Chapter 41

“No, I don’t regret it.”

The answer was simple and clear.

“But still, they were your own parents. The ones who gave birth to you, how can you not regret it?”

Zephyros asked as if he truly didn't understand.

At the question, which was almost a shout, Lerwon smiled wryly.

“Sometimes, there are parents who are worse than having none, no, who would have been better off not existing from the start.”

And, the beings who were Lerwon’s parents were clearly of that kind.

They went beyond suffocating their child to the point of trying to kill him, and if he hadn't killed them first, Lerwon would have probably been found in a fly-infested garbage dump within a year.

“Not all parents are parents.”

“……”

Zephyros fell silent.

“My oldest nightmare is two hands strangling me. One hand is my father's, and the other is my mother's.”

It was a whisper so filled with resentment that, paradoxically, not a shred of emotion could be felt.

“The nightmare has changed a little.

When my parents… strangle me, my adoptive mother beheads them both. But they don't die. Instead, they drag me into that hell and spew out their resentment.”

Lerwon smiled immaculately.

However, the words he uttered were so horribly mismatched with his smile that they were all the more terrifying.

“My adoptive mother laughs so hard the world seems to tear apart as she watches me beg to be saved.

That's how I always wake up.”

“…Sunbae.”

“So, I don't regret it. They were a poison that was killing me.”

Although, in the end, the choice of that day returned as another poison, Iris Viden.

At least, if he hadn't killed them, it would have been Lerwon who died.

Lerwon still wanted to live.

Yes, damn it, he wanted to live like crazy.

There was never a moment when he wanted to die.

Not even when he was wallowing in despair.

Not even the moment he decided to commit the taboo with the thought of finally ending everything.

“I don't regret it.”

What a contradictory statement.

To think he wanted to live even when he was letting go of himself.

So, Theo. When you held out your hand saying you'd save me, I wanted to gladly take that hand.

But, the reason I couldn't in the end was because a single phrase, like a curse, kept ringing in my ears.

“Ha.”

What on earth should one do in a situation like this?

I'd rather just die, but to actually want to live, isn't that too contradictory?

“Hey, Zephyros.”

At that moment, Theo, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, spoke up.

As Theo suddenly interjected, Zephyros asked back with a somber face.

“What?”

“Let me borrow Lerwon-sunbae for a moment.

You're the guard.

We'll be at the hideout. Follow us in about… 30 minutes.”

Having finished his one-sided notice, Theo immediately tried to leave the room with Lerwon.

“Aren't you scared of sunbae?”

“If I were someone who was scared of sunbae, would I have made a contract with Iris?”

It was a correct, yet absurd, answer.

A reckless madman. Zephyros cursed him again with his eyes.

“Will 30 minutes be enough?”

At Lucian’s question, Theo gave a thumbs-up.

“Plenty.”

“Then let's meet at the hideout later.”

“Thanks.”

Theo left a sincere word of thanks and really left with Lerwon.

“Cian, do you trust Lerwon-sunbae?”

“If there had been a lie in what sunbae said, you wouldn't have let Theo go so obediently.”

Because he was a guy who managed to survive in any situation, but always paid a price for it.

Even if he wasn't worried about him dying, he wouldn't have let him go easily.

“I trust my friends.”

Then that solved the problem.

At Lucian's upright words, Zephyros covered his face with his palm.

“How did I end up becoming friends with such reckless madmen.”

“It was your choice, Zephi.”

“That’s why I’m regretting it.”

“Really?”

“That’s a lie.”

He didn't regret it.

How could he regret it?

Zephyros mumbled softly.

* * *

“Laurel-sunbae seems to trust you a great deal.”

Lerwon mumbled upon arriving at the hideout.

What on earth is he talking about. Well, it's common for Lerwon to say things I don't understand.

I had Lerwon sit on the sofa in the hideout, which had become quite presentable in a few days, and took out the tea I had brought.

Lerwon’s expression soured after taking a sip of the tea I served.

“Why on earth does the tea taste salty? Did you put salt in it?”

“I guess it runs in the family.”

I plopped down in front of the sofa and took a sip of the tea.

Just as sunbae said, I discreetly moved away the salty tea and looked at Lerwon.

“You’ve made up your mind in the meantime, haven’t you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve come to want to live.”

At my question, Lerwon was silent for a moment.

“Do your friends ever tell you that you’re a jerk?”

“The one who’s generally a jerk is Zephyros, not me.”

That one's a born young master, so when he's being a jerk, he's a really damn jerk. I can guarantee that much.

“No, you’re as much of a jerk as Zephyros.”

“That’s too harsh. Just curse at me instead.”

“Shall I?”

“No, I refuse.”

At my firm refusal, Lerwon smacked his lips as if genuinely disappointed.

“If I said I’d rather just die as a monster, you wouldn't believe me, right?”

“Are you trying to fool someone you can't fool?”

“So, I’m screwed. How did the great Lerwon Viden end up being swayed like this by a mere fledgling transfer student from the Academy.”

“Because I'm not just an ordinary transfer student.”

