691 – Goodbye, Goodbye – 2

I looked blankly at the mirror.

I could vividly feel the feeling of touching Hecate and the feeling of washing her face with cold water.

So, even though I knew that all of this was a dream, I briefly thought about whether it might be reality.

“You’re young.”

However, as soon as I looked in the mirror, the futile delusions were instantly suppressed.

My appearance in the mirror looked somewhat young. Unlike me, who is clearly in my mid-20s and is 26 years old, a face that looked several years younger was reflected in the mirror.

As if I had just become the head of the inspection department.

“Did you sleep well, my manager? I understand that you’re tired, but isn’t it too much service for your wife to wake you up at work?”

“My sister woke me up herself, so go wash your face and come. Now the other kids will come too.”

Eventually, what Hecate said came to mind.

I guess this dream is like another future I dreamed of. A world where Hecate and her friends continued without dying. A future where those guys and I become executives of the inspection department and live side by side.

I burst into laughter because it was truly a future I had only dreamed of. It’s been 7 years since I lived alone, and 3 years since I officially became a married man. Why did I finally have this dream now? No matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand it.

‘Am I blessed for taking care of my younger brother?’

Even when I thought about it, I laughed because it was such a ridiculous possibility.

It was Enen’s blessing because her older brother took care of her younger sister with a good heart, as she had made it a grand event by sending Ziz to Erich’s wedding. This is a delusion and nonsense that anyone who hears it will dismiss as bullshit. If I was only going to give a blessing like that, I would have done it right away.

“…Just a little while, I’ll be there in a little while.”

Eventually, I looked at myself in the mirror and muttered softly.

I don’t even know who I’m talking to. Is it being said to me sleeping in reality, to my family in real life who are waiting for me, to me in a dream whose body was taken from me, or to Hecate and the guys who are waiting for me?

I just can’t figure it out. No, honestly, I don’t even want to know. Because I felt like I would be kicked out of this dream if I thought about it too complicatedly.

“It’ll only be…” “For a little while.”

If I hear their voices for the first time in 7 years and say hello to them for the first time in 7 years, they will return on their own.

I hope this fickle blessing will accept me just until then.

When I opened the door to the director’s office, which I could no longer see, I was greeted by Hecate, who was putting down a teacup on the desk.

“Are you here? Which would you like, coffee or tea?”

Then she smiled and lifted the teapot.

I almost cried. It was an ordinary conversation, nothing special, but how much I missed this ordinaryness. How much I wandered after losing this sense of normalcy.

But I can’t cry. If you show tears during this blessing, Hecate in your dream will be sad.

“With coffee.”

“Dang, the correct answer was black tea~”

When I heard those words, the tears that had been welling up fell into my eyes. Rather than asking which of the two you would drink, it was a quiz asking about your identity.

“If you walk around dressed all in black, even if you’re going to drink something, wear it in a refreshing red. Why does a child still have such a lack of aesthetic sense?”

“Because it’s the inspection department, of course we wear black.”

He made a small protest to Hecate, who shook her head in regret.

The uniforms of the inspection department are black, so unless you retire or change jobs, you cannot escape this black world. Even my black hair and dark eyes are genes inherited from my father. It would be too harsh to regard this as a problem with my aesthetic sense.

“So shouldn’t we pay more attention to the colors we can choose?”

After saying that, Hecate put down her teapot on her desk and puffed out her chest.

“Look at this sister. Even in the black, she stands out even more thanks to the bright red color.”

“Eyes have been red since birth, so what kind of effort did they put into it…”

“Ding this time too.”

Hecate flicked her index finger left and right, then tapped her lips and then smiled brightly.

“My younger brother’s favorite color is red lips.”

“What is that—”

It felt like she was suffocating from the unexpected attack.

These are the lips I like. When you say that, I feel like a rare pervert.

“Aren’t you smiling?”

However, she smiled instinctively at the subtle pressure.

Actually, I pervert is correct. Even before possession, I was pervert.

“Over there.”

While I was surprised by my instincts not changing even after 7 years, I heard a familiar voice from the window.

“Did I come too quickly? Come back later?”

A young man with light purple hair that reaches his shoulders and a somewhat dazed look.

A creature that climbs up the wall and opens the window, leaving the door open.

‘Walter.’

The corners of my mouth went up without me knowing. You are a strange person both in reality and in dreams.

“Walter! I told you to come through the door when you come to the manager’s office! What if the manager and deputy manager were talking about something important!”

“I think I’ll do more things than say important things… Anyway, okay.”

At Hecate’s words, Walter jumped to the floor again.

If you come up to the window anyway, just come in. This guy is confused as to whether he is listening well or not.

“Ugh…”

Hecate, looking at the scene, touched her forehead and sighed softly.

