Chapter 58: Monolith (5)

His gaze was clearly directed towards the dungeon sky, but the sensations permeating his mind made him forget the scorching heat.

Rohan’s consciousness began to drift to a completely different place.

A vivid moment, though never experienced personally, started to form in his mind.

Was it something that never existed, now coming into being? Or was it something forgotten, now resurfacing?

He couldn’t tell at that moment.

Along with the notification window, his consciousness flickered briefly.

And Rohan began to see not the dungeon, but a completely different place.

“…”

Click. Click. Click.

He was walking inside an antique building, a place he didn’t recognize.

He couldn’t pinpoint the exact location.

However, he recognized that it was a building that existed within Solaris.

No.

This isn’t me. The same gender, but a different person.

He was clearly borrowing someone else’s perspective. He was merely an observer, unable to intervene.

“Hmm.”

The man naturally stopped walking and admired a large painting hanging in the hallway.

A painting depicting the horizon at dawn, expressed in oil paints. The title, “Light,” was attached at the bottom.

Rohan, who had no choice but to observe, understood.

…I can feel emotions.

This man seems to like this painting very much.

Briefly appreciating the artwork in the hallway and solidifying his resolve was part of his daily routine.

“Head of the Household!”

The man, quietly admiring the painting, turned his head as the presence he had been sensing finally spoke.

So, it’s like this.

The man whose perspective he was borrowing seemed to be informing Rohan. The emerging information was filled with certainty.

The woman approaching with the greeting was Failer’s adopted daughter.

“■■■. You’re out early.”

He clearly called a name. However, it was filled with static and noise, preventing Rohan, the observer, from recognizing it.

Furthermore, the face of the woman who came to see the Head of the Household was broken up like a mosaic.

He could only determine her gender by looking at the area below her face.

Was this intentional information blocking?

Or perhaps, it was a result of this man’s perception and emotions.

…Who is Failer’s adopted daughter? I’m hearing about Failer himself for the first time.

Rohan had a strong intuition that he needed to know this woman’s identity.

He tried not to miss any trivial or minor information around him.

“It’s not so much that I’m out early, but rather that I haven’t gone back since yesterday.”

“Be careful not to overwork yourself. Failer will be worried.”

The man smiled and turned his gaze back to the painting. He didn’t offer any further platitudes.

The man called the Head of the Household was already suspicious of this woman.

However, the Head of the Household was confident that it didn’t matter.

He didn’t know why ■■■, with whatever intentions, had insinuated herself into this place wanting to work, but he only needed to uphold one thing and save face for his friend, Failer.

‘As long as I don’t expose that child, it’s enough.’

After the short conversation with ■■■, he started walking.

He repeatedly checked his surroundings, confirming with Mana that there was no one around.

No one in Solaris could escape his senses. ■■■ was no exception.

Creak─!

Only after repeatedly confirming that there were no eyes on him did the Head of the Household step into his office.

He sat languidly in his chair and basked in the sunlight with a smile.

Solaris, flourishing in a way unseen in Abyss City, unfolded before his eyes.

“Nice weather.”

While the Head of the Household maintained a relaxed demeanor and posture, Rohan felt his emotions.

He’s uneasy. Why?

His heart was filled with the single word, guilt.

It was an inner feeling that couldn’t be associated with the smile habitually plastered on his face.

How much time did he spend gazing at the sky?

“…”

He rose from his seat and stood in front of the bookcase filled with books.

He grabbed a book and imbued it with Mana, causing the bookcase to become translucent.

The Head of the Household nonchalantly passed through it and stepped into a secret place.

“Why are you so late?”

There was a woman who scolded him as soon as he arrived.

Unfortunately, Rohan couldn’t see this person’s face either.

However, there was a difference from the previous woman. This woman’s face wasn’t broken up like a mosaic.

The area around her face was blurred, as if she had been crying.

Still.

He could tell she had a cigarette in her mouth.

The Head of the Household dismissed the question with a laugh and asked her,

“How’s he doing?”

“Same as always.”

“Good. Thanks for watching over him, but don’t smoke in front of the child.”

“Sigh… This wasn’t what I signed up for.”

With a grumble, she stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray.

The Head of the Household nodded in satisfaction and then shifted his gaze to the side.

He approached with a smile.

He offered a greeting.

“Good morning.”

“…”

A boy was sitting in a chair. The boy was clearly not in a normal state.

