episode_0144

This is a huge problem.

No joke.

It’s not about Mi-jeong, who used to be a cool beauty with a poker face, suddenly becoming as lively as any ordinary girl. It’s about the fact that my special ability, the ‘Guardian Knight,’ is not activating at all.

Was there ever a time when there was a guy who unconditionally activated the Guardian Knight just by being by my side?

Yena was constantly resistant to activation, and Yuriya often flickered off as well.

Even though Jil always did a good job of activating it when she was with me, the problem is that Jil falls asleep.

When Jil enters a shallow sleep, the Guardian Knight stays on, but if she goes into a deep sleep and her consciousness completely shuts down, the Guardian Knight turns off.

On the other hand, Mi-jeong never sleeps.

Except for a few special situations, she never closes her eyes.

She was the one who always activated the Guardian Knight as long as she was within a certain range, even making me forget that I had such a trait.

“Phew… My stamina is running out…”

Losing that advantage is more than just a couple of inconveniences.

Not only have all my stats shrunk to one-fifth, but I’m also suffering a penalty of -5, making my body feel incredibly heavy.

I get tired from walking just a little bit, and the sword and backpack are so heavy that my waist feels like it’s about to break.

“Was this… how normal people see things…?”

I was definitely a superhuman in terms of stats.

But as soon as the Guardian Knight turned off, I instantly deteriorated to the level of an ordinary person.

There have been a few times when I couldn’t activate the Guardian Knight because I was separated from Mi-jeong, but I’ve never had it turned off for this long.

As magical exhaustion sets in, my stamina drains, my muscles start to cramp, and I begin to realize that these so-called superhumans are really just a bunch of scams…

“Yujin. This is tough… This thing, is it a communication device or something? It’s too heavy…”

“…”

Mi-jeong, who is complaining beside me and barely clinging to my back.

She used to silently carry heavy loads without a word.

But now, it seems like her stamina has already run out, as she staggers with red eyes, looking like she’s about to collapse.

“Let’s take a break for a bit.”

“Phew! Finally…”

She’s definitely different.

She’s clearly different from Mi-jeong.

It’s not just that her emotions have returned.

There’s something fundamentally, a big difference.

But it’s still difficult to pinpoint exactly what it is.

“Mi-jeong, try activating the communication device. We need to contact Linda.”

“Okay. Wait a moment. Holding the microphone… tuning the channel… Ah. Linda, can you hear me?”

Mi-jeong tries to communicate by tapping the microphone repeatedly.

But after a while with no response, she checks the connection status of the microphone and adjusts the channel again.

“What’s wrong, Yujin? It’s still not working?”

“Why is this happening?”

“Y-Yujin! Why are you hitting it?”

“You have to hit machines to fix them.”

Despite using the last resort, hitting it, there is still no response from Linda on the communication device.

Even after switching to the emergency line, there is still no answer.

“Maybe the communication device is broken.”

I hesitantly opened the communication device cover to check…

And immediately closed it again.

I have no idea what to do to fix it.

Watching the tangled mess of wires, my head feels like it’s spinning along with it.

I can’t tell if the malfunction occurred on Linda’s end or our end.

If it’s the former, Linda will repair it herself, so it will be fixed.

If it’s the latter, we’ll have to go find Linda or Kern ourselves.

Either way, our plans have been severely disrupted.

“For now, all we can do is hope that Linda’s repair is successful. It’s too much of a waste of time to head to the City of Leaves right now. For the time being…”

“Hmm?”

“Uh?”

The words started to drag on.

Mijeong and Moomyeong stared at me intently.

For now, I have to do something about Mijeong.

Whether it triggers the Guardian Knight or not.

I even thought about using Moomyeong as a replacement.

But no matter how much time I spend with Moomyeong, the Guardian Knight doesn’t ignite.

It seems like he has an immense, baseless confidence, like Kali’s leftovers, and doesn’t seem to have the perception of receiving protection from me.

So Moomyeong is out.

There are two options.

The first is to somehow fix Mijeong back to her original state and make her my exclusive Guardian Knight igniter again.

And the second is to abandon Mijeong.

“You…”

“Hmm?”

“What’s the reason for being with me?”

“Because I’m a slave?”

“…”

Because she’s a slave.

She’s not following me of her own will.

In that case, it might be best to let Mijeong go.

After all, money is not an issue.

Mijeong may be young in body, but with enough money, she can live independently enough to support herself.

So if she wants, it’s best to let her step back from the dangerous front lines and live peacefully.

That’s what I think.

‘This current state is the right state.’

And above all, there is a flaw in the expression of ‘fixing’ Mijeong.

Mijeong in her current state is not wrong.

In fact, this is the right state.

If she is a rational vampire like Transylvania, she should express a variety of emotions no different from humans.

Everything up until now has been abnormal.

Thinking that way, there is only one choice left.

“…”

I have to liberate Mijeong.

I know that in my head.

But it’s difficult to say it out loud.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind. What’s bothering you?”

“I do.”

“What is it? I’ll listen. Isn’t it a slave’s role to relieve the worries of their master?”

