Emergency Order (3)
Simultaneously around the world, a strange change occurred.
It was a change that was difficult to describe in words.
One of the first groups to sense this change was the mercenaries.
“What the heck? The monsters seem a little weaker?”
“Am I imagining it?”
“I felt it too. They’re weaker.”
During a dungeon raid.
The mercenaries sensed that the monsters’ strength had weakened.
It wasn’t a drastic change, just a slight decrease.
But for mercenaries who risked their lives in a split second, it wasn’t difficult to notice the difference.
“Well, that’s good.”
“We’re lucky.”
Most of them didn’t think much of it.
It was too slight a decrease in power to be significant, and it was a good thing for the mercenaries.
“Ugh! Uhh!”
[What’s wrong, Little Master!]
“My head… my head…!”
In a deep valley on the Northern Continent.
Sokong, who had been training in a deep cave, collapsed, complaining of a headache.
Guiho, who had rushed over in surprise, couldn’t figure out what was wrong and had no idea what to do.
No matter how much he examined him, there was nothing wrong with his body.
It wasn’t a curse or a magical influence.
All Guiho could do was watch.
[Something’s not right. It’s not right…]
From Noble mtl dot com
Guiho looked up at the sky through the cave ceiling, holding his disciple in his arms.
An unknown ominous feeling enveloped Guiho.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that something huge was approaching.
“Try to make an excuse. You found Eugene, but you were too scared of the pet spider he was carrying to catch him? That’s ridiculous!”
“······Ah!”
Meanwhile.
While kneeling and being scolded by Yerina, Transylvania’s eyes widened.
She felt something disappearing inside her.
She didn’t know what it was, but it had been inside Transylvania for a long time.
Something that had bound Transylvania had disappeared.
“Hey! Are you even listening!!!”
“I’m sorry…”
But even though it was gone, it didn’t make any meaningful difference to Transylvania.
Transylvania decided it was nothing to worry about and turned her attention elsewhere.
[Hmm······?]
Meanwhile, in the Clockwork City.
Linda’s movements stopped as she sorted through the mail.
She was about to throw away all the junk mail from Cornelia in one go.
Linda’s circuits began to change.
[Ah······ This is······ dangerous…]
Linda’s speech began to slur as she realized the seriousness of the situation.
She began to feel a ‘will’ inside her.
It was a familiar feeling.
When she fell into the dungeon.
It was the same will as the otherworldly being that had contacted Linda then.
But this time, a will of a different order of magnitude was flowing in.
So much so that it was twisting and changing her circuits into a different form.
If she left it alone, the same thing would happen as before.
She would lose control of her circuits.
That was the conclusion she came to, and Linda made a quick decision.
And executed it quickly.
[I’m sorry, Master.]
Clang!
Linda’s hand blade pierced the engine in her chest.
Blue coolant gushed out, and Linda’s movements gradually stiffened.
Linda never moved again after that.”······?”
And on a plain far from Cologne.
Mijung’s eyes, who was lying in the middle of the campsite, opened wide.
A sense of confusion filled the vampire’s body, and her body twisted every moment.
“······Kugh, cough! Ugh!”
“What’s going on!”
Eugene, who was on edge even while sleeping, reacted immediately and jumped to Mijung.
And then he held Mijung, who was complaining of an unknown pain, and put his hand on her forehead and checked her breathing.
“Damn it. Why is this happening.”
He laid the deeply asleep Myeong down.
Eugene devoted all his efforts to examining Mijung’s body.
However, no significant abnormalities were found.
Her body was still cold.
The flow of magic or magi inside did not change strangely.
Mijung’s body was completely normal.
Eugene closed his eyes and hugged Mijung, who was suffering.
There was nothing he could do but massage her body and feed her blood continuously.
“Please come to your senses. Please.”
“······Ugh.”
So the night passed.
Around dawn.
Mijung fell asleep with her eyes closed.
Eugene also fell asleep, unable to hold on any longer.
In his sleep, Eugene thought he heard a voice.
Mijung’s whispering voice.
“······Forget me. Don’t.”
I couldn’t hear everything.
But only this one sentence remained faintly in Eugene’s mind as if he had a dream.
.
.
.
“Eugene.”
Knock, knock.
Knock, knock.
A regular tapping on my shoulder.
And to a beautiful voice, I woke up from sleep.
Just a moment.
A beautiful voice?
I opened my eyes in surprise.
I remembered that Mijung had been in sudden pain last night.
But I didn’t know what the problem was, so the best I could do was hold Mijung and hold her hand.
I don’t remember anything after that.
I was going to stay awake until Mijung regained consciousness.
I guess I fell asleep after seeing Mijung fall asleep.
“······?”
But when I opened my eyes, Mijung was not in my arms.
The moment I looked back in surprise.
My body stiffens with a suffocating sensation.
“Are you awake now?”
“What······? Mijung?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“You, that······ What is that······?”
“Apron? I found it in my bag and tried it on. Isn’t it easier to wear this when cooking? Come here quickly! I boiled vegetable porridge!”
