Fae'lor.
Konigen entered a household with a grave expression.
"Master, what brings you here?"
"We're sorry we weren't here to welcome you properly."
The family of three hurried out to greet him and ushered Konigen inside.
Throughout the Fae'lor region, Konigen was a renowned magical priest, respected wherever he went.
"There's no need for formalities. I came here today to speak with you about that child."
Konigen sat down, watching as the man of the house brought him a cup of water.
The moment they heard his words, all three visibly tensed.
The black-haired woman was named Rodani. She hurriedly asked, "Has she caused trouble again? Master, we made our position clear a long time ago. We simply have no way of controlling her anymore. We practically emptied our savings to send her to you. If something has happened now, please don't blame us."
At first, her words almost sounded like concern.
But the second half made it clear that wasn't the case.
It was more like she was desperately trying to distance herself from a dangerous burden.
The couple's son also seemed to remember something unpleasant, and his face went pale.
The man of the house looked at Konigen with the same apprehension as Rodani, terrified that he might say he was no longer willing to take responsibility.
"Since I accepted your money, naturally I won't simply abandon the matter."
Konigen looked expressionlessly at the three of them before continuing.
"I came because there's something you need to be prepared for."
Rodani breathed a sigh of relief, though she still nervously asked, "Master, what should we prepare ourselves for?"
Konigen's expression darkened slightly.
"My methods have become increasingly ineffective at restraining her. Recently, she even learned how to use magic on her own, without anyone teaching her. Her magical power is still growing. If this continues, I may have to resort to my final measure."
After hearing him, the three exchanged glances.
Rodani turned back to him.
"Whatever method you use, we trust you, Master."
The entire family looked as though they almost wished Konigen would use that method immediately.
"I said it is a last resort. I came only to inform you so that you can prepare yourselves mentally."
Seeing their reaction, Konigen knew there was nothing more worth saying.
He rose and walked toward the door, ignoring the family's attempts to see him off.
Perhaps, in their eyes, that child had stopped being family long ago.
Then what was she to him?
The girl's face flashed through Konigen's mind.
He sighed inwardly, feeling a faint stirring of emotion.
But when he remembered the terrifying darkness of her magic, his heart hardened again.
Three years ago, when he first encountered that child, even he had been shaken by the darkness radiating from her.
Never before had he seen such an enormous amount of dark energy concentrated within a single person.
Thinking of it, Konigen sighed again.
To be rejected by the world from birth was simply her fate.
There was no one to blame.
And eliminating darkness was his duty.
It seemed this matter needed to be resolved sooner rather than later.
At the back mountain, Syndra had just happily finished another meal of grilled fish. The corners of her lips remained raised, and she still felt indescribably cheerful.
"If something like this happens again, you should know how to handle it yourself."
Luke reclined lazily in a wooden chair.
"Basically, live and let live. But if someone comes after you, beat the hell out of them."
"Mm-hmm!"
Syndra nodded vigorously, committing those words to memory.
She wasn't naturally someone who liked causing trouble. Without Luke, she probably would have silently endured everything for much longer.
But today, she had finally found an answer within herself.
She didn't want to endure those grievances.
Why was she born only to bear everything?
Why did she have to live according to everyone else's wishes?
Why wasn't she allowed to simply be herself?
She still didn't have answers to every question in her heart.
But the road ahead of her had already become much clearer.
"By the way, why doesn't your master teach you magic?"
Luke asked casually.
Syndra replied, "Master says it isn't time for me to truly begin learning magic yet. He always says that even powerful mages can lose control of their magic. Because my magic is unusual, I have to learn how to stabilize it first."
"I see."
Luke nodded slightly.
"That part is true, although the odds of a truly powerful mage losing control are basically negligible. Your magic is definitely unusual, but when I watched you control it, you didn't seem particularly inexperienced."
He had only taught Syndra two basic techniques for manipulating objects with magic.
Once again, she displayed astonishing talent and learned them almost immediately.
Hearing this, Syndra lowered her head and said nothing more.
She apparently didn't want to continue discussing the subject.
What Luke had seen was only the surface.
