The Fighting Dog of a Ruined Organization

* * *

Eris was blankly staring at the door.

Seeing this, Yu Jin-ri wondered.

‘Why is she like that?’

So as she approached Eris to ask, Shizu grabbed Yu Jin-ri’s shoulder. Wondering what was going on, she saw Shizu shaking her head, signaling not to go.

“Ms. Yu Jin-ri, a word please.”

“Ah, yes…”

Not understanding why, Yu Jin-ri followed Shizu outside for a moment. Shizu took out a cigarette pack from her pocket and asked,

“Do you smoke by any chance?”

“No? I don’t smoke. Do you know how bad cigarettes are for your health…”

“You don’t need to explain that. I know they’re bad too.”

Shizu put the cigarette pack back in her pocket. Come to think of it, doesn’t Shizu not smoke either? Yu Jin-ri asked, unable to understand.

“Don’t you not smoke either, Ms. Shizu?”

“Yes, I don’t smoke either.”

“Then why do you carry them around?”

“Because real quitting is not smoking even when you have cigarettes on hand.”

“What?”

“I’m saying I used to smoke once.”

“Ah, I see.”

For someone who used to smoke to have cigarettes on hand but not smoke, how strong must their willpower be?

Yu Jin-ri thought anew how amazing Shizu was, but that wasn’t why they came outside, so she moved on to the main topic.

“So what did you want to talk about?”

“I wanted to ask you not to talk to Eris-nim right now.”

“What? Why?”

“When Eris-nim blankly stares at the door, it means she’s endlessly waiting for someone. And not just waiting, but when she has no psychological leeway at all.”

“Shouldn’t we talk to her more at times like that?”

“Generally that’s a good approach, but not for Eris-nim. Eris-nim tends to regain psychological leeway when she’s alone without thinking about anything.”

“Hmm, I think I understand what you mean. But why does she have no psychological leeway?”

“That’s…”

Shizu recalled the conversation she had with Eris earlier.

“Shizu, I think I’m a selfish boss.”

Eris’s eyes looked sad. Seeing those eyes, Shizu instinctively knew that Eris was different from usual.

She was similar to Casey’s original self.

“Eris-nim, what are you saying? Why are you suddenly saying such things?”

“Hyeon-woo said he didn’t want to, but I forcefully pushed him.”

“You don’t need to think that way. Hyeon-woo-nim isn’t the type to do something he dislikes against his will. You know that well, Eris-nim.”

Woo Hyeon-woo doesn’t do something if he dislikes it. Isn’t that why he refused when first asked to help Fantasia?

When Shizu pointed this out, Eris shook her head.

“In my opinion, Hyeon-woo can never break free from someone he’s given his heart to.”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you hear about what happened with Hyeon-woo and Reni Sist?”

“Yes, I heard.”

“Hyeon-woo was distressed because he couldn’t protect Reni, whom he’d only met a few hours ago. He was even more troubled thinking about me, you, and Yu Jin-ri.”

Eris continued with sorrowful eyes.

“Seeing that, I understood. Why Hyeon-woo drew a line with me when he was running the PC room. He did it because once someone enters his heart, he can’t bear to ignore them.”

Hyeon-woo is that kind of person.

“So when Hyeon-woo tried to run away and refuse the goblin shaman extermination party. I used myself to prevent him from escaping. I instilled confidence in him, saying he could do it. But what if Hyeon-woo really dies because of that.”

Eris told Hyeon-woo he wouldn’t die, that it was fantasy, but.

In reality, Eris herself couldn’t truly believe in that fantasy. Because she had lived in a reality where she lost all her team members by foolishly believing fantasy would happen.

“I lost all my team members due to my selfish fantasy, and now I’ve driven Hyeon-woo to danger with my selfish fantasy again. You know, if Hyeon-woo doesn’t return alive, I’m really trash, right?”

At those words, Shizu clenched her fist and said,

“Eris-nim, I survived thanks to your selfish fantasy. How can I say anything to you? But remember one thing.”

Shizu slowly unclenched her fist and firmly held Eris’s hand.

“The fact that those who didn’t like your selfish fantasy left, and those who liked it remained by your side. Those who liked it stayed because they like you, so you torturing yourself like this is what’s truly selfish.”

─Please don’t keep feeling guilty by applying past events to the present.

Losing her sister, team members leaving.

These things kept tormenting Eris. Especially since Casey entered Eris’s body, her mind started breaking down more.

She acts like an idiot to turn her eyes away from that pain, but that doesn’t make the pain disappear.

But she must endure. She needs to be able to see. That there are people who remain around her despite herself. That for those people’s sake, she needs to be able to see reality by breaking free from past sins.

“…You’re right. I spoke as if I knew better to Hyeon-woo, but maybe those were words I should have said to myself.”

And from then on, Eris started blankly staring at the door. Until Hyeon-woo returns safely. Because that’s what would make her heart feel at ease.

But it was difficult to tell Yu Jin-ri all of this story. It’s not polite to speak about it easily either.

So Shizu summarized the key points and said,

“It’s because Eris-nim is worried about Hyeon-woo-nim. You could say it’s like the heart of a wife who sent her husband to the battlefield.”

“Gasp, are Hyeon-woo-nim and Eris-nim married?”

