Chapter 67
Chapter 67 - What I Thought Was a Tragedy
"Jeong-yong nim. Are you really not going to say anything to me?"
I'm not sure how long we had walked towards the capital of Marktress. Seolbaek said this while calling me to a stop.
I had no choice but to stop right there.
"What... What are you talking about?"
"Why are you leaving so urgently? It's too unnatural."
"No, it's just... Well, since it's not such a large country, I thought it would be better to rest after arriving at the capital..."
"........."
Her suspicious gaze was piercingly sharp. She clearly doesn't believe me at all right now.
Okay, don't believe me. Even I think it's an embarrassingly weak excuse.
But what can I do? My head is so complicated that I can't think of a better explanation.
My mind is completely white.
More precisely, it was filled with that pure white explosion I saw in my previous life.
That's why I only realized much later that I had stopped Seolbaek's steps.
"You're lost in thought again."
"Huh?"
I reflexively lifted my head at Seolbaek's words. And I was startled.
Seolbaek was looking at me with an indescribably sad expression.
Why is she looking at me with such a face? Confused, she asked me in a trembling voice.
"Am I... not dependable?"
"What?"
"Is that why you're not telling me anything? Am I a stumbling block to you?"
"No, hey. Why are you suddenly going off like this? Is this Plan B?"
I hope she doesn't misunderstand.
I'm not telling her because I don't trust Seolbaek. On the contrary, it's because I trust her that I'm not telling her.
‘Do you want to become humanity's enemy too?’
The moment I reveal the truth, Seolbaek's title will change to that.
To explain the time regression, I inevitably have to first reveal my relationship with the Demon King Lustica. And once she knows that, she can never go back to not knowing.
I don't want her to bear such a heavy burden.
I just want her to cook well during camping, and at most, provide some treatment.
"No, Seolbaek. It's not like that..."
"If not, then? What exactly are you hiding, Jeong-yong nim?"
"... Well..."
What should I do?
I don't know why she's being so persistently curious. For now, I'll devise a strategy.
Soon, a plausible countermeasure came to mind.
"Aren't you hiding something too?"
"Yes, yes? Me...?"
Eye for an eye, secret for a secret. Stick to the facts.
I nodded my head and smiled meaningfully. Then I pointed at Seolbaek's flustered face.
"Yes. Did you think I didn't know?"
"What... what am I..."
Seolbaek visibly panicked and avoided my gaze.
Her previous confident demeanor was gone, and she was fidgeting. My guess seems to have worked. For some reason, her face seems slightly reddened.
... Wait a minute. The effect is good, but doesn't this make it sound like she really is hiding something?
'The aftertaste is a bit unsettling...'
Well, whatever. My motto is that there's no one in the world who doesn't have a speck of dust when shaken.
As long as the secret doesn't lower her cooking skills, I don't care what secret she has.
I decided to think that way and started to hurry my steps again.
"Hurry and follow. We need to go as far as possible."
"... Ugh... Yes."
Seolbaek still looked somewhat troubled but couldn't argue further and followed behind me.
"They're living so difficult. These humans. If you want to hear what they want to say, you should just beat them until they talk."
The Demon King, who was watching our situation, said this. She sighs as if we're pathetic and chuckles.
Yes. I'll do exactly that to you, even if I don't do it to others.
Resolving this in my mind, I stepped up my pace.
* * *
Night fell.
We eventually ended up camping on the street, and everyone had fallen asleep after tasting Seolbaek's amazing cooking.
Of course, I'm on night watch again. No, to be precise, I'm almost staying up all night alone, like a guard on duty.
"Ugh, damn. It's so fucking cold."
I was shivering in front of the bonfire burning in front of the tent.
Yes. It was cold inside the house, so how much colder would it be outside? It feels like my face is splitting.
'I'm burning everything now...'
By the way, there's nothing to burn on this vast plain, so the various scholarly books given by Lord Margrave are currently being used as firewood.
I'm sorry, Lord Margrave . I believe you'll understand that I'm doing this to survive.
'Ah, damn. It's really cold.'
It was me, but with the passionate support of Seolbaek and the Demon King, Lord Margrave's scholarly books eventually ended up on the stake just an hour after camping started.
"Whew... When will the sun rise."
I rummaged through my pocket and pulled out the Holy Saint's crest.
Sighing, I was spinning the emblem around with my hand.
"... Wow. What is that, Jeong-yong nim?"
Suddenly, a voice came from the tent side.
Turning my head, Seolbaek was looking at the Holy Saint's crest in my hand with an interested face.
I stared at her black eyes sparkling in the darkness and suddenly asked,
"Aren't you sleeping? Want to be on night watch?"
"... I can't sleep."
Seolbaek twisted her body inside the tent. I couldn't help but laugh.
"Because you're cold?"
"Oh, yes... How did you know?"
"... Well."
Of course, I knew from my previous life, but I roughly glossed over it.
I still patted the spot next to me while looking at Seolbaek, who was huddling herself.
"Just warm up and sleep."
