Chapter 724: Counseling (1)
Han Yujin collapsed. It was such a sudden faint that even Han Yuhyun and Park Yerim, who were right beside him, hadn’t seen any warning signs. Han Yuhyun hurriedly caught his falling body. Startled, Park Yerim looked back at Young Chaos.
“Grandpa!”
Young Chaos was suddenly standing in front of Han Yuhyun. Yuhyun carefully lowered himself so the boy could see the unconscious Yujin in his arms.
“There’s no external injury.”
Chaos’s fingertips moved skillfully over Yujin’s body. He furrowed his brows slightly, then spoke with something like a sigh.
“He’s completely worn out. Physically and mentally. But I don’t see any other problems.”
“What should we do?”
“What else? Let him rest properly.”
At Han Yuhyun’s question, Chaos straightened up as he answered.
“Even if it’s only for a day at most.”
Even if he told him to rest, they didn’t have much time. Han Yuhyun adjusted his hold on Yujin and stood.
“I’ll stay with him.”
“That’s the only way you’ll calm down.”
“Take Peace too!”
– Kiang!
Yerim blurted out, and Peace trotted after Han Yuhyun. Watching their backs as they headed for the house, Yerim whispered quietly to adult Chaos.
“Mister really is okay, right?”
“What’s the point of me saying he’s fine, when that kid’s acting like that.”
His red eyes turned up to her, stern.
“Don’t copy him. Even from someone who’s lived ahead of you, there are things you should learn and things you shouldn’t.”
“Yeah, I’ll be careful. I’m just surprised Mister worried that much. I was really worried about him too, but still, he’s Mister, you know? I kind of thought he’d be okay, so it’s not like I wasn’t worried, but…”
“To you, he’s still an adult. To the eldest, there’s guilt piled on top of that for dragging you in.”
“I came because I said I’d come. I’d have been offended if they left me out.”
“In the eldest’s eyes, little third, you’re still not at an age to take full responsibility for your decisions.”
“At Mister’s standard, that might be true forever. Especially for Han Yuhyun.”
She shrugged, as if to say he’d be clinging on even past sixty.
“Anyway, you’re saying there’s nothing seriously wrong. That’s a relief.”
After Moon Hyunah spoke, Mari looked at Young Chaos with bright, curious eyes. Then she sidled up to Yerim and whispered.
“If you called him Grandpa, does that mean he’s really old?”
“Super old. He’s a Transcendent, and he’s older than the other Transcendents, apparently.”
“But he’s so cute! Newbie was cute too. Do Transcendents just tend to be cute?”
Yerim thought for a moment, then shook her head. The Mermaid Queen and Chatterbox weren’t exactly cute. The tense atmosphere that had frozen when Yujin collapsed gradually loosened.
“Yujin needs to rest, so please stay away from the house. If you need anything, tell me.”
Yu Myungwoo said, conjuring a table and some chairs. Mari shot her hand up.
“Hyunah–unni said you have to eat well to stay healthy! Mister Han is gonna be hungry when he wakes up!”
“Yeah, Mister got dragged around by the water a lot too. Should we make porridge? Myungwoo oppa, can you conjure porridge?”
“Food is trickier than things like chairs. The nutritional balance might be off or something inedible could end up in it. So I still have to cook by hand. It’s better that way anyway. The ingredients…”
Myungwoo’s gaze turned toward the wide meadow and the forest.
“Should be out there somewhere. Newbie said they only left things that are edible. We can get cookware and seasonings from the forge. There’s kimchi and rice too.”
“I’ll dump in the water! And since Yuhyun’s not here, I guess somebody has to deal with firewood, right?”
“Think there’s game here? I saw birds flying earlier.”
Moon Hyunah grabbed her twin spears, and Samir took out his bow.
“Want me to drive them out?”
“No, ma’am. You were thinking of using Dragonization, weren’t you.”
“If I just stomp once they’ll all come running~. Or I could sprinkle a teeny bit of poison in the lake?”
