46 – Episode 46. Hardcore route again_(3)
I don’t know when it will come, but I don’t know who will come.
If you keep waiting without knowing anything, it might come back.
When I thought of that slim possibility, Dana always felt relieved.
My mother is no exception.
Someday, I might come out through the pitch black darkness and wave my hand gladly.
If you think like that, all reason for depression disappears.
On the other hand, it was the sure things that made her sad, not the possibilities.
Things like someone died in the tower, or rumors that they can’t come back.
Once you know for sure, there is no point in waiting.
A few days ago, when I first met Lee Do-hyun, she was sure.
Because his black hair, dark eyes, and sour expression resemble his mother.
Someday, like my mother, I will enter the tower and never come back.
She said so confidently.
Because I was confident, I knew I wouldn’t expect it even after it disappeared.
But he returned to the village, kept his promise, and cooked me a delicious meal.
I didn’t reach out my hand like my mom did, and I didn’t say anything friendly.
Although the food was much better than my mother’s.
The more I got to know him, the more he was a completely different person from my mother.
So I was looking forward to it.
Will it be different this time?
Someday, instead of leaving for the tower, wouldn’t it be staying in the village? Do.
I ended up relying on other possibilities.
I was foolishly hoping for a short period of only a few days.
And now that he knew he had reached the second floor, the possibility of him returning was gone.
“Ehh… Go a little slower. Too fast.”
Because in this town, no one has ever been to the second floor, and once you enter the tower, the farther you go, the harder it is to come back.
Now, like Suga said, he will climb the tower and move away from this town little by little.
Being a smart and scheming man, he wouldn’t do anything stupid coming back to this town.
Suga said in a confident voice.
The tower was not visible from this village.
Instead, when I looked up, there was a dark sky and stars.
She pouted her lips toward the sky and cursed with her eyes in silence.
‘It’s like a damn tower, how can it not collapse!’
It was clear that this depression would last a long time.
Usually, if I meet someone coming back from the tower after waiting at the watchtower like this, I’ll ask them how they are, hear about their adventures, and then my depression will subside.
No one has entered the tower lately, so no one will come back.
Dawn has just begun.
‘Ah, I should stop sleeping.’
She came down the watchtower.
She was determined not to do anything like expectations again.
On the way back to the tavern, I heard a voice from the tower.
“I go home early today.”
So when I turned my head, a person was walking out of the darkness.
I thought the starlight was exceptionally weak today because I couldn’t see your face until it came right in front of you.
Actually, the black hair was overlapping with the darkness, making it invisible.
I don’t know why.
I came back again.
Even though there was clearly no possibility.
I decided not to expect it five seconds ago.
Again.
**
From noble mtl dot com
Actually, I don’t know since when, but right now I think I’m in a coma.
Roasting eels, killing Grow, apparently sane up until then.
After hearing the voice, I went backwards through the tower and arrived here.
[Welcome to the fugitive’s lair.]
Looking at the signs, I feel like I’ve become a fugitive.
So you still can’t get out of the first floor?
Anyway.
As soon as I reached the village, I looked up at the watchtower and saw someone trudging down a ladder.
It’s obvious without looking at who it is.
In the middle of the night, especially at night when climbers and hunters appear, who is there to look out for someone to come back?
The only person in the world who would do such a pitiful thing would be Dana.
“I go home early today.”
But there was no answer when I called.
Is it hard to see because it’s dark on the side I’m on?
So I went closer, but Dana didn’t react until the end.
At best, I was considerate of Dana’s personality and kept her within my safe distance. Ah, that doesn’t make any sense
Dana opened her mouth with a dazed expression and she looked at me for a while.
She opened her mouth suddenly like a pissed off clam.
“Wow, it’s Dohyun.”
“The response is very slow. Are you sleepy?”
“I didn’t sleep… Oh, is this a dream? Why are you here?”
“Whenever they tell me to come back, I shouldn’t be here.”
“But… Didn’t you go all the way to the second floor? Suga unni said that.”
“Almost gone.”
“Then why are you here?”
I think it would be easy to answer if you asked how I got here.
If you ask me why I’m here, I don’t know.
Actually, there are many reasons if you think about it.
For example, something like this.
“I had grilled eel, but it was so good I wanted to ask if you would like to eat it too?”
“What is eel?”
