Ch.6161. Big Brother

“I want to eat meat. Something tender, not the tough beast meat from Norsweden.”

“That’s quite a demand.”

“This is nothing. Do you know how picky the noble ladies my age are? I’m actually being reasonable because I’m a woman of valor from Norsweden.”

Deia puffs out her chest proudly, showing a strange pride in living in the cold north.

Naturally, it’s an emotion I can’t understand, so I just shake my head and ignore her as we walk down the street.

Greyford was definitely a bustling metropolis. Robern, where Robern Academy was located, was quite a large city too, but comparing the two would be unfair to Robern.

The disorderly footsteps of people, the sound of carriage wheels rolling, the mental warfare of merchants haggling…

It was white noise that could be heard anywhere, but when there was too much of it, it became irritating.

Even though I wanted to walk a bit faster, Deia kept her mouth open in awe, turning her head this way and that.

Having lived confined in a remote place like Norsweden until she was 24, everything must seem fascinating to her.

She tilts her head with a slight hiss, then scurries to my side with quick steps, matching my pace while giggling.

“I think I chose the wrong place to be born. I’m a city girl by nature. I love everything about it, starting with the air.”

“…We’ve been in the city for less than 10 minutes.”

“Isn’t that what makes it more certain? Like recognizing your destined partner?”

“What happened to the woman of valor from Norsweden?”

“People evolve. I can feel my body rejoicing at being alive and breathing here.”

I frown in disdain as I watch Deia stretch her arms wide and take a deep breath through her nose.

“How would you know what meeting your destined partner feels like when you’ve been a spinster for 24 years?”

“You son of a—”

She bites her lip hard, clenches her fist, and glares at me. Then, as if all her strength has drained away, she sighs and answers.

“Sigh, I just haven’t done it because I have some trauma.”

“…I apologize. That was thoughtless.”

It felt like dealing with a real sister’s complaints, so I unconsciously admitted to speaking carelessly and apologized.

After all, the reason she developed hatred toward others was because of Deus.

Seeing me like this, Deia waves her hand dismissively.

“It’s fine, you’re not really that bastard anyway.”

“…”

After that, there wasn’t much conversation between us. Come to think of it, this was how Deus and Deia normally were.

The metropolis of Greyford momentarily turned Deia into a young girl, but she quickly faced the cold reality again.

We arrived at the restaurant with perfect timing. I open the door of Mersen, which has a warm wooden sign indicating it’s open for business.

“Welcome!”

Along with the waiter’s energetic greeting, we hear the chatter of bustling customers.

Seeing the crowd, Deia also goes “Ooh” and looks around with eyes full of expectation.

“Table for two? Let me show you to your seats!”

The waiter guided us to quite a secluded spot. It seemed like they had just hurriedly cleaned the table, as if customers had been there until recently.

“Here’s the menu! Please call me when you’re ready to order!”

The waiter hands us a spacious menu. I take it and pass it to Deia first.

“You look first.”

“…”

Deia snatches the menu with a somewhat displeased expression.

But she soon becomes absorbed in it and starts contemplating quite seriously.

“Roast beef with cheese fondue? Wow, what is this?”

“…”

“This would go well with a salad on the side, right? Does it have a healthy feel to it? Looks like it has a lot of asparagus.”

“…”

“There’s an event where you get a keychain if you order a set menu. Wow, this is something unimaginable in Norsweden.”

I silently watch Deia, who has been fussing over the menu for almost 10 minutes.

After being deeply immersed, Deia’s eyes suddenly meet mine over the menu, and she becomes embarrassed, quickly lowering her face.

“I’ll have this, the cheese fondue roast beef.”

“…Then let’s order it as a set. I’ll order the B set.”

“Huh?”

After briefly skimming through the menu, I immediately called the waiter and placed the order. After simply ordering drinks as well, I cross my arms and look at Deia.

She was still looking at me with a sullen expression.

“Aren’t you choosing the menu too casually? You don’t even know what else is in the B set.”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same anyway.”

“…”

After that, silence fell between us again. If this were my previous life, I could at least be on my phone.

But it’s not like there was nothing to see.

Perhaps because it’s a big city, ghosts are abundant. They weren’t malevolent spirits capable of causing harm, but there were quite a lot of them wandering around with grudges.

The food arrives, and the savory aroma stimulates my stomach through my nose.

The visual presentation was certainly impressive, as expected from a restaurant that received rave reviews from characters in the game.

“Here’s your set keychain!”

I gently push the keychain, which has a small bear doll attached to it, towards Deia.

“Take it.”

“…”

“I don’t need it.”

I start eating the salad that came with the meal. It had shrimp in it, which wasn’t bad at all.

Deia, who had been staring at me blankly, reluctantly takes the keychain and puts it in her pocket.

“You didn’t order the set menu just so I could have this keychain, did you?”

“No.”

“…”

Even though I said that, Deia kept glancing at me suspiciously.

But once she dipped the meat into the cheese fondue and took a bite, she became distracted and started eating enthusiastically.

After finishing our meal.

We stopped by a nearby café.

I suggested walking to aid digestion, but since Deia said she wanted dessert, we just settled at the café again.

