The Forest Race Clonne

Chapter 31

“What… child?”

My thoughts momentarily stopped. This was the first time I had encountered a question with intentions so unclear that I couldn’t even guess. I blinked vacantly, and Serige nodded as if he understood everything.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. There’s no need to hide it anymore. You can tell by the color of my hair, right? I’m Serige of the Birch. You can be at ease.”

“…Excuse me?”

“It’s my first time seeing an Aesang, so I didn’t recognize it at a glance, you know? I’m really sorry. I never would have imagined an Aesang of this period would be alone without a guardian.”

Birch? Aesang? Of this period?

The words he was hearing were definitely in the imperial language, but none of them made any sense. The sudden change in speech, and the whole situation, were beginning to feel strange.

“Judging by how you’ve settled into human society so early, what’s with all the Lupinus fruit? You should have avoided getting involved in something like this. A kid without a guardian, what’s your plan… Geez. Anyway, this isn’t really something I should be discussing with you. Where’s your father right now?”

“…What…”

“I’m talking about your father. He must be nearby, right? Go call him, I just want to have a little chat. It’s fine, I won’t let the upper ranks know. We’ll just have a calm conversation about this situation. I promise.”

“Wait a minute, what are you even talking about right now…?”

“What? Don’t tell me he’s not around? So you really were alone? Seriously? What kind of irresponsible bastard would abandon their kid like this in this period?”

As I struggled to keep up with his barrage of words, it seemed Serige had come to a much larger misunderstanding. Still, at least I could tell that he was mistaking me for someone else. As I took a step back, his grip finally loosened.

“I think you have the wrong person.”

“What? The wrong person?”

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding. I don’t know who you’re thinking of, but you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not who you think I am.”

“Huh?”

Then it was Serige’s turn to be flustered. Blinking rapidly in confusion, he looked me over intently.

“Hmm, that can’t be right. No matter how I look at it, you’re definitely an Aesang. You can’t even handle the mountain air, and you break out in rashes in warm water. Just those signs alone are undeniable. And you were perfectly fine even after taking that medicine. So how could you not be an Aesang?”

“What… did you make me take…? Anyway, I’m not what you think. I have no idea what an Aesang is, or whatever you’re talking about.”

“What? You don’t know what an Aesang is? How could you not know that?”

“How could I…?”

“Don’t tell me, your father never told you anything? He never explained who you are?”

My heart thudded loudly. The theory I’d dismissed started to resurface. No way. Could it be? Maybe…

“My father passed away before I was even born.”

The words spilled out before I could even think. It was impulsive, and the moment they left my mouth, I regretted it. But Serige had already heard. He took a deep breath, his eyes widening in shock. His face, which had been twitching as if in disbelief, suddenly contorted with anguish.

“Your father… passed away? Before you were born?”

“…”

“No… this can’t be… Then what about your mother? Didn’t she pass on any message from him?”

I hesitated before letting out a slow breath.

“…They didn’t have much time together. My father passed before they even had a chance to marry. I’ve been told they don’t have many memories together.”

That’s what I’d always been told. That’s what I thought I knew—until I learned about the gap between the day I was conceived and the month I was born. It was undeniable proof that couldn’t be explained any other way. And so, I’d concluded it was all just my misunderstanding.

“Good heavens… This is unbelievable. A Clonne child growing up as a human? How could something like this happen…?”

Someone was trying to rekindle a fire I thought had long been extinguished.

I clenched my fists and glared at him.

“What is a Clonne?”

Serige’s face contorted even further.

“You really don’t know anything, huh? Well, that explains why you’re recklessly wandering around during times like this. Wow, this is driving me crazy.”

He ruffled his hair wildly, then stood in front of me with a determined expression. His serious gaze made me tense up instinctively. He observed me closely for a while, then let out a sigh of relief.

“Hah, at least the sprouting hasn’t started yet. That’s a small mercy.”

“Sprouting…?”

“If it had already started… seriously… Oh God, thank you so much. I was so scared it might be too late, I thought my heart was going to shrink. I almost asked why you were doing this to me.”

