounded expression, he asked:

“…Nathan, this guy didn’t do anything strange to you while I was gone, did he?”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

Momentarily flustered by those words, Nathan gave Calypse, who was tightly hugging his waist, a sharp knock on the head. Despite this, Calypse merely rubbed his head where he’d been hit, still glaring at Azar with disapproving eyes.

“…Nathan, who is that kid?”

Azar asked, raising one eyebrow skeptically. His gaze remained fixed on Calypse, who was clinging tightly to Nathan’s waist. Nathan smiled awkwardly and replied:

“Ah, this is the person I mentioned earlier. So…”

“Yuri.”

“Huh?”

“Call me Yuri.”

Nathan glanced down at Calypse.

“…He says his name is Yuri.”

And reluctantly introduced him as such.

“Oh, I see. So this child…”

For a moment, Calypse and Azar’s gazes met.

“…”

“…”

Considering himself the adult, Azar was about to offer a formal greeting first—until Calypse stuck out his tongue and promptly turned his head away.

“…?”

Azar felt somewhat bewildered, but strangely experienced a sense of déjà vu from the boy’s attitude. Hadn’t he experienced something similar recently…?

“Anyway, is everyone okay? There seem to be a lot more people now.”

Nathan asked, looking toward the others as if trying to change the atmosphere.

“Yeah, that’s how it turned out… Nover, I’m so glad you’re safe. Really…”

Ramiya’s face was pale as she replied. And she wasn’t the only one. Not just Remberton and Ali, but for some reason, the mercenaries who had joined them were covered in blue bruises as if they’d been beaten. Moreover, Erbahall, who was crouched in a corner of the boat…

“Erba, are you okay?”

“…”

Honestly, considering what Erbahall had done, Nathan didn’t even want to speak to her, but the words escaped his lips involuntarily. If someone were to ask who looked the most pitiful here, Erbahall and the mercenaries would be tied.

The proud demeanor Nathan had seen just before they parted was nowhere to be found. Her once-neat, high ponytail was now disheveled, and she sat there in a shabby state, looking dejected…

“Ah, um…”

Nathan found himself momentarily at a loss for words. Seeing Erbahall uncharacteristically exuding such a gloomy aura, he could roughly guess what had happened without needing to be told. Considering Calypse’s mischief he’d just witnessed, it seemed they had suffered considerably on the way here. While he couldn’t help feeling a bit sorry for them, wasn’t it ultimately their own doing?

Nathan deliberately turned away from Erbahall and quietly asked, pressing down on the small head attached to his waist:

“What did you do this time?”

“Hee.”

Calypse flashed a sweet smile, trying to gloss over the question.

“I was actually super well-behaved, didn’t kill anyone, and even provided healing…”

With a face that seemed composed of only the prettiest features, Calypse looked up at Nathan attentively, one hand near his mouth as he spoke.

“So forgive me.”

“What the—”

Nathan let out an incredulous laugh.

The people watching this exchange all threw disgusted looks at Calypse, who was acting as if he were trying to be cute. What an act… Even Erbahall, crouched down dejectedly, stuck out her tongue in disgust.

Just then, Nathan grabbed Calypse by the scruff of his neck and said to Azar:

“Sorry, but I’m going to have a quick talk with him. Mind waiting here for a bit? It won’t take long.”

“…Ah, sure. Just don’t go too far.”

“Okay.”

Nathan tapped Azar’s furrowed brow with his index finger, telling him to relax his expression, then took Calypse away from the group.

However, since the place was filled with water everywhere, the limited space prevented them from going very far. After checking once to see Ramiya and Remberton getting off the boat to speak with Azar, Nathan turned his head to ask Calypse what he was most curious about.

“More importantly, why did you arrive so late?”

Calypse, who had just cast a sound-blocking spell, crossed his arms and leaned against a broken pillar, pushing out his lips as he answered:

“I’ve been here waiting for ages. The one who disappeared late was you, Nathan!”

And he added indignantly:

“…I thought you’d want to show off your skills to those guys, so I deliberately went ahead to wait instead of joining you right away. Don’t you understand my deep consideration…”

He drooped his eyebrows and made a sad face. His acting skills were truly superb. Nathan sighed deeply and ruffled his hair roughly.

“I didn’t recognize you because you’re doing things you don’t normally do. What’s with you, suddenly thinking about me?”

“You ungrateful brat, you have no idea how much I care about you…!”

***

Turning back time a bit, just before Nathan’s group headed to the dungeon, Calypse was pretending to be sound asleep to deceive the others.

For Nathan to follow them, it seemed better for him to appear asleep rather than awake, as this would make the situation more acceptable in several ways. Leaving a sleeping child behind would naturally seem more reasonable than leaving one who was awake and could go anywhere in this remote place. Besides, if they cast even a token protective spell around the house, that would be sufficient for an ordinary child.

“I’ll be back soon.”

After those quiet words spoken at his bedside, the sound of footsteps lingering nearby faded away.

Click.

Shortly after, with the sound of the door closing, silence fell over the house. But instead of getting up immediately, Calypse waited—until not just the presence of others disappeared, but an intense stillness descended.

Only when the thought ‘Nathan must have entered the dungeon by now’ crossed his mind did Calypse abandon his pretense of sleep and sit up.

“Yawn, what a bother…”

Scratching his head vigorously and letting out a big yawn, he muttered wearily. His manner of speech was oddly like that of an old man, unsuited to his appearance.

“…Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter if I move slowly.”

Calypse leisurely got out of bed. As he untied the ribbon Nathan had tightly fastened around his waist and removed his clothes, his body began to change with each unsteady step.

The next moment, the child of about three or four years took on the form of an adult.

“…Damn.”

However, Calypse momentarily stumbled, unable to walk properly due to the suddenly higher eye level and longer limbs. Just before falling, he hurriedly reached out and grabbed the sofa, exhaling an irritated sigh.

‘I guess I’m not used to this anymore since it’s been so long.’

Calypse wiggled his arms and legs a few more times to adapt to his oddly unfamiliar body, then clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.

He had only used this form before his friend’s death, which was a very long time ago. Moreover, since his rebirth, he had never taken this form. He had consistently worn the disguise of a child, occasionally appearing in his true form, so this felt strange anew.

After somewhat adapting, he ran his hand over the long scar crossing his nape and wandered around the house with leisurely steps.

“More importantly, I have nothing to wear right now. That Nathan, didn’t he prepare any clothes…”

He had put on the disguise of an adult male because he couldn’t follow them as a child, but now he encountered another problem. As the owner of this house, Erbahall had the height of an average woman, so there was no way there would be clothes suitable for a tall, sturdy man. With no other choice, Calypse changed his form again.

This time, he appeared to be a boy of about fifteen.

“This should be fine.”

Casually brushing back his red hair, which now flowed well past his waist, Calypse took out any clothes from Erbahall’s closet and put them on. Although they seemed a bit long, he didn’t particularly care. Finally, after roughly wrapping a cloth around his waist and tying it, he left the house with unhurried steps.