After standing for a moment and taking in the beauty of the Village of the Spirits, Jaina’s gaze fell upon a small, secluded cabin that seemed perfect for one person.

A mushroom-shaped cottage stood alone near the lake.

Her steps quickened as she made her way towards it.

Up close, the cottage appeared larger than it had seemed at first. She approached the door, knocked gently, and listened for any sign of movement.

There was none.

After a brief hesitation, she slowly pushed the door open.

Inside, she found a warm and inviting space filled with charming wooden furniture — just as delightful and whimsical as the exterior.

“Wow…”

A soft exclamation escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

Even the sofa and table in the living room were shaped like mushrooms. It was irresistibly cute. Though it seemed slightly spacious for one person, the warmth of the room prevented it from feeling empty.

Gathering her courage, Jaina stepped further inside and looked around again, carefully inspecting the living room and kitchen.

‘It doesn’t seem like anyone lives here.’

Although the house appeared to have been built for someone to live in, there was no trace of daily life.

She had no idea why someone would build such a delightful lakeside house and then abandon it, but she didn’t have time to think about it.

Moving deeper inside, she opened each closed door one by one.

There were three in total.

Each room contained a bed and a small tea table. The largest room even had a vanity unit. None of the beds or furniture showed any signs of use.

‘This is the Village of the Spirits… humans shouldn’t even be able to live here in the first place…’

The question of why such a house existed here lingered in her mind.

‘Still… this works in my favor. I used too much divine power getting through the forest. I’m exhausted.’

She was hungry — she had only consumed water — but going three days without food was not unusual for her before her return. This was something she could endure.

Jaina removed the worn grey cloak from her shoulders and draped it gently over the chair beside the bedside table. Then she lowered herself onto the bed.

The mushroom-shaped bed was far softer and wider than the narrow one in her old, suffocating room.

The moment her body touched the mattress, sleep claimed her almost instantly.

***

When Jaina opened her eyes, she almost screamed.

A long-haired, blonde man of striking beauty was leaning over her, staring at her from just a few inches away.

She was so startled that she couldn’t scream. She bolted upright.

The man standing over her, arms crossed, frowned deeply.

“What.”

“Pardon?”

“I asked what you are.”

“…M-me?”

“Who else is here besides you?”

“…Ah.”

The man, whose body seemed to emit the same golden light as his hair, continued to stare down at her, looking clearly displeased.

“A mere human dares to find this place—and even sleeps, without fear, in the fishing lodge.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did Jaina realize that this cottage was a resting place for spirits who came to fish at the lake. And that the man before her was not human at all—but a spirit.

‘So spirits look like humans.’

After the high priest had spoken about spirits, she and the other saintesses talked about what they might look like. Some imagined them as butterflies or bees. Others insisted that they were nothing more than formless light.

One saintess laughingly suggested that perhaps they had faces as beautiful as the Crown Prince’s or the Grand Duke of the North’s. Since these two men were said to be the most handsome in the empire, why wouldn’t a noble spirit resemble them?

At the time, the saintesses laughed at this absurd idea.

‘Well…’

The man before her did not resemble Cadel’s cold, severe beauty. His aura felt entirely different. Yet he was undeniably handsome.

“You have divine power. You’re a saintess, aren’t you?”

The spirit tilted his head slightly as he asked.

“Y-yes.”

The spirits appeared at the Grand Sanctuary once a year, when the Elim Tree bore fruit. Saintesses would not be unfamiliar to them.

“But it’s still far too early for the Elim Tree to bear fruit, isn’t it?”

“Ah…”

“Even if it did bear fruit early, a saintess wouldn’t be able to come here on her own.”

Before she could respond, the spirit furrowed his brow faintly and muttered to himself. Then his gaze sharpened as he looked at her.

“Why are you here? And how did you get here?”

Jaina swallowed dryly under his suspicious gaze. She didn’t know how to respond. In fact, she wasn’t even sure whether she should tell him the whole truth.

“You may have guessed already, but I am the Spirit of Light. Lies from a mere human will not work on me.”

She had not realized that he was the Spirit of Light, but she knew from the High Priest that he was the king of all spirits.

After hearing his warning that he would not be deceived by lies, Jaina decided to speak honestly about why she had come.

“You’re right. I didn’t come because of the sacred fruit. As you said, it isn’t the season for it yet.”

She hesitated briefly. Then, as though firming her resolve, she lifted her gaze to meet his.

“The truth is… I’ve returned in time.”

She told him everything. She told him how she had endured her husband’s affair with the nurse’s daughter until she could bear it no longer. She told him how she had poured all her divine power into the Elim Tree before taking her own life.

