Chapter 32 – Episode 31 – What Happened In The City That Day (1)

Episode 31 – What Happened in the City That Day (1)

When I first arrived here, I was surprisingly nonchalant.
A game world? And with a character I created? What a terrible joke. I was just relieved that I hadn’t made some monstrous, overpowered character.
Like a monster with a full purple body, for example. That’s spine-chilling.

Even if I was exhausted from the harsh reality, to be sent straight into a game world like this. Was God watching me? Am I the center of the universe after all? …I was so nonchalant that I even had such delusions.

The next thing I felt was confidence.
I had to restart the game hundreds of times because it was so difficult, but this time I was confident. A character created with all sorts of expensive perks. And a healer, which I was most confident in.

Luckily, I started with the saintly heroine as my childhood friend and Irian, a heroine who could take the front lines. It felt like I would clear the quests and reach a happy ending in no time.

1 year, 2 years, 3 years… and 16 years.
Time passed, but the quest window was still locked, and the world was peaceful.

Then it suddenly dawned on me.
Ah, I’ve been in this world for too long. I’ve become too accustomed to it.

It’s a game world, but it’s no longer a game.
It has become another reality for me. Sometimes I miss it, and there’s an emptiness in my heart, but the memories of the modern world are gradually fading, and new memories are taking their place.

Diana. Irian.
The stronger my bonds here became, the more the strange loneliness seemed to subside.

Subside.
Not gone, but subsided loneliness and longing. It only takes a small trigger for them to resurface and constantly remind me of what I had temporarily forgotten.

▷ How’s it going over there?
▶ Pretty good lol
▶ My subordinates even write my reports, so it’s awesome
▷ Tsk tsk, lazy
▶ Hehe, sorry

It’s just a trivial conversation, but its impact is far from trivial. The emotions I had forgotten and given up on over the past 16 years.

16 years.
A whole 16 years.
At first, I was bewildered. I considered whether they were really a player, a fake, a system error, or even a mental illness or hallucination. But what did it matter?

Whether the other person was real or not, I decided to accept the unknown as it was.
Above all, the name ‘Cha Hyewon’ felt both welcoming and eerie.

Why is it a name I know?
Are they reading my thoughts and showing me illusions, or creating a fake person? What if all of this is an illusion? Or am I being observed in a brain-floating state? Maybe they’re experimenting to see how I react when a connection to reality appears, since I’ve become too accustomed to this.

I know it’s a delusion.
But I can’t be sure it’s just a delusion. The possibility that being in a game world, possessing a character I created, is all a delusion. What if this is all a world like ‘The Truman Show’?

It’s too late.
They appeared too late. Why did they appear after 16 years?

If they had appeared a little earlier, I would have either eliminated them or cooperated to figure out why we were brought here.

Now I’m scared.
What if all of this is just my delusion?
Diana and Irian, Carsilla. I’ve become too accustomed to them. To the life I have with them.

So I just watched from afar.
Like a weak coward. They looked like me from a long time ago. Someone who had become moderately accustomed to this game world and was full of confidence.

The way they used the ‘Status Window’ ability to understand NPCs, and how they grew quickly with their special talents, making them feel omnipotent, like they were the main character of the world.

I’ve decided to accept it now.
My weakness and the player named Cha Hyewon. Whether they are really a player, whether I’m living in a delusion, or whether I’m in a brain-floating state, what does it matter? Instead of agonizing over something I can’t know, I’ll live in the present. If it turns out that all of this was fake later, like a surprise~ well, I’ll think about it then.

After that, I felt at ease. More than at ease, I even felt happy. Just having a trivial conversation like this makes me so happy. Seriously, this person…

▶ I got a new weapon lol
▶ Duke Anhalt gave me a sword
▶ This is seriously good
▶ What weapon do you use?

…This person. Is so annoying.

▷ I’m going to find one lol I’m going to get a full set of mythic items from a forgotten ancient temple
▶ ?? There’s still one there?
▶ Never heard of it
▷ It’s a place newbies don’t know about. So it’s hidden lol Full set of mythic items lol
▶ lol
▶ I should ask the emperor for items

…I can’t lose.

* * *

That’s why I’ve come this far.
My original destination was the magic tower to help Carsilla develop her magical aptitude, but that can wait.

After all, I’m the guide for our group. No, to be honest, I’m the only one.

Diana? Our saintess, she doesn’t know anything about the world. She’s innocent. She’s truly a pure child. Except for when she gets a little lewd during our ‘playtime,’ she’s truly pure.

Irian? She’s a bad-tempered version of Diana, or Mk.2. She’s not stupid, but she doesn’t think. She just follows Diana around. By the way, she’s a cross-dressing expert in lesbian relationships, so I can’t let my guard down. That cat is after our cute Diana. Of course, I’m after her too.

Carsilla? A cute mascot. I’ll skip the rest.

Hmm. I guess they can’t do without me.
I’m satisfied. It’s so heartwarming that my group relies on me.

“We’re going to the magic tower, right? Why are we getting closer to the mountains?”
“Oh hush. It’s an illusion.”
“Hmm. That’s strange. Is this the right way?”
“Of course. It’s faster to go straight through the mountains than to go around them.”

I brushed off Irian’s nagging with nonsense.
Faster my ass. It’s faster to take the well-paved road, how could it be faster to cross a rough mountain? But my kids. They don’t know anything. They just innocently follow me.

It’s so easy with just my kids. I don’t have to think or read anyone’s mind. If Sir Jacob were here, he would have treated me like a troublemaker and scheduled training sessions for me if I said such nonsense.

