Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Companion II
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Shin Noa
The same phenomenon repeated in the 24th and 25th rounds as well.
I had to experience the timeline where Old Man Show died a full three times.
The only difference from the other rounds was whether I had one single companion or not. Nothing else. And yet, the perceived difficulty increased five or sixfold.
It was a moment that made me realize just how much I had been relying on Old Man Show in so many ways.
Finally, the 26th round.
"Sorry about that."
Old Man Show handed me a cup of coffee the moment he saw my face.
There was a cafe in the old Baekje Hospital building. He must have predicted I would come running, as he had taken over the empty cafe on his own whim and even brewed the coffee.
The cafe au lait he made was truly delicious. It must have been thanks to the skills he learned from that barista in the 11th round.
"Have a seat, old timer."
I said in German. By the 26th round, I could recite poetry in foreign languages too.
"You're forgiving me?"
"7, 7, 7."
"……?"
"Do you know what those numbers mean?"
"…Casino slot machine jackpot?"
"No. They're the times I survived without you. Adds up to 21 years. Fuck, after more than 20 years, I'm starting to forget your face. Let's talk face-to-face."
"……."
Old Man Show seemed at a loss for words.
I sat across from him and gulped down the coffee. At this point, I could raid any cafe for coffee beans, but I hadn't had it since around year 5.
To me, who had just died after living 7 years in the previous round, it was a welcome luxury. Drinking real cafe au lait instead of the imitation stuff pieced together by alchemists was pure bliss.
Like this, regression didn't just have downsides. Coffee. Draft beer. Cigarettes. Friends and comrades who hadn't died yet… Being able to experience them vividly again was incredibly important to me.
"21 years… Amazing. From my perspective, it's been less than an hour since I last saw you."
It didn't seem that way to Old Man Show.
More precisely, the most precious thing was missing from his list of 'things he could experience vividly again.'
"But I understand. I haven't seen my wife's face in over a hundred years either. I know the feeling well."
"……."
"You can look at photos for the face. Replay a few saved videos for the voice. But still, there's this dry well inside me that nothing fills."
My ominous premonition didn't miss the mark.
If this were a typical regression story, Old Man Show would have held onto his sanity, I would have found some miraculous solution within the time limit, and the old couple might have reunited after leaping over a century.
"I want to see my wife in person."
But as I said, my story isn't a tale of success—it's just the aftermath of failures.
Old Man Show's mind broke. In less than 30 seconds, he took his own life three times just to talk to his wife. There was no way for me to save him.
"You don't understand me. Not you, of all people. So use your ability on me…"
"No."
I refused flatly.
Just as Old Man Show had innate talent in swordsmanship, I possessed various abilities beyond regression. I'll get to them gradually.
The ability he mentioned now was 'Time Seal' among them. And I had zero intention of using it on the companion right in front of me.
"You know, old timer. Once time is sealed, it's over. Completely done. Even regression won't break the seal."
"Yes. But at least I could talk to my wife in my dreams."
"You'd just repeat the exact same day forever."
"What's the difference from our current situation?"
This time, I was the one at a loss for words.
"…Still no. I can't lose my strongest ally like this."
"Then let's do this."
Had he predicted my reaction? The moment Plan A was rejected, Old Man Show immediately proposed Plan B.
"You keep challenging until you find a solution. Regress and save the people in Seoul within 1 minute of starting, over and over. Or admit it's impossible and give up like me."
"What about you, old timer?"
"I'm tired. Truly… exhausted. So until you reach a conclusion, I'll rest for a bit."
That night, Old Man Show took his own life.
That was his 'rest.'
"…Good grief."
As an Awakener who had reached the realm of Sword Saint, Old Man Show could simply explode his aura to blow his head apart painlessly.
The 27th, 28th, and 29th rounds brought no change.
Old Man Show was found on the rooftop of the cafe building where the hospital once stood, his life gone.
After I cleared the Busan Station dungeon and came to the cafe, there was always a warm cafe au lait on the table where we used to talk, steam rising from it.
There was a note under the coffee cup.
-How about giving up soon, friend?
I gave a wry smile.
"…I've ended up with a regular cafe I visit every 10 years."
For a moment, I imagined my comrade's life.
For Old Man Show now, a lifetime consisted of about 10 to 20 seconds talking to his wife. And 10 minutes brewing cafe au lait for his old comrade who would come looking for him.
That repetition hadn't changed even now, as the 29th round led to the 1183rd. One corpse on the rooftop. One cafe au lait on the table.
