144Th Chapter. Facing Each Other (1)
This is a big problem.
I’m not kidding.
I’m not saying it’s a problem because Mijung, who used to be a cool and expressionless girl, has become as lively as any other ordinary girl.
Mijung’s special feature and the meaning of her existence.
The problem is that my trait, ‘Guardian Knight’, is not being activated at all.
Has there ever been a guy who would unconditionally activate Guardian Knight just by being by my side?
Yerina is at the level of refusing activation all the time, and Julia also turned it off often.
When 질 was with me, there were almost no exceptions, and she activated it so well, but the problem is that 질 sleeps.
When 질 is in a light sleep, Guardian Knight is on, but when she goes into a deep sleep and her consciousness is completely asleep, Guardian Knight turns off.
On the other hand, Mijung doesn’t sleep.
She doesn’t even close her eyes except in some special situations.
She was the one who always activated Guardian Knight as long as she was within a certain range, making me forget that I even had such a trait.
“Whew… stamina is different…”
It’s not just one or two things that are inconvenient when that advantage disappears.
First of all, all stats are reduced by 5 times, and I’m even getting a penalty of -5, so my body is too heavy.
I get tired after walking a little bit, and my sword and backpack are so heavy that my back feels like it’s going to break.
“This is… the view of ordinary people…”
I was also a real superhuman in terms of stats.
As soon as Guardian Knight turned off, I instantly fell to the level of an ordinary person.
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I haven’t been able to activate Guardian Knight a few times because I’ve been separated from Mijung.
But it’s never been off for this long.
As my magic power runs out, my stamina is drained, and my muscles start to cramp, I slowly realize.
Superhumans, those bastards, are really cheaters…
“Yujin. It’s hard… This, is it a communication device or something? It’s too heavy…”
“······.”
Mijung, who is complaining next to me, is barely following me.
Originally, she would have walked silently no matter how heavy the load was.
Now, she’s already exhausted, her red eyes blinking as if she’s about to collapse.
“Let’s rest for a bit.”
“Whoa! Finally…!”
It’s different.
It’s definitely different from Mijung.
It’s not just that her emotions have returned.
There is something fundamentally, a big difference.
But it was still difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was.
“Mijung, try to operate the communicator. We need to contact Linda.”
“Okay. Wait a minute. Hold the microphone… Adjust the channel… Ah. Ms. Linda. Can you hear me?”
Mijung tries to communicate by holding the microphone and tapping it repeatedly.
However, even after a long time, there is no answer, so she checks the connection status of the microphone and adjusts the channel again.
“What’s wrong, Eugene? It’s still not working?”
“Why is this happening?”
“Eu, Eugene! Why are you hitting it!”
“Machines need to be hit to be fixed.”
I used my ultimate finishing move, a swing.
But even then, Linda’s response is not heard from the communicator.
Even when I switch to the emergency line, there is still no answer.
“Is the communicator broken?”
I opened the lid of the communicator just in case, but…
I closed it again right away.
What do I know even if I look at it?
My head feels like it’s spinning along with the sight of the gears tangled and spinning around.
I don’t know if the fault is on Linda’s side or ours.
If it’s the former, Linda will fix it herself and it will be restored.
If it’s the latter, we have to go directly to Linda or Kern.Either way, the flow of events has become severely twisted.
“For now, we have no choice but to pray that Linda’s recovery is successful. It would be a huge waste of time to head to Clock Town right now. For now, at least…”
“Hm?”
“Huh?”
The conversation is getting longer and longer.
Misha and Mumin are staring at me intently.
For now, at least.
I have to do something about Misha.
Whether I activate the Guardian Knight or not.
I thought about whether I could use Mumin as a substitute.
But no matter how much time I spend with Mumin, the Guardian Knight doesn’t activate.
Like the dregs of Kali, he has an incredible amount of baseless confidence and doesn’t seem to realize that he’s being protected by me.
So Mumin is out of the question.
There are two options.
The first is to somehow restore Misha to her original state, making her my exclusive Guardian Knight activator again.
And the second is to abandon Misha.
“You…”
“Hm?”
“Why do you follow me around?”
“Hmm. Because I’m a slave?”
“……”
Because I’m a slave.
It means that she doesn’t follow me of her own free will.
In that case, maybe I should let Misha go.
I have plenty of money anyway.
Misha may be a child in body, but she has lived long enough to be able to support herself if she has enough Guinean money.
So if she wants to, shouldn’t I let her step back from the dangerous front lines and live in peace?
That’s what I think.
‘This is the right state of affairs.’
And above all, there is a flaw in the expression ‘fixing’ Misha.
There is nothing wrong with Misha in her current state.
On the contrary, this is the correct state.
A vampire who has regained her sanity should express a variety of emotions that are no different from those of humans, just like Transylvania.
What has been happening up until now has been abnormal.
If you think about it that way, there is only one option left.
“……”
I have to free Misha.
I know in my head that I have to, but it’s hard to say it out loud.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind. Is there something bothering you?”
“Yes.”
“What is it? I’ll listen. Isn’t it the role of a slave to ease the worries of its master?”
“……”
Misha would never ask me if I had any worries like this.
This is not the Misha I know.