He didn’t have any external injuries, but his pupils were dilated. He didn’t respond to the greeting or even look up.

He looked like a hollow doll.

What is this?

Rohan, watching the scene, was bewildered.

No matter how young the boy looked, he couldn’t deny it. That was definitely Rohan himself.

“Hey. Even if you talk to him like that, he won’t remember it, you know?”

“You wouldn’t know, being so stuck on theory. I’m certain he’ll remember.”

“You’re at it again.”

“Now, now, what good does it do to curse in front of a child?”

The Head of the Household felt endless gratitude towards the woman who glared at him sharply.

Rohan could feel it too.

This man found a small measure of peace of mind when he was with this woman.

“And that goes for me too.”

“Idiot… Do whatever you want.”

Sighing as if she couldn’t stand him, the woman pulled out a cigarette from her pocket and walked away.

She’d probably go to the next room and chain-smoke.

And the Head of the Household knelt down and took the boy sitting in the chair’s hand.

He held it gently, without applying any pressure.

Staring into the unfocused eyes, he spoke as if making a pledge.

“Remember. You must never forget this mindset.”

“…”

“Unlike us, you are not at war with them.”

Never stand on equal footing with them. You cannot defeat those beings that way.

Humanity still doesn’t truly understand the Abyss.

“You will simply hunt and crush them.”

The Head of the Household had a hunch that some sort of end, the form of which he didn’t know, was approaching.

However, he didn’t care. He wouldn’t struggle.

He could willingly offer up his life. In fact, he was overjoyed, almost ecstatic.

Because the path he was creating was instilling fear in them, enough to cause unrest.

“And…”

The Head of the Household found himself wanting to say something, not a story he wanted to tell the boy, but something he wanted to say.

A story filled with personal feelings. He bit his lip, wondering if it was okay to utter it.

It was something he had never said before.

Nevertheless, he decided to try it today.

“You… You, more than anyone else… Must never forgive me.”

“…”

“When I die, come to my grave, stab it with a sword, and resent me. That would put my mind at ease.”

Those words etched themselves into Rohan’s mind like a scar.

His mind reeled as if caught in a whirlpool, and his vision began to blur.

Ah.

Finally, his consciousness flickered.

··

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“Ugh!”

Rohan, who had been muttering with a dazed expression, stumbled greatly.

Shion and Clara instinctively pushed off the ground.

“Oppa, oppa!”

“What happened all of a sudden?”

The voices of Shion and Clara, coming to support him, penetrated his ears.

Rohan, his consciousness slowly rising from the depths, opened his tightly closed eyelids.

Ah, the video ended… I’m back?

Rohan sat down and repeatedly rubbed his face.

A stickiness as if his body and mind were submerged in a swamp. It wouldn’t easily go away.

“Phew…”

Was it because he had borrowed someone else’s vision and tasted their emotions? Heavy sighs escaped him endlessly.

It was a strange feeling, as if his tangled senses were slowly unraveling.

“Are you having trouble moving? It could be heatstroke.”

“Oppa, are you okay?”

Clara hesitated to approach Rohan, sensing his unusual demeanor.

With a worried face, she crouched down and tried to meet his eyes.

“I’m fine. I think I just need to catch my breath.”

Rohan tried to reassure the two startled girls by raising his head and forcing the corners of his mouth upwards.

However, contrary to Rohan’s expectation that he had made his usual expression, that face gave Shion and Clara a very strange feeling.

It convinced them that it was forced.

“This won’t do. I’ll look for a safe place nearby. It would be best for him to rest.”

“R-right…!”

Although Rohan repeatedly said that he would recover after a short rest, the girls began to ignore him.

He couldn’t even get up from his spot because he was actually dizzy.

He wasn’t in good shape.

“Clara, I’ll check inside the building. Until then, go to the shade and provide first aid.”

“…First aid?”

As Clara implied a question about the method,

Shion calmly continued her explanation and handed Clara a canteen filled with cold water.

“First aid for heatstroke is simple. First, loosen his clothes. Then, wet his body with water and fan him.”

“Ah…!”

“And use this canteen as an ice pack and apply it to his neck, under his armpits, and groin to lower his body temperature.”

“!?”

With those words, Shion entered the small shop to check inside,

Clara looked back and forth between the canteen in her hand and Rohan sitting on the ground.