༺ Mag Mell, The Island of Treasures (2)༻
“Hello, vampire lady. I am the Son of Youth and the God of Love, Oengus.”
The beautiful-looking blonde-haired youth who appeared from the thick layer of fog that separated everyone introduced himself while playing his harp.
Marie knew that this man was a god who would be giving her a trial.
“Hello. Mr… Oengus?”
“Lovely lady, there’s no need to be so formal.”
His voice was so sweet that it reeked of honey, but Marie remained indifferent to it. A girl in love was always like this – while thinking that to himself, Oengus looked at her and said with a smile.
“This certainly is a rare occurrence. Three girls in love with one hero… This must be why they say heroes are debaucherous.”
“Uht…”
It was nothing new, but hearing that come out from a god that she was seeing for the first time forced Marie to shut her mouth.
“How did you…”
“The moment you entered the Island of Treasures already marked the start of your trials. We have the right and duty to observe the boys and girls that visit us, wanting to be a hero.”
“Ughh… Don’t tell me…?”
Clenching her teeth, she resentfully glared at Oengus.
“Don’t worry. We are not inconsiderate enough to delve deeply into private matters. Things, however, might be slightly different for Korin Lork, who will be the main figure behind the trial.”
“Huh? What are you going to do to Korin?”
“It is because this trial has been formed based on his childhood, youth, and adulthood. Korin Lork from those times may be different, but is still none other than Korin Lork himself. Now, it will be a fight between you all!”
“W, wait. What do you mean…!?”
“That is for you to see. Now, young girl. I am the Danann of Love; Oengus of Youth. I shall give you the Trial of Love.”
Dididing~. Oengus the Danann said while playing his harp. He then started speaking in a more formal manner.
“T, Trial of Love?”
“Indeed. Thou must not be enticed; instead, thou shalt be the one enticing. Find thy love.”
“Umm… Y, you mean…”
-Diding~
“This will be a fair battle in a state of oblivion! Attain thy love, young maiden!”
“Hahht?!”
“The Trial may tempt thee, but I wish thou will overcome it! Wahahahaha…! The one who falls in love first will be the loser!!”
Like a marriage broker, he finished it off with an exaggerated laugh before disappearing into thin air.
“What…”
Marie blankly looked at the place where Oengus had been standing, but the trial had already begun.
“Nn? Senior Marie?”
“Haht?”
Korin Lork.
A freshman junior from the Academy, whom she hadn’t talked to very often, was standing in front of her.
“Umm… Hello, Junior?”
As if it was her first time seeing him, Marie greeted the junior before her eyes.
***
Lately, the Arden household was thriving day after day. Ever since Alicia’s older sister became the family head, the number of their dojos only continued to increase.
Nowadays, the Arden Style of swordsmanship had spread all across the continent and had become the standard swordsmanship of every knight, thus infinitely increasing their influence.
The one at the center of that abrupt prosperity was her husband and Alicia’s brother-in-law.
Him.
Korin Lork.
The husband of her sister, Lunia Arden.
He was a warrior who was no weaker than Lunia herself and… unlike Lunia, who tended to be rather brusque and cold, he was acquainted and close to everyone ranging from the influential people in the East to people from the Royal Court.
Although his background wasn’t incredible or anything, his ability, and competence were widely seen as the blessing given to the Arden family.
On top of that, he seemed to be in a very good relationship with Lunia – they were 9 years into the marriage and already had 12 children. The triplets at the end made her wonder how mysterious life was.
“I need to visit the Royal Court. This might take a while.”
“Be safe on your journey.”
“Yes. And Alicia?”
“Ah, yes!”
“Take good care of the children while I am away.”
“O, okay.”
“Come on Dear Wife. You have me here; why are you asking Sister-in-law for that?”
“It is to both of you.”
After hearing that, Korin began staring at Lunia with a smile. In response, Lunia scratched her cheek, looking embarrassed and wondering if she had to do ‘that’.
“You’re leaving on a long journey. Where’s the farewell kiss to your husband?”