She had never actually shown him her true self.
"We've got nothing else to do, so how about some five-in-a-row?"
Luke suddenly felt like playing.
As he spoke, he sat up and used his hand like a sword, tracing several lines across the ground.
A game board immediately appeared.
"What's five-in-a-row?"
Syndra looked up in confusion, curiosity appearing in her eyes.
"It's really simple."
Luke explained the rules.
Syndra understood almost immediately.
"There's nowhere around here to get pieces, so we'll make them out of magic."
As he spoke, Luke began gathering magical energy.
With a ripple of power, a white piece and a black piece formed at his fingertips.
Seeing this, Syndra raised her own hand and tried to imitate him.
Unsurprisingly, she failed.
"That's hard."
She frowned slightly, but her eyes became more focused.
Before Luke could even offer advice, she tried again by herself.
After several attempts, a black piece finally formed above her slender fingertip.
Delight appeared in the girl's eyes.
She happily looked toward Luke.
"I did it!"
"Impressive. But the difficult part is keeping the pieces stable afterward."
Luke smiled.
He placed the white piece on the board and formed another, while the first remained intact without dispersing.
Syndra imitated him and placed her black piece on the board.
At first, she still couldn't manage it.
Every time the first piece landed and she formed a second, the first would dissolve.
But after trying again and again without giving up, she finally succeeded.
The two gradually began playing.
Syndra went from awkward at first to increasingly proficient.
Eventually, she could maintain dozens of black pieces floating around her simultaneously.
The process took two days.
During those two days, Luke thoroughly enjoyed crushing a complete beginner.
Unfortunately, Syndra improved at five-in-a-row extremely quickly.
He estimated that it wouldn't be long before she caught up to him.
The girl seemed absurdly quick at learning absolutely everything.
Even Luke, with all his advantages, couldn't help feeling a little jealous.
Another morning came.
"Master said he's preparing to enter seclusion, so he doesn't want us staying in the temple and disturbing him."
Syndra had finished breakfast at Luke's place before saying, "So I want to go home for a visit."
When she mentioned home, expectation sparkled in the girl's eyes.
Perhaps because she hadn't seen them in so long, she truly missed them.
She treasured the word "family," believing it represented her final source of support in this vast world.
Even though, when she tried to remember, she could hardly think of any genuinely happy memories with them.
Since she wanted to go home, Luke naturally had no reason to object.
Before long, he watched the girl set off down the road toward town.
As Syndra walked, her steps were light.
She couldn't help recalling everything that had happened over the past few days, and the corners of her lips unconsciously rose.
It was nearly noon by the time she reached Fae'lor Town.
Even though she hadn't returned home in a long time, she remembered the way perfectly.
When she pushed open the courtyard gate, she found three stunned faces staring back at her.
She was no longer the timid little girl she once was.
And after so long apart from her family, she couldn't help smiling.
"Dad, Mom, Evard. I'm home."
The three abruptly snapped out of their daze.
Rodani stepped forward and forced an awkward smile.
"Why didn't you tell us you were coming? What if none of us had been home?"
"Master suddenly had something to do this morning, so I came back," Syndra explained.
"I see. We were just about to eat. Come inside."
Rodani had little choice but to wave her in.
Syndra entered the courtyard.
Her father, Rowen, brought over a chair and forced a smile of his own.
"Sit down first. We'll bring the food out from the kitchen."
"I can help," Syndra immediately offered.
"No, no, that's fine."
Rowen waved his hands awkwardly and quickly headed into the kitchen.
The family of three gathered there, all wearing unpleasant expressions.
Rowen lowered his voice.
"Why did she suddenly come back?"
Evard nervously asked, "Should we go tell Master Konigen?"
"Didn't she already say it? Master suddenly had something to handle. He's probably busy with 'that' matter right now. Going to him won't help."
Rodani gritted her teeth and thought for a moment.
"For now, just act normally."
The three quickly finished their discussion.
Syndra, sitting obediently in the courtyard outside, knew nothing about it.
Before long, food was brought to the table.
It wasn't particularly lavish, since the family wasn't wealthy, but the familiar aroma made Syndra nostalgic.
