The Unbreakable Bond

"Are you really going to give up on life just because someone called you a perverted old man?"

"Yeah."

Chaei teased me, apparently thinking it was a joke. It was so absurd that laughter burst out of me.

"I'll call you Oppa. That good enough for you?"

"Heh heh heh."

Chaei really was good at playing along with jokes.

"That was a joke, but it's true that I want to test it on you."

"No way! It's seriously dangerous!"

I hadn't expected her to oppose it so fiercely.

"Ah, I forgot to explain."

What I wanted to test was the second item on the list.

I trusted Chaei. It wasn't complete trust, but she had her memories back. Weapons, however, didn't distinguish between enemies and allies. If I swung carelessly and caught my own body, it would lead to a horrific accident. The skill was simply too powerful to rely solely on Chaei's swordsmanship. That's why I needed insurance.

If my prediction was correct, once it activated it would never trigger on the same target again. This test was for that very reason. If things went as expected, I'd never have to worry about being in danger from Chaei's blade in the future.

"No need to worry. Just try cutting my hair or fingernails. That's enough."

"So that's what you meant. Haaaa...."

Only then did she seem relieved, lowering the sword she'd hidden behind her back.

"First put it back in the sheath and hand it to me."

"Okay."

When doing something like this, it had to be done properly. I placed a thick clump of my hair against the blade and drew only the edge slightly.

"Grab the handle."

"Like this?"

I held the opposite end of the sheath. This was a task that allowed zero room for carelessness. Even the slightest graze could send a wrist flying.

In that state, I moved the blade toward the hair.

Schick.

It didn't cut.

'As expected, the judgment works like this?'

This was still within expectations.

Next came the fingernails. If they were judged the same as hair, they shouldn't cut either.

Tap.

'Just as I thought.'

They didn't cut. Hair and fingernails were not recognized as the target's body.

I had predicted this. But why did it work this way? Hair and fingernails were still parts of the body, yet the judgment differed.

'Is it because they're made of dead cells?'

It seemed plausible. But there was one suspicious detail that kept me from accepting it outright. The cut surface of the wood had been far too clean. According to this theory, the tree's bark—also made of dead cells—should have been cut just as roughly.

'Then is it because they're not parts connected to life?'

No matter how much you cut hair or nails, they weren't vital to survival. But what about skin? Since it could directly cause bleeding, wouldn't the effect trigger?

"Ah!"

Chaei let out a startled cry, clearly not expecting me to press my forearm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠against the blade.

"Shh. It's fine."

"Ughhh, this is dangerous though."

I carefully brought the outer flesh of my forearm to the edge. If it activated, only the epidermis should peel away slightly.

Slice.

It had barely grazed, yet the epidermis peeled away cleanly. A stinging pain bloomed as blood began to seep out.

Just as expected, skin counted.

"Ah! What do we do, you're bleeding! See, I told you it's dangerous! Let's disinfect it first."

Chaei spun around, ready to sprint back up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to the house.

"The disinfectant is right here."

I pulled it from my inventory.

"Give it here. I'll apply it for you."

With a deeply worried expression, Chaei dabbed the medicine onto the wound.

"There's no need to worry about something this minor."

After all, it was only a shallow cut on the surface of the skin.

"Minor?! It's dangerous, and you're bleeding!"

Chaei was clenching her fist so tightly her palm had turned white. I couldn't possibly have been more careful than this. I must have scared her.

"Sorry."

When I apologized, her expression finally softened.

"You're not actually into that kind of thing, right? No matter how perverted you are...."

"I'm not?!"

Why did she always twist things like this?

'By the way, why does she keep calling me a pervert?'

She couldn't possibly remember the skinship, could she? If that was why she kept calling me a pervert...

Good thing I'd activated the skill ahead of time.

"Chaei."

"Yeah?"

"Before you fully regain your senses, don't you want to meet the people who took care of you?"

"I do!"

Chaei had to be curious about the people who had looked after her while her memories were unclear.

"Then let's head to our house first."

I should introduce her to Yeonhee Nuna too. She'd be happy, right? Hmm. But why did I have such a bad feeling? It felt like I'd seen this scene somewhere before.

"Do you remember anything from when you were a zombie?"

"No? I don't remember anything?"

It was a lie, but I had no choice. It was too embarrassing to say out loud.

"Even the smallest thing—nothing comes to mind?"

"Umm. There are things that surface, but they're blurry, like they're hidden behind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fog."

That small thing was exactly the problem. The memories of being held by Kim Suhyuk and kissing him over and over. That's why I desperately pretended not to remember. Why were only these memories crystal clear when everything else was hazy!

'Ughhhh!'

Suddenly a scene flashed through my mind. The memory of feeling pleasure while being spanked on my butt.

'That can't be!!'

I clutched my head at the memory I wanted to forget forever.

"Nuna, I'm home."

"Our Suhyuk is back early today?"

"I stopped by because of Chaei."

I pointed behind me.

"Ah, hello!"

Chaei, who had been hesitating, bowed her head deeply in greeting.

"Oh my? Chaei, are you all right now?"

"Yes! I heard you took care of me. Thank you so much."

She looked adorably like a child from the neighborhood coming over to say hello.

"Hehe, how cute. I'm so glad you can greet me like this."

I never imagined Nuna would be this happy. She was looking at her with the same fond expression you'd give a baby.

"Me too!"

It made sense. I watched from a distance as the two fell into their own little world. It really was a heartwarming sight, even if it left me feeling a little lonely.

