Chapter 202: Counterfeit (I)

While Louis and his companions had departed from the cult…

Somewhere on the Spring Continent.

On the very day Louis and the twins left the Spring Continent, a change occurred for the first time within a dark cave.

And as Louis continued to wreak havoc across the Winter Continent…

For over a year, the Coercive Force tirelessly drew something without rest.

Zzshhhk-zzshhhhhk.

The mysterious form was still indistinct, its outline barely visible.

In the past, even the Sea Monarch that troubled Louis took only one and a half years to complete perfectly.

But this time, despite over a year passing, not even the rough shape had fully formed.

Zzshhhk-zzshhhk.

Day by day, the Coercive Force gradually added lines.

The black dot, struggling to complete the precarious form, looked utterly strained.

But if ‘this’ were completed, what kind of result would it yield…?

Perhaps only the one drawing the picture knew the answer.

It had been three months since Louis’s group left Kanburk. This period could be considered both long and short; during this time, they had been diligently traveling all over the Winter Continent. Their main destinations were its major landmarks.

The group consisted of the Flame siblings, who were seeing the world for the first time, Lavina, who had run away from home, and Louis with his twin brother. For Louis and his twin, although they had traveled across the Winter Continent before, it was just part of their journey to find a way home, so they hadn’t been able to properly sightsee. Thus, this trip was essentially their first real exploration of the world as well.

Given these circumstances, Louis’s group had quite an eventful journey.

Considering what a rowdy bunch they are… It would be stranger if they weren’t noisy.

In truth, regardless of whether they were on a trip, any gathering with this group would always be clamorous.

And today was no exception.

Inside the halted Dragon Fly 3, raised voices filled the air.

“No way! This time it’s the hunting festival!”

“What are you talking about? It’s obviously the snow festival!”

Khan and Kani glared at each other, locked in a heated debate.

The main topic of conversation for the day was their next destination—more precisely, where they’d be spending their time and having fun. Kani advocated for the hunting festival while Khan insisted on the snow festival.

Both insisted on planning a trip to the place they each wanted to go.

“You’re always tired from staring at snow. You want to see a ‘Snow Festival’?”

“Is that snow the same as this snow? The stuff falling from the sky is just plain ol’ snow! This is a work of art made from snow!”

“So what? It’s still snow.”

As Kani indifferently twitched her ears, Khan raised his voice further.

“What’s so different about a hunting festival anyway? What’s the fun in comparing who caught a bigger catch? Wouldn’t it be better to go to a festival with visually interesting things to look at, and help yourself become more refined?”

“You talk about refinement, but seriously, do something that suits you once in a while, Khan.”

“How dare you judge me?! And if you don’t fix that nasty attitude of yours, you’ll never get hitched!”

“Hmph! Don’t worry about that! If I can’t find a husband, our Louis here will come to the rescue, won’t he?” Kani nudged Louis, her eyes gleaming expectantly.

Tanya flinched at Kani’s words, casting a quick glance at Louis. The supposed party of interest, however, merely rolled his eyes, as if saying, Not this again!

Unfazed by Louis’s annoyed reaction, Kanie boldly puffed out her chest. “See! I knew it!”

“But Louis said nothing!”

“Well, silence means consent, right? Don’t you think?”

“Where did you learn such nonsense?”

“Besides, Valentina, our dear auntie, adores me too much! She’d be over the moon if I married Louis.”

“No, that’s just your fantasy. Even if Mrs. Valentina approved, I’d still oppose it. I won’t let our Louis suffer like this!”

“Who do you think you are, causing such a commotion with your objections!”

“As your elder brother, I’m firmly against this marriage!”

“You’re acting like a boss! How dare you speak to me like that!”

“What do you mean ‘boss’?!”

The heated debate over their travel destination had escalated from disagreements to a full-blown argument, now veering into a bitter standoff.

Grrr…

Grrr…

Like dragon and tiger locked in combat, their animosity began to seethe in the air.

A menacing aura emanated from behind Khan and Kani, palpable and growing.

Lavina, who had been watching from a distance, quickly retreated with a “whoa!” expression, as if stung by their hostility.

Louis, who had been disdainfully observing the twins, muttered to Fin, “Is it really worth going to such lengths to fight?”

“Well…um…” Fin scratched her head awkwardly.

