"Merlin, Merlin, are you listening?" The girl waved a hand in front of the vacant-eyed magician and pouted in displeasure. "Sorry, sorry. I've lived so long that even my memory's failing..." The magician let the girl tug at the hem of his robe. "Mr. Merlin is saying strange things again. I want to hear a story~" The magician, mistaken for a poet, didn't bother to explain. Instead, he cheerfully took the girl's hand, stained with blood and dirt.
This was a human hell ruled by poverty, yet the magician treated every girl who longed for something the same. The tip of his staff touched the ground. Petals burst from beneath their feet, filling the air. In the distance, a tower stood indistinctly; the breeze stirred the soft, downy grass.
"Then let me tell you the story of a king."
"It's the story I'm best at telling."
The magician stroked the crown of the girl's chestnut hair and wiped the dirt and blood from her face with his snowy-white sleeve.
"Yes! Yes! I love stories about heroes! I want to be a hero too!" Her eyes lit up as she gazed expectantly at the well-informed magician.
"Little princess, a king isn't a hero~"
"Really? But..."
"But a king is the best person in the world." Merlin casually plucked a cream-colored flower. "Don't you agree?"
"Exactly! I want to help everyone, just like the king!"
Merlin gently tucked the flower behind her ear and answered softly.
"Mm-hmm. Then listen to the story of a king."
Theme: Love is the absence of love
