Ch. 129

“Then have a safe trip home, Kim Geun-chul. Don’t get sidetracked on your way.”

“Why would I go anywhere strange.”

“It’s just an expression. Driver, please take us to Ares Academy.”

“Yes.”

“Goodbye then. Here’s the taxi fare.”

“Oh no! Leona! Wait a sec!”

—Thud.

Before I could object, Leona handed me the taxi fare and closed the taxi door.

“Ah, goodness!”

There was no chance to refuse. And Leona even took the liberty of telling the driver my destination.

I really feel like I’m being treated like a child.

I love it…!

The boundless benevolence of Archangel Leona. Receiving it feels like my whole body is warming up and I’m getting drowsy. It’s so kind of her; I can’t figure out what to do in return.

I’ll think about it later. For now, it’s time to catch a quick nap. I’m exhausted after using so much mana. I feel like I might drop dead from fatigue.

I’ll recover some stamina in the taxi and then get a good rest back at the dorm so I can get back to normal condition by tomorrow.

Intense battles stimulate growth but also drain your condition. And tomorrow is the ranking competition. No matter what happens, I have to surpass Moon Min.

* * *

I see the living room of our old house.

Is this a dream? That thought crossed my mind, and I realized I was sitting at the dining table in front of the TV with my parents, watching the news while eating.

For some reason, it feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen this scene. I was about to say something when I realized my parents’ faces were hollow.

Aaaaaaaah!

I screamed, but since it was a dream, my voice didn’t come out clearly… sheer terror. But then the background changed. A blood-red sky. A shattered road. Lying there, I screamed in despair.

Aaaaaaaah!

“Student.”

* * *

“Student. Wake up. We’ve arrived at the school.”

“Uh… yes?”

“You’re awake now. Make sure to take your sword from the back.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you for the ride.”

As I got out, I reached back into the taxi to grab my two swords and a gun from the Seurtals.

—Whoosh.

The taxi sped away.

“Ah.”

I stood there, staring at the taxi as it left, and suddenly remembered the dream I just had. What could it mean? The memories of happily watching TV with my parents during dinner are still clear.

“…”

Let’s just head back.

I entered the dorm with a heavy heart and knocked on Lee Sihu’s door.

“Sihu, it’s me. Open up quickly.”

—Knock knock knock.

After a couple of minutes of rustling sounds from inside, the door opened.

“Oh, ha… You’re here, Geun-chul?”

Lee Sihu, looking breathless in her loungewear, opened the door for me.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“But… Huh?! Wait! Geun-chul! What is that? Did you pick up something strange?!”

Lee Sihu was visibly flustered and yelled. The weapons I was carrying were indeed strange. Seurtal weapons are a bit different from human ones, understandably.

“This is a Seurtal sword. Isn’t the design pretty good?”

“What are you talking about! Hurry, get inside!”

I walked into her room looking quite disheveled. I set down my things and flopped onto the floor.

“Oh, I’m so beat.”

Seriously, I’m incredibly sleepy.

“What’re you doing lying down! What happened?! Weren’t you out volunteering with Leona?!”

“No, that’s… We finished the volunteering in the morning. So, I spent some time hanging out with Leona.”

“How did… Ah! I heard there were a lot of gates that appeared around the department store earlier!”

“That’s the one. We were shopping and, geez. A gate appeared in the department store? So Leona and I fought for our lives. And I brought back my spoils.”

“What in the world…!”

Lee Sihu looked gravely at me.

“You should have contacted me! I would have come running!”

Indeed, having Lee Sihu there would have been helpful. Leona and her are almost equally skilled.

“Contact for what. It was over in no time. After a bit of fighting, the senior heroes arrived, didn’t they?”

“Haah! You’re irremediable, seriously!”

“Stop saying that. I sliced up those Seurtals and took their weapons, didn’t I?”

“That sword and gun? They belong to the E-rank Seurtal species, who are adept with weaponry…”

“What do you care about that? Anyway, I’m starving to death. Let’s make something to eat.”

“Geun-chul, even if it’s you, it was dangerous! Fighting in real combat with E-rank Seurtals… With your skills, it’s still dangerous.”

“Hehehe, my skills? Dude. I’ll show you tomorrow.”

I’ve realized it.

My strength.

“How ‘strong’ a being I have become.”

“That’s nonsense! If something like this happens again, call me right away! I’ll come to support you!”

“Will do.”

“Then get up. Let’s make dinner.”

“Oh fine.”

I got up, stretched a little, and approached the fridge. I opened it and checked the contents, then headed to the bathroom to wash my hands.

Let’s cook and eat for today then.

“By the way, Sihu.”

“What.”

“I’ve decided to form Leona’s personal guard starting today.”

“What kind of talk is that?!”

“It just turned out that way. Since it’s a private group, you should join too.”

“You want me to join some strange, bizarre group…”

“Hey! Are you saying Leona is strange?”

“No, you are strange, Geun-chul!”

