Chapter 64
Chapter - 64 - Where Am I
A rather luxurious inn room.
I was sitting in front of the fireplace, shivering from the cold.
"Hrrrgh. Damn. It's fucking cold."
After arriving at Kern, having changed the regression point three times.
I immediately holed up in the most luxurious inn nearby with Seolbaek and the Demon King.
Operation name: 'Outside the Blanket is Dangerous.'
I'm a self-proclaimed pacifist and safety enthusiast. I also believe that endurance always wins.
So I planned to hunker down here until the dangerous elements were eliminated.
'One can never know where or in what form danger might arrive.'
Not even during sleep is there an exception.
So naturally, there must be a night watch.
But the Demon King seems untrustworthy, and I'm at a loss for words to explain to Seolbaek. What excuse could I possibly make to have a night watch in an inn with such tight security? I have no idea.
In the end, the night watch could only be my responsibility.
"Whew... When will the sun rise."
I searched my pocket and pulled out the Saint's crest.
A special item that enhances night combat abilities. This emblem glows brighter the deeper the night, and its light diminishes as morning approaches. So it's possible to roughly estimate the time.
For someone without a watch like me, there's no better item.
'Hmm... at this brightness...'
Roughly estimating, it's around 4 o'clock. It seems at least 2 hours remain before sunrise. About ten candles left.
I let out a sigh. While spinning the emblem that emits a soft moonlight in my hand.
"... Wow. What is that, Jeong-yong nim?"
Suddenly, a voice came from the bed.
Turning my head, Seolbaek was looking at the Holy Saint's crest in my hand with an interested expression.
I stared at her black eyes sparkling in the darkness, then casually asked,
"Aren't you sleeping? Want to take the night watch?"
"... I can't fall asleep."
Seolbaek said, twisting her body under the blanket.
When I first insisted on sleeping in the same room, she had blushed and beat me up. Now it seems she won't say anything about it. That's fortunate.
I was dumbfounded and let out a small laugh.
"Feeling girly now that it's dawn?"
"No. It's not that... I'm just too cold to sleep."
"……."
That's somewhat understandable. Was she twisting her body because of the cold?
This world seems quite primitive in its heating methods, and being cold while sleeping is a bigger problem than expected. Even in this luxurious inn, what about other places? Isn't it almost the same as being homeless?
I tapped the space next to me and said to Seolbaek, who was still curling up,
"First, warm up and get some sleep."
"Ah, yes? Oh, oh. Yes, yes..."
Seolbaek suddenly stiffened at my suggestion, visibly flustered.
After bustling about for a while, she quickly came next to me and warmed herself by the fire.
"……."
"……."
Her face was reddened in the firelight. Because of the lighting? I casually dismissed it.
Crackle. Sparks flew high. I and Seolbaek blankly took in the scene.
Suddenly, Seolbaek slightly smiled.
"It's warm."
"Indeed."
And then silence again. I silently stirred the fire with a poker.
It wasn't particularly awkward. Though we've been together for a short time, I feel a familiarity with Seolbaek as if we've been together for a long time.
"……."
"……."
Perhaps because we've crossed several life-threatening situations together from Halcenberg to here. We've become comrades who've crossed many dangerous lines.
Yes. We've become the kind of companions who feel comfortable even without exchanging words....
"Um, Jeong-yong nim. Say something. I'm going crazy from the awkwardness."
"…… Oh. Right."
No, I was just mistaken. Damn, how embarrassing.
... But what should I talk about in times like these? Should I tell army stories? She'll probably hate that. I know that much, even as a sympathetic bachelor.
While just scratching my head, Seolbaek suddenly mumbled beside me,
"What will happen to us from now on?"
"Hmm?"
"Just, I suddenly thought. We have the goal of finding your acquaintances for now... but what's next?"
"Next? Do we need a next?"
"Do you have some predetermined goal, Jeong-yong nim?"
Seolbaek's gaze was incredibly serious.
Why such a serious talk suddenly? Dawn sensitivity explosion?
'Well, it could happen.'
