episode_0122

The size of the facility is almost the size of a soccer field.

The dome that covers the ceiling of the building is densely packed with magic, and there is very little sign of popularity inside.

At least with my knowledge, I couldn’t guess what the building was doing.

I walked along with Baek A-rin with a feeling of anticipation.

Inside the facility, rectangular beds were placed in a pile.

“?”

An unimaginable view of the interior. I couldn’t understand the English text.

After a moment of calming down, I calmed down a bit and looked around again.

To be exact, it wasn’t just the bed.

There was also a small wooden storage box and a small refrigerator next to the bed.

And that’s it.

“Now, come this way.”

The moment I was about to observe the inside of the storage box, Baek A-rin held my hand and started walking.

The place to head was the central bed.

The bed was very big.

The standard bed in the dormitory was also very large compared to my body size, but the bed over there seemed to be easily four times larger than the standard bed.

To add a bit of exaggeration, it is a huge bed so big that even if ten Lee Ha-yul lie side by side, there will still be room.

I tilted my head and shook Baek Arin’s arm a little.

[what is this?]

[What kind of bed is this?]

[What is this facility doing?]

The necklace of confession poured out words. Baek Arin glanced at the rattling necklace and shrugged her shoulders.

“You will find out soon. Because…”

By the time I reached it, I was right in front of the bed.

“Because you are going to experience it for yourself now… yup.“

[yes?]

Baek A-rin pulled my holding hand and pushed me towards the bed.

It wasn’t to the point of being thrown, just a moderate amount of pushing.

There was no hostility or anything in that action.

My guard was down, so I was pushed back helplessly.

I sat down on the bed with my knees bent and my knees bent.

“That’s right. Please go a little further in.”

[???]

I could clearly feel the softness of the bed on my butt. Before I could react, my shoulder was pushed again and I ended up lying down.

“Tskcha…”

While I was thinking about it, I lay down on the large bed.

Baek A-rin, who pushed me down, took off the denim jacket she was wearing, placed it on the storage bin next to her, and lay down next to me.

“Wow, it’s nice and soft. They brought it in as a high-end product… isn’t it inconvenient?”

[yes]

[are you okay]

“here. Have a glass of water.”

[thank you]

The distance widened slightly.

Baek A-rin, who was checking the condition of the bed for a moment, asked me about my condition, and I nodded hesitantly.

Next, I fiddled with the water bottle that was handed to me for a moment, then opened the lid and drank a little.

Cool water poured into my dry mouth.

“……”

I swallowed the water and rolled my head for a moment.

I have doubts because I haven’t yet interpreted the magic spells engraved on the ceiling, but as I get to this point, many thoughts come to mind.

Among them, there were some outrageous thoughts that I could not bear to share with others.

It’s huge, but for some reason it’s a secret room with a big bed…

This background encouraged such imagination.

It was a thought I could never tell anyone else.

Also, it was a ridiculous delusion that was shot down as soon as I thought about it.

Because Baek Arin had no reason to act like that.

I don’t really know anything about Baek Arin, but common sense tells me that.

How long has it been since you last met? Even if you meet each other for a year or two, you cannot understand the true intentions of people.

It was a stupid idea. Even when I thought about it, I was so stupid that my face almost turned red.

To hide my face, I buried my face into the pillow in front of my nose.

‘Fu, it’s soft…’

My body stiffened for a moment due to the unexpected softness.

When I think about it, the softness of the bed that supports my body is not normal. Baek Arin did not admire it for no reason because it was a high-end product.

“If you’re tired, you can just lie down. Just lie back and keep your ears open~”

[yes?]

Baek A-rin glanced at me and smiled, then tapped the smartwatch one after another.

Open your ears, what does that mean?

It was around the time I was tilting my head.

– Ugh…

My body trembled.

There was no sound. It wasn’t the kind of movement where sound could be heard.

Round ceiling.

The large amount of spells stored inside were filled with magical energy and began to operate.

I didn’t intentionally look for it and interpret it, but when it started operating like that, I had no choice but to interpret it even if I didn’t like it.

There was no technique for attacking. However, there were almost no techniques for defense.

There were very few techniques for security or maintenance.

There are two main types of alcohol…

The moment I just interpreted him.

– Boom!

“……!”

A heavy sound echoed around the area.

It was a loud and irritating vibration, as if the sound was amplified by hitting all directions.

It almost makes you wonder if the sound is hitting your eardrums.

But it didn’t hurt my ears or anything.

It was the effect of a magic trick.

‘…just now?’

It’s a sound I’ve heard many times, if not often.

I don’t know the exact name.

But I know that the sound is made by an instrument.

– Boom! thud! thud!

It felt as if the successive sounds of tapping my eardrums signaled the beginning of a performance.

– ♪…

And as if to affirm him, the melodies of various instruments appeared one by one.

