Ch.122Memories and Remembrance

# 122. Memory and Memories

5 minutes.

It took Arang more than several dozen minutes to commit her first murder, but it took less than 5 minutes to kill all five of them.

Seyeon and Yuri were about to follow Arang into the hideout, worried about her going in alone to kill the remaining one, but they soon ran into Arang coming back out.

“Oh, unni. Is it already over…?”

“…”

The two were about to praise her for being so quick and impressive, but they froze when they saw Arang’s expression.

Her face was terrifying as she repeatedly gripped and released her dagger after seeing the corpses she had killed.

“A-Arang unni?”

“…Can you help me?”

“Y-Yes. Of course.”

“Yeah! What is it! Just tell us!”

Arang’s expression softened slightly when she saw Seyeon and Yuri’s faces, but her angry expression and aura remained.

Seyeon and Yuri followed Arang into the hideout, and soon their expressions matched hers.

“Ugh…!”

“Holy fucking shit…”

The stench was nothing. The not-so-large bandit hideout showed just how ugly and filthy human nature could become.

“Weren’t they just ordinary bandits?”

“…Yuri. Let’s help Arang unni first.”

Arang was suturing “what used to be women” in one corner. Their faces were distorted with extreme pain, their bodies covered in wounds and bloodstains with no clean spot left, and especially around the lower abdomen and groin… it was unspeakably horrific.

It was too horrific. And disgusting. Yet Arang was collecting the bodies of what appeared to be female victims while suppressing her gag reflex. Surprised by this new side of Arang, who had seemed the most delicate and fragile, Seyeon and Yuri pulled themselves together and helped her.

Afterward, the three gathered evidence of the bandit extermination, made graves for the victims in a relatively sunny spot, and left the hideout.

“Arang unni.”

“Yeah.”

“First, you worked hard. And you did well. Really, beyond imagination. You were calm, cool-headed, and didn’t seem to panic at all. I think you handled it much better than I would have. But, um. Don’t get too immersed in it.”

On the way back to Benas.

Despite successfully completing the quest, the group’s atmosphere remained dark throughout. Partly because of how horrific the hideout had been, but also because Seyeon and Yuri felt conflicted watching Arang.

“Don’t get too immersed, you say.”

“Yeah. It’s for your own good. Otherwise, you could panic at any moment. I’m not saying to completely abandon your empathy and emotions. Ugh. How should I explain this.”

Yuri signaled to Seyeon for help with her eyes. Seyeon took the baton.

“We’re going to experience a lot of this going forward. Sometimes we’ll face monsters or solve puzzles, but whenever we deal with people, if we invest too much emotion each time… I think it actually makes our emotions dry up faster.”

“So you two are fine with it now?”

“More precisely, we’re trying to be. ‘It’s already over,’ ‘It’s just a quest,’ ‘It’s not a priority anymore,’ ‘We’ve already accomplished our goal’… we rationalize like this. I think that’s how we can keep climbing without breaking down.”

Murder. Quest. Immersion. Victim. Tower. Climbing. Party. Mental. Rationalization. Panic. Role. Complex. Reality. Trauma…

Countless words swirled in Arang’s head. She wasn’t panicking, but her head felt hot and dizzy.

“And I don’t know if Seyeon unni deliberately didn’t mention this, but there’s also this aspect. Everything that happens during operations, not daily life, stems from oppa’s orders.”

“Yuri.”

“I’m not trying to shift responsibility to oppa in some shallow way. I mean his very existence gives us strength. Putting it negatively, it’s like emptying our minds a bit; putting it positively, it’s about supporting and strengthening each other.”

Supporting each other.

Arang murmured. Seyeon added:

“We’re crew members aboard the Veritas, captained by Ban Seonhyeon. We catch fish, navigate rough waves, encounter pirates, and cross the silent vast ocean. To reach a destination far away… we’re on a long journey where we can’t exhaust ourselves on each incident. A journey where it would be very troublesome if even one person has a problem.”

“That’s poetic. Is this what they call liberal arts sensibility?”

“I majored in science.”

That was a bit of a shock.

The jumbled words in Arang’s mind began to disperse.

“Summarizing what you’re saying: don’t get too immersed and forget about it quickly.”

“I apologize if I sounded presumptuous, but yes.”

“No, I’ll take it to heart. You two are my seniors here after all.”

