#335. Side Story 3. The Color of Love (2)
—
Rael Row sat still and silent, its exterior lights and sensors all powered down.
Rael looked up at the mechanical fortress’s hulking form, his face filled with regret.
“Everyone relocated to the underground city, leaving Rael Row completely empty. There’s no need for it to operate anymore. This giant that once roamed the boundless desert, carrying dwarves like us—who’d lost our land—and stranded survivors alike, has finally completed its task and entered eternal rest.”
Rael added,
that he had deliberately placed his laboratory within Rael Row when shutting it down.
“Rael Row is like a child I created during my lifetime. And as a father, isn’t it my duty to stay by my child’s side?”
A solemn mood settled over them.
“How can a building be a chil—”
Ray’s comment was cut short by Veronica’s elbow to his ribs.
“Please, follow me. This way.”
The group climbed the long staircase installed at Rael Row’s base.
Halfway up, Ray suddenly felt a gaze and looked up.
Branches of the World Tree spread overhead, lush and thick.
Through the leaves, dazzling sunlight streamed in.
And just below that, atop Rael Row’s watchtower, was a silhouette peering down at them.
*Isra.*
The Dwarf boy who had built the flying device that allowed them to reach the Sky Island.
Apparently, Rael wasn’t the only one guarding Rael Row.
*
*
*
A guest had already arrived at the lab.
“Hello!”
“Miss Veronica, have you been well?”
An elf with emerald hair gave her a gentle smile.
While Rael disappeared into the inner chamber to retrieve his invention, the others chatted.
“It’s been a while, Ray.”
“Yeah, long time no see, Grine.”
“You must’ve been very busy?”
“A little, I gues—”
“It’s been 184 days, 12 hours, and 32 minutes since your last visit to the settlement.”
Ray was instantly struck by a kind of metaphysical horror.
Grine smiled playfully.
“Kidding. I made those numbers up.”
*Did she, though…?*
“I understand. People who want to see you and need you aren’t limited to just this settlement. Oh, did you see the trees growing along the way?”
The topic changed.
According to Grine, the settlement had now entered a fully stable phase.
“We planted fruit-bearing trees for food… worked with the Dwarves…”
Elves, Dwarves, Giants.
And various other animals, large and small.
Under the protection of the new World Tree, the settlement had become an almost utopian place where many races lived together in harmony.
“…It truly feels like a dream.”
She had once been a resident of the last forest, losing her home along with the aging World Tree.
Now, freed from those anxieties, her face showed no trace of worry or sorrow.
At least on the surface.
*Not all your worries are gone.*
Ray could see one lingering lump of anxiety still sitting in her heart.
And he instinctively knew—
The reason she was here in Rael’s lab was directly tied to that.
“This is the invention I mentioned.”
Just in time, Rael returned from the back room and placed an object on the table.
A palm-sized flat cylinder with a needle inside.
“A compass?”
“Yes, exactly. Do you remember the artifact left behind by the Violet Guardian? The one we used to track Redran’s location. This is a new compass I created, based on analyzing and adapting that one.”
A compass is traditionally used to point out directions.
But Rael’s invention clearly served another purpose.
Ray’s curiosity was piqued.
“What does this compass point to?”
“Love.”
“Love? As in, what you mentioned earlier?”
“Yes. To be precise, this compass points to the person one loves.”
Love.
Veronica’s red eyes sparkled with excitement.
“There are many kinds of love in this world. Romantic love, platonic love, familial love. Sometimes, it’s love for a pet or a cherished object. These are also expressed as affection, friendship, or devotion.”
And then—
“The kind of love I’m referring to here is romantic love.”
“Romantic love!”
“Ooh!”
With an enthusiastic audience of a boy and girl, Professor Rael continued his lecture.
“Love—especially romantic affection—is an emotion that exists between the giver and the receiver.”
“In other words, there is a sender and a recipient.”
“In academic terms, we call them the *lovisender* and *lovisendee*.”
“Love that blooms in the heart is meaningful in itself, but when it is sent and accepted by the right person, it takes on a far deeper significance.”
After his passionate lecture, Rael cleared his throat and reached a conclusion.
“This compass can locate the lovisendee.”
“……”
“……”
Silence.
“…When held, the compass needle will point to the one you love.”
“No way!”
“Whoa!”
The reaction was explosive.
“Of course, there’s a condition. It must be real love. The needle won’t move for anything less.”
Rael then turned to Veronica, who couldn’t tear her eyes off the compass.
“Miss Veronica, would you like to try it?”
“Eh? Me? No! Absolutely not!”
Her face turned bright red in a flash as she vehemently waved her hands in protest.
And stole a glance at Ray.
Everyone already knew who she liked
—Philip knew, Ayla knew, Curie knew, Grine knew, Solite knew, even Nero the cat knew.
It was a not-so-secret secret that only one person didn’t realize.
And that one person, even if the compass pointed at him, would probably say something like, “Veronica, I think the compass is broken,” because he was completely oblivious.
*Even so!*
She had no intention of exposing her feelings and being publicly executed in front of everyone.
Laughing at Veronica’s frantic reaction, Rael said:
“Just a joke. In fact, the person who will use the compass first has already been decided.”
Then he turned and asked with a solemn voice:
“Miss Grine, are you ready?”
“Hmm…”
Grine wore a rare, complicated expression.
*Are you ready?*
That meant:
*Are you ready to find the one you love?*
*Karon.*
Her husband, who had left the last forest first to find a place to plant the World Tree’s seed.
Even after the resettlement was complete, his whereabouts remained unknown.
In over two hundred years of life, they had never been apart for this long.
