Ch.239Chapter 239 – His Sorrow

“…Where is this?”

After closing my eyes as I fell from the waterfall, when I opened them again, I found myself in a very familiar space.

“This is… home.”

The sight of my old studio apartment from about a year ago entered my vision.

Judging by the lack of maintenance and the thick layer of dust everywhere, quite some time must have passed in the real world.

“…Hmm.”

Still not fully convinced I had returned, I picked up the smartphone on the desk, but as expected, the battery was dead.

So I searched through my hazy memories to find the charger, connected it, and then sat down on the bed with a sigh.

“…System.”

Just in case, I tried calling out to the system in a low voice.

“Did I really come back?”

“……..”

“…Irene?”

Even after calling out the nickname with a slightly flushed face, there was no system message in response.

“Did I really return…”

Still unable to believe it, I raised my hand to try manipulating mana when—

– Ziiiiing…!

“….Ahh!?”

I screamed in surprise at the sudden, incredibly loud notification sound from my smartphone.

[999+ Missed Calls]

[999+ Unread Messages]

[KaTao Talk: 999+ unread messages…]

“What, what is this…”

As it turned out, these were calls and messages that had accumulated while I was gone.

But something was strange. I don’t have friends or anyone who would contact me, so where did all these messages come from?

[Senior? Where did you go? I miss you senior senior senior…]

[Is it because I snuck into your house last time? If so, I’ll apologize. I won’t do it again…]

[Rihan? Stop joking around? I’m going to kill myself? I’m really going to commit suicide?]

[Rihan. I contacted you because you’ve been away from home for too long. Where are you? Did you go on a trip? I checked just in case, but according to National Intelligence Service records, there’s no record of you leaving the country…]

(omitted)

As I checked the messages that had come in so far, quite a spectacle unfolded before me.

They were all once kind colleagues and classmates who used to be friendly to me, but why had they changed so much?

‘That’s strange…’

As I scratched my head trying to figure out the reason, I frowned and began replying to the accumulated messages one by one.

“…Huh?”

In the middle of doing so, I suddenly checked the date on my smartphone and finally realized.

‘The date…’

The smartphone was showing a date that was one year after the date I remembered.

‘…So a year has passed in the real world too.’

I had a preconception that in creative works, people often come and go without the passage of time.

It seems that in the real world, a year had passed while I was gone.

This somewhat explains why my old acquaintances reacted with such concern.

[Is this really Senior Rihan? Really? Really? If not, I’ll kill you?]

“……..”

No, actually, I still don’t quite understand.

‘…Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I heard this name.’

Scratching my head at the somehow familiar feeling from the messages, I smiled slightly at seeing my name mentioned so many times.

‘It feels nostalgic somehow…’

Though it feels quite fresh hearing it after so long, this name “Rihan” is actually a stage name from when I worked as a child actor.

But my real name is surprisingly old-fashioned, so I prefer this name.

“…I was completely shocked when Holmes deduced my last name.”

Anyway, suddenly remembering what happened a few months ago, I got up from the bed with a chilling feeling.

“……..”

Then, with a slightly serious expression, I began to ponder a fundamental question.

‘Did I really visit that world?’

Of course, a year has passed since the time I remember, but other than that, there’s no evidence that I visited the game world.

Then perhaps everything that happened was just a delusion, and I was simply holed up in my room for a year?

Given my previously precarious mental state, it’s not impossible.

‘Yes, I’d rather it all be my delusion…’

But if it were all just a delusion, then that unavoidable separation would never have happened either. As I tried to console myself with this thought—

“…..Huh?”

I froze in place when I caught sight of the mirror in front of me.

“……..”

Because my eyes, which had been blue from my mother’s bloodline, were now colored in the shade I had become accustomed to over the past year.

“Ah…”

Yes, the Professor’s gray and Sharlotte’s black.

“…So it was real.”

Seeing this, I couldn’t make any excuses or rationalizations and simply collapsed onto the bed.

– Ziiiiing… Ziiiing…!

“Haha… ha…”

Though my smartphone was ringing loudly again beside me, my eyes, which had experienced too much, closed first.

“………”

And so, for the first time in a very long time, I fell into a comfortable and peaceful sleep in my own home.

– Adler… where are you…?

– I’m sorry… I won’t push you so hard anymore… please come out…!

– I, I know you’re hiding! Come out before you catch cold and get sick…!

“…Ugh!”

I had a nightmare where everyone who had gathered at the Reichenbach Falls was desperately searching the darkened waterfall, wailing, and I woke up in a cold sweat after just a few hours.