“Then nobody else can eat anything.”
“Just a teeny bit? They’re S–ranks. Sleeping Beauty over there has poison resistance too.”
“…If poison gets on it, it won’t taste good.”
Noah, who’d begged Liette over and over to please behave herself, spread his wings.
“I’ll take care of the firewood.”
Song Taewon volunteered as well.
“I’ll do the kindling.”
“This feels like camping! I’m gonna go catch some fish. Who’s coming with me?”
“Me! I want to try fishing again!”
“I’m gonna flip the lake over and scoop everything out, is that okay?”
“That sounds fun~.”
Yerim and Mari headed for the lake. Liette declared she’d help too and went with them. Song Taewon pulled out an axe and went into the forest, and the rest spread out to hunt.
“So you’re just working the kids and sitting back to watch.”
Young Chaos perched on a backless stool. Seong Hyunjae approached and sat beside him, a small smile on his lips.
“So you don’t see anything wrong, then.”
Chaos pressed his mouth into a thin line, then opened it again.
“You’re annoyingly quick on the uptake.”
“Even with your senses, Elder?”
“He might really be fine. But.”
“But he shouldn’t be?”
“…If you look at the results.”
His red eyes turned toward the house where Han Yujin was sleeping. Golden eyes followed.
There was nothing wrong with Yujin’s body. At least, nothing within the range Young Chaos could perceive.
“What exactly did he pull off. You’ve got a rough idea, don’t you?”
“I know the outline, which is why I found it strange.”
The current Seong Hyunjae did not carry over the memories of the pre–regression Seong Hyunjae. But he could still guess. The kids who’d returned said they’d taken down a big snake, a subordinate of the King of Predation. And Newbie had said the King of Predation was gone.
By killing the subordinate, they’d summoned the King of Predation, and Han Yujin had killed him. Just that alone was enough to wreck his body. On top of that—
“The system too, that was the eldest?”
“Yes.”
He’d partially paralyzed the system and cut it off. Even for a Transcendent, that would be the kind of thing you staked your life on. Considering the background of the system’s birth, it was an outcome that would be hard to achieve even if you poured your whole existence into it. And yet there was nothing visibly wrong with Han Yujin’s body.
“Maybe he had some way to protect himself. But he’s not the type to spare himself.”
“He must have gotten treatment. But he’s still a little too okay.”
“And if there is a problem you can’t detect, what happens then?”
Young Chaos’s gaze grew heavy.
“You can’t fix a problem you can’t see. Not even as a Transcendent.”
There would be no way. Even binding him to a Transcendent would do no good.
Chaos let out a short sigh.
“We can only hope it hasn’t gone that far. What the hell is wrong with that eldest. Even if people say humans have no limits, he’s trying to bail out the ocean with a bucket and catch a mountain in a strainer.”
It was something that could only end with him shattered and torn apart. There were limits to how much you could repair. After another sigh, Chaos suddenly dropped his voice, cool.
“What are you thinking.”
“I’ve been dumping everything on my past and future self and enjoying a little vacation.”
“Don’t talk crap. There’s no way you did nothing.”
“I also watched the kid, while I was at it.”
“You’re gonna get hit.”
“Turns out I’m unexpectedly well–suited to it.”
“Well–suited, my ass. You’re not the type to keep people close and raise them.”
Seong Hyunjae’s eyes curved slightly. As Chaos said, he wasn’t someone who kept people at his side. He’d raise them, but in a hands–off way; more like free–range. He’d give them food now and then, clear out the more dangerous threats, but their growth itself was left alone. He’d set them in a big pen not much different from the wild and act like he never touched them.
“There are always exceptions.”
“You mean the eldest and that stiff?”
“If it’s Han Yujin and Chief Song Taewon, I’d like to keep them at home. Anyone else, I’ll politely decline, as you say, Elder.”
His gaze slid toward the forest where Song Taewon had gone.
