Chapter 74
Chapter 74
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 74
Chapter Title: Prophecy (2)
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I’m going to die in less than a year?
“Hey, you shriveled old crone! Why would our Mister die?!”
“Just like Hyeon-ung said, she’s a total fraud.”
“Seriously, when have you ever met our Hyeon-ung to be spouting such curses!”
I was the one she said would die, but Rina, Hanna, and even Alpen were all furious.
“He dies because he dies. I do not speak of things that are not.”
I tried to ignore it and move on, but it felt unsettling.
It wasn't because she said I would die.
“You don’t even look like you can see. How would you know I’m going to die?”
The old woman’s eyes, as she hastily packed up her spot, were unfocused.
“There are some things one can only see after their eyes become like this.”
“Hyeon-ung, let’s just go.”
“Yeah. Mister, don’t pay any attention to a quack like her.”
“No. Let’s hear her out.”
“But Mister, you’re the one who said she’s a fraud.”
I would have normally ignored her and walked away, but there was something convincing about the old woman’s aura.
It’s not like I had anything urgent to do, and I felt like it would keep bothering me if I left without knowing anything.
“Who said I’d talk to you? You’re bad luck, so scram!”
The old woman was still waving her hand cantankerously, but instead of arguing, I opened my inventory.
*Clink—*
“This should be enough for a little chat, shouldn’t it?”
It was the pouch of money I’d received from the general store earlier.
“I don’t need it. With this paltry sum, you think you can…”
*Clink—*
I took out another large ten-gold coin and placed it on top.
“Is this still not enough?”
“You… you think this will make me talk to you…”
Does she have no greed?
Ready to give up if this didn’t work, I took out one last ten-gold coin.
“Ahem, well, if you’re going to be this sincere, I suppose I can spare some time for a talk.”
She answered while swiftly pocketing the gold coins. Seems everyone has a price.
“What a relief.”
“You want to know how to avoid your death, don’t you?”
Did I waste my money?
She was completely off the mark.
“No. I’m more curious about how I die.”
“That’s simple enough. You are fated to end your own life.”
End my own life? As in, I commit suicide?
Not when I lost my parents as a child and my relatives took all my inheritance.
Not when my streaming career was failing and I couldn’t even get a job from the employment agency, surviving on half a packet of ramen a day.
Not once, in any of those extreme situations, have I ever had such a thought.
“Isn’t she a complete quack?”
“Why would our Mister take his own life?”
“I have only spoken of the future I see.”
“That’s enough. Let’s go.”
It feels like I just wasted my money.
I decided to just think of it as giving charity and was about to turn away when the old woman stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“What is it?”
“There’s still a bit of payment left, so let me add one more thing. If you never enter the Labyrinth again, you should be able to keep your life.”
How absurd.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
I replied and walked past the old woman, returning to Kabisa with my companions.
Arguing with her any further would have just dragged things out, and I didn’t want to exchange another word.
Telling me not to enter the Labyrinth… There’s a limit to how much nonsense one can spout.
“Hyeon-ung, are you alright?”
“Perfectly fine.”
Even back in Korea, I never believed in things like fortune-telling or horoscopes.
“What a waste of money. We should have argued and gotten a refund.”
“It’s fine. Let’s just consider it charity for a beggar. More importantly, isn’t everyone tired?”
My companions might be able to fly around inside the Labyrinth, but out here, they were all just ordinary people.
“I do feel a little sleepy.”
“Me too. May I wash up first?”
“Go ahead, Alpen.”
“Geumyong, Nix, want to wash up with me?”
“Kyuu? Kyuuuiiing!”
“Poyooo!”
Perhaps because they were forced to bathe with him last time, both of them quickly fled.
“I’m a little tired, too.”
“There’s another bathroom to the left of that one. Go wash up and get some sleep.”
“Aren’t you tired, Mister?”
“A little?”
Physically, I wasn’t very tired, but I was a bit mentally exhausted.
“Are you perhaps bothered by what she said earlier, about you dying?”
“No. We just walked around a lot today.”
It wasn’t because of the fortune-teller’s words, but because of my companions.
Today was genuinely fun, but it wasn’t easy making sure I didn’t lose my companions, who were no different from ordinary people, in the crowds.
