Chapter 600: Way to Overcome (1)
The atmosphere was very tense, and her intense reaction was enough to make anyone who saw her think I was indeed dead. What more did I need to say? With a runny nose and a face full of tears, it was so unlike her. I had a brief, mean thought about her overreacting, but… thinking about it, it was just natural to have such a reaction.
Yes, how surprising it must have been from her point of view. Didn’t she just hear the shocking news that I had gradually been losing my memory? How embarrassed she must have been to witness this weak man pass out after repeatedly spacing out.
Although I didn’t see anything more after I fainted, it would not be strange if she had panicked to the point where she wouldn’t even stop to listen to my explanation. One thing was for certain, though; she must have stamped her foot. Looking at her, my gaze fell for no reason. Probably more so because, unlike her, who was mentally traumatized, the memory of the lavish dinner served by Lucifer had not disappeared from my mind.
‘It was really good…’
It was a dinner service good enough to be at the same level as mirror salmon. Aside from the fact that I had just received a mythic-grade sword, I started to feel sorry for her.
“I’m fine,” I reassured her.
“You keep saying you’re fine, but how can I believe you? Please… take care of yourself. If you are sick, you can tell me, and if you’re having a hard time, you can express that too. Many people can help you, but why… I think it would be better to be honest with the Guild Master…”
“What?”
“We have to tell everyone and find a solution together. I think there is no other way. Really… what if you really forget everything? Then… sniff…” She was evidently about to cry.
“That is why I am not telling them. Look at how you’re reacting right now, so imagine how the others would feel. As I have said, there is an order in work. I have prioritized my life over my memory, so don’t think about letting them know. Everyone has work to do and prepare. I don’t have time to waste being caught in something weird.”
“Why is this weird? You’re not wasting your time. This is…”
“If this is not wasting time, what do you think is wasting time? Struggling to figure out a cure right now is like trying to catch smoke with your hands.”
“Still…”
“I told you I wasn’t sick. If it had been really painful, I would have come out first and made a fuss about it. You know me, so why are you doing this? Don’t make the situation worse for no reason… I think it would be better to join the other party members now. It’s not good to be away too long…”
“…”
“Please act as if nothing happened. Wash your face and calm down. They will be suspicious that something has happened.”
“…”
“Let’s go quickly. Quickly.”
“…” She remained silent.
“…”
“Stupid bastard…”
Her little murmurs were evidently filled with concern.
She was cursing me under her breath, but I couldn’t find it in me to be upset with her. First, I was in a mood good enough to want to dance because I had gotten the mythic-grade magic sword stored in the infinite bag. Wasn’t it natural for my footsteps to become lighter without my knowledge? I had gotten something better than I thought I would get…
The fact that Cho Hyejin did not inform anyone else was also enough news to deserve a thumbs-up. This one was a problem because she was not really flexible, but this time it seemed to have worked. She was showing a bit of anxiety now, but she would follow my will in the end.
She wasn’t the kind to blab secrets that other people wanted to hide.
‘Gosh… she’s even thoughtful. Our Hyejin…’
Although some more worries remained, what had become most important at this point was determining the owner of the holy sword given by Lucifer. If there wasn’t an owner, I wouldn’t mind using it, but wouldn’t it be better if this kind of sword was wielded by someone who could use it properly. Wasn’t there a project that was started to fill the role of the chosen warrior?
It doesn’t matter whatever path you took or what you rode on as long as you arrived at your destination. In short, whether Benignore chose a warrior or I did, there would be no problem with the outcome. The questions now were if I could find the chosen warrior, whether the chosen warrior was suitable for my holy sword, and finally, would he be able to endure the sacred power of this holy sword?
Since this was a holy sword that had come to me in an unusual way, there was no choice but for it to have side effects. That was why I wouldn’t be able to pass this on to the others in the Blue Guild…
Aside from that, I thought that the Blue Guild members would not be chosen by this holy sword. Wouldn’t it be for the best if I were the only one who could use it?
“Um, Vice Guild Master.”
“Yes?”
“No. it’s nothing…”
I was thinking about this seriously while we were walking, and I could see Cho Hyejin open her mouth. She had probably felt worried when she saw me spacing out again.
“I’m saying this once again, but I don’t want to hear you say anything about telling the others.”
“I wasn’t talking about that. It’s just… how do I react to the other party members… and what do I tell the Guild Master…”
“Just treat me like you normally do. If you think it’s a little dangerous, come out and help me once, but aside from that, you just have to act normally. If the same thing happens again, you can help me handle it. I could suddenly pass out again.”
“Okay.”
“Just tell Hyunsung I’m fine. I think he’s been under a lot of stress recently.”
“He won’t believe it.”
“No, he will. I bet it would be even more helpful if you tell him rather than me.”
“What?”
“You would be surprised to know how much Hyunsung trusts you, much more than you think. If you just report that I seem to be fine, he won’t say much about it.”
‘I’m right, Hyejin. You are Kim Hyunsung’s first pick.’ I thought.
“Is that true?” She asked worriedly.
“Yes.”
‘So, you can’t tell him later just because you want to.’
In the meantime, I could see her smiling.
“So if you don’t want to lose that trust, hide this well. Actually, I don’t think he’s going to say much, but… still, it’s good to be careful. If the situation gets a little more serious, I will tell him myself. If I’m lucky, I might get better before then. Benignore said it was unlikely, but who knows? A miracle might happen. That’s how the world works.”
