The Weight of a Promise
Once they reached the room, Chori cleared a place for them to sleep.
The child swept dolls and drawings aside without the slightest hesitation, making space in the narrow chamber.
"Aren't those things you care about? Are you sure it's all right?"
At Hina's question, Chori beamed.
"It's fine! I have Hina unnie and Minel oppa now!"
"……."
"……."
Aside from the bed, there was barely room for two people to lie down. Minel and Hina settled carefully onto the floor.
Chori fell asleep almost at once.
In the silence that followed, Hina spoke quietly.
"I still can't believe it. That we've only been on the 2nd Floor for a single day."
Even Hina, who had blacked out for part of it, felt the disconnect. For Minel, who had been dragged through every crisis of that day, the gulf between time and experience was wider still.
He opened his eyes for a moment and looked toward Chori.
The child's breathing was even and deep. Sound asleep.
"I'll be honest with you, Hina."
"……."
"Leaving right now is the best option."
Hina said nothing for a long while.
She said nothing because she understood, better than anyone, that Minel was right.
What Chori's Mother wanted was simple: for Minel and Hina to kill the Shocker. That was why the enhancements had been acceptable even if the woman had other motives.
But things were different now.
They might be able to trust Chori's Mother—yet hunting the Shocker itself meant staking their lives.
"Do you think there's another way up to the 3rd Floor?"
"If there isn't, we're only back where we started."
Meaning they could always kill the Shocker later. Better to spend that time learning the 2nd Floor thoroughly, preparing properly, and then fighting. There was no reason to let Chori's Mother shove them into battle here and now.
"What if we talk to her? Tell her we'll do it once we're fully prepared. Don't you think she'd understand?"
"That's dangerous."
"Why?"
"Because we don't know how strong she is."
Judging by the fact that she had saved them from the Shocker, Chori's Mother was no ordinary survivor. She had been a veteran to begin with, then half-turned into a monster. If she decided to act, the two of them might not even be able to resist.
"If she's that strong, couldn't she just handle the Shocker herself? I don't think she would have asked us to kill it otherwise."
"Maybe."
"……."
Hina understood what Minel meant.
Not that Chori's Mother necessarily deserved suspicion—only that there was no particular reason to trust her.
"Did you find it that suspicious? When she said the only way to the 3rd Floor was to kill the Shocker?"
"She was hiding something."
"But you don't know what?"
"You would have known."
"Then isn't that even more reason to talk to her one more time? With me."
Hina's resolve was firm. She clearly wanted to help Chori somehow.
But Minel was the party leader. The party's survival came first—and by that measure alone, leaving now was optimal. There was no reason whatsoever to put themselves between two forces they could not handle: Chori's Mother and the Shocker.
"If I still decide to leave, what will you do?"
Hina could not answer right away.
An awkward silence settled over them.
Minel waited calmly. At last Hina spoke, her voice soft.
"I have a little sister. She's about Chori's age. I think that's why I keep fretting over this."
"……."
"But I understand your position completely, Minel. I know you're right."
"……."
"If you decide to leave, I'll go with you."
The words were clear enough, but her voice was heavy with gloom.
Before making his final decision, Minel checked his own reasoning one more time.
And as always, his father's words rose to the surface.
Minel's mouth fell slightly open.
He had told Chori's Mother that once their items were enhanced, he would kill the Shocker. Until his father's words returned to him, he had not even registered that breaking that promise was a possibility worth weighing.
Minel thought it through again.
What would happen if he broke the promise?
He felt no guilt about breaking a promise as such. For Minel, only the gains and losses of an action carried meaning.
If they broke their word and left, the gain would be the enhanced items they had secured so easily through the blacksmith.
And the loss?
He considered a little longer, and then he had it.
"……."
His mouth opened of its own accord.
The realization struck him with startling clarity.
The loss incurred by breaking the promise was nothing other than Hina's trust.
Having watched the entire process, Hina would never look at Minel the same way again. And Hina, more than most, carried deep scars from people. A single mistake could turn her away for good.
The reason she had trusted Minel at all was that he had never betrayed his own word. To her, that might matter even more than his formidable skill.
Minel felt a quiet relief.
Without his father's words, he would have overlooked something critical.
What remained was to weigh whether breaking the promise was still worth it despite that cost.
The answer came easily.
"We'll talk to her together in the morning."
"Ah—yes. That sounds good."
A simple reply, yet her voice held a deep, hidden joy.
Part of it was the chance to help Chori. At root, though, it was the relief of confirming once more that Minel was someone she could trust.
Without Father's words, would I have seen through people and situations this clearly?
Holding that quiet gratitude, Minel drifted into sleep.
He dreamed a string of bizarre, twisted dreams.
When morning came and his eyes snapped open, he remembered none of them.
"Here. Eat this."
Chori, perched on the edge of the bed, held out a well-toasted piece of bread.
Behind the child, Hina was diligently working through what looked like bread and milk.
"I've known how to make food with Blood Crystals since I was little. Everyone who's tried it said it was delicious."
"You… made this?"
"Yes."
"……."
