Chapter 60

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 60

Chapter Title: Punishment

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Her pitifully gaping mouth refused to close anytime soon.

The cheek she'd just slapped began to ache more and more.

This pain was meant to wake her from the dream, but instead, it only hammered home the reality.

Unbelievable.

Yoo Jihye raised her hand to slap herself again.

"St-stop!"

But a frantic hand shot out and grabbed her.

Roel had started trying to stop what she assumed was a territory resident's self-harm.

"I understand how you feel, but please calm down."

It was a kind of misunderstanding.

The territory was a total wreck, and most of the residents had lost their homes and families.

Roel thought Yoo Jihye was one of them.

"You... understand?"

"Yes?"

"H-how could you possibly understand?"

Roel had no idea.

She didn't know just how pathetic the human she'd reached out to really was.

"What do you...?"

"You have no idea how lucky you are right now, do you?"

"...Hey."

"If I hadn't set things up, you'd be dead already. Back in the village, during the f-final exams! It was all because of me—"

Yoo Jihye's rambling tongue suddenly stopped dead.

It wasn't just her tongue. Her excited panting breaths, her rude pointing finger—everything froze.

Why?

The answer was simple.

"You've crossed the line."

Terror.

The primal instinct that she might die—a feeling she'd never experienced in reality.

It was a warning emanating from the furious Roel.

The terrifying killing intent made goosebumps erupt from her toes to the top of her head.

Thud.

Yoo Jihye collapsed to her knees.

Dizzy and unable to steady herself, she clawed at the ground.

"I don't know how you know about that, but don't talk nonsense."

"Ugh..."

"I'm sorry we couldn't protect the territory. Like I said, the shelter's that way. Go check it out."

With that, Roel left.

It took Yoo Jihye quite a while before she could move again.

"So... arrogant. Do you even know who created you? Me...!"

She dragged herself to her feet.

Her notoriously poor stamina was already drained from that little effort alone.

Still, it wasn't enough to stop her from heading toward the shelter Roel had mentioned.

Thud. Thud.

Lonely footsteps echoed.

How many times in her life had she even walked on dirt like this?

Ah, whatever.

She just wanted to go home.

"Is there a way back...?"

No.

Not the slightest possibility.

The Management Bureau might send her back, but this mess was their doing in the first place—they wouldn't help her.

And more than that, she didn't even have a way to contact them...

"Fuck."

The curse slipped out on its own.

What did I even do wrong?

This was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a world I created.

Shouldn't I be allowed to act a little freely?

"Why is everyone screwing with me?"

Yeah, I did nothing wrong.

It's those bastards who are acting way too uptight!

Yoo Jihye dove into extreme rationalization.

Fortunately, it didn't last long.

"...What?"

She'd arrived at the shelter.

Outside, people with cloths over their faces lay in rows.

Casualties from the incident.

As Yoo Jihye stood there stunned, someone began to wail.

"Aaaahhh!!!"

It was a scream.

"Why... why did you go first...!!"

A cry of despair.

"Why are you lying here? Why..."

Grief.

Authors don't describe everything.

They focus only on the protagonists' perspectives, so they skip "the outside world."

Does that mean the unwritten stories don't exist?

The answer to that question was unfolding right before Yoo Jihye's eyes.

"How many died?"

"Over a hundred lost their lives. There aren't even forty left in the territory now."

It was a truly horrific sight.

"If it weren't for those demons..."

"Why did those demons come here all of a sudden...? Our territory isn't even on the outskirts."

Why had the demons reached this territory?

A few lines flashed through Yoo Jihye's mind.

「Spatial transfer magic has its limits.」

「Separate from total mana amount, it's a limitation of the magic itself. So you can't teleport too far in one go.」

「From Demon King's Castle, 'Griffith Territory' happened to be the maximum distance.」

Those were lines she'd written.

Desperately added with her authority to hinder the possessor.

Yoo Jihye covered her eyes with both hands.

'It's not my fault. I just wrote a few lines, that's all.'

This is a world inside a novel.

Extras dying is common in stories like this.

So...

"Mommy, Daddy, where are they?"

"Daddy went a little farther away. To protect people..."

.

It's not my fault.

She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bolted desperately.

Out of the shelter, back the way she'd come.

