544 - Spending Winter # 7

Toward Gloria, the old Witch Esther spoke.

"Your Karma, I see now, has not been completed. What should have originally been one. It has been split into two. Indeed, so that is how it became."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"If I were to explain it with this orange here. The fruit that should have been eaten solely by you. Someone else has shared it."

"Shared it?"

"Yes. Your life has changed because of that. You could say that the arrangements someone had planned for a long time have gone awry."

"Don't think about confusing me with difficult words, old Witch. Unless you want to find out what happened to the Witches who tried to confuse me before."

"What a healthy young lady. Then, may I ask a favor? I'd like to comb my hair. Since I cannot see, there are limits, after all."

"Hmph-. What's the point of grooming your hair when you can't even see?"

"Well, because there is someone I want to show it to."

While Gloria and the Witch Esther were sitting on the garden chairs having a conversation, I was able to finish repairing the roof and the garden fence roughly.

Although I patched up the holes and tore out the old parts to replace them with new ones, it was impossible to hide that the Cabin was so old it was reaching its limit.

No matter how much you keep swapping parts for new ones, the limit eventually comes.

So I decided to tell her the truth.

"I've finished the repairs for now. But if heavy snow falls again, I can't guarantee it will hold. I think it would be better for you to just move to a new house."

"Are you saying... the limit has arrived?"

"I might not know how to repair houses perfectly, but I know quite a bit about wood. It probably won't even last until next year. It might collapse during the summer rainy season. Please move out."

"I see. The limit is truly... Actually, I had vaguely expected it. However, I cannot listen to the suggestion to move."

"Is it because you have no money? From what I see, the jewels and accessories inside the Cabin look quite expensive. If you sell those...."

At my words, the old Witch shook her head.

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"It is not a matter of money. When you grow old like me, there are things that cannot be solved with money."

Seuseuseuseu-.

Just then, a cold wind blew, fluttering the old Witch's hair. Because of that, Gloria, who had been combing the Witch's hair, ended up throwing a tantrum.

"Damn wind-."

"It's a bit cold. Let's go inside. Since you've granted my favor, I will take out one Whale Horn and give it to you."

The old Witch's blind, clouded eyes were chasing the empty air. I could notice that she was looking at the wide-open garden gate over my shoulder.

And that she was waiting for someone here.

"Please wait a moment. I've hidden the Whale Horn deep inside the Cabin. Along with my treasures."

Seureuk-.

As the Witch stepped into the Cabin and lifted the carpet, a secret door-like thing appeared on the floor. The Witch grabbed the lock with her wrinkled hand.

"Al-ro-ho-mo-."

As she whispered a small incantation, the lock opened with a dal-kak-. Along with the secret door opening upward, a space about the size of a car trunk appeared below. Inside was a large chest.

A chest that looked exactly like it would be full of treasures the old Witch had collected her whole life.

Gi-iik.

However, contrary to the assumption that it would be full of gold coins or jewels, when the chest was opened, it was full of all sorts of odds and ends.

A toy rocking horse made of wood and wire, or things like stuffed dolls. A scroll letter written in a child's crooked handwriting was also visible.

「Grandma-. See you on your next birthday. Come with Dad. Let's definitely live together-.」

Was this written by the old Witch Esther's grandchild? Contrary to thinking she was single, she seems to be a woman who surprisingly has family somewhere.

After rummaging through the odds and ends for a while, the woman's hand grabbed something long and conical.

What should I call that? It was the horn itself, grown endlessly like an icicle from Gangwon-do.

Is that the Whale Horn?

"Exactly the last one left. The Whale Horn that is said to heal any wound. It had no effect on my eyes, but I hope it will be effective for the patient you are trying to save."

"Did this have such an effect?"

Accepting the horn, I felt a sense of surprise. It just felt like a giant-sized Bugle chip, but to think it had an effect like a panacea.

As if my words were the surprising ones, the old Witch spoke.