"I'll go take some to Mom, too."
Chori hopped lightly down from the bed and opened the iron door leading to Chori's Mother.
Minel looked down at the food in his hands.
The Miller Party had traded Blood Crystals with Chori for their food supply. The child apparently had a skill for making food from Blood Crystals.
He glanced at Hina beside him. Her entire face was radiant. He had never seen her look this happy.
"Is the food all right?"
At Minel's question, Hina's eyes went round; she whipped her head around to look at him. She had only just realized he was awake.
"It's incredibly good! Even back in the real world, I've never eaten anything this delicious!"
Not only her expression—her voice, too, was brighter than he had ever heard it. If he had met Hina in the real world, he thought, she might always have sounded like this.
"There's nothing in it, is there?"
Hina laughed.
"Still suspicious? It's fine. No poison."
Hina's instincts were reliable. Minel brought the food Chori had given him to his mouth and took a bite.
"……."
His eyes flew wide open.
His mind snapped into sharp focus, and everything around him felt suddenly vivid. Only then did Minel understand: until now, he had been living under crushing mental stress.
It was like watching a video whose resolution had been slowly degrading without your noticing—then cranking the quality back up and feeling the difference all at once. Compared to this moment, every sense until a second ago had been dull and muffled, as if he had been underwater.
He had never known how precious the simple pleasure of taste could be.
With the stress melting away, several things fell into place.
"I was being paranoid."
"Pardon?"
"The constant suspicion."
Minel had lived his whole life performing. Because of that, he found it hard to trust others. He knew this about himself, and he had always tried not to obsess over doubting people.
Apparently that habit had flared up again.
"Try some of mine, too."
Hina was staring at the food in Minel's hand with shining eyes. She clearly wanted a taste of his as well.
Minel and Hina shared their food.
They kept stealing glances at each other, as if surprised by how freely they were smiling.
"Compared to Sky's food, this is on a completely different level. There's really no comparison."
It differed from Sky's skill in that it required Blood Crystals rather than water—but in quality and quantity, it was overwhelming. Young as Chori was, the child seemed to hold several high-grade non-combat skills.
"The skill rank must be high."
"Chori's Mother was a veteran, right? Maybe she gave Chori high-grade skills you can only get on the upper floors."
"Could be."
They were about halfway through the meal when Chori came back out.
Hina checked Minel's expression briefly, then asked,
"Is your mom awake?"
Chori's face fell.
"She went back to sleep. She said not to wake her no matter what until we've caught the Shocker."
"……."
"She said if I wake her early again, she'll really scold me… that I absolutely must not wake her before then."
Chori stayed downcast. The child trudged over, took out some food, and put it in their mouth—but even eating something so delicious, their expression barely brightened.
Hina looked at Minel.
She didn't speak, but he could read the question in her eyes.
You'll still keep the promise, right?
Minel thought for only a moment, then spoke.
With his head clear, his judgment was sharper; he could read the situation precisely.
"Let's build a strategy."
"……."
"Kill it fast. See her fast."
At Minel's words, Chori's face lit up at once. The thought of seeing their mother again soon filled the child with pure joy.
Beside them, Hina's expression softened as well. She didn't make a show of it, but the smile in her eyes deepened a little more.
After the meal, Minel began laying out a proper plan.
As she listened, Hina pointed out variables Minel had overlooked, and each time he revised until the plan was complete. Chori, by creating doorways in the corridors, made the whole operation run more smoothly.
Half a day passed that way.
"I think that covers it. I've gotten used to the weapon, too."
"I figured it wouldn't take you more than a few hours. Good. Now let's go find the Shocker."
After that, the three of them—together with Chori—kept checking the corridors where the Shocker was likely to appear.
Through the doorways they could survey many different parts of the Backrooms' 2nd Floor, and in less than an hour they found a trail.
"Over there!"
Following Chori's cry and the pointing finger, they saw a charred corpse slumped in a corner of the corridor.
Minel approached and examined the body carefully. Then he was certain.
"It's nearby."
"Should I make a doorway around here?"
"Yeah. Please."
Chori nodded and went back toward the house.
Left alone, Minel studied the wounds on the corpse and the state of the surrounding walls, then ran in the direction the Shocker must have gone.
How many corners had he rounded?
From far off, a familiar sound began to reach him.
Fzzzzzt—!
Fzzzzzt—!
It was little more than a soft crackle against the ear—but from experience, the source would not be far.
Minel turned two more corners, and exactly as he expected, he found the Shocker.
Crunch! Crunch!
Crunch! Crunch!
The Shocker worked its jaws with mechanical monotony, chewing something. Its empty eyes held a strange, vacant boredom.
"Shocker!"
At Minel's voice, the Shocker slowly turned its head.
In that instant its mouth froze mid-chew, and half-eaten corpse matter spilled from its lips.
Fzzzzzt—!
Fzzzzzt—!
Lightning began to surge more violently across its body, and a yellow light kindled in those hollow eyes.
"Grrrrrr…."
The first prey it had ever failed to take.
The moment it recognized Minel, the Shocker's excitement spiked at a terrifying rate.