Ch.147Festival (4)

“Oh, you’re back?”

By the time the cart stopped, the place was already bustling with activity. Some people were still moving about busily, but most seemed to have finished their tasks and were waiting.

My sister was in the middle of it all, with her sleeves rolled up, focused intently on cooking.

My sister’s cooking—it’s been such a long time.

“Did you go to help?”

“No, I wanted to help, but she wouldn’t let me, so I just followed her around.”

“You were still helpful.”

“You mean like emotional support? That’s amusing.”

My sister chuckled softly, covering her mouth, while Isla expressionlessly brought the cart closer to show her the animal carcass inside.

Between them, there was still nothing for me to do.

In truth, even if I wanted to help, there wasn’t much I could contribute to this process.

My cooking skills barely went beyond bachelor-level meals, and I had no other talents to speak of.

In such circumstances, if I tried to do something, I’d likely just mess things up.

I stood there blankly, listening to the conversation between the two women.

Maybe I should have learned to cook properly.

“Is this today’s hunt?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll leave the preparation to you. How much dried food do we have left?”

“Still plenty. Even if we stayed holed up, we could last another month.”

“Then we don’t need dried food. Hmm, what should I make?”

“Decide when it’s ready. I’m going.”

“Mm-hmm, let me know if you need help.”

Isla headed off with the cart, leaving my sister behind with her eye-smile.

I greeted Isla as she passed, and she swished her tail before moving away.

After Isla naturally disappeared, my sister nudged my side with her elbow.

“Bored with nothing to do?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

There was a reason I had specifically followed Isla. Her hunts typically finished quickly, and this area was abundant with game.

So I was confident that even if I went with her, we’d return soon, and in the meantime, I’d have something to do or at least wouldn’t be bored.

It was nice while we were out together, but…

In the end, I still had nothing to do after returning. My sister quickly guessed my thoughts and smiled.

“Want to watch me cook?”

“Sure.”

I smiled. My sister smiled back at me, and I stood beside her, watching as she cooked.

One thing was certain—whatever my sister was making, it was a dish I wasn’t familiar with.

Well, it’s not like I could expect Korean ingredients to exist in this place.

It seemed my sister had learned new recipes fitting for the world of Grim Darker.

There was something that might have been stew and some fried fish that seemed meant for dipping.

I hadn’t tasted it yet, but it looked different from anything Isla could make, which made me excited.

Maybe I could just try a little bit?

I was just about to glance up to check my sister’s reaction when—

“No. You can eat when it’s done.”

I saw my sister again after a long time.

Not Lucilla the Guardian I had seen since coming to Grim Darker.

But Yoon Se-ah, the sister of Yoon Se-jin.

The gaze with which she looked at me held no desire.

Just tenderness and affection. Even if her slightly upturned eyes revealed gray irises that sometimes appeared almost white.

She was just like the sister I remembered. Looking into her eyes, I withdrew my hand that I had slightly raised.

My sister’s hand, which had briefly rested on the back of mine, was withdrawn as well.

The back of my hand where her hand had touched felt warm.

“Really, and you’re not even hungry.”

“It’s just been so long since I’ve had your cooking.”

“…How long has it been again?”

It was the first time my sister had brought up such a topic. Or maybe not the first.

“About two years.”

“Two years…”

My sister continued mixing the contents of the bowl, her eyes crinkling even more.

There was a hint of guilt in her expression. She looked like she might sigh, but seemed to hold back because of the food.

“How have you been while I was gone?”

It felt like a continuation of our previous conversation, though that one had trailed off.

Our conversation hadn’t properly developed because of my sister’s desire and my awareness of it.

For once, I spoke as “Yoon Se-jin.”

“Well… I tried to get by.”

“If you got by well, then you got by well. What do you mean you ‘tried’?”

“Just, um, how should I put it? I wanted to be able to tell you when you came back… that you didn’t need to worry.”

The spatula stirring the batter-like mixture in the bowl stopped. My sister’s eyes subtly examined my expression.

Did she think I was angry? I deliberately smiled.

“I’m not mad. Don’t worry.”

“Still.”

Finally, a sigh escaped her. My sister still felt guilty toward me.

“Really. I’m not blaming you. You know that’s not my personality.”

“…Yes, that’s right. Our Se-jin is a good kid.”

Then she smiled. My sister’s characteristic gentle smile was pleasant to see.

“I tried to eat well, but since I’d hardly ever cooked before, it wasn’t easy.”

“You didn’t just eat ramen all the time, did you?”

“Come on, of course not. You’d be upset if I did that, wouldn’t you?”

Of course, price-wise, it might have been better to just buy lots of ramen.

But I didn’t want to do that. The gap between when my sister was there and when she wasn’t would be too great, and that would leave an irreversible wound.

I deliberately tried to cook as much as I could.

“The neighbor lady often gave me vegetables from her garden. So I tried to make various things.”

“Like what?”

“Kimchi stew and such.”

“Ah… kimchi stew. I think it’s been 10 years since I’ve had that.”

My sister chuckled as she responded. I felt the same way.

Apart from the fact that I was meeting my sister after two years, the year I spent as a blood bag in Grim Darker had blurred many things.

“But I failed. It was bland and sour, not very good. It had a meaty smell too. It was quite a struggle to force myself to eat it.”

“You didn’t get sick, did you?”

