EP14. To Calderon (2)
“What are you doing?”
“Hello. That’s not different…”
As soon as Shawn and Levy met the man introduced by the adventurer, they went straight to the point and asked for Wendy’s whereabouts.
At the mention of Wendy’s name, he gave her a low sigh and spoke cautiously.
“If it’s that child’s house, of course you should know…”
“Then could you please tell me?”
“Hmm. That’s it. Lately, Wendy hasn’t been feeling very energetic. When I ask her what’s going on, she doesn’t answer. Instead, she stays at home…”
He looked at them in disbelief. It was only natural that strangers, whom he had never seen in his life, would come in and ask about his acquaintance’s house.
But Levy zealously persuaded her that they had defeated a very dangerous monster, and that it was highly likely that Wendy had been swept away by that monster’s power, so she should check to see if there were any aftereffects left.
Not a single word she said was wrong. However, she did not dare to reveal that there was an ambiguous issue between Wendy and the two of them.
Levi’s skillful words made him slowly open his heart, and eventually he had to spit Wendy’s house out of his mouth.
“Thank you. We will definitely cheer Wendy up!”
“I wonder if I can trust this.”
“Let’s go, Shawn!”
Sean was taken aback by Levy’s quick action, but he followed her. Seeing Levy leading her way, he asked cautiously.
“Aren’t you in too much of a hurry?”
“It’s good to get things done quickly.”
“Of course, I am not wrong… If meeting with Wendy makes you uncomfortable, I’ll just be alone…”
Before Shawn could finish her words, Levy stopped her haste and stood still. Then, as she turned her head to look at Sean, there was a hint of anger in her expression.
“Are you saying that?”
“… Huh?”
“Are you uncomfortable meeting Wendy? Of course! If she clings so openly to her other lover and it’s not uncomfortable, then that’s weird!”
When Levy suddenly burst into anger, Sean panicked, not knowing what to do. At the awkward boy’s attitude, she stopped getting angry and let out a deep sigh and shrugged her shoulders.
“Let’s go to Wendy for now. We can talk about it later, just the two of us at our leisure.”
“…Okay.”
Sean and Levy quietly walked down the street. In fact, both of them knew. That this is no one’s fault. It was just an accident caused by the coincidence of several bad factors, including the ability of the monster.
Sean and Levy were just immature in love. Because it was the first love for a boy and a girl to master skillfully. Because it was too big and heavy to control it the way I wanted.
The two headed to Wendy’s house and didn’t talk much. The girl’s house was an ordinary house in one of Henerd’s residential districts. It would be safe to say that it is a decent house that can be seen anywhere.
Levy watched from behind her as if his role was done, so Sean walked forward and knocked on her door countless times.
“Who are you?”
A woman’s voice coming from inside. However, it felt a little different from Wendy’s youthful voice.
After clearing his throat, Sean introduced himself briefly.
“We are Sean and Levy. I’m here to see Wendy.”
“Wait a minute!”
A cry was heard from inside, and after a while, the door slowly opened and the figure of the person inside came into view. Although she had blue hair and overall appearance similar to Wendy, there was definitely a different part somewhere. In other words, it felt like Wendy, who has grown and matured over time.
“You came to see Wendy? Excuse me, but what is your relationship with my child?”
“My child? Wasn’t it your sister?”
At Sean’s question, her eyes widened momentarily, and then she couldn’t hide her feelings, she let out her laugh and exclaimed her exclamations.
“Oh, my God. It’s embarrassing… There is no such thing as flattering an ajumma like me.”
“No, she’s not flattery… No. Anyway, is Wendy at her house?”
Sean asked sincerely, but he decided not to dig further into it. I don’t know if it’s an illusion, but it was because it seemed like I kept feeling prickly eyes from behind my back.
“Yes. It’s inside. By the way, why did you visit?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Sean was hesitant to answer her, but finally looked back at her and looked at Levy with longing eyes. She was confident that if she had a knack for words, she could easily get over the current situation.
But she shook her head resolutely, and she did not break her adamance that now she should take care of herself. After failing to convince her of it, Sean turned her gaze back to Wendy’s mother and hesitantly opened her mouth.