Stars dotting the night sky, the bonfire burning, Lucy sleeping soundly while a man and woman sit alone looking at the fireplace. Emotions could easily well up.
I scratched my head but answered honestly,
"Don't know. After finding my acquaintances, I'll just rest."
"What?"
"Just hide somewhere quiet and live like I don't exist until I die."
My life plan seemed absurdly ridiculous to her, and Seolbaek stared with wide eyes.
A look that seemed to ask, 'Are you joking?' I responded with a serious gaze that said, 'Does this look like a joke?'
"Y-you're serious."
"W-what's wrong with being serious."
"Oh, don't copy me..."
Yes, judge it as strange. I'm just living my life.
Anyway, at this point, I have no big purpose other than finding my acquaintances.
Even when I was on Earth, it was the same. A life thrown aside, having died and come back without any grand cause, purpose, or principle.
"Seolbaek. People don't change easily."
That's right.
People don't change easily. Even after dying and coming back, they remain the same.
Those who don't intend to live enthusiastically won't live enthusiastically even after dying and coming back.
"To be frank, what I ultimately want is to save up a lot of money and settle down in some quiet rural village and just live comfortably."
"Oh. I, I see…"
"With this kind of money, it'll be enough for a spree soon... All that's left is finding a good spot."
"Ahaha...."
Somehow, it would be even better to play and eat with my colleagues who became close during the exam's veil.
If they say they don't like it, that's where it ends. I'll also suck the honey.
At least, I have absolutely no intention of contributing to the peace or well-being of this world. Not even a tiny bit. Not at all.
Demon King? Demon race? Diana? Immortal Demon King?
Just shut up. I'll keep sucking honey until I die.
Although I always reaffirm, I absolutely refuse any situation of getting myself into trouble in my life.
'For that sake. I need to train (?) Lucy from now on....'
I must prevent any nonsense like world domination or whatever.
I'll brainwash her through early education (?). That peace is the best, long live the era of peace. The first step of my grand life plan starts right there.
While I was spreading my wings of imagination alone, I suddenly asked Seolbaek.
"You."
"Oh, yes?"
"What do you want to do? Unlike me who was dragged along while doing odd jobs, you must have had a goal to contract with Ashin."
"Ah... I, I..."
Come to think of it, Seolbaek being reborn in this world means she died in her original world and was resurrected. Looking at her this way, she's quite something.
When I thought that far, Seolbaek, who had been hesitating for a while, opened her mouth as if she had made a decision.
"I... want to live doing hero-like things."
"Hero-like things?"
"Yes. Helping those in difficulty, rescuing people in distress... Well, such things. I..."
Seolbaek, who had spoken that far, suddenly had her eyes droop sadly.
When the words suddenly stopped, I looked at her with puzzlement. The face of Seolbaek, who then raised her head, had a smile that swallowed her sadness.
"I... died without protecting the things I absolutely had to protect. It's so frustrating. So... in this life, I want to be someone who at least protects what I must protect."
Seolbaek speaking with a million-dollar smile.
That's written as a hero-like deed but read as a fool's act. I was about to say something but held back.
'There must be some backstory.'
Anyway, I don't have the right to comment on someone else's life motto. Let's not dig too deep.
Instead, as a senior of a fool's life, I decided to give some advice.
"It'll be hard. It's not like selfish people live well for nothing."
"That's why I think it has value. The world is changed not by those who live easily, but by those who live difficultly."
Sounds like some corporate chairman's self-help book about roasting pigs. Damn it.
While lamenting deep in my bones, Seolbaek, who had been fidgeting her fingers, carefully spoke up.
"That... Jeong-yong nim."
"Uh."
"It might sound out of the blue."
"Uh."
"I... Thank you. Truly."
"Huh?"
"The fact that I have this dream... that I can even speak about it. It's all because I met you."
"What?"
Really out of the blue, as she said herself.
I turned my gaze towards Seolbaek as if looking at a strange person. Seolbaek met my eyes and then, with a start, lowered her head.
Maybe it's just a feeling. Her ears seemed unusually bright red.