episode_0059

“…Huh?”

Seress was taken aback.

Her pale face turned blue as she glared at the system.

In the meantime, I felt my energy being drained in exchange for accepting the “lie.”

“What is this?”

“Both of you were just arguing over a woman moments ago.”

“The system must have approved of that, so why the sudden denial?”

“Could something like this really happen?”

“Just to be safe, ask the question again.”

“Don’t broaden the scope of the question too much, be more specific.”

We stopped in our tracks.

I couldn’t hide my confusion as I looked up.

“-Do you like our cow, right?”

“Yes. I love and admire the person I have been hiding in front of you.”

[SYSTEM: I affirm this as the truth.]

So far, so good.

Then where did we go wrong?

“Did you receive favors from our cow like a benefactor?”

“Yes. I have received great favors from that person. So, I fell in love, it’s a very typical case.”

[SYSTEM: I affirm this as the truth.]

This is also true.

Then…

“Did they help you without any ulterior motives?”

“Even if you call me ‘oppa,’ that’s a rude question. Even if there were ulterior motives, this person has been helping me since I was young. So, I have every reason to love that person, it overflows with love──”

[SYSTEM: I affirm this as a lie.]

………

Seress’s mouth fell open.

She was faced with an unbelievable truth.

“Even if there were ulterior motives, this person has been helping me since I was young.”

[SYSTEM: I affirm this as the truth.]

“A benefactor who has been helping me since I was young.”

[SYSTEM: I affirm this as the truth.]

“Was there an ulterior motive behind the help…?”

[SYSTEM: I affirm this as the truth.]

No.

What is going on with this flow?

There was a sense of danger in the air.

“Hey. Don’t get too excited. Stay calm.”

“It’s okay. Even if there were ulterior motives, I still love that person. I just…”

I finally blurted out the words I couldn’t say before.

“I want to prove that my love for that person is genuine and overflowing.”

The Tower responded.

[SYSTEM: I affirm this as a lie.]

“…Why?”

“I don’t know, damn it. What kind of nonsense is this again?”

Why does the system affirm the previous content and then deny it?

“Love quarrel. What is going on here?”

“That’s it… There are parts that should not be touched. There is information that the woman doesn’t know. This is a system error, so we need to address the issue.”

“How are we going to handle this?”

“We need to show the system the part it has a problem with.”

The Knight of Pure Love entered the gate.

We hurriedly stopped our interaction and stepped back.

“What is this nonsense? Is there a glitch in the Tower? Is that possible?”

“Comrade, this is not a glitch. The Tower’s system is raising doubts against the woman it has encountered, which has caused this problem.”

“What doubts?”

“The system is saying [You have no reason to love her]. Therefore, this love quarrel was meaningless from the beginning, that’s why it blocked the clear.”

I lowered my head.

“…That can’t be. I love that person. There is no falsehood in my heart.”

“We are not denying your feelings. Fundamentally, something is wrong.”

The Knight of Pure Love reached out her hand.

“Show me the memories stored in the Tower. Show me… Seress, was it?”

“Yes.”

“Hand over the memory of when you were saved. Watch it together with the challenger and try to persuade the Tower.”

“It shouldn’t be difficult. I will do that.”

“Then…”

The Knight’s hand glowed.

Our vision blurred, and our consciousness was sucked into darkness.

Immediately after, “Nonexistent Memories” smirked wickedly.

*

It was a rainy day.

A young girl was rummaging through a trash can in the rain.

She had beautiful blonde hair and a pretty face, but a pitiful appearance.

She looked like a middle school student, with a bloated belly like a beggar.

“Hungry… need food…”

The nails were worn down to a mess.

Running barefoot on the rain-soaked ground.

A face so familiar.

“It’s me.”

“When you were young?”

“Yes. After my parents passed away, I lived alone….”

Under the tattered clothes, patches were hidden.

The surroundings were similar to the bronze tower, but it was not the landscape I knew.

It was an older, less developed time.

“Did no one help you while you were like that?”

“There were a few who talked to me. But I was mentally broken due to my parents’ situation….”

-No one persistently asked and came back to help.

-They just asked once and passed by.

-Because I acted like a mute when asked.

“Realistic, isn’t it?”

“That’s why I hate it even more.”

Beyond memory, young Seres continued to wander the alleyways.

『It’s not here either….』

『There should be at least one….』

He rummaged through the trash with vague words.

Mainly targeting discarded items from guild homes.

“I made a decent living by pretending to be a kid and looting gold and items. So, I rummaged through those places to supplement my patches.”

“Huh. Discarding items outside? You’ll get thrown in jail if caught.”

