episode_0087

It was dark.

That was the first feeling I had when I came to my senses.

‘Where am I?’

I felt hazy, as if I had fallen asleep in dark water, as my consciousness returned.

To be precise, my mind had returned, but my body couldn’t move at all.

It was as if someone was pressing down on my body.

After being pressed down by someone for a moment, my body slowly began to move, and my eyes and eardrums started to open.

“““Yeon Seung-mun!”””

“““Waaahhhhh!!!”””

A piercing cheer swept through my opening eyes and eardrums.

‘W-what is this?’

Where am I?

I stared blankly at the countless people in front of me, roaring like thunder, and the people on the platform.

But that was only for a moment.

“Seung-woo Lee, what’s wrong? Did you eat something bad?”

The military man next to me – no, Ju Hanjin, who would later be called Yeon Seung-mun’s mad dog, spoke to me.

“No, it’s nothing.”

“You’re boring. Still, let’s smile, at least for today.”

“Understood.”

Saying that, Ju Hanjin patted my shoulder and headed towards where the reporters were. Seeing him, I realized.

Ah. Right. I remember now.

When this was.

‘After the Second Korean War, the Sino-Korean War, and then—’

It was the day he seized power after the military coup.

Yes. In short.

‘Have I returned to the first day of his term?’

To be precise, not me.

“The Republic of Korea will henceforth become a nation of true equality and loyalty, without a single shred of shame…”

Though it is General Yeon Seung-mun over there.

Thinking that to myself, I considered the events that were about to unfold.

There were many things, but if I were to list only the important ones…

The military service bonus points, or more precisely, the national civil servant bonus point system, the closure of community sites that could incite hatred, the revival of the death penalty, the military anti-discrimination law, and so on.

Roughly speaking, these were the important things I remembered (by my standards).

‘Quite a lot.’

Well, it was only natural, if anything.

As someone who seized power with guns and tanks, he knew exactly who his target audience was.

Thinking that to myself, I watched President Yeon Seung-mun’s speech to the end.

More precisely, I watched the other people present besides that President fellow…

Most of the people present were wiping away tears, as if proud that Green Academy had finally produced three presidents.

No. In fact, I knew how they felt.

They probably felt that their wretched treatment was finally being compensated.

Perhaps I also felt that way in the past.

‘Not anymore.’

Thinking about the Yeon Seung-mun immolation incident and the gate that would erupt later, I felt rather displeased.

Well, still.

‘He was the one who taught us that guns are necessary to achieve true equality. A clap or two should be fine.’

“…Thank you!”

After President Yeon Seung-mun’s speech ended, afterward, afterward… what did I do?

‘My vision… it’s….’

I suddenly felt my mind float away, and I saw people through my blurring vision.

Most of the people were rejoicing.

Their eyes seemed to believe that Yeon Seung-mun was a true superhuman who could save the ruined Republic of Korea.

To me, he was simply.

[So, can you do it or not?]

[Yes, I can.]

[Then take care of it.]

Nothing more than a contractor who buys me good food and commissions me to bury someone.

I closed my eyes like that, and my mind became hazy again, as if plunging into water.

Soon, I felt someone grab my arm, holding me and pulling me out of the deep water I was submerged in.

I didn’t resist that touch. I held on, rose above the water, and—

I was able to safely regain consciousness.

“Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!”

“T-Takuya?!”

No. To be precise.

“I! I thought you were dead!”

“W-what is that— Ah, the tattoo.”

I had died once and could awaken again.

***

I mumbled, looking at the cliff-like slope visible inside the cave.

“You mean we fell together from that height?”

“Yeah. After we fell, I was fine. But Takuya’s head was bleeding.”

Listening to Ayaka Mom, who was stopping the bleeding from my throbbing head with her own clothes, I thought to myself.

Perhaps because I fell from that height, I was not unscathed.

And there was a reason for that.

‘The tattoo is disappearing.’

It was because the subtly heart-shaped tattoo that had been on my arm was vanishing.

In short, it was as if I had already used up one life.

‘What a waste.’

If I had responded a little better, I might not have had to use a spare life unnecessarily, but to use it up like this…

Though it was a bit of a waste, I decided not to dwell on it for now.