“Do I… have to?”
“Of course.”
One of his legs slithered into the gap between Lunia’s legs. The man who dug in with a sly smile wrapped his arms around her waist to lock her in.
“You’re making me sad.”
“Mhmm…”
In the end, the one to give up first was Lunia. She, who was like a strong maiden of steel in front of the disciples of the dojo, easily opened her soft lips for her husband.
-Gulp! Uaah…
Korin came back after a deep and breathtakingly intense farewell.
“What’s wrong, Sister-in-law? Why are you still outside?”
“M, Mr. Ko… I mean, Brother-in-law?”
Why… was she about to call him Mr. Korin just then? Even though she stopped calling him that after he got married to her sister…
“Oh right. Sister-in-law? Do you have any news?”
“N, news?”
On their way back to the main building, Alicia tilted her head after hearing that abrupt question.
“Do you have no plans of going out with someone?”
“Uht! That’s…”
“I married my dear wife straight after graduation, so I’m surprised there’s nothing happening for you. Don’t you have a lot of guys around?”
“Well…”
That was true. There were quite a lot of guys around her. There were her peers from the Academy, and there were also plenty of young men among the disciples of the Arden dojo.
“Have you never had a boyfriend till now? That’s weird.”
“Wh, what do you mean?”
“Like, are all the guys around you homosexual? I wonder why they are leaving someone like you alone.”
“Ugh…”
Alicia felt her heart jolt with pain and her body turned warm as if she had a fever.
The reason she never had a boyfriend until now, was probably…
[Seduce! Attain thy love, girl! Wahahahahahaha…!]
Suddenly,
She remembered hearing those words somewhere.
That’s right… I… this person…
“Sister-in-law?”
“Aht, yes?”
“I need to feed the kids now. Do you mind helping?”
“Ah, yes…! Yes yes!”
“One yes is enough.”
“Auu…. R, right.”
Feeling nervous and uneasy, Alicia followed her brother-in-law while, for some reason, wondering if he might have heard the same voice as her.
………
……
…
Kids had a clear distinction between the ones they liked and disliked. In that sense, the adult that Alicia’s 12 cousins liked the most was probably not Lunia nor their nannies, but their father, Korin.
“Let’s go…!”
“Kyaaah…!”
One of the kids soared into the sky. It was way too high for a 7-year-old girl, but Alicia was the only one frightened by it.
“Uahh…?!”
“Hoit!”
Korin easily and softly received the girl who started descending after soaring into the sky. Seeing that, Alicia immediately rushed up to him.
“B, Brother-in-law! That’s too dangerous!”
“It’s okay, I’m telling you. Right, Little Princess?”
“Yesh!”
“Seriously! I wonder who you took after to be so brave!”
“Daddy!”
-Chuckle!
The kids loved Korin. Korin, the ideal father who always played around with the kids, also enjoyed spending time with his children. As a result, the children liked Korin more than the brusque Lunia.
For a long time, they continued playing with the kids. Looking after children was a lot more exhausting than she initially thought, and Alicia was drained in no time.
“Huu~”
Energyless, Alicia laid herself down on the sofa while wiping her sweat off. That was when Korin gave a long stretch and walked over from the other room.
“Finally, they’re all sleeping. Great work, Sister-in-law.”
“Y, you too.”
Korin flopped down on the sofa next to her. Alicia stealthily stole a glance.
Her brother-in-law was drenched in sweat due to him actively playing with the kids. He fluttered the collar of his shirt to cool himself down as a thick scent of sweat tickled her nose.
“Kuhum…!”
She didn’t know why, but her instincts were telling her.
It was telling her to make this man fall for her; to make his heart beat fast.
“B, Brother-in-law!”
“Hnn?”
“W, would you like to drink?”
……
…
In the end, she fed him alcohol.
Actually, it was more correct to say that she fed herself alcohol if anything. It wasn’t something she could say with a sane and rational mind, so Alicia built up courage with the power of alcohol.