“Ah, no…”

“Then are they dating?!”

“Ah, no, it’s just a metaphor, Ms. Yu Jin-ri…”

“Wow, then that’s a relief!”

“Why is it a relief?”

“Huh? Th-that’s a secret.”

Yu Jin-ri blushed and looked away.

“You’re not an easy person either, Ms. Yu Jin-ri…”

Shizu shook her head as if unable to understand Yu Jin-ri. She felt like she would need to take care of her in various aspects.

‘It’s a night that makes me miss Hyeon-woo-nim, who doesn’t need my care…’

Copy

* * *

“This is crazy.”

I muttered in disbelief.

Everyone lay down in bed to sleep as soon as it hit 10 PM, saying we need to manage our condition at its best for goblin hunting tomorrow morning.

But how can a fighting dog that goes wild at night sleep at 10 PM? Far from feeling sleepy, my body is restless and my eyes are wide open.

As it happens, I haven’t used Situation Observation today, so out of boredom, I observed Fantasia’s semi-basement house.

Then I saw Eris staring at the door with crazed, wide-open eyes like a mad ghost.

Shizu, who went outside, made incomprehensible metaphors to Yu Jin-ri about the heart of a wife who sent her husband to the battlefield,

And Yu Jin-ri, not understanding the metaphor, got excited asking if Eris and I were married.

To top it off, when told we’re neither married nor dating, she’s relieved.

Why the hell is it a relief? Don’t tell me you like me? I don’t like you, you nerdy loser.

I’ve actually lived for 38 years, why would I like a young girl like you? Of course, I’m not sure if the idea that the essence of the soul is eaten by the essence of the body applies to me too, so my mental age might not actually be 38.

At least women with strong sexual curiosity like Yu Jin-ri are not my type. If anything, I prefer mature women who aren’t interested in such things and can share normal love.

If I really, really had to choose among the three, I like Shizu the best. She has common sense and we can communicate well. Although I don’t understand the context of the metaphor Shizu used now, so it’s frustrating.

“Shouldn’t have looked, damn it.”

I should just sleep─

─Pah-pah-pam-pam-pam pah-pah-rah-pah-pah pah-pah-rah-pah-pah pah-pah-pah-pah-pah-rah-pah~

“What the hell is this fucking song.”

The reveille I heard too many times in the army I was unfairly dragged to rang out. I feel like I just closed my eyes to sleep, why is it morning already?

“Puhaha! Brother, your senses are completely dead? I’ve been awake since the microphone turned on with a zing~ sound!”

Is that something to brag about? Only a private second class can do that.

Look at that. Mr. Baek Ji-hwan over there is sleeping without even hearing it like a senior sergeant who’s heard it too many times.

“Eh? The Esper brother can’t wake up either. I’ll have to wake him up myself.”

It seems Mr. Gu Ja-gon from the Beggar’s Sect is extroverted but lacking in social skills. He’s swinging his staff to wake up our veteran sergeant, Mr. Baek Ji-hwan, who’s peacefully sleeping through the reveille.

Pang!

But the staff only hit an empty mattress, and Baek Ji-hwan appeared behind Gu Ja-gon.

“I’m insensitive to reveille but sensitive to attacks. I’ll let it slide this time since it was a prank, Mr. Gu Ja-gon.”

“Wh-what?! How did you do that?”

“My ability is short-range teleportation. I may not be able to kill the masters of the Murim Alliance, but remember that even those masters can’t kill me.”

Short-range teleportation, huh.

What confidence makes him say such things? Certainly, I might not be able to kill him. It wouldn’t be easy to attack faster than short-range teleportation.

But we don’t know how strong the Murim Alliance masters are. Mr. Gu Ja-gon is seriously low-ranking to be called a master.

“Espers are certainly different? You surprised me!”

But I am curious about one thing.

Can he avoid even a knife I throw using Body Energy with short-range teleportation? If he was that amazing, wouldn’t there be no reason for him to only hunt goblins to the point of being sick of it?

It should be fine to check a little.

I fiddled with the pillow. This dormitory, which rang the reveille like the army, also has pillows filled with unidentifiable granules like army pillows.

They seem to be made of plastic, this should be just right.

I sneakily took one out and used Body Energy to momentarily amplify my strength and threw the granule.

Whoosh! Thwack!

“Ouch!”

The granule accurately hit the back of Baek Ji-hwan’s head. Baek Ji-hwan rubbed the back of his head, looking around, but he didn’t seem to know what hit him.

“Wh-what? Static electricity? Could it be a sign of secondary Esper awakening…?”

What nonsense, you idiot.

It’s just laughable that such a guy kept putting on airs. Goblins must not be much. And to think such a guy is the raid leader, is the Phoenix Guild not much either?

Maybe they’re just pretending not to care because they’re afraid of Carpe Diem. We can’t rule out that possibility.

I thought so, but,

“Nice to meet you, gentlemen. I am Choi Ji-a, the master of the Phoenix Guild.”

『Combat Power: 80,000』

Seeing that otherworldly class, I decided to behave.

It’s not the Phoenix Guild, just Mr. Baek Ji-hwan who’s an idiot.

“As the master, I have only one thing to say to you gentlemen, don’t let your guard down even with goblins. Carelessness is another form of death.”