Chapter 726: Counseling (3)
Before the bet between the Unfilial Children and the Filial Duty Addicts started, the first system creator had appeared with the Lighthouse Keeper to help us. Sloth. From him, I’d received two New Year’s envelopes and the sigil of his system–administrator affiliation. Since we had that connection, I’d asked Newbie to see if we could ask him for help one more time.
“You…”
I was still trying to pick the right words when a voice came from behind me. Young Chaos. Right, those two would know each other.
“You said you’d never wake up again.”
“Other than the Lighthouse Keeper, that is.”
Sloth finally opened his mouth. Then, looking like he didn’t feel like explaining more, he glanced at Newbie for help. Newbie blinked, wide–eyed, like, why me? Sloth let out a long sigh and started talking.
“The Lighthouse Keeper is a watcher. In case something goes wrong with the system, he was made so he can wake up that much. And I am a dream. I am one who spends most of my time asleep and dreaming.”
The Hermit in the Tree Shade.
“So I can move briefly as a dream, not as a physical form.”
“I see.”
“As long as the system is running, its members do not wake. If they wake, the system stops. For the sake of the worlds of the Five Origins, they will not awaken of their own will.”
…If the system suddenly stopped, chaos would come crashing in. Even if we ignored the system windows, the dungeons were the real problem. Young Chaos gave a small nod. I thought he might be pleased to see Sloth, but he didn’t greet him in any special way. Still, old memories seemed to cloud his red eyes, dark and deep.
“I cut the connection between my world and the system. More precisely, between my world and the system administrator.”
Sloth turned his head slowly to look at me.
“I’m grateful for the system’s existence. But I don’t need the administrators.”
“The administrators only manage the system.”
“Yes. But that’s not how it is now.”
Newbie flinched and hunched their neck. Their red eyes rolled like they wanted to dodge the gaze.
“There are still traces of the link left. Please help me, so the Transcendents can’t ruin my world.”
From within his trailing sleeves, Sloth reached out. Long, white fingers picked up the pouches from my hands.
“My gifts are auspicious dreams. If you open the pouch and let it out, you’ll have good dreams that night and good things will happen.”
But I hadn’t opened them. There was still too much ahead of us to burn up that small bit of luck already. I’d told Yuhyun he could use his if he wanted, but he’d just kept it tucked away too.
“Please be our auspicious dream.”
“As the one who made the road, I shall. But as someone bound to the system, all I can do is look for a way.”
The pouches vanished, and a soft shimmer wrapped around Sloth.
[He’s checking the system.]
Newbie whispered, edging closer to me.
[He knows way more than I do, so I’m sure he’ll find a good way to protect Honey’s world.]
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Newbie rubbed their cheek with a sleeve–covered hand, embarrassed.
[We did interfere way too much, that’s true… I’m sorry. Please don’t hate us too much…]
“I know you didn’t mean anything bad by it. You can’t really use that as an excuse, but still.”
The Unfilial Children had been trying, in their own way, to sacrifice themselves and help a lot of worlds. From the point of view of those who got dragged into it, sure, who cares about their intentions. But I had no intention of blaming someone who was trying to change and make things right. If they went on insisting, I did it for the greater good, to the very end, then sure, they could go eat dirt.
“I don’t hate you, Newbie. Except for the tentacles.”
[Honey really hates tentacles that much?]
“Mm, even if your true form turned out to be nothing but a mass of tentacles, I wouldn’t hate you. No matter what you look like. You’re you.”
Maybe I kept joking about tentacles not just because it was easy. Well, even tentacles would probably be okay once I got used to them. Humans adapt to anything, right.
“You’re a kind, good person, Newbie.”
[…Even though I tried to use you, Honey?]
“You’re not doing that now. Relationships change. Look at that guy with the pretty face over there. He treated me like a walking item at first, you know? But now he’s different.”
…He has changed, right? It’s not like I can read his mind. I reached out and ruffled Newbie’s hair. Their short, soft hair felt like petting a puppy.
“Whatever happened at the beginning, I like you now.”
[I like you too, Honey.]
Newbie beamed. If things ended well, Newbie was one of the people I worried about. They’d ended up out of step with the other Unfilial Children, and once the link was fully cut, it’d be hard to see them again. I was more worried than sad. At least we had Elder.
“The sleeping sea.”
Sloth, eyes almost closed, spoke.
“The foundation is already there.”
“The Mermaid Queen helped us. You mean that foundation?”
“There are many kinds of barriers that wrap and protect something. Among them, the strongest kind is one that constructs a virtual world and builds layers.”
Sloth looked over at Newbie and Young Chaos again. Newbie tilted their head; Young Chaos stared off into the distance. With no one stepping in to explain for him, Sloth went on, wearing a tragic expression. He really, really hated talking, apparently.