Thinking about it that way made it a little easier to talk to her.
“It’s just that I’m confused. I know that I should let you go now that you’re useless and have no more reason to be here, but I keep getting attached to you and it’s hard.”
“Hmm. Is it about someone close to you?”
“Not close. Very.”
“Why are you getting attached?”
“Well… I’ve grown fond of them. But that person has changed. A lot. So there’s no reason for us to be together anymore… but I don’t want to let them go.”
“Are you afraid of breaking up?”
“That’s not it.”
As I hold Misha’s hand and talk to her, my thoughts become clearer.
Was I the kind of person who was afraid of change?
Was I the kind of person who was vaguely afraid of breaking up?
If you limit it to the past, that’s true.
But not now.
I know when it’s time to go.
I have learned that I must repeat the cycle of meeting and parting.
I am accepting it.
If letting Misha go here is the path to each other’s happiness.
I am ready to do so.
But what am I so afraid of this time?
‘It’s strangely ominous.’
An unknown ominousness.
It has been enveloping me since yesterday.At first, I thought it was just a common cold or a kind of grumbling feeling.
As time passed, I noticed that something was different.
This is a ‘gaze’.
The gaze I feel when someone looks at me.
That undefined sixth sense has been bothering me all the time.
‘Mijung’s change is not entirely positive.’
Something happened around last night.
To Mijung and me.
Or maybe it’s widespread worldwide.
With that conviction, the thought of not sending Mijung away gradually grows stronger.
Mijung’s personality suddenly became active, not because she ‘regained’ her emotions······.
I can’t shake the thought that she ‘lost’ something.
“Then let’s start by organizing Eugene’s mind first. Your feelings for that person.”
“You’re right.”
Let’s just leave it for now.
A hasty judgment is bound to cause trouble.
I need to figure out the identity of this ‘discomfort’ I’m feeling, no matter what I do or say.
The time it takes in that process······.
It doesn’t matter how long it takes.
It’s Mijung’s business, an assistant who brings out my best, nothing else.
It didn’t take long for me to find ‘discomfort’ everywhere.
Something happened starting last night.
Evidence emerged to support that conviction.
“The monsters suddenly got weaker? What are you talking about?”
“Really? I felt them get a little weaker.”
“It’s true. We went into the dungeon this morning, and there was definitely a difference from yesterday. And the monsters seemed to be moving a little more disorderly.”
According to the mercenaries’ chatter, all the monsters’ powers have weakened since last night.
Of course, I didn’t intend to judge based on the conversation of just a few hobgoblins.
I visited a nearby mercenary group to gather information.
As a result.
It was revealed that most of the mercenaries, with the exception of a few support personnel, were experiencing a decline in the monsters’ power.
Other than that, there were no noticeable changes.
‘How can so many changes happen overnight? Mijung’s personality becomes active, the communicator breaks down, and the monsters get weaker.’
Three seemingly unrelated incidents occurred simultaneously overnight.
It’s certain that there’s some correlation.
But I can’t seem to figure out the cause and effect.
“What the hell does Mijung, the communicator, and the monsters have to do with······ huh?”
I got a hint.
Monsters.
Mijung is also a kind of monster, so could it be that the effect occurred on all monsters?
The fact that the communication doesn’t work may not be a problem with the communicator, but with Linda.
Even though she’s out of it now, Linda was once a kind of monster.
If it’s an ‘effect targeting monsters’, it would make sense.
So the question that arises now is, what is that effect?
What could have reduced the power of all monsters and changed Mijung’s personality?
If you ask me if Mijung’s power has also decreased, I don’t think so.
She’s still using her magic and spells well.
“I’m going crazy······.”
“Eat your meal, Eugene! I don’t know what you’re doing!”
“Ugh! Woof!”
“······I don’t have anything to give you, so go away. This is a stew I made for Eugene.”
At the sound of my name being called, I folded the newspaper and headed for the table.
Soon, a delicious smell vibrated in the hotel room.
Mijung must have cooked something again.
Myeongmi, who was sitting on my shoulder and reading the newspaper with me, had somehow transformed into a human form and was clinging to Mijung.
Mijung was hugging Myeongmi so tightly that it seemed excessive.”Is it tomato soup?”
“Yes! Is it seasoned well? Would you like a bite? I can’t eat it······. hehehe.”
“It’s delicious······.”
“Yay!”
It’s surprisingly delicious.
Mi-jung is so happy that she could jump.
She soon brings out the soup in a bowl.
It’s a completely different cooking skill from her usual image.
She’s only 13 years old.
Did she learn to cook to feed her younger siblings?
“Did you make it for your siblings?”
“······.”
“Oh.”
After a moment of silence.
I realize my mistake.
I asked about Mi-jung’s past.
Mi-jung’s past, which I had never been curious about or asked about before.
Is it hurtful?
Is it something she doesn’t want to remember?
I look at Mi-jung, lost in such questions.
Mi-jung’s expression is strange.
“Sib······ ling······?”
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know······. I think I had them······. But I also think I didn’t······.”
Mi-jung grabs her head and cries.
After a few more questions and answers, I realize.
What Mi-jung has lost.
“Your hometown? Your family?”
“I don’t know······. Everything······.”
It was none other than her memory.