Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Behind the Curtain (2)
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Before heading to the illegal arena, there was one mountain I had to cross.
The game I borrowed from Shu.
When I returned to the cabin over the weekend, Yoon was there.
“Breaking and entering.”
“Got a scooter?”
The Master neatly ignored my sullen remark and asked back.
“A motorcycle would’ve been better.”
“I got it cheap from Heshi.”
His younger brother wasn’t using it anymore.
He’d offered to give it to me for free, but I insisted on paying something. Heshi seemed surprisingly close with his two-years-younger brother. He often said it’d be great if his brother could become a Badger too.
It probably wasn’t easy watching his brother age while he didn’t.
I hadn’t bought a motorcycle because I didn’t know if I had a license for it. I’d added a car license during the illegal registration process, though.
Yoon turned off the TV that had been playing the news.
“The team for the mission with Ricardo is out.”
I relayed the message after washing my hands in the bathroom.
Yoon acknowledged it with silence.
He still showed no unnecessary movements whatsoever.
“Ricardo Sordi, Asil Fischer, Barbie Winter, and me—four in total.”
“All regulars for that mission.”
Yoon shook the water off his hands and stared blankly at me as I set up the game.
“You haven’t met the last two?”
I’d only met Barbie Winter.
Twice, even. Once when we caught the Pig, and once when we went to D Zone. But we hadn’t really talked either time. When we caught the Pig, I didn’t even have the energy to greet her. Tvein, Lee Ho, Barbie, and Sylvia had been there then, but even when we reunited in D Zone, we hadn’t properly introduced ourselves.
Especially with Barbie, we hadn’t spoken.
This time, I’d definitely introduce myself.
I said that to Yoon as I turned on the game console. The TV lit up brightly with a satisfying sound.
Asil Fischer was a completely unfamiliar name.
“As far as I remember, he’s ex-police.”
Ah. That’s why he’s on this mission.
We settled in front of the TV in the not-so-spacious living room. Yoon rejected my offer to lean on the beanbag and sat against the wall instead. I quickly made iced coffee, handed him a cup, grabbed mine, and sat down in front of him.
Truth be told, I’d wanted to play leisurely by myself...
But having Yoon watch like this saved me the effort of explaining.
The title “From E” appeared on the screen.
“What’s Asil Fischer like?”
Keeping my eyes on the screen, I picked up the cold glass.
The Master answered concisely.
“Hot-tempered.”
“...That’s it?”
“He grabbed my collar once.”
Pffft!
Coffee sprayed out of my mouth.
This lunatic!
I hacked and coughed for a while.
My nose stung, and coughs exploded nonstop.
As soon as the tear-inducing hacking subsided, I whipped my head up.
“He grabbed your collar?”
“Yeah.”
“Why on earth?”
The collar of Choi Yoon, no less?
“Did you say something rude?”
“Nope.”
“Were you being an asshole?”
“Nope.”
“Did you hit him first?”
“Nope. What do you think I am? He just came up and grabbed it out of nowhere.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yeah.”
“Why, though?”
Is he crazy?
Yoon replied indifferently with his expressionless face.
“Dunno.”
“...Pardon?”
“I knocked him out before he could yell whatever it was.”
Yoon added the explanation in a voice that said he hadn’t been curious then and wasn’t now.
“Didn’t hear the reason.”
“...He didn’t come back?”
“He did. Bowed his head and apologized.”
Yoon took a sip of his iced coffee.
The ice clinked against the glass, tickling my ears. His eyes, as he drank, were full of boredom.
“Said he was sorry for losing his temper. I said okay and that was it.”
“So you still don’t know why he grabbed your collar.”
“Yeah.”
“...Got it.”
I’d ask him directly later.
There must’ve been some reason. Calming my still-shocked brain, I turned my head back to the TV. He’d come back, regained his senses, and apologized properly, so he didn’t seem like a total nutcase. Probably some misunderstanding.
What could it have been?
I’d definitely ask once we got closer.
With a sigh, I wiped up the sprayed coffee and sat back down.
I hit the title screen, and the game’s opening scene appeared. Just like at Shu’s place, the title faded, and the game began.
A tall character wielding a massive sword emerged from a castle.
I stared at the character named Hildebert Talib for a while before breaking the silence.
“Why is Senior Winter a regular on Coliseum missions?”
“I heard her dad’s in that world.”
That world?
Police? Or mafia?
Before I could ask, the Master added,
“Her father runs several famous restaurants, but not entirely legally, I think.”
“Oh...”
“Not full-on mafia, though. Ask the HR Director for details.”
“Got it. What’s her personality like?”
