#046
“?”
What would I know? And he dislikes sleeping in the same space?
“What do you mean? I just came out after sleeping in the tent.”
“That’s because you’re… different.”
“Different how… ah…”
An awkward silence fell. So, I’m known here as Carlisle’s ex-spouse. Once married and naturally sharing a bed, that kind of relationship. But since we ended badly, shouldn’t we be considered worse than strangers?
“You were sleeping at almost a fainting level with no sign of waking up at all. I said it was okay to leave you here in case you two felt awkward, but the captain insisted on taking you.”
Taro explained with a serious face.
“You know this too, but the captain has always been quite possessive when it comes to you specifically. No matter how much you’ve broken up, he probably didn’t want to see you alone with another person at night right under his nose, even if he might not mind if he didn’t know about it. That kind of psychology, maybe? That’s how I understood it.”
“……”
“……”
Having this kind of conversation with an NPC felt really strange. We were talking about romance, but the subject wasn’t even a real-life lover, and it was even a male character. What was I doing right now? I suddenly felt a reality check.
I cleared my throat and changed the subject.
“So, well, are you going to sleep here? While I’m on watch?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry about me and just be comfortable. I sleep well even with someone next to me. And don’t feel too burdened about watch duty either. It’s just in case, and both the car and tent have stealth functions and danger detection capabilities, so nothing should happen.”
Taro pushed manga books, a game console, and a snack box toward me and wriggled into his sleeping bag.
“Well, I’m counting on you.”
Taro turned off the back seat lights, winked at me, and immediately put on a sleep mask. It didn’t take long for his breathing to become even. I don’t know if he’s the type who falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, but he must be tired since he’s been awake since early this morning.
It was just a bit surprising that they’d entrust watch duty to a novice like me and not feel anxious, even if the car had danger detection functions.
I moved to the front seat. Through the front windshield, I could see the open desert sky. When I dimmed the front lights as much as possible, a scene unfolded that truly brought to life the saying about stars pouring down.
Come to think of it, the ground below had somehow returned to its earlier silence and darkness. The colorful eyes and cries that had seemed to multiply and swarm had all disappeared. It was strange. Was there really something about me that attracted monsters? Because I was a player?
‘If that’s really the case, it would be really troublesome…’
It would be a big problem if other NPCs noticed it. Everyone would have no choice but to avoid being near me, and they might even want to throw me as bait among the monsters and escape.
‘Muchi would definitely do that, and Carlisle too…’
He might do it because he hates being bothered. Anyway, he’s still someone whose true intentions I can’t read. Taro at least doesn’t seem like he would, but seeing how he turns into a madman when he grabs the steering wheel, I can’t completely trust him either.
Alone in the silence, my thoughts wandered. I had completed what I considered my first real battle. (I’m not thick-skinned enough to call beating up small mobs for leveling up in the forest a battle.) When I checked my level, I almost whistled without realizing it.
My combat level had jumped more than expected. It was a tearful achievement earned by using potions and cooling bands like water—well, that expression doesn’t fit in this world, but anyway, using them without thinking about the consequences. Thinking that my combat level would continue rising at this pace for the next few days (if I survived), I felt both happy and nauseous at the same time.
‘Still, if it keeps rising at this speed, it should become more manageable.’
I wished my weapon was a bit better. And potions too. I estimated the number of remaining stamina potions, healing potions, and cooling bands. At this rate of consumption, I wouldn’t last three days.
‘Will we find an oasis within three days?’
The place we needed to find was an oasis. Since it seemed like a hidden dungeon would open after defeating a boss mob, our destination was clear. The problem was that there were multiple oases in this desert and the location of the boss mob changed each time. So we’d have to check nearby oases one by one—we might get lucky on the first try, but if unlucky, we might have to go to the very last one. And mirages definitely existed on top of that.
‘I don’t know how long each battle will take either.’
I was happy that my combat level had risen, but monsters would proportionally become stronger too.
‘Will I be able to return alive?’
