"Was it really okay to send only the three of them?"
"Just Gilyoung, Mr. Dokyun, and the three of you are going?!"
"Gilyoung's ability will help us track that thing. And you should understand even if I don't explain."
"But...!"
"And Mr. Lee Hyunsung. Jung Heewon's condition isn't good, so please take good care of her."
"They said they'd send a signal if anything happened, so let's wait."
"I'm really fine, though."
.
.
.
"This way."
Using insects for reconnaissance was simply the most convenient method imaginable.
I hadn't saved Gilyoung for this specific reason, but I was already grateful enough that he'd survived. The fact that he was this useful on top of that made me feel an immense sense of pride.
"Um, noona."
"Hm?"
"You did that on purpose earlier, right?"
"Huh? W-What do you mean?"
I hadn't paid much attention because Gilyoung showed complete trust in me and Dokja, the two people who had saved him, but he was sharper than he looked.
I didn't know if he'd been like this even before the world fell apart, but it seemed he'd picked up on something again.
"When the monster took you and that ahjussi away, you let it happen on purpose. I saw you stop hyung."
I had no idea why he was saying something like that when we might've decided to silence him by abandoning him in this darkness.
In this world, you absolutely couldn't place blind trust in someone just because they'd saved you once.
"Gilyoung, I'm not really one to say this, but you shouldn't say things like that so carelessly. If you talk like that, we might just leave you here."
"I still trust you and noona. Usually, people who say things like that don't actually do them."
"...Is that so?"
If I wanted to live up to that trust, then both Dokja and I were going to have to work pretty hard.
Dokja also seemed quietly burdened by how completely he trusted her.
"We're almost there."
[A very small number of Constellations hold their breath.]
Whenever I sank into my thoughts, a surprising amount of time passed before I noticed.
It was a habit of mine, much like Dokja's tendency to mutter to herself.
In a world like this, it was a dangerous habit. I'd be better off fixing it.
"Hyung."
"What?"
"Are you a god, by any chance? If you're a god, then is noona the 'protagonist'?"
"...No. We're neither of those. Dokja always envied the protagonist, and I... I had feelings too complicated to put into words."
Complicated feelings.
Maybe someone looking in would call it nothing more than ugly inferiority. Maybe someone else would comfort me and say it was something anyone could feel.
"But you and noona know something about this world, right?"
"It'd be more accurate to say Dokja knows. She's the one who told me everything."
"Then if we clear all these Scenarios, can we make a wish come true?"
Dokja wasn't entirely wrong when she said that, now that stats existed, children and women were no longer automatically the weak.
"Stories like this usually have a reward at the end, right?"
But when it came to mental strength, there was still a meaningful difference.
Mental fortitude wasn't something you could solve just by raising your stats.
Of course, there probably weren't many people left in this world who were still fully sane, but children who should have been protected had now become easy prey for those hunting Coins.
Children with minds not yet fully formed had watched their parents die, and now they had been reduced to mere prey. For them, the reality they were forced to endure was far too cruel, far too hard to accept.
Without the threadbare hope of a reward, it would be impossible to keep going.
"There probably is. It just takes a long time to get there."
Thud.
Rattle.
One step, then another.
As we kept walking, the darkness suddenly gave way to light, and a wide-open space came into view.
[A sub-scenario has been updated.]
[You have entered 'Mole Cricket's Treasure Vault'.]
The name Mole Cricket's Treasure Vault fit perfectly. Mole crickets had surrounded the area on all sides.
Of course, I could've strolled in slowly if I wanted, but the two behind me couldn't afford to.
"This is all because of Yoo Sangah!"
"What do you mean, because of me?"
"I-If Yoo Sangah hadn't gotten on the subway, things wouldn't have turned out like this!"
I had no idea what that was supposed to have to do with anything.
Even if what he said were true, it was actually a blessing. They'd boarded the subway together, and thanks to Dokja's wit, they'd all survived without anyone having to die.
In other words, if they'd been somewhere else, he might have been murdered, or he might have killed someone with his own hands. And yet he was complaining...
"What does me getting on the subway have to do with this situation right now?"
Exactly. What did Yoo Sangah getting on the subway have to do with Han Myeongoh ending up in this state?
"Th-That's because Yoo Sangah always rides her bike..."
"Wait a second. Don't tell me it was you who stole my bicycle, Manager Han?!"