“So…”
***
Wendy lay on the bed in her room and stared blankly at her ceiling.
She’s already been over two days. She honestly doesn’t know how she’s been for the past two days, though.
The girl recalled her memories of her day.
She was on her way back, guiding the adventurers as usual. Due to unavoidable circumstances, she was away from the party for a while, and she was unlucky enough to encounter a group of trolls. With no powers, she thought she would just die while being chased by the troll.
At the moment when she closed her eyes tightly and waited for her death.
That’s how he appeared. He really looked like a hero in a fairy tale. He was like a prince on a white horse who saves a girl in danger.
Every time he swung his sword, the trolls were swept away like paper, and after defeating all the trolls, his legs gave out his strength and he even supported himself.
If you ask her if she’s in love just because she’s like that, she has nothing to say about Wendy either. The fact that she liked her, of course, she was still the same, but she thought that at that time she was so deeply in love that she thought it was okay to give up everything.
So is it still like that now? She couldn’t answer that easily. Perhaps the fact that she can’t readily answer the question proves that the love at that time was just an illusion. If so, can a love that cools down in two days be called real love?
If she hadn’t been by his side, how would she have gone? She may have confessed her love herself and carried on. But she knew Wendy knew the odds were slim.
In the first place, it is a useless assumption. Because there is a woman named Levi next to a man named Sean. There was no place for a girl named Wendy to intervene.
“Cee… If I were a childhood friend…”
She said that if she had been in the place of a woman named Levi, she would have shared her love with Sean just as well. Even when she tried to make excuses for herself, the fact that it was only her pitiful self-consolation only made her heart ache more.
“Wendy? Wendy!”
“Oh, Mom. I’m sick now, so later…”
“It hurts! You know all about her faking it? More than that, a guest has come, so wake up quickly.”
“Guest? Didn’t I call anyone?”
At her Wendy’s bewildered question, she sighed and said to her daughter.
“They came because they were worried about you not coming to the association. They were very kind and kind people. I think my eyes look pretty good too. Hmmm.”
Wendy tilted her head, not understanding what the sajok added after her meant at the time, but she soon concentrated on the content of her words.
Since he didn’t come to the association, does that mean he’s the same guide? But she didn’t really make friends with the guide. It was because she was a young girl, not yet of age, and it was not easy for her to get along.
“Did you hear his name?”
“Sure. Did she say Sean and Mr. Levy?”
“····What!?”
***
After going through a trivial process, Sean and Levy finally came face to face with Wendy.
Everything else is fine, but Wendy’s mother, who lacks a little bit of notice, went out to talk comfortably, and thanks to that, only a very awkward airflow flowed between the three of them.
In the end, Wendy was the first to speak because she couldn’t stand her silence. Her girl hesitated inquiring, fiddling with her own hands.
“Why are you here?”
“Hmm. It’s a little like that, but you can’t go without saying anything.”
“Is that so…?”
Sean sighed at Wendy’s lukewarm response. He also felt uncomfortable and awkward in his current situation. But if you turn away and leave like this, it will end with only bad memories for everyone. In that case, it is a good choice to gather up a little courage and completely solve it and leave.
“Wendy. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the reason we got into a fight that day must have been because we were influenced by a monster called Kor Kurazm. As for what kind of ability that monster possesses, emotions…”
“I know. I heard everything from the Association.”
“····Really? Then you know that’s why you reacted so violently that day. So why don’t you cheer up and forget everything?”
Sean expected the conversation to be easy. She said that if Wendy already knew about Korkuraism, she wouldn’t even have to talk about it and convince her. She was already convinced that she had come to the same conclusion as they did.
But Wendy didn’t answer Sean’s words. With her head bowed down, she couldn’t say that she had recovered her energy even with empty words.
“…Is that really all there is to it?”
“Huh? What does that mean?”
“Is my reaction that day just because I was attacked by the monster’s ability?”
“That is…”
Sean didn’t understand what Wendy meant by asking that question. However, Levy, who was listening to her story, finally understood.
The girl was immersed in a much more complicated thought than she thought. He must have been locked in his house for two days, thinking over and over again about an answer that could not be easily given.
She wondered if the love she felt was just a fabricated fake.