“It’s so unlike you to be hopeful.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just as I said. In some way, there will definitely be a solution. We can find a breakthrough in a place like this… Well… Let’s stop talking about this and remember to treat me normally.”
“Breakthrough… a breakthrough…”
Eventually, I heard Park Deokgu’s voice when we had walked for a while.
“What-what took you so long?”
“I had something to investigate and take. I think it took longer than I thought. How are things here?”
“How would I know? Ask the shaman, Hayan, and Sora about that. By the way, it seems like Hyejin isn’t looking so well…”
“…” Hyejin was quiet.
“Did something happen?”
‘Look at this bastard; he’s not slow.’ I thought.
I was relieved yet anxious at the same time. She was quiet for so long that I was getting worried she would suddenly come up with, ‘Hey, he said it might be memory loss! I’m telling you, he has dementia.’ I could see her opening her mouth to speak.
“Of course not. It’s not that. Nothing happened. I only helped out because it took longer to organize the data in the biological laboratory than he thought it would. Yes, right, Vice Guild Master? He said yes, see? I just helped. Nothing happened, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Hmm…”
“Let’s just go in.”
Fortunately, the reaction was just as I expected. The problem was with her poor acting skills. I was grateful for the fact that she seemed to be trying hard, but anyone could see that she didn’t look like her usual self. She looked very embarrassed and almost as if she was trying to force herself to do something.
I had to take a deep breath. This was no different than her advertising that something had really happened.
‘Ah… This is dangerous.’
I could do nothing but sigh, seeing that her acting skills were worse than I imagined. I knew she wasn’t the type that could lie, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I actually thought she would be better off just shutting her mouth, but how could I tell her that?
Park Deokgu also seemed to be quite bothered by Cho Hyejin’s words, and I could see him staring at me with suspicious eyes.
“I mean, I was just asking… Really, nothing happened?” He asked again.
“What could have happened here? Let’s just go inside.” I replied.
“Well, if Hyung-nim is saying that, it must be true, but… Hyejin seems a little weird… I don’t know if it’s just my imagination or something.”
“She seems to have been under a lot of stress recently… so it’s just your imagination. Are you just going to stay there?”
“I’m going, I’m going. I’m so hungry that I can eat a horse. If you had come a little later, I would have gone to ask when we would be eating.”
“You could’ve eaten first.”
“Aren’t we supposed to eat together? Yes… absolutely… we’re one family, of course, we have to eat together. Aren’t you also hungry?”
“Well… earlier…”
I suddenly closed my mouth after almost answering unconsciously. It was then that Cho Hyejin, who was walking one step ahead, turned and answered for me.
“He told me he was hungry earlier, so I gave him a simple snack.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes. But still, it would be better to prepare a proper meal as to consume the right nutrients.”
“Yes, you should. If you want to work hard, you have to eat well. You should stop eating too much junk food, and you have to eat a bit of everything to be healthy.”
I had received unexpected help to cover up the previous fumble. In fact, it was just a minor situation that I could laugh and wave away, but that kind of help wasn’t unwelcome.
I looked at Cho Hyejin’s face, and she gave me a slight nod as if telling me not to bother. She had told me that she would help but when I saw that she actually took care of me, I smiled.
‘At least she won’t go ahead and make things worse.’
I felt like I was walking on a narrow string, but I thought that this was already good enough.
Park Deokgu began to run as if he was very hungry. Jung Hayan, Han Sora, and Yuno Kasugano, immersed in their field investigation, were also slowly coming out. As expected, Jung Hayan smiled brightly as soon as she saw my face, and Han Sora smiled faintly.
There was no need to prepare meals, and when the battle rations we had brought beforehand were roughly arranged, the party members each took a seat, holding their spoons.
In the meantime, Cho Hyejin looked to be somewhat cautious. She seemed to be having all kinds of thoughts. She had definitely judged that losing my memory wasn’t the only symptom. I wasn’t sure, but maybe she was thinking about the possibility that it was causing delirium. Although she could dismiss it as a mistake, she could not simply let this pass as she had heard and seen something herself.
‘That’s understandable.’
I appreciated the help, but wouldn’t it be better to clarify this before things get bigger? The only symptom was memory loss, and it was not the kind that caused delirium.
“How were the things you had to do there? Oppa?”
“Oh, I’m going to go back again after. The data is so vast that it cannot be organized in an instant. What about here? Was there anything that could be seen as a result?”
“N-N-No. There wasn’t… anything that amazing. There was something a bit interesting, but… almost all of the research was stopped…”
“You think that too, Sora?”
“Yes… Although there were research data on physical enhancement, it had fatal side effects… compared to the side effects that it had, the increase in stats was not that great. It didn’t seem like the means used by the demon contractors… Still, there were a lot of data about the summoning itself.”
“Hmm… I see.”
“And Kasugano…”
“Yes, I apologize, but it didn’t have anything that I could properly check.”
“But I think there is a l-l-lot of this kind of material. There are not many studies that were done in-depth, but the scope of research itself is very wide. Of course, most of them are useless, though… and it also looks dangerous…”
‘That’s your standard. It’s only your opinion.’ I thought.
“I think it’s worth investigating, though… we need to know the virus to develop a vaccine. Looking around, it doesn’t seem like they studied only black magic… Surely there are things we can use.”
It was then that Cho Hyejin opened her mouth to ask with a rather serious expression.
“You mean, for example, we could treat those suffering from aftereffects or those who are mentally suffering?”
I immediately became anxious at her question.
‘Hyejin, don’t do that… don’t stab me in the back.’