“Haa… haa…..”

And that was the beginning of long, hellish nightmares and a life like hell that would continue for about two years.

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“Hello… Yes, sis.”

The first thing I did after returning to the real world was, naturally, to investigate the game company I had worked for.

“…What? You’re saying it was a ghost company that never existed in the first place?”

But what’s going on here? The company I had worked at for years turned out to be a ghost company without any real existence, as revealed during the investigation.

“But I… I definitely went there…”

– Static noise…

“…I understand for now. Oh, um. Let’s drink later. I’m quite busy these days.”

Unable to believe this fact, I even mobilized my connections from my previous workplace, the National Intelligence Service, but ultimately couldn’t find any trace of the company.

“Haah…”

My investigation ended without even a proper start, and even after several more months passed, the game that was about to be released never made it to the market.

‘…I really don’t want to dream today.’

Was it around that time? When the scale and stories of my nightmares began to get more serious.

– Adler… couldn’t have died. Of all people… he was my assistant.

‘Professor…’

– He must be hiding somewhere in the world. I can tell.

From the sight of the once arrogant and dogmatic professor, now with a completely broken mental state, denying reality and scouring the world.

– Adlerrrr… you came baaack? Hehe… I knew you’d come find me on your own…

‘Miss Holmes…’

– A-Adler? Where are youuu? I-I’m sorry so don’t leaveee! No!! Adlerrr!!!

Sharlotte, shocked by her failed pregnancy, high on drugs and talking nonsense all day.

– Inspector Lestrade. Isn’t your leave getting too long? If it drags on too much, there might be personnel issues. Perhaps… even dismissal….

– I don’t care.

– What?

– There’s someone I must find, even if it costs me my life.

Inspector Lestrade, who had set aside her police duties that she valued so much, now scouring the world like Professor Moriarty.

– That… bastard…

‘Miss Watson…’

– Until the end… until the end you…

Watson, who had quit her hospital work and spent every day drowning in alcohol.

– Don’t talk nonsense! There’s no way that bastard is dead!

– Ikilledhimikilledhimikilledhim…

– Master…

The Princess, issuing orders with bloodshot eyes to vampires across the country almost every day.

Moran, who had smashed her beloved air gun that she cherished so much, now repeating those words like a recluse in a corner of the room.

And Silver Blaze, who, like her, was buried in my clothes, endlessly shedding tears.

– The organization… is disbanded as of today.

– Princess, are you feeling unwell these days?

Lupin, who left only those words via radio to everyone in different regions before secluding himself in the Phantom Castle, and Gil the Reaper, who had even stopped killing and retreated to his palace.

“Ugh, ugh…..”

Except for the last person, all their devastated appearances were eating away at my mind, and I began to break down rapidly day by day.

– I succeeded recently with Adler’s, which I kept in my womb.

The nightmare that drove the final nail into my condition.

– I’m two weeks pregnant.

The dream of the Professor declaring so with a gloomy expression to Sharlotte and Watson who had come to find her.

“…Aah!”

Since that day, I couldn’t fall asleep without sleeping pills or alcohol.

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“…This isn’t right.”

And so, about a year and a half after returning to the real world.

“That’s not… why I told her…”

Having just woken up from a nightmare where Sharlotte finally discovered information about “Lovecraft,” I muttered with a dark look in my eyes, holding my head in my hands.

“Even without the eldritch beings… it’s dangerous… that one…”

Until recently, I thought dreams were just dreams, but now I’m starting to get scared.

What if what I’m seeing is really happening in “that” world? What should I do?

Such fears began to consume me a few months ago, and because of that, far from getting a new job, I couldn’t even live a proper daily life and had to stay holed up at home.

‘Everyone… I’m sorry…’

If only I could have stayed there.

If there had been even one option for me to remain there.

Could we have reached a better outcome than this conclusion I made for their happiness and well-being?

‘I… miss you all too…..’

Repeating such futile imaginings, another day seemed to be ending.

– Ziiiiing…!

“…….!?”

Until a notification suddenly rang from my smartphone, which I had blocked all persistent contacts on.

“Who could it be…?”

Since I had blocked all contacts entirely, I checked the notification with a slightly puzzled expression.

> Hey.

> What have you been up to these days?

“…..Huh?”

I could only doubt my eyes, opening them wide.

> Want to grab a drink?

“…Kim Hanbyeol?”

Because, very suddenly, I received a message from my close friend who had disappeared long ago.