Chapter 80
Chapter 80 - Coming Out
[The immortal return point has been updated.]
[Time - Continental Calendar 1108, January 12th, 11:30 AM]
[Location - Marktress. Upper region of the Plains of Promise, Small city of Kern residential district]
"Wait! Stop right there!!"
Only after the panel appeared did I chase after the red-haired vagrant with wide eyes.
The vagrant glanced back at me briefly before ducking into a dark alley.
I clicked my tongue and was about to follow right after him. However,
"Hero! Stop, Heroooo!!"
My movement came to an abrupt halt because of the Demon King blocking my path and raising her voice.
You'd think she'd swallowed a train whistle. Her volume was so incredible that it instantly drew everyone's attention to her and me.
"Y-You crazy...!"
Naturally, I couldn't help but be flustered.
What, does this bastard think there's something good about drawing attention? Does she still not properly understand her situation?
I hurriedly hoisted the Demon King over my shoulder and quickly escaped from there. Seolbaek, who had been following me from a distance, hastily followed behind me back the way we came.
"Hey Lucy. What's wrong with you suddenly? Did you eat rat poison?"
"......"
When we reached a secluded street, I immediately questioned the Demon King. But Lucy didn't answer my question.
She just stared blankly into space, deeply lost in thought about something.
Occasionally she mutters something to herself. She seemed thoroughly absorbed in her thoughts.
"Hey. I asked what's wrong with you suddenly."
"Yes. So that's why. That familiar presence I felt in their spell..."
"Answer me? I've asked twice."
"No. But she should be dead already. Without a medium, such a thing couldn't... Did I, did I really see that correctly?"
This punk keeps going into Conan mode by herself. Am I a celebrity?[TL/N: ‘Detective Conan’.]
'There are two ways to annoy people. One is stopping mid-sentence, and the other is...' as the saying goes.
What does that mean? It means it's irritating when someone calls you over and stops mid-sentence.
"Owwww!"
Naturally, I proceeded to pinch Lucy's cheek, and she, startled from her thoughts, rubbed her cheek in surprise.
Soon after, Lucy snapped at me with her eyes blazing.
"What are you doing! Can't you see I'm deep in thought right now!"
"I can see. That's why I've been asking repeatedly. What exactly is going on?"
"... Ah."
Only then did Lucy look me straight in the eyes and exclaim.
She pondered for a moment. Tapping the ground with her feet, crossing her arms, and letting out sighs.
Then, after looking at both me and Seolbaek, she opened her mouth.
"Listen here, Hero."
"Yeah. What?"
"Tell that woman the whole truth."
"... What?"
I couldn't believe what I just heard. For a moment, I doubted my ears.
Since the only women in our party are the Demon King and Seolbaek, 'that woman' obviously refers to Seolbaek. And in the current situation, there's only one truth she could be talking about.
'Tell Seolbaek about the time-space regression?'
Furthermore, she's urging me to reveal to Seolbaek the true relationship between the Demon King and me.
"M-Me? Lucy ssi. Do you have something to tell me?"
"No. Not me, but this Hero has something to tell you."
"Jeong-yong?"
Seolbaek looked at me in confusion. Standing next to the Demon King, she fixed her intense gaze on me.
Naturally, I was dumbfounded and objected first.
"Hey... no. Are you crazy? Why suddenly bring Seolbaek into this?"
"Because you alone can't handle the opponent we're facing now. We need all the help we can get, even a cat's paw."
"Opponent...? Did you fall asleep while walking? What nonsense have you been spouting?"
By this point, I couldn't even begin to grasp what she was talking about.
I just scratched the back of my head dumbly. The Demon King looked at my bewildered face with contempt before turning her back with a sigh.
"Well, explaining for ages won't be as good as seeing it directly. If you don't want to hear my orders, just follow quietly. You'll want to reveal the truth yourself."
Leaving just those words, the Demon King pushed past Seolbaek and me and walked ahead.
Thump thump. Lucy's small shoulders were unusually tense as she walked.
"Geez..."
I exchanged glances with Seolbaek for a moment. But Seolbaek's eyes showed she didn't know anything either. At least it doesn't seem to be a hidden camera prank prepared for me.
I had no choice but to follow Lucy who was walking ahead.
"Hey Lucy! Where are we going!"
"The inn. That inn where you and that woman died countless times."
"Died...?"
Lucy's joke sounded unusually chilling. As if it might be the truth. I let out a brief hollow laugh.
And I realized it was the truth right after laughing.
'... Life is shit.'
Woong. Woooong.
The lantern at my waist, Izanami's Heart, glows ominously purple. I tried activating it just in case, and it works.
