Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Tears of Guilt
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CSK CEO Yoo and Yi Sa-byeok, who had rushed back home, held a long conversation in a spot where the siblings couldn't overhear. Afterward, they left, saying they needed to return to where they'd come from.
Yoo Hee-ah lay blankly on her bed in her room, replaying the earlier events in her mind.
Yi Sa-byeok's shocking revelation. The concept selfie disguised as blackmail. Her father and the Abyss Project.
The more she mulled over her memories with that kid, the heavier her chest felt.
Finally, Yi Sa-byeok's parting words kept echoing in her ears and tugging at her heart.
"Truth is, I'm that... whatever. One of the test subjects from some pharmaceutical company your dad's sponsoring."
"Among the Association President's supporters, your dad's got the highest chance of flipping, so I figured I'd try blackmailing your family first."
"One selfie could save a ton of kids~"
"Don't worry. I'm not the type to repay kindness with enmity."
"Guilt? Why feel guilty for something you didn't do? You're weird as fuck."
"Oh, I had a good talk with your dad. They're both fine now, and congrats, you're graduated from sidekick duty, boss. Go find some other obedient lackey besides me."
"We had some pretty fun times together. For real."
She was dying to know what they had talked about and what conclusion they'd reached.
Judging by Yi Sa-byeok's expression and reaction, the conversation had ended on a positive note, but something about it felt off.
Yi Sa-byeok, who had unusually said they'd had "fun times together," seemed like they might never come back.
* * *
The trip to test Luyan Puegor was postponed by a week.
It was because Prim wanted to conduct a more thorough preliminary investigation before asking for his help.
After finishing today's military training, Dun climbed a secluded hill in Genesis to relax.
As he tried to catch a quick nap, he heard sniffling from somewhere.
Following the sound of crying, he found a familiar face weeping in a remote spot.
"What're you doing."
"Hic, sniff, uwaaah! You scared me!"
It was Yoo Hee-min, "Adventurer _Eleina_."
Eleina jumped in shock, her eyes going wide as she clutched her chest. Being a game avatar, she couldn't feel her heartbeat.
"Why are you crying?"
Of all people, it had to be an NPC that reminded him of Yi Sa-byeok who showed up.
With nothing better to do, Dun plopped down beside Eleina. Maybe because her affinity had gone up lately, he felt like talking to her while she cried.
Normally, she'd have hurriedly wiped her tears, but realizing it was a game character made it less embarrassing.
"No, it's nothing... Really. I'm just a bit troubled."
"Yeah? If it's nothing, cry a little quieter then. I was gonna nap over there."
"Oh, got it..."
Dun patted Eleina's head, then crawled back up the hill, squatting down and closing his eyes.
"Um, Dun. I'm really upset right now. Could you listen to my story for a bit?"
"......"
Dun cracked his eyes open and stared at her intently, making Eleina smile awkwardly. Ah, damn. Affinity's probably dropping.
But even after waiting, no notification popped up about her affinity decreasing.
"What's up? Spill it."
Yawning widely, Dun sat up and scratched his stomach.
"It's not my story, it's about someone I know... Actually, since it's you, I'll just tell you. It's about something that happened to me recently."
"Sure, your story."
"Someone I really love accidentally turned one person's life—no, several people's lives—into hell."
He'd thought it'd be some everyday grumbling from Eleina's personal life, but the content sounded awfully familiar. Dun listened with an intrigued expression.
"So, my little sister's friend... sniff, she got secretly trafficked from the orphanage and turned into a test subject for this Abyss Project, and her dad was a sponsor of that project..."
"Ahh."
It looked like his other self had successfully persuaded the media CEO over there. He'd probably made a small deal where they'd never meddle with the siblings again.
As expected, it hadn't been easy at first. The guy had acted like he was about to call the Association President and the police right then, but gave up when the siblings yelled and blocked him.
"But why are you crying? It's not like you were experimented on."
Dun, who had been listening quietly, tilted his head. Ah, hold on. Association President Lee Hyu-yeon had cried when she heard about Abyss too. Rihaowel sometimes teared up when he pushed his body hard. He wasn't super close with her during the Yi Sa-byeok days, so her reason for crying was a bit puzzling, but it seemed to fit the same pattern.
"I don't know, I just... thinking I'm even a little connected to her pain makes me feel so sorry... The guilt is killing me... What do I do? She said she's going back to that lab. I need to get her out, but... sniff, she just said we had fun and vanished!"
Ah, so it was guilt rather than worry. He wondered why she felt guilty over something she hadn't done herself.
"What's there to feel guilty about? You didn't do it. The one who caused it probably doesn't feel a shred of guilt. Just turn off your brain and ignore it."
"......?"
It was exactly what Yi Sa-byeok had told Yoo Hee-ah, who couldn't get her head straight from guilt.
Similar, so similar—even their thought processes matched.
"I want to help, but I don't know how. I feel like I need to do something more to ease my mind, but after talking to her dad, she disappeared."
"She disappeared, so that's good. Now ignore it."
"No way! I keep feeling like I can't breathe! When I'm eating delicious food, sleeping in a comfy bed, or hanging out with friends! I keep thinking she's getting experimented on somewhere with the money her dad paid, and I can't sleep!"
Dun's pupils dilated as he listened to Eleina. Tears began welling up in her eyes.