She knew how this was immoral and unethical.
Craving the man of her sister… How could someone possibly do that to their sister? But…
‘It’s not that bad, is it?’
Monogamy? How outdated of an ideology is that?
She did feel sorry for her sister but decided it should be alright. It wasn’t like she would be chased out… Well, she might be but Alicia decided to leave that for later.
Alicia Arden.
She was a frighteningly optimistic lady.
“Ughh…”
After being forced to chug a bunch of alcohol, her brother-in-law, Korin, was so drunk that he continued swaying left and right.
Now was her chance! It was time to go for a fait accompli—!
“Brother-in-law… Sister is not…”
“Aliciaaaa~.”
“Yesh?”
A deep voice reached her ears. Seeing the faint smile on the face of her brother-in-law as he looked into her eyes, Alicia felt her heart skip a beat.
“Drinking like this reminds me of the old days…”
The young man said, reminiscing the memories of the past. He was a lot more mature compared to how he was at the Academy and was a father of 12 children, but he was still young and…
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I got to meet Lunia and… I’m very happy now.”
Korin spoke of the old times.
Each and every one of his words… stirred the conscience of Alicia, who was still a young maiden at heart.
“Ugh…”
Intoxicated by the drink, Korin started to fall sideways and rested his head on her shoulder. Surprised by the sudden weight on her shoulders Alicia jolted, which made Korin’s head slip even further down to her lap.
“M, Mr. Korin?”
“Mhmm…”
Frozen stiff, Alicia couldn’t do anything while her brother-in-law stayed there rubbing his cheek on her bare thigh. Someone was bound to misunderstand them if they happened to come in at this time.
-Gulp!
However, rather than being conscious of the possible eyes of others, Alicia had her mind focused on her brother-in-law, who was resting his head on her thighs.
Slowly but surely… her lips approached his. They shivered, as her heart beat rapidly the closer she was to his lips.
Those lips that must have been craving her older sister’s every night – those lips that left innumerable traces on her sister’s skin… was at last…
“Sister-in-law…”
“Huet? What? I haven’t done anything yet!!”
Startled, Alicia quickly distanced herself by straightening up her back. Sweating profusely, she rolled her eyes, hoping that he didn’t notice it.
“Sister-in-lawww…~”
Fortunately, her brother-in-law did not notice her wicked actions. If he had found out about it…
Simply thinking about that gave her the creeps. A cold yet pleasant chill rose up her spine while her lower belly shivered and jolted.
“B, Brother-in-law.”
“Huhu. Sister-in-law… You’re my cute little sister-in-law.”
Oblivious to what was just about to be done to him, Korin reached his hand out and played with Alicia’s cheeks with those thick arms and hands.
“You cute little girl… How sad that you’ve never had a date before.”
“Ughh… Are you teasing me?”
“Having a date is a good thing… Look at me. Everything I did with Lunia was fun~”
Korin and Lunia were very famous among the people of the Arden household for being extremely lovey-dovey. Considering how normal couples of renowned households were forged by political marriages, their relationship was certainly a rare one.
Both of them were diligent and loyal to their family; they cherished each other and showered one another with endless love.
Alicia was extremely jealous of that.
As an illegitimate child born from an affair and one who couldn’t receive her due love ever since a young age, the girl with nothing but the family name of Arden had been yearning for love. That was why she had been dreaming of a normal family.
“Sister-in-law… Alicia…”
“Yes… Brother-in-law.”
“Isn’t it about time for you to be happy as well?”
“Ah…”
Hearing that, she suddenly realized something.
Throughout her time at the Academy, her eyes had always been on him. Even when he ended up with her sister, she couldn’t say anything due to her inferiority complex.
‘I liked Mr. Korin the whole time.’
It was nothing new, but she realized that all the more.
-Thump…!
Alicia Arden. Fail.
***
‘Hua. What are we having for lunch today? I want to have a grilled Pacific saury in the city!’
