The Shaman Desires Transcendence

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After breakfast, everyone scattered into their rooms.

Jinseong returned to his room, recalling the awkward yet respectful conversation he had.

‘This is how the Lee Clan has always been.’

Treating him, someone who had merely been a rolling stone and was, in some ways, uncomfortable for both the National Defense Council and the Patriotic Group, like this was surely due to their kind hearts. Moreover, their attempts to awkwardly approach someone like him, who had been so absorbed in magic that he hadn’t built any real connections, were also a reflection of their warm spirits.

In particular, unlike Iserin, who radiated an atmosphere of awkwardness with her whole being, Iarin actively tried to embrace him as family. Just a moment ago, she had approached him, calling him “brother” over and over again.

For that reason, Jinseong hoped that Iarin would win her way to Japan.

At least he wanted to give her a gift before she went independent by leaving the mansion.

Wouldn’t that be a happy event for everyone?

Jinseong could use the two sisters to sidestep the fate that would prevent him from entering Japan, Iserin could obtain a divine object, and Iarin could gain access to advanced martial arts secrets and real combat experience.

It was a win-win situation!

But there was one problem.

‘Hmm.’

That was Iarin’s mental state.

As for Iserin, even before the rewind, she had shown no signs of trauma from having decimated Kyoto, so he didn’t worry about her suffering from PTSD. But Iarin had never stood out before the rewind.

At least, she hadn’t stood out enough to reach Jinseong’s ears. He hadn’t even heard any stories about her having a family, so she likely lived quietly like an ordinary citizen or experienced something that discouraged her from pursuing the warrior’s path.

If it were the former, what she could gain in Japan could be of great help to her, but if it were the latter, it might crush her growth entirely.

“ॐ गम गणपतये नमः.”

In his mercenary life, he had seen many like that.

Newbies who were strong, fit, and full of energy went on their first missions only to be haunted by nightmares and give up. They were physically strong, but their minds were weak, and they didn’t know how to fortify their spirits or how to put sturdy armor on a fragile psyche.

Spirit.

Great spirit.

It was a chain of events born simply from not recognizing its importance.

No matter how important the body may be, that importance is limited to life itself. A well-trained body is meaningless if one practices a third-rate martial art that they can’t use effectively, and even if someone is born with a long lifespan, a lazy mind reduces their life to nothing more than a meat chunk.

The spirit enables a sick body to move beyond its limitations, and while it cannot resist the lifespan that approaches with every moment, it allows the body to continue functioning until the end of days.

Even now, Jinseong moved a body that was no different from a corpse, fueled solely by his spirit—his pure spirit.

When one desires something in their heart and truly wishes for it, the spirit naturally becomes fortified.

“ॐ गम गणपतये नमः.”

Which side is Iarin on?

Can she refine her spirit into one like Jinseong’s?

Or is she living with a mind addressed by armor like Iserin?

“ॐ गम गणपतये नमः.”

Jinseong recalled the past.

The moment he took off from the mansion, eager to escape the shackles of a future that bound them.

At that time, he had nothing and was too busy fending for himself to give even a single gift. After that, he pursued transcendence relentlessly, only to later immolate himself with magic.

What would happen in this newly gained life?

One could only speculate about the future since it had changed, and he had obtained abilities.

He ought to prepare a gift or two.

Iarin must receive a gift.

Even if it were impossible for her to receive one, wouldn’t it be enough if he solved that problem?

Creating an opportunity for her to receive a gift would itself be a gift.

However, since a gift must be something desired, it would be necessary to find out what exactly Iarin wished for.

Not the wishes that slipped from her lips, nor the desires that emanated from her eyes, but rather the true wish that resided in her heart.

To do that, he would need to extract a bit more information.

The more cards in his hand, the better the situation; information accumulates in value.

‘Truly, it is formless gold.’

Creak!

* * *

As soon as Iserin stepped out of the restaurant, she said to Iarin.

“I think it’s better not to go to Japan.”

“What?”

Iarin turned to her sister at the abrupt statement void of context. However, Iserin looked her in the eye with a serious expression beneath dark circles and repeated herself.

“Let’s go somewhere else instead of Japan.”

Iarin was about to ask what she meant by that, but upon realizing her sister’s expression was more serious than she anticipated, she asked something else.