“Even if someone took another person in while I was away. The one who said they loved me went and held hands with the person I love. That’s tragic, isn’t it—”
Young Chaos silently pulled out a switch. Seong Hyunjae shut his mouth. The tip of the switch tapped lightly against the leg of the stool.
“You’re really just going to behave and do whatever the eldest says?”
“Hard to do that when Han Yujin isn’t here.”
His voice was calm.
“I don’t know how to listen to someone who’s about to disappear.”
“Even if the eldest wants to live?”
“I haven’t heard him say so yet. He won’t tell me.”
“Why you and not the second?”
“You can’t lean on a stranger. I’m a bit picky that way.”
Han Yujin had climbed his way up. He’d achieved a lot, proven himself. Even standing beside S–rank Hunters now, there was no longer any room to call him lacking. At the same time, he was still precarious. If you leaned on someone who was just barely holding on, you’d only end up falling with them.
“What a pain–in–the–ass temperament. What more do you plan to demand from the eldest.”
“I thought I’d been rather kind lately.”
Seong Hyunjae looked genuinely aggrieved.
“What good is that. You’re still the sort of black–hearted bastard who could flip it all over whenever. You could just drop this guy and it’d be less of a burden, but that eldest—”
“He’s lovable. If Song Taewon can’t be avoided, then Han Yujin can’t be thrown away. Not for me, not for either of them.”
“We just have to hold out for a month. It’s not a bad plan.”
If Han Yujin’s world was completely freed from the system—
“I’d like to spend some peaceful time with those two as well, but I’m still tied up in a lot of things.”
Far in the distance, a great mass of water was churning. He saw a golden dragon slice across the sky like a hunting falcon. A great tree crashed down with a loud crack.
Seong Hyunjae turned his head to look at Young Chaos.
“So please be my guarantor.”
“…What?”
Chaos raised a brow, and Seong Hyunjae smiled gently.
The air felt like it was sloshing, like water. In that soft, swaying space—
“Hey.”
A curt voice prodded at me. I was exhausted. I just wanted to sleep deeply without any kind of weird dream.
“Hey!”
Noisy.
“Han Yujin!”
Whack! Somebody kicked me. It was so unfair, infuriating, and irritating to not even be allowed to sleep. It’s not like I was asking for much, just a little nap.
“Keep that up and you’re gonna sleep forever.”
They kicked me again. I stubbornly kept my eyes shut, determined to sleep anyway. Just one more hour…
“…Ow!”
My hair got grabbed. This crazy bastard had a fistful of it and started shaking my head back and forth.
“Hair next, then it’s the cheek.”
This temper–ridden asshole. Swearing under my breath, I forced my eyes open. A face identical to mine was looking down at me. That made me feel even worse.
“Let me sleep!”
“If you sleep here, you’re not waking up.”
“What? Let go of my hair first, ow, ow! Hey! Hey! You bastard!”
“Did you glue this to your head or what, my fingers won’t come off.”
“What bullshit is that! Why would I put glue in my hair!”
“I thought it was hair wax.”
“You don’t even think I use that crap, ow! Hey!”
He dragged me around by the hair for a good while, then finally let go. Thanks to that, I was fully awake. Blinking, I looked around. It was a bit dim, with water lapping at my feet, flowing in and out.
“Hi.”
I wiggled my fingers in a lazy wave. So…
“You said I can’t wake up?”
“What’s it called, coma? You only get out of here if you decide to. So if you sleep, you don’t wake up. Normally, if a healthy person drops in here, they’re already awake, like in a dream.”
“So are you a dream?”
“Yeah right.”
The me who was a little taller shrugged. Right, he had to be me from the Nightmare Dungeon. Twenty–nine–year–old me—he’d be thirty by now. It felt weird, thinking this was the thirty–year–old me who’d stopped and turned back.
“Quit staring at me like that, it’s creepy.”
“I love you.”
“Should’ve just let you dry up and die.”
I scowled hard.
“You were acting like a drugged chicken, but you’re more okay than I thought.”
