episode_0060

I lifted the child, shivering and soaked in rain, in my arms.

Unlike now, I stepped into the still modest 【Maan】.

Ian, still in his black-haired days, sighed as he sat at the small guild home counter.

“What’s with this kid?”

“I found him on the way here.”

“He didn’t come from anywhere to pick up a dog, he found him on the way here? Where did you borrow that nerve from? Did you kidnap him? Even if you did, we can’t afford to pay the ransom.”

“Are you crazy? He’s going to take a shower and come out, so lend him some shampoo and clothes. My clothes seem too big for him, so it won’t work.”

“Hah, what do you mean he’s going to take a shower? He’s a girl. Wait, I’ll call his mom.”

“Why?”

“Then are you going to let the girl take a shower? Even a big one like that?”

“What? He’s still a kid.”

“Even if you think that way, he won’t be scared. We’ll take care of it, so just stay quiet.”

Ian, who still looked very young, got up and returned with his mother and the guild master of Maan, Baek An.

“Oh my, what is this?”

“Mom, look at this. Ian brought another weird kid again.”

“Oh… what is this? He’s so badly hurt. How did a child end up like this…”

She was a beauty with a full bun that suited her well.

A married woman with an obscene figure that couldn’t be compared to her daughter, wearing a windbreaker over her early spring look.

She was a woman overflowing with maternal love.

“I can’t handle it alone when the child grows up. If you’re not busy, help me bathe him.”

“Just a moment. I’ll bring some medicine. You take him to the bathroom.”

“Got it.”

It was a memory of when Seres first stepped into the guild.

“My memory is exactly the same. The only difference is that Changgi moved to the temple back then.”

“Did Ian greet him back then?”

“Yes.”

Upon closer inspection, Sungyeon was in the corner of the guild home.

He had been silently watching the child I brought over.

“Where did you pick him up?”

“In that alley over there.”

“You have a thing for blondes? Or is it because he’s young?”

“Are you crazy? I brought him because he was injured.”

“Even if a person is too nice, it’s suspicious.”

Despite being the same age as me, Sungyeon was enjoying a drink in the corner of the guild home.

He showed no interest in such a child while drinking cheap beer from the market.

“That’s Sungyeon…”

“He really gives off a cold vibe.”

“Yeah. I’ve never seen him get annoyed like that before.”

He looked dark around the eyes and tired.

Something clearly happened in the previous chapter.

“What happened next?”

“After bathing… sleeping… when I woke up, Sungyeon would have welcomed me.”

But this memory would be different.

Seres also seemed to sense the premonition and nervously looked at the next scene.

“What’s your name?”

“Seres…”

“Is your body okay?”

“It hurts…”

“I applied a potion, so you’ll be fine soon.”

“My hands… I’m scared…”

“I see.”

I was with Seres in the room where I was staying at the guild home.

Since it was still a small guild and there were no rooms allocated for children.

The me from the previous chapter seemed to be careful not to make contact with Seres as a man while listening to his past.

“At first, it was like that. Sharing the same room, causing trouble. I made sure not to touch him.”

“It was probably Sungyeon, not me.”

“Yes.”

The scene changed again.

This time, it was when Seres had opened up somewhat.

“Here, give me your hand.”

“……..”

“Is this much okay now?”

“Yes.”

“Today it’s the hand. Tomorrow it’ll be the leg. Let’s gradually increase like this in the future. It’ll be tough, but it’s all for you.”

“I understand…”

It was a rehabilitation therapy.

I’m holding out my hand to Seres, a man.

Although he still looks scared, he shivers but manages to feel the warmth of a person.

“……….”

“Why?”

“It’s what Seongyeon did for me.”

I became anxious.

Seres seems to have noticed.

The scene changes again, and the landscape accelerates.

“Wow, you’re pretty good. Come on, throw a punch! One-two! One-two!”

“Hoo~! Hook, hoo, hoooo!!”

“Don’t stop. Keep it up until the feeling of squeezing out is numb. Return it to the point where it becomes natural to use in everyday life!”

“Understood!”

This time, it’s aura training.

It’s an essential course to become a professional hunter.

We faced off in a spacious room, as if we had rented a gym.

Come to think of it, both Seres and I were bare-handed.

Judging by Bridgetta’s reaction, it seems that bare-handed hunters are rare….

……

…No, that can’t be.

“Today’s training ends here! Good job~!”

“Thank you.”

“Hey, you’ve really grown a lot. Don’t let your guard down now.”

“It’s because of your good teaching. Thank you for explaining it in an easy-to-understand way.”

“Hehe. You’ll reach S-rank in no time. I heard you got a skill last time?”

“Yes. I didn’t expect it to manifest while helping with the cleaning.”

We watched other hunters train while drinking beverages, and then I reached out my hand.

“Today, I’ll pat your cheek~!”

“Uh… it’s okay. I won’t have to jump around anymore.”

