Piercing Gaze

The Piercing Gaze.

“Kkyu kkyu!”

“Oh?”

“Kkyu?”

It had already been over eighty years since I started living with Kkachi. And now, at last, I could finally read what was going on inside that little head of his.

…This is pretty fun.

It felt exactly like a pet owner who had just gotten their hands on a pet translator. My chest actually fluttered with excitement.

‘Kkachi.’

I called out to him inside my mind the same way I always did, tilting my head at the little shadow crow who was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠doing the same. I wanted to see more of what he was thinking.

“Kkyu kkyu?”

The text floating in the UI above Kkachi’s head had changed. It was nothing special, but one particular word hit me like a hammer.

Father… He called me Father.

“Kkachi, you…?”

All this time, he had been thinking of me as his father. As family?

“….”

Something warm swelled up in my chest. And right behind it came a wave of guilt.

All this time, Kkachi has thought of me as family…

But what about me? Hadn’t I only ever seen this kid as an obstacle to escaping this world, or as a convenient tool for handling my biological energy?

If I had to name the number one contributor who had gotten me this far, it was obviously Kkachi. I could say that with absolute confidence.

After my first possession, when I was lost in confusion and fear. Even later, when time passed and I wanted to give up on everything. Always. Without fail. The one who stayed by my side as both a faithful assistant and protector was Kkachi.

Guilt bloomed alongside a tender sprout of affection. The urge to plant a kiss on those soft little cheeks was so strong I couldn’t hold it back. I called out to him again.

You ridiculously cute little thing. Come here to Daddy right now.

“Kkyu… kkyu?”

Kkachi, you can’t go around doubting your dad’s sanity like that. Daddy can now see exactly what you’re thinking. I know everything (it’s creepy but true)?

“Kkyu…?”

Kkachi approached cautiously, as if worried something had gone wrong with my head, and carefully climbed onto my lap.

“Good boy….”

I couldn’t give him a kiss because of the Plague Doctor Mask, so instead I gently stroked down his back.

“Kkyurururuk.”

Kkachi’s body was devastatingly soft and plush, like one of those sensory toys babies play with. He was also pleasantly warm. I wanted to shove him straight into my mouth and go waaah, but unfortunately the Plague Doctor Mask made that impossible.

Hmm. But still…

Just how far could this Insight reach?

While I continued to stroke Kkachi with one hand, savoring the joy of pet ownership, I suddenly grew curious about the skill’s limits. I scratched under his chin with my index finger and observed him closely.

Tell me more.

I longed to know even more about Kkachi. And then—

Ding!

“….”

No.

I had thought I’d obtained some cheat-level skill that could see through anything. But after running various experiments, I quickly discovered the skill’s clear limitations.

“Nyaham… It’s pleasantly cool out. Perfect weather for a nap, nyang.”

“….”

“…At this point, shouldn’t at least one of us have caught something by now?”

—You’re making me nervous. Stop shaking your leg, Hans.

As you can see, the basic information displayed was limited to the target’s class, name, tier, and current emotional state. To view anything more detailed, an additional information fee was charged in the form of magic power, scaled to the target’s value.

What a cheap bastard.

Asking its own owner to pay an information fee? What an arrogant skill. Still, it wasn’t completely unusable like that pathetic healing spell with its ridiculously long chant.

Somehow, I had discovered one little trick to reduce the additional fee.

“Insight.”

I focused on Kkachi again and activated the passive. Instead of vaguely wanting to know everything about him, I narrowed it down to the single piece of information I wanted most.

What Kkachi likes the most.

See that? The absurdly reduced fee?

Exactly. To use this voyeuristic eye efficiently without wasting magic power, I needed to clearly define the scope of the information I wanted. The reason the fee had been ridiculously expensive before was because I hadn’t set any limits.

…Anyway.

So, Kkachi. What do you like the most?

The moment I paid the 90 MP fee, magic power gathered in my pupils and unknown information began to visualize itself.

Ding!

This… isn’t this liking me a bit too much…?

It was an almost burdensome level of blind affection.

“It’s getting dark, nyang! We should head back soon!”

“That’s what she said. Hans~?”

“….”

—Hey, loser. Why are you so quiet?

“…Yuri. Just you wait.”

“…!”

Since the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sun had set, we decided to return to the inn. I would have liked to keep fishing until evening, but we had already failed to hook anything even while watching the bobber. There was no way we’d succeed at night fishing relying only on feel. We decided to call it a day, just as Sion suggested.

By the way, today’s catch was as follows:

Sion: 5 fish.

—Giant Catfish +1 (roughly 3.5 million dallant)

—Large Mouth Bass +2 (roughly 6,000 dallant)

—Grindel Snakehead +1 (roughly 9,500 dallant)

Contractor: 1 fish.

