Chapter 163: The Misty Sea Tribe (4)
My brother had always been the kind of child who required little attention. He rarely cried or threw tantrums. Even when he was young, it was hard to see him shed tears, and as he got older, it became almost impossible. Though “older” still only meant his teenage years.
Even after he left my care, nothing changed. By the time I could only see him through TV screens, there was truly no chance of witnessing him cry. The boyish face quickly hardened into an unshakable adult. Or so I thought.
“Yuhyun.”
I held his trembling body closer. I could hear the sound of short, gasping breaths, or maybe it was the sound of suppressed tears. What should I do? What did I do when we were little?
I was just as young then, so I didn’t have any particularly clever solutions. I just held him. I held him tight and clumsily tried to console him with awkward words. And sometimes, when we were even younger, I ended up crying along with him. Back then, when I didn’t know what to do, he would stop crying on his own and sniffle, saying, “I’m not crying anymore, hyung.”
That’s how he used to be.
“I’m fine. Just a few scratches, that’s all.”
I had planned to walk out of here without a scratch and reassure him. But those damn bastard monsters had gotten in the way.
“The bastard’s dead. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“…”
“Are your injuries okay? Did you heal everything?”
“…Hyung.”
“Yes, Yuhyun. It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay! Not at all!”
A wet voice suddenly shouted.
“It hurts so much inside, I feel like I’m going to die. Hyung, I…”
His words broke off into shallow gasps. Even I felt like my throat was closing up, dry and constricted. Panicking, I suddenly remembered the memories that had been stolen. Gently patting his back with one hand, I took out a glass bottle from my inventory. It contained the memory orb I had retrieved for Yuhyun.
“These are the memories that were taken from you. Once they return, you’ll feel a bit better.”
When he regained his memories, he’d understand that there had been someone I could turn to for help in the dungeon. That knowledge alone would bring him peace of mind, much more so than when I had to send him off without knowing anything. I truly hoped this would ease his pain, even a little.
Yuhyun lifted his head. His eyes were red, and his lips were scabbed as if he’d bitten them. His gaze, full of raw sorrow, pierced through me. Seeing his face in such a state made my chest ache, but at the same time, I felt strangely relieved.
This was better than watching him bottle everything up, pretending to be fine. I preferred this.
“Let’s get your memories back, and then we’ll go home.”
“…Home?”
“Yeah, home. It’s not the old house, but it’s still our home.”
“Our home…?”
“Of course it’s our home. Whose else would it be?”
While he murmured blankly, I opened the bottle and retrieved the memory orb. Bringing it to his body, I watched as it was absorbed and vanished. Yuhyun blinked a few times, his tearful eyes still glistening.
“Do you remember? What I did—it wasn’t that dangerous, was it?”
For a moment, he said nothing. Perhaps he was confused by the sudden return of his memories, his lips pressed tightly together as he silently stared at me. But the fragmented expression on his face gradually settled into something calmer. The turbulent look in his eyes finally began to fade.
“…I still don’t like it.”
After a long pause, his voice came out in a sulky tone. His brows furrowed deeply, so I pressed my finger to his forehead to smooth them out.
“Just because you’re S-rank doesn’t mean you’re immune to wrinkles. Probably.”
Even five years from now, everyone’s skin still looked smooth and taut. Even Seong Hyunjae had remained infuriatingly flawless.
“I thought I was going to lose my mind. I felt like I was going to die.”
“Yeah.”
“Before entering the dungeon, what if that guy had changed his mind? And if you hadn’t been able to get the help you needed—if something had gone wrong inside the dungeon…”
His voice, which had just calmed down, began trembling again as it trailed off.
“If you’d stayed in the dungeon, you would’ve disappeared completely. Not even a trace left behind. Hyung, I…”
“I’m sorry.”
“…Don’t say you’re sorry. It’s not like you’re never going to do something like this again. You won’t, will you?”
“I’m sorry. But Yuhyun, I’m not going to die.”
It was a bold statement, considering I couldn’t see the future, but I meant it.
“I absolutely can’t die. No matter what happens, not yet. I can’t.”
This life was too hard-earned to throw away. I still had things I needed to do—things I couldn’t leave unfinished.
“At the very least, I need to see you get married. Yerim too.”
I had an important duty to sit in the place of honor at both of their weddings. Taking out a chick-patterned handkerchief from my inventory, I began wiping Yuhyun’s tear-streaked face. How many years had it been since I last did this?
“I may be weak, but I’m not reckless. I don’t throw myself into situations where there’s no hope. I only act when I’m confident I can survive. And by the way—”
At some point, Iryn appeared and clamped its tiny teeth onto the corner of the handkerchief. It tugged as if asking for it, and then gulped it down in one bite. Fine, you’ve done well today. Eat as much as you like.