She told him that when she opened her eyes, she found herself back in the past. Even after she returned, she discovered that her family was still feeding off her divine power.

“Selling divine power for money is unbearable. My family, who benefit from my strength, won’t even give me a decent meal. I ran away because I couldn’t endure it any longer.”

She explained that she had initially planned to hide in the Forest of Monsters, but that it was harsher than she had expected. She had come in search of the spirits’ village, a place she had only heard about in stories.

When she had finished speaking, she studied the expression on the Spirit of Light’s face. The handsome man, who was faintly glowing with golden light, listened with a furrowed brow.

“If you would allow it… I would like to live here.”

She spoke cautiously, watching his reaction.

The Spirit of Light clicked his tongue in irritation.

“Wretched humans.”

He became especially angry when he read that her family had confined her to a storage room, provided her with inadequate food, and used her as a source of income.

Although he claimed to despise humanity, he revealed himself once a year to eat the fruit of the Elim Tree. Clearly, he cared deeply about food.

Jaina felt an unexpected warmth at the way he had become angry on her behalf. A faint smile tugged at her lips.

Despite seeming cold and sharp-tongued, there was something unexpectedly kind about him.

“Will you permit me to stay here?”

She asked softly.

His brows shot up at once.

“Of course. What if you stayed in the human world and were caught again by those demons more wicked than devils? Selling divine power—the gift of a god—for money? Are they not afraid of hellfire?”

Still with his arms crossed, he grumbled and cursed her family before turning his gaze back to her.

“You can stay here. I’m the only one who uses this fishing spot anyway, and I built this lodge myself.”

At his words, Jaina’s face brightened visibly.

He looked at her with mild annoyance and continued,

“But there’s nothing here fit for a human to eat. The fish in the lake are formed of spiritual essence. You can’t grill them like fish from your world.”

“Oh, I’ll farm.”

She answered confidently.

The Spirit of Light’s expression twisted in disbelief.

“…Farm?”

***

The Spirit of Light was outraged by the idea of growing crops for humans on sacred spirit land. He demanded to know how such an absurdity could possibly be justified.

Ultimately, however, he allowed Jaina to use the clearing near the fishing spot.

He even ventured into the human world on her behalf, returning with the seeds and kitchen utensils she had requested.

When she first asked him to get the seeds, he grumbled that she had remarkable nerve.

“This is exactly why humans are hopeless.”

But despite his complaints, he relented. After all, Jaina could not survive on the plants that grew in the spirits’ land. He grumbled and scolded outwardly, yet beneath that sharp tongue, he seemed far gentler than he let on.

The more she observed him, the more she felt that he truly was a kind spirit.

“Human. Did you plant the crops properly today?”

Though she found it a little bothersome that he came by every day to meddle in her farming, as though he had nothing better to do—

“Yes.”

“What are you planting today?”

The Spirit of Light crouched down in front of her as she tilled the soil and scattered the seeds.

The sunlight was warm enough to make beads of sweat appear on her skin. With the Spirit of Light’s body wrapped in a sun-like glow, standing so close to him made the air feel even hotter.

For a moment, she considered asking him to step back. However, he seemed quick to take offence, so she remained silent and continued digging into the earth.

“I asked what you’re planting, human.”

When she did not respond at once, he repeated himself.

“Corn. You were the one who brought it yesterday, remember?”

“Ah.”

“By the way, why do you keep calling me ‘human’? I told you my name.”

“Well, you call me ‘Spirit’, don’t you? Do you realize how many spirits there are here that could be given that name?”

He lifted one eyebrow as though the question were absurd.

Jaina raised her head to look at him and lightly furrowed her brow.

“You never told me your name.”

“My name isn’t something I hand out to humans so casually.”

“Exactly. I don’t know your name, so of course I have to call you ‘Spirit.’”

The Spirit of Light fell silent, as though pondering her words. Then he rose to his feet. With his arms crossed and an arrogant look in his eyes, he gazed down at her.

“Very well, human. For hundreds of years, no human has known my name. But you… you seem worthy enough to know it.”

‘What kind of qualification does it take just to know someone’s name?’

“This body is called Elysion.”

At that moment, a light identical to the one surrounding his body appeared around Jaina.

Startled, she jumped up.

The Spirit of Light — Elysion — looked at her and spoke.

“Knowing a spirit’s name and having a spirit call yours means you have received that spirit’s blessing. From this day forward, Jaina Ariel, you shall be under the protection of the great Spirit of Light, Elysion. Be grateful and stand in awe.”