"Here are the bowls and utensils."
Evard went to the kitchen and returned with them.
But there were only three sets.
Rodani desperately shot Evard a look, silently telling him to hurry back and get another.
Evard ignored her and sat down in his usual place.
Only then did she remember.
There had only been three sets in the house for a long time.
They had so little money that they hadn't even kept one for Syndra.
They had never imagined she would sit at their dining table again.
Obviously, they couldn't tell her that.
Remembering this, Rodani picked up her own bowl and utensils and placed them in front of Syndra.
"We accidentally broke a bowl a couple of days ago. Money's been tight, so we haven't replaced it yet. You can use mine."
Syndra looked at the bowl and lowered her head guiltily.
"I'm sorry. It's all because of me..."
Three years ago, they had traveled a great distance from their homeland so that she could become Konigen's disciple.
The family had spent everything they had, which was why they had lived in poverty ever since.
"Don't think like that. We've never blamed you."
"That's right. Come on, eat."
At the table, the atmosphere was strangely silent.
The only sounds were the utensils, mostly Syndra's.
Rodani, Rowen, and Evard seemed to have little appetite.
Every so often, they secretly glanced at her.
Eventually, Syndra stopped eating and looked up in confusion.
"Why am I the only one eating? You should eat too..."
"Yes, of course."
Rowen picked up some food and placed it in his mouth.
He chewed mechanically, as if it had no taste whatsoever.
Lunch ended in that uncomfortable atmosphere.
The food wasn't especially good.
Compared with Luke's cooking, it wasn't even close.
But Syndra still ate with satisfaction.
Afterward, she watched Rodani clearing the table and offered again, "I can help."
"No need. Just sit and rest."
Rodani hurriedly waved her off with another forced smile before carrying everything toward the kitchen.
In the past, Syndra had handled most of the household chores.
But it had been a long time since she had done any of them.
Inside this home, Syndra now felt almost like a guest being carefully entertained.
Evard had hidden in his room immediately after lunch.
Rodani and Rowen sat with her in the living room, but they had little to talk about.
Every topic ended after only a couple of sentences.
A quiet awkwardness continued hanging over the room.
Syndra didn't know how to begin another conversation or what she was supposed to say.
So she simply sat there with her gaze lowered.
The light in her eyes gradually dimmed.
Knock, knock, knock.
Suddenly, someone knocked at the door.
The already nervous couple jumped in fright.
Then hope immediately rose within them.
Could it be Master Konigen?
"Someone's here."
"We'll go see."
The couple practically fled from the room as they hurried into the courtyard and opened the gate.
But when they saw a handsome young face outside, uncontrollable disappointment flashed through their eyes.
It wasn't Konigen.
Rodani looked confused.
"You are...?"
"I'm a traveler. Your child helped me several days ago, so I came specifically to express my gratitude."
The handsome young man gave them a bright, easygoing smile that instantly put people at ease.
Hearing that only made the couple more confused.
Their child?
Evard?
Since when had he been the helpful type?
Besides, ever since what happened years ago, he almost never left home anymore.
Rodani asked strangely, "Are you sure you have the right house?"
The young man answered confidently, "Absolutely."
At that moment, Syndra heard the commotion and walked outside.
When she saw the person standing at the gate, she froze slightly.
"Why are you here?"
Naturally, it was Luke.
He winked at Syndra before smiling at her parents.
"I mean your daughter. A few days ago, I became lost, and she helped me find my way. Otherwise, I might've ended up eaten by wild animals in the mountains."
Syndra stared at him blankly.
When had that happened?
Rodani suddenly understood.
"So that's what happened."
She had never imagined Syndra was the child he meant.
Rowen said, "Please, come inside."
The couple invited Luke into the living room.
They then discovered that he had brought gifts with him.
Exactly three of them.
"These are gifts I bought for the three of you. And this is a small token of my gratitude."
Luke wore a smile that was almost impossible to dislike as he handed everything over.
Even Evard came out of his room.
Soon, he too was holding a gift.
The three impatiently opened them and discovered that each was quite valuable.
