Chapter 83

Everyone is Young Except for Me

If my memory was correct, a good fragment was a Star Fruit. If Remus neutralized the aura of the bead fragments with it then there might be hope. Then a message was heard from the sky.

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ says unfortunately, she doesn’t have one.]

There was none. Then it was almost certain who it was with.

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ says Remus has it.]

“It is indeed like this.”

Kim Sujeong asked, “Does Romelana have a Star Fruit? Really?”

Come to think of it, she couldn’t hear our conversation. She hadn’t yet been chosen by a constellation and might feel alienated.

“It isn’t Romelana, it is Remus.”

“Wow, really? Then we can get a Star Fruit!”

“Um, that...”

It was actually a bit complicated. If the Star Fruit was neutralizing Pandora’s aura, Pandora’s aura would encroach on Remus the moment the Star Fruit disappeared.

“Why? We can’t get it?”

“Yes, it is complicated to explain but that is the conclusion.”

“Hmm, then it can’t be helped. Too bad. I wanted to eat a Star Fruit too.”

“There will be a chance later. I’ll help you.”

“Really?”

“Yes. There is a saying that the words of a man is worth a thousand gold. I keep my word.”

I could see Kim Sujeong’s expression relaxing slightly. She seemed to feel good. Just then, an idea passed through my head. I thought it would be nice to present a Star Fruit to Mido. I thought about my granddaughter hugging me after receiving the gift and thanking me for the gift. Then I couldn’t help smiling.

Kim Sujeong was bewildered by my expression. “Did something good happen?”

“Nothing. Let’s get started.”

“I understand. Let’s go, Cer.”

“Kwal.”

Cer woke up and started running again as soon as her feet hit the ground. She was going to catch a cold again...

Cer left the range of Solar’s protection and yipped before running back. We saw this and burst out laughing again. In the cold wilderness, we took warm steps.

* * *

Two days passed...

The snow fields in the endless night wasn’t only dark. In the midst of the lonely snowstorm, the sky quietly displayed the natural phenomenon called the ‘aurora.’ We walked using a compass and finally reached the village of night, Nutscher.

“I can see light over there!”

There was also a huge igloo at the location where Kim Sujeong pointed out? The one thing that was different was that unlike Diya, a subtle light was coming from the window. I stood there and watched the night view of Nutscher. It felt like a painfully rewarding moment had come.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is admiring the night view of Nutscher.]

[The fist star, ‘Raitra,’ says it is an amazing and mysterious town.]

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ is shy.]

It seemed to be the first time that Prometheus and Raitra had seen it. Of course, it was the same for me. Then the first son of Romelana opened his mouth, “This is where my father is. It is mainly where the nocturnal species live.”

I asked, “What species are there?”

“There are mainly three species living there. One of them is the frost owl. They are awake at night and are mostly in charge of scouting. There is also the white snow fox. However, you shouldn’t let your guard down. They are the species responsible for the security of Nutscher. They are pretty strong.”

“The remaining one?”

“The wandering reindeer.”

“Wandering reindeer?”

Prometheus’ memories passed through my head. I hadn’t expected them to be here. For generations, the wandering reindeer were a clan of December's Invader. However, they had to be nocturnal if they wanted to follow him. I asked, “Are there any frost orcs here?”

“Huh? You know more about this place than I thought. There are none here. They’re in the south.”

“I see." A map seemed to be drawn in my head. I only had memories from 500 years ago and I needed new information. I turned my head to the party and said, “Let's go.”

The welsh wolves carrying us started running. I could hear a frost owl crying in the distance. It saw the welsh wolves we were riding but the group didn’t attack us with their ice feathers. I asked the wolf I was riding on, “Why aren’t they trying to attack?”

“They know we are Father’s sons.”

There was no need for many explanations. In short, this was it. It was because they had good parents.

“By the way, what is your name? I haven’t asked for your name in the meantime.”

“Fenrir. That is my name.”

We were able to easily enter Nutscher. There were many eyes looking at us as I got off Fenrir’s back. I could see armed white foxes and a large white owl. There were reindeer with red noses. The most curious thing was that they were standing on two feet.

Then an old fox with a cane approached. “All of Remus’ children are here. Fenrir always comes here alone. Why are you here?”

“I came to see my father with the humans here.” 

“Huh...?” The old fox was perplexed by his words.

Fenrir wondered, “Where is Father?”

The moment he spoke, all the creatures surrounding us looked agitated. They were talking noisily among themselves. Why were they doing this?

The old fox wondered, “Can I ask what is going on?”

“Impertinent. Why can’t we meet my father?” 