“A lot of stuff happened. Hey, I’m super popular now. I don’t even freak out about being on TV anymore.”
“So did you become a celebrity or something?”
“Not exactly. What’s with the floor? Before… I’ve been here before, right?”
Memories I’d forgotten started to float up faintly. I nodded.
“Your world’s a mess with water.”
“…What? A flood? Are you serious?”
“I don’t know the details, but uh, a sleeping sea?”
The Mermaid Queen. It had to be the effect of the Mermaid Queen’s water that was wrapping our world.
“So that made it easier for me to hook up with you. Water flows and mixes. I’m asleep, you’re asleep, you sank really deep, so all the originally identical selves’ consciousnesses kind of sloshed across the walls between worlds and half–mixed, or something like that.”
“…You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
“I don’t really get it either.”
Anyway, it sounded like he’d helped me out when I was in danger. I guess I’d been pretty tired. Which, fair.
“Thanks, roughly. You doing okay? How’s Yuhyun?”
“Obviously I want to say he’s fine, but…”
I scratched the back of my head.
“We fought.”
“…Huh?”
Why? How? At this point, shouldn’t things be okay? I stared at him, confused, and he avoided my eyes.
“Well, you know. Honestly, Yuhyun and I are… not normal. At first it was fine. But the fact that it was fine became the problem. Things were peaceful, and that made us anxious. Especially Yuhyun. Since he kept staying with me… he started getting scared of losing me again.”
“Ah…”
Thinking about it, it was a bit much to expect, Well, we’ve made up, let’s just get along now! when we were both that hurt. On my side, I’d regressed, so it felt like none of it had ever happened, and the Yuhyun over there was twenty, before the scars got too deep, so we could kind of muddle along. But that wasn’t the case for them.
“I don’t really want to say it out loud, but… it kind of felt like he wanted to die with me.”
“Oh, that! I know that really well. That’s just how Yuhyun is.”
I nodded hard. So that phase had hit over there too.
“That’s a good sign.”
He looked at me like I was insane. It’s true, though.
“Yuhyun’s basically close to fire. So he wants to swallow the person he loves.”
His eyes were still full of doubt. Honestly, I’d had a hard time understanding it too. If things had stayed peaceful the way they had for him, he probably wouldn’t get it yet. I’d just gone through so many different things that I’d slowly come to accept it.
“Remember, back at the hotel, when he attacked me? You saw me hurt, right? That’s Yuhyun’s instinct. He kept suppressing it, then as he started to settle down, he started getting honest about what he wanted.”
I explained as best I could, including what I’d gone through and the advice I’d gotten from Young Chaos. He listened with a reluctant look at first, then gradually nodded, understanding.
“It’s hard to really get it, but… I sort of see.”
“Still, don’t just say it’s fine no matter what. You’ll both end up dead.”
“I don’t plan on dying. That’s why I ran.”
“…What?”
“He caught me pretty quick, though.”
“So you got locked up.”
“And ran again. Yuhyun can’t stick to my side 24/7, he’s gotta go make my meals.”
I could clearly picture myself whining that I wanted this or that to eat. Well… not exactly what I’d expected, but they were living, at least.
“Talk to him. Really talk. And, oh. Write a contract and have a proper match.”
“Huh?”
“Drop Yuhyun’s physical rank down to yours and ban skills. If you fight, it’ll blow off some steam. He’ll love it too.”
“Knocking him down that far would take dozens of S–rank contracts and still wouldn’t be enough.”
“Put in a condition. Make it so he can cancel it whenever he wants. Contracts that are easy for the contractor to break have fewer restrictions, remember?”
“That’s true. Our experience gap is huge, so I’ll probably lose anyway. Maybe I’ll let myself use skills.”
He nodded like it was a decent idea, then looked back at me.
“So what’s your problem?”
Problem, huh… I hesitated, then opened my mouth.
“It feels kind of serious.”
This time, I was sure of it.
–TL Notes–
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