Their eyes immediately lit up.
The way they looked at Luke changed completely.
Especially when they discovered that his additional "small token" was an entire pouch of gold coins.
At that point, they practically looked at Luke as though he were a god.
Even the way they looked at Syndra changed.
That was no small amount of money.
Who would have thought she could actually bring something this fortunate home?
In a port town like this, money was incredibly important.
"You really shouldn't have. These gifts are far too valuable. How could we possibly accept them?"
Rodani politely protested.
Luke's expression became serious.
"Please, you must accept them. They're my sincere thanks. If you refuse, I'll assume I'm not welcome here and leave immediately."
"Well... you're really putting us in a difficult position."
Rodani sighed.
"Honestly, your gratitude alone would have been more than enough. Coming all this way to thank us already shows incredible sincerity."
She turned and looked warmly at Syndra.
"Our girl can be a little clumsy. I never imagined she could help you so much. Would you mind telling us what she did?"
That change in her mother's gaze left Syndra stunned.
She couldn't remember Rodani ever looking at her so gently before.
"A few days ago, I arrived on Fae'lor aboard a passenger ship. I was walking around the island when I somehow lost my way..."
Luke launched into an animated story.
He described encountering wild beasts and Syndra appearing at the crucial moment to save him.
The story was incredibly dramatic.
Everyone listened with wide eyes.
Syndra herself was even more confused, practically wearing a question mark over her head.
But when Luke subtly signaled to her with his eyes, she suppressed the urge to clarify what had actually happened.
"So that's how it was."
Rodani smiled after hearing the story.
"We haven't even asked your name yet. How rude of us. You came all this way, and we have almost nothing to offer you."
Luke smiled.
"My name is Luke. I'm from Demacia."
"Demacia? Where's that?"
Evard had never heard the name before and immediately became curious.
"Demacia is very far from the First Lands, practically on the opposite side of the world."
Luke was an excellent storyteller, so he gave them a simple explanation of Demacia.
Stories about lands beyond Ionia fascinated all three of them.
Even Syndra listened with complete attention.
Luke talked about places near and far without ever seeming to run out of things to say.
Yet the three found conversation with him extremely comfortable.
He had a way of including everyone and making sure no one was left out.
Without anyone noticing, the awkward silence that had previously filled the room disappeared completely.
Luke became the center holding the entire conversation together.
Because of the gifts he had brought, the three began looking at Syndra with far more warmth.
It was almost as though only now had she truly become part of their family.
Syndra joined the conversation as well, smiling happily as she spoke with them.
For that brief moment, she truly felt like she belonged in this home.
She secretly glanced at Luke.
He seemed to be the crucial bond holding everything together.
Once they had talked for quite a while, Luke suggested, "I haven't had a chance to properly explore the town since coming here. Why don't you all show me around?"
Rodani immediately agreed.
"Of course. We'd be delighted."
After tidying up briefly, everyone headed out into town, chatting while they walked.
Syndra stayed beside Luke and naturally wasn't forgotten.
Luke had entrusted the money to Syndra, so her parents and brother clustered around her as though she were suddenly the most important person in the world.
They bought many things along the way.
Items they ordinarily couldn't bear to spend money on were now easily affordable.
Rodani even chose a beautiful outfit for Syndra and bought her a pretty hair ornament.
Only then did Syndra realize this might have been the first time she had ever gone shopping with her family.
Before anyone noticed, evening was approaching.
Everyone happily returned home.
Rodani offered to prepare a feast for Luke.
Naturally, Luke didn't refuse.
Dinner really was lavish.
Now that they had money, Rodani had prepared many different dishes.
Her cooking was only average, but Luke still praised everything enthusiastically while eating.
Rodani, who had cooked the meal, smiled so brightly that her face seemed to bloom.
Syndra felt a strange sense of emotional fulfillment.
And she understood very clearly that Luke had brought it about.
Without him, this dinner probably would have passed in silence just like lunch.
During the meal, the conversation occasionally turned toward Syndra.
At last, Rodani asked about her life at the temple.
Syndra had been waiting the entire day for someone to ask.
She immediately told them everything was going well.