“You said it yourself. You’ll save me no matter what happens. I trust you.”
Yuhyun’s expression softened. In moments like these, his face was easy to read. I had spent so much time thinking I didn’t understand him, but I was wrong.
“I’ll believe in you, Yuhyun. No matter what, I’ll stay alive. You know I’m useful, don’t you? I can always make people keep me alive, whether through threats or flattery or whatever it takes. So come save me. Take your time, prepare thoroughly. I’ll wait as long as I need to.”
Even back when I had nothing in my hands, I still managed to survive, no matter how reckless I was. If I could make it through those days when even my body wasn’t reliable, then now—armed with so many advantages—I was overflowing with options.
“…Wouldn’t it be better if there was nothing to rescue you from in the first place?”
“That’d be ideal, but when do things ever go as planned? Even today, I thought it’d end smoothly. Who could’ve guessed that bastard would resurrect as an SSS-grade?”
“What’s this about Choi Seokwon’s contractor being interested in you?”
“Oh, that? You remember that lizard’s successor, the zombie guy? He offered to save the people I care about if I made a contract with him, but I refused. He seemed interested in you too. If he tries to propose any sort of contract, absolutely do not accept it. I turned him down, so you should do the same no matter what he offers.”
Yuhyun hesitated for a moment before nodding. I reassured him once again, making sure he didn’t get any strange ideas, then stood up.
“Let’s get out of here before the gate closes.”
“You called it our home earlier.”
“Yeah, it’s our home.”
Yuhyun got to his feet. My eyes caught the streaks of blood running from his shoulders down to his legs. Damn that Choi Seokwon, that filthy bastard. I’d let him off too easily.
“…Can I sleep with you tonight?”
“Is it because of those tear tracks? You look about ten years younger now, so sure.”
Should I give him a pillow for his head? I could even sing him a lullaby. My joking tone finally coaxed a small smile from him.
“But, hyung, weren’t you supposed to stay with the Sesung Guild?”
“Of course I ran. I lasted pretty long, didn’t I?”
“You say you’re not reckless, but you were wandering around alone.”
“I wasn’t alone. I had Belare, who’s got an A-rank poison skill, and I used stealth skills too. You, on the other hand, went to meet Choi Seokwon without me. Let’s agree not to keep secrets from each other, okay?”
“I’ll think about it, depending on what you do.”
“You look about ten years older now. Seems like you’re at an age where you can sleep alone.”
I joked as we exited the gate. Familiar faces greeted us in the desolate landscape, and relief washed over me knowing everyone was safe. Kang Soyeong was still unconscious, cradled in the arms of Liette, who had reverted to her human form. Belare was perched on her master’s shoulder.
“Choi Seokwon is dead.”
The gazes directed at me were filled with surprise and curiosity. Of course they were. An F-rank like me had gone with a monster that had incapacitated S-ranks in an instant, and now I was returning claiming that the monster was dealt with. Who wouldn’t be shocked—or suspicious?
“Of course, I wasn’t the one who killed him. It was more of a borrowing-someone-else’s-hand kind of situation. I can’t go into detail, but I got some help.”
At my reassurances that everything had been resolved, Noah and Song Taewon visibly relaxed. Song Taewon still looked somewhat skeptical, but seeing me and Yuhyun safe seemed to convince him. In the end, surviving the dungeon was what mattered most.
Liette, on the other hand, seemed a little disappointed but then suddenly turned to me and said, “Take good care of your brother.”
…What the hell? Why was I getting this kind of talk from her?
“Are you one to talk? You should take better care of Noah.”
“You wouldn’t understand since you don’t have one—”
“Hunter Liette.”
Yuhyun interrupted, stepping partially in front of me to cut her off.
“Don’t say unnecessary things.”
“Wow, I was supporting you, but you’re so prickly.”
Why was Liette even siding with Yuhyun? I had no idea, but I supposed it was better than her siding with someone else. Maybe she’d taken a liking to my brother in the short time I was gone. While I could appreciate her good taste, as his older brother, it was far from welcome. She was the textbook definition of a bad influence.
“This time, I also think Yujin is…”
Noah trailed off awkwardly before clamping his mouth shut under Yuhyun’s sharp glare. Even Song Taewon was looking at Yuhyun with a strange expression. What the hell had happened while I was gone?
“Don’t mind them.”
Yuhyun spoke protectively, addressing me.
“Unlike you, they don’t really know me, so they’re just overreacting.”
…Fair enough. Even I was surprised to see Yuhyun cry after so long. Still, Liette and Song Taewon’s reactions left a bad taste in my mouth.
“Hyung, I’m tired.”
“Huh?”
