Shekina stood in front of the mirror.
She observed her own image reflected in it.
Her slightly taller stature, longer hair, and the face that still held some baby fat but now looked considerably slimmer.
Shekina, after skipping ten long years, had become a 13-year-old girl who could be called a proper young lady.
“To be able to move my arms and legs so freely like this…”
She felt overwhelmed by the perfect pronunciation.
Shekina briefly lost herself in her emotions as she recalled her past struggles, but quickly returned to her senses. Since the skip had finished, she needed to fully test her movements.
“Well, it’s a relief that nothing unusual happened.”
Shekina had been watching the situation unfold without taking her eyes off for a moment, just in case something went wrong.
But oddly enough, nothing happened. There was no reappearance of Lucifer, nor any strange actions from the elders.
Although she felt relieved, she also sensed something odd.
“Could it really be that nothing happened at all?”
Shekina narrowed her eyes slightly. It was at that moment…
Ring!
[SYSTEM]
It’s just following the ‘original scenario.’ You’re overthinking things.
Looking at the translucent system window, Shekina finally felt at ease.
If it was the ‘original scenario,’ it meant the setting before the game had started, before Dehan became the hero.
At this stage, there were typically no big issues. The prologue only covered the growth process of Dehan as a hero.
“Still, I should take a look around, just in case.”
From what she’d observed, there were at least two things that had changed.
Ring!
[SYSTEM]
You, who treat the words of gods as nonsense! How long are you going to refuse to believe me?
“Forever.”
Shekina, after scratching her ear, opened the door and stepped out. Immediately, she felt something heavy land on her shoulder.
“Sera?”
It was Sera, the cat who was also a familiar.
Sera nudged Shekina’s cheek with her front paw and spoke.
– I thought you had forgotten about me.
“Oh, come on, like that would ever happen!”
– You really thought that could happen?
“No… No way! Never!”
Honestly, Shekina had forgotten about Sera a little before the skip. But then again, when you’re busy, there’s not much you can do… Shekina smiled awkwardly and hugged Sera tightly.
“Shall we go around today?”
– Hmph, I’ll be going with you.
“Yeah, Sera is going to take care of me.”
– That’s not true.
Despite her curt response, Sera, who was peacefully curled up in Shekina’s arms, was undeniably cute. Shekina smiled as she brushed Sera’s ears.
At that moment, a sound of heavy footsteps came from down the hallway. Shekina immediately recognized who was making the enormous strides.
“Martin!”
Shekina ran towards Martin. Martin, who had been stomping toward her, smiled broadly, using his muscular face to its fullest, and lifted Shekina up.
“Baby, have you eaten?”
Shekina, seeing Martin unchanged from before the skip, smiled softly.
“Yeah. I had breakfast earlier. What about you, Martin?”
“I ate. Now I’m heading out to train.”
“Can I come with you?”
Martin hesitated for a moment. He suddenly had the urge to go out with Shekina. However…
“Today, I’m going to the snow mountain. It’ll be tough for you, baby, to come with me.”
It was a hard day for training, and it wouldn’t be easy to take a delicate child like Shekina along. So, unfortunately, she couldn’t join him.
“Baby, instead, go see Lyat. Lyat is in the lab.”
“Phew.”
Shekina had thought about seeing the demon troops of the 1st Legion all at once, but since Martin was leaving, she would have to wait for the next opportunity. Besides, it was cold at the snow mountain.
“Okay. But tomorrow, we’ll go together!”
“I promise.”
“Okay!”
After sending Martin off, Shekina walked down the hallway again. She was heading to the research lab where Lyat was, as he had mentioned. As she walked across the hallway, Calvin, upon seeing Sera, ran up to her, but Sera lightly punched his face before running away.
– Get lost!
She shouted a cry that only Shekina could hear.
Well, some things never change.
Seeing Calvin reminded her of Arthur, but he wasn’t in the castle right now. He was in the Northern Castle temple with Yuriel. Ever since before the skip, they had been targeting that place, and at some point, they were in the center of the Northern Castle temple. She wanted to know more, but the system hadn’t shown her what was going on there, so she couldn’t understand the situation.
‘I’ll have to check it out soon.’
After skipping ten years, there were so many things to do. But the price of skipping was that she had gained such a large body. So, that was something she could accept.
‘Although there are some changes…’
Well, she could check on those later.
With that thought in mind, Shekina knocked on the door of Lyat’s lab. Before long, she heard a voice inviting her in, so she opened the door and peeked her head inside.
“Uncle!”
As soon as Lyat heard Shekina’s voice, he quickly lifted his head from the workbench. A big smile spread across his face.
“Shekina! What brings you here? I would’ve come up if you just told me!”
