Childhood Friend of the Zenith Novel MTL - Chapter 912

Chapter 912

A Monster…?
Was it referring to me?

Hearing the turtle’s remark, I could only stare in disbelief.

“Who are you calling a monster?”

From my point of view, he was far more monstrous in appearance—yet he had the audacity to label me one. The irony was staggering.

“Hmm.”

The turtle observed me with a strange look in its eyes.

“Master. Where did you possibly find such a thing?”

“Hey, that’s no way to speak in front of him.”

Finally, Shin Noya broke his silence, chastising the turtle.

“No matter how much this boy may resemble a monster—”

“Noya?”

“Calling someone a monster is outright disrespectful! Even if he appears to be one—”

“Hey.”

“Now that I take a closer look, you’ve crossed a line. Perhaps I should reduce your plum tea allowance for the next three months—”

“Don’t even try that, Master.”

“Tsk.”

“You damn old fools…”

Gritting my teeth, I tightened my fists.

“How dare you talk like that right in front of me—!”

“Quiet when your elders are speaking.”

The turtle aimed its staff toward my forehead.

And in that instant—

“…Huh?”

Before I knew it, I was standing outside the building.

“What in the world…?”

What had just happened?

As I stood there, bewildered by the sudden shift,

Thump!

“…!”

My heart abruptly began hammering wildly, and I gripped my chest.

Thump! Thump, thump, thump!

“…Hah…”

Was it a reaction from my inner energy?

It felt similar, though it wasn’t the Nine Flames Firewheel technique. It wasn’t demonic energy, either. So that meant—

“…The spell’s chain?”

The binding spell I’d learned, the one coiled around my heart, was reacting fiercely to what had just occurred.

Which could only mean—

“…So that was…”

A form of magic.

*****************

“Why did you send the boy out like that?”

Watching Gu Yangcheon disappear, Shin Noya clicked his tongue softly before speaking.

The turtle, still seated, slowly drank from its teacup.

“Master, wasn’t that what you desired as well?”

“You always see right through me.”

Shin Noya let out a light laugh. It was true—he had wanted exactly that, just as the turtle surmised. He simply hadn’t expected it to happen so abruptly.

“Every time I witness it, I’m fascinated. What kind of principle is behind that ability?”

“There’s no use wondering. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Now, that’s cruel. Haven’t I dabbled in just about everything by now?”

“No.”

The turtle’s ancient eyes turned frosty.

“This is a matter of fate. It cannot be changed, even in death.”

Shin Noya propped his chin on his hand, a hint of disappointment in his expression.

“How absolute. Is it like how I can never wield the same power as you?”

“Are you speaking of talent?”

“No.”

With a soft pour, the turtle refilled its empty cup.

“It isn’t about talent. It’s about the domain of choice.”

“I’ve heard that before, but it still doesn’t sink in.”

“It means you were not chosen for this path.”

“Is that so?”

Shin Noya laughed again, his earlier regret seeming to evaporate.

“Was that why you sent the boy away?”

“…”

The turtle fell silent at Shin Noya’s direct question.

“If you were going to dismiss him, you should have sent her out as well.”

Shin Noya’s eyes drifted toward the corner of the room.

There sat a woman with dark hair and violet eyes, silently observing them.

Her face was unreadable, radiating an aura of deep unease.

The young man had said it himself, hadn’t he?

That she was the Cheonma.

Certainly—

“She feels… unnatural.”

Her presence was deeply disquieting.

“That one is not an option.”

“Hmm?”

Shin Noya looked back at the turtle, surprised.

“She is already layered. You cannot interfere with her.”

“Must you always speak in riddles? It’s impossible to follow what you’re saying.”

“There are things I cannot voice aloud. Anyway, why is someone like her even here?”

“I didn’t bring her. She came with the boy. Tsk. That kid has a peculiar talent for drawing unusual women.”

Especially the strange ones, it seemed.

“So, what do you think of the boy you seem to despise so much?”

At the mention of Gu Yangcheon, the turtle’s white eyebrows twitched.

“That monster?”

A monster.

The word felt oddly pointed.

“As I said before, no matter how much he may look like one—”

“He is a monster.”

“…Turtle.”

Shin Noya’s expression tightened, but the turtle remained firm.

“In this world,” the turtle said, drawing out each word in its unique, measured tone, “beings like that are called monsters.”

“What are you implying?”

“Those who are beloved by the great.”

“Elaborate.”

Shin Noya’s voice grew solemn, all traces of humor gone.

“Can you not see it? The countless layers shrouding that boy? To me, they are unmistakable.”

“The boy does seem to attract strange influences. And not just one or two, either.”

It was almost entertaining to observe, as it shifted with each meeting.

But the turtle shook its head.

“What I speak of and what you refer to are not the same.”

The turtle’s voice trembled slightly as it went on.

“Everything that happens to that boy carries the mark of another’s design.”

Even the turtle, who was himself considered extraordinary, had to concede—Gu Yangcheon possessed something entirely beyond the norm.

“Fortunately, that monster did not choose this side.”

The turtle pointed its staff toward Shin Noya.

“Rather, he chose your path.”

“Hmm.”

Hearing this, Shin Noya finally began to grasp what the turtle meant.

“Can you really call that a choice?”

Gu Yangcheon hadn’t chosen.

“Born in Zhongyuan, it wasn’t as if he had much say in the matter, did he?”

“Heh heh heh.”

The turtle laughed, amused by Shin Noya’s response.

“Why are you laughing? You’re making me want to crack that shell of yours.”

“Master, you are mistaken about something.”

“Oh?”

“Monsters, as the world knows them, are usually preordained.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means their place of birth is fixed. Only then does the blessing they carry hold significance.”

“…”

“And the fact that this monster did not choose this side, but yours…”

Thud.

The staff tapped lightly on the floor.

“…is undoubtedly the work of someone’s intention.”

The turtle’s dark pupils fixed on Shin Noya.

“As agreed, I will assist with the task. But I will not involve myself with that monster.”

The turtle rose to its feet.

Shin Noya said nothing more.