Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Nightmare
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After hitching the horses back up with the Sword Empress, the once-tedious carriage journey started to feel a bit less monotonous.
Humans really are social creatures, after all.
Sharing the same space but unable to even talk, just staring blankly into empty air—there's nothing more boring than that.
"You seem to quite enjoy conversing with others."
"Do I?"
"When I was refusing to talk, the atmosphere felt like it was on its last legs. Now, it's much improved."
"Hmm..."
Thinking about it, she had a point.
Was it that I was the type who got lonely easily?
Back on Earth, being alone never really bothered me. But lately, I found myself genuinely dreading situations where I was by myself with no one around.
Possible reasons for this change...
First off, the trauma from when I first possessed this body—dying alone in a half-dead state—might have scarred me.
Or maybe after spending ten years with my master, I simply lost my tolerance for solitude since it hardly ever happened.
Or perhaps...
'This body might have been like that from the start.'
People often say mind and body are separate, but the mind is inevitably influenced by the body.
Possessing a complete stranger's body defied science anyway, but I didn't think it had zero impact.
After all, the mind resides in the body.
'A healthy body houses a healthy mind,' they say...
I lowered my head to look at my own form.
The massive cloak hid my figure, but knowing what lay beneath, I couldn't help but sigh.
With a body like this, it made sense I'd crave company.
It was like a herbivore instinctively seeking the herd to boost survival odds against predators.
'No wonder I feel lonely...'
Once I framed it that way, my personality started to make sense.
It was like an instinctive defense mechanism.
"But knowing that, you still left me hanging without even chatting?"
"Eek..."
I teased her lightly, pretending to be a bit miffed.
It was just a playful jab to poke fun at her a little, but her reaction was surprisingly intense.
"I-I'm sorry. I had some deep thinking to do, so I got lost in thought. If my behavior hurt you, I'll make it right somehow..."
'Oof.'
Her face paling as she reacted so fervently caught me off guard.
"It's not that bad. I was just kidding. You think that little thing would hurt me?"
"R-Really?"
"Yeah. Just keep talking with me from now on. I'm happy just chatting with you, Sword Empress."
"Eek..."
Her face was still flushed—apparently, the misunderstanding lingered.
"Remember when I ran that fortune-telling shop in Shaanxi? I didn't realize it back then, but looking now, I think I really do like talking to people."
"...Ah."
For some reason, that shut down any further conversation with the Sword Empress that day.
-Rumble
The sky was perfectly clear.
Yet thunder echoed strangely through the day.
This was a story from shortly after I first met my master.
-Rustle
"..."
A cool breeze and the chirps of insects filled the deep night in the forest.
I sat up with a dazed expression.
"Master...?"
Habitually, I glanced at the spot beside where I'd been sleeping.
Her usual place.
Always warm, it now lay empty, steeped in cold chill.
"Master...?"
I called again, scanning the surroundings.
But she was nowhere in sight.
"..."
The night's icy chill seeped into the hut like an intruder.
-Rustle
I rose from the bedding and searched the hut, calling for her.
Still, no sign of her anywhere.
Just the pervasive cold.
No warmth from anyone else.
"..."
-Swoosh
I returned to the bed, where my own lingering warmth clung faintly, and pulled the blanket over me.
It was there, but barely—a feeble heat that would soon fade to ice.
"...I hate this."
I curled up tight under the covers.
Memories from before I met my master flooded back.
Near-death, rotting alone in some back alley. Nearly assaulted, barely fighting them off.
To sleep, I'd wrap myself in scavenged rags, drifting off paranoid that someone might approach and do unspeakable things.
Waking to find two thugs hoisting me up and carrying me off—that nightmare of thrashing and screaming until bystanders scared them away was etched indelibly.
No, those weren't dreams.
The real nightmare was hoping I'd wake up safe in my Earth room, only for that hope to shatter day after day— one, two, three, four, a week gone, clinging to a thread that never snapped until reality crushed it.
Dreams, ironically, were sweeter.
I'd dream of my Earth life.
"Ah... Ahh..."
Those memories hit, breath quickening, body chilling.
The nightmare called reality, barely forgotten after meeting my master, clawed back in.
Every memory of being alone in this world, this body, was a nightmare.
"Mas...ter..."
Something bad was about to happen.
Deep in the mountains, but bandits or beasts lurked outside. The wardrobe might burst open.
Vision narrowing, breath ragged, mind blanking in panic.
-Tremble
My body shook uncontrollably, tears welling.
'She'll be back soon, she'll be back soon, she'll be back soon...'
I repeated it in my head like a mantra.
The only thing I could do.
Self-hypnosis to calm this body, to soothe myself.
But that flimsy wall crumbled instantly.
'What if she left me behind for good?'
She's not the type, but I didn't even know her true identity.
Wanting to believe otherwise got devoured by terror, leaving no trace.
"Don't go..."
All I could do was sob under the blanket, mumbling desperately.
Words that wouldn't reach anyway. Just my hopeless wish.
.
.
.
-Step step
Footsteps approached.
Human, not beast.
"Master?!"
I bolted from the blanket, barefoot, charging out.
"Why are you awake at this hour..."
-Cling
Before she finished, I threw myself into her arms.
"Master... Master... Where did you go... Don't leave me..."
"...Disciple?"
"If there's anything you dislike about me, I'll change. Whatever I'm lacking, I'll fix it. Anything you want, I'll do... So please..."
-Sob
Tears choked my words.
But the last ones I forced out:
"Don't leave me alone..."
Desperation masked as courage—my raw truth.
After, I clung tighter, refusing to let go.
Pressing so close I felt her heartbeat.
Anxiety gnawed as she stayed silent.
-Pat pat
"Alright..."
The soft hand on my head began melting away the emotions gripping me.
"Were you scared I'd abandoned you?"
"...You just vanished without a word..."
"If I'd known you'd worry this much, I would've told you first."
-Swoosh
She extended what she held in one hand.
A decent-sized beast.
"Food for tomorrow."
"Huh...?"
"Didn't you say you wanted meat?"
"!"
I recalled whining to her days ago.
Mountains were fine, but too much grass. I wanted meat.
"So... because of me..."
"It's no big deal. Just a small critter I snagged on my night stroll for drinks."
It looked awfully nimble.
I had no clue her martial prowess, but it didn't seem that easy.
"I... I..."
"Don't feel burdened. As your master, this is the least I can do."
She stroked my head again.
"If anything, I'm sorry. Thought you'd sleep through and not notice a quick trip."
"N-No, you don't need to apologize..."
"No. It's my fault as your master for not realizing how much you fear being alone."
Our eyes met.
Her cool demeanor softened with warmth in those eyes.
"I'll learn from now on. We've got plenty of time."