I was a little surprised because the reaction was stronger than expected. Walter has committed misdeeds more than once, so does he need to sigh like that? Hecate must have gotten used to it after spending two years in the North, right?

“He doesn’t know when he will grow up and act like that.”

“That’s Walter’s charm. He plays in a strange way, but he never gets hurt.”

“I’m afraid I’ll get hurt sooner or later.”

Hecate frowned slightly, closed the window that Walter had opened, and sighed again.

“He’s been making a fuss these days, saying he’s going to walk in the sky.”

“Huh?”

“Why are you pretending not to know? It was Karl who encouraged you to say that walking on air is better than walking on water?”

Those words brought back memories quickly.

‘…Is it real?’

And soon she was able to pull out her memories that had been stored in a corner of her head.

Hecate is right. When Walter was practicing walking on water in the north, he joked that it would be better to walk on air. The problem was that he accepted that sincerely.

Of course, the Walter I knew eventually passed away without being able to walk on air—

“I would have given up if there was no result, but I was able to take two steps…”

‘Wow.’

Walter in his dream was clearly following the path of the Wright brothers.

Awesome Walter. You would be the first imperialist to challenge heaven as a swordsman rather than a wizard.

Starting with Walter, who went down to the floor and came back up, familiar faces gathered in the manager’s office one by one.

“There are only three of us gathered yet? Anyway, now that the war is over, everyone has become lazy.”

Idrid is impressive with his roughly grown and roughly cut brown hair.

The only long-distance dealer among us, and a prophet who gritted his teeth and said he would escape from the inspection department when the war was over.

‘It’s a pity that it was a dream that could not come true.’

In fact, it is funny that not only Idrid himself, but also I, who inherited his will, are still in the Inspection Department.

“All you have to do is show up at the appointed time. You’re not late, so don’t worry too much.”

And Oliver, a large man with gray hair, came in after Idrid.

He’s clearly a priest, but he’s a twisted priest who has more experience striking his opponents with his fists. A miracle priest who castrates the opponent’s power before using healing on an ally.

Additionally, since he is the oldest among us, as the eldest brother, he has the personality to look after his younger siblings with love,

“The ones who didn’t come are Gerard and Drake. They will definitely be late.”

“Umm… “

It seems that even Oliver can’t show unconditional love to the dogged duo who hasn’t arrived yet.

‘Gerrard and Drake.’

Laughter burst out inadvertently.

Gerard, a major drinker, and Drake, who loved drinking, were a duo that often hung out in the North. In particular, Gerard tried to drink rubbing alcohol by diluting it, claiming that it was alcohol, and in return, he was temporarily blinded. There was no crazy person that crazy.

But that doesn’t mean Drake is normal. He likes to drink and has a weak drinking capacity, so he rarely gets into accidents, but he also gets into misbehavior.

What did they say? Did he say that holding one sword in each hand would be beneficial because he would be able to cut twice as many enemies? Although it was a crazy idea, what is even more surprising is that he actually became an expert in the art of dual swords.

“Look. Even the manager is laughing out of his wits.”

“I’m still fine.”

He quickly adjusted his expression at Idrid’s words.

I’m losing my mind. To make someone a patient in an instant.

“You should call me manager, not manager. No matter how much of a relationship we have, we must keep the honorific title.”

Meanwhile, Hecate pointed out Idrid with a stern expression.

“The manager is also laughing out of his mind.”

“Good.”

And he nodded as if he was satisfied with Id Reed’s subsequent correction.

No, I just added one word to the manager. From what I can see, this is an honorific title.

“Rather than that, those guys are probably going to come drunk anyway, so should we just hold a meeting by ourselves?”

“If we do it alone… You’ll be annoying me, asking me what we were talking about?”

Anyway, Walter tilted his head and countered Idrid’s words, which confirmed the duo’s tardiness.

“The manager has to explain that to them.”

“This b*stard?”

It was so blatant that he said, ‘Let’s beat up the manager for some time.’ When I said that, a curse word came out.

It’s just a pity that a guy like this is one of the most normal people among us. A tyrant who has no hesitation in sacrificing the minority for the comfort of the majority.

“Originally, the role of the manager was to support the executives below-“

“We’re here! It’s not too late yet!?”

“I thought I wouldn’t be able to wake up after drinking, so I just drank until morning!”

Before Idrid finished speaking, the door to the manager’s office opened loudly, and a red-haired crazy guy and a black-haired crazy guy came in.

The smell of alcohol can be felt from afar, the red face, and even the pose of Jinsang holding a bottle of alcohol with one hand and clasping his shoulder with the other hand.

It is perfect. It truly looks like a painting.

“Haha.”

Seeing that made me laugh again.

Just, I just burst out laughing automatically.

“Crazy guys.”

Things that remain the same even in life and death.

I don’t know how I ended up in the North with these guys.