Chapter 195: Start Inn
Chapter 195: Start Inn
“This concludes my report on Aga’s self-comfort.”
“……”
“Ah. For reference, ‘self-comfort’ is another term for masturbation. Colloquially, you might say… well, for men, it’s one thing. Ah, for a woman, I suppose a different description would be more fitting.”
“That’s enough.”
She fell silent the moment I raised my hand. Feeling disturbed, I reached into my coat. My fingertips brushed against a round cigarette. Ko Yeonju also looked awkward, likely because I had reacted so seriously to the joke she’d made to lighten the mood.
“Um. May I add one more thing?”
“As long as it’s not something strange.”
“Actually, I had a chance to see her eyes while she was… comforting herself.”
I took the cigarette out of my mouth. Come to think of it, Ko Yeonju had a habit of looking at people’s eyes when she assessed them. Coming from someone with her senses, it was worth hearing, so I focused on what she would say next.
“Honestly, I did similar things once or twice when I was in high school. Ah, alright. Maybe more than once or twice. Anyway, at times like that, unless you have very peculiar tastes, you usually think of someone you like. An idol, for example, or a crush.”
“Yes. I think I know what you mean.”
“But when I looked into Aga’s eyes… how should I put it? They looked incredibly yearning.”
“‘Yearning’ implies a sense of sorrow and pity, a feeling of longing. That doesn’t seem too strange.”
Ko Yeonju paused and stared at me intently. I didn’t look away. I remained silent, a wordless demand for her to stop beating around the bush and just tell me what she saw.
As if reading my gaze, she let out a deep sigh and continued.
“Huu. Fine. I was trying to be nice when I said ‘yearning.’ To be perfectly honest…”
“……”
“She looked incredibly desperate. I also saw her constantly belittling and abusing herself. To put it bluntly, I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was a psychopath.”
“A psychopath…”
I leaned back deep into my chair and picked up the cigarette I had set down. I, too, had vaguely sensed that she wasn’t normal. Otherwise, why would a twenty-year-old act like a child? It was everything else about her that made her seem normal.
Of course, at first, I thought it might just be a concept she was playing. But her behavior afterward was always the same. It would be difficult to keep up an act like that in the Hall Plain, where your life is on the line. That meant there was genuinely a problem with her personality. All I could do was sigh.
“You seem very troubled.”
“Well, I just feel this isn’t something I can take lightly.”
“Hoho. But it’s not good to think too heavily of it, either. If it’s really a problem, I could use my ability to help, you know?”
“I’ve told you repeatedly, that ability is on the level of mental contamination. I don’t care if you use it on enemies, but using it on an ally, especially someone like Ahn Sol who has almost no immunity, is no different from poison. It is absolutely forbidden.”
I shot down her suggestion the moment she made it. Honestly, a small part of me was tempted. Trauma can be dealt with if the person has the will to overcome it. But when they bottle it up and try to hide it like Ahn Hyun and Ahn Sol, the situation becomes incredibly difficult.
But no matter how I thought about it, I didn’t want to use any method that affected the mind. Once a pathway is opened, its traces remain in the body. In other words, the more you influence someone’s mind, the easier it becomes to invade it the next time.
Hearing my answer, Ko Yeonju nodded once and took a step back. But the slight pout of her lips suggested she was a little hurt. It was only then that I realized my mistake and softened my expression. Looking back, my face and voice had been unnecessarily harsh. She had gone to great lengths to gather information and had offered what she thought was helpful advice. It seemed I had taken my frustration out on her for no reason.
“Ahem. In any case, I’ll think about Ahn Sol’s issue gradually.”
“Yes. Please do.”
“You’ve worked hard. I’ll read through the records you brought me. You may go and rest now.”
“Hmph. Can I really rest?”
Ko Yeonju let out a light snort and glanced at me sideways. I nodded once and replied, “Of course,” which made her expression even more peculiar.
“I suppose I have been working hard these past few days, so it’s time to recharge. Are you really giving me permission?”
“User Ko Yeonju. Why are you acting like this today?”
“It’s nothing~. Well then, I’m off to rest~.”
Ko Yeonju waved both hands as she replied. I took a drag from my lit cigarette and exhaled sharply. For now, I decided to be satisfied with having gotten a grasp on Ahn Sol’s problem. To go any further, I would have to wait for an opportunity to present itself.
Just as I finished organizing my thoughts and was about to lower my gaze back to the records…
“Phew. I guess I’ll rest a bit, then.”
“Huh?”
Something suddenly shot up from my side and burrowed into my lap. I glanced down to see Ko Yeonju, who had somehow managed to shove my butt halfway off the chair and was now burying her face in my chest. Even though I’d gotten the best room available, it was still a cheap inn, and the chair creaked with an uneasy groan.
“What are you doing?”
“What? You told me to rest. This is how I rest. Ahh. I feel vitality flowing through my whole body.”
“…There’s also the option of resting by lying on the bed.”
“Oh my. I’m always open to that.”
“……”
I was at a loss for words.
*
Once tonight passed, six days of our planned week would be over. The rescue efforts were also nearly complete. Of course, communications were still trickling in, but it was safe to say things were winding down.
Barbara—no, the entire Northern Continent was in turmoil. It didn’t really matter to me or my clan members, so we were at peace, but the clans that had actually suffered losses were in an uproar.
The information Ko Yeonju brought was quite detailed on numerous matters, and most of it matched my predictions. Her report made me chuckle a little, because she had written it in the form of a letter addressed to me.
In any case, here was a brief look at the situation.
