Chapter 54

“Hello. My name’s John. Nice to meet you.”

With his usual smile, John spoke the standard greeting to the black mage seated with us in the carriage, looking right at them as he did. The problem with John’s face was that it was always smiling—you could never tell what he was really thinking. If I wanted to know what was in his head, I had to watch his actions or listen to his tone carefully.

Still, I thought to myself, there were plenty of advantages to a smile like that.

The black mage, however, sat with their hood pulled low even inside the carriage, their head bowed, their face completely hidden. Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t actually seen their face even once. Someday I would, but not yet.

John, getting no response, tried again. “Excuse me?”

The black mage kept fiddling with their staff, unable to leave it still for even a moment. The constant movement made them look uneasy. I glanced from them back to John. That same smiling face showed nothing of what he was really thinking.

“Hey?”

John still didn’t give up. He continued trying to strike up a conversation. Most people I’d seen, yesterday and today, seemed to fear the black mage. John, though, didn’t appear fazed at all. Confidence in his own ability, perhaps?

“Quiet. Quiet.”

The grim voice filled the carriage. They repeated the word twice, emphasizing it, still rolling the gray staff through their fingers.

“No introduction?”

John’s voice carried open curiosity now. He sounded like he was pressing the point—I introduced myself, so why won’t you?

“An introduction. An introduction, you say?”

The black mage’s voice was as chilling as ever. Most people would’ve shivered just hearing it. Again, they repeated themself. That confirmed it—their habit was to say things twice.

“Yes.”

John nodded matter-of-factly, as if this was only natural.

Perhaps because of that, the black mage finally raised their head, speaking in a voice laced with irritation. “To the likes of you. To the likes of you?”

There it was again—twice. Yes, that was definitely their fixed habit.

“Then at least tell us your name.”

John still wasn’t bothered, speaking in the same easy tone as before.

“I am. I am a black mage. I sold off things like names with my soul long ago.”

Their voice was grim, their hand tightening around the gray staff. So they had discarded their name when they formed a contract. With whom, I wondered?

But the thought faded quickly, drowned out by the swaying rhythm of the carriage wheels.

“So what was your name before you sold it?”

John still didn’t give up. For a moment, I wondered if this would turn into a fight, but neither of them seemed on edge yet. Their auras stayed calm, no sudden movements.

“Brat. Brat, I don’t have time for your silly games.”

The black mage dismissed him with a cold voice, leaning back against the carriage wall, head bowed.

When I turned to John, he was still smiling, staring at the mage. Then he shrugged at me and said, “I’m really curious about his name. Kain, aren’t you curious too?”

“Yeah.”

Curious? I gave the short answer, but honestly, I wasn’t. I’d learn it eventually. Besides, I still had to explain to John someday that my name wasn’t really “Kain” but “Kark.” “Kain” didn’t feel like me. That was the power of a name. Throwing away your name meant throwing away yourself.

By that measure, this black mage had abandoned themself—to whoever they’d made their contract with.

“You. You smell similar to me.”

The mage’s voice cut through the rattling of the carriage. Were they speaking to me? When I turned, their hooded head was angled toward me.

“Similar. Similar scent.”

They must mean dimensional energy. Had it seeped into me after nearly a hundred years in the Demon Realm? Or maybe from breathing and drawing it in during meditation and qi circulation?

“And. And I smell something very strong too.”

This time they lifted their head fully. But all I could see was the sharp line of their jaw and the movement of their lips. Strong, they said? How could they tell? I had locked down every trace of my energy.

“I knew. I knew right away because you carry a scent like mine.”

So that was it. Should I silence them now? No… it was still too soon. Better to wait, watch, and decide later.

“And more than anything. More than anything, I can see strength deep in your eyes.”

Even knowing that, they spoke so boldly. Good. I liked that. Still, why bring it up all of a sudden?

“Youthful face. Youthful face, but you can see a person’s age through their eyes. Incredible.”

There was a trace of genuine wonder in their grim tone. Were they saying they knew my true age? That was… interesting.

Neigh—!

The horses whinnied, and the carriage jolted as it came to a stop. From the moment I’d started speaking, John hadn’t said a word. More precisely, he hadn’t interrupted. He knew better. I found myself liking him more and more.

“Please disembark for the meal.”

A deep voice called from outside—probably the driver. First, we’d eat. Later, I’d hear the rest of what the black mage had to say.

When I stepped out, nine people were bustling about, busy with preparations. They weren’t part of the subjugation force—just drivers and a couple of men sent from the mayor’s side. I glanced past them, scanning the area.

The five carriages had been pulled up beside a massive tree. No—massive wasn’t enough. The word was gigantic.

Even from here, its trunk stretched wider than five carriages lined up with their horses attached. To cover that girth completely, you’d need forty or more carriages just like ours. Only then might it be enough to measure the size of that colossal tree.

Just looking at the size, the circumference had to be immense. The tree stretched so tall I had to crane my head back just to see the top. From its branches spread countless green leaves that cast shade over most of the area. Shafts of sunlight pierced through the canopy, spilling like radiant beams across the shadowed earth. The sight was breathtaking.

The ground around the trunk revealed roots that burst from the earth only to plunge back in again. Several people were already seated on those roots—not part of our subjugation force, but other travelers.

“Wow, no matter how many times I see it, this tree always leaves me speechless,” John said beside me, his voice filled with awe. Judging by his tone, he clearly knew of it. Then again, a tree like this was famous enough that not knowing it would be strange.

I kept my gaze on the towering giant and asked, “You know this tree well?”

“Huh? Of course. Anyone who doesn’t would be the strange one.”

My question must have sounded odd, because John answered as though it were obvious. I studied the tree again and pressed him further.

“Tell me everything about it. Legends, stories—whatever you know.”

A tree of this size would surely have legends. John didn’t hesitate. He didn’t even ask why I wanted to know—just started talking. Anyone else would’ve mocked me for not knowing something so famous, but John never did.

“They say it was born at the same time as the Human Realm itself. Its name is Giant Tree. When the God’s Curse fell, even then this tree stood untouched. That’s why some people call it a tree created by the gods, though no one really knows for sure. What is certain is that no matter the season, the tree never changes. This is my third time seeing it in my life.”

For a brief moment, when he mentioned “third time,” John’s eyes sharpened dangerously before he returned to his usual smile. It was so fleeting that even I almost missed it. Whatever past he had with this Giant Tree, it wasn’t a good one.

“And there are plenty of legends,” John continued, “but there’s one everyone across the continent knows. See that dent in the trunk?”

He pointed, and I followed his finger. There, hollowed into the tree, was a recess wide enough for three carriages to stand side by side, and tall enough to resemble the gates of a fortress. A gate?

“It looks like a castle gate, right? The story goes that elves, the forest-dwellers, once lived inside this tree. Of course, no one’s ever confirmed it. People probably came up with the legend just because that hollow looks like a gate.”

So humans spun a legend out of nothing more than a shape. Typical. But why hadn’t anyone confirmed it? I stared at the gate-shaped recess and asked, “Is the tree solid?”