“There’s an association inside the tower now. It wasn’t like that back then.”

So, he searched and searched.

If something useful came out, he would turn the tower.

That kid.

『Ah, that damn brat is rummaging through the trash again!』

『How many times is this now!』

『Hey, can you stop right now!?』

『Is this kid crazy or what!』

He received curses and ran away.

Trash who drew weapons against a child.

The lust faded away.

I felt terrible to the point of wondering what we had just done.

“I just lived like this. And then I met him around this time.”

“Who?”

“Sungyeon and that person… well, that person appeared a bit later, so…?”

For some reason, he spoke in a muddled tone.

During this time, the perspective changed.

He rolled on the ground.

『The kid doesn’t understand what we’re saying.』

『Because he’s a kid, let’s leave it at that.』

『Don’t loiter around here and go search somewhere else, damn it.』

『Hey, what are the parents doing.』

『Clearly an orphan. Probably abandoned. Is it a one or two-time thing?』

In that brief moment of perspective change, they received a beating.

A child lay fallen in a puddle of rainwater.

My forehead throbbed as I heard the painful words being spoken without any care.

“Please don’t be angry. It was at that time. Sungyeon appeared and saved me….”

Seres’ words stopped.

“Why?”

“Sungyeon?”

He lowered his gaze.

A man approached young Seres with an umbrella.

That’s Sungyeon… but his build was too big to be him.

“Who…?”

Even Seres, the owner of the memory, didn’t know who he was.

He met Sungyeon here, but it was someone else.

“Did you mistake him for someone else from your childhood?”

“That’s impossible. I remember that time vividly like it was yesterday. But why is this happening…?”

Even as we were talking, he reached out to young Seres.

Beyond the coat he was wearing, familiar freckles were visible.

He was covered in burns.

“……..”

“…Changgi?”

I don’t know, damn it.

Why am I involved in this?

『Look at those human trash bastards.』

『What did the kid do to deserve this treatment.』

『Ugh. Human compassion really disappears, seriously.』

Even the talking crows are me.

Probably around high school…?

But his build was similar to mine now and he was younger.

“What is this? What kind of delusion led to this kind of video?”

“I want to ask you that. Why did Sungyeon appear to save me, but you came instead?”

I looked up at the sky.

“I don’t know.”

“This side is just visualizing the memories presented by the Tower.”

“Furthermore, these memories are true without any falsehood.”

What the hell.

I was at school during this time, so why are there hunters…?

……

– Ah.

“Changgi?”

“Wait a minute. I understand what this is.”

“Really?”

“I also know why this memory is real. Damn it. That damn Tower bastard is real-”

“What does it mean?”

Although he asked, he did not answer.

Because I shouldn’t tell him.

That’s why.

“This is me before regression! And at a time when I saved Seres!”

I must have started hunting at a young age in this chapter.

So, the me from high school is in the Tower.

“Changgi?”

My heart raced.

This memory should not be shown to Seres.

“Hey, stop this! This memory shouldn’t be shown to anyone! And it has nothing to do with the person you’re with right now!!”

“…Huh?”

“Anyway, the gate has been cleared! Let’s stop here and finish it!! Turn this off right now!”

When I shouted, Seres looked confused.

This is the right answer.

This memory should not be seen.

I vaguely understand what will happen, the ending.

“That’s impossible.”

“This is a kind of investigation that the Tower suspects [that you cleared this round without following the gimmick].”

“Therefore, unless you watch it to the end and understand it, the declaration of clearing is impossible.”

This time, Sunae was startled.

I filled the gimmick up to 100%, but I didn’t expect to be stuck here.

“If I give up on this gate!?”

When I asked again, the clattering sound repeated.

It was clear that he shook his head.

“It will be considered a failure, and you, the challenger, will be detained.”

“In this case, your partner will automatically return to the 1st floor, so don’t worry.”

Taking only the challenger…

It’s a dangerous choice when you think about the victims on the 10th floor.

In fact, it’s suicide.

“You can’t do that. Why are you giving up after coming this far?”

“You shouldn’t see this.”

“I may not know the reason, but if this memory is real, I have the right to see it too.”

“That’s why it’s not allowed!?”

If Seres firmly makes up his mind, it could end well, but if it goes wrong…

While I was pondering over such worries, I moved forward.

“Anyway, it’s my memory, so I have more authority.”

“Hey.”

“I have endured many hardships. Adding one more to my life won’t change anything.”

Assert firmly.

“Please continue to show me.”

The melancholic memory from the previous chapter whispered about someone else’s lifetime.