He muttered a strange prayer of thanks while looking up at the sky, and then firmly placed both hands on my shoulders. His eyes, shimmering with a soft light, seemed to glisten with moisture. It was hard to meet his gaze directly.

“Anyway, kid. I’m so glad to meet you. You’ve done well to make it here. Meeting like this must be a miracle. God must have guided you to this place. No, I’m sure this is His doing. There’s no way this could be a coincidence.”

“I…”

“Yes, yes. You’ve probably been through so much up until now. There’s so much I want to say, but first, let me briefly explain who we are. We, the Clonne, are a race blessed by the Creator God, placed on this earth as guardians. We are the race of purification, tasked with protecting and managing the world.”

I didn’t even have time to flinch at the unfamiliar title before he continued with his explanation. Guardians? Purification? Everything he said was new and strange.

“I’ve never heard of such a race before.”

“Of course you haven’t. We don’t go around broadcasting it. As you can see, we look just like humans, right? If we don’t say anything, no one will know who we are. But our nature is completely different.”

“Different how?”

“Well, not only are we different from humans, we’re different from any race. We may take the shape of humans, but in essence, we’re closer to plants.”

“Excuse me? What does that even…?”

“To be precise, we’re trees. Think of us as trees in human form.”

“…”

What on earth is he talking about?

My mind grew rapidly colder. The strength drained from my clenched fist, and a hollow laugh escaped me. I had been caught up in the serious atmosphere, only to realize it was just a very poorly executed joke

“So, are you saying that you’re not actually human but a tree?”

“Not just me, but you too.”

“Hah…”

“Why do you look like that? I’m serious!”

“Oh, really? Now that you mention it, you said you’re a birch tree. Then what kind of tree am I?”

“Well, I’m not sure about that right now. You’re closer to being human during the Aesang period, so it’s not very visible.”

“Quite a remarkable excuse.”

“It’s not an excuse; it’s the truth.”

“Have you ever undergone a mental evaluation? If you get the chance, it might be worth considering. It could be helpful.”

“Hmm, you don’t believe me. Well, it can’t be helped since you’ve lived as a human all this time. Anyway, let me repeat: meeting like this is truly a stroke of fate. An Aesang at this stage should never be alone. You must have a guardian with you.”

The look on his face, genuinely relieved, eased my anxiety. If this were a play, it would be boring, and if it were sincere, it would be even more problematic. But then again, other people probably wouldn’t be swayed by such things. It started to feel like everything was just a nuisance.

“By the way, what exactly does this ‘period’ refer to? You’ve been talking about it since earlier.”

“Oh, I’m talking about the awakening period.”

“Awakening?”

“Hmm, how should I put it? A kind of metamorphosis? Transformation? It’s like a coming-of-age ceremony for humans, I suppose. We Clonnes reach adulthood through a process called awakening. It starts exactly at your age now.”

“Do you even know what my age is?”

It was at this point that I felt that such delusions deserved some recognition and let out a slight laugh.

“You’re nineteen now, right?”

“……!”

“Based on your condition, it seems like you’ll have a birthday around next summer, maybe late June?”

I looked up in surprise. I had never revealed my age or birthdate to him. Seeing my expression, it seemed like Serige had expected this, and he smiled as if he knew.

“I can see that much. Have you experienced any unusual phenomena recently? Like predicting the weather the next day, plants growing rapidly just by touching them, or seeing scenes from the past? Something like that?”

“…How do you know?”

“Of course, I would know. I went through the same process.”

“You went through the same process?”

“Yes, that’s a precursor to awakening. Little by little, changes start to occur, and eventually, everything becomes natural. A completely new world opens up.”

The fingertips rubbing my lips were trembling. It felt like I had forgotten how to breathe. This was the first time someone had noticed what was happening to me before I even mentioned it. And someone who said it was natural.

Of course, it’s possible to investigate me if someone really wants to. Even if Duke Rouster kept it thoroughly concealed, there would be some gaps. They might have planned and approached things from the beginning. That possibility seemed more likely.

‘But…’

I stared blankly at Serige. He casually mentioned a shared experience—that I wasn’t the only one going through this, that there were others like me in this world.