Episode 005
‘Ugh, why did I have to dream such a miserable dream?’
It wasn’t even something good, and having the same dream for three nights in a row was beyond stressful.
So much so that even the madam at the boutique noticed how bad I looked and let me leave work early.
‘Luna, what’s with that complexion? I’ll let you off early, so go see a doctor.’
‘No, it’s okay. I’m not sick or anything… I just haven’t been sleeping well…’
‘There are only two reasons a girl who usually sleeps well starts tossing and turning. Love or illness. Luna, is there a guy you like?’
‘Ah, no, that’s not it.’
‘Then we have our answer. Go to the doctor.’
The madam firmly pushed me out, and thanks to her, I was walking the streets in broad daylight.
Of course, I had no intention of going to the hospital. My complexion wasn’t good because of sleep deprivation.
‘Yeah, I’ll just go home and take a nap.’
Hopefully, I wouldn’t have that strange dream during my nap.
‘Maybe it’s because I keep thinking about Estelle…’
Now I was even seeing hallucinations of Estelle.
“……”
No, that’s not a hallucination!
That child boarding the public carriage all on her own was definitely Estelle.
There was no mistaking her, thanks to the giant bunny backpack on her back.
‘Wait a minute, that public carriage… It’s definitely headed outside the castle gates, isn’t it?’
“Estelle!”
I belatedly shouted her name, but the carriage had already departed and was growing distant.
‘I heard there are kidnappers outside the gates who abduct children and sell them!’
“Estellele! Wait a second!”
I started running after the carriage. Without a doubt, it was the fastest sprint of my entire life.
***
“Haa, haah… Excuse me, sir… just a moment…”
Outside the gates, in front of the carriage rest stop.
The coachman, who was feeding an apple to his horse, looked at me in surprise and asked in a startled voice:
“Goodness, look at all that sweat. Is someone chasing you?”
“No, not exactly… haah, haah. Did a little girl ride this carriage? One with a bunny backpack?”
“Ah, that kid. Said her father went up the mountain to cut wood but forgot his lunch, so she went to take it to him. Why?”
“That mountain? Alone?”
Only after hearing my words did the coachman seem to realize how strange it was for a little child to climb such a huge mountain alone.
“Well, she said she’s taken it to him several times before, so I didn’t think much of it…”
“Which direction did she go?”
“That way. Tsk, but be careful. I saw earlier that some knight order was doing training or something, and they restricted entry past the mid-slope… Better not cause trouble.”
“Thank you.”
After bowing my head in thanks to the coachman, I began climbing the mountain in the direction he had pointed.
Fortunately, there were faint footprints left on the mountain path. I followed them as a guide and recalled the dream I had the night before.
‘It was definitely a large lake with a waterfall.’
They say dreams are usually reconstructed based on your memories, but I’d never seen a lake like that in my life.
And yet—
‘…What is this? It’s really that lake?’
Just as I barely managed to climb a steep slope that I couldn’t imagine a five-year-old could’ve climbed, the large lake from my dream spread out before me.
A thunderous waterfall cascading down a sheer cliff, reeds swaying by the lakeshore.
And a man floating on the lake, staining the water red, while someone tried to rip a piece of paper in her hands—
“Estelle!”
“Eek!”
Startled by my shout, Estelle flailed her arms.
I quickly approached Estelle, who turned around with wide eyes.
“Luna? Why are you here?”
“That’s what I should be asking. More importantly, is that a magic scroll you’re trying to rip?”
“Yes. That man looked like he was in danger, so I was trying to save him…”
“Give it to me. If you tear that, you’ll be in big trouble.”
That was exactly what my dream had been about.
Estelle tearing a magic scroll to save a man whose fate—dead or alive—was unknown, and then dying herself.
But Estelle just blinked, not understanding what I meant.
“Why would Estelle be in big trouble? The person who made this is really amazing. It’s not a faulty scroll.”
“That’s the problem. The scroll being fine is the issue. Kids like you shouldn’t use magic scrolls.”
“Why not? …Ah! Aah!”
Fortunately, Estelle seemed to remember the warning about scrolls. But just in case, I explained in detail.
“If a young child like you, still growing, uses a scroll, the unstable mana inside your body might cause you to collapse.”
“Oh right! Estelle is five now! I got confused!”
As if she had forgotten, Estelle slapped her forehead with her palm. I let out a short sigh at the sight.
If I hadn’t stopped her, Estelle would’ve torn the scroll. And like in the dream, she would’ve collapsed from exhaustion.
And even so, she would’ve gone into the lake to save that man, and with her strength gone…
‘Wait, what? Something that happened in my dream came true in real life?’
What on earth is going on?
Could this really just be a coincidence?
“We can’t leave him like that, though. We have to save him… Ah, Luna! Then can’t you use this?”
Then, Estelle, who had been stomping her feet anxiously, pushed the scroll into my hands.
Looking at the scroll, I asked Estelle,
“Where did you get this?”
“Huh? Um, that is…”
“Who is that man, and why is he lying there like that?”
“Umm, well, Estelle doesn’t really know…”
Rolling her eyes as if trying to dodge the question, Estelle eventually began pleading with a pitiful expression.
“Lunaaa… Please. Okay? Let’s just save that man first.”
“…”
“He might die like that. A person’s life is precious!”
Sigh. There’s no way I can say it’s not.
“Alright. Just give me everything in your bag. There’s potion too, right?”
“Gasp! How did you know?”
Just by looking at how much blood he’d lost, I could tell there was no way just pulling him from the water would be enough to save him.
“Here! I brought several top-tier ones just in case, so use them generously, Luna!”
From Estelle’s bunny backpack came five potions. There were also five scrolls that looked like defensive and offensive magic—likely for protection.
‘These aren’t things a five-year-old could easily get…’
But given the circumstances, I had no choice but to let it slide.
“I’ll save the man, so you go stand over there.”
“Why? Estelle can help too.”
“Because that man’s condition isn’t something a five-year-old should be looking at.”
“Uunngh… Okay, got it!”
After confirming that Estelle had sat quietly a distance away, I approached the lakeshore and tore the scroll.
Rip!
A strong gust of wind burst from the torn paper and wrapped around the man floating on the lake, bringing him before me.
‘He’s alive, at least.’
But when I touched his nose, his breathing was faint. Just like Estelle said, he’d die if we didn’t treat him right away.
Which means, if Estelle hadn’t come, this man would’ve died here.
“Luna! How is he? Is he alive?”
“Yeah. I’m going to start treating him now.”
I took out a portable sewing kit I always carried in my pocket and pulled out the tailoring scissors.
‘Should I call this lucky…?’
The man was wearing leather clothes.
But due to the many wounds—likely from blades—the clothes were tattered, so I was able to cut them somehow with the scissors.
“My goodness…”
As if proving his life hadn’t been easy, his body was covered in both old scars and fresh wounds.
I wiped the water roughly off his body and poured potion on his injuries.
Ssshhh—
White foam bubbled up from where the potion was poured.
After waiting a moment, the bleeding stopped and the wounds disappeared cleanly.
Just as Estelle had confidently said, it really was top-tier potion.
‘His complexion is back…’
When I brought my finger to his nose again, his breathing was more steady than before. I could finally relax a bit.
“Luna! Can I come over now?”
“Not yet, wait a bit.”
I wiped the man’s dirty, mud-covered face with a handkerchief.
I was checking to make sure there were no injuries on his face or head, but as I unconsciously looked at his face—
I gasped in shock.
