Chapter 349

After that, we were unexpectedly welcomed and escorted to our lodgings.

The reaper who called himself the graveyard keeper said he already knew we were coming.

But in the end, our meeting with this reaper graveyard keeper wrapped up quickly.

The reason was...

I could have forced him with the Cerberus Eye, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

Not that I didn't want to or anything...

'Whoa... It's rare for me to get swept up like this.'

Before I knew it, the thought of using the eye hadn't even crossed my mind, and the conversation just ended as we were led to our rooms.

A cheerful yet noble aura.

He was a unique figure embodying traits that seemed utterly incompatible.

'Either possessing utmost flexibility... or utmost rigidity...'

The graveyard keeper who looked like a reaper clearly fell into the former category.

But people like that always need watching.

'Guys with that much flexibility are usually one of two kinds.'

'Is that their real personality... or do they act that way because they've got a lot to hide?'

Having lots to hide doesn't automatically make someone a villain, but it doesn't make them a saint either.

'For now, let's just relax.'

Once the graveyard keeper left and we got our escort, I was able to ask the guard some questions.

The keeper had stepped out for urgent business but somehow knew we were coming and appeared right on time from afar—not summoned by the guards.

'Busy guy, huh. Well, no issues without him anyway.'

With the Cerberus Eye in hand, this place was proven safe.

Thinking that, I started checking out my room.

'Good, the safe zone's properly set up.'

I'd worried there might not be safe zones in a place where the dead lived, but my room was fully enclosed in a blue safe zone.

The room's condition was better than expected... no, far cleaner than the inns on the first floor.

"Let's rest a bit and then go explore."

Actually, now would be a great time to warp to another area.

But the simple reason I couldn't leave was...

'When can we warp?'

Since we'd already used warp for the regression earlier, it needed time to recharge.

'Well, thinking about it, vanishing at night would be way more convenient than now.'

Not sure if day and night even mean much here, though...

With that in mind, I left my room and started wandering the castle interior.

Even though they were misty ghosts, I could clearly sense their wariness toward me.

No wonder—I'd shown up, shoved the Cerberus Eye in their faces, and acted aggressively.

'Hmm... maybe check on the others first?'

I was curious what Min Hayeon and Han Bom were up to, and there was someone I was worried about.

Han Yeoreum, who'd passed out... what would she do when she woke up?

Even if she killed herself and regressed again, it wouldn't be a big deal.

No need to waste a warp when we already knew her regression point was saved.

For me, caught in the regression loop, it wasn't much of an issue, but I didn't want to keep subjecting Armonia to the same scenes over and over.

'Let's go see if she's awake.'

With that, I headed to Han Bom's room.

Why Han Bom's room to check on Han Yeoreum? Simple—this place didn't allow one person multiple rooms, just like everywhere else.

So Han Bom had left her sister in her own room and bunked with Min Hayeon.

I quietly opened Han Bom's door and stepped in.

There...

"...?"

"Hah... hah... fuck... fuck..."

Han Yeoreum's moans echoed from within.

The moment Han Yeoreum regained consciousness, she scanned her surroundings, trying to grasp the situation.

But all she could tell was that this place was a safe zone—nothing else.

She could leave the room, but she gripped the doorknob without turning it.

'Wh-where is this? Can't just barge out blindly...'

Having tasted death from Cerberus, Han Yeoreum feared the unknown more than dying.

Soon, she slumped at the table, sighing in despair.

'Fuck... what a mess... everything's ruined!'

All her carefully laid plans had crumbled into irredeemable trash.

Seong Su-ho's death—her desperate wish—had missed the mark, and now the party treated her like the worst traitor.

And in that state, the regression point had saved.

'This isn't it... this isn't what a regressor should be!!'

A true regressor returned to the start no matter the hardship.

That was Han Yeoreum's ideal.

But her regressions were half-baked—climbing floors with mistakes locked in, no turning back.

It was still cheat-level, but the real problem was one person.

'Seong Su-ho!!! Fuck, why him?! Why does everything that bastard does turn my life to shit?!'

Without Seong Su-ho, she'd never have this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠headache.

'Fuck... back then... I should've ignored that bastard and just hunted quietly with Hayeon...'

She recalled meeting Seong Su-ho on floor 0.

From loop 0 to 7...

Starting with judging him useful as an alchemist, dragging him to boss fights...

Approaching him was her greatest regret.

'Fuck... water under the bridge...'

Now she lay limp across the table, listless.

Repeated humiliations from Seong Su-ho, plus watching the women he loved—his girlfriend and sister—endlessly fucked by that enemy.

She lacked even the energy for rage.

'Dying won't fix this anymore.'

But she had no real choices left.

'Fuck... can't leave the party either! Hayeon and Bom will definitely follow that bastard!'

Han Yeoreum finally admitted it.

Both women would choose Seong Su-ho over her...

In her helplessness, one idea surfaced.

She opened her inventory, eyeing the glowing gems.

'...Useless now, huh.'

Gems recording Seong Su-ho's deeds on floor 1...

She recalled the humiliations endured to obtain them—scorn, mockery.

Maintaining sanity through that proved her mental fortitude, in a way.

'...Let's check anyway.'

She couldn't accept her hard-won prizes as worthless.

Hoping for some weakness of his, she glanced around.

Room empty, safe zone active.

'...No one'll come in, right?'

With that, she placed a gem on the table.

The room darkened instantly.

'Ah... right, it blocks disturbances during playback.'

As darkness fell, the gem glowed, projecting light onto the wall.

Even as the video seemed ready, Han Yeoreum's eyes held no spark.

'Will anything useful even show?'

No motivation left—just fear it was a useless rock from her hellish trials.

But that fear faded quickly.

'...Why isn't it playing?'

Light leaked from the gem, but the screen stayed black.

Staring blankly in confusion, a voice whispered in her ear.

Screen black, but she guessed the scene.

'Fuck... of all things, this...'

Seong Su-ho and Han Bom having sex—obvious.

Head bowed, she listened mournfully to their whispers.

She instantly recalled: them in the tent, Min Hayeon masturbating outside.

'Of all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the unlucky scenes to capture... wait, what? Hold on...'

A flash of insight hit as something felt off.

She'd never seen it, but remembered clearly.

After escaping the dungeon, paralyzed by Red Summoners, rescued by Seong Su-ho.

But...

'Fuck, wait! We already had the gems by then—this couldn't have been recorded!!'

Timeline didn't match.

The gem holder said it captured daily life in the early village.

'What the hell?! What is this?!'

She focused eyes and ears on the screen.

Slightly dim, but lights intermittently illuminated the explicit scene.

'What the fuck is this?! Why is this recorded?!'

Utterly baffled, powerless to act.

Only fact: real-time view of their relationship, albeit recorded.

And others were getting excited too.

Ignoring the channel viewers, Han Yeoreum racked her brain over the incomprehensible scene.

'Fuck, gotta turn it off!'

Assuming that was the end, she moved to stop it—

She wanted to curse the mission giver and curse them out.

But alongside that urge, dark lust stirred within her.

A memory pierced her mind.

'These channel fuckers... they can't tell anyone what I do, right?'

Channel viewers had to keep summoners' actions secret.

Leak ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to another summoner? Massive penalties.

They watched for fun—why ruin their only entertainment?

Even minor info on strategies turned them to mush.

'No one can see anyway...'

Han Yeoreum slowly accepted the mission, eyes feasting on her sister's body.