“Wow, so this is Greyford? The meat juice was insane.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Though I had quite a struggle trying to warn her about eating messily with food smeared around her mouth.

“You’re different from usual.”

As I rest my chin on my hand and speak, Deia’s body twitches slightly as she sips her coffee and glances at me.

It might have been better not to say anything, as that’s what she probably wanted, but I couldn’t just waste time like this.

After all, tomorrow I have to face the king’s final trial.

So, speaking rather directly, Deia taps the ice floating in her coffee with her straw and answers in a small, whisper-like voice.

“Can’t we just pretend I’m excited because I like Greyford?”

“If that’s what you want, I’ll go with that.”

If Deia didn’t want to delve deeper, I had no intention of pushing further.

As I calmly drink my coffee, Deia rubs her coffee cup with her finger and speaks with quite a determined expression.

“Name.”

“…”

“What’s your real name?”

To her question, I slowly remove the coffee cup from my lips and answer calmly.

“Shinwoo Kim.”

“Shin…woo Kim?”

“Yes, it might sound unusual here, but it was a common name where I lived.”

“Shinwoo Kim…”

Deia mutters my name as if savoring it, then continues to ask.

“What’s your real age? Are you twenty-eight?”

“I’m twenty-five.”

“Just a year apart. Still makes you my oppa.”

It was somewhat unexpected.

I didn’t expect Deia to ask about me in such detail.

As if she was getting into the flow, Deia continued to pour out questions one after another.

It was like she was unleashing a bundle of stories she had kept locked away.

“Were you a spiritmaster there too?”

“Let’s just say it was similar. The ability to see ghosts is my trait, not Deus’s.”

“I see.”

The conversation went on longer than expected. When our throats got dry from talking too much, we ordered more coffee, and we ordered sweet cake to replenish our sugar levels.

Yet, Deia’s questions didn’t stop.

“Did you have siblings?”

“I was an only child.”

“Really? Were you married then?”

“I didn’t even have a girlfriend.”

“And you had the nerve to call me a spinster earlier?!”

I don’t bother to answer.

While I never had a girlfriend, I wasn’t unpopular.

There were girls who occasionally confessed to me, somehow finding charm in my quiet, tight-lipped demeanor.

But as someone who could see ghosts, I couldn’t casually accept such confessions.

After all, couples were prime targets for attracting grudges.

“Then.”

After continuing her questions for a while, Deia pauses briefly and speaks again.

“Is Deus still inside you?”

For the first time, I couldn’t immediately answer her question.

Deia noticed this, but her eyes wouldn’t let me escape with a different answer.

And I had no intention of lying either.

“Deus Verdi has already found peace.”

Since Deia had resolved the Emily case with me, she would understand what that meant.

From there, I calmly told her the story of Deus and me.

When I had already possessed the body, Deus was dead.

He tried to kill me.

And in the end, I confronted him and gave him a funeral.

“He was a pitiful person, but not one deserving of sympathy.”

“…”

“Still, in the end, he departed regretting his life.”

I don’t tell her that he sought forgiveness or that he was actually a good person.

Deia wouldn’t empathize with that at all.

Just that he was sad.

I told her that he regretted his actions toward others.

“What does that matter?”

But Deia gritted her teeth and replied.

“Whether he regretted, repented, or cried and begged me for forgiveness, it doesn’t matter. He’s dead? Good riddance. He was someone I didn’t need.”

Since her anger was justified, I just nodded and kept my mouth shut.

“And I’m really sorry, but to me, you look exactly the same. But from your actions in Norsweden and today… you’re clearly a different person.”

“…”

“I’ll admit you’re several times, tens of times better than Deus. I really felt like I wish I had such a family member.”

But, Deia adds.

“Still, in the end, you’re Deus. That damn face remains a kind of trauma for me.”

“I understand.”

No matter how different a person I am, the body is still Deus’s.

Asking Deia to understand would be terribly selfish.

“I’m sorry for being irritable. When I see that face, I can’t help but get angry.”

“That’s natural.”

Understanding that it was indeed a natural reaction, Deia gives a bitter smile.

“You really talk like you’ve become my oppa.”

“I’ll strive to be that.”

“…”

Perhaps because it was an unexpected answer, Deia stares at me blankly with her mouth open.

“My family was broken from a very young age. It was shattered before I could do anything about it.”

A mother who despised me for seeing ghosts.

A father who feared me and ran away.

My grandmother comforted me, but she passed away while I was in the military.

I thought I might be able to see her as a ghost, but she wasn’t visible anywhere.

“To me, family was already broken, something I could never have.”

And also something I always envied.

“You might not want it, but I’ll strive to be an older brother you can be proud of.”

That was also my final promise to Deus Verdi.

Deia, who had been staring at me blankly, smiles faintly and turns her eyes to the window.

A bitter smile was still drawn on her lips.

“We both have wounds and longing for family.”

“Indeed.”

As I nod, Deia carefully meets my eyes. Her lips tremble as she tries to force a smile.

It meant she still couldn’t smile brightly while looking at Deus’s face.

Nevertheless, she responded with an awkward smile and honest feelings.

“I wish you had been my real brother.”