Chapter 60
Chapter 60
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Non-Existent Memory [20th Floor Gateway Trial]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I carried the child, drenched and shivering in the rain, on my back as I walked.
Unlike now, I had just stepped into the modest 【Maan Guild】.
Iian from back when she still had black hair sighed as she sat at the small guild home counter.
"What's that?"
"Found her on the way."
"You didn't pick up a dog from the street—you picked up a kid? Where'd you borrow that attitude from? You didn't kidnap her or anything, right? Even I can't cover for that."
"Are you crazy? Clean her up and get her some shampoo and clothes. My stuff's probably too big anyway."
"Hah, you, giving her a bath? She's a girl. Hold on, I'll get Mom."
"Why the guild master?"
"You gonna bathe a girl? And one that big?"
"What's the big deal? She's still a kid."
"You might think so, but she'll be scared. We'll handle it, so just behave."
The young-looking 【Copper Witch】 Iian stepped away and returned with her mother, the Maan Guild Master 【White Eye】.
"Oh my. What's this?"
"Mom, look at her. Chang-gi brought home another stray like himself."
"Oh dear... How did a child end up in such a state?"
She was a beautiful woman with smiling eyes and lush updo hair that suited her perfectly.
A married woman in a Dongtan milf look with a windbreaker, boasting a voluptuous figure incomparable to her daughter.
A woman overflowing with maternal love.
"She's too big for me to handle alone. If you're not busy, help me wash her."
"Just a moment. I'll grab some medicine. Take her to the bathroom."
"Got it."
This was the memory of when Ceres first set foot in the guild.
"It's exactly like my memory. The only difference is that Chang-gi carried me here."
"Iian greeted you back then too?"
"Yes."
Looking closely, Seong-yeon was in the corner of the guild home.
She hadn't said a word, just quietly watching the child I'd brought in.
"Where'd you pick her up?"
"That alley over there."
"Blondes your type? Or younger ones?"
"You nuts? I brought her because she was hurt, man."
"Being too nice to people is a curse, you know."
She was my age but lounging in the guild home corner with some booze.
Chugging cheap off-the-shelf beer, acting like she had zero interest in kids like that.
"That's Seong-yeon...?"
"She's got such a sharp vibe."
"Yeah. Might be the first time I've seen her that irritated."
Her eyes looked shadowed and tired.
Something must've happened in that previous loop.
"What happened next?"
"She got cleaned up... Slept a bit... And when she woke, Seong-yeon, who'd been brought over hugging me, greeted her."
But this memory would be different.
Ceres sensed the omen too and watched the next scene tensely.
"What's your name?"
"Ceres..."
"Body feel okay?"
"It hurts..."
"Potions are on, so it'll get better soon."
"Hand... Scary..."
"Yeah."
We were in the room in the guild home where I stayed and slept.
It was still a small guild back then, no spare room for a kid.
In that loop, I'd heard Ceres's backstory and was clearly careful not to touch her like a man would.
"That's how it was at first. Even sharing a room, I was a burden. She made sure not to lay a hand on me."
"That was Seong-yeon, not me."
"Yes."
The scene shifted again.
This time, when Ceres had opened up a bit.
"Here, give me your hand."
"……..."
"This much is okay now, right?"
"...Yes."
"Hand today. Legs tomorrow. We'll add one thing at a time. It'll be tough, but it's all for you."
"Understood..."
It was rehab therapy.
A guy like me touching Ceres.
She still showed fear, but trembling, she endured, feeling human warmth.
"……..."
"...What?"
"That's what Seong-yeon did for me."
I grew anxious.
Ceres was starting to catch on.
The scene changed again, the scenery accelerating with the flow.
"Oh, that's a solid hit. Extend that fist! One-two! One-two!"
"Hoo~! Hook, hoo, hooooo!!"
"Don't break the aura. Keep squeezing till the sensation numbs. Spin it like it's natural for daily life!"
"Got it!"
Now aura training.
Essential course for becoming a pro hunter.
We faced off in a wide room—rented gym maybe.
Come to think of it, Ceres and I were both bare-handed.
From Bridget's reaction, bare-handed hunters seemed rare...
……...
...Nah.
"Training ends here today! Good work~!"
"Thank you."
"Whew, you've grown a ton. Gotta stay on guard or you'll get me."
"Your teaching's great. Thanks for explaining so clearly."
"Heh. You'll hit S-rank in no time. Heard you got a skill last time?"
"Yes. Never thought it'd awaken while helping with cleaning."