“You said that and then complained to the new guild member.”

“He blatantly stared at my chest. It was too obvious.”

“No. But your punching was too harsh. Let’s continue training until the resistance weakens a bit more.”

“Ugh….”

In the previous chapter, I joyfully touched the soft cheek with both hands, as if I were petting a fluffy puppy.

Seres seemed happy despite that, but I was sweating.

“I don’t know… why….”

He looks confused.

“Why did what Seongyeon did for me… why did it come out as a replacement for Changgi?”

He doubts.

“It’s my precious memory… why….”

He dropped it.

“Oh, this outfit looks good. Since we’re here, let’s try on something frilly.”

“I’d rather die. If I wear that, I’ll definitely be attacked on the same day.”

“What do you think of men?”

“Animals with brains in their crotches.”

“That’s not entirely wrong, but you can’t just wear equipment all the time, right?”

“Even so, I’d rather not wear clothes that accentuate my chest. I prefer this.”

“But that’s men’s clothing?”

“Yes. I want to dress like a man.”

“You’re going to drive me crazy.”

“……”

“Why?”

“You don’t want to wear it?”

“If you don’t want to, I won’t force you. It’s all about what you like or dislike.”

“Regardless, do you want to see me wear it?”

“I do, but….”

“Then let’s buy both. Wear women’s clothing inside and men’s clothing outside. How about that?”

“Okay, let’s do that.”

The scene paused here for a moment.

Seres shook his head.

“No.”

“What?”

“Seongyeon said she doesn’t need women’s clothing….”

-So it’s not my memory.

-It’s someone else’s memory.

Denying this memory, we moved on to the next scene.

Danger is approaching.

“Where are we?”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

It’s a tomb.

In our memories, we stand in front of countless tombstones.

“This memory….”

Seres standing next to me also doesn’t recognize this scenery.

It’s a strange situation where both of us are appearing but don’t know what’s going on.

“It’s a national cemetery for hunters managed by the country. Hunters attempting to conquer the tower are treated as national protectors.”

“So?”

“At times, there are unidentified bodies that die in the Tower. They end up buried here. It wasn’t the country that did it, but our hunters bought the land through the Association and dug it up, so it’s a place where the deceased are laid to rest. Just the existence of such a place can be a comfort to the families.”

“………. ”

“I got a bit caught up.”

“What’s wrong?”

“You sent your parents to the Tower. So, I secretly checked the thought that their bodies might have ended up here.”

“You found them?”

“It took a little bit.”

“How long?”

“About a month? You didn’t even know when they passed away. So, I investigated the incident by asking around the area where they were attacked. I found out the exact time they passed away. I contacted the guild that recovered the bodies… and when it came to the fact that our races were different, it helped me narrow it down.”

He reached out and swept the tomb.

In my memory, I handed something to Seres.

It was a relic.

“What is this?”

“───”

Whatever the two were saying, their conversation was no longer audible after that scene.

From here on, it was their own memories.

Something precious that couldn’t be shown to anyone lightly.

It was not something that others could interfere with, as they had walked different paths and reached different episodes.

“Did Seongyeon come here with you too?”

“No.”

Seres trembled.

“…But he did invite me to come here. I didn’t know it was a tomb and refused because I didn’t know English.”

It was clear that he wanted to show her this place.

“I thought it wasn’t important because he didn’t insist twice…”

He seemed confused.

He clung to me in a situation where he seemed to know but didn’t know.

“Do you know this memory…?”

“I’ve never seen it before.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I know the reason but I don’t want to say. I don’t want to sow distrust between you and the person you care about, even though they haven’t appeared yet. Both of them are precious to you.”

“That’s right.”

“I don’t want to make you suspicious. I want you to continue living as you are now, without knowing anything.”

Seres took a step back.

He rolled his eyes, trying to find the truth.

“Damn.”

A rough curse came out of Seres’ mouth.

It was the first time I heard such a rough voice.

“This isn’t my memory. It’s not yours either. So, it must be… of the person who should have been here originally…”

As he repeated his doubts, the scene changed again.

I wondered if there was still something to show, but this time, a familiar landscape enveloped the world.

…A love hotel.

“Can I call you ‘Oppa’?”

“You’re trying to act cute at that age?”

“Yes. At least in front of you, I want to.”

“Well, you’ve been through a lot. You must have had a hard time until now.”

“…Oppa.”

“It’s okay. You can always do that in front of me.”

“Thank you. Really.”

This is a memory from the 10th floor.

A memory shown when the Gatekeeper Knight informed Seongyeon that he was a returnee.

And… after this scene…

“Damn it! Was the memory you just showed from this chapter!?”

“Oppa?”

“Wait, close your eyes!”

“Why!? If this memory is crucial, then I have the right to see it too-”

“-I said no!”

It’s coming.

The curse that Seongyeon and I fear endlessly.

A memory that we don’t want to see again even if we die twice.