“Let’s get some clothes in the next town or city.”

It looks cool, but the flowing priest robes are terrible for activity.
They’re white, so they get dirty easily, they’re layered so they don’t breathe well, and they’re long and cumbersome, making it hard to move.

At least Irian is a paladin and the saintess’s personal bodyguard, so she wears magic-infused plate armor. I heard it’s a rare item with all sorts of holy magic, including weight reduction. Ugh. That’s also really cool. I want to wear it too.

On the other hand, Diana and I are wearing cumbersome clothes.
It goes without saying for Diana, who is a saintess, and even I, as a priest, am wearing quite fancy and voluminous robes that are comparable to high priest robes, so we’ve become half-beggars after just one day of travel.

Damn medieval land.

If a carriage passes by, the dust flies and turns our white clothes yellow, and the people who cling to us as soon as they see our priest robes and ask for blessings are all so dirty that they leave black marks on our white clothes.

Ugh, the public awareness. I need to take off these priest robes quickly. Being in customer service is so stressful. I’m glad I put our cute Carsilla in comfortable clothes.
After walking for a while, we found a city and approached it, where soldiers were checking people at the gate.

“Are you priests? Excuse me, please enter.”
“May the blessings of the divine be with you.”

They said to enter, but they were subtly hoping for a blessing, so I just made a sign of the cross. A blessing isn’t anything special, it’s just priests giving well wishes, but I don’t know why they want it so much. I guess religious people never starve anywhere?

Hmm.
As expected of my kids. As I passed through the gate, I saw that they were all making pious and devout expressions, trying to pass through as part of my group, which was so disgusting.

As we entered the gate, the city was very lively, as expected of a city built along the imperial highway, which is called the lifeline of the continent. It has developed to cater to the many people traveling along the highway, making it very convenient for travelers like us.

There were many inns and various shops.
I suggested we get an inn and unpack, but for some reason, Diana objected. What wind had blown into her, the always-yes-man?

“Then should we buy clothes first? Are you uncomfortable, Diana?”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll get an inn with Carsilla, so why don’t you and Irian go buy clothes?”
“Really? Let’s just unpack in a room together and go buy clothes.”
“Umm. I’m tired from walking for so long. Can you buy me clothes?”

She didn’t act like a baby openly, probably because she was aware of the people around us. She did mix in a little bit of a nasal tone, but Irian and Carsilla are used to that.

I stared at Diana’s face. That’s strange. She has much better physical abilities than me, how could she be this tired? Even I am under the ‘Undying Archduke’s Mark’ debuff right now?

“Hurry~ After you buy clothes, you can find us with your divine power, right? Carsilla, let’s go first.”

Then she quickly grabbed Carsilla’s hand and walked away. Carsilla’s gaze, looking back at me with a pitiful expression, breaks my heart. Is she still awkward with Diana? It seems like she’s been scared of her from the beginning, when are those two going to get close?

Diana is just innocent, so she’s a bit shy, and Carsilla is cute, but she’s basically expressionless and doesn’t talk much, so she’s not very sociable.

‘…I raised them both, could it be my fault?’

No way. They grew up watching someone as sociable as me, how could that be?

“What are you doing? Let’s buy clothes quickly. I’m worried about… Diana.”

I forbade them from calling her saintess during our travels. If the rumor that she’s a saintess spreads, all sorts of cliché things will happen. I don’t want those annoying events.

“Worried about what? Diana is skilled enough to beat up anyone who tries to mess with her. You should worry about me instead.”
“You’re… yeah, be careful.”

She was about to snap back, but she remembered that I was cursed with the ‘Undying Archduke’s Mark,’ so she changed her words. Now that it’s like this, I should just tease Irian.

“You need to buy clothes too, right?”
“I don’t.”
“We don’t know how long the trip will take? You didn’t bring many clothes either.”
“It’s all your fault!!”
“Why is it my fault… oh, it is.”

I organized the two backpacks that were as big as her body. I took out all the unnecessary things and packed a few sets of underwear and clothes. It turns out that Irian was right back then.

“That’s why I told you that you should have prepared thoroughly from the beginning. You never know what might happen, you can’t just pack so lightly! You lack a sense of crisis. As a guardian, you should always be alert and prepared for all dangers.”

Ugh, showing off. Our Sir Irian has finally found an opportunity to speak her mind. How annoying.

“You’re so loud.”
“L, loud? I’m giving you advice right now! You rude brat!”

I smacked the red-haired knight’s butt.

“You’re really… kyaaout!”

Oh. That was a funny sound.
She seemed surprised by the strange scream that came out of her own mouth, and her face turned the same color as her hair as she covered her mouth with her hand.
That’s funny. I was about to smack her butt again, but she quickly dodged and pointed at me.

“You, what are you… y, you’re so vulgar!”
“What’s wrong with guys doing that? Why are you so sensitive? Like a girl.”

The usual ‘between guys’ pattern.
She always falls for it, why doesn’t she ever learn? That’s why I can’t stop pretending not to know she’s a girl. Her reactions are so funny.

“…Ahem. I just don’t want to touch you.”
“Hmm. Suspicious. For a guy, your butt is very… the texture is so bouncy, why is it so firm?”
“S, shut up!”
“Oh? Are you going to hit me? I’m hurt?”
“…Kuh!”

Ah, this is fun. I did a silly dance in front of Irian, who was frozen with her fist raised.
Oh, as expected of me, I know how to get a reaction.
Irian’s eyes rolled around. Then, she smiled as if she had thought of something and started walking towards me. Why is she like this?