“Fish is very tasty. Would you be surprised if you eat it? Do you want to eat too?”
“Now?”
“No, we will eat in the tower.”
“Ah~ Where is the idiot who leaves something like that. Bring it with you the next time you enter the tower.”
“There is no next time. He won’t come back anymore.”
“What… So, you came here to brag? Did you make something delicious? Really? Fuhahahaha!”
Is the grilled eel story funny?
It was a little twisted because Dana took the player away.
I’ll ask you this first.
“Stop laughing. I have something to ask you.”
“To me?”
“Yes. Speaking of your name, is your last name Mayer?”
“Huh?”
“Right?”
“That’s right… I never told anyone… how did you know?”
“Then your mother’s name must be Beatrice Meyer. Is that right?”
“Oh! That’s right! What!? How do you know?”
Somehow, when I accepted her event and peeked at the fragments of her memories, I saw her in her memories.
Beatrice Meyer.
I don’t know why she forgot, but she was quite a prominent figure in TOE.
When NPCs mention her, she uses the title of Sword Saint more than her name, and her performance is talked about like a legend all over the tower.
Crucially, the reason we could never forget her was because of her ranking.
#1 In the Bloody Inventory Guild’s Climbing Ranking. Beatrice Meyer.
She should have come up with it much sooner.
When I found a jar at Dana’s house and saw the word [Atri] Written on the jar,
Or when I saw her black hair and black eyes in Dana’s memories.
Even in TOE, only Beatrice Meyer had black hair.
No.
Come to think of it, I don’t think anything would have changed even if she remembered her earlier.
On the 50th floor of the tower, there is an irreversible boundary line, and we are below the boundary line, and she is above the boundary line.
How does your mom say she can’t come back to this town forever.
I think I would have kept my mouth shut even if I knew in advance.
Not now.
“I know where your mother is.”
“How? How do you know that?”
“I climbed a tower once before. It’s not real, it’s like practice.”
“Uh… So, did you see my mother in person?”
“Yes.”
“What floor are you on?”
“The 99th floor.”
Then, as if something was leaking out of Dana, she looked stunned, then smiled mechanically.
Looking at the trembling around her eyes, it seemed that the number 99 far exceeded her expectations.
She has been keeping the tavern by herself because she believed that one day she would return.
The long years have lost their meaning.
It feels like torture while talking.
“Ah… I see.”
“I have another thing to tell you, a climber who gets to the 50th floor can never go backwards. So your mother forever-“
“You don’t have to tell me that! I know… If you go up to the 99th floor, of course you won’t come back. So you can stop.”
“What if I stop?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is that your choice?”
“Choosing… There’s nothing I can do. What is your choice… I want to go home.”
“The shop owner said that. The tower’s voice does not go against the climber’s will. That’s why each person’s choice is important to climb the tower.”
“Why are you saying that all of a sudden…”
“I made a choice. I’m going to take you to the 99th floor from now on to meet her mother. But if your choice is to hang out in town, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“What?”
“Is there anything you don’t understand?”
“How do I get to the 99th floor?”
“On foot. Instead, I will guide you. It will be the safest, smartest, and most delicious trip in the world. I guarantee that.”
“But… Can I get into the tower? I’ve never been out of this town before…”
“The tower does not go against the will of the climber, right? Try it first, and if it doesn’t work, ask the store owner to compensate you.”
“Uh… So… What you’re saying. Do you want to go up the tower with me…?”
“Yes.”
“Since when?”
“Right now. Tilda is waiting by herself. If I’m late, she’ll be very angry. I confiscated the eels before they came.”
“Aww… That’s serious… But I need some time…”
Of course, it would be difficult to decide right away.
I was expecting it.
It’s a town that’s been around for such a long time.
And waiting for someone here must be Dana’s entire life.
It’s stupid to follow someone you don’t even know.
But I couldn’t give much time.
She had to leave Tilda behind because she was a returnee, and by now she would be shivering all alone.
And it was clear that if Dana didn’t decide today, she wouldn’t be able to decide tomorrow either.
I would have had decades to think about it,
The proposal I made isn’t that important to Dana.
So my choice is only valid until today.
I have no choice but to wait until just before dawn or leave.
“How much do you need?”
“Can you give me a few seconds? I have to pack my things! No, you follow me for a second too! What are you doing! Come quickly!”
**