All kinds of sounds filled my ears. Various instruments seemed to tickle my ears and pound my eardrums.

The sound was very stimulating and huge.

The only things in this space are a bed, a storage box, and a refrigerator.

Perhaps thanks to this, the sounds of various instruments were able to spread easily throughout the spacious space.

“……”

I absentmindedly rubbed my ears.

Since my senses have been amplified, I have often been startled by sudden loud noises.

I knew how to sharpen my senses, but it was my responsibility to handle him.

Even with normal hearing, there are loud and irritating sounds.

When I heard that sound through amplified hearing, I felt pain as if the inside of my skull was pounding.

That wasn’t the case now.

A series of irritating and heavy sounds entered my ears, pounded my eardrums and were transmitted to my head, but it wasn’t burdensome at all.

‘Magic.’

One of two types of magic built into the ceiling.

It was a type of magic that I had never learned much about… that interfered with sound in detail.

‘ah.’

Only then did I realize it.

A spacious but empty space.

A lumpy bed.

Magic that manipulates sound in detail.

‘This is the facility for this.’

This was a performance hall.

A space to enjoy sounds built through magic. This facility was designed and built for this purpose from the beginning.

– Tuk-tuk

It was then.

Baek A-rin, who was listening to music like me, suddenly tapped my shoulder.

While I was listening blankly, I turned my head to see something, and Baek Ah-rin giggled and said.

“I said it would be okay, right?”

The voice was clearly heard even among various sounds.

It’s a tone that I think I already like.

I didn’t really feel any resistance to it. Because I actually liked the melody in my ears.

When Baek A-rin nodded absently, she smiled satisfactorily as if she knew this would happen and printed out a hologram with a hand gesture.

“Hayul’s sensing ability is a method of collecting information within a certain range. We cannot collect any information outside the scope… right?”

This is something that has been explained before.

Baek A-rin manipulated the hologram.

“I don’t know if you’ll like this either.”

– Ugh…

I could feel the movement of magical power from the ceiling.

Half of the spells that were not yet in operation began operation.

Magic power was built up in a fairly complex type of magic, and magic was manifested.

“……”

The ceiling was painted only black.

It was a color reminiscent of a pitch-black universe without a single starlight.

– sparkle

Light suddenly emerged from among those colors.

There was a bright yellow light, a dull blue light, and a sparkling red light.

But most of it was just blue and white light.

Countless white lights suddenly appeared on the black ceiling.

First one, two… then ten… at some point, it passed a hundred, and then suddenly a thousand.

A feast of light that could be described as countless filled the pitch-black ceiling.

There were so many of them that it seemed as if small lights had gathered on one side to form a white river.

Light shining down here like countless dots in a pitch black space.

‘sky.’

Magic was revealed, and the ceiling recreated the universe unfolding in the night sky.

.

.

.

I was dazed for a while.

My ears were still filled with the sounds of all kinds of beautiful instruments, and the ceiling showed the universe, showing a night sky of various stars.

‘sky.’

A place that cannot be captured with your eyes closed.

Spatial perception… I couldn’t capture a vast area that could fill the sky.

The power of conscious observation is possible if you work hard.

Rather than pulling information from the sky within range, you could change it to a point in time that is really similar to the time.

It may be impossible now, but it might be possible someday.

But before I could even try him, a universe unfolded in my head.

“How do you feel?”

My hands itched. When I started observing something, I saw a thin finger tickling my palm.

Baek A-rin, who was lying next to me, looked at me and asked.

The hair that was neatly tied up was spread out on the bed, filled with imitated starlight pouring from the ceiling.

“This is a facility you searched for and reserved with great effort… Do you like it?”

‘……’

I thought about it for a moment.

The universe is not contained in the retina.

It is not the sky seen with the eyes.

I wanted to see the sky with my own eyes.

The information obtained through observation is bound to be insufficient.

The necklace clicked.

[great]

If I had visited this facility myself, I would not have liked it.

When I became aware of him, I realized that my personality was like a child.

Even if I pat my head alone, there is no emotion.

When my head was stroked by someone who cared for me, my heart felt warm and I smiled brightly.

In a situation where my sense of taste was paralyzed, it was unpleasant to crumple up food by myself.

The food that someone who treated me with respect put in my mouth was good even though it was tasteless.

Even though I sometimes burrowed into the arms of a large teddy bear and had a blanket covered up to my head, there was no great satisfaction.

I could never feel so happy and cozy when I was held in the arms of someone who liked me.

‘Baek Arin…’

Do you care about me?

Do you cherish me?

Do you like me?

I turned my observation deeper and projected beyond Baek A-rin’s mask.

The expressionless expression I’ve always felt.

It is a cold face without any emotion.

‘I don’t know.’

Baek A-rin in the first game is a strong and trustworthy person who stayed by the player’s side until he was eventually killed.