"I'm doing very well at the temple. I train seriously and complete the tasks Master assigns me, so none of you need to worry."
She smiled as she spoke.
"Is that so? Then we're relieved," Rodani replied casually.
Luke had simply guided the conversation in that direction, so the subject soon moved on.
Rodani had no intention of asking in detail what Syndra's life at the temple had actually been like over the past three years.
After dinner, Rodani offered to let Luke stay the night.
Luke declined.
"I already rented a room at an inn in town, so I won't impose on you."
He remained for a little while longer before saying goodbye and leaving.
Once he was gone, only the family and Syndra remained.
The other three were still immersed in the happiness of the afternoon, so the atmosphere didn't immediately return to what it had been at noon.
Rodani stood by a cabinet, carefully polishing an elegant vase.
She smiled delightedly.
"I've had my eye on this vase for ages. I always wanted to buy it, and today I finally could."
"I cleaned out your brother's room earlier and changed the sheets and blankets. You can sleep there tonight. He can make do in the living room."
Syndra sat in a chair and smiled.
"Okay."
Her father was in the kitchen washing fruit.
Everything looked exactly like a warm, loving home.
Syndra treasured the moment.
Evard had bought a new pair of shoes.
He was wearing them now, pacing excitedly around the room.
Because he kept looking down at his feet instead of watching where he was going, he accidentally bumped into the cabinet.
Crash!
Rodani had only just stepped away when the vase began falling toward the floor.
At that critical instant, Syndra immediately raised her hand.
Magic rippled outward.
The vase froze halfway through its fall, suspended in midair and surrounded by dark magical energy.
Rodani's expression froze just as completely as the vase.
"Ah!"
A terrified scream rang out.
Evard fell backward onto the floor as though he had just seen a monster.
His entire body trembled.
Another sharp crash came from the doorway.
The plate of fruit Rowen had been carrying slipped from his hands and shattered against the floor, scattering fruit everywhere.
In that instant, every trace of warmth disappeared.
Seeing the fear in their eyes, Syndra gently returned the vase to its original place.
She hurriedly explained, "I can control my magic properly now. I won't lose control again..."
But no matter what she said, the fear in their eyes never faded.
Everything seemed to return to the past.
Ever since they had been forced to leave their homeland, this was how they had always looked at her.
Rodani finally came back to her senses.
She quickly turned toward Evard.
"It's okay, it's okay. What's wrong with you? Why are you so frightened?"
But Evard didn't answer.
His eyes remained unfocused, his entire body trembling.
Then he scrambled to his feet and fled back to his room.
Rodani hurried after him.
Rowen crouched down and began picking up the fruit scattered across the floor.
But he never once looked at Syndra.
She stood alone in the middle of the room.
Suddenly, it felt as though she was the only person left in the entire world.
At that moment, Syndra finally realized that she had never truly belonged in this family.
All this time, what she had treasured was simply the word "family."
Yet what now flashed through her mind were nothing but their fearful, distant gazes.
Perhaps she had actually known all along.
Everything she worked so hard to obtain would ultimately amount to nothing more than empty affection.
They feared her.
They were terrified of her.
Perhaps they even hated her.
It was only the hope buried deep in her heart that had blinded her, allowing her to continue clinging to a tiny expectation.
Everything she had experienced that afternoon was something she had never possessed before.
It was an incredibly precious memory.
To her, it mattered greatly.
But precisely because she had finally experienced it, all the things she had once desperately wanted suddenly seemed far less important.
Before meeting Luke, perhaps she would have continued lying to herself.
But now, Syndra no longer wanted to settle for scraps.
She walked over to her father.
"I'm going back to the temple."
Rowen didn't raise his head.
"Now?"
"Mm."
Syndra nodded.
"All right. Be careful."
Rowen didn't ask her to stay.
As Syndra walked past him, his mouth opened slightly.
But ultimately, he said nothing.
The deliberate pause Syndra had made beside him became meaningless.
She stopped waiting.
Without looking back, she left the courtyard beneath the night sky.
On the table in the living room, she left behind a pouch of money and a hairpin.
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