As I raised my head, Edel was sending me a warm, lukewarm gaze.
“You.”
“Yeah?”
“You’ve become much softer.”
“…?”
What kind of random comment was that, calling someone busy out of the blue? I tilted my head in confusion.
“Did you call me all the way here just to share pleasantries?”
“Well, I can at least express my thoughts.”
Edel naturally brushed off my dimwitted remark and crossed her arms.
“When I first saw you, you were so uptight, but now you’ve really softened up.”
“I don’t feel any different, though.”
“Usually, it’s the person who hasn’t seen you in a while who notices changes better.”
Said the not-so-human being.
“At this rate, if you faced the Empire soldiers right now, I bet you’d just break an arm or a leg.”
“…Is it really that much?”
“Yeah, really! Seeing how that little brat who was all poison has changed like this, I guess the environment really matters.”
“Are you saying Silia’s environment is bad then?”
“Cancel that. You’ve really not changed at all. You’re just the same as when you were in Silia.”
“That’s a lost cause.”
“You never take compliments nicely, do you…”
“Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Do you think it was an insult?”
“Um…”
I kind of agreed with her.
There are indeed more astonishing people in the world than I thought.
Edel’s earlier remark, “You’ve become much softer,” could really mean, “Your head’s a flower garden; you’re the crazy one.”
“Alright, I get it. Just sit down for now.”
Edel rubbed her eyelids and said.
After I obediently sat in front of her, she opened her mouth as if she had been waiting.
“Have you guessed why I called you?”
“Probably because of the dimensional rift.”
“Exactly.”
It was just as I had predicted.
“You’ve had plenty of time to rest. Your body should be fully recovered by now.”
“Well… yeah. I was thinking it was about time to call me anyway.”
“And yet you didn’t pick up the phone. Anyway, before we dive into the serious talk, I need to ask you something. You opened the dimensional portal for a bit not long ago, right?”
“Dimensional portal?”
What’s that?
“Oh.”
As I tilted my head in confusion, I soon realized what she was talking about.
That thing I showed Da-eun when we went camping.
I was flustered since it was the first time I heard the term “dimensional portal,” but that must be what she’s referring to, right?
I told Edel the date I pulled out of my memory for confirmation, and she replied it was right.
“So that’s what they call a dimensional passage.”
“It’s just a temporary name.”
“But how did you know?”
“Who do you think gave me permission to access the dimension? Plus, it’s a place that requires extra caution. You can’t just take the same attack twice without consequences.”
Edel tapped the desk absentmindedly.
“So why did you do that? Did you feel something strange?”
“I just wanted to show you.”
“…Yeah. I figured that. But hearing it makes it pretty damn frustrating.”
“…Oh.”
I never expected to hear something like that in real life—let alone from someone like Edel. This was quite a shocker.
“Anyway, there’s no point in regretting what’s done, but be careful next time. They might catch on.”
“Sure.”
Not that I intended to do it again anyway. It took a lot of effort, and there was no need to show off anymore.
I nodded at the comment that it probably wouldn’t matter… because I understood why Edel reacted so sensitively.
After all, aren’t we both in the same boat, having lost our hometowns?
“Since the level has increased, your job now is to get stronger by utilizing the traits of your soul. And take care of those bugs that are munching away at the dimension too.”
“So, you’re telling me to kill dimensional creatures to gain experience?”
“Exactly.”
“Hmm…”
“What’s the problem?”
“Is it really a problem…?”
“If something’s bothering you, just say it. I might not have considered it.”
Well, saying it out loud doesn’t necessarily lead to issues. Having been granted a sort of permission, I decided to voice the question that had been on my mind.
“Even if you tell me to gain experience, I’m not sure if that’s enough to get stronger.”
People on Earth enjoying ‘Silia Online’ might be able to do that. They have the blessings of systems like experience points and stats.
Fighting enemies and gradually accruing experience means eventually you can stand up to powerful foes.
But the people of Silia are different.
Sure, they gain ‘experience’ in the sense that they fight, but there’s a difference between actually getting stronger or just being able to get stronger.
Silians don’t receive any experience points from fighting enemies, nor do their levels increase.
Getting stronger is purely a personal issue.
And I was no different.
“I passed the stage where I could just get stronger from plain fights a long time ago.”
If I’m to be inspired, the opponent I kill must be as strong as the sage of the Empire I took down myself.
“Shouldn’t it be someone strong?”
“To gain a sudden realization, it must be someone stronger than me.”
At that, Edel shook her head.
