Ch.76Do you really have to?

# 76. Why Bother?

“Let’s meet up and talk?”

Meet up for what?

Why bother?

Water-Knows-Answer seems like someone with lots of thoughts and rich emotions just by looking at them. Fine in the game, but meeting in real life is a bit… well.

To be honest, it’s not just Water-Knows-Answer—I find meeting people in general uncomfortable.

‘Because meeting people is scary.’

I think I know why they suggested meeting. I think I know, but if it’s just to check that I’m okay, wouldn’t chatting like this be enough?

Sorry to Water-Knows-Answer, but…

[SteadfastBackDoor: (sweating emoji)]

[WaterKnowsAnswer: Why?! Did something happen?!!]

[WaterKnowsAnswer: Or is it a timing issue?]

[WaterKnowsAnswer: I can adjust to your schedule!]

[SteadfastBackDoor: No, it’s not about timing]

[SteadfastBackDoor: Meeting people in real life…]

[SteadfastBackDoor: Anyway, it’s a bit difficult for me]

[WaterKnowsAnswer: Ah… sorry ㅠㅠ I made things awkward]

Well, that’s not wrong.

[WaterKnowsAnswer: Then tomorrow, the day after, or the day after that]

[WaterKnowsAnswer: Make sure to keep in touch!!!]

[SteadfastBackDoor: (emoji making a big circle with both arms)]

[SteadfastBackDoor: Of course!]

[WaterKnowsAnswer: Sleep well!]

[SteadfastBackDoor: (emoji sleeping face down)]

I closed the chat and reopened the novel app, pressed back, deleted what I was reading from my favorites, and started browsing through the best-sellers.

“Ah. Why is everything either harem or TS?”

Well, they must be popular for a reason.

Tch.

Moving my constrained body with difficulty, I explore an infinitely free world again today.

In my imagination, I can move completely freely.

**

You know.

It might be a bit outdated, but that cringy phrase “Day 1 from today” that makes you cringe just by looking at it.

It was a phrase five billion light-years away from me, who had never even had a crush, let alone dated anyone, but now that I’ve actually heard it…

“It’s even cringier.”

“Why! I wanted to say it at least once!”

After our dramatic agreement, the atmosphere between us (excluding the physical therapist) as we went from raid leader-member to boyfriend-girlfriend was… surprisingly no different from before.

Is that a good outcome?

“Come here for a bit.”

“Nyaaak!!”

[You little thing! Can’t you recognize who helped you charm these males!]

…I guess it’s good?

Danya, trying to defend her position in my arms, and Yuri, who wanted to get a bit closer, were bickering, and Seyeon quietly slipped into the small gap that opened between them. Subin sighed as if she’d had enough and backed away.

“This looks better than I expected.”

“What were you expecting?”

“I thought they’d at least be pulling each other’s hair. Especially yesterday, it seemed like they were about to.”

Yuri and Subin cleared their throats at Soyu noona’s words.

“I’m not sure if congratulations is the right thing to say, but anyway, congratulations to all three of you. And Sunghyun, just remember what I told you when we first met. If you keep that promise, I don’t mind if you treat them a little less equally.”

“Of course I’ll keep it. That’s non-negotiable.”

“Good. That’s all I needed.”

Soyu noona lightly patted each of our shoulders and headed for the door.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

“About 30 minutes should be enough, right?”

“What?”

“I’ll be back.”

Soyu noona left without waiting for my response.

As the door closed, Subin, who had been standing apart, said:

“Seems like she wants us to have some good time alone, even if just for a moment.”

“She didn’t have to do that…”

“Is this what they call the wisdom of an elder sister?”

“I’m going to tell Soyu noona exactly what you just said.”

“Ah, oppa!”

“Nyaaah!!”

[This is frustrating!!]

Finally, the somewhat awkward atmosphere was relieved when Danya, squished like a flattened steamed bun between Yuri and me, screamed and threw some cat punches.

“Geez, that damn cat. Not even a real cat—can’t she read the room?”

“Nyaaa?”

[What does ‘read the room’ mean?]

“Don’t be too hard on her. She lived lonely for over 200 years. And even after finally regaining her freedom after 200 years, she still has to live in an animal’s body because I’m still weak.”

“Tsk. Sad story or not, she kidnapped you, oppa. My heart dropped when that happened.”

“Nyaa…”

[That’s…]

Taking Danya’s side here wouldn’t be fair. Instead of answering, I carefully stroked Yuri’s head. I was just collecting data in case she might not like it, so I only stroked briefly, but…

“Eep!”

She covered the part I had stroked with both hands, quickly backed away, and kept glancing at me.

