#081
Mentioning the author so abruptly?
“This world is the setting of a novel written by someone, and we are all characters. Each of us has a role to play.”
“Don’t you think he won’t understand if you explain it like that?”
“Is there any other way to explain it?”
Well… I guess so? There certainly wasn’t a particularly good way to explain it.
I’m like this because I experienced the strange phenomenon of entering this world, but if I had heard something like “You’re not a real person” in the original world, I would have ignored it.
“You know… Huh?”
Just as I was about to properly explain since it had come to this, I saw that Shin Haejun’s state had drastically changed from just a few seconds ago.
‘Why are his eyes so dazed?’
Shin Haejun’s eyes were completely unfocused. Startled, I said “Huh?” and shook Shin Haejun’s arm.
“Shin Haejun, Haejun?”
I couldn’t understand why he was suddenly acting like this. When I turned to look at Hyun Dowoon, he too was looking at Shin Haejun with an expression of incomprehension.
“It doesn’t seem to be… shock.”
Hyun Dowoon muttered, frowning. And soon, fortunately, focus returned to Shin Haejun’s eyes. Blinking a few times with clear eyes, Shin Haejun said something irrelevant.
“Who would dare to do such a thing…!”
“I told you, it was the author.”
As soon as Hyun Dowoon sighed and spoke, Shin Haejun’s eyes lost focus again. He was like a marionette with its strings cut.
And again, after a moment, Shin Haejun blinked and came to his senses, uttering the same words.
“Who would dare to do such a thing…!”
I turned my head and met Hyun Dowoon’s gaze at the same time. This seems… like Shin Haejun is rolling back every time the author is mentioned?
“Shin Haejun Esper, do you remember me telling you just now that this world is inside a novel?”
And as soon as Hyun Dowoon said that to check, Shin Haejun went blank again like a robot with a dead battery.
I frowned and looked at Shin Haejun. Why is his reaction different from Hyun Dowoon’s?
‘There were games where NPCs would glitch out if you told them they were game characters.’
Is it something similar to that principle? But it felt a bit strange that his reaction was different from Hyun Dowoon’s.
‘Hyun Dowoon accepted that this world was a novel without any issue after seeing the laptop.’
Maybe if Shin Haejun sees the laptop too, he’ll be able to recognize it?
I told Hyun Dowoon about my hypothesis. He frowned and said he had left the laptop in his car, suggesting we bring it tomorrow to experiment.
‘For now, the important thing isn’t making Shin Haejun recognize that this is a world inside a novel.’
Since the key is to make him understand that I will continuously face danger, I should explain that first. As I was thinking this, Hyun Dowoon attempted to make Shin Haejun understand the situation with a new method.
Just before Shin Haejun was about to open his mouth to say “Who would dare to do such a thing…!” again, Hyun Dowoon reached out his hand and stopped him.
“Wait. You were about to say ‘Who would dare to do such a thing,’ right?”
Shin Haejun looked at Hyun Dowoon blankly with a puzzled expression. It was understandable, as it was strange that he had intercepted what he was thinking to himself.
“Say any other sentence.”
“…What kind of game are you playing?”
“This world is a world inside a novel. You are a character.”
And as soon as Shin Haejun spoke with a dubious face, Hyun Dowoon rolled him back again.
“Why are you repeating the same thing?”
“Let’s see. I’m checking if it works.”
When I asked in confusion, Hyun Dowoon grinned and just observed Shin Haejun’s condition. And as soon as focus returned to Shin Haejun’s eyes, he spoke.
“You were going to say ‘What kind of game are you playing,’ right?”
“How… Twice…? What’s going on?”
Shin Haejun blinked with an incomprehensible face. Then he glared at Hyun Dowoon and said,
“Have you been hiding a mental ability?”
“I don’t have any such ability. In fact, Jaeha can do this too.”
“How on earth…”
“Check the time.”
After saying that, Hyun Dowoon rolled back Shin Haejun’s state a few times and told him to check the time again.
“How… How did 2 minutes suddenly pass?”
While Shin Haejun was in shock, Hyun Dowoon quickly explained the necessary information to him.
“Originally, I was planning to tell Shin Haejun Esper all the information I know. I thought that was necessary for us to protect Jaeha together. But every time I talked about it, Shin Haejun Esper lost consciousness. He didn’t collapse, but he kept looking like his soul had left his body.”
