Ch.19Cherished Bonds (5)

There are many ways to surprise people. Among them, the most effective method is when something suddenly pops out.

Honestly, if a picture of kimchi suddenly popped up while playing a game, most people would be startled.

Anyway, I’m extremely weak to that sort of thing.

“Min-jun? If you’re scared, we can stop.”

“I’m not scared at all. So what’s the answer to this puzzle?”

“317. Are you really not scared?”

“Not even a little bit… AHHH!”

As soon as I unlocked the cabinet to get the escape room clue, a life-sized human corpse model popped out.

Naturally, I let out a loud scream… no, I was just slightly surprised and let out an exclamation.

“Are you really okay?”

“I was just a little startled. Nothing’s wrong.”

“You don’t need to pretend to be strong. If it’s hard, just say so…”

“I’ve been through countless situations worse than this. I’ve faced life-and-death situations in dungeons multiple times and fought villains risking my life. So this is nothing. What’s the password for this lock?”

“5783.”

I’m truly calm, but Ju-an looked at me as if he didn’t believe me.

So to prove my composure, I casually unlocked the lock in front of me and opened the box. Then a model head popped out.

“AHHH!”

I was momentarily startled by the sudden model, but I quickly regained my composure.

By the way, our escape room progress is going smoothly thanks to our excellent teamwork.

Though by teamwork, I mean Ju-an solves all the puzzles while I just enter the passwords.

Anyway, Ju-an still looked at me doubtfully and said:

“Should I just take the lead?”

“As if I would be scared by something like… AHHH!”

When I opened the door to move to the next room, a ghost model popped out.

Don’t they ever get tired of this? Don’t they have any gimmicks besides jump scares? How about a zombie model popping out from under my feet?

“AHHH!”

A zombie model actually popped out from under my feet. How have they never once deviated from my expectations? Do they not know how to think creatively?

As we continued moving forward, Ju-an said worriedly:

“I’ll just take the lead. You rest behind me.”

“Do I look like someone who’s afraid of this stuff? I’m in perfect condition. I don’t feel any fear at all.”

And so, I manfully took the lead until we escaped the room.

***

They say that when ordinary people experience extreme fear, they lose their minds. And in that state, they tend to exhibit strange behaviors.

For example, they might spout nonsense or do incomprehensible things.

Anyway, I think I momentarily lost my mind at the escape room cafe.

My mind has returned to normal now, but I don’t remember clearly what happened at the escape room cafe.

I’m pretty sure I did some strange things…

“What was I doing?”

“Finally back to your senses.”

“So what was I doing?”

“You were screaming like a girl all day.”

“That’s nonsense. Would a man among men like me scream like a girl?”

I’m not so cowardly that I’d go around screaming just because of a horror concept.

After all, I played games at the arcade without screaming once and was perfectly fine.

“So what was I really doing?”

“Don’t you remember anything we’ve done so far?”

“Wait… I remember talking before solving the puzzles. But I can’t recall much after that.”

“Sometimes it’s better not to know.”

“Then why do they say knowledge is power?”

Ju-an thought deeply about something and said:

“You took the lead like a man and solved the puzzles.”

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me what I really did.”

I’m not particularly smart. While I can be a bit cunning, my brain doesn’t work well enough to solve puzzles.

For someone like me to solve puzzles while out of my mind? Absolutely impossible.

But taking the lead like a man seems to be true. It’s vaguely coming back to me; I remember doing something at the front.

“It’s true. I was surprised watching you solve the puzzles. You were unexpectedly good at it.”

Maybe I’ve been holding a wrong preconception? Is intelligence really that important for puzzles in the first place?

Or perhaps my gaming experience helped. I’ve encountered all sorts of gimmicks while playing games.

So it doesn’t sound completely implausible. It actually seems somewhat convincing.

Maybe I have a talent for this sort of thing?

…What am I talking about when there’s someone with real talent right in front of me? I’m suddenly getting annoyed.

“So where are we going now?”

“We’re looking for a place to have dinner.”

“How about over there?”

I pointed to a nearby restaurant and said.

“Looks good.”

“Let’s go there then.”

***

These days, there are restaurants with various concepts. Among them are places that offer all-you-can-eat food but require you to cook it yourself.

Having to cook yourself is troublesome, but the cost-effectiveness is much better than other places. So it’s perfect for students like us…

…Come to think of it, we’re financially comfortable now, so why did we come here? This is why they say habits are scary.

Anyway, we came to a restaurant where we have to make tteokbokki ourselves, but it’s all-you-can-eat.

“Do you know how to make tteokbokki?”

Ju-an asked doubtfully.

My parents both work, so I’ve been preparing my own meals for over 10 years. Do you think someone like me wouldn’t be able to cook something like this?

“This is something you learn by diving right in.”

Of course I can’t do it. How could I when I’ve never done it before?

Just as I was about to try following the recipe, Ju-an asked suspiciously:

“Can I trust you with this?”

“Then why don’t you make it yourself?”

“Actually, I do trust you.”

Look at him quickly changing his stance because he doesn’t want to cook. I really want to punch that face.

…But that would probably just hurt my hand. Anyway, let’s just make this. It’ll work out somehow.

***

It turned out surprisingly well for my first attempt. It’s a bit bland, but for a first try, it’s passing grade.

So naturally, we both devoured it greedily. Then we faced a problem.

“Hey, we’re in trouble.”

“Why? Did you forget something?”

“No. I’m full.”

“…You know you haven’t even eaten one serving, right?”

“Do you remember that my stomach shrank when my body changed?”

Ju-an looked at me with concerned eyes. But what can I do if I can’t eat anymore? If it bothers him, he can go complain to the Goddess.