Baek A-rin in the 8th episode is a traitor who stabs the player in the back during a critical phase of the battle with the owner of the cold tower.

He is a character who is hiding a secret that was not discovered in the original work.

I doubt it.

I wasn’t sure about anything. My brain was so stupid and I had very little experience dealing with people, so it was difficult to guess anything.

“I’m glad you like it.”

Baek Arin smiled brightly.

Even though his face was cold on the inside, he was smiling through his mask, saying he was happy and satisfied.

It was very confusing.

Why is the real face so cold and the mask so grinning?

They stabbed him in the back in episode 8, but why didn’t he betray him until the end in episode 1?

Will he stab me in the back later in real life?

I wonder if the reason why I’m treating you so well now is just an act to let down my guard…

also.

Why are the emotions I vaguely feel so faint, and what on earth do I seem to be hoping for so desperately?

‘I don’t know.’

Doubt and confusion.

‘still…’

We squeezed our joined hands tightly. It’s really cool… but now it’s quite soft and I’m used to it.

Until now, Baek A-rin has consistently acted considerate of me.

Even if there is a snobbish feeling about it, I hope that there is a little bit of a heart that cares for me.

‘I hope you don’t betray me.’

It may be snobbish, but if the person who treats me like this stabs me in the back… it would break my heart to a degree that I don’t even want to imagine.

If you want something, I will do my best to make it happen, so please do not betray me.

“I already reserved it until tomorrow. If you feel sleepy while watching, you can sleep as is.”

After saying that, Baek Arin paused. He smirked and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Please rest assured. I’ll just hold your hand and sleep.”

Soon, they smiled mischievously and waved their joined hands.

‘…If you’re sleepy, sleep…’

When I heard that nuance, I felt really drowsy like Pavlov’s dog.

The soft bed and the blanket that was already covering my neck made me fall asleep.

The melody in my ears was like a lullaby.

Baek A-rin is lying next to him.

If you remember the information from episode 8, you won’t feel at ease… but you are confident that it is absolutely safe inside the city cradle, so there is no threat.

It is also because the wariness toward Baek Arin itself has diminished significantly.

My body became heavy, and my consciousness gradually faded away.

“Uh… Huh? Are you really sleeping?”

My hands were bored. Instead of holding on to the thing that was glimmering in my hands, I let go of my consciousness.

My consciousness sank.

I didn’t have any nightmares.

* * *

“…I really fell asleep.”

As soon as I told him he could fall asleep, his breathing became even and he drifted off into dreamland.

Baek A-rin, who was lying on the bed, blinked and turned her head.

Then, the face of Lee Ha-yul, who was sleeping soundly, was clearly visible.

The face is so innocent.

Just as I was about to press my finger against my cheek out of curiosity, my hand was grabbed.

When I looked down, I saw my hand being held tightly by Lee Ha-yul.

Instead of being alert, it looks like it’s whining as if it’s telling you not to leave.

It’s almost like people are tilting their heads to the side because their guard is falling faster than expected.

I’m sure you were clearly afraid of this at first.

As time passed, those feelings faded away, but Lee Ha-yul’s fundamental rejection of Baek A-rin still seemed to remain.

Because of that, I thought it would be very difficult to let down one’s guard…

‘Oh right.’

Suddenly, Lee Ha-yul’s reaction when he first recognized this bed came to mind.

The face, which at first was tilted with suspicion and embarrassment, suddenly flinched and turned bright red like a tomato.

I could immediately see what he was thinking from his very explicit and pure reaction.

Baek A-rin opened the storage box next to her with a strange expression and put her hand in.

I lifted the box that was roughly in my hand and held it in front of my eyes.

“That kind of use is also appropriate.”

The identity of the box was a basic contraceptive tool.

There were people who used this place for that purpose.

* * *

[Player Correction System: Favorability]

Lee Ha-yul → Baek A-rin

●●●●●●○○○○(63▷68/100)

｢liking｣ ｢doubt｣ ｢confusion｣

…

[The requirements for ‘Curse of Silence’ were not satisfied]

[The requirements for “Curse of Solitude” were not met]

…

[Savior Correction System: Annihilation Blade]

[The system expresses its vehement rejection of cold weather!]

…

[Read the savior’s emotions]

[Player Correction System: Measurement]

▶Mental state

｢Salvation｣: Saving those in danger.

…

[Player Correction System: Favorability]

Lee Ha-yul → Baek A-rin

●●●●●●○○○○(68/100)

｢Favorable｣ ｢Doubt｣ ｢Confusion｣

…

[System tuning…]

[Savior Correction System: Pioneering]

[Linked with the main quest “Tower of the Cold”…]

[Creates the quest “Baek Arin”]

…

[Savior Correction System: Salvation Island]

[When the savior performs salvation, the system will assist the savior with all its might]