“Why?”

It was a more fundamental question than what she originally intended to ask.

Iserin paused, unsure of what to say, before pulling her into her room and sitting her on the bed. Her thin arm had no chance of pulling Iarin along, who was well-trained, yet Iarin was swept away, almost entranced.

Was it instinct, or was it the power of the demon Iserin had contracted?

After forcibly seating Iarin on the bed, Iserin opened her mouth.

“Iarin, listen carefully. The demon said there’s a secret hidden deep inside somewhere, but it doesn’t know what it is. It smells like sunlight covered in straw and iron….”

“Sunlight? Iron?”

Iarin scratched her head while looking at Iserin.

“No, I mean… ha… can’t you explain it more simply? I don’t know that kind of symbolism~.”

“Ignorant Iarin.”

“What?!”

Iserin spat the words out as casually as breathing.

“Straw is a blessing and incredibly useful. In other words, it means a beneficial form that can change shape. When fed to livestock, it becomes prey, and when twisted, it can form straw shoes or a simple rope. It can be burned for firewood, or it can fill clothes to form the body of a scarecrow.”

“Oh~.”

“Not ‘oh’ but… shouldn’t you show a better reaction? Didn’t we learn this in the first year of liberal arts?”

“Oh, I didn’t know there was such a thing.”

“That’s not the point…. Don’t you remember life and symbolism?”

While Iserin’s face was shocked, Iarin smiled brightly.

“I don’t know. I slept through first year all the time?”

At that innocent remark, Iserin abandoned the idea of giving a detailed explanation.

“I’ll just put it roughly… it can benefit us, but it doesn’t seem like it’ll only be beneficial…. Something like that.”

“If it’s beneficial, then that’s all that matters~ What does it mean that it might not be beneficial?”

‘Those who practice martial arts are really smart… Why is Iarin…?’

Could it be a problem with the martial arts itself?

Was it a side effect of learning martial skills through instinct and sense?

Iserin sighed at Iarin’s naïve brain, which wouldn’t think beyond one dimension.

‘Sometimes, she seems more like a simple beast than a person….’

[ Isn’t that cute? Often a simple being receives more affection than an unnecessarily cunning one. ]

Straw.

Sunlight.

Iron.

Iserin ignored the demon calling out that it was adorable and engraved those three words in her mind.

‘In exchange for gaining something, one must pay for it…? In exchange for gaining something, one must face a crisis? What could it be….’

Iserin pondered over the meaning behind the demon’s words about ‘the smell of secrets Jinseong hides,’ what Jinseong had referred to as ‘good information,’ and how to uncover that ‘good information.’

She thought about wanting to figure all of it out.

At the same time, there was also a thought that maybe it would be better to let it pass without knowing.

‘If we go to Japan together, I could find out… but the smell of secrets feels icky… not knowing makes me curious, however….’

But then she shook her head and looked at Iarin, who was rolling around on her bed.

‘The country that appears from the spinning wheel… right. No matter what country it is, I can go along….’

* * *

Straw refers to a beneficial form of diversification.

For those who lived off the earth, straw was both a gift and a material. It could serve as a dwelling, function as shoes, and could be bound and intertwined to create a bag. When firewood was unavailable, it could ignite to make fire, and it was an essential item for brewing, with ash being usable for various things—a truly convenient object.

However, this usefulness implies an innate connotation of being ‘beneficial to humans.’ The symbolism certainly involves ‘humans.’

Beneficial to humans.
Beneficial things.
Things that can change.
Yet beneficial to humans.

Though its form may continually fluctuate, its essence ought to remain beneficial to people, regardless of what form it takes.

“ᄉᆡᄫᆞᆯ ᄇᆞᆯ긔 ᄃᆞ래 밤드리 노니다가 드러ᅀᅡ 자리 보곤 가ᄅᆞ리 네히어라. 가ᄅᆞ리 네히어라. 가ᄅᆞ리 네히어라.”

Straw can be anything.

As long as it is something that benefits people, it can take on a form imbued with magical meaning. It truly is an easy-to-use and good item.

Thus, the tightly woven and bound shape made purely of straw stood before Jinseong.

It was the silhouette of a person, flickering in the bright torchlight.

This is called Jeoong.

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