"Nuna, we'll be going then."

"Okay, take care."

Next it was time to visit Hana. She looked nervous for some reason? Or was she happy?

"What's wrong?"

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"You seem tense."

"No I'm not. Why would I be?"

Chaei was terrible at acting.

"You don't hate the idea of meeting Hana, do you?"

"Of course not!"

The way her lips kept twitching suggested she wasn't exactly opposed.

The reason for Chaei's nervousness became clear immediately.

"I'm a fan of Lee Hana! C-can I get your autograph?!"

Chaei squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head.

"Ah! Chaei! You can talk properly now?"

Hana had known Chaei regained her senses, but seeing her speak normally for the first time seemed to surprise her.

"Chaei says she doesn't remember much."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry, Chaei. So this is like our first meeting?"

Hana's expression looked sad. It was understandable. All those shared memories had vanished.

"No! I remember a little bit about you, Hana!"

"Oh my, really?!"

They grabbed each other's hands and squealed. Wait, what was going on? Didn't she say she barely remembered anything? That it was all blurry? Chaei, were you lying to me?

"Chaei, then what about me?"

"I don't remember Oppa?"

"How is that possible?!"

"Hmph!"

Why was she only like this toward me? What did I do wrong? Well... I did do some things.

"Wait a minute! Suhyuk, why are you speaking so casually to her?"

"Heh heh, because Chaei and I have an oppa-dongsaeng relationship now."

When I puffed out my chest proudly, Hana shot me a glare.

"What?! When did that happen?"

"Heh heh heh."

No need to answer every little thing. The winner simply smiles.

"Chaei, then you should call me Unni too!"

"Okay, Unni!"

"Kyaa! You're so cute."

She had looked so sad earlier, yet now they were hugging each other and making a huge fuss. But Chaei, why are your cheeks turning red? Because she's your idol? You like it that much? Yet you called me a pervert!

"Let's speak comfortably with each other too."

"Yeah!"

She was even stroking her hair? I wanted to stroke it too!

"Um, everyone. Could you please remember that I'm still here?"

"Huh? You haven't left yet?"

Shock. Such betrayal?

"Chaei, let's go to my house and leave Suhyuk behind."

"Okay, Unni!"

"Why am I being left out?"

Let me join too.

"Sorry, we have girl talk to catch up on. See you tomorrow."

"What."

She was discarding me so easily? After all those battles we fought together! What about our memories?!

Even though it felt unfair, I waved at the two as they walked away. Joining girl talk was impossible anyway. But I couldn't suppress my curiosity!

Using Territory Control, I secretly eavesdropped on their conversation.

"Chaei, Suhyuk didn't do anything weird to you, did he?"

Cough. What kind of first question was that?

"No, he didn't do anything weird. Except laughing like a pervert."

Was my expression really that strange?

"Still, he did his best to take care of you, so don't hate him too much."

"I don't hate him. I vaguely remember that both Unni and Oppa took care of me. Thank you, Unni."

"Aigoo, you're so cute. Hehehe."

Hana stroked Chaei's hair as if she might die from how adorable she was. Chaei, you should thank me too! I want to stroke your hair as well!

But it seemed she did remember things about me after all? That was a relief.

'Should I stop here?'

I cut the connection at the warm scene before anything strange could slip out.

'Time to rest.'

Back home, I lay on the sofa and checked the towers.

'There are so many towers that need upgrading.'

Things had been so hectic that the upgrades had piled up.

'But the Heavy Stone Bow Tower's level...?'

It had exceeded level 10. Did its max level differ from the others?

'Let's start with the Spike Maul Tower.'

"Whoa, those names are brutal."

Especially Skull Crusher and Spine Crusher. Just reading the names told me exactly what they would do. Anything that got in their way would be smashed to pieces.

What stood out most compared to the other towers was naturally the Unique one. The name itself was special.

'It's not even called a tower?'

That only made me more excited. Everything that hadn't carried the word "tower" before had been excellent.

I upgraded Heaven’s Fall first.

"Holy crap! A hammer falling from the sky?!"

Just imagining it sent a thrill through me. I wondered what it would feel like to actually use it. Part of me wanted to test it immediately.

But...

'I might end up in trouble again like last time, so I'll hold off.'

Like with the dungeon boss, the cooldown could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠put me in danger. I set my regret aside and moved on.

The Skull Crusher Tower and Spine Crusher Tower looked similar but had slight differences.

'Head and spine—maybe the direction of attack changes depending on the name?'

Skull Crusher probably smashed downward while Spine Crusher struck horizontally. I checked right away.

Just as I expected.

'But why are they inactive?'

When I clicked on inactive, it took me to the upgrade tab. A glowing yellow skill caught my eye.

It seemed the towers couldn't handle the weight, so this skill was required.

'With this, they should be able to withstand even more weight than the Spike Maul.'

If upgraded to stone, the towers that had been creaking under the weight would hold up just fine.

'For now, I'd rather have a tower that attacks horizontally like before.'

It was better to replace its existing role. Unfortunately, I'd have to save the Skull Crusher Tower for later.

I selected Stone Conversion and added the Spine Crusher hammer to the smithy's production queue. I could gather the stone tomorrow. It would be inactive during production anyway.

Next was the War Spear Tower.

'Why is this one locked?'

Even though it was locked, I could still check the details.

"Gates? Affiliated knight order? Lancers? What is this?"

This was a structure of a completely different category from the towers so far.