The Missing Boy and the Magical Accessories

“Theo! Where are you, Theo!”

Sian burst out of the room and shouted desperately. Realizing that Theodore wasn’t around, Sian followed his trail.

However, nothing could be felt inside the mansion.

‘Where did he go?’ Sian anxiously searched the surroundings. He thought it would be easy to find Theodore’s aura because it was unique.

“……!”

But no matter how much he searched, Theodore’s aura couldn’t be felt.

It was strange that nothing could be felt. Sian’s face contorted.

“Sian-nim, what is it?”

“Theodore is gone.”

“That little brat?”

Kali, frowning, thought nothing of it. It would be better for Kali if that arrogant little brat disappeared like this.

Unlike Sian, whose face had turned pale, Kali was just nonchalant.

“Well, he’s probably somewhere.”

“He wasn’t in the garden either. He went outside.”

“He probably went out on his own. Why would you want to find him?”

Kali was still wary of Theodore. It wasn’t just because the little brat was human.

Even though he seemed like a pure, innocent child, he felt a certain indescribable unpleasantness whenever he met him.

But he couldn’t tell Sian all of those feelings. It was because Sian was unusually protective of the little brat.

Whether he was wearing rose-tinted glasses, or whether he really couldn’t feel anything.

He was just acting like a fool in love. And it was the same now.

“I have to go find him. It would be a disaster if he runs into a magical beast.”

“Sian-nim!”

Sian, muttering while looking out at the murky forest outside the window, immediately jumped up and ran off. Kali couldn’t even follow Sian’s movements with his eyes.

Kali stopped in the middle of the hallway, calling out Sian’s name. Alone, he clenched his fist tightly.

‘I feel a faint aura over there.’

Sian, who went outside the mansion, continued to run, searching for Theodore’s aura.

The surrounding scenery changed rapidly. The further he got from the mansion, the paler Sian’s face became.

‘He came out further than he thought.’ This was already a territory of magical beasts. If Theodore was here, perhaps already….

‘No. Don’t think ahead of yourself.’

Sian shook his head. He seemed to be gradually losing his ability to think normally because he was so worried.

Theodore’s bloodstained appearance kept popping up in his mind.

But Theodore was the protagonist of this novel. He couldn’t die so easily.

Sian tried to calm down and brushed away the bushes that were blocking his path. Soon, he saw something black.

“……Theo!”

A giant magical beast was opening its mouth towards Theodore.

Its sharply shining teeth seemed as though they would tear apart the small, fragile child at any moment.

Sian reached out without thinking ahead. Black magic was fired from his hand.

“Kroah!”

The magical beast’s body was split in half. The green blood that gushed out from the magical beast’s body splattered all over Theodore’s body. Theodore, who was staring blankly at the magical beast, turned his head.

“Theo! Are you alright?”

“……”

“Theo?”

Sian knelt down to meet Theodore’s eyes. However, the golden eyes that always sparkled like the sun were darkly sunken.

Sian raised his hand and shook Theodore’s shoulder.

“Theo! Snap out of it, Theo!”

“Ah….”

Only then did the focus in Theodore’s eyes return a little. Theodore’s bright eyes turned towards Sian.

“Teacher?”

“Haa….”

Only then did Sian finally let out a sigh of relief. Sian, who had been suffering all sorts of terrible imaginations until he found Theodore, finally released the tension in his body.

It felt as if the energy in his entire body had drained out at once.

“Why am I here….”

“Are you alright? Is there any place that hurts?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

Fortunately, Theodore was fine without any major injuries. He had only scuffed his feet a little, probably because he had wandered in the forest without wearing shoes. Sian, carefully examining Theodore’s muddy feet, asked,

“Why are you in a place like this? I told you to look after the house, right?”

“Well… I don’t remember.”

“What?”

“I also don’t know why I’m here.”

“You don’t… remember?”

The last thing Theodore remembered was before he took a nap after reviewing the magic theory that Sian taught him in the room.

He had eaten too much dessert, and he felt sleepy even though it was daytime.

So, he had just laid on the bed for a moment, and then fell asleep.

But why was he in this forest, which he had never seen before, when he opened his eyes? Theodore was just bewildered.

Theodore really had no idea. There was no reason for him to lie, so Sian became even more confused.

Judging by the fact that he wasn’t wearing shoes, he must have come out from inside the room, but did he walk all the way here, a considerable distance from the mansion, as if he was a sleepwalker?

In a state where he didn’t even remember?

“Ugh.”

