Inhuman Outing...! # 6
Inhuman Outing...! # 6
My heart froze.
A shiver ran down my spine.
I screamed internally. Kitty. Kitty had been mimicking Leona to test me. And I, not knowing, had fallen for it the second I saw "Leona"...!
"Huhuhu."
Kitty just stood there, staring at me with a smiling face. Cold sweat poured down my back. She told me not to tell anyone, and I blabbed it in seconds.
My legs started trembling, and I felt like I was going to pass out. If I could go back, I swear I'd never tell a soul what I saw!
"Geun-cheol."
"K-Kitty! That was—! I screwed up! Please, just this once, let it slide!"
I immediately grabbed her legs and clung on, begging for mercy!
"Let it slide?"
"Please!"
"Hmm."
I heard her voice, like she was mulling it over...!
My heart has never clenched this hard!
"But you're Geun-cheol, so Kitty will let it slide. But no more, okay?"
"Yes."
Her tone, like she was gently scolding me, made me answer on reflex—wait, what?
"Kitty? You're really forgiving me?"
I was dumbfounded.
I had no idea what was going on. I couldn't even get a grip on the situation. My voice when I asked must have sounded totally stupid. Did I just survive?
"Mm. You're Geun-cheol, so I can forgive you. But don't do it again, okay?"
Kitty spoke in her usual tone.
It was so utterly normal, it almost felt like nothing strange had happened today, like we'd just been playing together the whole time.
No. I decided to think exactly that. Nothing happened today. I played nicely with Kitty and we parted ways. I settled on that and started mind-controlling myself.
"Right! I only blurted that out because I let my guard down. Normally, I wouldn't have said a thing. Kitty, I'm telling the truth, right?"
"Mm. I believe you."
"She believes my flimsy excuse!"
Thank you!
I'm so goddamn grateful, I could cry!
"It's because you're Geun-cheol. So I believe you."
"Ngh! Where else in the world is there a little sister this lovable?!"
Once I was forgiven, I felt so much better!
Kitty was practically looking like a real little sister to me now. She was just an angel. A total angel. I felt like I was developing Stockholm syndrome in real time, but compared to the joy of being alive, it felt like nothing, so I ignored it.
"Still, I didn't expect you to crack the second I left, Geun-cheol."
Kitty had her hands behind her back and bent forward a little as she looked up at me and said that.
"Ah."
"That's so mean. We even made a pinky swear."
Kitty made a fake crying face...!
"No, listen—!"
"Geun-cheol spilled it right away."
"S-Sorry, I said I was... That was..."
I couldn't say a damn thing back to Kitty now. She literally had my life in her hands.
"Anyway, Kitty let it slide, so Geun-cheol. Let's play again next time. Got it?"
"Of course. Just say the word."
Still, one lucky thing: Kitty really did think of me like a big brother. That being the case, as long as I kept my mouth shut, things would probably be okay.
"Huhuhu, Geun-cheol's way too scared."
Why do all the women around me get a kick out of seeing me scared? The thought crossed my mind, but Kitty's attitude was on a whole different level from Leona's or Yu-ri's.
"You keep being scary, Kitty!"
"Geun-cheol. You're that scared?"
"I'm insanely scared!"
"I don't think there's any need to be. But since you're so scared, I'll send you home now."
Thank you!
She spun around.
Kitty turned and walked away.
After a few steps, she glanced back at me.
"Bye-bye, Geun-cheol."
She said that while waving.
"Later."
"Yeah... Take care. See you again."
—Fwoosh.
As I waved back, a gate materialized in front of Kitty. So she really can use them freely. So every single incident up until now was Kitty's doing. That prompted me to open my mouth.
"Hey. Kitty. What are you people even after...?"
One last question. Of course, even saying this much took every ounce of courage I had. Kitty put a finger to her lip at my question, thought for a moment, and then—
"Who knows?"
She answered that and walked straight into the gate.
And just like that, Kitty vanished.
My legs gave out.
"Hah, haah."
I exhaled and trudged my way back home. Now, no matter what happens, I am never telling anybody. This secret goes with me to my grave.
* * *
"Ah."
I couldn't shake the daze.
Even after coming back to the dorms, washing up, and lying down, I still felt restless and unreal. I mean, I got kidnapped, practically died, and lived to tell about it—acting normal would be the weird thing. What do I feel like right now... Right. It's like the night before enlisting. That bad for my emotional state.
"The hell is this?"
I lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, thinking.
What could it be?
"Void Princess."
The most heinous, worst S-rank monsterkin. She looked almost human—a beautiful, magnificent queen. Her smiling face was a little flippant, but still beautiful.
Meaning, when Kitty grew up, she would turn into exactly that.
At any rate, Void Princess reacted to me like she knew something. I don't know about anything else, but that's a given... Maybe she called me there just to confirm it.
Why?
What possible reason could an S-rank monsterkin have to want to see me? She'd reveal her identity just because I caught Kitty's interest? Using common sense, that's absurd.
Well.
That's using normal common sense.
"Game."
I'm a being who got sucked into a game.
A status window floats in front of me... and I can use it to grow stronger.
That means I'm a ridiculously surreal existence. No, wait. If this reality itself is unreal, then I'd be a more real existence than anyone, wouldn't I? This is far from normal. Too unique.
The one and only unusual thing about me is this. So, is this fact really connected to Void Princess?
Thinking such thoughts, I closed my eyes.
"Geun-cheol."
"Gah!"