“Look at you, making moves.”

“It’s a misunderstanding.”

“Hmph.”

Ah. Could this be a signal that she wants me to do it for her too?

This time, I placed my hand on Subin’s head. As I carefully ran my fingers through her dark red long hair, she closed her eyes and accepted my touch with her arms crossed.

It seemed like the right answer.

But then I felt someone staring, so I turned my head to find Seyeon, who was nestled quietly against my right arm, looking up at me intently.

So I moved my right hand to pat Seyeon’s head too. She also closed her eyes like Subin and rested her face against my chest again. She smelled nice.

‘None of them seem to mind having their heads touched. I’ve often heard stories about guys touching their girlfriends’ hair and getting snapped at or even fighting over it.’

It was my first time stroking a woman’s hair in my life, but it didn’t feel bad. While Danya’s fur felt better to touch, there was something about the act of stroking itself that seemed to fulfill something in my heart.

To be honest, it still didn’t feel real that these “women” had become my girlfriends.

“It’s nice to have intimate time, but we can do this anytime later. Let’s go get unnie back first.”

“Already?”

“What do you mean ‘already’? Have you already forgotten what you said? Think about Soyu unnie’s position.”

Yuri pouted at Subin’s sharp comment. While I understood Yuri’s feelings—the dramatic resolution of conflict followed by a successful confession, and with her first love at that—I agreed with Subin.

“In that spirit, you go get her, Yuri.”

“Tch, fine!”

And so, not even 10 minutes had passed—let alone 30—when Soyu noona returned. She asked with an incredulous expression:

“Why did you call me back so quickly? I doubt you fought right after confessing, and I hope you didn’t call me back early because of me?”

“It’s not that. We’ve sorted out the personal stuff enough, so now we need to worry about the raid team’s future.”

“Hmm. Well, if the ‘raid leader’ says so, I’ll believe you.”

Soyu noona sat down with a smirk.

Alright.

Let’s set emotions aside for a moment and make some serious plans.

“From the first day in Asgard, I’ve been caught up with Danya and it’s been chaotic, but there’s actually a lot to do here. Lots of things to take care of.”

Looking at it from a gamer’s perspective, it’s natural that the rewards in Chapter 1 are better than the prologue, Chapter 2 better than Chapter 1, and the towns or cities appearing in Chapter 3 better than Chapter 2. There might be exceptions in the story, but generally, quest rewards are proportional to story progression.

In that sense, Asgard, which was revealed later than Albrant, had more to offer, and the quests related to the relationship between Alb and Asgard were the most lucrative after that relationship was added.

“But do we really need to take risks here too? I already heard that you guys hit the jackpot with the undead elimination quest in Albrant. But the situation now is very different from then.”

“That’s true. But we should at least keep our options open. After all, those quests have the highest rewards, right?”

“By ‘those quests,’ you mean reconnaissance or local warfare quests? In the game, the maps were connected so it didn’t matter, but here, everything is separated by floors. Will it really be implemented the same way?”

“Good point. But I don’t think travel between Albrant and Asgard is impossible.”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

Yuri asked what I was about to ask. Subin swept back her hair and continued her explanation.

“It’s something I overheard on our way here yesterday. Recently, there’s been an increase in wounded soldiers being sent back, and they were cursing Alb and Albrant in anger.”

“Right. That leads to the reconnaissance quest. But isn’t that one piece of evidence a bit thin?”

“You said before that you tried experimenting with residents in Edengard, and they couldn’t recognize anything about the Tower. But the gatekeeper welcomed tower climbers, right?”

“Yeah. So?”

“Let’s think about this from a different angle. Assuming the residents aren’t lying, maybe they’re talking about these rumors because Alb and Asgard are still in conflict.”

I looked at Seyeon, Yuri, and Soyu noona. Seyeon said she hadn’t heard anything, and Yuri said she had heard it but just thought it was typical Asgardian talk and didn’t think much of it. Soyu noona just shrugged.

“I’m against doing the anti-Alb quest that starts with reconnaissance, but I think we need to verify if what I’m saying is true. If it is…”

“We might be able to go back to the lower floors or cities we thought we couldn’t return to?”

“Correct. More important than the lower floors is the means of transportation.”

After hearing Yebeobnojeong’s hypothesis…

‘Other raid teams.’

The memory of ‘other raid teams that may or may not exist’ that I had shoved into a corner of my mind suddenly resurfaced.

And then this thought immediately followed:

‘Let’s say there are other raid teams in the Tower. Maybe back then it made sense, but is there any need to meet them now?’

Why bother?