“Egg.”

At Olga’s words, Eustar’s gaze shifted slightly. His shoulder still ached from having recently popped it back into place after it had dislocated.

“What did you say, Olga?”

“I said egg. There was an egg.”

Eustar furrowed his brow.

“An egg of that monster? Where?”

Olga picked up a pen, scribbled something on paper, and said:

“Right after the monster died and the sink disappeared, I ordered the team members to search the riverbed. As you saw, that monster seemed to have a strange obsession with the sink, right? In the end, that’s how it got taken down.”

“That’s right.”

Eustar felt the sensation of blasting it away spreading from his fingertips throughout his entire body.

For a moment, his whole body went numb, his nerves screamed, and his bones felt dislocated… He recalled the tingling sensation as if a powerful current was flowing along his spine.

“So?”

When Eustar asked, Olga put down her pen and leaned back in her chair.

“So we looked, and there was an egg. There were two of them, and the team members said they were damn heavy.”

The expression ‘damn’ was probably Olga’s words, not the team members’, but it didn’t matter anyway. Eustar stroked his chin with an interested expression.

“Did you bring them here?”

“Just one. One was broken. It hadn’t formed an embryo yet. I’m not sure what will happen to the other one, but for now, it’s under investigation. If an embryo forms inside, we might be able to better understand the identity of the monster that came here through the sink, or rather…”

Olga’s eyes blinked a couple of times.

“The monster that came here through the sink, from who knows where.”

“What if it doesn’t form?”

At Eustar’s question, Olga shrugged.

“Well then, we’ll just make a giant omelet. Can’t guarantee how it’ll taste though.”

Eustar fiddled with the cloth tightly binding his shoulder before undoing the knot. It had been tied to prevent much movement, as the pain was expected to last for an hour or two, but it didn’t seem to be helping much anyway.

As he unwrapped the bandage, Eustar raised an eyebrow.

“Wait a minute, how did it lay eggs? There was only one, right? Are you sure there was just one?”

Olga snorted.

“Maybe it was hermaphroditic. That’s common, you know.”

Eustar tilted his head and chuckled.

“Well, Olga. It might have been common where you came from, but it’s not so common here.”

“Snails are hermaphrodites too, you idiot. And leeches.”

He noticed her tone becoming sharp, but Eustar just smiled and put down the bandage. He was relaxed, having anticipated such a reaction from her when he brought it up.

Eustar said:

“It’s kind of terrifying to think that if all those eggs hatched and grew up safely.”

Ha! A sound erupted. It was Olga bursting into laughter. It was a sharp, loud sound like that of a child.

“I felt something similar when you ran towards the river. That ‘terrifying’ feeling, I mean. Oh, I thought, finally this guy is giving up and going to die.”

“Why would I die? And can’t you use more refined language? You’re old enough.”

This time, Olga stared at Eustar with a face flushed with anger right up to her hairline. If she had had something like a club in her hand, she looked ready to swing it at his shoulder—the injured one—right then and there.

However, that intensity didn’t last long. Olga, who had been glaring with murderous intent, blinked and shook her head.

“I’m old enough to use my mouth however I want, aren’t I? It’s frustrating, really.”

Eustar put on the shirt he had taken off and pulled his long hair out from under the collar. His hair, almost white in color, scattered messily before neatly coming together. He roughly combed his hair with his fingers as he picked up his jacket.

“Are you going back?”

Olga asked. She was now holding a cup filled with coffee.

“I have to. There are headache-inducing matters elsewhere too, you know.”

Olga took a sip of coffee without taking her eyes off him, then smacked her lips.

Whenever Eustar saw her gulping down coffee like that, he would think, ‘Is it okay for someone so young to drink coffee like this?’

Of course, it was just a thought. Olga was by no means young, and if he said such a thing, she might pour the coffee over his face.

Olga, who had been staring at him blankly, lowered her gaze to her coffee.

“Is it about Ord?”

A faint smile appeared on Eustar’s lips.

“Well, you could say that, or you could say it’s not. Elder brother…”

A moment of silence passed. Olga exercised patience—rare for her—and waited for about a minute without rushing him.

Finally, Eustar looked at her.

“Elder brother is trying to marry me off to Laila.”

At that moment, coffee spurted out from between Olga’s lips. Not only did it stain the floor, but it also left dark spots on her pristine white coat. However, the stains were the least of Olga’s concerns. At least for now.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Who are you asking? Me? Or elder brother?”

“Both. No, Ord first. Go and ask him. It doesn’t seem like he’s in his right mind at all, ask if he’s gone crazy.”

Despite her blatant criticism, Eustar just chuckled without trying to stop her.