I couldn't tell who was crazier: the regressor who repeated life over 1000 times without ever giving up, or the one who killed himself ceaselessly over 1000 times.
But there was one thing that changed as the rounds progressed: the content of Old Man Show's calls with his wife.
「God! You finally picked up!」
「Emmett? What's wrong? I'm in the middle of a conference…」
「I love you, Adele. I love you. I love you forever.」
Was it to relisten to that short conversation before ending his brief life? Old Man Show always recorded his talks with his wife. Thanks to that, I could eavesdrop on what the old couple said each time.
「I love you, Adele… I love you.」
For the first 10 regressions or so, there was no real change. Old Man Show desperately poured all his energy into conveying his love to his wife.
But starting around the 30th round, the call content began to shift little by little.
「Adele, actually, I'm repeating my life. The world is going to end. But I still love you.」
「My god, have you been drinking? Why are you acting like a child? Huh? Wait, Emmett, there's a weird noise from the sky…」
Regression.
「Do you remember? 20 years ago in Turin. I went under that bridge and picked yellow flowers for you. What were they called?」
「What? You called just to ask that?」
「Please answer, Adele. If you don't, I'll die.」
Regression.
「Sorry, what was your little brother's name again?」
「Maximilian, why…」
「Ah! Right! Maximilian! Haha, I forgot that! Thanks!」
「Sigh… Hopeless. Huh? There's a noise from the sky…」
It was miraculous.
As the regressions continued, Old Man Show's calls with his wife gradually shifted from one-sided transmission to something like real conversation.
Of course, they were still calls that lasted 20 seconds at most before cutting off, but pieced together, they almost formed a proper dialogue.
「I've never liked that Maximilian guy.」
「Huh? Suddenly?」
「He doesn't value family at all! Thinks like a moron. He just pretends to listen in front of you.」
「Emmett? Wait. Something's weird, there's a noise from the sky…」
「Honey, remember Christmas? Your brother brought some girl he called his girlfriend. Be honest. Maximilian's actually gay, right?」
「Huh? Out of nowhere? Why bring that up on the phone… Wait, Emmett. Something's off. Noise from the sky.」
「See! My intuition never fails. Adele, your brother's gay!」
「God! Emmett, what are you suddenly saying?」
「No, I have no prejudices. It's just upsetting that you and your brother assumed I wouldn't accept it and kept it secret all this time.」
「You're driving me crazy. What… Wait, hold on. Let's talk about this in person later! Weird noise from the sky.」
「Adele, we need to be more open-minded with each other! I'm not some closed-minded old fogey like your father!」
If you ignored the moments their lives got 'paused' midway, what the two shared was undeniably a two-way conversation, no matter how you looked at it.
"The old timer had a point."
In the end, I had to admit it. As Old Man Show said, this was indeed 'rest.'
As the rounds—and the calls—progressed, life returned to Old Man Show's voice, and even memories of the past he had forgotten resurfaced. Now, the world's impending doom seemed unimportant to him.
Yet he never stopped taking his own life. Or, from his perspective—never stopped calling his wife.
Eventually, around the 500th round, I stopped eavesdropping on Old Man Show's calls. The content had gotten too embarrassingly private for an outsider like me to listen in on.
I swear, I had zero interest in learning his sexual preferences.
He probably couldn't even imagine I was wiretapping his calls.
Still, I never skipped stopping by the building at the start of each round for that cafe au lait.
Emmett Schopenhauer. A comrade from the distant past, now ancient history, who I shared a 'brief' moment with.
The cafe au lait he brewed had become a ritual for me, a rite of passage like 'Alright, let's push through this round too.'
It was the same even now, in my 1183rd regression.
There was still a note under the coffee cup.
-Still not giving up, friend?
Well. To be honest, I had given up.
But I didn't want to admit it straight to this kid (now overwhelmingly younger than me). Sure, I'd confess eventually, but for now, I felt like being petty.
I'd spent thousands of years alone—surely I deserved a little pettiness.
'...Wonder what he's chatting about with his wife these days?'
Curiosity suddenly struck.
For the first time in ages, I picked up Old Man Show's smartphone and decided to listen to the recording.
I pressed play and held it down. Old Man Show's uniquely lively voice burst out.
「Honey! I keep telling you, drink zero-sugar cider! Sugar's bad for your health!」
「What?」
I sipped the cafe au lait while listening to their bickering like background music in the shop.
Delicious coffee.
- Companion. End.