The cold, sharp impression he used to have was completely gone. Now, Lyat seemed like a kind fool… no, more like an uncle.
“No, I just came to take a look. How’s it going?”
“Everything is going very well!”
Shekina had asked about Lyat’s research, specifically his project to amplify magic using Black Spinel.
While there were a large number of Black Spinels containing magic, it wasn’t nearly enough for all the demons to use. So, the solution had been to amplify the magic using these crystals. Shekina had provided the idea, and Lyat took on the research.
“It’s almost done now. With this, all the demons will be satisfied.”
Lyat removed his glasses and placed his hand on Shekina’s head.
“You cute little thing. A real bundle of fortune.”
Shekina became slightly embarrassed from the over-the-top praise but soon smiled and nodded. After all, providing magi to the always-hungry demons was nothing short of a blessing.
“Sit for a moment. I’ll finish this, and then we can go out together.”
“Okay.”
Shekina sat obediently in the chair Lyat pointed to and looked around the lab. The lab, filled with all sorts of materials, looked messy at first glance, but it was impeccably organized and well-maintained, with not a speck of dust in sight.
‘This is where the homunculus were created.’
Yurian, Didi, and the twins had all been created by Lyat.
But as for Shekina?
‘She’s human.’
Shekina had managed to keep this secret so far… but what if it was found out?
What would happen if they found out that she’s human?
‘They wouldn’t show me the same affection anymore.’
She could probably be killed. They might feel completely betrayed, asking if she had been mocking them all this time.
‘But I haven’t been caught yet, so I won’t be caught from now on.’
Muttering to herself, Shekina gave a bitter smile. It felt like she was deceiving those who cared for her so dearly, and her conscience pricked at her.
‘Even if I get caught, I think it’ll be fine after two more years…’
Once she passed her 15th birthday, when the scenario had her die, her mind would likely feel at ease.
‘I’ll have to live carefully for the next two years.’
With that resolve, Shekina clenched her fist tightly. Just then, a loud sound echoed, and the door to the lab swung open. Shekina scratched her cheek as she turned toward the sound.
“There you are.”
It was Lucart, looking just the same as he had ten years ago. Shekina rolled her eyes.
“Yeah. I came to see uncle.”
Lucart scowled as he strode toward Shekina.
“What about me?”
“…What?”
“Aren’t you going to see me?”
“…. …”
Change number one: It seemed that Lucart had been coming to see her every day and was now trying to stay close to her.
‘Why is he acting like this…?’
Shekina muttered, not understanding his intentions, and shrugged.
“I was going to see uncle and then go to see you, Boss. Just wait a bit.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“…..…”
Lucart covered his mouth with his palm, but Shekina could still see the corners of his lips curling up. He was smiling.
‘Seriously, I have no idea why he’s acting like that.’
Shekina shook her head and stood up. She felt that staying longer with Lucart would interrupt Lyat, so she decided to leave.
“Should I go out since Uncle’s busy?”
“Yeah.”
Lucart grinned and lifted Shekina into his arms. Shekina was used to being held by Martin, but being carried by Lucart felt completely different, and she felt a little tense.
‘Even though I saw it in the skip, experiencing it firsthand is different.’
Shekina awkwardly wrapped her arms around Lucart’s neck. Lucart, once again grinning, lifted her up once more.
“Uncle, I’ll be with Boss, so come by when you’re done!”
“Uh, uh? Uh, yeah. Alright.”
Lyat, absorbed in his research, seemed not to notice much. Shekina chuckled softly as Lucart carried her out of the lab and up the stairs.
“What are you thinking of doing today?”
“Today?”
Shekina tilted her head.
“I was going to go see the 1st Legion, but since they’re heading to the snow mountain, I can’t. So, I was thinking of going outside.”
“Outside? You mean outside the castle?”
“Yeah. Just to take a look around.”
Lucart squinted his eyes.
“Then I’ll go with you.”
“Eh? Why? You don’t have to come with me.”
“………”
Instead of answering, Lucart pulled Shekina even tighter into his embrace, almost as if to say there was no room for refusal.
‘Ugh, I’d rather go alone.’
But it seemed wrong to insist on going alone. Shekina sighed and hugged Lucart’s neck once more. At that moment, someone suddenly peeked their head out from the top of the stairs.
The sunlight behind them made their face hard to see, but the platinum hair, as bright as the sun itself, was unmistakable. Shekina instantly recognized the person.
“Oh, lady Shekina!”
It was Dehan.
Dehan, with his slightly longer hair, flipped it back as he smiled brightly at Shekina. His beautifully shaped eyes and sparkling blue irises were so mesmerizing they almost made her dizzy.
“………”
Change number two: Dehan had become more handsome.
And that too, far beyond what he was in the past life.
