When a person is so dumbfounded that they can’t even find the words to speak.
It felt like my thoughts were stuttering and getting cut off in the middle of my confusion and bewilderment.
‘…No way.’
As I blankly blinked my eyes, a sudden thought made me pout my lips.
[That’s really unfair.]
“What? Unfair?”
[Not really.]
[Isn’t it natural to assume that if we say we’ll play for a day, it means just until that evening?]
“Eh, but I specifically emphasized a day… and you accepted it, Ha-yul.”
Baek Ahrin tilted her head innocently.
It couldn’t be that she was that displeased.
Of course, Ahrin’s comment was full of wordplay and absurdity, but…
It was also me who nodded without much concern when Ahrin insisted on a day back then.
I felt a significant disconnect in various ways. But that doesn’t mean I could just brush off my agreeing to it.
After some thought, I projected my idea onto the necklace.
[Still, 24 hours is too long.]
[Staying up all night to play is super tiring.]
“Hmm?”
[There’s nothing to do all night anyway.]
[Wouldn’t it be better to just have some fun and part ways?]
I changed my approach.
Instead of complaining about the disconnect, I decided to persuade her.
Calmly thinking, I concluded that Ahrin probably didn’t genuinely intend to spend 24 hours playing around.
Maybe she just wanted to tease me. A glance at Ahrin’s mischievous mask confirmed this.
Taking that train of thought, I adopted a more persuasive attitude, and to my surprise, Ahrin’s expression subtly changed, as if my assumptions were confirmed.
Her blinking eyes swept across my face.
After examining me multiple times as if gauging something, Ahrin opened her mouth as if realizing something.
“…Pfft.”
She suddenly burst into a giggle.
Covering her mouth with her hand, she couldn’t stop laughing.
Even with her mouth covered, the mischievous smile creeping up her lips was clearly visible.
“This part really makes you look like a baby.”
“?”
On top of that, she threw out a strange comment out of the blue.
[I’m not a baby…]
Lately, I’d been receiving absolutely absurd slander from those around me.
Sure, my personality might be a tad… childish, but there’s no way I could be compared to a baby like that.
I shook my head firmly, but Ahrin just kept giggling, pulling my hand and hurrying along.
.
.
.
Eventually, I ended up following Ahrin as she led the way.
Even amidst the waves of noise from all around, the sound of our footsteps was distinctly clear right beside me.
“Ah, right.”
While we were walking towards our destination, Ahrin suddenly pulled a plastic bag out of her pocket.
Inside the bag was something small and white.
Something that shone like snow and was in long, cylindrical shape…
[Rice Cake?]
“Yes, it’s rice cake.”
It was indeed rice cake.
I tilted my head, wondering what this was about, and Ahrin skillfully pulled one out from the bag and offered it to me.
“I’m giving this to you to eat. You haven’t eaten yet, so you must be hungry, right? Have this as a snack before we go to a restaurant.”
‘Where did this sudden rice cake come from?’
The white rice cake reminded me of our last study session, where we had similar traditional snacks. Ahrin herself often snacked on ginseng candy…
It was hard not to feel like Ahrin had a rather unique taste in snacks.
With a strange expression, I tried to release the hand gripping the rice cake. Since I only had one hand free, it was unavoidable.
“?”
But I couldn’t pull it away. Ahrin gripped my hand tighter.
– Squeeze
Instead, the rice cake was thrust closer to my lips.
Despite being in a plastic bag, it felt warm and soft, almost like it had just come out of the steamer.
“This kind of thing is normally fed to you by someone else. Now, say ‘Ah~.’”
[I can eat it myself.]
“Oooh, no way!”
I tried to manipulate the wings of the sky behind me, but for some strange reason, it was ignored.
Seeing Ahrin’s expression, it looked like she was still intent on teasing me.
Briefly checking our surroundings, I noticed many people glancing our way, pretending not to, but clearly curious about what we were doing.
Various emotions were present in their gazes, especially surprise, curiosity, and excitement.
Even though I had gotten used to being in the limelight, I didn’t want to do anything unusual in such a situation.
Reluctantly, I gathered my strange expression and opened my mouth.
As a result, the rice cake got squished into my mouth.
The long rice cake pressed against my tongue and touched my cheeks as I closed my mouth.
The warm and soft texture fit snugly between my teeth, and soon the piece of chewy rice cake got stuck to my palate.
‘Hmm…’
I swallowed the rice cake.
With a perplexed face, I nibbled at the piece Ahrin offered again.
Munch munch… gulp.
