Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Tears of Defeat...
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Actually, getting off work is... nice.
But for me, it wasn't something I could enjoy without reservation.
After spending all day surrounded by countless people at the guild and the counseling center, I return to my dark, empty house and end up alone....
It drives home the fact that I'm truly by myself in this unfamiliar world.
Loneliness creeps in, I suppose.
When I first arrived in this world, the barrage of voices echoing in my head against my will left no room for loneliness.
I actually preferred the solitude back then.
But humans are fickle creatures.
Once I learned to control those voices, being alone felt unbearably lonely again.
That would have been the case under normal circumstances.
"Anything but mint chocolate?"
None!
But today, I headed to the mart with a cheerful heart.
For some reason, I didn't feel alone.
Unfortunately, I couldn't go to a regular supermarket.
Buying mint chocolate is easy enough, but to actually make it, I need peppermint oil.
And that's hard to find outside of specialty ingredient markets.
I picked up some rather unfamiliar ingredients and headed home.
Tonight would be a night without loneliness.
Cookies or bread might take time, but making chocolate itself doesn't.
So as soon as I got home, I unpacked and got busy in the kitchen.
I'll... be doing some renovations in the meantime!
"What kind of renovations?"
It's a thing.
( •̀ .̫ •́ )✧
While I was melting the chocolate in a double boiler, it seemed the little guy had its own busy task.
Right as I was stirring the chocolate...
- Bang bang bang bang!!!!
"?!"
A series of explosive sounds came from the bedroom.
I jumped in surprise and rushed over, but...
Nothing was visibly out of place.
Just a thin crack running along one wall of the bedroom, similar to what I'd seen that morning?
But unlike the counseling center, the entire wall was enveloped in a thin blue membrane.
"Hey... you scared me."
Ah, sorry. Um... something unexpected came up.
But don't worry about it!
(•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑
It's fine, right?
- Bang bang bang!!
- Zzzzt-!
- Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!
"......"
After that, mysterious explosions, electrical crackles, and even what sounded like machine-gun fire kept coming from the bedroom.
But I deliberately ignored it and focused on the chocolate.
I carefully poured it into the square molds and chilled it.
And once everything was done...
The little guy announced it had finished its task too.
User! I fended it off too!
"Fended off what?"
Ah! I broke through!
I made a hole in your bedroom, User!
This hole was in the bedroom.
"Okay."
I carefully placed the perfectly set mint chocolate in a pretty dish and headed to the bedroom.
What can I say...
Judging by the hands I'd seen, it seemed female.
Not beastkin since they were human hands, so a pretty dish it was.
On the way, the little guy cautiously called out to me.
Um... User, I have something to tell you.
"What is it?"
Well... the one at the counseling center this morning, I could open and close freely...
"Yeah."
This one... once I broke through, it doesn't seem repairable...
"......"
My footsteps halted dead center in the living room.
I slowly reached out and opened the bedroom door.
The hole was precisely...
Right next to my bed.
Bigger than the one I'd seen during the day, it seemed.
Singed marks around it too.
This was even more critical than the counseling center.
This officetel was the one Jin Sea had recommended, and lately, she'd outright bought the whole building.
Thanks to that, I'd been living here on relatively cheap rent...
Now I'd gone and imposed shamelessly.
"Ah."
How was I supposed to explain this?
Reading my expression, a hesitant vibe came from beyond the hole, like the system was gauging my reaction.
Who knows if that was accurate.
Anyway, what's done is done.
I had savings...
Worst case, I could buy the place outright...
I stared at that permanent hole and flopped onto the bed.
Then I asked the little guy,
"Have you tried Phoenix Blaze Ramen?"
The spiciest instant noodles on the market.
No... What's that taste like?
"Interested?"
[......]
I almost went to the kitchen to boil some right then...
But I held back.
"Dig in."
I smiled and offered the chocolate through the hole.
A hole in the wall? No big deal. Most of my income comes from this little guy anyway.
It's nothing.
I felt a hand from beyond the hole groping my arm.
Was it dark over there? It had fumbled around for a while earlier too.
The little guy fiddled with my hand for a good while before carefully taking the dish.
Time passed.
No sounds, so I couldn't tell if it was eating.
