Chapter 815 |
“You told me to stand beside you, and yet here I am, crushed underneath you.”
Seong Hyunjae gave a small, blood–tinged cough. Not that it made him look pitiful.
“It’s different. I like it. Aren’t you tired of looking down on people all the time? Once in a while, you should change positions and look up.”
Rain seeped into my body, which had been dried out completely by the flames wrapped around it. It was a fine drizzle, cool and pleasant against my skin. Tap, tap, tap. Droplets rang softly over the cooling piles of stone.
“Don’t change the subject. Or do you want to apologize first for stealing my memories and running off? Admit honestly that you were wrong, and I’ll take extenuating circumstances into account.”
“Extenuating circumstances?”
“Come on. Hurry up and say, ‘I was wrong–.’ Take the chance while I’m being generous.”
“I was wrong.”
“Good boy, Hyunjae~.”
“Even after getting robbed twice, I’m letting you off. I really am broad–minded. But there won’t be a third time.”
“If I steal from you a third time, will you throw me away?”
“No, I’ll drag you in, slap handcuffs on you, and toss you in a cell.”
I was a sensible citizen of modern society, thank you very much. Thieves belonged in prison.
“So unless you want to eat tear–soaked bread crusts for three meals a day, live right. I’ll be especially kind and sprinkle sugar on your prison food.”
“How cruel.”
Seong Hyunjae made a sorrowful face, as if I had committed some act of brutality. If you do not like it, live right.
“Judging by how you’re acting, your emotions came back. Either that, or you made new ones.”
I poked him near the heart as I spoke. After all this chaos, there was no way he had not developed any feelings about me.
“You said you had buried your feelings toward me because you couldn’t afford to want to live.”
If he failed to accept the power accumulated within him and escape the Crescent Moon, then he intended to be devoured by Song Taewon’s Eclipse. Seong Hyunjae, who was on the verge of completion as a pseudo–origin, had said that if he wished to survive, it would be nearly impossible for him to meet a complete death.
“I’ll admit, hearing that I made you want to live makes me pretty proud.”
It had not exactly been for Seong Hyunjae’s sake, but it did feel like all my desperate struggling had paid off. I had gotten my brother back, and saved other people as a bonus. Two birds with one stone. Not bad. Though with Seong Hyunjae, the problem was apparently that he wanted to live.
“Strictly speaking, I became curious about the future.”
“About what I’m going to do next?”
“Something like that. To me, the world was no different from endlessly repeating time. Even so, I never once thought of ending my own life.”
“And that’s why you made it all the way here.”
Without giving up, through countless worlds, all the way here. I was pretty tenacious myself, but Seong Hyunjae was no pushover either. Just as I had been unable to let go of my younger brother, Seong Hyunjae had held on to himself and endured until the very end.
But that was exactly why…
He wanted the death of being swallowed by the Eclipse.
So that he could hold on to himself and protect himself until the last possible moment.
“The contracts wound around me are beyond counting.”
Seong Hyunjae slowly lifted one hand. It looked as if thousands of invisible threads were tangled around his fingers.
“And the accumulated power is still difficult to bear. The possibility that I will remain myself even after becoming the full moon within the Crescent Moon’s contract is close to zero.”
Even someone as overflowing with confidence as him could not do anything about this. Even though he had accomplished the extraordinarily difficult task of preserving his ego and continuing his life through countless repetitions without giving up.
“And we still haven’t found another way.”
“…Right.”
There was still no other way to save Seong Hyunjae.
“Even if we safely run away to our world with you now… it won’t be enough anymore.”
Now that the Transcendents knew he was a pseudo–origin, the Crescent Moon would retrieve him even if she had to destroy our world to do it. The Crescent Moon had followers she had raised in the Cradle, too, so she could sacrifice one of them to break through the protective barrier around our world.
“That was part of why I cut Han Yujin away.”
“What?”
“There was no longer any need for you to be involved with me. I wanted you to go back and live happily.”
I stared blankly at Seong Hyunjae.
Um. Was this actually Chief Song wearing Seong Hyunjae’s skin?
“…So. You’re saying it was for my sake? What kind of bullshit is that? I don’t understand any of it on a fundamental level, but first of all, you wanted me to… live happily? Seriously? You?”
“Oh dear. It seems you thought of me as quite cold.”
“Cold isn’t the issue…”
“I have always treated those who held ordinary goodwill toward me with kindness. I may not look it, but I have often been told I provide excellent fan service.”
“That, well…”
It was true that Seong Hyunjae treated his own people well. Even after his interest in Soyeong had faded, he had still taken care of everything he needed to take care of for her. The same went for the members of Sesung. Fan service… There was a reason Seong Hyunjae’s image among non–Awakened people was so good. His face did a lot of the work, sure, but his attitude was basically kind and gentlemanly. Behind the scenes, he had scraped Chief Song’s insides raw, but in public he had been a model citizen who obeyed laws and rules.