Forget returning to reality—for now, my goal was just to return to the village alive. Preferably with Seiz’s Halmite and Elmer’s sand strawberries if possible.
I sighed, but there was nothing else I could do right now except stay alert and hope for good luck.
The desert night sky was damn beautiful.
***
The moment Raon left the tent, Carlisle opened his eyes. Sleep no longer lingered in his eyes.
The brief conversation with Taro, the retreating footsteps, and the sound of the car door opening and closing were clearly audible. He let time pass for a moment. The noise from monsters that had become agitated upon sensing Raon’s presence subsided again.
Carlisle quietly rose and stepped outside the tent. The darkness that blocked Raon’s vision was nothing to Carlisle. He could clearly see Raon sitting in the driver’s seat looking up at the sky through the windshield.
As always when he woke up at night, Carlisle habitually took out a cigarette and lit it while recalling the day Raon had visited his mansion before departing for the desert.
After confirming that Raon had left the mansion and disappeared toward the village that day, Carlisle immediately moved somewhere. But it wasn’t to a restaurant for dinner as he had told Raon. He pushed aside one of the bookshelves in his study and pressed something. Then what had been a wall became a door, revealing stairs leading underground.
The stairs led to a long, damp corridor, and beyond the corridor was an open space. It was similar to the hidden dungeon found at Wanderer’s Plains. In the center stood a person looking at something. They wore robes with green vine patterns embroidered on a white background.
As if hearing Carlisle’s footsteps, the person turned around. Though their eyes were closed, their gaze was directed precisely toward Carlisle’s face.
“You’ve come, Carlisle-nim. Did your conversation with Raon-nim go well?”
As if already knowing someone would come, the Administrator of the Sacred Tree showed no surprise at Carlisle’s sudden appearance. The pale face was unusually flushed and glowing. Glancing at that face, Carlisle walked straight toward the administrator—or more precisely, toward what the administrator had been looking at.
There was a glass case where Fragment of the Sacred Tree that Raon had brought was fitted together like a puzzle piece.
“So.”
Looking at the Fragment of the Sacred Tree that sparkled like a jewel, unlike when it was brought from the hidden dungeon, Carlisle narrowed his eyes.
“We found the right person after all?”
At Carlisle’s question, the administrator’s gentle smile and the glow on their face deepened. The administrator clasped both hands to their chest and caught their breath as if the emotion from when they first fitted this Fragment of the Sacred Tree into the indentation had been revived.
“Yes. There’s no doubt. It’s him.”
Unlike the moved administrator, Carlisle’s expression frowned as if somehow dissatisfied. Still gazing at the sparkling Fragment of the Sacred Tree, Carlisle crossed his arms.
“For someone like that, he was excessively incompetent. There was nothing he could do alone.”
“It’s because he has forgotten who he is. That’s why awakening is necessary, and why your help is needed, Carlisle-nim. Didn’t you see him open the hidden temple and obtain the Fragment of the Sacred Tree with your own eyes? The Sacred Tree’s response alone is reason enough to no longer doubt that Raon-nim is that person.”
Despite the administrator’s passionate argument, Carlisle’s reaction was cold.
“When exactly will this awakening happen?”
“Once all the Fragments of the Sacred Tree are gathered, he will naturally awaken. But in that process, he will face countless life-threatening situations, and the greater the threat, the more likely he is to awaken even before then. Then naturally, collecting the scattered Fragments of the Sacred Tree will become faster too.”
“That’s not a very optimistic outlook. Wasn’t dying several times already enough?”
“…It probably had no effect because Raon-nim didn’t perceive it as actual death. This time he’s aware that he truly cannot come back to life, so it will be different.”
“Will it really? I left him alone until just before death this time too, but I saw no sign of awakening. Contrary to appearances, he used his head to find a way to survive rather than awakening and manifesting abilities.”
“The danger he faces must be sufficiently great. As I said, the greater the danger, the higher the possibility of awakening.”
Carlisle’s lips curved crookedly.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
