Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Eve's Request
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Thud-
Rustle-
Thud-!
Rustle-!
Thud-!!
Rus-
“I said I’m not letting you in!”
“Why nooo-!”
Because it’s going to get annoying!
Because it looks like getting involved would screw me over!
My instincts were screaming it.
The woman in front of me…
Felt just like an NPC with max danger level and an absurd linked quest.
Intensely so.
It was like the energy of the entire universe was telling me.
So.
Thud-!
Rustle-!
“I told you to stop following me!”
“No way! I’m gonna keep chasing you until you listen to me!”
Annoying!
This woman is seriously annoying!
Why won’t this dream ever end?
It felt like we were heading into an endless chase that wouldn’t stop even in my dreams.
Halt.
?
Surprisingly, it was Eve who stopped first.
I saw this as my chance.
The moment I was about to bolt with everything I had.
Thump-
Eve just plopped down right there.
Without a word.
Like a toy whose battery had run out.
Not a single twitch.
She collapsed into the grass.
…What the hell?
‘What’s up with this woman?’
And for some reason.
My feet wouldn’t move.
Was it just a girl’s pitiful resentment?
Or was she taking that position to transform into a bizarre monster like the other ghost stories?
Or maybe some other scheme…
I had no idea.
No way to know.
Why did Eve’s tearful voice echo in my mind at that moment?
-I made a mistake… That child did nothing wrong!
Those words wouldn’t leave my head.
What was so unjust?
Why had she sobbed like it was her own pain?
‘Feels so sticky…’
My feet stared at Eve sitting on the ground for a while.
Thud-
Then slowly stepped toward her. I tried to keep my distance as much as possible.
Without dropping my guard, I craned my neck and brought my ear close to Eve crouched in the grass.
“……done.”
Was it because of the distance?
Her voice didn’t come through clearly.
I leaned my ear even closer toward Eve to hear what she was trying to say.
Then the voice coming clearly from her direction was this.
“Knew you’d come.”
Sprang up-!
!!
‘This woman!!’
Like she’d been waiting for me to get close, Eve bounced up like a spring and tackled me in one go.
Thud-
Unable to withstand Eve’s weight, I tumbled into the grass.
Having caught me successfully, Eve peered at me with a sparkling smile from between the folds of her red robe.
“You’re just like that child. You can’t ignore someone else’s pain.”
“Huh?”
“If you’re that worried… just listen to me. That’s better than running around all day, right?”
“……”
Sigh.
A heavy sigh nearly escaped up to my throat, but I swallowed it back.
Even as I thought that if it was just listening to her story, it might not be a big deal…
Honestly, I didn’t have the stamina to keep running, so I accepted the offer.
“…Fine, I’ll just listen to your story.”
“Really! Yes!”
“I mean just listening to the story!”
“Who said otherwise?”
After hearing my answer, Eve slowly got off my upper body and knelt in the grass.
Her face looked ready to talk.
Sparkle sparkle-
……
Eve was radiating bright, eager eyes, desperate to start the conversation.
She seemed to be waiting for me to speak first.
“…So, what do you want to tell me?”
My tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.
Confirming my voice, Eve smiled warmly, the complete opposite.
“Good kid. You really mean to hear me out.”
?
You’re the one who asked.
Her words made question marks pop up, but I waited for her next response.
I waited for her characteristic drowsy voice to flow out.
And the first words that reached my ears were.
“Mind if I ask your name?”
…Ah.
I belatedly realized we hadn’t even exchanged names properly.
Come to think of it, only I knew hers.
“‘Park Yeon-jeong.’”
“…Then I’ll call you ‘Yeon-jeong’ from now on.”
“Do whatever’s comfortable.”
How she called me didn’t matter much.
Eve continued.
“What I want to ask you is……”
Eve paused a bit.
What was she building up to with that hesitation?
I tensed up a little.
Her drowsy voice returned through the brief silence, carrying a slight tremble.
“Just once. When I really need it. Lend me your body, just once.”
“……”
“……”
Rustle-
“…Yeon-jeong?”
I got up from the ground and brushed the grass off my pants. Then spat out a cold reply.
“I heard your story.”
“…Y-you really?!”
“I said from the start I’d just listen.”
“How can you take what I said so literally!”
“Sorry, I’m just that oblivious.”
After that, I really got up and started walking.
“Yeon-jeong! Hey! Park Yeon-jeong!!”
Eve followed me again this time.
But not as aggressively as before, no grabbing or pushing.
She just trailed after my heels timidly.
Seemed like she realized she was the one asking a favor, treating me more carefully.
Thud-
Rustle-
Thud-
Rustle-
…Déjà vu?
No, more importantly, when does this dream end?
“Really stingy.”
?
What?
Was I hearing Eve’s inner thoughts?
But her heart’s voice kept coming loud and clear.
“That kid would’ve torn out her liver and gall bladder for me.”
“……”
“Doesn’t know a woman’s heart at all.”
“……”
“…No way! Are you a vi……”
Crack-!
“Ah! Seriously!”
I stopped dead and snapped.
For the record, it wasn’t because of what she almost said.
I just wanted to give a sharp word to the chattering annoyance beside me.
…Really!
“What the hell is this from earlier! Why are you only bothering me like this!”
“Who else around here but you, Yeon-jeong, would grant my request?”
“……”
Fair point.
Lost my words for a sec.
“…Still, no. Why would I trust you and lend you my precious body.”
“You lent it to that kid!”
“When did I……”
The moment I tried to retort.
I suddenly recalled when we faced the ‘Smiling Mask’ guy, how Noise had forcibly taken over my body for a bit.
“That was… force majeure!”
It really was.
Better to say my body was taken, not lent to Noise.
And while it saved my life thanks to Noise then, I never wanted to feel that again.
That moment felt like Noise had completely stolen my body—a worst memory.
“Anyway, no means no.”
“…You’re so unfair!”
Unfair or not, nothing I can do.
I’m not a charity.
Not some justice-crazed protagonist who’d risk life for something with no gain to me.
Eve pondered my cold retreating back for a while.
“Fine!”
“Huh?”
“I’ll tell you only that kid’s weakness… just for you.”
“Weakness?”
No way, Noise’s weakness?
This hooked me more than the previous talk.
Maybe that’s why.
My body instinctively leaned toward Eve. Already primed to hear her out.
Eve also steeled herself to reveal something major.
“That kid actually…”
“……”
“…is super shy.”
“……….”
Thud-
“Got it! I get it! I was just joking!”
“……Last time.”
Eve barely grabbed my pant leg as I tried to leave and continued for real.
“That kid’s weakness is ‘me.’”
“……”
“Saying it myself is a bit embarr…”
I immediately stood up.
Done talking to Eve.
She frantically grabbed me again.
“This time it’s true! I’m that kid’s weakness!”
“You’re quite the narcissist… Oh, ‘princess syndrome’?”
“I know you don’t believe me, but it’s true. I’m his one and only weakness.”
“……”
Should I really believe this?
Countless thoughts raced.
Sounds way too dubious.
But.
Even without solid proof, Noise always showed a new side whenever this girl ‘Eve’ was mentioned.
If it wasn’t just empty words…
“…Proof.”
“Huh?”
“Show me proof. Solid proof that you’re his weakness.”
I demanded concrete evidence from Eve that I could believe.