The old fox faltered at Fenrir’s angry words. Somehow, he didn’t seem to like us… was it an illusion?

Kim Sujeong seemed to think the same thing and quietly spoke to me, “Doesn’t he look uncomfortable?”

“It seems so.”

At this moment, Romelana spoke up.

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ says it is because they are nocturnal.]

“Nocturnal? What are you saying?”

I looked up at the sky and small sparks flashed.

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ is using ‘Memory Exhibition.’]

A blizzard of memories came to my mind. I closed my eyes and reviewed them. It seemed she had no way to say it in words. She was telling me something by conveying memories. That’s right. The burden on her star spirit must be quite severe... 

Star spirit was the innate star power that one could acquire when becoming a constellation. Many things could be done with it, such as sending indirect messages or conveying memories like now. Please note that a similar power for the gods was called divinity.

“Those who are nocturnal gather under the black night. I see...”

I seemed to know a bit about the situation.

Nutscher was a place where nocturnal species lived. Remus was the king they received overwhelming support from and they relied on him so much that they couldn’t live without the black night. Whenever the black night became too strong, Romelana sent Fenrir here to have the old fox deliver a message to Remus to reduce the black night. Thus, it was natural the old fox wouldn’t like Fenrir.

I asked in a grumbling tone, “You could’ve conveyed this directly in words. Why pass it on through that old fox?”

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ says it is Remus’ will.]

Was it because he was worried about his family? Fenrir growled and shot toward the old fox.

The old fox lowered his tail like prey. “I-I’m sorry. Follow me.”

The beast races here parted and formed a path. We followed him. He headed toward an extremely high snowy mountain. The old fox said, “Remus is at the top of this mountain.”

Damn, it was really dirty.

"My father is alone in this place...”

At Fenrir’s words, the other welsh wolves cried out in a nostalgic manner. They seemed thrilled to see their father for the first time in 100 years. We climbed onto their backs and they headed toward the snowy mountain at high speed.

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ has a quick heartbeat.]

Romelana felt the same tension. Well, it was natural. This was the first reunion in 100 years. Even separated families weren’t at this level. However, after a long time, we couldn’t find Remus.

Fenrir growled, “Why can’t I see a cave? Is my father really here?”

“Y-Yes, that's right. I remember he was here 100 years ago.”

“100 years? You haven’t seen him since?”

The old fox realized he had made a mistake and made an ‘oops’ expression. 

I roughly understood what had happened. The black night had grown stronger in the meantime because this old fox lied.

Fenrir gritted his teeth. “You! You dare...!”

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ is saying to calm down.]

“But, Mother! This one has deceived us! Why...!”

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ says that he wanted to protect Nutscher.]

“Kuock.” Fenrir looked up at the sky and swallowed his resentful expression.

I admired her understanding and wisdom. She was a good wife and wise mother. Marriage should be with such a woman. Who wouldn’t love such a woman? My wife was like this. In my memories, she was a really wise woman. To me and to our children.

[The first apostle, ‘Prometheus,’ is praising Romelana.]

[The wolf star, ‘Romelana,’ has red cheeks.]

I asked the old fox, “You mean you don’t remember where the cave is?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Then we are forced to find him ourselves.”

Kim Sujeong inquired from next to me, "What are you going to do?”

“Well, I don’t know if this will work...”

I pulled out a Pandora fragment from my inventory. Then it started to shine right away.

“The bead fragment is shaking!”

“Brother, perhaps this...”

The two people stared at me with astonishment. Then Gyeonso Dragon pulled out the Pandora piece that he had. This guy had one as well. “Where did you get this?”

“I found it with the Star Fruit.”

“...Don’t pick up more than three. It won’t be good for you.”

“Brother, don’t you have more than three?”

“I’m fine because of Prometheus.”

This was due to the difference in status. It was the difference between a god and a constellation. Gyeonso Dragon looked down at the bead fragment in his hand with a strong expression and smiled.

At that moment, a greater resonance occurred between the Pandora pieces and light burst out. The dark violet light started to point somewhere. Just then, a loud roar was heard from the sky.

Awoooooo!

The world was locked in deep darkness. The earth shook and the scene swirled. Every place my eyes looked was a dark black. It was an unexpected development. The current phenomenon only occurred when ‘he’ was highly aggressive.

I told Kim Sujeong, “It seems he woke up and is angry.”

“W-Who?”

“The Black Night Wanderer.”

At this moment, a message appeared in front of everyone.

[The second-grade constellation, ‘Black Night Wanderer,’ has woken up.]

[He has lost his sense of reason due to an unknown aura.]

[Be careful. He will be hostile to you.]

“What type of greeting is this for guests?”