Chapter 780: PAID

Childhood Friend of the ZenithWords: 2434

Chirrrp.

Chirrrp.

The sound of insects crying out was unusually clear tonight.

It felt like it had just been daytime moments ago, yet the moon was already high in the sky.

Under that moonlight, I was climbing a mountain path.

The faint scent of grass and the crisp autumn breeze should have made me feel better.

But—

“Whew…”

The expression on my face as I walked wasn’t exactly pleasant.

How could it be?

‘I’m dead tired.’

It felt like I’d spent the whole day caught in a typhoon.

I hadn’t actually done much, but the circumstances left me so exhausted I could barely stand it.

I’d planned to get so many things done today, but all I’d accomplished was attending a funeral and consuming the White Demon Stone.

Nothing else on my agenda had been checked off.

Was it because I didn’t have enough time? No.

There was only one reason for that.

After walking for a while, I spotted a clearing I’d scouted earlier.

It was far from Hanan, surrounded by steep and rugged terrain, making it a place rarely visited.

After briefly scanning my surroundings, I swung my arm and threw the thing I’d been carrying.

“Ugh!”

A short scream rang out as something hit the ground.

Whirrr—!

“…Huh?”

What followed made me chuckle in disbelief.

The thing that had been tossed through the air spun in mid-fall but stopped before touching the ground, hovering as if defying gravity.

It was the little pest who had been giving me a headache since earlier today.

A brat that looked just like my younger self.

After finishing my conversation with Madam Mi, I immediately grabbed this brat and dragged him up the mountain.

When I snatched him up earlier, he let out a disappointed whimper, but I didn’t have time to care about that.

There were too many things I needed to figure out.

“You can fly?”

Even if he looked human, it made sense that he could still fly since he used to have wings.

As I stared at him in fascination, the brat responded.

“Caw…”

‘Caw?’

“C-Caw! You scared the hell out of me—!!”

“…Hmm?”

I widened my eyes at the sudden outburst.

What the hell?

“Why’d you throw me like that?! What if I got hurt?!”

“What the hell are you?”

What was with this brat?

“You sure talk a lot.”

Just earlier, he’d been stuttering and acting like a clueless, innocent kid.

But now?n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

His words were clear, and even his eyes had gained focus.

In other words—