Chapter 143
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 143: How to Enjoy a Festival (5)
“Let's go to the club room.”
We moved to the club room, wrapped in silence.
I looked at everyone waiting quietly for my words, then at Kang Yu, who had followed us, and spoke indirectly.
"Kang Yu, you..."
"I'm not leaving this time."
Kang Yu cut me off firmly.
I looked at him, but he was staring back at me with a determined expression, as if he had no intention of backing down.
"It's about your well-being, Noona! I need to know, too!"
"Umm…"
"I didn't come here to be protected, knowing nothing. Tell me what's going on."
Shin Baran, who seemed frustrated by my hesitation, let out a sigh and spoke.
"You're being too overprotective. Don't try to control your brother's actions by saying it's for his own good, without telling him anything."
“……”
"Trust your brother."
...Overprotective?
Hearing Shin Baran, of all people, talk about control and being overprotective, it felt incredibly persuasive.
Maybe, like Shin Barun before, I had been leading Kang Yu only in the direction I thought was right.
"She's right. Trust me, Noona."
I looked at Kang Yu's steady, water-colored eyes.
I looked at the Kang Yu of now, different from the Kang Yu of his childhood who cried so easily.
And, although I was very, very worried, I decided to admit that this was my own selfishness.
"Okay, fine."
If I want to persuade him to be protected, I at least have to tell him what happened.
At my decision, Kang Yu's expression brightened.
I turned my head toward Na Yuhan.
"Yuhan, can you give the explanation you gave to our club members when you were with Yggdrasil-nim again?"
"...Is it related to that?"
"Yeah."
“...Well. Fine. It won't take long."
Na Yuhan took a sound-blocking item from his Inventory and placed it in the center of where we were sitting.
Kang Yu, who would normally be whining that he disliked Na Yuhan, was now looking at him with a serious expression.
At last, a brief explanation of the Tower, the Keys, and the current situation flowed from Na Yuhan's lips.
“To put it simply, beings called the Wild Hunt are trying to collect the Keys that can open the Tower's sealed doors.”
"Keys?"
“Yes. They plan to use those Keys to open the Tower's doors and pour the calamity inside onto this world. We have to stop them.”
As Na Yuhan's explanation continued, Kang Yu's expression hardened, as if he understood the situation.
"- So now, we have to collect those Keys."
As Na Yuhan's final words fell, Kang Yu, who had been silent in thought, finally spoke.
"So… the Wild Hunt are the bad guys, the Oracle is the good guy, and we're the Oracle's subordinates?"
"You could see it that way."
"And because of 'adults' circumstances' again, we have to gather those Keys by ourselves?"
"Right."
Kang Yu made a 'kngh-' sound and seemed to find it hard to accept, but he soon nodded readily.
"This is going to be tough. And dangerous. So that's why you wanted to keep me out of it, Noona."
"Yeah."
"Honestly, I want to say I've gotten stronger too, but... it's true I'm still lacking. My Master said so too."
Kang Yu looked dejected but continued to speak calmly.
"I understand. But still, let me help you whenever I can. I worry about you just as much as you worry about me."
"...Thank you."
"It's only natural, right?"
Kang Yu pouted. He still looked dissatisfied, but that dissatisfaction now seemed directed at himself for not being able to confront the situation.
"Since it's come to this, I just have to get even stronger, to the point where Noona won't worry! My Master said I'll be good enough once I get more experience, so it'll be quick!"
"Right, right."
Kang Yu was clinging to me like he was whining. He was cute, so I smiled and patted his back.
It's true! Kang Yu grumbled, but I just laughed lightly and brushed it off.
Park Siwoo, who had been waiting quietly, spoke.
"But what was it you wanted to say? You said you'd tell us about what happened today."
"Right! Don't you try to slip past it!"
Only after Park Siwoo pointed it out did Kang Yu seem to come to his senses. His gills flared as he glared.
"Right, what happened today."
How should I say this…
I paused, choosing my words, recalling the braceletTornito had given me and his remarks.
While I was choosing my words, everyone's tense gazes were fixed on me.
At those worried looks, I smiled faintly and began to speak.
"That tiger beastkin-hybrid... Tornito... offered to make me his comrade."
"An offer to be his comrade...? That bastard?"
"Yeah. But setting that aside, there was something he said to me before that."
"What did he say?"
"He said that if I keep following what the Player... I mean, what Yuhan... wants to do, my siblings will die."