That's the only consolation, Lerwon mumbled softly.

Leaning back on the sofa, Lerwon looked terribly exhausted.

At the same time, I found a hope in his eyes that had barely not been extinguished. Though it was faint, as if it would go out at any moment.

“As long as I’m alive, I can’t escape from mother.”

“What’s the reason you think so?”

“Because Iris Viden is the most persistent person in the world.”

“I’m persistent too.”

“You say that because you don't know the extent of her obsession.”

Lerwon spoke of the past in a monotonous voice.

“It was not long after I entered Golden. At first, I was so disgusted with everything that I ran away.”

A sporadic fear could be felt in his voice.

“It was too smooth. The first sea I saw was fascinating, and the first freedom I enjoyed was so sweet that I forgot.”

Hope swayed like a flame in front of the wind.

“The terrible fact that everything in Golden happens in the palm of mother’s hand.”

That's why he was certain.

“The situation now is similar, if not the same. It won't be much different.”

There was nothing wrong with what he said.

“Back then, you didn’t have any adults to help you, sunbae.”

At my words, Lerwon’s eyes widened.

“It’s natural that you failed, sunbae. There's no way a runaway attempt by a kid not even 10 years old would go well.

There's a very famous story I know.”

I looked at him straight on.

I decided to point out one of the most important facts that Lerwon had forgotten.

“Sunbae, you saw through the inner thoughts of Zephyros, who is 2 years younger than you. But do you think you can fool adults who are much older than you?”

“But─”

“When a baby elephant is born in the hands of humans, the trainer ties a sturdy rope to one of the elephant's feet and connects it to a stake driven into the ground.”

It's a very famous story.

“The baby elephant struggles desperately to break free, but because it’s weak, it can't break the rope or pull out the stake.”

The name of the baby elephant in this story was ‘Lerwon’.

“Realizing that it can't escape no matter how hard it tries, the elephant eventually gives up and stops moving while tied to the rope.”

The name of the trainer was Golden or Iris Viden.

“The elephant can now easily break the rope and pull out the stake to escape freely, but because of its childhood experience of not being able to break the rope, it doesn't even try.”

The wise Lerwon would have surely realized that fact.

“What if I’m wrong? What if I'm still… a small elephant?”

“Then I'll take responsibility and pull out the rope and stake for you.”

“By what right do you have?”

Right? I never had the right from the beginning.

But, now I do.

“I interfered in your life, sunbae.”

The responsibility is clear. From the moment I arbitrarily took sunbae and escaped from Golden, I have a responsibility.

“Normally, people don't go that far.”

“I guess I'm not a normal person.”

Because I'm not an ordinary human, but a possessor.

I will somehow manage this much.

* * *

It was an overly confident answer.

Why on earth does that guy keep extending his hand? There would be no benefit for him in doing so.

It was a strange thing.

There wasn't a single place that hurt. But it felt like tears were about to come out. No, tears did come out.

“Why on earth are you─”

Hope was like a weed.

Lerwon kept pulling and pulling out the weeds growing in the desert of his heart.

Because he thought a flower might bloom if he left it alone. Because he thought he would surely fall into despair if he saw that flower.

Tears were the rain falling on the desert of the heart.

Rain that moistened the heart that kept drying up.

“And why am I─”

Resentment slowly crawled out.

A pointless resentment.

“Why now─”

Why couldn’t you have come a little earlier.

Then I could have bloomed a little more gently. I could have hurt a little less.

“Ugh….”

There's a limit to lashing out. But, I just can't help but resent him.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize.”

“Whose tune am I supposed to dance to?”

At Lerwon’s words, Theo grumbled as if in disbelief.

“Can I really… go back… to being human…?”

Lerwon’s words were intermittently cut off, soaked in tears.

Theo waited patiently for those words, listening intently to each and every one.

“There’s something Zephi and Cian say.”

Theo didn't wipe away Lerwon’s tears. He clearly engraved everything in his golden eyes.

The conviction in those eyes was as beautiful as a star.

It was the North Star that would guide the life called Lerwon from now on.

From now on, with those eyes, he wouldn't have to wander.

“They say they trust because we’re friends. So, please trust me. We’re friends, right?”

A single word, ‘friend’, was enough to cut through Lerwon’s hesitation.

* * *

“I’ll trust you.”

The depth of the anguish it took to utter these three syllables would be immeasurable.

Because it wasn't my personal time, but the long, long time it took for Lerwon to distrust people and finally come to trust again.

Because I knew that depth, they were words sweeter than anything else.

At that moment, I heard a familiar sound.

+++

Main Quest [Complete]

What saves a person's heart is a faint trust.

The hope for life will grow like a weed and fill the desolate heart.

-Reward: EXP 10,000, Golden Elixir

+++

It was a more welcome system window than ever before.

Perhaps a great many things will change from now on.

The future I know might all disappear.

But, at least I won't have to see Lerwon become a monster and choose death for himself in despair at the last moment.

The fact that this was true made me so happy that laughter escaped my lips.