“Getting stronger isn’t the only way to rise in level, you know. If you keep fighting those guys, won’t you get used to their tricks? Then dealing with them will become easier.”
“…Oh, is that what you mean?”
If that’s the case, I guess so.
I leaned back against the chair.
That was an action that conveyed I understood and had no more questions.
“Lately, those guys have been acting pretty suspicious. No issues with the barrier yet, but… I just have a bad feeling.”
“Got it.”
There’s no need to hear more.
If Silia falls, then this place is next, and I came here to prevent that.
Edel took a deep breath.
It was a sigh that felt oddly relieving, as if she had just taken a breather.
“Honestly, I was a bit worried when I saw you after a long time. Like I mentioned earlier, you seemed to have softened up a lot.”
“As I’ve said before, I don’t think I’ve changed that much.”
“…As I said, it’s usually those who haven’t seen you in a while that notice it better.”
“Like I was saying—”
“Stop it.”
“Okay.”
I shut my mouth, cutting off my words in light of her sharp remark.
“Just the fact that you’re messing around with me is proof, you know? If it was the old you, would you really act like this?”
“Hmm…”
The old me…
…Definitely, I wasn’t like this when I first met Edel.
I think I made a few jokes back then too, but it’s true that the atmosphere was a bit different from now, as Edel said.
“At least it’s a relief. The sword has become gentler, not dull.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“No, it’s different. Back then, the blade was so sharp that it would hurt even its owner; now that sharpness is solely directed at the enemy. That’s a big difference.”
“Is that so?”
Edel pretended to be shocked, saying she thought I’d cut myself.
“It’s not pretending; I’m being serious.”
I lightly dismissed her unnecessary comment.
“Humans really get stronger when something precious to them appears.”
“…It’s just that I’d be in trouble if Da-eun disappears. And, this is the world I live in now.”
“I didn’t even mention that kid’s name!”
“….”
“How cute.”
Saying that, Edel flashed a warm smile.
It was such an annoyingly charming smile that I roughly pushed my chair back and stood up.
“I’m leaving.”
“I know you’re embarrassed, but we haven’t finished talking, so bear with it a little longer.”
Before I knew it, Edel had grabbed my shoulder and made me sit back down.
“I said that, but those dimensional guys aren’t something you can just see lying around like monsters on the road, right?”
That was true.
Unlike the monsters or beasts that pop up when you’re bored, you never know when or where those guys will show up.
If I had to compare, it’s like finding cockroaches hiding in your house.
You know they’re there, they’re harmful, but because you can’t see them, you can’t catch them.
Then just when you forget about them, they pop out and give you a surprise gift.
I wonder how many people actually like those surprise gifts.
“… Pfft! That’s a decent comparison.”
Edel burst out laughing at my words.
“Yeah, that’s what they are. But what if there’s already a cockroach trapped in a cup?”
That was a strangely realistic and human-like analogy for a god.
Accordingly, I gave a realistic answer.
“I’d have to kill it.”
Honestly, I’d want to throw the whole cup out the window, but that’s not possible.
“There are a few that have been trapped using their techniques. And one of those has a connection to you.”
“… One connected to me?”
“Yeah. It’s the one who destroyed Grasis.”
“Ah.”
That unexpected statement.
But the shock wasn’t that great.
Edel didn’t seem to expect much of a reaction either, speaking flatly.
“There’s that connection, so how about starting with that guy?”
“I don’t know about the connection, but that sounds good.”
The head of state from my home country! I will take my revenge!
… Of course, it’s not like I feel that way.
I didn’t have any good feelings about Grasis.
Plus, if he hadn’t gotten on my nerves, I might have taken him down myself in a few years.
But he destroyed the country my dad loved…
Yeah, maybe I’ll take revenge for Dad.
“Do I have to hide there, too?”
“That’s up to you. If you don’t mind it getting troublesome, you can go around openly, or you can hide if that’s not your style.”
“Hm.”
I need to think about this a little.
As I was getting up, Edel said she had one last thing to say.
“You lost your weapon from the last battle, right? I’ll give you a new sword if you go to your precious one.”
“Does Da-eun have a sword?”
“It’s a sword she got from Justina. Didn’t you hear?”
Did I hear that before?
Anyway—
“I don’t need it.”
That wasn’t really something I needed to hear.
“If it’s for the purpose of protecting something, there’s a sword that can’t be matched by any master sword.”
Now that I think about it, I forgot to oil it.
Guess it’s time for a bit of maintenance after a while.
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