Once, in the orphanage, he had asked the senior nun the same question.
'...do you know where my father went?'
It was the same question he asked when the police officers brought him to the orphanage.
Apparently, his mother eloped with her lover, and his father, the drunk junki, had sold him off to human traffickers. But the nun and the police who saved him didn't tell Zephyr that. He found out a bit later.
'Anyways, what was the answer the nun gave me when I asked about my father?'
Zephyr tried to remember.
The words 'father' and 'mother' meant something entirely different to him than the boy standing in front of him. So, he wanted to be careful when he answered.
After thinking about it for a while, Zephyr still couldn't remember what exactly the nun told him.
Perhaps the memory was too old. Or maybe, he didn't want to remember it. Either way, thinking about it didn't help him.
So, Zephyr flipped the script.
"Kid, how would I know where your father went?" He asked, perfectly hiding his expression.
Zephyr knew exactly where his father went.
After all, he had severed the head of the man, once he died, to stop it from turning into an undead. Still, without batting an eyelid, he lied.
He knew the truth was not what the child wanted to hear.
Just like him of the past who desperately wished for his father to come back, the child was also waiting for a miracle.
Zephyr didn't want to destroy his hope. At least, he had the sense to be tactful.
'Ah, I remember.' Suddenly, the memory hiding within his psyche resurfaced. 'The nun said she would tell me about my father when I grow up.'
'But she never did.'
Zephyr thought inwardly, mocking himself.
Then he shifted his eyes to the boy.
The boy was confused.
He didn't expect a question.
"Um…" The boy mumbled something.
Zephyr couldn't hear it.
"Did you say something?" He asked.
"I…I thought you would know." The boy mumbled again, this time a little clearer, while fiddling with his fingers.
"Didn't you ask your mother about it?"
"Mom. She doesn't know. But I heard some of them say my father died." The boy tilted his head up, looking at Zephyr. "Sir Mage, what do you mean by that? What is 'died'?" He asked.
Zephyr thought for a while. The boy had asked a difficult question.
At the same time, he realized the child had heard of his father's death. But the boy was too young to comprehend what it meant.
Now, he finally understood why the nun had given him that answer.
'Should I lie again. I seem to be getting the hang of it.' Zephyr mused.
As Zephyr was about to speak, the boy took something out of his breast pocket. It was a candy wrapped in an oil paper.
The boy looked around before swiftly placing the candy on Zephyr's arm.
"Sir, I can give you the candy. Please tell me." The boy begged.
"It's the candy my father bought me. It's really tasty. You will love it." He added with a smile.
The boy had seen his father leave with Zephyr. And he had also seen everyone treat him with great respect.
That was why the boy thought Zephyr must know the answer to his question.
To get to the answer, he even gave away the most precious thing he had—the candy his father bought him.
Zephyr clutched the candy, not knowing what to do.
"Kid, take the candy back."
He placed the candy back onto the boy's hand.
"Your father wanted you to have it. Eat it. Savor it the best you can."
"But…"
The boy wanted to push it back to Zephyr.
But Zephyr stopped him.
"Kid, then do it this way. Eat the candy when you meet your father next time. If you haven't seen him after a few days, come back to me. I will tell you where your father went."
Zephyr decided to delay it further.
Just like the nun, he decided against giving a proper answer. But also unlike her, he was going to speak the truth if the child was interested in hearing it a few days later.
The boy was thrilled to hear it. He looked at Zephyr and cutely nodded.
'What have I done?'
Zephyr nodded back, hiding his thoughts.
Then he somehow made the child leave.
'It was for the best.' He said to himself while returning to his meditation.
—--
Late into the afternoon, Zephyr stood up after forming three more cores.
Now, he had eight cores in total.
All eight cores were also engraved with three mana gathering runes each, totaling twenty-four runes.
Compared to the mana gathering spell he got from the storm tower, it had a lot fewer runes. But Zephyr had an inkling that the performance of his mana gathering method was better. After all, the majority of the runes in the original mana gathering spell were stabilization runes, while his was specialized for optimum performance.
'The surface area in which I can draw runes is higher since I have more cores. It will only get better from here on out.'
Zephyr thought while walking out of the village hall.
The fog had thickened around the village, making it impossible to see anything. The storm was still holding strong as the winds picked up. The sun was still blocked by the thunder clouds.
All in all, the day felt like night, with minimal visibility and a moody atmosphere.
Zephyr wished for everything to clear up. But like usual, his wish never came true.
'How did the talk with the villagers go?' Zephyr thought while stepping out of the village hall.
Because of Zephyr resting inside, the chief seemed to have chosen another place nearby to talk about the evacuation.
'I hope it went well.' He muttered as he stepped on the muddy ground.
The wet, humid air drilled into his nose, carrying the familiar chill. Goosebumps rose over his skin as he walked into the rain.
He shook away the chill before making way to the center of the village.
—-
In the center of the village, there was a large structure with a roof supported by wooden poles.
As Zephyr neared this structure, he could hear the wooden poles creak under the weight of wind and rain.
Besides that noise, he could hear the villagers talking. There were a couple of dozen people, most likely the heads of families, inside the shed.
Zephyr silently walked up to the shed to hear what they were saying. And the moment he heard them, he realized the situation had worsened.
'What do you mean they can't send people out?'