I keep hallucinating that voice!
Startled, I kicked the blanket off and shot up, but there was no one in the room except me.
* * *
Monday.
I got to school, but it was still hard to pull myself together.
The daze just kept going, and I was just lost in all kinds of thoughts. And not just that—I had a weird dream... but I can't remember it, so I don't know. It was a dream about fighting something hard in a wasteland.
—...
I spent morning classes in a daze like that.
Now it's lunch time. I didn't really feel hungry, so I didn't get up. I'll just skip it. Nothing's sitting right anyway.
As I was sitting there—
"Hey."
Yu-ri's voice rang out.
"Why the long face? Something happen?"
"Oh, Yu-ri."
I looked at her, and she was frowning. Yeah. This is how everyone is. I'm out of it, so everyone's noticing and worrying.
"I told you what happened. Go tell your sister."
"No... Tell you what? Nothing happened."
—I flinched.
Could this Yu-ri here also be... No. That was just Kitty messing with me for a second back there. This right here is the real Yu-ri. Definitely.
Wait.
Kitty showed an illusion of Leona and acted it out to tease me? That fake Leona's speech pattern definitely had a vibe similar to the real Leona.
Which means... Could Kitty have been stalking me and keeping tabs on the people around me?
"...!"
Shit!
In this situation, if I blab anything, I won't be the only one in danger! I realized that on pure instinct. I pretended to cough to stifle the scream trying to burst out.
"Cough! Cough! Nngh... Whoo."
"You little rat?"
"Honestly, Kim Geun-cheol? What is the matter? This is not like you at all."
Now Leona came over too.
"Ah, Leona."
"Are you ill? Let me see."
—Gently.
Leona's warm hand covered my forehead.
"Hm... It does not seem you have a fever. Lee Si-hoo? Since when has he been like this?"
"No clue. He skipped dinner yesterday, and he's been like this since this morning. Sigh."
Si-hoo spoke like he was worried.
"Seriously, Geun-cheol. What's wrong?"
I mean, I need to say I'm fine. But if I force myself to act fine here, it's just gonna look weirder. I'll just be straight with them.
"I just feel kinda drained today."
"Drained, you say? Kim Geun-cheol, you look terribly unwell. A man who normally screams for meat the second lunch break starts... Shall we go to the infirmary and have you lie down?"
Leona grabbed my wrist and said that. She's seriously worried. I'm being a real burden right now.
"Heheh, what're you all worrying about? I just feel a little off today, that's all... I don't think I'm sick, honestly, but ugh, my stomach's queasy and stuff. Can't really do anything today... Don't think I can eat either. Gonna have to rest."
I gave the excuse that I felt physically sick and laid my head down. They finally seemed to buy it, nodding along.
"Is that so... Then you really should rest in the infirmary."
"You should. Seeing you slumped over is making my stomach turn. Hey. Get up. Let's go to the infirmary."
Yu-ri came right up behind me, slipped her hands under my armpits, and lifted me like she was picking up a kitten.
This is the strength of a high school girl?
"What the hell—why are you so strong?"
"You think I'm a superhuman for nothing? Hey. We're going to the infirmary. I'll stay with you and nurse you back to health, okay?"
"Wha— What did you just say?! Woo Yu-ri! What on earth are you saying?!"
"Let's just skip a bit. While we're at it, I might as well get some rest too."
"You are not even sick—do you honestly think that's allowed? As class president, I will veto that!"
"Ah, come on! Cut me some slack!"
Leona and Yu-ri's back-and-forth shouting rang in my ears.
"This isn't working, Geun-cheol. Let's just get you to the infirmary first."
"Yeah... Si-hoo. Gimme a shoulder."
"Just get on my back. You look like you don't even have the energy to walk."
Maybe it was my mental state, but my body actually felt sick now, too. I accepted Si-hoo's goodwill and immediately got on his back.
"I'll take Geun-cheol to the infirmary and come right back."
"Yes! Please do!"
"Ah, crap. I said I'm gonna rest a bit..."
I said I was okay one last time and went limp. I did lose sleep yesterday, so I'm actually tired.
* * *
After School.
"There is definitely something strange."
Leona got into her car and frowned, troubled.
"Kim Geun-cheol looking that lifeless..."
That was truly a first for her. He was literally slumped over like a slime—he looked so weak it was unsettling just to watch.
"...There are limits to how out-of-character one can be."
Did something happen to worry him?
What could possibly trouble Kim Geun-cheol? Up until this morning when he blew off the volunteer schedule, he'd been his usual self. And yet he was like this from the start of the day.
"Haah."
Leona sighed and began to meditate to calm her uneasy heart.
As she was meditating—
"Huh?"
Something suddenly occurred to her.
"Wait."
In the past, she had tried looking into Kim Geun-cheol's background. She'd learned about some of his circumstances then, and now that started to bother her.
Leona arrived at her quarters, turned on her computer, and immediately searched for the records she'd checked back then.
"I knew it!"
And she discovered the reason Kim Geun-cheol had no energy today.
She covered her mouth with both hands and started to cry.
"H-His parents' death anniversary...!"
Today.
Yes.
Was Kim Geun-cheol's parents' death anniversary.
"Hrrngh! S-So that's why you were in low spirits...! Sniff! The death anniversary! You were depressed because of your parents' death anniversary!"
Leona burst into tears.
"Bwaahh!"
On a day like that, anyone would be depressed...!
"But why do you pretend to be fine?!"