"Did you not know? A very long, long time ago. When I still believed in the goddesses of fate. It is a story from when I was a girl, when Ssanghwa tea only tasted bitter-."

Esther's hazy and clouded eyes turned toward the empty air. I could tell well that her blind eyes were chasing the youth and childishness of the past.

"Perhaps it was because I cut down a fairy tree when building the Cabin. From a certain moment, I became unable to see. Without knowing the reason. Without knowing the cure. Just from a certain moment...."

"You mean you could originally see?"

"Yes. It was probably because I cut down the fairies' tree. Back then, Nymphs used to sting the eyes of those who cut down their trees with honeybees."

"It's a story from when Nymphs weren't as small as they are now-" the lady added. I knew a Nymph who was close to trees and handled honeybees.

Was it a honey-water Nymph like Doris?

To make a person's eyes go blind by stinging them with a bee. While I thought they were bad, I also thought it might be a natural right of self-defense if someone cut down the tree that was their friend and home.

The story continued.

"My older brother, who was my only family, moved around busily here and there. It was to heal my eyes, and then he received a prophecy. Only with a Whale Horn will you be able to open your blind eyes again- so it said."

"Ah-."

"So, my brother, Berabel, set off blindly for the southern sea to find a Whale Horn. Good heavens, a horn grown on a whale's head. There's no way such a thing could exist, but...."

"Then, what is this in my hand?"

"It's a Whale Horn. In my brother's letter, it was written as such. And that he would return to the Cabin before long. So to wait quietly at home...."

I felt like I knew why this Witch was living alone and uncomfortably in a crumbling Cabin on the outskirts. She was keeping a promise.

"So, that's why you've kept tending this house. Without living with your grandchildren."

"Did I... mention my grandchildren?"

"I saw the letters and toys in the box."

"Ah-. I see. He's a cute child. My grandchildren said we should live together now. Since they built a fairly large house in the southern land of the city Sodomora. To live together, instead of living alone uncomfortably."

"But you didn't do that."

"That's right. If my brother returns while I am away and we miss each other, it would be very sad. So, in case my brother might not recognize the house, I've lived like this, maintaining and repairing it exactly as it was. Until the tree in the yard, which only came up to my knees, grew tall."

In my vision-strong Rinnegan, this woman's life was quickly replayed. She must have lived alone diligently here, waiting for her brother. Family and friends were made along the way, but.

Eventually, only she would have remained here again. It is the time it took for a small sapling to grow into a magnificent tree that grandly covers the entire roof.

Would it be about half a century?

"I always wanted to wait, looking exactly as I did then. You lived diligently. You waited quietly and well. I wanted to be praised. ...But. The Cabin is old. And though I cannot see a mirror, I must have grown old long ago. A grandmother far too old to receive praise like a child-."

I didn't answer the old Witch who laughed self-deprecatingly with a hu-hu-. However, Gloria narrowed her eyes as she picked up and read the letters fallen on the floor.

"It's a nuisance to be this stubborn when you have other family members worrying about you. Your brother is probably dead. Since he hasn't shown himself for 50 years. Instead of this foolishness, why don't you return to a normal life?"

Gloria indeed had little filter in her speech. It was so direct and sharp that even I, listening, felt a sting. But the old Witch Esther didn't seem to mind much.

"I think so too. I know. At least that my brother cannot return. But. To accept that, 50 years. Yes. Now, I must accept a normal life."

This winter is the end.

Now I must really live as a normal grandmother and mother- the woman's voice trailed off bitterly.

I couldn't find out everything through this conversation, but I knew at least what I could do. So I slowly reached out and grabbed the woman's wrist.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Di-ring-.

『Name: Esther lv. 31

Status: 《Sting of the Bee Needle》 《Blurritness》 《Knee Pain》』

"You are reading my Karma? It doesn't seem like an ordinary skill-."