"Oh, yes? Ah, ah. Yes, yes…"
Seolbaek suddenly stiffened her body at my suggestion, visibly flustered.
She stumbled around for a while, then quickly came and warmed herself by the fire.
Tadak. Sparks burst upwards. Seolbaek and I blankly captured that scene with our eyes.
Suddenly, Seolbaek slightly smiled.
"It's warm."
"Indeed."
And then silence again. I silently stirred the campfire with a fire poker.
It wasn't particularly awkward. Although we hadn't spent much time together. There was a sense of familiarity with Seolbaek as if we'd been together for a long time...
'Wait a minute. This situation feels somewhat familiar?'
I only realized it then and quickly came to my senses.
Well, this wasn't just a déjà vu. This was almost exactly like something that happened in my previous life.
I'm pretty sure Seolbaek's next words would be 'It's awkward, I'm about to suffocate, so do something, you clueless bastard'.
... Though it seemed a bit more refined than that. Anyway, that was the feeling.
'Special move charging complete.'
I was just fidgeting with my head, then soon nodded. I made a decision.
If things continue like this, I'll never shake off the single loser label. Come on, Jeong-yong. Show that you're a man who can break through this too.
"Seolbaek. It's awkward to just sit here. Let's talk."
"What?! Oh, oh! Yes! Okay!"
Seolbaek was startled and nodded vigorously, as if she had been waiting for those words.
Seems like it was really awkward. I feel like I did well by speaking up.
I gained some confidence and started speaking energetically.
"This is a story from when I was in the military..."
"Eh? Military? Were you a soldier, Jeong-yong nim?"
"Yeah. I was a soldier for about 2 years. So, this was 3 years ago. I was in a region called Gangwon-do. It was this cold back then too. There was massive snowfall. There was this private who had the nickname 'Flame Man Kim Tae-seon..."
"S-Stop. Please stop right there!"
Seolbaek's urgent voice blocked my words.
'The Legend of the 777th Artillery Unit's Flame Man Kim Tae-seon' ended before it could even begin.
I became like a mute who ate honey and sent a questioning glance. She scratched her cheek and said,
"I felt like if I didn't stop you now, it would continue until dawn..."
"........."
She has good intuition. Just as she said, it would have been an epic saga that wouldn't end until dawn.
And seeing her disgusted reaction, it seems military stories aren't something to tell women.
I learned something new. I nodded to myself.
"Um... Jeong-yong nim."
"Hm."
"This might sound out of the blue..."
"Hm."
"I... thank you. Truly."
"... Huh?"
"The fact that I can chat like this now... is all because I met you."
"........."
Damn. I tried to preempt this, but it's going this way after all?
I turned my gaze to Seolbaek. Seolbaek met my eyes and flinched, lowering her head.
"I received a grace from Jeong-yong nim that I cannot repay."
"Oh... ah."
It's here. This is definitely that 'I would be a friend' pattern from my previous life.
'No, damn. Are they replaying that cringy rejection line?'
The first time I did it without thinking, but trying to do it consciously the second time feels disgusting.
No, it feels really, extremely disgusting. It's making me want to throw up.
'Ah, screw it. Should I just decisively handle it?'
Such a thought casually rose up.
Maybe because I don't want to put that line in my mouth again, it feels surprisingly reasonable.
Originally, she allowed it herself, so rejecting it might hurt her pride too.
Okay. This time, in this life, I'll truly cross the Rubicon.
"Seolbaek!"
I grabbed Seolbaek's shoulders energetically.
Seolbaek was startled and opened her eyes wide.
"Yes, yes! What is it?"
"Let's do it!"
"... What??"
Oh. My heart ran ahead. That was a bit abrupt.
I closed my eyes, coughed lightly, and organized my lines in my head.
Then I spoke as smoothly as a clear stream.
"You don't need to say it in words. I already know everything in your heart. So just do what you want. I won't refuse..."
I opened my eyes at that point and captured Seolbaek, who was sleeping soundly, leaning against a log.
"...... Seolbaek?"
"... Mmm."
"......."
She's in deep sleep. Not waking up even when called, mumbling in her sleep.
Me, who was just preparing to boldly speak to thin air.
As soon as I realized this, overwhelming self-loathing swept over me.
"Oh, oh oh..."
I rolled around on the spot, scratching my head frantically.
If there's a god, either kill me or destroy this continent. Right now.
Yeah, let's die. Let's lose my memories. In the Box of the deceased, write 'Never recover these memories'. Then this dark history will be like it never happened...
"Looks like you've become a comedian while I wasn't looking."
While I was holding my head and rolling on the ground, that voice was heard.
My actions stopped involuntarily. For a moment, I doubted my ears.
"That, voice..."
Not particularly missed, but a voice I wanted to hear again.
A voice of that damn woman I wanted to hear while beating her with my own hands.
I quickly turned my head towards where the voice came from.
"Hello, 163417413th hero. Long time no see."
There was that damn Shit... No, a dark blonde Ashin.
Minerva had suddenly appeared, smiling brightly.