Ch.9Incomprehensible

# 9. Incomprehensible

[Quest ‘Onor’s Temporary Sign’ has been completed.]

[You have acquired the reward for success.]

[Reward – 1 Private Room for lodging (free for 1 day), 250 gold coins]

During one day, or more precisely, a little over half a day, there were several “minor” incidents. Aside from the moment when I felt a bit creeped out when Cutjukyeora approached with what could be called “dead eyes” after the first incident where a well-off-looking woman in her early 40s lewdly groped my left buttock, everything went smoothly. Literally, those kinds of things were minor issues.

Of course, I was tired both physically and mentally, but I could satisfy my immediate hunger by grabbing snacks whenever I had a break, earned a little money, and secured a safe place to sleep—how fortunate.

‘At least for now, ironically contrary to what I told Cutjukyeora, it’s not the time to worry about others.’

Safety and preemption. To catch these two rabbits simultaneously, one must establish at least a minimal foundation.

For us who had nothing, the most important thing was a healthy body itself. So the best we could do now was to eat well and sleep well, but…

“…”

“…”

Wasn’t the quest reward clearly stated as “a private room for lodging”? Have I misunderstood the meaning of “private room” for the past 27 years?

“Maybe it’s because it says ‘private room 1’?”

“If I’m private room 1 and Seyeon is also private room 1, shouldn’t that make it private room 2?”

“I guess the two of us together make up private room 1.”

“How? Why?”

“How would I know?”

Right.

Well, I wasn’t expecting a correct answer anyway. But still.

“Fortunately, even though it’s a private room, it’s not that cramped.”

“Maybe because it’s Onor, not Animus.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Since the second floor of Tavern wasn’t implemented in the game, it’s just my guess.”

“…”

“…”

Ah, this is awkward.

It feels like I’ve unintentionally brought a woman I just met to a motel!

‘What should I say? No, before that, what should I do?’

For someone like me whose daily routine consists of playing games after work, washing my feet, and going to bed. For an ordinary gamer who meets friends maybe once a month, and only same-sex friends at that, this situation was unbearably awkward.

“Ah, well, at least there’s a bathroom.”

“Oh, yes.”

“Do you want to shower first? Fortunately, or maybe I should say fortunately, the clothes we’re wearing are very comfortable. So we don’t have to worry about sleeping uncomfortably.”

“That’s true. Then, I’ll shower quickly and come out.”

“No, take your time.”

Somehow, I was purely offering her the chance to shower first. I don’t even know what I’m saying, and the atmosphere is a bit…

She probably isn’t thinking anything, and we’re not that kind of relationship! She’s probably more uncomfortable than I am, and if I act like this, it’ll make her more anxious… Stop these delusions bred from countless games and web novels!

“No, you need to shower too, and we have things to discuss. I’ll shower quickly and come out.”

See? As expected, Cutjukyeora is calm.

I was the only one being excessively awkward. Her calmness made me calm down too. I felt grateful yet embarrassed. Thinking about the future, this too would just be a “minor” issue, so I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. I dismissed being groped by a stranger as trivial, so getting worked up just because we’re sharing the same space would be… strange, right?

Naturally. Yes. Like being at a freshman orientation camp. Shower, talk, and sleep. That’s all.

**

Splash–

Fortunately, there’s no shower, but there’s a bathtub big enough for one person. Ah, maybe the hot water is even more fortunate?

Though the position is uncomfortable, I roughly washed my body, washed my hair, and soaked in the tub for a moment, feeling a pleasant sense of relaxation. I said I’d come out quickly, so I should stay like this for just 10 minutes, no, 5 minutes, and then get out. This much should be fine.

‘…This is stupid.’

Why am I thinking about that conversation again?

It’s a minor issue.

‘This situation too, yes, it’s probably a minor issue? The surprise was mainly because the quest reward was different from what I expected. That would have been the main thing, and even that was momentary.’

The captain keeps saying “as expected, as expected” about me… I think he’s overestimating me. I wonder what kind of image he has of me. It seems to be a good one, which is nice, but…

It’s nice, but.

‘Why do I feel this strange feeling?’

Why? Why?

Things are going well. We got past the minor incident in the tavern.

Splash- Splash-

Seyeon, always think rationally.

“I know, I get it. I said I get it.”

I still think it’s annoying advice, but I can’t deny that it’s deeply rooted as the standard for my thoughts and actions. I was raised that way. It was so natural for me to analyze rather than somehow resolve this unknown emotion.

First. What is this strange feeling I’m experiencing now?

I don’t know.

Then back to first. What’s the current situation?

After finishing the quest at the tavern, I’m in the same inn room with the captain.

Second. Is that strange in the current situation?

No. My comment about sleeping outside if necessary wasn’t a joke. Rather, thanks to the captain’s quick thinking, I’m even washing my body with hot water, so it’s a good situation. At least compared to what I expected.