"Eyes are healed with a Whale Horn. Perhaps, it was a correct statement. Because of the horn that suddenly grew on a whale's head, we met today."

"What does that-"

Instead of explaining, I placed my hand on the old lady's eyes.

And then I infused a bit of my life force. With that, the items Sting of the Bee Needle and Blurritness were quickly dispelled.

The Task Points coming in were 50.

Comparing it to how ordinary curses gave a value of 10, the curses covering her eyes seemed to have been quite effective and serious.

"Now, do you feel a bit better?"

At my question, a bluish vitality began to circulate in the woman's hazy eyes. Her pupils, which had been as cloudy as mist, now shone with a clear blue light like the sky.

"My, my eyes, I can see. Good heavens, such a thing, even the scholars of the Magic Tower and the priests had given up on these eyes. How can this be...."

The woman, looking here and there at her hands and the Cabin, slowly stood up. And then she opened the door and stepped into the narrow yard where the cold wind was raging.

Her eyes were looking up at the garden tree that had grown truly large.

"It grew this much. This much-. The tree that was smaller than my height has grown this big before I knew it...."

After that, the Witch Esther muttered to herself along with her breath. There were many things she wanted to say, but I decided to just watch.

A person who had been trapped in darkness her whole life had returned to the light.

I didn't want to disturb that sentiment, which would happen only once in her life.

That too was for a moment.

Eyes holding a bit of moisture soon turned toward me.

"This old one has committed an impoliteness. I thought you were a special guest, but I didn't imagine you were a god-nim from somewhere. Since there was no reason for you to come to me...."

"Well, that can happen. If you're someone living alone in a place like this, you might not know my name."

"Did you say your name was Hassan-nim? Come to think of it, I think I've heard that there are stories about such a young god in the city."

"Anyway, Whale Horn. I'll take it well."

"My, my brother, how, what might have happened to him. May I dare to ask?"

The woman's question was quite urgent.

"If I no longer wait for my brother and return to a normal life. If I forget my brother. Would he not hate me or something?"

What was felt in her question were many worries. I was not wise enough to give an answer to that. I have no seniority.

But I knew what story she wanted to hear.

"Well. He might scold you. Still, in the end, wouldn't he praise you for living diligently? Since there is no age too late to receive praise."

In the eyes of an older brother.

Younger siblings are bound to remain exactly as they were in their thoughtless childhood, no matter how much they age. At least, that's what I thought.

If I think so, surely other people think so too.

"Then, let's see each other in Sodomora next time. If you're hurting anywhere else, come to the Temple and give some donation. I'll make your knee pain better too."

With that, I turned my steps toward the city.

Still, I felt somewhat proud. Perhaps from next week, I might be able to meet an old and wise Follower at the Temple's worship. If things go well, will she bring her whole family?

When I was feeling my steps become lighter with that feeling, Gloria, who was walking behind me, said a word.

"If it were you, what do you think you would have said?"

"About what."

"If you were that Witch's brother. If the younger sister you met after a long time had forgotten you and lived happily as if nothing had happened."

"Well...."

I thought of my younger sister Haseon-ah.

Thinking about it now, am I not also rolling around in this strange place because my younger sister whined about wanting to eat ice cream, so I left for the convenience store late at night?

So to speak, for me, the Whale Horn was an ice cream cone. The shape is pointy and similar.

How would I feel when I eventually return home and meet my younger sister who sold my computer, my shoes, and my laptop to use for her own pocket money?

"I'd be so fucking pissed I'd probably hit her."

"...."

"But what can you do. I'd just live like that again, I guess."

"...."

She asked me herself, but when I gave a serious answer, Gloria's reaction was quite lukewarm. She didn't even reply. What an ill-mannered brat.

So while we were walking toward the city without saying a word to each other.

Gloria said a word.

"...The snowmen we made. I wonder if they're still there?"

"I don't know. But since the weather is cold, I don't think they've melted. Shall we go take a look? We have time left."

