-Growth Diary-
The late afternoon sunlight streaming in through the open window happened to illuminate the inside of the chest brilliantly. I stared blankly at the jewels sparkling with dazzling radiance.
It felt as though I had salvaged treasure that had long lain sunken in the deep sea.
The ship had rotted away, and most of the cargo inside was old and decayed, but in that final chest, the glorious spoils remained intact, shining across the ages. That was the feeling of gazing upon it.
I didn't know whether I could take these jewels out into the world and liquidate them into cash.
But even if I couldn't, it was fine. Merely looking at them gave me a feeling of satisfying fullness in the pit of my stomach.
I suppose that is what wealth is.
"That's enough, let's get a grip."
I shook my head to clear it.
It was nice to revel in the feeling of a windfall, but it wasn't as if the treasure was going anywhere, so there was no reason to stare at it endlessly.
It wasn't as though I had been rummaging through this place because I was desperate for wealth right now.
I resumed exploring the items in the attic.
I examined one by one the books inside the chests that seemed like they would crumble away from decay, and opened the bags mixed in among the old clothes.
It was when I opened one such bag. Inside were several notebooks.
Opening one, I found it was someone's diary. Short and long entries were densely written out by date.
It was undeniably a personal trace.
I began to read through the diary.
"This is... perhaps...?"
The diary was a magician's growth journal. Each day, what training had been done and how magic had developed as a result was recorded.
The person who recorded it was someone in a position to train the magician.
Though no names were written of who the trained magician was or who the recorder was, I could figure out that the protagonist of the growth diary was Odin, and that the one who recorded the diary was Bruno.
The hazy memories of Odin that were gradually growing clearer told me so. The days spent with Bruno in my childhood were slowly returning.
'I finally found it. A personal trace remaining in this magic space. This place is undoubtedly connected to Bruno.'
What was unknown was that, unlike the diary, the other items in the attic were very old. Their age didn't match for them to be Bruno's belongings.
Could they be connected to someone else? Or had Bruno simply possessed old relics?
I read the diary, completely engrossed.
Memories of Bruno, remembered anew, washed over my heart.
A holy magician with the exact same disposition as Father Bruno from the previous world. He was gentle, endlessly patient, and possessed unending love for humanity.
'But Bruno can't be seen in this world either? Where could he have gone?'
I heard something like a voice calling me from a distant place.
At first, I thought it was a voice from within my memories. Because of that, I didn't take my eyes off the diary.
But the sound that had seemed to come from far away suddenly approached my ears at some point.
[Odin!]
[Odin!]
Following the calls, I heard loud, rustling flapping sounds. Crows came flying in through the open window with a whoosh. It was Huginn and Muninn.
Only then did I lift my gaze from the diary and look at the crows.
[So you were here? What are you doing in the attic?]
[What were you doing that you didn't answer no matter how long we called?]
"Why did you two come back already? And you found me? You said you called for a while?"
I tilted my head in confusion.
Hadn't it been only a short while since they went out saying they were curious about the goings-on of the world?
[We called from outside. If you'd been paying any attention to us, you would have heard.]
[These days, Odin doesn't seem to have any interest in us.]
[That's right. He's different from before. I suppose his affection has cooled.]
[Ah! That's not the issue right now. Odin, let's hurry and go outside.]
"Why? Did something happen?"
I suddenly came to my senses. I had been so absorbed in exploring the mansion and the items found in the attic that I had let go of thoughts about the outside world for a moment.
How much time had passed?
It was a situation where Yasin had announced a terrorist attack. I supposed I had been too relaxed in a situation where I shouldn't let my guard down for even a moment.
[Everyone is looking for you. Phones and everything are ringing like crazy.]
[Something seems to have happened at Neo Forest. The sky over there flashed.]
"What? At Neo Forest?"
If something had happened at Neo Forest, it was undoubtedly the terrorist attack Yasin had announced.
I hastily rose.
I put the diary back into its bag and stored it inside the chest.
Heading for the portal, I stopped by the study to pick up a magic book to give to Gil. I didn't know when I'd enter the magic space again.
But then I suddenly wondered whether I could take items from the magic space outside.
"Can I take the items here outside?"
I muttered it like a soliloquy, but it was meant for the crows to hear. As expected, the clever crows understood my intention and answered.
[What are you talking about? Of course you can take them out.]
[Did you think the items here were illusions or something? This is a real space.]
It was good news. That meant I could take the jewels out too. Of course, I didn't mean to take them out and sell them right now.
[But what are you trying to take out?]
Huginn asked with interest.
"Food, for example?"
I went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and looked inside. I wasn't joking; I really wanted to bring food for Gil.
The food here was full of mana, so it would certainly be good for his growth as a magician.
