Ch.203IF Side Story – And the Two Lived Happily (57)

Silence hung in the air.

After my explanation, everyone remained quiet, lost in thought.

“…Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter.”

I wasn’t expecting a response.

That’s why I could continue speaking.

“Still, I thought I should tell you all. You were friends with Eila.”

There was still no response.

“I know it’s hard to believe. But I just… wanted to say it. That’s all.”

“Um…”

A voice spoke up.

When I turned my head, the orange-haired kid was raising her hand.

Did she have something to say?

As I quietly looked at her, she slowly opened her mouth.

“I don’t think it’s that unbelievable.”

“Huh?”

“Well… Eila was kind of clumsy, a bit silly, and didn’t know much about common sense… I always thought something was off about her.”

How should I deal with this kid badmouthing my wife in front of her husband?

I relaxed my fist that had unconsciously tightened.

“Besides, we live in a world where holes open in the sky and monsters come out. Isn’t another world quite plausible?”

“…Is it that easy for you to accept?”

“Well… you’re not the type of person who would lie about something related to her.”

That comment shut me up.

Unlike Eila, I hadn’t really interacted with them much.

Maybe that’s why I couldn’t understand why they so readily believed me.

But…

There was Eila.

Eila was the common denominator that linked us together like a chain.

Somehow, my chest felt heavy, as if I’d just received proof that the time spent, the relationships Eila had built, weren’t in vain.

“…Why is Eila ‘big sister’ but I’m ‘mister’?”

I grumbled bluntly.

I didn’t want them to notice the stinging in my eyes.

-Clap!

“Alright, focus~! Would you like to hear my story too~?”

“Ah…”

The doctor looked at us.

I’d forgotten.

Originally, we came to hear about Eila from the doctor.

“I can roughly guess what happened~ I should have spoken up sooner…”

“You knew something?”

“If the test results had come out a bit faster… that’s what I’m thinking.”

With none of his earlier playful attitude remaining, the doctor flipped through a stack of papers from his desk and began speaking seriously.

“That… Demon Lord, was it? That fellow seems quite clever.”

“Suddenly?”

“Yes. Should I say he found a loophole? I didn’t think there would be someone as sharp-minded as me…”

Saying that, the doctor handed me a sheet of paper.

It was covered with incomprehensible graphs, tables, numbers, and text.

Naturally, I couldn’t understand any of it.

That’s the kind of content it was.

“What is this?”

“I’ll explain.”

He said it naturally, as if he knew I wouldn’t understand.

If he expected this, he could have just explained without bothering to give me the paper.

“She had quite an interesting body. Similar to modern humans yet different… a kind of convergent evolution. With better equipment, I could have done genetic analysis, but that was beyond our capabilities.”

His introduction is still too long.

“So at first I thought she might be an escapee from some laboratory… but an otherworlder, that makes it easier to understand.”

The doctor raised both hands up, stretching.

Was he taking a break?

“So, what you asked me to do was examine that child’s body?”

“When you say it like that, it sounds perverted. I just asked for a health check-up.”

How dare he distort a husband’s concern for his wife.

“Well, from my perspective, it’s all the same.”

The doctor continued his explanation.

“In my examination, I found no trace of magical power… or anything resembling a curse. Her condition was perfectly normal. That was my conclusion… at first.”

The atmosphere changed.

“That was my conclusion.”

“At first.”

These two phrases bothered me.

“This might seem random, but do you know why we can move, speak, hear, and breathe?”

It really was a random question.

I missed my chance to answer, caught off guard by the sudden query.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to expect an answer and continued speaking.

“It’s this, this.”

The doctor tapped his head with his short finger as he spoke.

“If it’s that… do you mean the head?”

“More precisely, the brain.”

The doctor added to the kid’s comment.

“As you all know, the brain works through electrical signals. Vision, smell, hearing, taste, touch, our ability to breathe, the beating of our hearts, even our ability to have this conversation—it’s all thanks to the electrical signals in our brain.”