"There must be tons of other kids too, right? And I didn't even know... I was just casually playing this game..."
Eleina buried her face in her arms and sobbed loudly.
"Hey, hey. What're you crying for? No one thinks it's your fault. Hey, stop, don't cry."
What the—? This girl. Dun hesitated before reaching out to pat Eleina's shoulder.
"She was supposed to be the one comforting me... Why!"
"No, fuck, you complain even when I comfort you."
"Not you, Dun—sniff—that kid."
"Ahh, whoops. My bad, mixed it up. Don't cry, okay? No crying. She probably hates seeing you cry too. She left so she wouldn't burden you anymore, so don't feel burdened. Okay?"
Dun's words didn't register.
"I won't be able to sleep easy until I confirm she's safe, along with all the other kids in that project. How could I have the face to relax?"
Eleina wiped her tears, took a deep breath, and composed herself. Thanks to her "Breathing" skill, she calmed down quickly. Should've used that skill sooner. Dun sighed in relief and pulled back the hand he'd extended to comfort her.
"I was looking into ways to help when, right on cue, I got this email. Not sure if I can trust it, but it's my only lifeline."
He'd thought there was no way to help, so the sudden mention of a strange email made him frown.
What? Smells fishy.
"What's the email address?"
"Huh?"
"N-no, never mind. Tch."
It felt like it had to be Seol Do-yoon.
The unfolding situation was amusing in a twisted way, so he was subtly invested. But he already knew how things would play out, and since it ended well, it was better not to interfere. Dun swallowed his words.
"Email address? What're you gonna do with that?"
But Eleina latched onto the words he'd swallowed.
"Forget it. I misspoke."
"Why mention the email address? What happens if you tell me? Don't tell me that Dun AI hacker rumor is true?"
"No."
"Why'd you ask for the email address?"
"Ah, fuck... Ahem. Hey! Stop asking!"
"[email protected]. Why? What can you do with it?"
"Nothing!!! I was just asking!!"
[Dun's affinity has decreased.]
Gasp! Eleina, who had been prying with sparkling eyes from her sudden curiosity, clamped her mouth shut.
Crap. Dun's affinity, which had shot up and held steady for a while, dropped. After a moment of awkwardness, another alert appeared.
[Dun's affinity has increased.]
"Huh? Why'd it recover right away?"
"Ah, damn. I really hate this affinity system."
She was annoying him with her prying, but as soon as he recognized she'd perked up, it went back up.
Eleina narrowed her eyes, and Dun narrowed his in response.
"Dun, are you attached to me? Affinity drops but bounces back automatically."
"No."
Anyway, Eleina seemed cheered up, so Dun figured he'd head home.
As expected, the email to Eleina was from Seol Do-yoon. That guy's always hustling.
"Whatever. If your heart's still bothering you, just do whatever makes you feel better. As long as you won't regret it later."
"Got it... Thanks, Dun. Seriously, thanks for listening to my rambling even though you couldn't sleep."
Dun scratched his cheek sheepishly.
"Ah, uh. No biggie. Thanks to you too. Fighting from here on."
Dun balled his fist and waved it half-heartedly as he tried to leave.
"Fighting what? Thanks for what? Dun, do you know something? What's with the hinting words??"
Ahh, he'd tried to play it cool and wistful, but got called out again.
Dun hurriedly swallowed his words.
"No meaning!!! Stop prying, or I'll drop your affinity to zero!!"
"You say that again!! But what's this 'thanks' to me about?"
"I'll drop your affinity!"
[Dun's affinity has decreased.]
[Dun's affinity has increased.]
"Ah, fuck!!!"
Dun fled from Eleina and hurried home.
Eleina burst out laughing at the fluctuating affinity as she watched Dun retreat. He seemed attached to her somehow, and recalling her efforts to get close to him warmed her heart.
At the same time, the thrill of being comforted by her favorite, who resembled Yi Sa-byeok, amplified her guilt and weighed on her mind.
"I was gonna quit the game... Ha, seriously... No, I can't. I have to quit."
She felt pathetic for escaping back into the game for a moment. Eleina sighed and logged out.
* * *
He'd leave the outside-game matters to his other self to handle, and focus on things here.
The night of the day they'd agreed to contact Luyan Puegor.
Dun had finished all his preparations. Prim seemed to have wrapped up her intel gathering too.
They confirmed the Duke of Puegor supported the Emperor because the imperial side had doubled his family's territory. They also learned the young duke wasn't officially close to the duke.
Prim, who had attended the academy with Luyan, easily gauged the young duke's caliber and skills.
He was a pretty capable flame magic swordsman. Decent at strategy too. Recruit him quick while he was showing interest in their faction.
The tricky part was how to approach him. After discussing with Dun, they settled on the assassin route. Dun's idea.
"You really love sneaking in through windows at night, huh, Dun."
"Way less intense than the daytime front gate."
It was practically a habit by now. He'd climbed in and out of windows and scaled building walls so many times at night.
"So, did the Puegor young duke have any hidden guards?"
"Didn't seem like it."
"Any security magic circles on the way to his room?"
"Brought a temporary nullification circle, haha!"
"Night patrol guards... I'll handle that. Good, let's go."
Dun stepped onto the teleportation circle Prim had drawn. Prim tapped it with her flower-crafted staff, and it began glowing, transporting them toward the Puegor territory.