“…”
As always, Hua responded to the chatterbox called Ran with silence. However, this time, it was not from the usual indifference but because she was deeply pondering about something.
‘Hua?’
“…Something’s strange.”
‘Are you talking about that again?’
“…”
She quietly closed her eyes to her sister’s question.
There was something – something that she was forgetting. When thinking deeply to herself, she could faintly remember the fact that she had forgotten something, but as if surrounded by a thick layer of fog, she simply couldn’t see through it.
‘Did we forget something?’
“…I don’t know.”
Despite feeling strange, Hua Ran nonetheless headed to the grilled fish restaurant in the city. It was her 2nd year at the Academy, and Hua Ran was well-versed enough in the city to visit most of her favorite restaurants by herself.
The girl who loved fish always looked for a fish restaurant whenever she visited the city, whether it be the famous restaurant owned by the old man who had been making sushi for dozens of years, or the place that sold grilled fish in set meals.
What should I have today? What kind of fish would be a good pick today? Roaming around the streets, the girl was looking around when her sister whispered into her ears.
‘Hua. That one there.’
The store her sister pointed out was a shabby yet familiar restaurant. It had cheap prices and used fresh fish… it was a store that was ‘recommended’ to her.
“Who was it by…?”
Scavenging through her faint memories, Hua Ran subconsciously started heading to that restaurant. She was looking at the menu, thinking of getting a grilled fish as always, when her sister suddenly raised an opinion.
‘…Braised… Can we have braised fish?’
There was no reason behind it. Ran was simply saying that she felt like it, but Hua had the same idea.
“What would you like for today?”
“Braised… Mackerel.”
Before long, a dish of braised mackerel was served to her table. It was a bit too much for her to have by herself and… it reminded her of a dinner menu that was ‘made for her’ and others to enjoy together.
‘How do you… debone a fish again?’
The braised mackerel that she was having for the first time in a while tasted different from the one in her distant memories. They were incomparably different.
………
……
…
Hua and Ran tended to spend a lot of time thinking by themselves. Both of them were born with a calm personality and often had the tendency of blankly staring into the sky.
Put nicely, it was thinking by themselves; frankly, it was just wasting time.
They were spending time like that yet again at the plaza.
In the plaza with a soaring fountain and a clock tower gazing down from above, people threw glances at the indifferent-looking girl wearing nun clothes as they walked by.
It couldn’t be helped because Hua Ran was, objectively speaking, someone who grabbed people’s attention.
“Woah. What a pretty sister.”
But it was rare for someone to approach her openly like this one boy.
“…”
Hua Ran, who had been blankly staring at the sky, slowly turned her gaze back down. At the end of her gaze was a boy with bluish-black hair, holding a fairy floss in his hands. His eyes were red but reminded one more of the sunset than a ruby, and he was a small boy who didn’t even look 7.
“Miss Sister. Would you like some fairy floss?”
Because she was wearing a religious outfit by default, she was received well at the start by people from the same religion. This was probably an extension of that.
“Un.”
Since she didn’t hate sweet stuff, Hua Ran gladly took a bite of the boy’s fairy floss.
Leaving behind a long string, the cluster of sweet strings that tasted fluffy like the clouds entered her mouth. Some of the stickiness of sugar was left behind on her hands, but Hua Ran wasn’t the type to worry about such things.
“Tasty, right?”
“…Un.”
By the time she realized it, the boy had sat next to her on the edge of the fountain basin and was licking the fairy floss.
“Oh right.”
He took out a handkerchief and wetted it with water before handing it over to her.
“You need to wipe your hands.”
“…”
Seeing that, even the indifferent Hua Ran unconsciously thought to herself how he was a very considerate boy.
‘He’s so cute.’
The sister inside her body said with a giggle, after seemingly having a good impression of the boy.
“Miss Sister. What were you doing here?”
“…Thinking.”
“About what?”
For a while, she had been feeling strange. It felt like she had forgotten something, or rather, someone.
A normal person would have glossed over it, thinking that they must be overthinking things but it was different for her. Hua Ran wasn’t just one person. She was made up of two people, Hua and Ran.