Though she said this to her juniors, Arang felt she probably wouldn’t forget today’s events for a very long time. But she didn’t show it. She changed the subject, expressing joy about leveling up and making significant progress with her skills.

While inwardly vowing to become stronger faster.

**

“Why are you making such a stupid face? If you have something to say, say it; otherwise, stop bothering me and leave.”

“Ah, yeah. Fighting.”

Despite leaving a note, there was surprisingly no mention of my staying out overnight with Soyu noona. The same went for Seyeon and Yuri who returned later with Arang. I might as well not have existed as she proudly boasted about Arang’s prowess as if it were her own achievement. They praised each other, talking about the master’s virtue and the disciple’s excellence, while others watching poured beer with warm smiles.

This too seemed like something the women had discussed in my absence, and it was easier to think of it that way. And with a very high probability, it was to my benefit not to dig deeper.

‘It’s good, but something feels off.’

In times like these, the best approach was to act normally without showing anything. I asked Arang as she sipped her drink.

“I’m sorry about the atrocities you witnessed today.”

“I’m fine.”

“So. How do you feel?”

“About killing people?”

“No. About becoming a full-fledged member.”

The term “full-fledged member” was a bit cold and harsh, but I couldn’t think of a better alternative. It was a common term in games, but saying it out loud here felt different somehow.

The party members who had been sipping beer or eating snacks turned their attention to us. Arang momentarily hunched her shoulders but finished her drink and answered calmly.

“I’m still lacking.”

“Lacking?”

“Yes. In terms of level difference, experience, and mindset.”

“But Seyeon and Yuri praised you, saying you didn’t seem like a beginner at all.”

“…Those bad guys were just weak. And I got lucky.”

I couldn’t imagine how that cute face—arguably the cutest among our beautiful party members—could transform into something so chilling just by looking at it.

She must be feeling complicated. But beyond level, experience, and mindset, I wanted to celebrate this.

“The fact that your body has recovered enough to perfectly complete such a quest on your own.”

“Ah.”

“Your efforts have been truly brilliant, Arang.”

Arang bowed her head. I could see her hands tightly gripping her glass. Her shoulders were trembling slightly, probably crying—

“Geez. How does this oppa extend his tentacles as naturally as breathing?”

“I know, right? I was trying to let it pass naturally since she seemed stressed.”

“The party leader’s tentacles…? Ha! N-not our Arang!”

“Ah, it’s Arang-mom!”

“Yes! I am Arang-mom!”

My sincere congratulations were suddenly transformed into the advances of a playboy, but I knew this was their way of lightening the mood, so I kept my mouth shut.

That seemed to be the right answer, as Arang soon wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and giggled.

“Then I’ll have to work harder until the party leader’s eyes are so dazzling I feel like I’m going blind.”

“That level of eye-candy is a bit much.”

As I covered my head with my arms as if I’d really been blinded, the party members burst into laughter. Arang was also giggling as she raised her glass again.

I sincerely hoped this joyful moment would bury those horrific memories.

**

“Can you swear before the spirit that not a single falsehood is mixed in this information?”

*Gulp*

The day after the Golden Wings party leader and his companions were summoned by some high-ranking official in Albrant.

At the “bright” meeting they were called to again, the Golden Wings party leader nodded, recalling the scenario they had prepared with his companions for several hours the previous night.

‘These guys wouldn’t bring up spirits when interrogating humans, even among fellow Albs.’

So he deliberately hesitated before handing over information that contained only the truth they knew.

If he handed it over too eagerly, that might look suspicious in its own way.

When the Golden Wings party leader nodded, the Alb summoned a spirit and gestured for him to swear, which he did, deliberately stammering a little.

‘At least it’s the truth as we know it. There’s not a single lie, exaggeration, or distortion mixed in.’

After a few seconds that felt like hours.

“It’s the truth.”

“Of course. Didn’t I say it was the truth?”

“My subordinate will hand you the reward when you leave. Needless to say, keep everything about this matter confidential.”

“I came to discuss the reward for completing a simple mission. Was there something else?”

“…Hah.”

The Alb dismissed him.

The Golden Wings party leader left the room with a slightly awkward smile. The pouch he received outside the door was ve-ry heavy.

‘Come to think of it, he didn’t make me swear before the spirit to keep it confidential.’

Well, it’s not like I have anyone to tell anyway… hehe, but these gold coins are sweet.