Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: 9th Subjugation Unit (3)
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A small hand extended to me along with her self-introduction.
The gesture was unmistakably an invitation to shake hands, and I couldn't help but be surprised.
'...Winri, her offering a handshake first?'
And that made sense, because the Winri I knew...
'What? Newbie? So what, what do you want me to do about it.'
'I'll give you materials, so make me some gear? Are you insane? Get lost!'
'Hey, don't talk to me, don't come near me. No, just don't even look at me.'
...was someone no one but Kali and Gray could approach or befriend.
Put kindly, she was like a wounded cat with her heart's door firmly shut.
Put harshly... she was a brat who'd grown older but never learned manners.
Yet the Winri standing before me now was approaching first, introducing herself first.
She was utterly different from the Winri in my memories.
'Then there's only one explanation.'
The difference between the Winri in my memories and the one in front of me.
It was that this Winri was extremely close to her biological parents.
And that I was their child.
"Um, my arm's getting tired..."
"Ah...!"
Was I lost in thought too long?
I snapped back to reality at the sound of Winri's voice worming into my ear.
"Sorry, I was just so overwhelmed that you've come here..."
I hurriedly apologized and grasped her small hand.
"No, it's fine. No need to apologize."
Winri smiled—a smile I'd never seen before—as if she understood completely, shaking our joined hands.
'With this level of affinity, I could probably ask her to make gear for me right now, not later.'
The reason I'd called Winri an eccentric alchemist.
It wasn't just because she called herself a machinist.
It was because she could craft gear like the academy's crafting instructors.
Not just regular crafting, but 'composite crafting'—fusing items with other items.
"...No way, Winri welcoming a newbie, and even smiling?!"
Gray, who had been quietly watching from the side, stared at Winri in shock.
"The sun rising in the west... no, is this a sign of the world's end?"
I nearly nodded at Gray's words.
'It's that surprising.'
The Winri on display now was far removed from her usual demeanor.
"...Sis."
Winri's pale face flushed red.
She seemed aware that her behavior was out of character.
"...He's Sung-jin oppa and A-ra unni's son. He's not like the other kids we can ignore."
Gray nodded as if it made perfect sense at Winri's words.
"True, you've practically been like their child yourself. Yoo-jin must be special to you."
"Still," Gray added with a gentle smile, softly stroking Winri's round head.
"Try to care a little for the other kids too. We're all comrades in the same boat, after all."
Winri glanced at me and gave a small nod.
"...Yeah, got it."
"Good girl, such a good girl."
Gray stroked her head like she was praising an obedient child.
Winri pouted and swatted Gray's hand away.
"Sis, I'm not a kid, you know? I'm 25."
"I know, I know. But how can I help it when you're so cute?"
Gray reached out again for Winri's head.
"Ah, sis!"
Winri scowled and backed away.
Then she bolted toward her room.
Gray hurriedly called after her.
"Winri, don't run, walk! You'll fall!"
But no sooner had the words left Gray's mouth...
"...Kyaaak!"
Thud!
Winri tripped over the hem of her robe and fell forward.
"I knew it."
Gray sighed and shook her head.
"...Hng."
Her pale forehead was red.
Tears welled up in Winri's silver eyes as she rubbed it.
As an alchemist with physical abilities no better than an ordinary person's, the fall must have hurt quite a bit.
But the embarrassment seemed to hurt more than the pain.
"Ugh... d-don't look!"
Her face as red as her forehead, Winri shrieked at me.
Then she scurried into her room like she was fleeing.
'...Amazing.'
The Winri in the game was so prickly—always snapping 'Get lost, shut up, eyes down' whenever spoken to—that she was infuriating.
But the real Winri felt as cute as Asuka.
[Is that what people call a tsundere?] 'Something like that.'
As I affirmed Terra's words, Gray tapped my shoulder.
"Yoo-jin, Winri might act like that, but she's older than you, so treat her with respect, okay?"
Duh, of course.
She's the one who'll upgrade my gear—gotta treat her right.
"Naturally. I'll treat her like a big sister."
"That's my Yoo-jin, such a good boy."
Gray nodded in satisfaction and patted my head.
"Oh, right, this isn't the time."
Her hand, which had been happily stroking my hair, grabbed my wrist.
"Yoo-jin, let me show you your room."
Following her lead, we arrived at a room slightly larger than the others.
But the nameplate on the door read:
[Lee Sung-jin / Kim A-ra]
My parents' names.
'...There was no room like this.'
This was a game, but I'd gone in and out of the 9th Subjugation Unit's base countless times.
I knew every secret passage, every hidden item.
I'd searched everywhere.
'Of course, games and reality differ...'
But this was what I'd call a 'singularity.'
'...Anywhere connected to my parents is a singularity from now on.'
I sighed inwardly.
The already tangled storyline was getting more twists with these singularities.
How could I not sigh?
"Yoo-jin, you okay?"
Gray touched my shoulder with a worried face.
I must have looked precarious, staring blankly at the nameplate.
"I'm fine, sis."
I smiled reassuringly.
But instead of easing, her worry deepened.
"...Yoo-jin, it's okay to say if you're hurting."
No, I really am fine.
Just unsettled by the singularity.
But I couldn't explain that, so I just gave an awkward smile and nodded.
Gray sighed at my reaction.