“Han Yujin has cared for me in many ways, so I am merely answering in kind.”
“…I heard there are tons of people you threw away.”
“There are also quite a few who have stayed by my side for a long time.”
“…That’s true, isn’t it?”
There was Soyeong, of course, and the employees of Sesung. Even if Sesung itself had not been established that many years ago, counting before the regression, it had been close to ten years. Even after Seong Hyunjae went missing, most of them stayed with Sesung. There were probably more people like Vantes, too, who had been with him from before Sesung.
“I simply have no reason to take responsibility for those who cannot keep within the line.”
“So I kept the line well, is that it?”
“I like you, Han Yujin.”
…
Goosebumps rose slightly on my skin.
I had said that to Seong Hyunjae too, but it was still embarrassing.
“No, but still. You can’t just cut someone off that violently and then say you wanted him to live happily.”
“You can still become happy after failure. You know that, don’t you?”
I paused, then gave a small nod.
I had lost Yuhyun. To me, that had been the greatest failure of all. But after regressing and continuing to live, there had definitely been happy moments. Many of them, in fact.
“Most importantly, your brother is in your arms. Han Yuhyun will remain by your side forever.”
“Of course he will. Right now, he’s run away from home for a bit, but he’ll be back soon. We might fight again in the future, but we’ll keep being together.”
The other people precious to me were by my side, too. I would definitely live happily. But.
“I’m going to think about you a lot too, Seong Hyunjae. And about Chief Song. No, in the first place, I told you not to decide things on your own. If the day comes when I leave you, then I’ll leave by my own will, on my own two feet.”
“Is that a confession that you wish to be together forever?”
“I’m seriously considering throwing you out right now.”
Not that someone with my personality could let go easily. Once the issue with the Crescent Moon was resolved, and Seong Hyunjae could live normally, then we would probably interact as something like business partners. There would be no reason for me to grab him by the collar and make this much of a scene!
“If you really care about me, start by respecting me.”
“I was wrong.”
“After all that, you were basically just going, ‘Be happy and live well,’ however you liked. What, am I a pet you raised and then released into the wild? And if I’d had a way to stop you, I wouldn’t have let you go either. Whatever else you say, Seong Hyunjae, you still put yourself first.”
If he had truly thought, I really want the people I like to live happily! then he would have sent Chief Song away too. He would not have asked him to die together. But then again, that was not entirely a lie either…
Once again, I was struck by just how complicated this man was.
“The most important goal is making you willing to die, isn’t it?”
“That is correct.”
“So what are you going to do now?”
I had wasted a lot of words, but this was the important question right now.
I looked straight down into his golden eyes.
“Say you want to live no matter what.”
Instead of answering, Seong Hyunjae smiled.
I grabbed him by the collar.
“Open your mouth.”
“Something I have done once, I can do twice.”
“…You can erase your emotions again? So they did come back after all.”
“How could I possibly resist falling for such a grand and magnificent Han Yujin?”
Seong Hyunjae lowered his eyes as if shy.
Do not flutter your lashes at me.
“Therefore, I have no intention of immediately repeating the same thing.”
“At the final moment… you’re saying you’ll erase them then.”
“There is no particular need for it to be now.”
Seong Hyunjae said he would erase them when the time came, if he failed and had to be devoured by the Eclipse.
My mouth tasted bitter. But I could not blindly oppose it. Just like Chief Song, I did not want Seong Hyunjae to lose himself and take the place of an origin.
A sigh slipped out on its own.
“You should’ve done that from the start.”
“Even putting aside the need to separate Han Yujin from me, at the time, I had neither thought that extracting your memories could allow me to gain the power of the Nurturer, nor had I obtained the power of the Eclipse. It is not easy to bury one’s emotions swiftly at the necessary moment.”
Well, he had been unconscious for quite a while even after coming back to life back then. If burying his emotions took that long, he could not exactly say, I’ll do it after I fail. It would have been safer to cover them ahead of time. In contrast, it seemed he could now erase them quickly in an emergency.
“I’ll lend you my memories. You need them.”
“I suppose I will have to pay quite a bit of interest.”
“Pay back the principal properly first. Don’t even think about running off without repaying me.”
In a roundabout way, I was telling him to stay by my side until the final moment, even if things went wrong. Whether he failed or succeeded, I wanted to see his ending through.
“It’s not like my memories themselves disappeared, and since I was able to connect to them directly like this, it should be okay to leave them with you for a while. Though I’ll probably need to consult the King of Harmless about the details. Even outside, if I put the teacher skill on you, won’t it connect?”
I stood up.
The rain stopped, and the sky slowly began to clear.
“Next time, ask me to lend them to you.”
“From my perspective at the time, the fact that I did not swallow Han Yujin whole was already a considerable show of respect.”