“She always says that. Always. Hey. Let’s just whip up some spicy pork and eat.”

No matter what, I will enlist Lee Sihu in Leona’s personal guard.

* * *

After that, I made spicy pork with the ever-complaining Lee Sihu and went back to my room. Then, straight to the bathroom. I stripped and took a shower.

“Hmm.”

But this recent frequency of monster attacks… Isn’t it a bit too high? It feels like I run into it every time I go out.

True, gates pop up all over the country every day, so it’s not too strange, but I feel like I’ve been involved way too often lately.

“Right.”

Thinking of that reminds me of Kitty. She oddly has a lot of gate incidents too. Kind of like me. Feels like gates open wherever she goes.

—Swish.

So, I sent Kitty a message while letting the water run down my back.

[What are you up to?]

After hitting send, I was about to check the news when she quickly replied.

[I’m out playing, Geun-chul oppa.] [Where are you?] [Someplace in Gyeonggi Province.]

It’s a massive area.

[Be careful when you’re out. I saw on the news that there were monster incidents near a department store.] [Okay. I know. I saw it on the news too. But, Geun-chul oppa, why did you contact me?] [I heard about the gates and got worried.]

Kitty is somehow like me, having frequent gate encounters. It’s possible for her to get caught up in one unknowingly. I don’t know how strong Kitty is, but considering her age, she wouldn’t have much real combat experience.

She’s vulnerable.

[Is that why? Were you worried about me, Geun-chul oppa?] [Yeah. Sleep well if there’s no problem.] [Geun-chul oppa. How about we meet up some time?] [Okay.]

Might as well meet her. Even though she’s quite a bit younger than me, we’ve somehow become somewhat friendly.

—Ping.

“Huh?”

Just when I was about to put my phone away, Kitty sent me a photo.

“What’s this?”

It’s a photo of the department store I was at earlier. It’s chaotic now with soldiers and all sorts of people on site.

[It seems like the gate situation is wrapped up.] [What? Were you there?] [I went to see what had happened because I was curious.] [Who told a kid to have such a dangerous hobby? You’re in big trouble. Next time I see you, you’re going to get scolded by oppa.] [I’m going to sleep now, Geun-chul oppa.]

After acting all tough, the kid suddenly cuts communication! No! What about being an oppa she’s seeing?! This makes me feel like a criminal!

“Ah! I’ll deal with you next time!”

She has the audacity to pull something like this on me.

I’ll have to give her a proper scolding.

“Damn it.”

If I really end up meeting her, what am I supposed to say to her sister? From her sister’s point of view, this is really strange.

—Swipe.

I hurriedly toweled off my hair and collapsed onto the bed. The Alpha Male Special: sleeping with wet hair.

As I lay there.

“…”

That came to mind.

The thing I mulled over while talking to Leona. As I dwell on it, a peculiar feeling of emptiness grows in my chest, and a vague sense of dread begins to creep in.

“Memory confusion.”

Up to now, I was uncertain, so I let it slide, but now I’m sure of it. I’ve been experiencing a kind of forgetfulness lately.

To be specific… memories related to my hometown.

I keep forgetting bits and pieces of those memories. My parents’ faces? Of course, I remember those clearly. And everything about how I lived is firmly embedded in my memory. As long as I ‘think’ about it, it all comes to mind.

But going about my day-to-day life, those memories can blur. What could it be? Is there really something wrong with my memory?

“I’m scared…!”

Suddenly scared, I instinctively grabbed my phone and went to my contacts.

“I’m so scared, Leona…!”

When I’m scared, talking to Leona is the best. And the moment I realized my fear, because of the horror movie’s aftereffects, all kinds of ghostly thoughts came to mind, making me scared to turn or look elsewhere.

—Ring ring.

I called Leona.

“Hello, Kim Geun-chul? Why are you calling at night?”

“Leona, I’m so scared…!”

“What?! You’re scared and you’re calling me in the middle of the night because of a horror movie! Are you crazy!”

That’s not the only reason, but talking to Leona eased my unease. And via long-distance communication, I felt as if her energy of light spread through the room, making it seem brighter.

“Oh my, irremediable!”

She’s exasperated, but if Moon Min called me because he was scared, I’d probably have a similar reaction.

“Leona. Please.”

“Please, what? Should I sing you a lullaby?”

Leona’s lullaby?!

“Goodnight, dear Geun-chul. Now, go to sleep.”

Oh no!

“Cough! Leona! Just then, I suddenly stopped being scared! You’re the best. Thank you so much!”

“Really, you’re ridiculous! My lullaby pleases you that much… I’m hanging up!”

“Leona…! Don’t leave me in the dark!”

“You annoy me!”

—Click.

She just cut me off mercilessly.

“I couldn’t even thank her.”

I guess I’ll fiddle with the status window before sleep. The memory confusion is whatever. I’ve come to another world, so these kinds of side effects might be expected.

* * *