"A person should know better! I clearly told you I'd drive you there in my car!"
How was that a favor? It was just a filthy scheme from a bastard trying to get somewhere with a younger female employee.
"Dokja."
"What."
"I think I'm starting to hate Han Myeongoh more than Cheon Inho."
"Exactly."
[Many Constellations are nodding fiercely at your words.]
[The Constellation 'Demon-like Judge of Fire' dislikes the Incarnation 'Han Myeongoh'.]
[The Constellation 'Goddess of Love and Beauty' dislikes the Incarnation 'Han Myeongoh'.]
"Yeah! I did it! So what are you gonna do about it?!"
"That bastard's casually admitting to a crime he committed before the world ended."
"If the world hadn't ended, he really would've been arrested."
If he was just some parachute hire, he should've sat there being useless. Instead, he committed an actual crime because he wanted to mess with a young female employee...
Even a parachute hire could be someone the employees welcomed. But this bastard acted like that because he knew he was untouchable.
"Oppa. You can step in now."
Grin.
"Hey, Yoo Sangah. Did I ever actually harass you?"
"We've defined that as harassment. Why are you bragging like you did something right?"
"Mr. Dokyun!"
She greeted me with a smile I'd never seen from her before.
She really must hate Han Myeongoh.
In a way, that was impressive.
That someone as poised as Yoo Sangah could react like that.
[The Constellation 'Goddess of Love and Beauty' is jumping with joy.]
[3,000 Coins have been sponsored.]
Crunch!
Dokja drove a thorn into the wall.
"Dokja? What's this for?"
"Step back a little."
Craaack.
A fracture spread out from the thorn she'd embedded.
Crack-crack-crack!
Craaaack!!
"What did you summon?"
The mole crickets started trembling all over.
What kind of existence could frighten creatures that had still charged at me after watching bodies burst apart?
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' is smiling in a deeply unsettling way.]
Fwoosh.
'Blue flames?'
At last, the wall collapsed, and blue fire leaked out.
[[Dark Sentinel] has appeared!]
[A sub-scenario has been updated!]
[The sub-scenario 'Defeat the Sentinel' has begun.]
"Ugh. Noona, I..."
"It's okay. You can do it."
The moment the Sentinel appeared, Gilyoung started vomiting.
"Why's Gilyoung suddenly like this?"
"All the bugs connected to Gilyoung were blown apart and died. He took mental damage from it."
"Let's let him rest first."
To begin with, Gilyoung was still a support type, not combat. For now, that was fine.
And I didn't want to overwork a child.
Crack.
Slash.
Dokja and I hurriedly untied the two who had been bound.
Though I really wasn't sure we needed to free Han Myeongoh too.
"Stay back."
[[Dark Sentinel] receives the protection of the Demon King it serves.]
"Even this might be a little rough for me."
[Gamyun, Der, Atur.]
[[Dark Sentinel] emits [Fear].]
Fear was probably some kind of debuff, but both Dokja and I seemed immune to mental attacks like that.
"M-Mom?"
"Excuse me? Did you just call me... mom?"
"N-No, no! That's not it, that monster just said 'mom'..."
I never thought I'd live to see the day someone right next to me could understand what a monster was saying.
"...So what exactly is it saying?"
"It's... it keeps saying, 'Become mother.'"
"...Are you going to become a mother?"
"You're joking at a time like this?! I'm not even married yet!"
Even in the middle of all this, she understood a joke perfectly.
[Kalidu!]
"...Take your hand off."
[...Kalidu!]
"Wh-Why would I be the mother?! I'd be the father!"
"Do you even have the qualifications to be a father?"
Could a man who openly hit on women far younger than himself and treated crime like it was nothing really raise a child properly...?
Squirm.
Pshhk!
Thud!!
Was that thing making people bear children by using that?
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' is wildly delighted, saying I made that thing.]
"Wait, you made that thing?"
"Oppa? Who are you talking to?"
[The Demon King 'Demon King of Wrath and Lust' asks if you're angry, saying that's right.]
"That's not the point! I'm asking why you're only telling me something that important now!"
That bastard dared...?
"Hey!!!"
"Oppa, are you insane? Just stay still!!!"
At my shout, the Sentinel slowly turned its head toward me and met my eyes.
If that thing belonged to the Demon King watching my channel, then...!
"Hey, you met your mom's friend and you're not even saying hello?!"
[Ka, Kalidu?!!]
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