Third. The captain didn’t do anything lewd when we were alone, and even considerately let me shower first. So what’s the problem?

I don’t know! That’s what’s strange. Just somehow… something, just something feels off. I don’t know what it is.

He’s reliable. Comfortable.

That thought hasn’t changed. Although today is the first time seeing him in person, I’ve known him for over a year. But still…

‘Enough. I’ll figure it out eventually. Or it’ll disappear.’

So let’s not waste time on useless things. The captain needs to shower too.

**

‘What the heck, it’s almost my face.’

This was the first time I’d properly looked at my face since coming to the tower. It’s like my face as a base with a spoonful or two of game character added, slightly retouched.

‘That means what Cutjukyeora said when we first met was true. That her face is also almost identical to her real one.’

So a person that pretty actually exists in real life, not just in photos or videos.

I had an idle thought.

When I saw Cutjukyeora coming out of the bathroom with her face slightly flushed from the hot water, I felt awkward again and slightly averted my eyes, hurriedly escaping into the bathroom. But as I soaked my body in the hot water, unnecessary thoughts melted away, replaced by others.

Those other thoughts were soon fundamental questions.

‘Whether I fell into a game world, or the game was a gateway to another world, that’s something I’ll find out later. Then… quests that can be solved within Edenguard are one thing, but what about quests related to the outside? Is there a main storyline here too? If so, how does it flow?’

Edenguard was a city with a history of numerous defensive battles. But this is a tower divided into floors. And the message explicitly stated that this is a neutral area on the first floor.

Setting aside questioning the credibility of the message itself, which would be meaningless…

Thinking somewhat rationally, isn’t it highly likely that the rest of the first floor consists of places related to Edenguard or quest locations?

‘I was planning to talk with Cutjukyeora after showering, but thinking about it, it would be much better to sleep and talk after waking up.’

Though I pretended to be calm on the outside, my heart was still full of anxiety. Mind control and taking responsibility for leading someone is really not an easy task. Especially when it’s not just a project, but a matter of life and death.

‘Let’s sleep first. Think again after getting a good rest and when I’m in better condition.’

I got out of the bathtub. As I was drying myself with a towel, I looked in the mirror again, and my body seemed unfamiliar. I was never skinny or fat, but my body wasn’t this good before.

‘Somehow it seems like that part got bigger too.’

Come on, what does it matter if it got bigger? What a stupid thought.

**

We easily agreed that there was no need to reduce our sleeping time unless we both had terrible memory like goldfish and would forget what we needed to say after sleeping. But we were failing to reach an agreement on something we hadn’t even considered. At least by my standards, it was over something even more trivial than the incident where my buttock was groped.

“If we sleep close together, we can both fit on the bed.”

“The fact that we need to sleep close together means it’s too small, right? You should at least sleep comfortably. The floor here is clean, so I can sleep comfortably on the floor.”

“But it’s hard and cold.”

“We can lay down the blanket.”

“But it’s thin?”

“I tried lying down earlier and it was fine. Really, it’s fine. I slept on the floor a lot when I was young. Don’t worry about it.”

I told Cutjukyeora to take the bed and naturally laid the blanket on the floor. But she, who had followed all my instructions until now, was being stubborn for the first time and took the blanket away.

My eyes were getting heavy, why is she being stubborn about this?

“Then how about I sleep on the bed and you sleep on the floor?”

“No. I can’t sleep on the floor.”

“That’s why I’m saying I’ll sleep on the floor? Don’t worry about it. Really.”

“How can I not worry? You worked harder than me today. Why should you sleep on the floor? Don’t do that and sleep on the bed.”

Ah. I didn’t want to say this.

“I’m uncomfortable, that’s why.”

“What?”

Cutjukyeora looked clearly taken aback.

“What do you mean ‘what’? Even if this bed were king-sized, I’d be uncomfortable. I’ve never even held hands with a woman, how could I sleep in the same bed?”

It’s embarrassing, but at this point, it’s not a minor issue.

I’ve had enough of working with people who complain no matter what you do or don’t do. Sleeping close together on a narrow bed? Even if Cutjukyeora is a normal person unlike those people, it’s still difficult for me.

So, having said this much, she’ll understand and go to sleep.

“Do you think I have that kind of experience?”

“…Huh?”

She doesn’t?

No, that’s not it—she’s countering me like this? Does she want me to sleep on the bed that badly? In the same bed? With someone she just met today?

“Compared to you needing to rest comfortably, such things…”

Are “minor” issues.

Using the same words I had used, Cutjukyeora grabbed my wrist and made me lie down on the bed. Then she lay down too and pulled up the blanket.

“No, not a little but a lot clo—”

“Good night, Captain.”

“Hey.”

“Sleep well, Captain.”

Memo.

She is strong.

Quite strong.