“Dunno. She’s especially scared of me and Ye-hyeon.”
Aha.
I gazed at the screen with a faint smile.
That made sense.
I was still scared of Yoon myself. We’d reached a point where I could tease him a bit and walk a tightrope, but that didn’t mean his chilling nature didn’t frighten me. Yoon’s cold disposition evoked a chilling fear in anyone who sensed it.
And it’d stay that way.
Ye-hyeon was her top boss, so that’d scare her too.
Neither was the type to show their true colors easily. I’d asked the wrong people. When I had time later, I’d ask Ami about Barbie.
Thinking that, I placed my thumbs on the Joy-Cons.
I’d stalled with chit-chat out of fear of playing, but now I had to face reality.
“You can leave if you’re bored.”
“Just start.”
Yoon gave a perfectly Yoon-like response.
“And don’t think about quitting midway.”
Of course not. I’m the type who plays all the way to the king once I start.
I nodded and moved the controller.
***
When I came to, the cabin had darkened.
I slowly set down the controller, sitting in the living room lit bluish by the TV screen.
It was over.
I’d beaten the final boss.
The game story got its happy ending. The intense music cut off, replaced by peaceful tunes. The characters gathered, smiling brightly.
The protagonist in the center, eyes crinkled in a grin.
I took in the character bearing my name.
The end...
A traditional RPG-style game.
The protagonist swordsman and his companions head to purge a castle tainted by a curse. They slay the source of the corruption hiding within—the final boss, “Source of the Plague.” “From E” wasn’t a masterpiece, but it was an indie game plenty fun to play.
The gameplay was simple, with low freedom. But the backgrounds and props were detailed. Lots of Easter eggs and collectibles, too. I could see why it had a core fanbase.
To them, the story probably felt clean and natural. The plot made sense, no setting breaks.
Just like a story that really happened...
Lost in emotion, I blankly listened to the ending music.
Yoon, who’d sat stock-still behind me, suddenly broke the silence.
“You find this fun?”
Argh!
My immersion shattered, and tired of the nagging I’d heard nonstop from Colton Wise, I furrowed my brow and whipped around.
Cut the nagging already!
“Respect my tastes!”
“Why get so defensive?”
Yoon spoke, the statue who hadn’t moved a muscle.
Fair point, but I didn’t soften my expression.
Keeping my sullen face, I stared at the guy leaning against the wall. In the darkened living room, he sat still like a ghost.
The Master stared right back into my eyes.
“So.”
“Huh?”
“Is this your story?”
I stared blankly at the Master.
I couldn’t stop looking at the man so close by. The Master slowly shifted. After hours, he rose leisurely from his seat and shoved his hands in his pockets.
He glanced slowly at the screen.
His following words were blunt.
“A swordsman with a greatsword defeats a monster in a castle with his companions—is that your past?”
I stayed silent for a long time.
The ending music from the screen fully stopped. Silence descended. The only sounds were the TV and the humming game console, filling the bluish cabin.
When it all felt too heavy, I quietly broke the silence.
“How did you know?”
“The final boss’s traits matched the Reverse God exactly.”
Yoon explained dryly.
“You flinched every time the new character’s name was revealed, too.”
“...Sharp observation.”
“The world you stayed in before coming to Earth.”
His dry explanation stabbed at my chest.
“What ‘you all’ went through there.”
Yes.
This was my forgotten story. From long ago, ancient times—before I set foot on Earth. Memories I’d gradually lost spending long years on Earth.
It was perfectly recreated as a game. Simplified a bit, but the creator had brilliantly turned my fading memories into one.
Probably for me.
“Yeah.”
I gave a wry smile.
“Memories came back one by one as I played.”
“Hilde.”
Hearing my name, I looked up.
Our gazes met in midair. Yoon looked down at me with inscrutable eyes.
“I don’t care how the war started.”
“...Is that so?”
“Yeah. What happened happened. Knowing the truth now changes nothing.”
Typical Yoon opinion.
I didn’t know why he was bringing this up, but I nodded slowly anyway.
He wasn’t one for unnecessary words, so there must be more.
Sure enough, Yoon continued.
“Don’t care what life you lived on Earth before the war, or how you ended up here. At least not now. Finding out wouldn’t change anything.”
“Then what would change if you found out?”
The man’s piercing gaze bored into my golden eyes.
Like he was eyeing prey. I held it and waited for his answer.
The guy who claimed no interest in the game had watched me play till nearly midnight without moving.
He broke the silence in a chilling voice.
“Hildebert, what are Creatures?”
Some Creatures had hunted me down to kill me.
To punish the traitor.
Upholding the will of my kin, the Titans.