“The water has already prepared the base. The most effective thing would be to build a barrier of virtual space on top of it.”
“Virtual space…”
“A dream. The dreamers of the boy’s world.”
Oh. The dreams of the people in our world?
“…It’s not dangerous, right?”
“The world of dreams already exists. Each one is individual, so they have no particular power. We will connect them all to the sleeping sea. People themselves will not change. Only the place where their dreams stay will be new.”
So… I didn’t fully get it, but basically we’d send people’s dreams into the Mermaid Queen’s sea, turn them into a world, and that world would act as a barrier actually protecting our real one. Since dreams reflected the world we lived in, you could see them as another world, in a way. …Maybe? I wasn’t sure.
I decided to just understand it as, we’ll mix dreams and the sea and turn that into a barrier.
“Then the Transcendents won’t be able to break through?”
“Reaching the sleeping sea and interfering with it won’t be hard. But beyond that, only those connected by dreams can pass.”
[It means only beings who belong to Honey’s world can cross over!]
Newbie chimed in, and Sloth looked delighted.
[It’s similar to the protection that used to cover worlds already. It’ll be really sturdy! The more people there are dreaming, the stronger it is. With the number of sentient beings in Honey’s world, it’s plenty. Not just a month, it could hold for over a year!]
“So that means I really won’t be able to see you again, Newbie. Or Elder.”
At my words, Newbie’s shoulders slumped, then they smiled again.
[You’ll still be able to come out. It won’t take that long, probably. And you have the blacksmith too.]
“Yeah, that’s true. Elder.”
“I’m good.”
“We’ll come see you again, I promise.”
Young Chaos waved a hand like this was all a huge bother. With Crescent Moon still around, leaving entirely would be risky, but we might be able to make contact again pretty soon. Maybe someday our kids would be stronger than Crescent Moon.
[But how do we connect the dreams?]
Newbie scrunched their nose and looked at Sloth.
[That’s the main issue. It’s already hard for administrators to interfere with Honey’s world. Even if they can, it won’t be easy.]
“There is a dream here.”
Sloth turned his gaze. We followed it.
“…Mari?”
Mari was standing where he was looking. As she blinked, Moon Hyunah stepped in front of her.
“Wait a sec. What are you planning?”
“A powerful dream born of the boy’s world. The solid form of a power that can draw in everyone’s dreams.”
“No, Mari is–”
“You’re right. I’m the embodiment of dreams and fantasy.”
Mari gently caught Hyunah’s arm. Hyunah looked back at her, worried.
“A princess created for a wedding.”
Mari smiled. Created…
“Mari, you came out on your own.”
“Yes, unni. But I’m still a princess.”
With light steps, she walked forward. Her bright blonde hair swayed.
“Crescent Moon made my mother create me.”
“Crescent Moon also possesses dreams of the night, illusions.”
…Her Skill flashed through my mind. The ability to make her own dreams real. That ridiculous Skill had come from Crescent Moon. Because Mari herself was a dream, she’d been able to have something like that.
“You will go to the sea and call the dreams.”
“To the sea?”
Then—
“What about Mari!”
“What about Mari! Is she going to be okay?”
Hyunah and I said it at the same time. Sloth answered slowly.
“She will remain as the pillar of dreams.”
“Remain… You mean Mari won’t be able to come back, don’t you?”
“Yes. A dream is in the dream.”
No way. That wouldn’t do at all. She couldn’t be left alone like that.
“Isn’t there another way?”
“There is no result without a price. Even with the Mermaid Queen preparing the base, it is not enough. A dream is the most suitable. If you look for another way, the price will be far greater.”
[…Honey. We’re talking about putting up a barrier that can block Transcendents.]
Newbie looked at me, full of regret. What they were saying was true. It was practically like we were buying safety for dirt cheap. But still—
“Hyunah–unni, Mister Han. I’m originally a dream. Something that disappears when it wakes up.”
Mari spoke with a bright face.
“So I wanted to try everything, and it was really fun.”
“…Mari.”
“If I go into the sleeping sea, I might actually be safer. It’s a place where you don’t wake up.”
…Maybe. But she’d still be alone. And we had no idea what state she’d be in.
“Besides, a princess doesn’t run away from something like this.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.”
“This is what I want.”
Mari looked up at Moon Hyunah.
“It was fun, and I love everyone.”
Her skirt swirled as she turned, then she faced Sloth again.
“So what do I do? To lead the dreams.”
“In the widest cradle of dreams, the sea, call them and they will come. But dreams also contain nightmares.”
“Nightmares?”
“So you will need a way to protect yourself. Or a guardian. All the more because you cannot dream while inside a dream.”