“Wow, how grateful I am. Can you bring yourself to ask now?”
Instead of answering, Seong Hyunjae reached out his hand.
“Help me up.”
He asked.
Gladly, I clasped his hand and pulled him up.
Once I was looking up at Seong Hyunjae again, I gave him a slightly awkward smile. The problems were still there, but even so, my heart felt…
“May I interrupt?”
“Yes?!”
At the sudden voice, I jumped and whipped my head around.
A large black sheep stood at the far edge of the crater. Beyond it, I could see Chief Song.
“Ch–Chief Song? Since when were you there…”
“I did say I would rest, but…”
Chief Song looked over the ruined scenery.
“I was worried.”
“I–I’m sorry…”
“I am the one who should apologize. I ended up hearing most of it despite myself.”
“…What? You heard? You really heard it?”
Flustered, I stepped backward on instinct.
He heard? He heard everything? What had I said? Had I said anything weird… weird…
My face grew hot.
Seong Hyunjae made an ahh sound and smiled with deep satisfaction.
“Han Yujin was very passionate.”
“The volume was part of it, but perhaps because this is also inside my consciousness… I could hear voices when they carried strong emotions. I apologize.”
…
I wanted to run away.
I wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. Why had I shouted so loudly? With Chief Song’s S–rank hearing, he probably would have heard me even if this had not been inside his consciousness.
I quietly moved behind Seong Hyunjae and hid there. I fanned my face with my hand, trying to calm down, but the heat did not cool easily.
Aaaaagh, this is so embarrassing!
I had shouted at the top of my lungs that Seong Hyunjae was my ideal type! I must have lost my mind. Seriously! I made a piece of ice and rubbed it against my cheek. I could not look Chief Song in the face…
“Still, I believe your attitude was admirable, Han Yujin.”
“Although he did make me his mother–”
“No, I did not!”
I grabbed Seong Hyunjae by the hair. I had even agreed to let the memory theft slide, and here he was asking to get beaten! Since I was not an F–rank now, even Seong Hyunjae staggered. Chief Song hurried toward us and tried to peel me off Seong Hyunjae’s back.
“Please calm down. Han Yujin, you were excellent.”
“No, Chief Song, please!”
“You were an example to–”
“Aaaaagh! Don’t!”
Chief Song panicked and handed me a large sheep plushie. He seemed to want to comfort me, but did not know what to say.
Just saying nothing is fine…
“…Since you heard everything, I guess I don’t need to explain. That’s what happened…”
“Yes. I am glad it was resolved well. Even if Hunter Seong Hyunjae needs your memories, Han Yujin, it bothered me. The way he unilaterally severed you from him concerned me as well.”
“It’d be perfect if we could get out now, save Yuhyun, and get Seong Hyunjae away from the Crescent Moon too.”
I spoke while buried in the sheep plushie. It was a little big for me.
“I’ll give the magic stone to Seong Hyunjae for now, as promised. Right now, there’s no other way.”
If he failed, Seong Hyunjae’s ego would vanish, and the full moon would be born. Even so, we had no choice but to try.
“But don’t eat it right away. Wait for now. We don’t know what the Gardener will do.”
“The Gardener was also after me.”
“He said he was going to capture Sigma, use him to break the contract between you and the Crescent Moon, and pull you out. Which means…”
“It means the Gardener has a way to break the Crescent Moon’s contract.”
At Chief Song’s words, I nodded.
“If it’s a method the Gardener can use, then there’s no reason we can’t use it too, right? We have several Transcendents on our side as well.”
Rookie and Young Chaos were with us, and the Puppeteer would surely help actively because of Sigma.
“And because of Yuhyun, I need to grab the Gardener by the collar at least once anyway. While we’re at it, it’d be nice if we could find a way to break the Crescent Moon’s contract.”
“Even if I escape the contract, the fact that I am a pseudo–origin will not change.”
“The Transcendents will keep coming after you, yes, but unlike before, won’t they be trying to prevent you from becoming the full moon instead? A pseudo–origin being completed without a contract would be too dangerous.”
“We can certainly buy time. However.”
Seong Hyunjae looked at me and Chief Song.
“I cannot go with you.”
…
It was far too dangerous for Seong Hyunjae to stay in our world. Even if the Transcendents could not enter directly, they would continue trying to interfere.
“That’s something we can think about when the time comes! Well, if all else fails, maybe the elder will take you in.”
“He did make a similar offer once. If I had accepted then, even he would have found himself in quite a difficult position.”
The Crescent Moon would not have backed down just because she was dealing with Chaos. Like now, she might have spread word of the pseudo–origin to other Transcendents, and the world of the First Origin might have been thrown into chaos by a fight between Transcendents.
“Not too much time has passed, right?”
We had been here for a while, so I was worried–
– Mm–hm, barely any time at all~.
Happy popped out abruptly.
Holy crap, you startled me.
–TL Notes–
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