"...Just like that oppa's son. Never admits when he's hurting."
'Feels kinda weird.'
Like a tickle in my chest?
I scratched my head at the unfamiliar feeling and grabbed the door handle.
Then a mechanical voice from the small speaker on the nameplate—the same one from the parking lot—spoke.
- Access denied. - You are not a registered resident. - What is the purpose of entering the room? Gray answered for me.
"Change and register room resident."
- For that, you need permission from the captain and vice-captain... zzzt! The voice cut off abruptly.
I wondered if Terra had done it, but...
[No, I haven't done anything yet.] Terra denied it.
'Then only one person.'
No sooner had I thought that...
- Yoo-jin, I've changed the resident. Grab the handle again. Not the dry mechanical tone, but Winri's soft, frail voice.
I gripped the handle again as she said.
The names 'Lee Sung-jin, Kim A-ra' vanished from the nameplate.
[Lee Yoo-jin]
My name was engraved in their place.
"......"
Gray stared blankly at the nameplate.
Her expression looked incredibly forlorn.
"Sis, you okay?"
This time, the question came from me.
Gray turned to me.
After staring for a moment, she gave a small smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
What? You're the one telling me to express myself.
Yet you won't admit when you're hurting.
Of course, I kept that thought to myself.
Pat pat.
Gray stroked my head silently.
I bowed my head to make it easier for her.
"Good boy, such a good boy."
Her voice trembled.
Drops of water fell to the floor.
I stayed quiet, saying nothing.
Just letting her stroke me.
For a long while.
Until her mood lifted.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Click.
I finally entered the room.
"I wonder if sis is okay."
I recalled Gray leaving the base at Kali's call.
Stroking my head had improved her mood a bit, but sorrow still lingered on her face.
Especially when she saw the nameplate without our parents' names—even if just for a moment—she looked on the verge of tears.
"...Mom and Dad must have been incredibly respected."
The captain, vice-captain, even picky Winri.
If everyone in the 9th Subjugation Unit missed them, they must have been remarkable people.
With that thought, I looked around.
Plain white walls with no decorations.
A bookshelf packed with books, a desk with only a computer.
And a queen-sized bed my parents must have shared.
I sat lightly on the bed.
"Oh... pretty cushy."
Not as good as the dorm bed, but soft enough for good sleep.
I nodded in satisfaction and stood.
Then I checked the bookshelf.
"On Magic Power, Principles of Spell Activation, Approaches to Magic... all magic-related books."
I shook my head with a weary face and headed to the desk.
[Master, there's a small box under the desk.] "...A box?"
I checked under the desk immediately.
Sure enough, in the shadowed corner, there was a small box, just as Terra said.
"Must have auto-clean magic like the dorm."
I'd expected dust in the hidden spot, but the box was spotless.
Makes sense—no one but residents could enter.
But... one question.
"...Did sis know? About this under the desk?"
The key Gray gave me in the elevator descending to the base.
It fit perfectly into the box's keyhole on the desk.
"Haa... who knows."
'Singularities' related to my parents always muddled my head.
I sighed at my throbbing headache and pulled out the key.
"What even is this made of?"
Iron key.
Utterly ordinary.
But this key was anything but ordinary.
Even ungraded common items, or roadside pebbles, could be appraised and stored in inventory via the system.
Yet Gray's key... couldn't be appraised or stored.
"Another parent-related singularity, huh?"
I examined it, then inserted it into the box's keyhole.
I unlocked it without hesitation.
Click.
The lock released.
I carefully opened the box.
"A note... and... a key...?"
A folded note and a key similar to the one that opened the box.
I pulled them out curiously.
Unfolding the note carefully:
[Go to the Great Temple.] Neat handwriting: Go to the Great Temple.
"What's there?"
The sub-quest left by true Gaia, too.
This note, which looks like Mom's handwriting more than Dad's.
All pointing to the Great Temple?
"Haa... no point overthinking."
I sighed and refolded the note.
I'll find out eventually. Guessing now just hurts my head.
So, no thinking.
"This one won't go into inventory either, right?"
I picked up the second key from the box.
Tried storing it...
"...Nope, this one too."
Like the first key, it wouldn't enter inventory.
[Master, what if you put it in the box first?] "Put it in the box?"
...Hadn't thought of that.
I folded the note, put both keys in the box, and tried storing the box.
"...Oh! It works!"
Unlike the keys repelling like magnets, the box went in smoothly.
I checked the box's info right away.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Unknown][1] ...Just 'unknown,' no details on the box or keys.
And even with infinite item slots active, it stayed fixed at 1.
"Better than nothing."
I'd been agonizing over where to store such an important item.
Now in inventory—pure relief.
I grinned and closed inventory.
"What now?"
Leaning back in the chair, arms crossed, I rubbed my chin.
Then 'composite crafting' popped into mind.
"Guess I should go see Winri."
Thanks to parents' prestige, starting affinity is sky-high.
If I offer items and materials now, she'll craft for me.
"...Man, mouth's watering already."
What to composite to make waves?
Grinning at the pleasant thoughts, I stood.
Terra, quiet till now, messaged again.
[Master, I have a request.] Terra was asking me for something—for the first time.
I looked at the message curiously.
"What request?"
[It's a request that will be very helpful to you, Master.] Terra said that, then sent:
[(´・᎖・`)]