Campfire Confessions
In The Long Terror, the rest area in Zone 1 (2nd Turn) (6)—marked by a flame icon over firewood—was actually a profoundly alien space. Everywhere else in the dungeon constantly chipped away at your mentality just by existing, making rest impossible. Unless you were in combat, you couldn't recover HP or mentality. Sure, you could nibble on rations for a bit of recovery, but unless you were starving, it was just wasting food—like raiding your savings to cover immediate debts. From my unlucky experiences fighting monsters up to eight times in a row, I'd cursed endlessly about how a rest area could possibly never show up.
But in this godforsaken dungeon, the rest area was an exceptional haven. When you rested there, your mentality didn't drain. You could even recover some HP and mentality. So naturally, you'd think more rest areas were better—but play The Long Terror for even a little while, and that notion vanishes. Why? The more rest areas you hit, the fewer fights you've had, meaning fewer gains. Countless The Long Terror gamers, through experience and data, calculated the optimal rests per zone: two, plus or minus one. There was even a proverb that zero rest areas would plunge the hero party into annihilation terror, while nine would sink them into deficit hell—a thoroughly verified fact.
In that sense, the rest area in 1-4 was perfectly timed for our battered bodies and minds... but...
"…"
"…"
Despite the warm campfire, the mood was ice-cold.
- What's wrong? Did I say something? Something weird? Tell me. Honestly.
- ...You swore, Captain.
- Me? What did I say?
- Um...
- Fucking hell, goddamn bitches shaking like crazy, you useless fucking cunts.
After entering the rest area, lighting the fire, and still seeing them silent and avoiding me despite the safety, I couldn't hold back and asked directly. Their response plunged the mood into an even bottomless pit...
When I first saw Shae's profile, I'd worried about her breakdowns—but that was laughable. I'd thought those were just thoughts, or something out of comics or novels when spoken aloud. I was dumbfounded by myself.
How do I navigate this swamp? The psychological relief of not worrying about mentality during rest helped, but it didn't solve everything. I had to thaw the hero party's frozen atmosphere and lubricate it somehow.
"Kaya. Shae. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. Just listen."
No reply, but they weren't ignoring me.
"First off, I'm sorry. No, sorry. I told you not to let the dungeon's horror get to you, not to dwell on it—and I was the first one nearly consumed."
Crackle—
Pop-crackle—
The sparks barely filled the silence. Even without my outburst, their mentality stats showed they were struggling mentally too. I'd been holding it together barely, then I snapped and made them shit themselves.
"I agonized over glossing it off or telling a white lie right up to now. But I decided that wasn't right compared to being honest."
A white lie might've been better short-term. Blame the 'dungeon,' 'the situation,' make the nightmare target 'women' or something. Easy to redirect negativity. But we were in the dungeon. No guarantee it wouldn't happen again.
- Keh. Useless bitches. You believed that? You fucking worthless cunts! It's you bitches! You!
I could vividly picture myself snapping later and saying that. Setting this precedent now might encourage them to open up honestly too.
Anyway, after spilling everything in my head honestly, Kaya and Shae still said nothing. Shocked? Their faces were unreadable. It stung bitterly.
I thought we'd built a good relationship...
Shae's relationship had dropped. Kaya's hadn't, which was odd, but Shae had been on my mind before and now. But approaching felt awkward. She probably wouldn't respond anyway. What to do? Too advanced for a shut-in loser like me.
There’s no guide or family tree for this... Just sleep.
In The Long Terror, the eat button restored HP, rest restored mentality automatically. Here, everything was manual.
A nap should recover some. Better talk then.
I crawled into my pre-set tent. No goodnight.
**
"...Sister."
"Yes."
After Hendrick entered his tent, Shae—still by the fire—finally spoke after a long silence.
"Weren't you... unaffected, Sister?"
"What do you mean?"
"The nightmare... and when the Captain changed. That."
"It was frightening. Terrifying."
"How could you stay so calm?"
"You did the same, Shae."
