Chapter 601: Leave It There

Sava sat beside his low worktable, smoothing a flat sheet of polished engraver brass before passing a rounded stylus carefully to the quiet little girl.

Sava pulled the sharpened engraving tools farther down the bench and waited until she chose how to hold the rounded stylus on her own.

The young child took the slender tool with cautious fingers, resting her small elbows against the smooth surface of the table.

"Engraving is not about forcing the metal," the archivist explained softly, tracing a gentle curved line across his own test surface.

"You only need to show the plate where your hand wishes to go, and the stylus will answer."

"What if my hand wobbles?" the child asked, glancing up with nervous uncertainty behind her dark bangs.

"Then the line bends slightly," the archivist replied with an easy chuckle, guiding his own stylus across a practice plate.

"Metal does not judge an uneven stroke, and neither will anyone in this room."

Hajin stood near the doorway, watching the quiet lesson while sipping hot roasted chicory from an unadorned ceramic mug.

Beside him, Loccy balanced a platter of fresh blackberry biscuits on one palm, leaning down to offer a honeyed treat.

"Eat first, carve later," the rabbit guardian urged cheerfully, nudging the platter closer to the child’s shoulder.

"Nobody ever made a straight groove on an empty stomach... that is an ancient rabbit proverb!"

"You made that proverb up two minutes ago!" the summoner remarked, raising an eyebrow with an amused grin.

"It is still completely true!" the girl insisted with a proud bounce of her long ears.

The child picked up a crumbly biscuit, nibbling around the glazed edge before returning her attention to the waiting plate.

For two hours, the quiet room echoed only with the soft scratch of stylus points gliding across polished sheets.

The child concentrated on pressing small floral shapes and swirling cloud motifs into the surface, humming a faint tune under her breath.

Then, halfway through carving a curving petal, she abruptly stopped her stylus and placed it flat upon the table.

Her shoulders tightened slightly, her eyes flickering toward the adults as if expecting a reprimand for pausing before finishing the design.

Sava left the stylus where she placed it, giving her space to decide whether she wanted to explain the unfinished petal.

"Did I spoil it?" she asked at last, keeping her eyes on the curve she stopped drawing.

"You stopped working," Sava said, shifting his own practice plate aside so nothing covered her view.

"The old supervisor made us scrub a whole page whenever we left a picture unfinished."

Loccy lowered the biscuit platter to the bench, her ears going still as the girl watched Sava for an answer.

"Nobody is handing you a brush to erase this," he said. "Your line can stay exactly where you left it."

Sava did not issue a single criticism, reaching over only to lift the unfinished plate and inspect the curving groove with warm admiration.

"That petal has an excellent, sweeping arc," the archivist praised, rising from his stool without the slightest hint of disappointment.

"We shall leave it right here on the open shelf so you can return whenever curiosity strikes again."

"I do not have to finish the whole flower today?" the child asked, blinking in genuine astonishment.

"You never have to finish a drawing if your hands are tired," the archivist assured her, placing the sheet upon a middle shelf.

"Stopping a task is your own decision, little one, and an unfinished petal is still a wonderful piece of work."

"Can I reach that shelf myself tomorrow?" she asked, measuring the distance from the floor with a doubtful glance.

Sava lowered the plate one shelf and stepped aside until the child could lift it without anyone guiding her hands.

"There. If you return, the first mark is yours to make. If you never return, it still belongs to you."

The child let out a quiet sigh of relief, offering a grateful smile before stepping out into the garden air.

Morning gave way to the fourth day of the trial, greeting the manor courtyard with drifting white clouds and a brisk southern breeze.

Rumi and Nari waited near the edge of the circular flagstone pathway, their four pairs of wings fluttering with lively curiosity.

"Today we are showing you how scouts find reliable pathways," the elder lynx sister announced, leaping across three marked boundary pavers.

"I prefer moving by momentum and continuous speed, catching each landing point before gravity realizes I arrived!"