—Sweet Fish +1 (roughly 2 dallant)

Hans: 0 fish.

Me: 0 fish.

Total: 5 fish.

You might wonder why it’s not six, but the minnow-sized fish the contractor caught ended up in Kkachi’s stomach. So in the end, the five fish Sion caught were today’s entire haul.

It looked like I should give up on my dream of becoming a professional fisherman. Fishing looked easy, but it was actually really hard.

Still, it was fun.

Even though I didn’t catch anything myself, just watching my party members reel in fish gave me secondhand dopamine. It was surprisingly enjoyable. Waiting wasn’t boring either; the scenery was nice, so it felt healing. Not bad at all.

Next time, I should at least catch a minnow like the contractor did.

I would have loved to come back tomorrow and fish again, but since the contractor, Hans, and Sion had all ranked up at the same time, we were scheduled to visit the guild tomorrow for our promotion exam.

The first promotion had a lot of procedures, but from the second one onward it was just a simple skill and magic appraisal followed by a quick test. It probably wouldn’t take long.

I should finish quickly and suggest we clean the room.

It had already been nearly two weeks since our party entered the dungeon. I was starting to miss real sunlight instead of the fake stuff spewed out by that giant plant called the Eye of the Sun or whatever it was.

I miss you, surface world.

“We’re planning to return a bit earlier tomorrow, so everyone should sleep early, nyang!”

“Yes.”

“Understood!”

“Thief. You should sleep early too.”

“Who are you calling a nocturnal cat, nyang! I’m tired anyway so I’ll sleep early, nyang! Good night everyone, see you tomorrow, nyang!”

Once we reached the inn, we ate a simple dinner (I just watched, of course) and headed to our rooms. After confirming that Sion next door had gone in safely, the contractor, Hans, and I turned toward the group room we were sharing.

Click.

I locked the door and leaned back in the wooden chair placed in one corner of the room. From the bed came the contractor’s voice. She was lying there in a slightly loosened black shirt.

“Hmm? Raven, aren’t you going for your nightly walk today?”

“Not today.”

Today I felt like quietly savoring the aftertaste of fishing from the corner of the room. So no walk tonight.

“Hmmm, is that so…?”

Suddenly the contractor’s previously dull eyes began to sparkle. Without a word, she started making space on one side of the bed.

It looked like the contractor wanted to sleep together with me on that narrow bed. What would she do if she fell off?

Ziiiing…

I wish you would come over. Right now.

“….”

When I tried to hold my ground and not go over, the contractor’s red pupils grew even darker. That’s actually a little scary, you know. Really.

If you keep staring at me while openly showing those feelings, I won’t be able to refuse.

I’m coming, I’m coming.

So stop glaring at me like that. This skill… I think I should keep it deactivated most of the time. Seeing everyone’s inner thoughts like this somehow makes me feel guilty.

Tap. Tap.

Unable to resist the contractor’s obsessive gaze and feelings, I walked toward the bed to become her—or his—daily dakimakura for the night.

But… dakimakura, huh.

Thinking about character pillows suddenly reminded me of a friend. That guy really loved pillows too. What a lunatic.

I had only visited his house once. It was the first time I’d ever seen a room with that many pillows. And they weren’t normal ones either. Every single one was a life-sized dakimakura with female characters printed on them.

His face was handsome enough to rival a male celebrity, yet his hobbies were pure otaku. The heavens really are unfairly balanced, aren’t they?

Thud.

“Hmm?”

While I was thinking about my possibly-dead-or-alive friend and walking toward the contractor’s bed, I suddenly felt a heavy foreign object under my foot. I looked down.

There, leaning crookedly against the end of the bed, was an old, worn longsword.

—Ah, my apologies, Terror. You are not hurt, are you?

However, I would like you to know one thing. It was Hans who left me here like this.

“Ah! I’m sorry, Raven. I meant to wipe it down and put it away properly… Hmm? Raven?”

“…….”

“…Raven? Are you alright?”

Various worried voices reached me after I suddenly fell silent following the moment my foot touched the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠scabbard. Normally I would have casually said “I’m fine,” but right now…

I don’t think I’m fine at all.

…Terror? W-why are you acting like this all of a sudden?

I quietly stared at Sword. All day today, I had observed everything around me with Piercing Gaze. But there was one thing I had completely failed to notice.

The old longsword that had been hidden from my sight, concealed inside its leather case.

“….”

I slowly tore my eyes away from the translucent window floating above the black hilt.

“Jealousy. May I ask you one thing?”

…You may.

I calmly asked Sword—no, the Demon of Jealousy.

“Minseok.”

…What?

“Choi… Minseok is currently…”

…Where is he?

. . .