The strange inkling that Hua felt was shared by Ran, and as a result, the two of them reached the conclusion that they were forgetting something important.
“I forgot someone. Even though I shouldn’t have…”
She forgot – a person that should have been unforgettable. She didn’t know why but wanted to retrieve that person.
“Sister?”
‘Hua… Don’t cry.’
“I’m not…”
Tears flowed down her eyes. The drops of water that flowed out of her crimson eyes wetted her cheeks and dripped down her chin.
‘Don’t cry… Hkk…!’
“I’m not… crying. Something got into my eyes…”
Surprised by her sister who was crying after her, Hua tried her best to give an excuse but her unending tears continued, showing no signs of coming to a stop.
“Sister.”
She was wiping her falling tears with the back of her hands when the boy handed her another handkerchief.
“Pretty Sister. Stop dropping beautiful gems on the ground.”
“Htt?”
Wipe wipe.
The boy said while gently wiping her eyes. He then gave her a bright smile as if trying to change her tears into a smile similar to his own.
“Sister Yonghee in our neighborhood is also a crybaby, you know? So I always tell her to smile, because her smiles are very pretty.”
Flustered, her mind momentarily stopped functioning and so did her tears. Using his own fingers, the boy lifted the ends of her lips before saying with another smile.
“Look. I knew it. Sister, you are a lot prettier when you smile.
“So please smile. I want you to smile all the time and not cry.
“Did you forget someone? Should we look for them together?”
……
…
Hua Ran. Fail.
***
A good person.
That was the impression Marie got from her junior as she spent more and more time with him.
Korin Lork.
There was something about this boy who was a grade below her in the Academy, that put people at ease.
“Korin Lork? He is very famous.”
“I, is he?”
Even her best friend and classmate, Isabelle, was highly appreciative of him.
“He is quite good-looking and kind.”
“Y, you’re right… Does he have… a lot of girls around him?”
“Yeah. I’m pretty sure there are a few in our grade that are after him. I know someone went out and had lunch with him in the city yesterday.”
“Haht…! Is he… that popular?”
“Why are you asking that? Are you going after him as well, Marie?”
“N, nooo!?”
Isabelle chuckled and gave a knowing smile to her exaggerated reaction. It was an obvious smile of mockery so Marie punched her on the arm but that did not remove the smile on her face.
“It won’t be easy though. Because Junior Korin has a guardian deity.”
“Huh? A guardian deity?”
“Well… You’ll see soon enough. You can give it a shot. I feel sorry for him though.”
Even though she didn’t know what Isabelle meant by that, Marie decided to muster her courage.
Until then, the only interaction she had with Korin was one or two conversations with him during the mixed lectures and when she was one-sidedly looking at him training in the training rooms. For some reason, she couldn’t stop her eyes from trying to find him.
That day, when she took courage, the boy was training in the training rooms as always.
Throwing away his shirt that was drenched in sweat, the boy was swinging his spear. Each and every one of his intense swings fluttered drops of sweat into the air but the boy remained firm and tranquil.
It was because of that that… her eyes were always on him. She found him to be very cool.
“J, junior Korin—”
“Senior Marie?”
That was when someone stood in the way and talked to her. Stopping her feet, Marie turned blankly to the boy who stopped her in her tracks.
His hair and eyes were dark like obsidian. He had a tall nose and delicate facial features, as well as a slick jawline and charming lips.
He looked so beautiful that one had to wonder how there could be such a good-looking boy but… he gave her the impression of a sly fox that preyed on people.
“J, junior Park Sihu, right?”
“Yes, and?”
For some unknown reason, he had a hostile tone of voice as he glared at her. Feeling wronged, Marie raised her voice.
“Can you move aside please?”
In response to her clear request, Sihu gave a deep frown and closed his eyes after a sigh.
“…Hah, there’s no end to these fucking bitches.”
It was a soft lament that did not even reach the person standing directly in front of him.