(Expedition Participation Status)
1. Golden Lion Clan (Representative Clan of the Northern Metropolis, Barbara): Approximately 1,000 members participated.
* Note: Three of the Ten Strong participated. One has been confirmed alive—the Lord of the Golden Lion Clan. However, he suffered critical injuries and is said to be on the verge of death. He is currently unconscious and receiving treatment. Of the other two, one is confirmed dead and the other is missing.
1. SSUN (Representative Clan of the Western General City, Halo): Approximately 200 members participated.
* Note: They suffered the greatest losses during the earlier Vagabond Extermination plan, which nearly cut the clan in half. It was foolish of them to overextend themselves by sending 200 members—almost half their remaining strength. In any case, one member of the Ten Strong from their clan participated and died.
2. Waning Moon (Representative Clan of the Northwestern Small City, Dorothy): 380 members participated.
3. Balhae (Representative Clan of the Southwestern Small City, Bess): 400 members participated.
* Note: Two members of the Ten Strong participated. Both died. Tsk, tsk.
1. Northland (Representative Clan of the Northern General City, Pamela): 500 members participated.
2. Stella (Former Representative Clan of the Northeastern Small City, Mule): 290 members participated.
* Note: This clan staked its survival on the expedition. They handed control over to the Beech Tree Clan and reportedly participated with every clan member. According to survivor testimony, most were mixed in with the vanguard… They are presumed to have been wiped out. Proportionally, their losses rank among the worst.
3. Flamebane Knights (Representative Clan of the Northwestern Small City, Montana): 330 members participated.
(Status of Other Well-Known Friendly Clans)
1. Iris: 150 members participated.
2. Acros Vaino: 220 members participated.
3. Sky Keepers: 100 members participated. Note: Their participating member of the Ten Strong has been confirmed dead.
4. Thousand Melodies: 150 members participated.
5. Mir: 100 members participated.
6. Hanul: 150 members participated.
7. Ihyang Acrobatic Music and Dance Troupe: 100 members participated.
8. Magic Cloud: 140 members participated.
9. Northeast Wind: 190 members participated.
10. Saulabi: 210 members participated.
11. Starlight: 90 members participated.
Conclusion: This was a large-scale expedition involving approximately 4,700 elite Users. Including members of subordinate clans, the total easily exceeded 5,000. Counting from the Vagabond Extermination plan, the clans that suffered the greatest numerical losses were Golden Lion and SSUN. Golden Lion originally had 1,400 members, but this expedition reduced its strength to just over 400—below even the level of a representative clan from a general city.
And currently, the number of survivors is said to be less than 500. I couldn’t tally the detailed results; that would take twice as long. In any case, less than 10% of the participants survived, so the damage can be considered truly immense. Rescue requests are still coming in, but they are becoming less frequent. If my predictions are correct, the survival rate will barely exceed 10% or stop just below it.
That was the summary of the clans that participated in the Steel Mountains expedition, brought by Ko Yeonju. Although the specific damages couldn’t be tallied, the final results gave a rough idea.
With this, the future had not been twisted. The damage was more or less in line with the first playthrough. Of course, it wasn’t exactly the same. If I had to pick the biggest difference, it was that one of the Ten Strong had survived. According to my memory, three of the Ten Strong who participated were supposed to have made it back alive. But this time, all but one were either dead or missing. Thinking about it differently, it was a plausible outcome, but the one thing that bothered me was that the survivor was the Lord of the Golden Lion Clan.
However, the subsequent note made it understandable. Although he had returned alive, he was said to have suffered extremely critical injuries. I looked into that part in more detail; one of his arms was completely gone, and his body was riddled with holes. His wounds were so severe that it wouldn’t have been strange if he had died on the spot. Now that he was back in Barbara, he wouldn’t lose his life, but the fact that he was unconscious suggested the shock he received, both internal and external, was substantial.
This meant that most of the work was done. In the four to five days since, only two rescue requests had come in. An interesting fact was that the conflict between the clans was escalating faster than I had expected.
The participating clans wanted the non-participating clans to search the interior of the Steel Mountains, but of course, they refused. The expedition force organized to conquer Barbara four or five years ago was said to have numbered nearly 3,000. This time, they had assembled a force of over 5,000, almost double that, yet they had failed to conquer the Steel Mountains. Not only had they failed, but they had been forced to retreat with near-total annihilation in less than a week.
No matter if the purpose was rescue, now that parts of the Steel Mountains had been revealed, no User wanted to risk their life to go inside. As such, the non-participating clans retorted, “We’ve done our part. You should have recovered somewhat by now, so if you really want to do it, go in yourselves.” Naturally, the participating clans were rendered speechless by those words.
Everything was proceeding as planned, except for that one detail. Seeing the uneasy atmosphere within Barbara, it seemed likely that the Golden Lion Clan’s Call to Arms would be issued tomorrow. In that case, all we had to do was listen to the call tomorrow, observe the initial reactions, and then leave.
I folded the report and rolled my neck. Looking out the window, I saw the dark twilight seeping through. I hadn’t realized while engrossed in the report and my thoughts, but it seemed dawn had already arrived.
Tomorrow was going to be a bit busy, so I decided to go to bed early. This wasn’t Mule; forcing myself to sleep was a hundred times more beneficial than going out for some pointless moonlit exercise. With that, I lay down on the bed and forced my eyes shut.
… … … … … …
Murmur, murmur.
I felt like I had only just dozed off when I was jolted awake by a sudden commotion. The inn was low-grade, so the soundproofing was poor, and the noise from outside came through clearly.
Wondering what on earth was happening, I opened my door and saw numerous Users shouting loudly as they rushed down the stairs.
And on every one of their faces was a look of excitement.