Ch.123The End of Indifference

# 123. The End of Observation

Time passed quickly in Benas. Just as in the original game where Benas offered various content and quests, there were plenty of things to do and enjoy here as well, but we couldn’t manage everything.

“The 29th Benas Sword Selection Tournament. Skip this?”

“Yeah. The rewards and experience would be nice, but it takes too long to go through all the preliminaries.”

“What a waste.”

The “Benas Sword Selection Tournament,” a tournament that appears at least once in any academy or martial arts story, would only take a few hours in the game, but here it lasted over a month. Since we didn’t plan to stay that long, we boldly skipped it.

“What? We have to pay money just to report our average income? That’s insane!”

“Don’t stress so much about a city we’re leaving soon anyway.”

We also roughly reported our income before ten days had passed since our entry.

“Level 20!”

“Me too!”

“Ooh, have you decided what to learn?”

“Yes. But I want to observe the captain’s level 20 skill effects a bit more before I learn mine.”

“I’ve already decided. Ugh, I just need to rest a bit and then get right back to it.”

I congratulated Seyeon and Yuri on reaching level 20, and we also discussed level 20 skills.

“Wow. Incredible, incredible. Is this the full power of the genius spell-wiki absolute sovereign sorcerer Soo Bin?”

“Cut the nonsense and tell me honestly what you think.”

“Ex-cellent. We’ll be able to execute a much wider variety of tactics. You worked hard.”

“…Hmph. This isn’t the end.”

I admired and congratulated Soo Bin’s demonstration of non-fire magic that she had compressed and modified in her own way.

“Ah, complex operation is still too difficult…”

“That’s true. But considering you haven’t even reached level 20 yet, I think this is already amazing.”

“With the materials and the need to contract with special attribute spirits, complex operation is essential, so I guess I got a bit impatient. Sorry.”

“What do you have to be sorry for, sis? What I said earlier wasn’t just empty words. You’re really doing great.”

I also comforted Yehyun who was feeling a bit down because she felt she was standing still while everyone else was making visible progress.

“Sis. There are… other ways, you know?”

“…You don’t like it?”

“No! How could I not like it! But, you know. It’s just…”

“Forget it.”

“Hey, I’m telling you it’s not like that.”

“…Then hug me.”

I comforted Soyu who clung to me suggesting we practice our Soul Bond, and then had to comfort my other lovers who found out about it.

“Ah. Ah. Mic test—I mean, or-der test. Or-der test. Can you hear me? Fire a signal flare if you can.”

*Whoosh*

“Good. Then could you go about 50 meters further away? Ah, ah. Can you hear me?”

I also measured the exact buff range and the distance my “orders” could be heard as I increased my Will stat and skill level.

That’s right.

When my level 20 skill “Command Enhancement,” which had only strengthened my existing command-related skills, reached “Level 3,” it finally unlocked the function I had desperately wanted and hoped for.

‘It’s about time we leave.’

Soon, when Seyeon and Yuri master their level 20 skills.

We will probably leave Benas then.

**

Five days later.

After saying goodbye to Atiya who was quite sad to see us go, we paid a substantial residence fee and were leaving Benas.

“Ah~ It’s really a shame. There was so much to enjoy.”

“I know. If I had to put a percentage on it, it feels like we only enjoyed about 10% of what was available.”

“Well, it’s not like we were going to live here forever.”

I detected a hint of lingering attachment in Seyeon and Yuri’s casual conversation. But they managed it well. I felt the same regret, but as Yuri said, our top priority was ascending to the highest floor.

“I’m actually really curious about what will appear on the next floor.”

“Considering the Benas story, maybe the Wandering Troupe will appear?”

“Looking at how the half-elf quest appeared on the 3rd floor, there’s no guarantee that the main quest will appear.”

“The Knight’s Trial appeared on the 1st floor too.”

The topic naturally shifted to the next floor. Led by Seyeon and Yuri, who were tower veterans, and Soo Bin, who was knowledgeable and good at analysis, the raid members offered various opinions.

It might not have any special meaning, but this itself helped greatly in relieving tension. For me, who started from floor 0, and for Arang, who would experience a floor mission for the first time.

Our level, which anyone could see was beyond newbie status now. The well-equipped gear we had. Excellent skills and good raid atmosphere. With all these in place, we looked quite impressive even to ourselves, and although it took quite a while to find the portal, unlike before, we didn’t feel any sense of urgency.

However.

“We’ve been walking for over ten hours today, isn’t it a bit much to enter the portal right away?”

“Not a bit, a lot.”