‘Mmm…’
I hadn’t eaten rice cakes often, but I knew usually they’d be eaten with sugar or honey sprinkled on.
The rice cake itself typically doesn’t have much flavor.
It has a specific taste, perhaps, but it’s quite bland and lacks depth when eating it alone.
Right now, though, this was no longer an issue for me. After all, I couldn’t taste anything due to my curse.
– Munch munch…
‘…This is better than I thought.’
Rice cakes aren’t intensely flavored anyway.
In the past, I’d eaten plain rice cakes without special seasonings just for the texture.
Even with the curse, due to still having a sense of touch, the texture felt fine enough.
“How is it?”
As I chewed continuously, Ahrin, walking next to me and feeding me, asked.
She wiggled the rice cake in her hand.
“Is it okay without sugar or honey?”
I thought it over for a moment and nodded, and Ahrin smiled as if she expected that.
“Then now that we’ve filled our stomachs a bit with snacks… let’s visit the art gallery before the restaurant.”
[An art gallery?]
“Yes. The Commercial District has several art galleries. I hope it’s not rude to ask, but Ha-yul, have you ever been to an art gallery before?”
[No.]
Of course, I had seen them online, but I had never actually set foot in one.
“Then can I take you with me this time?”
[Yes.]
[Sounds good.]
“Hehe, thank you. I think I can satisfy some questions this time.”
[What are you curious about?]
Ahrin replied while guiding the way.
“How does your perception ability interpret art?”
.
.
.
The place we arrived at was one of the art galleries inside Shio-ram.
The building was made of white-toned stone.
There weren’t many people around.
Well, with all kinds of things to enjoy outside, it would be reasonable that not many would be inclined to visit the gallery.
The red carpet marked the path, and we walked along it to look at the artworks.
Ahrin was still holding my hand, walking along the carpet to view the exhibits.
Due to the lack of people, and the quiet atmosphere in an art gallery, it felt rather serene.
“How does it feel in terms of perception?”
‘Eek.’
In such a setting, it felt like Ahrin had to maintain quiet as she leaned in and whispered in my ear every time she spoke.
Each time, her breath brushed against my ear, making my body involuntarily flinch.
If I hadn’t controlled my senses, I would have been squirming on the floor like a fish.
[It tickles.]
Shaking my head caused her breath to fall.
Ahrin chuckled and pointed in one direction.
“Sorry. Your reactions are just too cute. But I’m genuinely curious. How does that look to you?”
Pouting my cheeks in protest, I finally got an appropriate apology.
Though I was still dissatisfied, I nodded in understanding as Ahrin pointed toward the artwork.
On the wall hung a picture of a black-and-white square with gray lines crossing between them.
‘That one.’
It was a world-famous picture I had seen in my previous world.
Between the black and white squares, the gray horizontal line was undoubtedly parallel, yet it appeared tilted at a glance.
Even through a monitor, it was a captivating sight.
[It feels ordinary.]
“Really?”
It didn’t feel the same as it had back then.
The diversity of artworks was immense, and the differences in pieces presented varied greatly.
The gallery Ahrin and I visited was themed around optical illusions.
In line with that theme, all the artworks exhibited misled the viewer’s perception.
There was a room filled with geometric patterns that seemed to ripple and undulate.
A sculpture whose expression changed based on the viewer’s angle.
A video showing a man dashing forward, yet somehow appearing to run backward when stared at intently…
[It just feels like a complicated pattern.]
[Inside, they mixed plaster with clay, and copper was used for the outer decoration.]
[As for this painting… it seems it was dyed with cow’s blood.]
It didn’t apply to me.
I didn’t know much about it, but I had heard there were various reasons behind optical illusions.
Typically, there are physiological illusions caused by how our vision interprets objects, and cognitive illusions that arise when the brain makes adjustments that lead to errors.
There must be countless other detailed reasons, but none of them related to me.
After all, I wasn’t viewing the world through my eyes. I just had the ability to observe.
Observation (觀測).
It doesn’t merely replace vision; it’s the power to gather information about what is being observed.
Thanks to this ability, it’s difficult to fall into traps like illusions, hallucinations, or optical illusions.
Moreover, not just visual illusions, but also illusions and protective magic could be easily disregarded.
“Your perception really is something special, Ha-yul.”
Ahrin, who had been listening to my explanation, nodded in amazement.
“You substitute your vision to read colors and contrasts. Your perception range exceeds kilometers and operates normal even in abnormally chaotic dungeons. Your ability to penetrate illusions and barriers? And you’re still in your early stages?”
One by one, as she counted on her fingers, Ahrin shook her head in disbelief.