[Why don't you eat here? Ah! Because you're in a hurry?]
[Tsk tsk. What have you been doing that you couldn't even eat until now? Hurry up and pack.]
I took out simple foods like sandwiches and packed them. Then I hurried toward the portal.
Both the magic book and the sandwiches passed through the portal without any problem. So, as the crows said, the magic space was not an illusion but a real space.
Even if it was a space of tremendously distorted scale.
As soon as I returned to the room, phones and alarms rang loudly. Seeing that even the alarm on the communication device given by the Hall was ringing, it was undoubtedly an emergency.
So that was why the crows had come looking for me earlier.
First, I turned off the alarm on the communication device and picked up the phone to check the caller. It was Cheon Danbi. I quickly pressed the call button.
Before I could even open my mouth, words poured out from the other end.
[Sigh! You finally answer. Is something wrong? You're okay, right? Why weren't you answering? Do you know how many times I called?]
"Nothing's wrong. I had the phone far away. How about you? Are you okay?"
Cheon Danbi's shop was right in front of Neo Forest. If a terrorist attack had occurred at Neo Forest, it could have been dangerous.
Seeing that Cheon Danbi had called, I felt relief at the thought that she was safe.
[You saw the news, right? It was a very strange incident. Hoo...]
Cheon Danbi let out a long sigh and continued.
[An explosion at Neo Forest. I was really surprised. I heard the explosion from inside the boundary, so I looked out right away. But then a blinding white light flashed, and everything went silent in an instant.]
I had only heard the news from the crows, and I hadn't seen the broadcast yet, so I couldn't quite understand what Cheon Danbi was saying.
An explosion had occurred, but it immediately went silent? What on earth was she talking about?
I asked Cheon Danbi.
"Tell me in detail. What happened?"
[That was all it looked like from the outside. Hmm. It's a bit hard to put into words, but anyway, it seemed that the moment the explosion happened, a strange light covered it and suppressed the blast. So in the end, the explosion couldn't properly occur. I don't think the forest burned or anything.]
"That's strange. Anyway, it was a terrorist attack, right?"
[It must have been. Even though it was blocked immediately by something, there was an explosion. It was probably that black magician, Yasin or whoever. To think they'd stage a terror attack on Neo Forest, where the World Tree is—it's really unbelievable. I can't believe there's such a lunatic out there.]
The World Tree was practically the symbol of Seoul.
Putting aside its sacredness, to carry out a terrorist attack at Neo Forest, which was always guarded like an iron fortress behind a boundary line, was truly a mad idea.
"Anyway, that's a relief. So the explosion was blocked. Is everything okay now?"
[Yeah. Right now, it's fine as if nothing happened at all. Of course, I couldn't go inside the forest. Police and soldiers have flocked around the boundary in droves.]
"What was that white light?"
Actually, that was the part I was most curious about.
Anyone could have caused an explosion. Even a non-magician could detonate a bomb to commit terrorism.
But stopping an explosion that had already occurred was no easy feat, and to be able to do so meant knowing the terrorist plan in advance and being there at that exact time.
'Had the government or the Hall of Magic magicians been preparing for this?'
[No one seems to know? Anyway, there was nothing revealed on the news. It just says it's under investigation. I noticed Hall magicians seem to be heading this way, aren't you coming?]
"I should go too. I'll head there right away."
[Right. Come quickly. We might be able to find traces of the black magician. Maybe they're still nearby. You'll come with Gil, right?]
"Yeah. I'll go with Gil."
After ending the call with Cheon Danbi, I immediately turned my attention to the Hall's communication device. The alarm was off, but the signal was still going.
I put on the earpiece and strapped the watch to my wrist as I pressed the call button.
Han Dosu answered.
[Odin. Your response is late. I gave you this communication device to prepare for exactly such emergencies.]
"I'm sorry. But the situation isn't urgent anymore, is it?"
[Yes. Fortunately, the explosion was neutralized by something. The terrorist attack was not successful. But we have no idea what happened. So it is still an emergency. Come to Neo Forest immediately. We need to investigate, so we need you and your detection abilities.]
Han Dosu's voice was calm as usual, but tension could be felt.
It meant that neither the Hall nor the government had properly grasped the situation.
Even though the terrorist attack had not succeeded, the need to remain on high alert continued.
"Understood. I'll go right away."
I left and went downstairs. Carrying the food I had taken out from the magic space, I headed toward Gil's room.
It weighed on my mind that Gil hadn't shown himself even with the phones and alarms ringing loudly.
[We'll go to Neo Forest first.]
[See you later!]
The crows flew past me with a flutter.
Before I knew it, evening had arrived. Darkness had settled over the city.