“Right. Then let’s rest well around here and enter afterward.”

Regardless of how relaxed we were, walking for a long time was still tiring, so we decided to camp near the portal.

I was surprised first when Soyu insisted on cooking instead of me, surprised again when her food turned out to be better than expected, and surprised a third time when the raid members efficiently handled the cleanup, night watch, and tent arrangements before I could do anything… but it was a camping night like any other.

“Good night, everyone.”

“Good night, captain.”

“Good night, oppa!”

Ah. Just one difference.

Since we planned to enter the portal early tomorrow morning, tonight was a rare occasion where my girlfriends didn’t cling to me and I slept alone.

Strictly speaking, I was with the proud black cat, but.

“Good night to you too, Danya.”

“Meow.”

[Yeah. Good night to you too.]

Danya had barely spoken for several weeks. Still, I fell asleep watching the cat’s sparkling eyes as she stayed within a certain distance from me.

**

During the weeks spent in the city of Benas, Danya was truly the epitome of an observer.

Not only were the raid members all busy, but her movements were inherently stealthy and nimble, and she looked exactly like a cat on the outside, so it seemed perfectly natural when she slept in some corner. No one thought it strange that Danya didn’t speak and always kept a certain distance.

Thanks to this, Danya was able to calmly and thoroughly observe and analyze her contractor, Sunghyun, and his group called the “raid” without being disturbed by anyone.

‘Unfamiliar words. Unfamiliar concepts. Unfamiliar thoughts. Shared time and memories that only they know, which I don’t.’

The raid members remained unchanged.

They were kind, friendly, and diligent. Occasionally, when they treated her as if she were really a cat, she felt a bit upset, but knowing there was no malice, she just let it go.

But the sense of distance remained.

It wasn’t simply because she had created distance first. As time passed, the shock she felt in the Ansila Mountains faded, but the sense of alienation she felt did not diminish. When she had just made the contract in Ayord and was sticking close to Sunghyun out of joy, she hadn’t noticed this alienation, but now that she had taken a step back, it was clearly perceptible.

‘I have to be with Sunghyun for the rest of my life.’

So she tried to understand by observing and analyzing. It wasn’t easy. There was a time gap of well over 200 years, and she had spent most of that time confined to the small place called Ayord, but what was most difficult to accept was their view of this world as a large training ground or dungeon.

She wanted to deny it as an absurd falsehood.

But she couldn’t, having witnessed what they called “portals” and “floors.”

‘When you think about it, I’m basically just a tool for Sunghyun. Nothing changes no matter how I feel about it.’

Suddenly, these worries and emotions themselves seemed ridiculous, and there were days when she stayed cooped up in her room all day. Having desired freedom and luckily attained it, only to find herself craving things beyond her station once she had that freedom, she sometimes chastised herself.

And she also regretted saying those things to Sunghyun. She wondered countless times a day if she had burdened him when his shoulders were already heavy, and if she should apologize even now.

But every time, somehow knowing exactly when, Sunghyun would approach her without a word and gently stroke her head a couple of times. Even when she clearly distanced herself, even when she gave only short answers, he treated her as usual. He didn’t impose his thoughts, didn’t get annoyed asking why she kept acting this way, and didn’t rush her asking when her power would recover.

Yet he didn’t compromise his principles or hesitate out of regret.

That was quite shocking to Danya.

For someone who had lived a life where she constantly had to prove that she was right, that she was good, that she hadn’t done anything wrong, and had to exclude those who denied these things in order to survive.

In a way, she had said things that denied Sunghyun’s life and values.

The fact that he respected Danya as usual while still adhering to his principles.

It made Danya, who was still contemplating the same worries while maintaining her position as an observer, feel even more conflicted.

“…Mom.”

Danya’s thoughts were interrupted by Sunghyun’s sleep-talking.

‘Mom, he says.’

Was he having a nightmare about something happening to his family? His face, which had been peaceful until he fell asleep, was now contorted.

Before that, even a man like Sunghyun… was just someone’s son who wanted to go home.

That thought made Danya’s heart ache.

‘I haven’t helped at all these past few weeks… a little while should be fine.’

So Danya returned to her original form, lay down beside Sunghyun, and gently pulled his head to rest against her chest. Then she bit her finger to draw blood, lightly smeared it on Sunghyun’s neck, and whispered in his ear.

“Shhh… it’s Mom.”

Danya continued to hold Sunghyun until her energy was depleted and she turned back into a cat.

Sunghyun’s contorted face became peaceful again. Perhaps Danya’s heart did too.