Only then did Yoo Jihye truly see it.

The bloodstained, shattered buildings.

All of them had been someone's home.

"Fuck, fuck...!"

She spewed curses nonstop.

Just like these legs fleeing the scene, it was an act to escape the chain of "thoughts" tailing her.

"What the hell am I supposed to do...!"

As mentioned, Yoo Jihye's stamina was abysmal.

Collapsing after just 200 meters wasn't strange at all.

"Hahk, hahk..."

She struggled to catch her ragged breath.

Getting up was hard.

The clumsily wriggling Yoo Jihye just curled up and plugged her ears instead.

Because of that, she didn't notice someone approaching.

"Sitla, what does this look like to you?"

"Uh... Yeah. Caterpillar play?"

I encountered Yoo Jihye in full panic mode.

She showed no signs of getting up, so I nudged her head with my foot a couple times.

She jolted in fright and looked up.

"Y-you...!"

"How's it feel to be in a fantasy world?"

A lighthearted question.

Yoo Jihye sprang up and charged straight at me.

Her face was a snotty, tear-streaked mess.

"If it weren't for you!!"

I casually kicked her away.

This wasn't a meeting room or anything, so she flew and slammed into the wall.

"Ow... Sitla, try saving that one."

"Yessir~!"

Sitla fluttered over and cast a healing spell.

Yoo Jihye's faltering breaths returned in an instant.

"Gasp."

"Feeling better? Then why'd you charge me?"

With her etiquette lesson complete, Yoo Jihye didn't charge again. She just trembled, terror etched on her face.

Problem solved with one kick—how convenient.

"Got a question for you."

I'd confirmed via the Inner Evil that Yoo Jihye had followed Roel's directions to the shelter.

I knew exactly what the shelter looked like, which sparked one curiosity.

Did you actually feel any guilt?

"..."

Yoo Jihye fell silent.

She didn't seem unwilling to answer, so I waited quietly.

"I... I..."

This disaster stemmed from Yoo Jihye's actions.

After all, you were the one who sent the demons here.

Any normal person would feel sorry.

"I... I feel guilty. Because they all died because of me..."

Maybe it was a faint hope.

The last hope for someone from the same homeland as me.

As expected, no.

"Don't lie. Be honest."

"...I..."

"Come on, spit it out."

She wasn't the type to confess just like that.

Even an idiot would know their true feelings wouldn't help in this situation.

But I had Sitla.

"I just wrote a novel. Why should I feel sorry?

Sitla cast Charm.

Her thoughts, manipulated to speak only truth, began forcibly spilling Yoo Jihye's real feelings.

"If anyone should feel guilty, it's you!"

Those real feelings... were far more selfish than I'd imagined.

"Don't you remember? In the village, you slaughtered all those innocent people...!!"

Sitla, listening, sharpened her nails.

I held her back and took a step forward.

The terrified Yoo Jihye shrank away.

"You know what? The Manager said most possessors don't even survive the early game."

I extended my hand.

When Yoo Jihye hesitantly took it, I yanked her up hard.

"And you're not even a possessor—you're a transmigrator... Can you really survive alone?"

"..."

"Yeah, you're gonna die. Probably within a week."

I had no intention of forgiving Yoo Jihye.

But that didn't mean I planned to kill her either.

"I'll make sure you don't die."

"...What?"

Let me be clear.

This choice isn't because I'm a sucker or merciful.

Bluntly put, I thought this suited her better.

"Wh-why...?"

"Why? We're both human."

I flashed a kind smile.

Then I went to Sitla, waiting behind me, and whispered instructions.

"She'll protect you now. So you won't die."

Yoo Jihye stared at me blankly.

"Th-thank you..."

"No problem."

Business done.

I patted Sitla's shoulder a couple times and returned to the inner world.

A little time had passed.

The sun, once high in the sky, had set, and darkness and cold were rolling in.

Sitla, connected via the 'Telepathy' skill, contacted me.

Update on Yoo Jihye.

I thought for a moment, then told Sitla.

"Leave her."

"Just save her right before she dies."

"Heal her just enough to not die."

Yoo Jihye won't die.

Instead, she'll always live on the brink of death.

So she can experience for herself how horrifying it is to suddenly get dropped into a fantasy world.

That is the punishment I'm giving her.