The spirit user Dal Borom and the wizard Red Hot Chicken from the Hong Baek Guild reflected on the situation back then.
‘Receiving that gaze felt like being a frog in front of a snake… I couldn’t move a single finger, you know?’
‘Her dangerous aura was closing in, and I couldn’t do anything… Ah! What on earth happened that day!’
*
Chris was sipping wine while reviewing data displayed in a hologram in front of her.
“Chris, are you working even while at the meeting?”
At the sudden voice from the side, Chris turned her head.
Before her stood a young man with a sharp look.
Heo Junhyeok, a researcher from Klaus Capsule Corporation, her university colleague, and also the tank of Chris’s party, known as Deathly Death.
“Oh, that capsule was just deployed for the first time today. I need to continuously review the data.”
“Hmm, I managed to extract quite a bit of data using that. …But I thought it’s still not in the commercial stage?”
“That’s right. The most crucial aspects need to be resolved… Creating feelings similar to reality isn’t the problem; it’s about adjusting them.”
“Even in this age of rapid scientific advancement, completely conquering the human brain is a difficult task.”
Chris and Deathly Death nodded slightly, pondering.
During that moment, it was Deathly Death who spoke first.
“Rain was really something today.”
“Hehe, right? Just how far can Rain’s abilities go? With Rain around, conquering virtual reality would be a piece of cake for humanity.”
“…How about asking her for collaboration? If she could help extract data from the lab regularly, it would be a lot of help.”
Chris shook her head.
“Rain… is immersed in ‘Astria Online.’ I don’t want to take away her time.”
“Hmm, is it a financial issue?”
“Well… That might partly be the reason, but it’s not the only thing. I have money, so it shouldn’t matter that much.”
Recently, Rain had been relying on Chris but wanted to handle as much on her own as possible. Chris felt a bit dissatisfied about that.
“My money is just like your money.”
After mumbling this in a complaining tone, Chris waved her hand at Deathly Death, issuing an order.
“In any case, lonely Fighter, go over there and stew in your solitude. I need to finish reviewing the data.”
“Hehe.”
Deathly Death chuckled and tilted his wine glass as he moved toward the window.
Not long after Chris resumed her work, a puzzled-looking Bae Merong approached.
“Hey, sister? Hasn’t Rain come over this way?”
“Well, weren’t you together with her?”
“She disappeared while talking to those chunky guys for a bit, saying something about looking for a drink.”
Chris lowered the hologram window in front of her and glanced around.
Rain was nowhere to be seen in the hall.
“Rain…?”
Chris and Bae Merong began to frantically search the area.
“Seob Seop Yi, Go Seung Woo, have you seen Rain?”
“Jaewook, where’s Rain?”
As everyone shook their heads, Chris and Bae Merong heard some strange sounds near a table by the window.
“Ah… Ahhh….”
“R-Rain! You shouldn’t be doing this….”
“Hehe.”
Tap tap tap.
Hastily turning around to the table where the sound came from, Chris and Bae Merong found three women tangled together on the floor, hidden under a tablecloth.
Rain’s wheelchair was overturned.
They were… all sprawled on the bar floor together…?
“What’s going on? Do you girls dislike me?”
“N-No, that’s not it! B-But… Ahhh…!”
“I… I don’t know anymore….”
“Heehee, heehee.”
Rain was pouting, making a high-pitched whimper like a little bird.
“W-What…? Rain’s crying sound is so cute…!”
“Should we take her and raise her? But, but Rain is a guild leader’s property.”
Rain was curled up on the floor, wedged between Dal Borom and Red Hot Chicken, hugging their waists with her arms.
Chris and Bae Merong gaped in shock.
Out of the stupor, Bae Merong was the first to act.
“Rain! Why are you lying face down like this? Ah, ahhh! Dal Borom, what are you doing?!”
“W-We aren’t doing anything! Rain is the one holding onto us and won’t let go…!”
“Ah, Bae Merong? Oh, wait…”
Rain tried to maintain a big smile while attempting to stand up, but fell back down with a thud.
“……!”
Bae Merong swallowed a scream and approached Rain.
Though Dal Borom and Red Hot Chicken escaped Rain’s grasp, they still seemed dazed and were struggling on the floor. It looked like it would take some time for them to regain their composure.
As Bae Merong got closer, Rain smiled brightly and snuggled into Bae Merong’s arms.
Bae Merong’s expression mixed between awe and embarrassment at Rain’s sudden full-body tackle.
“Ahh…! T-This isn’t the time for this! Chris, Rain’s acting strange!”
“Huh!”