At Hyun Dowoon’s words, Shin Haejun’s face hardened seriously. Suddenly losing consciousness in front of others was bound to be taken seriously.
“So, assuming that Shin Haejun Esper is unable to accept this information, I’ll only talk about Jaeha. A being powerful enough to make even someone as capable as Shin Haejun Esper lose consciousness is after Jaeha’s life.”
Shin Haejun looked at Hyun Dowoon with suspicious eyes. But realizing what had just happened to him, he seemed to judge that it couldn’t be dismissed as completely impossible, so he quietly listened to Hyun Dowoon’s words.
I didn’t expect him to persuade like this, it was an interesting method. Anyway, it was a smart choice as it made him feel the seriousness more than just saying someone was after me, as I had thought.
“Is an Esper after Jaeha?”
“It’s a being far more powerful than an Esper, but there’s no point in telling Shin Haejun Esper since he won’t remember anyway, so let’s move on.”
At Hyun Dowoon’s words, Shin Haejun glared at him with a slightly hurt pride. Then he turned his head and looked at me with somewhat shaky eyes.
“To think there’s something about you that I can’t understand…”
“I’m not sure either, but I think it might be something we can only know under specific conditions. For now, the Center Director found out inside the entrance portal we were sucked into.”
“Are you saying it might be possible in the dungeon?”
“Maybe… that’s it?”
Even to my own ears, my voice sounded uncertain. But isn’t that the only difference between Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon?
‘At that time, inside the portal… there were two anomalies.’
One was ‘seeing a space that wasn’t recognized by the brain’, and the other was ‘seeing the laptop’. Those were the only two times Hyun Dowoon’s state became strange.
So we should check with the laptop first… and maybe use an item that can split space?
If it’s neither of those, there’s nothing we can do.
“Well… I don’t think it’s necessary to know everything. Isn’t it enough to just know that I might face danger?”
“Well, as long as Shin Haejun Esper clearly feels the seriousness of the situation, I don’t mind either.”
As soon as I and Hyun Dowoon said this, Shin Haejun suddenly hardened his face and shook his head.
“No, I need to know too. I need to know what bastard is messing with you so I can eliminate them.”
Shin Haejun looked very hurt in his pride that only Hyun Dowoon knew something. Well… it’s not like he could eliminate the author even if he knew.
I just wished the author would leave us alone. Of course, without anyone dying.
“Let’s experiment as soon as we bring the laptop.”
I nodded at Hyun Dowoon’s words. And soon, realizing something important, I opened my eyes wide.
“Ah! Center Director, so has the creation of my team been approved?”
“Well… since you excellently completed the dungeon clearing, I suppose so. Now we just need to go through the team creation procedure.”
“Great! I’ll be right back from the bathroom!”
I said that and jumped up from my seat. I was worried about what kind of awkward and chilly atmosphere would be created with just the two of them left, but I needed to check my phone and persuade Nine.
I entered the bathroom, locked the door firmly, and immediately took out my phone. Then I logged into the game and spoke to Nine in a very small voice. It would be a big problem if the two Espers outside heard my voice.
“Nine, give me my quest reward.”
: What reward?
“I completed the quest!”
: No, you didn’t…
“It’s true. The Center Director just gave me permission to create a team.”
: Hmm..
“Isn’t this enough to complete it? Huh? Isn’t getting permission enough, or what else do I need to do for it to count?”
: . . . . . . . . .
At my words, Nine made a strange expression and then soon displayed the quest completion window.
: *I Decide My Own Place!*
Quest Grade: B
You have completed the quest. A reward will be given!
Reward: Love Coin ×5 multiplier (3 days)
This… why is it giving this reward?
For a moment, I shook my phone with an ominous feeling.
“What, does this mean I’ll have to accumulate Love Coins?”
Looking in the mirror, my face was flushed. It felt awkward to receive this reward and have to accumulate Love Coins, and it also felt awkward to have to frantically acquire coins at 5x like leveling up frantically during a level-up chance.
But what worried me most was the fact that rewards only appear when they’re absolutely necessary.
It’s not giving this in advance to accumulate Love Coins, but rather it’s like a prophecy that I’ll need them right away.
I pressed my forehead and sighed deeply.
‘The person I said I wanted to break up with, the person I’m not even dating…’
It was a shitty situation no matter who I chose.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