I had died. It seems I was revived without even knowing.
Moreover, seeing that the Box of the Dead hasn't activated... my past self must have been in such a dire situation that I forgot something so important.
'What the hell is this?'
By this point, my desire to object to Lucy's sudden behavior completely vanished. Instead, maddening questions arose.
However, it wasn't about why I needed to reveal the time-space regression to Seolbaek. Rather....
'... What exactly did she see to act like this?'
What did the Demon King see in their past life? That's what became curious.
Lucy's face being frozen cold like this had never happened since her birth.
How long did we walk? We arrived at the questionable inn stuck at the edge of the residential district.
"Yes. This is it."
"The Shelter of Promise?"
"Right. That was the name. After repeating it so much, it's impossible to forget."
"......"
The tone suggested it was beyond familiar to the point of being tiresome.
The Demon King opened the swing door familiarly, went to the counter in a familiar manner, and familiarly came back with the key to room 403.
Just like... someone who had stayed here many times before, with the demeanor of an expert.
I finally couldn't hold back and asked.
"... This inn? What exactly do you want to show me?"
"I'm not the one showing you anything."
"... What?"
Bang. The Demon King opened the inn's entrance door again while turning to look at me.
Her cold gaze felt like it was piercing through my lungs.
"The dead you will show the current you why everything must be revealed to that woman."
"......!"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and use that detestable shinigami's toy. Isn't that always the first thing you do after reviving?"
Only then did I realize. Lucy's gaze was fixed on Izanami's heart at my waist.
I slowly raised the lantern. The light had already become blindingly intense.
My corpse is near this inn. Judging by the light's intensity... it's within 100 steps, right in front of us.
'... Found it.'
I could easily find the thought trace just by looking around.
Of course. On the main road where people pass by, seeing someone who's not even a vagrant lying there was too conspicuous.
Especially with a hole pierced through the center of their chest, and holding their crushed heart in their mouth... naturally, it would be easy to find.
Other people are lucky. They don't have to see such a horrific corpse.
"Ugh...!!"
I almost screamed. But I stopped just before. I barely managed to stop.
It wasn't because I was conscious of passing pedestrians. The reason I held back my scream was different.
"Um, Jeong-yong nim? Your complexion looks very bad. Why are you suddenly like this?"
"Huh, what?"
It was because Seolbaek had been looking at me worriedly for a while.
Why? Even I don't understand well, but... making her worry felt extremely uncomfortable. A causeless nausea worse than seeing my past life's corpse came over me.
It was only after more than 30 seconds that I could finally force my mouth to open and swallow the horror.
I managed to form words with my trembling lips.
"...... Need to poop."
Even I thought it was awkward. And also nonsensical gibberish.
And judging by Seolbaek's crumpled face, she seemed to think so too.
"Jeong-yong nim?"
"......"
But I couldn't pay her any more attention. I was too preoccupied with staring at my past life's corpse lying there in a miserable state.
To Seolbaek, I probably looked like I was blankly staring at the ground, immersed in fear.
"Sigh. Hey woman, follow me."
As I was blankly staring at my past life's corpse, the Demon King, seemingly frustrated by that sight, suddenly grabbed Seolbaek's arm and walked back toward the inn.
Naturally, Seolbaek let out a surprised gasp while looking back and forth between me and Lucy.
"Ah, no. But right now Jeong-yong nim...!"
"He said he needs to poop. Let him have his happy time in the outhouse for a moment. We can wait at the inn first."
"Lucy! How can you believe such an absurd excuse?!"
"After taking a dump, he'll come find us having shed all his worries and become a new person. You think it's called an outhouse for nothing?"
"Now's not the time for wordplay...!"
That last statement was meant for me, not Seolbaek.
Once you understand everything about your past life and become a new person, come find us after organizing what you want to say. That's probably what she meant.
I nodded to Lucy as she glanced back at me. She smirked as if looking down on me, then leisurely entered the inn, pulling Seolbaek along.
"Phew...."
I stood in front of the corpse and took a deep breath for a moment.
Has there ever been another time when I was this reluctant to restore memories of a past life? No, there probably wasn't.
But I need to know. What exactly happened for me to end up in such a state, kissing my heart? I have an obligation to know that.
'Whatever. You only die once, not twice!'
I tensed my eyes, then rushed forward and pressed the lantern against the corpse.
Crumble. The corpse that had been sprawled like trash on the roadside crumbled and became fine particles that flew into the sky.
And simultaneously, I....
"Ugh, aaaahhh!!!"
For the first time, I was screaming from fear rather than pain, facing the torrent of incoming memories.
And I realized.
That I hadn't died once or twice, but had met my death 34 times just here.