“······.”
Mijung, who ran towards the campfire where the pot was boiling, laughing cheerfully.
She was holding a ladle that she had never held in her life.
The apron was neatly tied with a ribbon in the back.
Her expression was filled with colorful emotions.
The voice that had been resting was sweetly changed.
To this unfamiliar appearance, I had no choice but to come to one conclusion.
“Who are you?”
“Whoa?!”
This is not Mijung.
Could it be that I was hit by Belpegor’s magic?
I quickly ran over, restrained Mijung’s arms, and put my hand on her chest to examine her body.
“Huh?”
But I don’t feel Belpegor’s magic inside.
I was confident that I could tell the difference because I had detected it at the time of Tay.
No, maybe it’s not Belpegor but Luna’s doing?
Mijung is also a corpse, strictly speaking.
So Luna could use it with necromancy.However, there is no trace of necromancy detected from Mijeong’s body.
“Hey, Eugene… It’s a little embarrassing…”
“Who are you really?”
Mijeong shakes her head as if she’s really embarrassed.
It’s so embarrassing.
There’s nothing wrong with Mijeong’s body.
That means this is Mijeong…
I was stunned and let go of Mijeong’s wrist that I had been holding.
First, there’s something else I need to check.
“Wait a minute. Let me check something. Where did we first meet?”
“I don’t know the name of the place… I’m sure we met in a dark slave market warehouse. But why are you asking this?”
“Just answer me. What was the name of the person you beat to death with a club?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”
“Try to remember.”
“I don’t know! I don’t really want to think about killing people! I remember he was some big shot in Cologne… I don’t know anything else except that he had a bad face!”
“……”
She remembers everything.
All the journeys I’ve been through with Mijeong.
Still, I asked her a few more questions just in case.
I thought Mijeong would remember, since her memory is so good.
The interview was difficult because her personality had changed and she wasn’t very cooperative.
Nevertheless, the more questions I asked, the more convinced I became that this was the Mijeong I knew.
“You’re Mijeong, aren’t you…”
“Yes! I am! How many times do I have to tell you?”
“Why… why did you change so much…”
“I don’t know. I just woke up and this is how I am. But Eugene… Do you hate this way I am?”
“……”
I suppress my complicated feelings.
I meet Mijeong’s eyes as she stares at me.
Her eyes are full of life.
Her eyes are full of emotion.
This look was so unfamiliar to me that I couldn’t help but look away.
“I don’t hate it, but I need to know exactly why this is happening. It may not end with just your emotions coming back to life.”
“Can’t we just think simply? I’m just happy that I can finally think and feel like a human being, just like Eugene.”
“……”
Unlike me, who is worried, Mijeong seems to be just fine.
She’s been nagging me to try the vegetable porridge she made since earlier.
I took a bite without much expectation.
“Is it delicious?”
“Is it? hehehe!”
To be honest, it’s really delicious.
It’s not really something you can call cooking.
It’s just a simple home-cooked meal with the right amount of salt, rice, and vegetables.
This is a skill that you can’t get from just cooking once or twice.
It must be something that’s ingrained in her body from her previous life.
I’ve never seen Mijeong cook before, but I never thought she had this kind of talent.
“Huh?”
“I’m not going to give it to you. Go away.”
“Why? Give some to Myeong-i too.”
“Tsk…”
“……?”
Mijeong suddenly puffed out her cheeks as if she was upset, and then stuck out her lips.
Then she scooped up some porridge and fed it to Myeong-i.
“Yum! Oooh! Oooh!”
Myeong-i nods her head repeatedly, saying it’s delicious.
No. Is she making a fuss because it’s hot?
Maybe it’s both.
“Eww. What if you get it all over your face…”
Mijeong clicked her tongue at Myeong-i and wiped the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief.
I took a step back and watched her for a moment…I have this thought.
‘······Do I really need to fix it?’
Although I don’t know the reason, it’s clear that Mijung, who was always like a machine, has changed in a positive way.
There’s no reason to look for a way to fix it.
Actually, if you think about it, this is normal.
Transylvania also expresses her emotions well without any problems.
A vampire who has regained their reason is no different from a living person, except that their body is dead, so they keep their personality from their previous life.
So, this current appearance is Mijung’s personality before she became a vampire.
Am I overreacting?
Isn’t this okay?
I have that thought.
‘This is right. This is the natural order.’
It’s time to organize my thoughts.
What happened until now was abnormal.
This is normal.
I have to accept it.
But that only lasts for a moment.
I quickly realize a serious problem.
[Stats]
[Strength: 19(-5) *Paladin penalty applied]
[Health: 44(-5) *Paladin penalty applied]
[Mana: 50(-5) *Paladin penalty applied]
[Agility: 25(-5) *Paladin penalty applied]
[Luck: 10(-5) *Paladin penalty applied]
“What······?”
The initial trait, ‘Paladin’, that was always activated when I was with Mijung.
It’s not being activated.