“I still feel uneasy. I just want to go home as soon as possible.”
“Alright, let’s go quickly then. Chief Song Taewon, please take this.”
I handed Song Taewon the memory orbs.
“These are the memories of the people caught in the mist. Just place them near their rightful owners, and they’ll be absorbed. I believe some of them are yours as well. Noah, please check too.”
The two began searching for their memories. I casually asked what they had lost. Noah’s missing memory turned out to be of Kang Soyeong trying to lure him into visiting Liette under the guise of a date. Song Taewon’s was about three consecutive nights of overtime and missing trash collection day.
I left the clean-up to Song Taewon, though I felt a little bad about it. After all, this was an unprecedented event where the MKC Guild leader had transformed into an SS~SSS-grade being before dying. I thought he might question or detain me or Yuhyun for a proper report, but instead, he simply nodded and told me to appear tomorrow.
With Belare in hand and Noah’s help, we returned to the breeding facility. It felt so good to be home after everything. I was so exhausted that, while taking a hot shower, I nearly hit my head against the wall multiple times. If I’d chosen to soak in the bathtub, I probably would’ve fallen asleep and drowned.
As soon as we lay down on the bed, we both fell asleep instantly, as if we’d been knocked out.
“Completely useless, in the end.”
A disappointed voice echoed through the mist-filled tank. Ru Ga Pheya rubbed the underside of her chin with the tip of a long, smooth tendril.
Getting that S-rank human to willingly sacrifice himself hadn’t been difficult. What Pheya hadn’t anticipated, however, was that the very tribe member she had thought to be unbeatable in that world would end up being defeated.
“I was sure they’d come to me for help, but they escaped instead.”
As a precaution, Pheya had tethered the man carrying the trace of the Crescent Moon. That man was undeniably the one chosen by the traitors in this world. Pheya had been convinced that if she could block that man, the traitors wouldn’t be able to interfere further.
“There’s no way the humans could’ve managed it on their own. So… is the Nurturer the one chosen by the traitors? But why?”
Pheya tilted her fifth tendril slowly in thought. Nurturers were certainly rare. However, with the passage of time and the sheer number of worlds that existed, more than ten had appeared over the years. And yet, the traitors had never shown much interest in them.
On the contrary, the traitors saw Nurturers as obstacles. Frequently, innate S-ranks with great potential displayed strange behavior due to the influence of a Nurturer. For this reason, the traitors often killed Nurturers early on when taking over a world.
Even though the innate S-ranks mourned the loss of their Nurturer, they eventually reverted to their original temperaments. After all, the bond between them wasn’t truly one of kinship. While the Nurturer gave and received love, there were natural limits to that connection.
Thus, Pheya had assumed that, this time as well, the traitors wouldn’t care much about the Nurturer. Although obtaining Diarma’s skill had been unexpected, it made sense in the context of nurturing, and Pheya had guessed that Seong Hyunjae—the man associated with the traitors—had passed it along.
It was also Seong Hyunjae who had been caring for the Nurturer, who carried a magic stone. Yet the Nurturer had somehow led an SSS-grade member of the Tribe of Harmlessness into a dungeon and dealt with them. Though Pheya couldn’t confirm what had happened inside the dungeon, it had to have involved the traitors’ intervention.
In other words, the person chosen by the traitors in this world was the Nurturer.
“That’s strange~ Is there something more going on?”
Intrigued, Pheya reached for her tea-time companion. Holding a device shaped like a smartphone to her ear, she pretended to make a call.
“Hello, Chatterbox.”
[What is it, King of Harmless?]
“Call me Jellyfish here. That seems to be my role this time.”
[□□ri, Jellyfish. Isn’t it always the same when a jellyfish is involved in a world like that?]
“That’s not the important part. I need your help.”
[Help? Why? You said you’d handle it yourself and move on.]
“There’s something special about this one.”
Pheya lowered her voice as she continued.
“I can feel it. This time, it’s real.”
[When you say ‘real,’ it’s never actually been real—not even once in ten times. Besides, I’ve heard the newcomer in your world is a nuisance. For a rookie, they’re surprisingly capable. And we don’t exactly get along.]
“Then just look into one thing for me.”
[One thing?]
“The human corpse taken by the white bird.”
The thing most deeply tied to the Nurturer’s thoughts.
[A white bird, huh? That won’t be easy to track down.]
“It’s disappeared, but it must’ve been stored somewhere. Most likely near a snowy tree.”
[That’s a vast area. It’ll take time.]
“I’ll make it worth your while, so please hurry. Humans die quickly.”
Pheya was also curious why the white bird had gone out of its way to take the body. Leaving a final word of thanks, Ru Ga Pheya ended the call.
–TL Notes–
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