Louis tutted at their bickering, which only grew more intense.

Tsk tsk. They’re acting like children despite being so old.

As an only child in both his current and previous lives, Louis couldn’t comprehend the daily feuding between siblings.

At that moment, Kendrick sidled up to him and posed a question.

“Excuse me, sir.”

“What is it?”

“So who was born first, the twin knights?”

Kendrick’s question drew the attention of Lavina and Tania towards Louis.

They awaited his answer with bated breath.

“I don’t know,” he replied simply.

“What?” they echoed, puzzled.

“I really have no idea.”

“…?”

Question marks seemed to hover above everyone’s heads.

In response to their bewilderment, Louis shrugged nonchalantly.

What do you mean, “You would have to figure it out yourself?”

Louis’s impassive gaze turned toward the twins, who were still arguing about whether he was their elder brother or sister. The debate over who had been born first had first arisen two hundred years earlier, and Louis had been the one to start it.

Back then, Louis had followed the twins to their home. Upon meeting the twins’ mother, Hailin, Louis seized the opportunity to answer a question that had long intrigued him and asked:

The answer was no. Hailin explained that she had laid exactly two eggs, and each twin had hatched from its own egg.

That revelation led to yet another problem.

Wait, so Kani is older because she hatched first?

Louis shook his head.

Khan did lay first. His egg hatched mere seconds before Kani’s.

Huh? Then why is Kani the older sister?

Kani broke out of her shell a second earlier.

But Khan emerged from his egg first… doesn’t that make him the older brother?

Hmm…I’m not sure about that. Hailin tilted his head, clearly perplexed.

Meanwhile, both Khan and Kani were privy to this conversation between Louis and Hailin. While Kani seemed unfazed, Khan was utterly shocked.

Oh my god! So I was born first?! I’m the older brother?!

Having discovered the unexpected secret of their births, Khan looked like he had lost everything and couldn’t eat for days. Then, the next day, in front of Kani, he proudly declared:

I was born one second earlier, so I’m the older brother!

Of course, Kani, who had been his elder sister for hundreds of years, wasn’t about to agree to such a demand.

Nonsense! If you try to boss your big sister around, you’ll get a proper thrashing!

No, I’m your older brother!

And from that day on, the struggle for dominance between the twin siblings—sister or brother—continued unabated. Even now, the question of who was the elder remained unsolved:

Was it Khan, born one second earlier, or Kani, who broke out of his shell first?

It was much like the age-old conundrum of whether the chicken or the egg came first…

For Louis, the issue surrounding the twins’ birth remained a perplexing mystery as well.

Given the importance of his task, Louis had only one piece of advice for his curious companions:

“Even if they argue their whole lives, I doubt they’ll ever figure out who hatched first… So stop wasting your time on this nonsense and focus on our work.”

Louis’s firm stance only deepened the others’ curiosity. Everyone looked on with growing interest while whirling heads and clicking tongues. Fin, who knew the whole story, tried to stifle her laughter.

Meanwhile, Louis left them behind, concentrating on his task at hand.

Jingling.

A necklace appeared in Louis’s hand. It was adorned with intricate silver filigree, clearly a high-quality piece at first glance. But more important than its ornate design was the blue jewel hanging from it—a gem that had recently captured Louis’s complete attention.

It was none other than the ‘Tears of Siren’ that Carrie had given Louis long ago. He took out the necklace and gazed at it with a serious expression.

Tania swiftly approached him. “Sir, you’re looking at this again today?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve been doing that often lately…”

“Yeah.”

“Could it be…” Tania’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

Of course, Louis cut her hopes down like a sharp blade. “No.”

”…Pardon?”

“I’m not giving it to you.”

”…”

Tania wilted at Louis’s firmness. The butterfly she was holding patted her hand with its front legs, as if trying to comfort her.

Just then, Kani, who had been in a heated argument with Khan, whirled around.

“So?!”

“Nope, not even yours.”

”…”

Kani slumped, feeling deflated.

And next to her, there stood Labora, intently watching all this happen.

“What are you looking at?” I asked.

“N-nothing,” Lavina replied, turning away with a sheepish grin.

Just then, two more gazes joined in, giving us the stink eye.

“Why are you staring?” their teacher snapped.

“Mm.. But men can wear necklaces too, Mr. Ha,” one of them ventured.