We chatted amiably.
Ceres had grown to my height by now.
We watched other hunters train, sipping drinks, then I reached out.
"Cheek touch today~!"
"Ooh... It's fine now. No need for this training; I won't go wild."
"Says the one who socked the new guildmate."
"He stared right through my chest. It was blatant."
"Nope. Punch was too much. Let's train till the rejection fades more."
"Ugh..."
In that loop, I grabbed her soft-looking cheeks with both hands, rubbing and stretching them happily.
Like petting a puppy with squishy jowls.
That Ceres looked pleased despite it, but this one was sweating bullets.
"I don't get it..."
She was baffled.
"Why is what Seong-yeon did for me... Being swapped with Chang-gi...?"
She suspected.
"My precious memory... Why...?"
She trembled.
"Oh, that outfit looks good. Since we're here, try something frilly too."
"I'd die first. Wearing that? I'd get jumped same day."
"What do you take men for?"
"One-eyed beasts with brains in their crotches."
"Not entirely wrong, but you can't wear gear forever."
"Even so, no deep cleavage. I like this better."
"That's men's clothes."
"Yeah. For cross-dressing."
"You're killing me."
"……..."
"...Why?"
"You won't make me wear it?"
"If you don't want to, why force it?"
"Separate from that—do you want to see me in it?"
"I do, but..."
"Then let's buy these two. Women's inside, men's outside. Deal?"
"Oh. Yeah, let's."
The scene paused here.
Because Ceres shook her head.
"...No."
"What."
"Seong-yeon... Said no need for women's clothes..."
-So this isn't my memory.
-Someone else's memory.
She denied it, moving to the next scene.
Something dangerous came.
"Where is this?"
"You'll see."
A graveyard.
In the memory, we stood before endless rows of tombstones.
"This memory..."
Ceres beside me didn't know this scene either.
Strange—we're both in it, yet neither recognizes it.
"National hunter cemetery managed by the state. Tower raiders get hero status."
"So?"
"Some die in the tower unidentified. Bodies end up here. Not state-built—hunters bought land via association, made it ourselves. But knowing it exists comforts families."
"……..."
"...Took a while."
"What?"
"Your parents died in the tower, right? Figured their bodies might've come here, so I looked quietly."
"You really found them?"
"Took a biiit."
"How much?"
"Month or so? You didn't even know when exactly. Ran around on foot. Dug through nearby raids they mentioned, asked if anyone knew. Nailed down timelines. Contacted guilds that recovered bodies... Their different race helped narrow it."
I reached out, brushing the grave.
In the memory, I handed Ceres something.
A memento.
"This is..."
"───"
They said something, but from that scene on, their words faded.
From here, their private memory.
Too precious to show lightly.
Not for outsiders from different loops and paths.
"You went there with Seong-yeon too?"
"No."
Ceres trembled.
"...But I coaxed her to go once. Suddenly a graveyard? No idea, so she refused."
Clearly meant to show her this.
"Didn't push twice, so I thought it wasn't important..."
She was confused.
Almost grasping it, yet flailing, clinging to me.
"Oppa, do you know this memory...?"
"First time for me too."
"Then why are you in it?"
"Dunno the reason, but I know why. Don't wanna say."
"Why?"
"Seong-yeon in this memory, and the one you love who hasn't appeared yet—they're both precious to you."
"Yes."
"Don't wanna sow distrust between you and them. Wanna let you live like now, clueless."
"……..."
Ceres stepped back.
Eyes darting, searching my true intent.
"Fuck."
A harsh curse from Ceres's lips.
First time hearing her voice like that.
"This isn't your memory. Nor mine. Then it must be that person's who should've been here originally..."
As suspicion looped, the scene shifted again.
Thought we'd seen it all, but a familiar scene enveloped us.
...Love hotel.
"Can I call you oppa?"
"Throwing a tantrum at your age?"
"Yes. At least in front of you."
"Well, you've been through a lot. Must've been tough."
"...Oppa."
"It's fine. Call me that anytime in front of me."
"Thank you. Really."
This was the memory from the 10th floor.
The pure knight's gateway clear reward, when Seong-yeon revealed she was a regressor.
And... after this scene...
"Ah, shit! Was everything up to now from this loop!?"
"Oppa?"
"Wait, close your eyes!"
"Why!? This memory's the key? If it's mine, I have the right to—"
"—Not that!"
It was coming.
The curse that terrified me and Seong-yeon endlessly.
The memory we'd die before seeing twice crashed over us.