In other words, she wouldn’t be able to use her Skill. Sloth had barely finished speaking before Chief Song stepped forward.
“I’ll–”
“I have to go.”
Samir cut him off.
“My body is bound by contract.”
“I’m S–rank too, so I’m fine on my own.”
Mari tried to refuse, but Samir strode up.
“As I’ve said before, even if you don’t like it, miss, it can’t be helped.”
“Ugh, seriously!”
She grumbled, but her head still bobbed in a nod. Of course she’d be… scared to go alone. And that contract. While I hesitated, Mari came over to me.
“Mister Han, I’m sorry I didn’t like you at first.”
“…Huh? No, it’s fine.”
“I like you a lot now. You’re a good person. So please don’t make everyone worry like that! They were all really, really worried!”
“R–right. I’ll do my best…”
“Take care of your health, don’t snack too much, exercise regularly, and no late–night meals.”
…That you, Myungwoo? Or Yerim. Mari said, Stay healthy, bowed, then crouched to pat Peace carefully, murmuring, You’re so cute, Peace. She sneaked around Yuhyun and went over to Yerim. Yerim clutched her in a tight hug, at a loss.
“Uh, unni.”
“I might not actually be older than you. I don’t know my exact age. I haven’t been around long, but the dream itself is old.”
“…Then let’s be friends? I mean, maybe we’ll find some way later. It’s just like you’re going far away for a bit.”
“I’d like that!”
Yeah. Once we got back safely, we could go to Marisa and look for a way. A way for Mari to live an ordinary life, instead of as a dream that could wake and disappear at any time.
“Mr. Noah, you really are like a prince from a fairy tale!”
“Thank you.”
“I’m a little sorry about what I did in the forest.”
Grinning, Mari moved on to Noah, then Liette. She clapped, saying they were both so cool. She bowed to Myungwoo, saying she’d wanted to learn more from him, then stared at Hwang Rim, who was still buried with only his head sticking out.
“Weird mister.”
“…Mister.”
Hwang Rim muttered, apparently more shocked than he expected. Why was he hung up on mister. Come to think of it, how old was that guy again. Older than me, probably. I mean the twenty–six–year–old me.
“Mr. Civil Servant, stay healthy too.”
“…Is it really more dangerous for her to stay?”
Chief Song’s voice was heavy. Even if she’d been created as a dream, he could only see her as a person. And now we had to send her away to protect our world. If Mari hadn’t said she might be safer in the sleeping sea, he would have stopped this.
Mari rose on her toes and pressed a fingertip to the furrow between his brows.
“You should smile more, Mr. Civil Servant. You look really cool when you do.”
“Mari Hunter.”
“You work so hard. I barely know anything and haven’t been around long, but I still feel bad for you.”
She hopped over to Seong Hyunjae next. Looking up into his golden eyes, she spoke.
“Sorry for trying to kidnap you into marriage.”
“It wasn’t a bad experience. Something new.”
“You were really annoying, but I didn’t hate it. If you’d been a little less annoying, I probably would’ve married you!”
She laughed brightly. I guess we should be glad he’s annoying. If he had that face and a good personality, he’d have been married off ages ago.
“And even though you’re not exactly the same Seong Hyunjae as before, it was fun.”
“I–”
He bent down and whispered something in her ear. Mari’s face lit up. I could guess the gist. It’d be something about the other Seong Hyunjae, the one who’d already gone on ahead. A man who, like Mari, might be called an illusion at the end.
Still bent, he took her hand and brushed a kiss over the back of it. Just like greeting a fairy–tale princess.
“Don’t bully Mr. Civil Servant. You can play with Mister Han instead.”
Wait, hold on.
“Mari! I can’t handle him by myself!”
“But you looked like you were having fun, Mister Han.”
“I was not! Chief Song, don’t abandon me!”
“…I can’t. To me, you two are both…”
Chief Song trailed off and sighed. So we were equally a headache, huh. I was offended. No matter what, with all the years Seong Hyunjae had behind him, I had to be better.
Mari spun like she was dancing. Then she threw herself into Moon Hyunah’s arms. Hyunah squeezed her tight.
“Unni! Be happy!”
“…Mari.”
“I’m okay. So squeeze Mom for all she’s worth. Promise me.”
By Mom, she meant… Hyunah nodded. She gently smoothed Mari’s tousled hair. Finally, Mari looked at Samir. Her lips puckered and Samir gave a slightly embarrassed smile.
‘…The curse.’
The contract, we could break it. But I couldn’t get the words out. Even if I stepped in, I had a gut feeling Samir’s answer wouldn’t change. My hand clenched into a fist. Yuhyun set a hand on my shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.
“Then, let’s go.”
At Mari’s words, Sloth nodded. The path leading to the sea slowly began to appear.
–TL Notes–
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