A sharp pain suddenly struck him. Sian furrowed his brows at the sudden headache. Soon, a certain memory began to surface in his mind.

“Please… save… me. Please…”

“Strange. This kid has a power that attracts magical beasts.”

It was the young Theodore and Drake in the original novel. It was a scenery similar to the forest where Sian and Theodore were now.

But the appearance of the young Theodore and Drake in the original work was very different from now.

Theodore in the memory was a mess. His wounds were much more numerous than when he was first discovered, and there were also parts where the exposed arms and legs were discolored and appeared to be rotting.

Even though it was just a scene from the original novel, a memory, Sian frowned, feeling unpleasant.

This was what had happened in the original work.

It was a scene where Drake, who had discovered young Theodore, was engrossed in all sorts of experiments in the forest. Sian bit his lip.

“Please… stop… already…”

“Shut up and stay still.”

“Ugh…!”

Drake’s hand struck Theodore without mercy. The Theodore in the original, who was very different from the current one, could not even resist Drake properly and fell to the ground miserably.

The red blood that gushed from the wound dripped onto the barren ground.

Sian, this time as well, could do nothing but look at that appearance.

It was just a scene from the novel he had read when he was Seo Ji-han. There was nothing Sian could do but watch.

But it was hard to stop the rising anger, so Sian clenched his fist tightly.

“How strange.”

“Ugh…”

“I have to find out what you are.”

Drake, grabbing Theodore’s hair with one hand, grinned. His two eyes, gleaming in the darkness, looked greedy.

Sian glared at the appearance of the stranger who had become himself, grinding his teeth.

“…Teacher!”

“Ah.”

The scenery in front of him blurred. Soon, instead of the bloodstained Theodore, the intact Theodore appeared before Sian. Sian blinked blankly.

Why did that memory come to mind at this moment?

Sian couldn’t help but feel uneasy. A forest with a similar landscape to where Drake tormented Theodore in the original work, Theodore who was almost killed by a magical beast. Moreover, Theodore had no memory of how he got here.

‘Is it because the story isn’t progressing as the original work did, that something is intervening?’ To give Theodore trials at all costs? At that moment, Sian’s face turned white.

“Theo, are you alright… are you alright?”

“Yes?”

“I’ll protect you no matter what.”

“……!”

It didn’t matter whether this was the original work’s force or not. He would protect Theodore from ever getting hurt.

Sian clenched his teeth, making a resolution.

“Let’s go home.”

“….Yes, Teacher.”

When Sian reached out his hand, Theodore blushed and took it.

He himself couldn’t understand why he had come here while taking a nap, but he was no longer anxious.

Because no matter what happened, his teacher, who loved him, would come to save him.

Theodore smiled brightly and hugged Sian.

Although he had vowed to protect Theodore, Sian presumed that this kind of thing would keep happening.

So, he had to prepare thoroughly to prevent Theodore from being exposed to danger again.

Sian pondered over it for a while. The original work would try to intervene at all costs to give Theodore trials.

He had to prevent it somehow beforehand.

“Hmm….”

Sian stared at the desk with a troubled expression. On the desk were accessories that he would give to Theodore.

These were not ordinary accessories. They were magical items.

“Teacher, did you call me?”

“Come here.”

“Yes.”

At Sian’s call, Theodore quickly approached him. He glanced at the objects on the desk with a curious eye.

Sian reached out and picked up one of them.

The first one he picked up was a bracelet made of a black leather strap with a red gem.

There was a bracelet with the same appearance on the desk. That bracelet was decorated with a blue gem.

If they wore these bracelets respectively, they would be able to feel each other’s aura much better.

Furthermore, it was a pair item that was useful because they could know the exact location of the other person.

It was a must-have for the current Sian and Theodore.

However, since it was an item from the Out-Chamber, it might have a bad influence on Theodore.

Their auras were opposite of each other, so Theodore might struggle.

“Do you want to try wearing this on your arm?”

“Yes, Teacher.”

Theodore received the item without any doubt. It looked big for the child’s arm, but since it was a bracelet made of a strap, he could adjust it and make it fit without it falling off.

“Ugh…!”

“Theo!”

However, Theodore winced and furrowed his brows as if he felt repulsion from the item. Sian quickly took the bracelet off.

The bracelet was the most unassuming item, but it didn’t seem to work. Sian sighed.

He had him try on the other items as well, but just like the bracelet, Theodore felt severe repulsion.

Sian looked down at the remaining magical item.

A pair of rings with a luminous color shone, receiving the sunlight that shined in through the window.