“Then we’ll go wash up first.”
“Alright.”
“Rina, want to wash up together?”
“Mister, you’d better not peek!”
“I won’t…”
She worries about the strangest things.
While my companions went to wash up, I straightened the bedding on the beds.
Do they have a change of clothes?
It would feel unpleasant to put on the same clothes they wore outside all day after washing up.
For today, I’ll give them some of the other companions’ clothes, and tomorrow, we should go shopping.
I sorted through the clothes box and took out some things they could wear.
Hanna has a similar build to Milli and Elaine, so that should be fine.
There wasn’t anything suitable for Rina and Alpen, so I picked out some of my smaller clothes that were similar to shorts.
Well, they’d still be big on them.
Ah, I should prepare that, too.
A short while later, Alpen came out of the bathroom first.
“Aren’t you going to wash up, Hyeon-ung?”
“Huh? I will. Don’t put on the same clothes; wear this. It’s mine, so it’ll be a bit big, but just bear with it for today.”
I handed the clothes to Alpen and walked toward the bathroom where Hanna and Rina were washing up.
“Hyeon-ung? What are you doing…”
“I’m giving the girls their clothes.”
*Knock, knock—*
“Kyaaaah!”
“Mister, you said you wouldn’t peek!”
“I left a change of clothes in front of the door, so grab them and come out.”
I stepped away from the door and turned back to see Alpen had changed.
The shirt was so big it covered his thighs.
“It is a bit big. You put on the pants, right?”
“Yes. Aren’t you going to wash up, Hyeon-ung?”
“I will. I have something to do first.”
After a short wait, Hanna and Rina came out, having changed their clothes.
“Mister, this is way too loose.”
“We’ll go buy some tomorrow, so even if it’s a bit big… Huh?”
“Hyeon-ung, this shirt is too… tight in the chest.”
I’d given my clothes for Rina and Milli’s clothes for Hanna, but they had swapped them.
As a result, Rina’s top was way too baggy, while the buttons on Hanna’s were about to burst.
“You two swapped clothes.”
“Oh, you gave that one for me to wear? It was so big, I thought this one was mine.”
“That one was small, too…”
Ahem, was it because I just eyeballed it?
They looked similar at a glance, but it seems Hanna is the best mid-laner of our party.
“If it’s uncomfortable, should I find you something else to wear?”
“No, it’s alright. It’s not that uncomfortable, and since it’s your shirt, Hyeon-ung…”
“What about my shirt?”
Maybe because she’d just washed up, Hanna’s face seemed a little flushed.
“It’s fine. I think it’ll be okay if I just undo a button or two.”
Uh… I don’t think *I’d* be okay with that…
Fortunately, Rina quickly found one of Milli’s looser-fitting tops and handed it to her.
“Sis, this one should fit you.”
“Ah, right.”
For some reason, it was a little disappoint… No, no, it wasn’t.
“Aren’t you going to wash up, Mister?”
“There’s something I want to give you before I do.”
“We already brushed our teeth.”
“We can just brush them again. I don’t mind!”
“I don’t think I can sleep if I’m too full…”
It’s not food, but they all misunderstood.
I took what I had prepared from my inventory and handed one to each of them.
“Hyeon-ung?”
“Mister, isn’t this the thing you used to bring to the Harpy Queen?”
“That’s right.”
What I had prepared were the Video Recording Crystal Orbs I used to bring to the Harpy Queen and the Lord. When charged with mana, they could record up to ten minutes of video.
“Everyone’s memories disappear when we go back to the Labyrinth, right? That’s why I prepared these. If you record what happened today or your happy feelings, I can show them to you in the Labyrinth.”
Since breaking through 100 floors in a short period was realistically impossible, I’d been looking for a solution and came up with this.
“How do we use it?”
“You just infuse the crystal orb with mana… Ah, right, none of you can use mana right now. Give them back. I’ll charge them for you.”
I charged each one with mana and explained how to use them.
“Wow! You’re so smart, Hyeon-ung.”
“You’ve got a good head on your shoulders, Mister.”
“Well, this is pretty basic stuff.”
I went into the bathroom so they could all record in comfort.
I actually wanted to record at the festival earlier, but the circumstances didn’t allow for it.