When they were together, they’d bicker and squabble and nag each other constantly—but now that he was gone…
*I miss him.*
That was Grine’s honest feeling.
As her heart swelled with longing, Karon’s face began to rise in her mind.
He gave her a wistful look and said:
“Can’t we clean up after dinner a little later? Why are you always so eager to eat me alive?”
“Oh… today’s our anniversary? Of course I knew that! Did I prepare anything? …No.”
“Have you… gained weight?”
Crack.
“Miss Grine?”
“That slippery, smooth-talking Elf…”
“…Excuse me?”
“Ah.”
The room went quiet.
Realizing her slip of the tongue, Grine quickly tried to smooth things over.
“Ahem, just a joke. A nickname we use in private.”
It didn’t help much.
“The feelings in your vessel don’t lie—”
Thunk!
Ray was elbowed again in the same spot by Veronica, and shut his mouth.
Flushed with embarrassment, Grine quickly took the compass in her hand.
……
Now, if she thought of her beloved, the needle would point to his location.
But why did she hesitate?
A single doubt surfaced in her heart.
*Do I still love Karon?*
A relationship nearly two centuries old.
The thrilling, tender feelings from the beginning had long since faded.
Honestly, what she felt now was probably closer to friendship than love.
And that scared her.
What if the needle didn’t move?
After a long hesitation, Grine finally gripped the compass tightly.
She imagined Karon’s face.
“Ah.”
At first, the needle didn’t move, and her heart sank.
But then—
Whirrrrr!
The needle began spinning rapidly.
Relief flooded through her, but a new curiosity arose.
*What about Karon? Does he still love me?*
Click!
Everyone watched as the needle finally stopped.
Their eyes gathered on the compass.
“North?”
“It’s pointing north!”
“Let’s see… from here, what’s to the north…?”
Voices overlapped.
“Elmaria ruins.”
“The ruins? Aren’t the ruins there?”
“Elmaria seems the most likely location.”
Rael, who retained memories from his previous life, had often told Ray and the others about the ancient times.
One of the stories was about Elmaria.
A great city where many races once thrived together and created culture.
Of course, the wars had reduced it to ashes, and now it lay buried under sand, a desolate ruin.
“Could it be somewhere else besides Elmaria?”
“It could.”
“But Elmaria is the most likely.”
While everyone debated, Grine said nothing.
She simply gazed at the needle that pointed straight ahead, overwhelmed with relief.
The needle had moved.
That meant her love was still alive.
One troubling doubt was now resolved—but a new one replaced it.
*That’s true for me… but what about Karon?*
Did her husband’s love still remain?
*
*
*
**Vroooom─!**
With Rael seeing them off, the group departed the settlement and rode the bus out into the wasteland.
*Rattle! Rattle!*
The vehicle shook incessantly, but the needle of the compass didn’t budge in the slightest.
“Ray! I think we’re headed in the right direction!”
“It’s more likely he’s at the ruins, where there’s at least a reason to visit, rather than in the empty, barren wasteland. Veronica, step three meters away from the steering wheel.”
“Mr Karon, why would he have gone to the ruins?”
“Probably to find clues about where to plant the World Tree’s seed. Veronica, step three meters away from the steering wheel.”
“No way…!”
Veronica wanted to say something to Ray, who was driving, but she couldn’t.
After all, it *was* true that she had recently totaled four of Philip’s prized vehicles during driving practice.
As a result, she had earned the glorious title of “Destroyer of Machinery,” and a strict ban on approaching the driver’s seat had been imposed.
“Still, just sitting beside you shouldn’t be a problem—”
“Three meters.”
She had tried to talk her way into a compromise, but there was no chance.
Grumbling silently, Veronica trudged back to the rear seat, unable to voice her dissatisfaction.
“Huh…?”
That’s when she noticed Griné.
She was staring blankly out the window.
It was an expression entirely uncharacteristic of the woman normally seen as the embodiment of elegance and serenity.
Sitting beside her, Veronica asked gently,
“Miss Griné, is something wrong?”
“Oh, Miss Veronica. Something wrong? Hmm… nothing in particular.”
“You say that, but your face is full of worry.”
Only then did Griné realize what kind of expression she had been making, and she was startled.
She had been so lost in thoughts of Karon that she hadn’t even noticed others watching her.
“You’re on your way to see the one you love—shouldn’t you be happy?”
“……”
“Or is something else troubling you? If you tell me, maybe I can help!”
Griné could feel the warmth in Veronica’s voice.
She fell silent, lost in thought.
There was only one thing weighing on her mind:
*‘Does Karon still love me the same?’*
Her head told her he did, but her heart couldn’t be sure.
What if, during his travels outside, his feelings for her had cooled?
What if the real reason he volunteered to leave the last forest was because he had grown tired of their life together?
That was why—
Though she felt joy and anticipation, anxiety and unease bloomed alongside them.
The thought of Karon meeting her again and frowning at the sight kept playing over and over in her mind.
*‘…That can’t be.’*
Her heart sank.
Eventually, Griné made up her mind.
She would ask Veronica for advice.
After all, she had met Karon when she was very young, and they had naturally grown up together and become romantically involved.
In other words—
The only man she had ever known was Karon, and she didn’t possess broad knowledge about love.
But Veronica—what about her?
> “Please call me Doctor Love. I can handle any kind of consultation!”
*‘Wisdom isn’t always proportional to age, after all.’*
Perhaps, when it came to love, Veronica was the true senior in life.
Having made her decision, Griné—who had been in exactly one relationship—turned to Veronica—who had been in none—and said,
“The thing I’m worried about… it’s about the one I love. About Karon.”