At my words, the atmosphere turned icy.
Na Yuri and Shin Baran's angry voices burst out.
"What kind of trashy thing to say…! Is that a threat?!"
"Let's tell Yggdrasil-nim and have her protect your family. How dare he!"
“...It wasn't said in that context. Tornito is…”
I paused, choosing my words.
I debated whether to say this, but it felt like nothing would move forward if I didn't.
“Tornito is a Regressor. He came to the past from the future.”
“...A Regressor?”
“Yeah. And... he said that if the Tower collapses, the other races will die. That they'll become monsters.”
“What's the possibility that he's lying?”
At Na Yuhan's words, I bit my lip.
I wanted to believe it was a lie, too.
But…
"Yuhan. Back during vacation, when we ran into the Wild Hunt... that dungeon we went to. You said it only shows the truth, right?"
"What about it? ...Don't tell me,"
“Yeah. I saw a future where the Tower collapsed. It was Tornito's memory, and there were strange monsters there. They were different from existing monsters."
Because I saw the broken future.
“It's possible everything Tornito said is a clever lie. But it's a fact that he came from a broken future. And… I checked with my Story Twisting.”
“With Story Twisting? You mean that Omission ability?”
“Yeah. Omission… and beyond that, Story Twisting can also be used for that.”
I told them about the experiment I did with Nika to distinguish truth from lies using Story Twisting.
When I finished, Na Yuhan looked like he had a lot to think about.
He was silent for a long time, then finally spoke.
"Then… the Oracle was lying to me?"
“I don't think that's it, either. When I checked the premise, 'The Oracle is moving to stop the destruction.' ...that wasn't a lie.”
“...It might be a case of 'not telling a lie'.”
Park Siwoo's words were tossed out.
I looked at him.
Park Siwoo turned his dark blue eyes to me and said.
“Even if the illusion the memory dungeon provides is real, you can't say what you remember is real.”
“What do you mean?”
“I'm saying he could have cleared the dungeon beforehand and shown you an illusion. If not that, he might have scrambled your Story Twisting with that strange power he has.”
“……”
If he means a strange power, he must mean Spiritual Power.
It's true, Tornito also said he wields Spiritual Power.
Come to think of it, Park Siwoo, with his sharp senses, should be able to feel Spiritual Power to some extent.
Did he not feel anything from Tornito?
“Did you not feel a strange power from Tornito?”
“Not at that time. He probably conceals that strange power well enough that I can't detect it outside of combat. He seems extremely skilled at handling it.”
I let out a groan at those words.
He's that proficient at handling Spiritual Power?
The fact that Park Yulhan, who's always with him, is also connected to Spiritual Power... it's too suspicious.
While I was lost in thought, Choi Sujeong, who had been silent, cautiously spoke.
“...This might be weird to say, but… Junior, you've been brainwashed once before, right? And from the way those bastards are acting, they seem to want to pull you in?”
“Yes. That's right.”
“So they might be putting in the effort to trick you. You should be careful.”
Choi Sujeong looked at me with an unusually serious expression.
“There are a lot of skills in the world that erase and manipulate memories.”
“……But memory-related skills are Dark attribute and curses, and I had the ring Yuhan gave me. I should be fine.”
“There could be exceptions. He has a strange power, right? Be careful.”
“Yeah. People don't always act in standard ways.”
I nodded silently at Lee Hana's added words.
Choi Sujeong is probably saying this because she herself has a memory-erasing skill.
And back when she was captured by those twins… no, let's stop thinking about that.
“I'll be careful.”
“Right. It's probably best to ignore what those guys say.”
“Yes. They're the ones opening Gates. Don't fall for their sweet talk.”
“Uh-huh. I agree too…”
I agreed with Na Yuhan, Na Yuri, and Min Jaeyun.
But a corner of my heart still felt uneasy.
"Yeah. Thanks, everyone."
That's why I couldn't tell them I had received the bracelet from him.
Unlike what I expected, my heart ached even after confessing to everyone.
Maybe that's why.
Why, as soon as I returned to my dormitory and closed my door, I took that bracelet out of my Inventory.
“……”
I looked down at the bracelet the Tiger bastard had given me.
The simple golden bracelet just sat quietly in my hand.
“...Should I throw it away?”
Let's throw it away. Throw it away and stop thinking about it.
The moment I decided, the golden bracelet trembled faintly.
—I wouldn't recommend that.
At the same time, the Tiger bastard's voice sounded in my head.