The doctor scratched his head.

“And since it’s a purely scientific principle, there’s no room for external factors like magical power to interfere.”

His scratching grew faster.

“That was the problem.”

Then his hand stopped abruptly.

I had to ask.

“What do you mean?”

“There was something in Eila’s head. Can you guess what it was?”

I nodded.

“He probably used it as an antenna to amplify signals. But since it’s difficult to continuously transmit signals, he would have had to replenish energy periodically.”

Energy.

Something came to mind.

In the forest, underground, and in the city a few days ago.

The image of Eila seemingly absorbing something.

That’s what I remembered.

“Just to confirm, those signals…”

“Do you know the classic movie ‘The Matrix’? I suspect it’s similar to that. He converted his consciousness into waves and sent them as signals. This Demon Lord seems quite intelligent.”

It’s all speculation.

The evidence is thin, and the logic is shaky.

But somehow, I felt this was the correct answer.

But what good is knowing the answer now?

What’s done is done.

“…Thanks for telling me that much.”

I stood up.

I’d heard everything I needed to, so there was no reason to stay any longer.

“Where are you going?”

Kang Seona asked.

“To save Eila.”

I heard someone behind me catch their breath.

“Do you have a way to save her?”

“Not impossible.”

I racked my brain.

Time was of the essence.

“The fact that I’m alive is proof. In his final attack, he couldn’t hit me.”

That’s what I said.

Not that he missed, but that he deliberately avoided hitting me.

That means Eila’s consciousness was still present at that moment.

I don’t know how long that situation will last.

Even now, Eila might be fighting alone.

Thinking about it made my body tense up.

“Her body hasn’t been completely taken over by him yet. We need to separate them before that happens.”

“How will you separate them?”

“Eila must still be resisting, so we just need to help her.”

“Isn’t that too vague?”

“I believe in Eila.”

No response came.

“And Eila, she must be believing in me.”

I heard a sigh.

“Do you know where she is?”

“…No.”

“Then how will you find her?”

“But.”

“Hm?”

“I think I know a way to figure out roughly where to go.”

I fidgeted with my left ring finger, where my wedding ring was.

From behind, I heard a voice that seemed to say I was being foolish.

“So the conclusion is, you’re not certain.”

I nodded at Kang Seona’s words.

“But you’re still going?”

“Like I said before, Eila will be believing in me.”

That I’ll definitely come to save her.

Eila must be believing that.

So I have to go.

To live up to that trust.

To not betray that faith.

“Thanks for the long talk. I’ll transfer your payment now, just give me your account number.”

“Huh? Um? Well… I don’t have a bank account.”

“Really? Then…”

“Hey.”

The words were cut off.

It was Kang Seona.

When I turned my head, I saw she had already approached right in front of me.

So close that I could see her lime-green eyes shining behind her sunglasses.

“You can pay later. After everything’s over, bring your girlfriend too.”

“…What?”

What was she suddenly talking about?

“Let’s go. Aren’t we short on time?”

“What? Wait, what do you—”

“I said let’s go.”

Kang Seona’s eyes looked straight at me.

“To save Eila.”

“…Why?”

I truly couldn’t understand.

That’s why the question slipped out.

Hearing it, Kang Seona awkwardly scratched her hair, turning her head slightly as she spoke.

“Well, she’s not a stranger… Plus, she helped me a bit. I made her work without proper payment, so I should at least do this much.”

Payment?

Help?

What had Eila been doing that I didn’t know about?

“And above all… you’ve paid me a lot. Think of it as after-sales service for a valued customer? You know, like when Chinese restaurants give you a sweet and sour pork coupon when you order a lot, that kind of feeling…”

Though she was dressing it up with long, elaborate words, the essence was simple.

Goodwill.

So I smiled.

I couldn’t help it.

“Thank you.”

Now, shall we go?

To rescue the heroine captured by the Demon Lord.