There’s nothing as foolish as regretting something that has already been used.

Having shaken off my thoughts about the tattoo, I looked outside the cave I was in and spoke.

-The rain poured down!

Outside the cave where I was, a strong downpour was drenching the ground.

That’s right, it was raining here now. And it was a considerably strong downpour.

“When will the rain stop?”

“Hmm, well, looking at the rain, it seems it’ll only stop after some time passes.”

At that, I let out a deep sigh.

‘This is going to be troublesome.’

If I couldn’t get back home today, I was quite bothered by not knowing what Yuka Mom, who is timid and worries a lot, might do.

As I sighed deeply and thought, Ayaka Mom approached from behind and hugged me.

Then she whispered into my ear.

“It’s okay, Takuya. Everything will be fine…”

It seemed Ayaka Mom thought I was feeling anxious in this situation.

But that was a big misunderstanding.

Right now, this kind of situation didn’t really make me anxious.

Rather, it’s cozy and nice, I guess.

‘Compared to when I used to live eating bugs, this is heaven.’

The reason I sighed was simply because of Yuka Mom, who would cling to me once I got home later.

She’d probably even insist on following me to the bathroom if she found out I died once.

Thinking that to myself, I looked at Ayaka Mom and spoke.

“It’s not because I’m scared. It’s just that I don’t know how Yuka Mom will scold me when we go back later.”

“Pfft, it’s true that Yuka is quite timid.”

Fortunately, at my words, Ayaka Mom also seemed to relax, nodding and smiling.

For a moment, we smiled at each other.

But that was only for a moment before a problem arose.

“Achoo!”

Ayaka Mom’s body was shivering.

It seemed the wet clothes I had seen since first waking up were the problem.

At that sight, I realized my mistake.

I should have paid attention, but I had forgotten.

Seeing Ayaka Mom like that, I hastily took out the necessary items from my pocket.

No. I tried to take them out.

‘But, can I show her my subspace pocket?’

For a moment, I wondered if it was okay to show her my subspace pocket. But I concluded that since she knew about hypnosis, she’d probably know about this too, and so I put my hand into my pocket.

Then I roughly pulled out charcoal, a torch, and a Korea-brand steamer, and handed Ayaka Mom a sleeping bag.

“W-what is this?”

“It’s a sleeping bag. Please cover yourself with this, at least.”

At my words, Ayaka Mom nodded, though she looked flustered.

No. If she knows about hypnosis, shouldn’t she know about this too?

That thought crossed my mind for a moment, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

“Mom, please take off your clothes first.”

“C-clothes? Th-that’s…”

I told Ayaka Mom, who was wearing wet clothes, to take them off.

I said it because wearing wet clothes makes your body temperature drop quickly.

Ayaka Mom seemed to know that fact too, and nodded.

“I’ll give you some clothes, at least. Take them off.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Ayaka Mom said that and took off her clothes. I first offered her a towel, and then tried to give her appropriate clothes, but…

‘What? Why aren’t there any clothes?’

There were no clothes that I had been storing in my subspace pocket.

‘Oh, right. I took them all out to replace them last time, didn’t I?!’

Now that I think about it, all the spare clothes had been taken out for replacement.

In other words.

‘Huh? Do we have to be naked?’

Ayaka Mom would have to be naked.

No, not just Ayaka Mom, but I, who had gotten wet in the rain without realizing it, would also have to be naked.

Realizing that, I seriously pondered what to do. Ayaka Mom, seeing me deep in thought without offering any clothes, asked what was wrong.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, well…”

I explained the general situation to Ayaka Mom. After listening to my explanation, Ayaka Mom pondered for a moment, then seemed to make a decision.

“Then…”

She unzipped the sleeping bag I had told her to tightly wrap herself in, opened the entrance wide, and said,

“It’s cold. Let’s stick together.”

At Ayaka Mom’s words, I truly had no choice but to maintain my body temperature, so—

“Yes.”

I decided to go in for now.

There was no better way to maintain body temperature than by clinging closely to each other.

It was definitely not because of any ulterior motives.

Anyway, that’s how it was.