"Tasty?"
Yes
It's so, so delicious, User...
I could sense the even through the text.
I smiled at the reaction.
"Then let's keep getting along from now on."
We'd unintentionally grown even closer...
But good is good.
I reached out and offered my hand to the hole again.
For a handshake.
A moment later.
A pale, slender hand appeared and gently grasped mine.
Warm and small.
Incredibly soft.
I slowly stroked and gazed at that hand.
A little... shy.
(,,• ֊ •,,)
With that, it intertwined its fingers with mine, locking them firmly.
I chuckled softly and gripped back tightly.
"Fighting."
Our private vow for everything ahead.
And the little guy didn't let go of my hand for a long while.
"......What is this?"
Jin Sea had been feeling an inexplicable sense of déjà vu since morning.
Something was off.
Not missed, exactly... more like pierced.
A hole had been punched through, or so it felt.
"...I haven't overlooked anything, no matter how much I think about it."
The negotiations had wrapped up perfectly.
She'd firmly gripped the leashes of those old foxes trying to chain her down.
And she'd even secured more interests than before. Far more successful than expected.
So what was this nagging feeling?
This sticky unease, like someone had invaded her territory without permission...
Something... pierced...
Jin Sea suffered that sensation all day from noon onward.
As a Brain Ruler, her senses wouldn't lie, which made it all the more bothersome.
She wondered if something had happened to Seon-woo, but...
No, she'd taken precautions.
Then what?
In the end, Jin Sea spent the day with that persistent unease and returned home.
As always, after showering, she slipped into her most comfortable silk robe and flopped onto the plush living room sofa.
Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, she waited for him to come home.
"......"
Why isn't he back yet?
He's late getting off work today.
"Ah."
Just then, the bedroom light flicked on.
He must be home.
Seeing that light, Jin Sea finally relaxed her frayed nerves from the day and let her body loosen.
"Hoo..."
Right as her mind began to ease...
- Zzt.
A sharp warning blared in Jin Sea's head.
"?!"
She bolted up from her seat.
"What the?!"
- Zzzzt...
After the Baek Si-eun incident, she'd bought the entire officetel building where Yoo Seon-woo lived.
And her first move...
Was installing security measures.
To defend against any mental or physical attacks from home.
To protect Seon-woo.
And now, the barrier she'd set for security was screaming.
Invasion.
Someone was trying to breach the barrier right now.
'Seon-woo's in danger.'
Just as she rushed to dash outside...
I was wondering who set up such a vicious barrier...
Text floated in the air before Jin Sea as she tried to leave, blocking her path.
"...?"
It was you after all!
With the text, a massive hologram screen lit up before her eyes.
Can you see me okay~?
On the screen sat a cute bob-haired girl who looked young, wearing a headset.
From now on, I'm taking control of this house!!
She puffed out her not-so-large chest and declared it with majestic pride.
Tsk tsk, the User doesn't like obsessive people!
Even poking right at her sore spots.
Jin Sea instantly recognized who it was.
"You?"
She'd been aware.
That Seon-woo's system was leagues apart from other hunters'...
But seeing it faithfully assist and support him by his side, she'd thought it only intervened to relay information.
However.
Didn't I tell you back then?
I condemn all info manipulation and private surveillance!
Did you enjoy tormenting me?!
Stern warning over! Time for enforcement!
(｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
The little girl on the screen made a finger-gun shape, aiming it at her.
She remembered.
This was the one that always tagged along screeching noisily whenever she tampered with text.
'So it was you.'
That sense of déjà vu wasn't wrong after all.
It had been pierced.
Even now, she could feel the barrier tearing in real time.
Wanna see this?
The girl pulled up another small screen beside her face.
Jin Sea looked at it.
The breach point in the barrier was...
Yoo Seon-woo's bed, right by his pillow.
Kekeke.
I'll be sleeping with the User again tonight.
- Zzt...
She could feel her control over Seon-woo's place slipping away, the connection severing.
The screen filled with noise.
Now... over there... just watch quietly...
The girl's eyes curved slyly, her vibe shifting in an instant.
Her expression turned intensely sensual, contrasting her cute face.
As always, enjoy your... tearful defeat.
With those words, the screen went black.