Olga continued. She had already carelessly put down the cup she was holding on the table.

“Marrying off his only brother to a witch? That’s some guts. Who’s he got a grudge against? You? Or that young witch?”

Eustar slowly shook his head.

“It’s not like that. Neither… It’s not about either of us. Elder brother is…”

He started to say something but stopped and slowly shook his head. Now was not the time to talk about Ord. To anyone… To anyone at all.

Not even to Laila.

“Anyway, just know that. When it’s over, I’ll announce it anyway… To the other directors too. To other members as well, if necessary.”

Olga looked at him once again as if she couldn’t believe it. But as if she no longer wanted to intervene, she turned away, waving her hand.

“Do as you please. Whether you get married or divorced. But you’d better listen to my advice. There’s nothing good about marrying a witch. Witches aren’t meant for marriage in the first place. They don’t need love either. You know why, right?”

“I know.”

Eustar, who had answered briefly, chuckled.

“There are probably few people who know it better than I do. Don’t you think?”

“What does that young witch say? Does she want to marry you?”

Eustar’s shoulders shrugged lightly.

“Well, even if she says no, she’ll soon come to like it, won’t she?”

After speaking sarcastically, Olga quickly took off her stained coat and threw it aside.

The thin arms revealed under the short sleeves looked white and unblemished like those of an ordinary girl, but upon closer inspection, they were not. Along her elbows were countless tiny dots as if pricked by needles, and they continued in a straight line down to her wrists.

Eustar stared blankly at the faint dots on her arms. Olga, who had put on a clean new coat from the cabinet, turned to face him.

“Did you tell her it’s cheating?”

“Cheating?”

Olga rolled her eyes with a displeased expression.

“I’m asking if you told that young witch that what you’re doing now is cheating. You understood what I meant, why are you acting like this?”

As she said this, Olga tilted her head as if to emphasize the word ‘cheating’. She always had a sulky expression, but now she looked even more angry. No, rather than being angry, she seemed to want to rebuke and scold Eustar.

Eustar replied:

“If I tell her, it’s no longer cheating, right?”

Making a loud clicking sound with her tongue, Olga spat out:

“Get out.”

“Are you going to send a wedding gift?”

“I’ll send you an omelet made from the monster’s egg, have that for breakfast.”

When Eustar came out, Laila was waiting with her hands clasped together like an anxious person. Seeing that he was fine, her complexion improved somewhat, but she still didn’t look comfortable.

“Are you alright, Laila?”

When he asked with a slight smile, Laila nodded, softening her expression a bit more.

“Let’s go back.”

“To the palace?”

“Of course. Or is there somewhere else you want to go?”

Laila shook her head with a puzzled expression. Eustar naturally put his arm around her shoulders and led her to the portal.

“How was it? The monster is different from ghosts, isn’t it?”

Laila’s shoulders stiffened slightly. It seemed that the tension and fear she hadn’t felt in the urgent situation were now rushing in.

“Very… different. Very much so.”

Laila, who had answered carefully, nodded and added:

“It was different from the monsters I knew about too. I mean, the ones in books. Mother had a book like that.”

“It would be, Laila. It would be different. But you need to get used to it.”

Laila’s lips closed quietly. Eustar glanced at her side profile, with her gaze slightly lowered, and spoke in a low voice as if to comfort her:

“Don’t worry. I won’t make you do anything as dangerous as what I did earlier.”

Laila looked up at Eustar. There was a question in her red eyes. As if asking, ‘Why?’

Eustar tilted his head slightly towards Laila with a grinning face. His long hair fell forward, touching Laila’s cheek.

“What’s with this look, Laila? Did you think I was going to ask you to launch a giant monster into the sky?”

He exchanged a nod with the team member adjusting the portal coordinates, then took Laila’s hand and stepped onto the portal.

Laila said:

“It’s not that, I… Anyway, I’m supposed to be of help to you, right? That’s why you sought me out. But the problem is that my abilities fall short.”

“Your abilities?”

Eustar lowered his gaze and smiled gently.

“That’s precisely what you don’t need to worry about.”

A short sound was heard as the coordinates were entered. To Laila, it sounded like ringing in her ears.

“Preparation for transfer is complete.”

When the team member spoke, Eustar lowered the arm that was around Laila’s shoulders and took her hand. With a humming sound, she felt her entire body turning into fine particles and scattering.

“Get plenty of rest when we get back.”

Laila looked up at Eustar.

“Because from tomorrow, things will get busy.”

“What…”

Her words didn’t get to finish. As the portal activated, there was a flash before her eyes, and her entire body turned to dust and floated up into the air.