"I—!"
Shae raised her voice, glanced at Hendrick's tent, sighed, and lowered it.
"I felt like I was going mad. Still do."
"Yet here you are, calm."
"This is... just a reprieve. Yes. Just delayed. Not resolved. Because you stayed calm, Sister, and the Captain changed before I broke. A brief postponement."
"It'll be fine."
"Why?"
"The Captain came back to his senses."
Shae felt absurd. This half-elf, who'd joined before her, showed blind faith in a man obviously much younger. Barely days apart, yet why? What did he have?
"I don't get it. I... the nightmare was bad, but the Captain's eyes terrified me. The moment I saw them, I felt like I'd committed a mortal sin, like I should kneel, beg forgiveness, and kill myself in atonement."
"Suicide? Don't utter such words, Shae."
"Just an expression! That's how intense it felt! But why weren't you...?"
"The Captain is my benefactor. My fate. I trust him. He returned to normal. So it's fine."
Shae was speechless. Kaya's rare, firm words carried weight. Kaya wasn't one to lie deliberately, and each short phrase felt like immutable truth. It calmed her—a little.
"The Captain bears the burden of leading us. We follow his plans blindly. If our hardships are 1, his might be 1.5 to 2. That makes his actions understandable, and it's regrettable I can't help more."
"…"
"We're still novices, but we follow goddesses. We've walked unshaken paths guided by great beings far longer than him. He shakes more easily, succumbs more. That's why I—we—must support the Captain well."
Kaya tossed compressed firewood into the fire. The dying flames roared back.
"You're strong, Sister."
Kaya shook her head, a bitter smile on her face.
"I remember first entering the dungeon. Not long ago, but... I nearly collapsed mentally in room two."
"Eh?"
"Forgive me to Lady Raella, but in that moment, the Captain was my light. I followed only him."
Calling a mere mortal 'light' over her goddess—Shae's jaw dropped.
"That's how I survived near-death, learned my fate, learned to love and trust my true self. And met you, Shae."
"Sister, what...?"
"I'm happy. Following the Captain's will, walking his path. Finding my true self, sharing true fate, welcoming true comrades, fulfilling true duty. Trials will obstruct, but I believe he'll finish without quitting. Even if I'm anxious, I trust the Captain who trusts me. So, even if scared, terrified, grueling... it's fine."
"...I'm jealous."
"I'm the jealous one, of you, Shae."
"Huh?"
"All-rounder. That's Shae in one word. Looks, ability, personality, piety. No flaws... the kind of woman any man would love."
"Psh. Me, all-rounder? You're greater. Already following a god, loving yourself, finding fate. And seems deep with the Captain already... right?"
"I..."
Kaya trailed off. Her face flushed—hard to tell if from the topic or fire proximity.
"What I envy most is that you're human."
"Huh? Why envy being human? I'm neutral on it, but we don't live long, don't stay young."
"As you know, I'm half-elf, Shae."
"Yeah? So?"
"Half-elves are congenitally infertile."
"...Whaaat?"
Shae yelped at Kaya's sudden revelation.
"Our firsts overlapped by chance, but deepening further might be my selfishness. I've seen countless women unable to bear children become seeds of discord if kept close."
"W-Wait, Sister?"
"Plus, the Captain or I—we don't know when death comes. So I don't want to bind him to a flawed woman like me."
"Flawed? What are you saying!"
"Shae."
"Sister!"
Shae shot up, fuming. The negative mood around her had lifted considerably—thanks to the topic, perhaps. Did she realize Kaya had steered it cleverly? Kaya, ever calm against Shae's contrast, grasped her hands.
"Since the box room incident, the Captain's been concerned for you. Like you're concerned for him. So, Shae."
Kaya smiled faintly.
"After tonight, these feelings will scatter. Before then, have a deep one-on-one with the Captain. Exchange emotions, clear misunderstandings."
Then you'll trust him even more.
Kaya swallowed those last words, leading Shae to Hendrick's tent.