Only then did Chris snap out of her daze. She hurried to Bae Merong and gently took Rain away.
“Hmph. Sister Chris.”
Rain, nestled in Chris’s arms, purred and beamed at her.
Chris swallowed hard.
Absolutely mesmerizing.
Rain soon rubbed her cheek against Chris’s face.
“Sister, I love you so much.”
Rubbing, rubbing.
Chris felt her mind swirling.
“Ah…!”
But she was strong.
Shaking her head vigorously, she collected herself. Then she turned to Red Hot Chicken and Dal Borom to ask about the situation.
“W-What happened? Why is our Rain like this?”
“I… Over there.”
Dal Borom, still trembling on the floor, raised a shaking hand to point at an empty bottle on the table.
That was…
“Fruit soju…!”
*
Chris carefully cradled Rain in her arms as she ascended to their hotel room on the fifth floor.
“Ung. Sister. Sister.”
“Rain, stop! No, don’t stop. Th-That’s not it…! …Eek!”
Even in the midst of this, Rain continued to cuddle against Chris’s body, purring.
Once Chris laid Rain down on the bed, she let out a sigh of relief.
“Haah, Rain can’t handle liquor at all.”
“Ung…? Suul…?”
For a moment, Chris gazed at Rain’s dazed eyes affectionately before attempting to pull her hands away from Rain’s back.
But it looked like Rain had no intention of letting go of Chris.
“Ah.”
Snuggle.
Chris’s face was suddenly buried in Rain’s embrace.
At the same moment, Rain’s unique fresh scent wafted into Chris’s nose.
“Huff!”
Chris gasped, her eyes wide open.
Clenching her teeth, she attempted to pull her face away from Rain’s embrace.
“Hmph, sister. Where are you going?”
“Uh, uh, uh.”
But just then, Rain tugged Chris’s neck closer.
With a thud, Chris fell on the bed. Her own body ended up pinned under Rain.
“Ah… Ahhh….”
Chris stopped all resistance and surrendered her body to Rain with vacant eyes.
I guess I’m dying here today.
Rain let out a moan and began rubbing her face against every inch of Chris’s body, burying her face in her chest.
Then suddenly, she began to whimper.
“Heehee, heehee.”
“…Rain? Why are you crying?”
“Wh-Why is this happening to me? I’m acting so strange.”
Chris snapped back to reality.
Of course, it was a good thing that Rain was acting more cutesy, but it was certainly odd.
‘Rain’ tends to be withdrawn, yet she’s a cheerful girl.
‘Lee Seulbi’ is much more mature. She rarely shows her emotions.
But a drunk ‘Lee Seulbi’ was far more childlike than ‘Rain.’
As if the alcohol had swept away all her mature parts.
“It feels like the strange thing inside me momentarily disappeared.”
“Strange thing?”
“Ung… I don’t know. I just want to cuddle and whine. I’m not a child… Am I? Well… if you consider the day I was born.”
Rain began to curl her fingers, lost in thought.
Chris smiled softly.
Then she lay down beside Rain, cradling her face in her arms.
“Why? What’s wrong with being childlike? You can act however you want.”
“Heehee, heehee. But…”
Rain’s small whimpers slowly transformed into full-blown sobs.
“…Ugh.”
Chris’s heart began to soak with Rain’s tears.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Rain…?”
“Uncle Ain. Sister Melissa. Sister Elena. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I have a weird memory-bound soul. I’m a strange hero who hasn’t grown mentally, so I couldn’t do it properly. But that’s just an excuse, isn’t it? Why has it come to this? Where has God gone? But, a continent of Astria without any companions…”
Rain wailed, expressing incomprehensible thoughts.
“…Sister Igrim. Where are you? I heard elves never die. They can live on as spirits. …Please.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“I must be just running away, right? To my former life’s memory world. In fact, that continent must be where I was meant to live. Where am I?”
“Rain!”
Chris had to calm Rain down, who was in a whirlwind of emotions.
She gently pulled Rain’s face away from her embrace and stared deeply into her eyes.
“…….”
Rain, with tear-soaked eyes, stared blankly at Chris, then broke into a radiant smile.
“I’m just glad that there’s Sister Chris in this world.”
Chris could only silently stroke Rain’s head.
Rain began to find some stability in Chris’s arms.
Rain’s sobs gradually subsided, eventually turning into peaceful breathing.
Chris quietly continued to stroke Rain’s head until she fell into a deep sleep.
“…….”
What could have been so sad for Rain?
Chris had no idea.
Still, she wished that Rain could pour it all out in her embrace.
The night deepened for them.
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