Bad News

"Uncle Anrui, what is it?"

Linsey and Anna went to the second floor of the manor and pushed open the door.

Anrui was sitting in his study.

The lord faced the door, leaning back in his chair with one hand supporting his head and his eyes tightly shut. Even the wind blowing in through the window behind him failed to smooth the deep furrow between his brows.

The lord seemed to be pondering something that troubled him greatly.

Even Linsey's question failed to pull him out of his thoughts.

Something was very wrong.

Anrui was usually straightforward and decisive. If he had something to say, he preferred to go directly to the clearing by the forest and speak face-to-face. He would not summon someone to his study on the second floor, much less sit in a chair agonizing over it. "Dad?"

Anna stepped forward and tapped the Fir Wood desk.

"We're here. What exactly is it?"

"..."

Called by his daughter, Anrui opened his eyes.

But he still did not explain immediately.

He lowered his hand from his chin and clasped both hands together, adopting a posture that even he found awkward.

At last, Anrui's troubled gaze fell on Linsey.

"Linsey, I heard that Finn asked you to find Red Moon the day before yesterday and obtain the cultivation method for Merchant's Source Material?"

Linsey nodded.

"That's right. Is there a problem with that?"

Anrui shook his head first, then nodded again.

"There's certainly no problem with that. What I mean is, do you truly understand the cultivation method for Merchant's Source Material?"

A sense of foreboding rose in Linsey's heart.

Anrui's uncharacteristic hesitation, and the roundabout way he spoke of even a single matter, both suggested that this was no ordinary situation.

"Nun explained Merchant's Source Material to me." Linsey spoke directly, hoping to get the truth. "Uncle Anrui, just say whatever it is. Why be so awkward about it?"

"..."

Anrui looked out the window, then at the sparse bookshelves in the study.

Then he made up his mind and spoke to Linsey.

"I also know about Finn's situation."

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are simply part of life. I can understand that."

"But you need to know that even if an Awakened who has lived for decades cultivates Source Material other than Life Source Material like ours, after such a long time, that power becomes closely tied to his body. If someone already near death suddenly extracts his Source Material..."

"!"

At those words, Linsey's vision immediately went dark.

He already realized what Anrui was trying to say, but he still clung to a sliver of hope.

"I... sorry, Uncle Anrui. I need to go over there first. Excuse me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Linsey did not bother with any polite farewell.

He turned and ran out of the study, leaving Anrui's Lord's Manor in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, Anna looked at her father as well, her voice trembling with anxiety.

"Father, what happened to Grandpa Finn?"

It was easier for Anrui to explain it to Anna.

He let out a breath and explained sorrowfully, "Finn obtained the cultivation method for Merchant's Source Material the day before yesterday, so he tried it yesterday, and by evening, he had already..."

Meanwhile, Linsey sprinted through town.

Villagers who knew him greeted him as usual, but Linsey had no time to respond. He only lowered his head and rushed onward.

The sights of the town flew past on either side of his vision.

But his eyes saw only the southern side of town, where Finn lived.

With a human-limit speed of 12 points, Linsey's figure swept across the ground like a gust of wind.

Yet the route that normally passed in an instant

felt especially slow today, even as he ran faster than ever, as though the passage of time itself had been stretched out.

After an unknown length of time, Linsey arrived at Finn's wooden cabin.

He braced both hands on his knees. Though more than half his stamina bar remained, he was panting heavily.

His gaze fell on the familiar wooden cottage before him.

Time seemed to freeze.

The small wooden door was tightly shut. From the outside, everything looked exactly as it had before; even the leaves on the vines climbing the walls had not yet fallen away completely.

But having reached this place, every step Linsey took became more difficult.

It took him a full five minutes to walk from the courtyard fence to the cottage door. Then he raised his hand and knocked.

Bang, bang, bang—

"Teacher, are you home?"

Linsey asked cautiously.

Amid his unease and anxiety, he waited several seconds before a low female voice sounded from inside.

"Linsey, come in."

—It was Red Moon.

Linsey's godmother, a Nun of the School of Death.

Normally, Linsey would never have disliked the sound of his godmother's voice.

But upon hearing Red Moon's response, his heart sank. He would rather it had not been her voice.

Red Moon appearing here of her own accord could only mean one thing—death.

Linsey raised his hand and pushed open the door, trembling.

He saw Red Moon sitting hunched over in a chair in the front room.

And Finn, who would usually have been resting there, now lay on the bed beside Red Moon.

"..."

Numbly, Linsey walked up to Red Moon. Looking at Finn lying peacefully on the bed, he asked, "Teacher Finn, he..."

Red Moon spoke in her usual calm, even voice. "He has left."

Linsey stepped forward and took Finn's hand.

His botany teacher's large, rough hands had already lost their warmth.

Lowering his head, Linsey buried his face in those cold hands.

His thoughts were in turmoil. He felt helpless, and countless memories rose to mind.

Finn's guidance. The joy on his face when he discovered how quickly Linsey learned languages. His earnest seriousness when discussing matters related to life. His cautious attention to Crops at all times.

All the little moments of their life together gathered in this instant, forming Finn's image in Linsey's heart.

And then, despite himself, he thought—

If he had not immediately given Finn the cultivation method for Merchant's Source Material, could this old man have lived a little longer? Linsey knew it had been Finn's choice.

But he still could not help blaming himself.

Over the past three years, Linsey had assisted Red Moon with the burial rites of many people. He had thought he could face death calmly.

But now, with the death of a teacher he knew so well, he realized how terribly wrong he had been.

Just as Linsey's thoughts descended into chaos and he became completely lost, even visions of Anville and his family beginning to surface before his eyes, a warm hand stroked his back. "Finn told me many things."

"Linsey, he was very grateful for your appearance, and very happy that you were willing to learn his knowledge."

"Finn also specifically asked me to pass on a message to you: death was his own choice. Do not feel guilty or blame yourself because of it."

"..."

Linsey's body began to shake with silent sobs.

Red Moon said nothing more.

His godmother merely soothed Linsey's grief with calm gentleness.

Once Linsey had wiped away his tears and stood again, Red Moon spoke once more. "He said he left something for you. It's in the Glass Greenhouse behind the house."

"Linsey, go take a look."

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