“But isn’t that a bit too… flashy for a guy?”

“Oh, come on, Louis! Just because you’re not into it doesn’t mean other guys can’t rock a fancy necklace!” Kendrick and Khan protested, clearly hoping he’d let them try it on too.

Of course, Louis wasn’t having any of it.

Louis glared at them, his eyes like twin bullets ready to fire. ”…Honestly, now. What are you going to do with this?”

Kendrick and Khan blushed at this question.

“W-well… you don’t know yet, do you?”

“S-someday we might have boyfriends as well…”

“So you’re going to give it to someone you like later?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Louis’s face scrunched up as he glowered at the averagely tall men twisting their bodies with shame.

“Get lost.”

As Louis waved his hands to shoo them away, Kendrick and Khan lowered their shoulders.

Meanwhile, Fin admired what was happening.

“Wow.”

With his simple collar, Louis had managed to turn a noisy party into a gloomy group. It was impressive by any standards.

Now that everyone was sulking, Louis could once more sink into his thoughts.

The Siren’s Tear… The key to the Sea Demon’s mazelike underwater palace.

Although Louis knew the collar’s true identity, using it was another matter.

Precisely, Louis had been unable to unlock the secret of the Siren’s Tears.

The Sea Demon’s Underwater Labyrinth is believed to be located in the sea between the Summer and Autumn Continents…

The problem was, no one knew exactly where within that vast ocean the labyrinth resided. Moreover, to access the Sea Demon’s Underwater Labyrinth, one needed to unravel the mystery of the Siren’s Tears. Despite centuries of effort, Louis had failed to do so.

In the original story, this enigma was solved by the Holy Mother.

However, even that solution was unremarkable. One day, a voice had suddenly spoken from her necklace, and following its guidance led to a sudden opening in the sea, revealing a path to the labyrinth.

It was nothing more than sheer luck.

Since all intermediate steps were omitted earlier, I couldn’t do anything with the Tears of Sea Siren even if I wanted to.

I thought there might be some reaction in the Winter Continent, but…

In the original work, the Holy Mother listened to the voice from the Tears of Sea Siren for the first time in the Winter Continent. That’s why I thought if I found any clues from the Winter Continent, I would need Sister’s tears. However, as expected, there was no reaction at all.

It seems like I’ll have to meet Holy Mother to solve this secret…

Maybe she was the only one who could hear the voice coming from the Tears of Sea Siren. But here arose a second problem.

Where is Holy Mother now…?

In the original story, the Dragon Slayer Party members met on the Winter Continent, but Louis had no idea where she might be now. He guessed there was a high possibility she was at home, but he didn’t know where that was either.

There was only one person who knew the origins of all the members of her group: Elvis Estephan, their leader for several decades.

It wouldn’t make sense for me to go find Elvis just to unravel this mystery…

Resigned, Louis put the Siren’s Necklace back into his pocket dimension. Without finding a way to unlock its secrets, the Tears of Siren were nothing more than a pretty necklace.

Well, I’m sure the right time will come eventually.

In any case, he had plenty of time, and the Siren’s Necklace was safely in his possession, so there was no rush.

Having made up his mind, Louis stretched briefly and headed for the cockpit of the Dragon Fly 3.

Outside, the blizzard continued to rage, but it posed no threat to their dragonfly aircraft.

Vrrrmmmm…

As Louis started the engine, the twins rushed over, eager.

“Where are we off to now?” they asked in unison. “Obviously, the Hunting Festival, right?”

“No! Definitely the Snowflower Festival!”

The twins, each advocating for their preferred destination, looked to Louis for guidance.

He smiled at their enthusiasm. “Actually, neither of those.”

Despite the twins’ passionate arguments, Louis was the one who decided the itinerary for this trip. And he had chosen neither the Hunting Festival nor the Snowflower Festival.

At his response, the twins deflated, their excitement quickly turning to disappointment.

Louis tried to cheer them up. “Don’t be disappointed. Our next destination also has a festival.”

“Really?”

“For real?”

All eyes focused on Louis as everyone chimed in with questions.

“Where are we going?”

“What kind of festival is it?”

Louis answered their questions with a smile.

“The Wishing Festival.”

Rrrrooooom…

Dragon Fly 3 roared to life, its engine rumbling as it began to race through the blizzard.