“You are now of age to be treated as adults in the saga. Both of you have even reached the peak of your abilities, so I see no need to keep you bound to the volcano any longer for being young.”

He then picked up a letter that seemed to have been prepared next to him and handed it over.

“Read it.”

I clumsily grabbed the letter presented before me.

‘…Am I leaving?’

Out of the volcano?

I hesitated. I had opened my eyes in my 12-year-old body after ‘Ha Hyun’ came to the volcano, and since then, I had never stepped outside of Hwa Eum Hyun.

I can count the times I’ve been down to Hwa Eum Hyun on both hands. I never ventured out without my master, Ha Hyun, or the servants.

The place where ‘Ha Hyun’ encountered the curse was a street in Hwa Eum Hyun. Seeing that scene during the process of breaking the curse on me left an unshakeable discomfort.

‘No proper information has been found regarding the demonic cult either.’

In fact, shortly after breaking the curse five years ago, Jang Moon In and Je Moon Gak Ju sent a letter to Mu Rim Maeng, under the name of the volcano sect, requesting an investigation related to the annihilation of the Baek clan.

Mu Rim Maeng did not ignore the request and resumed the pending investigation.

However, then resistance arose from Gon Ryun Pa, the closest sect to Shin Kang. The demonic cult has been in hiding for a hundred years, but their base still exists firmly in Shin Kang.

Already living in close proximity and on guard, there was a tearful protest not to provoke the demonic cult excessively.

‘After all, I, the only survivor of the Baek clan, didn’t even know if there were elements likely to link my family to the demonic cult.’

Even Jang Moon In, who had requested the investigation, worried that I, having undergone traumatic experiences, would be further shocked. He even refused the dispatch of Mu Rim Maeng members who intended to investigate me, the only survivor.

‘Although my master did visit…’

There was no way a proper investigation could be conducted in the first place.

For various reasons, it was more comfortable not to venture outside. If anything was needed, Ha Hyun or the servants could go, so there was no particular inconvenience.

‘I can’t keep avoiding the outside world forever…’

No, still.

I wanted to continue like this at least for this year.
“My 8 months.”

I felt unprepared for the significant event that had confronted me. That’s why I hesitated to unfold the letter I held in my hand.

I briefly hesitated, intending to give Ha Hyun the first chance to read it. But before I could do that, Ha Hyun leaned toward me. Our shoulders lightly touched, and he mumbled in his unique tone.

“Let’s look together.”

I was at a loss for words. His eyes rolled slightly as if asking why I hadn’t opened the letter yet.

Well, he seemed surprisingly comfortable with closing the distance between us.

“If only he didn’t look that way.”

Eventually, I slowly unfolded the letter.

As a letter addressed to Jang Moon In, the sentences were filled with propriety and flowed one after another. Since things had come to this, I first put away my unwilling feelings and proceeded to check the content of the letter calmly and unhurriedly.

In summary, this was the story.

“The person who sent the letter is Sung Hong Min. The current head of the Sung Chang trading group. All of his children are bedridden due to an unknown illness. Various medicines have been tried, physicians were consulted, but to no avail. The most recently visited physician had some connections with Kang Ho and suggested trying another approach…”

At this point in the story, ordinary commoners usually think, ‘Another approach? Could it be the work of ghosts or goblins?’

“Given the times.”

However, the person who wrote this letter knew that most unexplained misfortunes usually stem from cursed spells. He had suspected as much even before the physician suggested it.

He was even well aware that Hwasan’s Jemungak often received requests to deal with such issues. It wasn’t just a matter of ‘there’s a ghost, please get rid of it.’

The letter concluded with a plea: ‘Unable to overcome this peculiar curse, we request assistance from Hwasan. Please do not turn a blind eye and investigate.’

Once I finished reading, I looked back at Jang Moon In. He calmly began to explain as he took back the letter.

“The sender is the head of the Sung Chang trading group.”

“Sung Chang trading group…”

It felt like a name I had heard before. As I tilted my head, Jang Moon In gently smiled.

“They’re a trading group that deals with Hwasan in medicinal herbs. Given that both parties’ ambassadors are pharmacists, perhaps you’ve heard of them.”

Ah, that’s why.