My sister looked at me with concern. It seemed unnecessary for something that happened so long ago.

But my sister was always like that.

Even if my sister hadn’t thought of me romantically… I knew she would have been the best sister in the world.

Everything else was a minor issue. At least to me.

“I did get sick. But I had a thought.”

“What thought?”

“I should have cooked with you when you were cooking.”

Recipes made by eyeballing were that bad.

I didn’t know much, and I didn’t properly understand how my sister cooked or what processes she followed.

I thought I had learned something by watching her, but I was still an inadequate person.

“I don’t think you would have allowed it.”

“Because handling fire is dangerous.”

“You’re too overprotective. Really.”

“Se-jin is my little brother. It’s only natural as your sister.”

She said this while puffing out her chest, so I deliberately raised my gaze to her face.

It was my reflexive technique, preserved in muscle memory.

To think I’d still be using a technique I mastered in middle school.

As I deliberately avoided looking at anything but my sister’s eyes, she put down the well-stirred batter and led me away.

She probably wanted to talk for a bit. I followed her and asked:

“Is it okay to leave the cooking like that?”

“It’s fine. Melody cast a spell before she left. It’s called ‘Blessing of the Abundant Feast,’ a magic that keeps food from getting cold or spoiling for a long time.”

“…There’s such a thing?”

“Yes, there is. It wasn’t in the game. Interesting, isn’t it?”

That was another difference between the game and reality.

In a game focused on combat and story, such magic would be useless and wouldn’t appear.

But now that it had become reality, things were clearly different.

People eat, drink, and sleep to live.

They wear clothes, build houses, and gather food from the land where they stay.

One of the most surprising things since entering the world of Grim Darker was that magic related to these basic needs could be found in every school of magic.

It was thanks to this that my sister, the Inquisitor’s family, and the Inquisitors themselves could prepare grand feasts.

Many other things were different from the game as well.

That’s why one shouldn’t hastily judge based on what they’ve seen and experienced in the game.

Knowledge gained from the game was still valid, but many things were already different.

That was one reason why I still couldn’t set a proper goal. I couldn’t decide hastily.

Even as I walked with my sister, I recalled the words still lingering in my ears.

A goal. What I wanted to do.

It was still vague.

“Do you have something on your mind?”

The place where my sister sat first was the path leading up to the bustling area. Night was gradually falling, and no one was walking on the path.

I sat right next to my sister and smiled awkwardly.

“You caught me.”

“You’ve had that expression ever since visiting Lorian. How could I not know?”

“True. Because you’re my sister.”

My sister was thoughtful and observant of her surroundings.

Just from the testimonies of her friends who occasionally visited our home, it was clear that my sister was that kind of person, that it was her nature.

And among them all, I was clearly the one who received the most of my sister’s attention and care.

Of course, now I know that I can’t simply say it’s because that’s her nature.

Back then, I just thought my sister had strong family affection.

But now…

I sighed and blankly looked up at the sky.

I could see a sky full of stars. Even that was vastly different from Seoul where we used to live.

“What’s your purpose, sis?”

“…Huh?”

No, something about the tone felt a bit strange.

My sister seemed surprised too, her eyes widening. It was a rare expression.

“No, no. I mean… your purpose in life, your goal.”

My sister let out a small gasp and then laughed awkwardly.

“That’s also a somewhat unfamiliar question. It’s not one you hear often…”

“You don’t have to answer if it’s difficult.”

“No, no. If Se-jin is asking, I’ll answer.”

But the answer didn’t come immediately. My sister made an “umm” sound like she was in pain, resting her chin on her hand as she thought.

Naturally, something was being pressed down, but I didn’t fall into anguish seeing it.

The process of anguish, pain, and realization in middle school had matured me. I gazed at my sister’s face.

The answer came after a long while.

“You know, I…”

She uncrossed her arms, lowered the arm that had been supporting her chin, and her arms settled down gently.

My sister’s gentle smile was directed at me.

“At first, I tried everything to get back.”

“…Really?”

That was fortunate news for me. As I looked at my sister, she placed her neatly folded hands on her knees.

“Because Se-jin would be waiting. I tried everything to get back. The time I spent waiting here, the time I spent here might flow exactly the same on Earth. Even if… I had to become a villain, I wanted to return.”

For a moment, my sister’s face as she spoke seemed somehow unfamiliar. A face of my sister I didn’t know.

But soon, my sister’s face returned to the one I knew.

“But… since Se-jin is here now. There’s no need to go back. In fact, rather…”

My sister hesitated. When I looked at her, she continued to hesitate as she gazed at me.

The face of my sister I saw then was not the face of “Yoon Se-ah” that I knew.

Rather, it was more like…

The face of “Lucilla.”

In a way, it was also the face of a woman who had hidden her romantic feelings for me all her life.

The face of a woman who sought a forbidden relationship, and while desiring it, struggled to remain a sister because she was a sister.

I felt my breath catch.

I didn’t know how to respond to those emotions.

“I want to live happily here with Se-jin.”

The face of the woman and the face of my sister blended together.

Belatedly, I realized that perhaps my sister had been a woman from the beginning.

After a moment’s hesitation, I pretended not to notice and smiled.

“Me too.”

I still didn’t know what answer to give back to Lorian. Under the quietly descending night, I still wanted to remain siblings for now.

Hoping that my sister’s patience would hold out just a little longer.