I wasnt well-versed in the supernatural, and she didnt have a particularly good sense or talent in magic.

But right now, Aedis was acting suspiciously.

His face was much like that of a villains, and it certainly wasnt normal for him to stand up and kick the air.

He even seemed to be muttering something to himself.

If you dont have a hobby of kicking something in the air, whats there?

I had already noticed that there was something invisible near because of the sledding accident.

In my opinion, Aedis was not an ordinary person, so it wouldnt be strange if he could see the invisible object very well.

Aedis reluctantly raised his head. He saw my white cheeks turn red from the cold.

With a little more force, he would be able to completely destroy the stone statue.

However, the eyes engraved with the starlight of the spring were looking at him so purely.

Power ran out of his feet. Aedis, taking a breath, raised his hand instead of answering.

With one gesture full of annoyance, his camouflage was broken, and a stone statue was revealed.

You! You recognized me! Paimon cried with excitement, and I opened my eyes wide.

This, I saw this from the bell tower-

Heuk! After all, Im not meant to die here -

Quiet, Aedis commanded.

What?

In response to his unexpected warning, my mouth turned into a triangle.

I, who couldnt hear the talkative voice while the spirit was sealed in, was stained with absurdity.

Although Aedis was talking to Paimon, he quickly noticed his own mistake.

No, I wasnt talking to my wife.

I will explain from the beginning.

***

Once upon a time

So about 500 years ago.

It was said that there was a spirit who served as king in Eire Forest.

It was a huge dragon-type spirit that trampled and killed, and he hated humans very much.

When humans entered the forest, the spirit scared them away or drove them into the habitat of beasts, saying that there was gold out there.

Although the spirit did not directly murder, it incentivized people to die.

Eire Forest was also an important place for humans.

Eventually, the first Grand Duke came out, and the spirit was sealed with his men.

This spirit was still trapped in a gargoyle statue 500 years later.

Wow, then you are saying that I made a wish to the spirit king?

Although he was more like a local gangster than a king.

Oh. Aedis seemed to know what the spirit was like before it was sealed.

Have you two met before? Did you say you were with the First Grand Duke when he sealed him?

Because it was a long time ago, I dont remember any details other than me being pathetically stupid.

You seem to remember it very clearly

Still, I respected Aediss intention to say nothing, so I nodded.

Aedis continued to explain with an uncomfortable face.

Anyway, when the first Grand Duke sealed the spirit, it took considerable effort, but it seemed that there was still a gap.

The spirit was able to use some of his abilities even while trapped in a stone statue.

Thanks to this, for 500 years, the statue had been moving and getting down the bell tower.

Just before the spirit was able to escape the bell tower and unseal itself, it was caught by Aedis.

This time, I had to dig for more information.

How do you know you cant remember.

It makes a lot of sense.

Aediss eyes were annoyingly crumpled.

As I couldnt hear anything, I could only guess.

Was the sealed spirit pouring out all the words it had not been able to say to Aedis?

Well, even though it ended in failure, it might be possible to escape twice from Aedis if youve been obsessed with trying to escape for 500 years.

But why the stairs? Dragons have wings, and a stone gargoyle statue has wings.

If you had the energy to dream of escaping for centuries, wouldnt you be able to move your wings?

Were there any circumstances I didnt know?

Going down the stairs, it seemed impossible to escape by flying for any reason, right? Its inefficient.

Suddenly, Aedis became quiet.

Whats wrong?

I didnt think of that.

Wait, what.

The original spirit is a little stupid, no, is it simple?

Without knowing it, my thoughts popped out.

Have you forgotten my wish already? No, its just that youre strong right?

Its not that hes simple, but because hes deeply thoughtful and cunning, deliberately committed himself to ascetic so as not to forget the shame of the day. I dont know why I should convey this word.

HuhWhat do you mean?

I squatted in front of a stone statue that showed me a sample of the saying that if your brain is bad, the body suffers too.

Then Aedis, who hadnt been able to give up on destroying the statue, had no choice but to step on it.

The stone statue, whose camouflage was lifted, looked pitifully miserable.

I could see that the statue I saw at the bell tower still looked like a dragon, but now it was like a strange-looking stone.

In addition, there were footprints showing how hard Aedis had stepped on it.

It was not pudding, but a stone statue.

The condition is not very good.

Of course.

Aedis seemed to agree with a completely different meaning.

He tilted his head as if his eardrum was tingly.

Is it still talking?

Hes working very hard.

I put together the information that Aedis gave me.

It seemed that the spirit had a lot of abilities, had a large body, had a bad brain, and had a lot to say.

Oh, I didnt like it.

I asked Aedis, feeling the illusion of the spirits shattering.

What is it talking about now?

Because he is of no use to this world, he says he will die soon.

I pondered for a moment about the true meaning of the interpretation overflowing with evil intentions.

I didnt have much time to hesitate.

We have to take it to the castle. Its a precious spirit who will grant my wish, so I cant let it die like this.

There is also a way to return it to the bell tower.

But I think it wont last long in this state.

It wont be able to grant my wifes wish anyway while trapped in a stone statue.

I stopped stretching my squatted legs and paused.

My empty wish would be rejected.

Aedis was also next to me, so I knew how absurd the wish was.

By the way

Is it possible if the seal is released?

I gently looked at Aedis, who was caught in my trick.

Then a very reluctant answer came back.

Maybe, yes.

Hmm.

I cant guarantee it.

Hmm.

Eventually, Aedis gave up.

Dont touch it because Ill move it.

But before Aedis even lifted the statue, the torso was split into several pieces.

Ugh, I think its really going to die. How can it be fixed?

Do you want some glue?

At the suggestion, Aedis became cold.

Do you hate it because it talks too much or you just dont like it? Did Mr. Spirit harass you in the past?

Aedis started by pointing out the honorific title and said.

Its not Mr. Spirit, its Paimon. It has nothing to do with me, but it could have taken your life from the bell tower at that time, Eve. They gave up because of me, but I dont know if it still feels the same way.

I glanced at Aedis.

Aedis had a face saying that if I called him Mr. Spirit one more time, he would break it into fine sand.

Thats interesting? He doesnt feel it.

You said he hates humans?

Aedis laughed coldly.

Its because youre the first creature it met in 500 years. Even though my wife is a human, hes still attached to her.

Aedis, theres sarcasm in your tone.

Its an illusion.

I didnt think it was an illusion.

I narrowed my eyes, but a cold wind blew past me.

Ugh, it was cold.

It was getting unbearably cold even with a sphere filled with embers.

Aedis immediately noticed my condition.

Lets go back to the castle.

Agreed.

I looked around.

Procyon and Regen went too far to be seen.

It seems that he has already completely forgotten about the collision.

What about Mr. Paimon?

Dont call it that way, Eve. Its not worth it.

Aedis shook his hand as if brushing off the dust.

Then, the stone fragments scattered in the snow moved back and forth as if tied to a thread and stuck to the stone statue.