The recording time was only ten minutes, so I would have had to keep switching them out. The cost in Jewels was one thing, but trying to film while also keeping an eye on my companions in that massive crowd was realistically impossible.
Outside the Labyrinth, my companions were no different from ordinary people.
Besides, if I was so focused on filming that I couldn’t properly enjoy the time with them, it would defeat the whole purpose.
If I had known about their memories disappearing beforehand, I would have had Timi, Elaine, and Milli record themselves too. I finished my shower, feeling a little regretful.
Of course, I planned to film intermittently tomorrow, like when we go shopping or eat a meal in Kabisa.
Vlogging wasn’t my specialty, but I had been a WTuber, after all.
When I came out after washing up, it seemed they had all finished recording, and their faces were red.
“Did the recordings go well?”
“Talking to myself was pretty embarrassing.”
“I never knew ten minutes could be so long.”
“It’s like that at first, but you’ll get used to it if you do it every day.”
“Every day?”
“Aren’t these artifacts expensive?”
They weren’t cheap.
100 Jewels for a mere ten minutes.
“Price isn’t an issue when it means I can share these memories with you.”
““Hyeon-ung…””
“Mister…”
They all looked touched.
“So, did the recordings go well?”
“It’s more embarrassing than I thought to talk to yourself.”
“I didn’t realize ten minutes could drag on for so long.”
Watching my companions shake their heads reminded me of my streaming days.
It got a little better after the chat window became somewhat active, but before that, there was no one there except for the second account I had open on my phone.
In truth, even with the chat, the only thing in front of me was the camera.
“Rina seemed to be doing just fine, though.”
“Oh? Then should we watch Rina’s?”
“N-No way!”
“What do you mean, no way?!”
Alpen bravely snatched Rina’s crystal orb and passed it to me.
“Alpen, do you have a death wish?”
Hanna approached Alpen and tried to twist his arm, but Alpen easily shook her off.
“Rina, over here, this big bro is stronger, you know?”
Ah, is Alpen’s revenge finally beginning?
Rina scowled.
“Mister, give it here. You said we were recording this because our memories disappear.”
“That’s right.”
“So only I need to watch it later, why are you watching it!”
“I’m the one who bought it with my money.”
“S-Still, I don’t want you to.”
Seeing Rina on the verge of tears made my heart soften.
It felt a little wrong to tease her so much when she hated it this much.
“Alright. I’ll just keep it safe, then.”
As I spoke, I immediately put it into my inventory.
“You can watch mine, Hyeon-ung. I want to see if it recorded well.”
Oh, Hanna didn’t seem embarrassed at all.
“You can watch mine too, Hyeon-ung.”
Alpen also nodded and handed me his crystal orb, which I immediately put into my inventory.
“Hyeon-ung?”
“It’s late. We should get to sleep.”
“You only dote on Hanna… I’m going to bed. Geumyong, Nix, let’s go.”
He took Geumyong and Nix and went over to the bed in the corner.
He seemed a little sulky, but it couldn’t be helped.
To be honest, I was more curious about Hanna’s recording than Alpen’s.
I infused mana into the crystal orb Hanna had given me.
…?
[Today, I finally came outside the Labyrinth for the first time.
The food was so delicious.
The whole roasted pig, the steak, the steamed fish, the salad, and the wheat bread were all so, so delicious.
The cola, with its fizzy carbonation? Car-something? Anyway, it was so delicious.
It happened to be a festival, so I ate food from Hyeon-ung’s homeland with him, Rina, and Alpen.
The gimbap, chicken skewers, ramen, and tteokbokki were all delicious. Ah, the tteokbokki made my mouth hurt a little.
But it was still delicio…]
What the. It’s nothing but talk about food!
Just a moment ago, I was thinking it wasn’t a waste for my companions, but seeing this made the 100 Jewels feel a little… wasteful.
“I’m glad it came out well!”
Seeing Hanna’s bright smile, I couldn’t bring myself to criticize it.
Well, something like this might actually be better than a serious recording.
It did a good job of capturing what happened today, too.
“W-Was it… bad?”
“No? You’re pretty even in the crystal orb, Hanna.”
“What? Oh, Hyeon-ung…”
If Hanna was happy with it, then so was I.