"It's not that I particularly want to see them."

I took Gloria, who was grumbling somewhat, and headed to the park where we had worked hard to make snowmen. Then, there was a fairly surprising sight there.

In that place where we had made several snowmen, various snowmen that we didn't know where they came from were placed here and there, making it look like a snowman exhibition.

Even now, various people were in the middle of creating snowmen.

Watching that, Gloria exhaled her breath.

"There are even more now."

"Indeed."

"Beside the friends I created, other snowmen have increased a lot. While I wasn't looking, a lot."

"Yeah."

I looked at Gloria's back as she slowly scanned the snowmen with her fingers.

Gloria, touching the snowmen while mingling with the people, looked exactly like an active girl playing with snow.

Of course, she wouldn't admit it.

In my head, the image of Gloria from last night, secretly changing clothes in front of a mirror, came to mind. I felt somewhat sorry for her.

Originally, she would have lived a normal life surrounded by real people, not snowmen. Thinking that made me feel somewhat gloomy, so I found myself opening my mouth without realizing it.

"It suits you. Doing that."

Utuk-.

At that, Gloria's hand, which had been dusting off a snowman, stopped.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Only then did I realize that I had made a slip of the tongue without thinking.

But because Gloria was bristling her raccoon fur as if she would smash all the snowmen if I didn't answer immediately.

I decided to answer her truthfully.

"Gloria, touching snowmen like that suits you better than holding a club."

"...."

Gloria did not answer.

She just dusted her palms with a tak, tak. She pulled her raccoon skin down even deeper, kicked the snow piled at her feet for a while, and then spoke.

"Yesterday and today, there were many people asking if we were siblings while I was with you."

"There were."

"It's just the nonsense of stupid residents who can't tell the difference just because our hair is black. You, no matter how I look at it, cannot be my brother. Because my brother wouldn't say such weak words as snowmen suiting me better than a club-."

"Perhaps."

Gloria's brother was the strongest warrior among the Samarians I knew. I often imitated his bravery. Perhaps even now.

If it were such a guy, he wouldn't have said something like making snowmen suiting Gloria better than a club.

Gloria, with the raccoon over her face, continued to speak.

"The guys who said such weak words to me. All of them. They were guys with ulterior motives. Because they wanted to make me soft and become my family. Are you like that too, by any chance?"

"What is like that?"

"I mean, do you also want to become my family. You're trying to make me soft. To find a gap in my heart, push out guys like Gyubin, Dot, or Olif. And drag me, drag me to a normal life of making things like snowmen."

"...."

"I am not a fool. I graduated from Kairos's school with the best grades at a younger age than others. I can tell at least what others want from me. Even what you want from me."

"What I, from you?"

"Yes. You've been better to me than all the people I've met before. You even cleared the flames in my head. You gave me a chance for revenge. In return for that. You want to make me your family."

Family....

Perhaps it is exactly as Gloria says.

The kindness I extended to her is purely my selfishness.

It could be called a shallow trick, thinking of her like my younger sister, and wanting her to also treat me like a brother, so she would forget the fact that I killed her brother.

Although I was thoroughly ignoring it enough to deceive myself. It seems I couldn't hide it from Gloria.

So I couldn't answer.

In that silence of mine, Gloria added more words.

"But, if you want to become family with me. I might not be able to refuse, perhaps. Because you are, for now, stronger than the current me."

"Because following the strong is the rule of the Samarians?"

"Yes. Because power is absolute to Samarians. You would have gained enough of what you wanted even if you suppressed me with power. But. You didn't do that."

"...."

"Now I don't know what you want to do with me. But, whatever it is. You will change the current me into something else that is not me. I can't explain it well. But anyway, that's how it is."

Gloria's attitude was quite passionate. Thanks to that, the gazes of the people making snowmen around us gathered toward us.

Without caring about those gazes.

Gloria asked.

"What exactly do you want to do with me?"