"And her method is far too noisy," the younger twin countered calmly, tapping her foot against a central marker stone.

"A proper scout measures distances beforehand, confirms every landing anchor, and never leaps into an unverified spatial corridor!"

"Speed is precision, little sister!"

"Recklessness is just an invitation for an arrow in the tail!"

The child watched the two sisters bicker back and forth, crouching low beside the garden shrubs with fascinated interest.

She followed their movements across the courtyard, noticing how Rumi bounded along wide outward arcs while Nari held tight interior angles.

Between the two marked courses lay a narrow strip of untouched moss where neither sister planted a foot.

"Why is there an empty space between your steps?" the child asked, pointing toward the shaded patch of moss.

"Our paths diverge around natural obstacles," the younger scout replied, turning back with an approving nod.

"Good eyes, little scout... you spotted the spatial corridor between our circuits without anyone pointing it out!"

Nari placed a pebble at each end of the open strip, showing the child exactly where the sisters’ routes separated and met again.

"I can reach that stone from the porch," the child said, pointing to the nearest marker without moving closer.

"You can," Nari agreed. "Knowing where a path begins does not mean you have to follow it today."

"Could I place the first marker myself next time?" she asked, keeping her feet on the sheltered side of the stones.

"Yes, absolutely," Nari answered. "I will leave the pebbles here for you, right beside the path until tomorrow."

"Do you want to try jumping between the outer stones with me?" the elder twin asked, offering an encouraging hand.

The child looked at the marked stones, then looked back toward the sheltered porch where Hajin stood beside the railing.

"I think I only want to watch today," she whispered softly, tucking her hands into the pockets of her wool coat.

"Can I try walking the path another time... maybe when the breeze is not pushing so hard?"

"Of course you can!" the elder sister agreed instantly, dropping down into a relaxed crouch beside her.

"A path does not run away while you are thinking about it... it stays right here until you are ready!"

Across the courtyard, the summoner observed the scene with calm satisfaction, watching his companions guide the child without pressure or expectation.

No divine interface alerts flashed in his vision, no quest timers ticked down, and no combat parameters demanded attention.

Through the celestial broadcast channel, thousands of enthusiastic viewers showered the display with affectionate messages and generous contributions.

[ Seoul_Tactician: "Look at the twins teaching their little apprentice! Nari is pretending she is not proud!" ]

[ StarlightScholar: "Hajin let this child decide where she belongs. Nobody at that table tried to speak for her." ]

[ IronVanguard: "Drop more pastry donations for Loccy, she earned every single treat on that tray!" ]

Rumi and Nari jogged back to the porch railing, flanking Hajin on either side with happy purrs rumbling in their chests.

Their lynx ears twitched in unison as they leaned against his arms, curling their soft spotted tails affectionately around his wrists.

"She has sharp eyes," the elder sister whispered, accepting a sugar-glazed pastry from Loccy’s platter with a cheerful wink.

"She noticed the anchor seam between our routes on her very first try!"

"She did," the summoner agreed, resting a hand gently upon each twin’s head to ruffle their hair.

Loccy marched over with the empty platter, wrapping both arms around Hajin’s waist in an affectionate, bone-creaking hug.

"You did good today, Master," the rabbit maiden declared, squeezing him until his ribs gave a muffled protest.

"You let her put the stylus down, and you let her stay on the porch... that is what a real family does!"

"I cannot breathe, Loccy," he wheezed with a breathless chuckle, patting her shoulder until she released her vice-like grip.

"Oops! Sorry, Master... sometimes my happiness gets a little too enthusiastic!"

As twilight settled over the provincial capital, painting the western sky in shades of amber and rose, the child sat upon the porch steps.

She held a cup of fragrant chamomile tea between her palms, looking out over the quiet garden where the marked stones rested in the dusk.

The plate remained untouched upon Sava’s open shelf, safe from scrutiny, and the path through the moss waited patiently for tomorrow.

She chose when to stop, she chose when to rest, and nobody demanded that she become anything more than herself.