“…”

Mijeong doesn’t ask me if I have any worries like this.

This is not the Mijeong I know.

Thinking that way, it became a little easier to deal with.

“I’m just confused. It’s useless and there’s no reason to keep her around anymore, but I know I have to let her go. But I keep feeling attached and it’s hard.”

“Hmm. Is it about a close friend?”

“We were close. Very.”

“Why do you feel attached?”

“I don’t know… Maybe I’ve grown fond of her. But she has changed. Dramatically. So there’s no reason to stay together anymore… but I don’t want to let her go.”

“Are you afraid of parting ways?”

“Not really.”

As I hold hands with Mijeong and talk, my thoughts start to clear up.

Was I a human who feared change?

Or a human who vaguely feared parting ways?

If limited to the past, that would be correct.

But not anymore.

I know when to leave.

I have learned to accept the repetition of meetings and partings.

If letting Mijeong go from here is the path to both of our happiness.

I am prepared to do so willingly.

But this time, what am I hesitating and fearing?

‘It’s strangely ominous.’

An unknown ominous feeling.

It has been enveloping me since yesterday.

At first, I thought it was just a normal cold or a kind of sluggish feeling.

But as time passed, I realized something was different.

It’s a ‘gaze.’

The gaze I feel when someone looks at me.

My undefined senses have been tormenting me all along.

“Mijeong’s change is not entirely positive.”

Something happened around last night.

To both Mijeong and me.

Or perhaps on a global scale.

With that conviction, the thought that I must not let Mijeong go grows stronger.

Mijeong’s sudden change in personality is not a sign of ‘regaining’ emotions… but rather…

It feels like something has been ‘lost’ and I can’t shake off that thought.

“Then, I should start by organizing Yujin’s feelings. About that person.”

“You’re right.”

Let’s wait and see for now.

Hasty judgments often lead to trouble.

I need to figure out the identity of this ‘uneasiness’ that I feel, no matter what it takes.

The time it takes doesn’t matter.

It’s a task that requires my full effort, with Yujin’s assistance.

It didn’t take long before I could find ‘uneasiness’ in various places.

Something happened starting from last night.

Evidence that reinforces that certainty appeared.

“The monsters suddenly weakened? What does that mean?”

“Is it true? I felt a very slight weakening.”

“It is. We entered the dungeon this morning, and there was definitely a difference compared to yesterday. And the monsters seemed to be moving somewhat erratically.”

According to the mercenaries’ gossip, all the monsters’ powers weakened starting from last night.

Of course, I won’t make judgments based on just a few conversations.

I visited nearby mercenary groups to gather information.

The result.

Except for a few supporters, most mercenaries are aware of the decline in monster power.

Other than that, there were no clear changes.

“So many changes happening overnight. Yujin becoming more active, communication devices malfunctioning, monsters weakening.”

Three seemingly unrelated events occurred simultaneously overnight.

There is definitely a correlation, but I can’t pinpoint the cause.

“What do Yujin, communication devices, and monsters have to do with each other… huh?”

I got a hint.

Monsters.

Perhaps Yujin is also a type of monster, affecting all monsters.

The communication issue may be Linda’s problem rather than a device malfunction.

Although she’s no longer a monster, Linda was once a monster.

If it’s an ‘influence on monsters,’ it makes sense.

Now the question arises, what is this influence that weakens all monsters and changes Yujin’s personality?

If you ask if Yujin’s power has also weakened, it doesn’t seem so.

She still uses arithmetic and magic well.

“This is driving me crazy…”

“Eat first, Yujin! I don’t know what you’re doing!”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

“Since I’m not giving you any, go over there. This stew is for Yujin.”

At the sound of my name, I fold the newspaper and head to the dining table.

Suddenly, a delicious smell fills the hotel room.

It seems Yujin has cooked something again.

The anonymous figure who was reading the newspaper with me has transformed into a human form and is clinging to Yujin.

Yujin is pushing away the figure aggressively.

“Is this tomato soup?”

“Yes! Want to taste it? I can’t eat it… hehe.”

“It’s delicious…”

“Yay!”

It’s surprisingly delicious.

Yujin is delighted as if she’s about to jump for joy.

She quickly serves the soup on a plate.

Her cooking skills are completely different from her usual image.

She’s only 13 years old.

Did she learn to cook to feed her younger siblings?

“Did you cook for your younger sibling?”

“…”

“Oh.”

After a moment of silence, I realize my mistake.

I unintentionally asked about Yujin’s past.

I’ve never been curious or asked about Yujin’s past before.

Is it a wound?

Is it something she doesn’t want to remember?

Lost in these thoughts, I look at Yujin.

Her expression is strange.

“Bro… ther…?”

“Why are you like that?”

“I don’t know… It feels like it was there, but also like it wasn’t there…”

Mi-jeong, crying with her head in her hands.

After a few more questions and answers, she finally realizes.

What Mi-jeong has lost.

“Hometown? Family?”

“I don’t know… Everything…”

It was nothing but memories.