“Anyway, I’m done eating.”

“I still have a long way to go before I’m full…”

“I’ll wait for you, so just eat as much as you want.”

“But I don’t know how to cook this…”

“…Damn you.”

I can’t help but sigh. Why am I always surrounded by people who can’t cook for themselves?

“Fine, I’ll make it for you. But you’re paying for all of this.”

“Thanks.”

It should be okay since Ju-an doesn’t eat much.

***

I deeply regret what I just said.

“Are you full now?”

“No.”

This crazy guy has eaten about five servings and is still asking for more.

What on earth happened to him after coming to this world that made his appetite like this?

“Aren’t you tired of eating so much?”

“Maybe because you make it so delicious, I’m not tired of it at all.”

“Wow, I’m so glad you’re enjoying it~”

I said sarcastically in a voice that anyone would recognize as dissatisfied.

He eats an obscene amount with no end in sight, devours everything within a minute of me finishing cooking so I don’t even get a break, and the reward I get is minimal compared to the effort.

I feel like I’m going to die from exhaustion because the effort required far outweighs the benefits.

Seeing me continue to make tteokbokki while expressing my complaints, Ju-an quickly apologized.

“…Sorry.”

“If you’re sorry, then stop eating so much.”

“But I’m not even half full yet…”

“…Shit.”

People shouldn’t speak carelessly. I don’t know how many times I’ve learned that lesson today.

“Do you plan to get married in the future?”

“I do.”

“I already feel sorry for your future wife.”

“Why suddenly?”

“You eat this much in one meal. Imagine making this amount for breakfast and dinner every day. It would be absolute hell.”

Let’s offer condolences to whoever becomes this guy’s wife in the future.

By the way, how focused on eating must he be to not notice the tteokbokki sauce on his face?

It’s too distracting to ignore. So I finally wiped it off with a tissue and said:

“The food isn’t going anywhere, so stop being so messy and eat slowly.”

“…Okay.”

Ju-an’s face turned slightly red. And he really did slow down his eating pace.

Thanks to that, I got a little time to rest. If I had known this would happen, I would have said something earlier.

“Can I have one more bowl?”

“…”

But my rest time didn’t even last 10 seconds. He really eats disgustingly fast.

***

Finally, this hellish mealtime is over. Ju-an smiled awkwardly and said:

“Sorry, that was a lot of work, wasn’t it?”

“No, it wasn’t much work. Cooking for an hour straight isn’t that difficult.”

“…Are you angry?”

“Wouldn’t you be?”

I’m so angry right now that I want to completely smash his head. If I had the strength, I would have done it already.

“I’m sorry. In return, I’ll grant you one wish.”

Thanks to expressing my anger, I’ve earned a wish. Naturally, for my wish…

…I can’t think of anything worth wishing for. Should I just ask him to jump off the roof of that tall building over there?

“Can I use this wish later?”

“Sure, that’s fine.”

Still, it would be a shame if the only being who knows who I am disappeared. I’ll just save it for later.

As we sat and chatted, it soon became time to part ways.

“I wish time would stop forever right now.”

My true feelings suddenly slipped out.

“Why?”

“The thought of going back to the office makes me feel like I’m going crazy.”

“How bad are these people?”

“The Hero is completely insane, just consumed by madness. You know what the Holy Knight is like? There’s nothing in his brain except lust! And the Holy Maiden… she seems like a good person.”

“Only the Holy Maiden gets a good review.”

“It might just seem that way because the other two are so extreme.”

Leo and Agath have such strong impacts that Rebecca doesn’t have any particular characteristics. Is it fortunate that there’s at least one normal person?

To be honest, calling her normal is a bit of a stretch. But relatively speaking, she is normal.

“Is it that hard?”

“It’s so hard that I get suicidal thoughts all the time.”

“You really have it tough.”

Even though we were just chatting without doing anything, it felt more comfortable than ever.

No sexual jokes, no need to be careful not to press the seizure button, no worry about hearing demotivating fatalism.

I can really just say whatever I want comfortably. And there’s even someone who sympathizes with what I say.

To think I’m now grateful for something that used to be taken for granted… I’m really in a sorry state…

As we continued chatting, it became completely dark.

“I should get going. Oh right, let’s exchange contact information.”

“It’s already in my phone… not anymore, I guess.”

I momentarily forgot that I came to a different world. Does that mean today felt familiar?

Anyway, we exchanged contact information and parted ways.

“Take care.”

“You too…”

Just thinking about going back to those psychopaths makes me lose all energy. What kind of scene will be waiting for me this time?

//

I watched Min-jun walking away before I started moving.

Today was enjoyable after a long time. Enough to forget about entrance exam worries or the mission to defeat the Demon King.

Even on my way back to the guild, I kept thinking about what happened today.

When we sat close together during the horror game, I felt strangely embarrassed.

When he slightly lifted his skirt right after the escape room started… thinking about that scene again makes my face feel hot.

Anyway, during the escape room, his confused appearance seemed somewhat cute… no, funny.

During dinner, I was just grateful. And when he wiped the sauce from my cheek, my heart raced for some reason.

And now that we’ve parted, I feel somewhat frustrated. It’s not that I want to play more, but some other emotion. I’m not sure what it is though.

In any case, I’ve met a truly precious friend in this world. A friend so precious that I can always trust him with my back.

Now that I’ve rested enough, it’s time to work hard again.

I’ll save this world as the Goddess asked. Honestly, I don’t know if I can do it. But I have to.

Unlike before, I have power now. And now I have a precious person to protect.

So I’ll dedicate myself to training again. With these thoughts, I returned to the guild.