“You really must be a valuable asset that everyone wishes for.”
I simply nodded in agreement, not surprised by her admiration.
‘Of course, it should excel since it’s a power… that’s the point.’
In terms of rank, it could stand shoulder to shoulder with the powers wielded by those like the Ice Queen, the Abyss, or even the Tower of Necromancy.
I might not be able to wield it properly at my current level of expertise.
But once I get to a sufficient level, I could use it like an ‘Observer’ across the continent.
‘Thanks to that, cooking went so smoothly.’
Due to that incredible power, I managed to whip up a decent meal for my teacher this morning.
Having lost my sense of smell and taste, distinguishing salt from sugar isn’t easy.
I can’t differentiate through scent or taste.
I might barely sort them out by sight, but with my vision also impaired, that was even more challenging.
However, spinning my observation around makes it simple.
It’s not merely replacing vision; diving into analysis involves greater resource usage, but nevertheless, I can distinguish easily.
It helped tremendously during the cooking process.
I could get the ratios of seasonings and cooking times just right, while observing the cooking progress in real-time.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure it would be successful at first, but surprisingly, it turned out better than before.
The Jack of All Trades really made a huge difference.
I think cooking skills are part of that too, for this time it was much easier, faster, and tastier than before.
Of course, it was just a simple morning dish, but… if I were to prepare something more complicated and time-consuming, I suspect the difference would be more pronounced.
.
.
.
Time passed.
The bright morning sun dipped, and the well-kept floor was tinged with a rich orange glow as the sunset approached.
Though it wasn’t dark yet, the streetlights were slowly showing signs of turning on in preparation for the night.
Moreover, rather than fewer people, it seemed there were even more bustling around.
With the pubs that had been quiet in the morning slowly gearing up to do business, that probably explained the increased crowds.
“So far, how has it been? Were you satisfied?”
While I was surveying my surroundings with my observation.
Ahrin, similarly gazing around, asked me.
With a faint smile, her eyes were fixed on me, which made me reminisce about the hours we spent together just now.
Honestly, I hadn’t felt much, but the memory of the art gallery, which was visually fascinating, floated up.
Visiting department stores filled with all sorts of products I hadn’t seen before in the previous world.
Memories of chewing on traditional food from another country, even if I couldn’t actually taste it.
[Yes.]
Though it was a chilly sensation, the warmth of her gentle palm had begun to feel oddly familiar.
[I was satisfied.]
At the very least, I didn’t regret stepping out.
“I’m glad to hear that.”
Ahrin, seemingly relieved, sighed as she looked my way.
She then smiled and said, “Well then, it’s time for our last stop.”
The last stop. With those words, Ahrin once again took my hand.
Now used to her guidance, I followed along comfortably and sneakily checked the time.
6 PM.
It wasn’t too late.
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.
The mention of 24 hours was probably just a joke.
‘Will we have dinner next and part ways, or will we do something before that?’
That would just about fit the timing.
.
.
.
[What is this?]
I tilted my head towards the structure in front of me.
A gigantic dome-shaped building enveloped above. Its size was such that it was almost comparable to a football field.
The most distinctive aspect was that the dome ceiling was densely packed with magic stones and magical formations.
Other buildings also had protective and security formations installed for safety, but none had the density like that.
Additionally, there was a notable lack of presence inside the facility compared to its size.
“You’ll understand everything once you go inside.”
In response to my curious inquiry, Ahrin merely smiled enigmatically and urged me on.
Reluctantly, I followed her inside the building.
There were not a single person in the first-floor lobby.
Ahrin, unfazed, tapped her smartwatch against the kiosk at the desk to authenticate something before leading me through a large door behind the desk.
Upon opening the door, we were greeted with stairs.
‘What is this?’
There were a considerable number of steps. It felt like a significant place.
By this point, my curiosity was piqued. With my interest steering me away from observation, I opted not to analyze the building’s insides.
At the end of the stairs stood another enormous door.
Finally arriving at it, Ahrin swung the door open, revealing yet another massive entrance.
Could it be we truly arrived?
I turned my observation inward, conscious of the strong currents of curiosity.
The dome shape I had felt from outside was indeed above us.
And beneath it, there lay a giant bed all alone.
“?”
A question mark floated above my head.
*
Lee Ha-yul → Baek Ahrin
●●●●●●○○○○ (60▷63/100)
‘Affection’ ‘Curiosity’ ‘Confusion’
…
[The conditions to break the ‘Curse of Silence’ have not been met.]
[The conditions to break the ‘Curse of Solitude’ have not been met.]
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