Chapter 334 – 60th floor (19)
“What is inside of all that luggage you packed, Yong-yong?”
Yong-Yong did not answer and just laughed.
It was strange.
It was obvious that Yong-yong attached s.p.a.ce warping magic to the backpack he was carrying.
That bag looks so full, just what in the world did he stuff in it?
“Are you going to take it to your room?”
“Yeah.”
I guess there were a lot of interesting things he saw for the first time on Earth.
Yong-yong has always been taking strange things or things he had never seen before to his room.
“Hey, wouldn’t it be better if you stayed on Earth?”
I asked Kim Min-hyuk.
In fact, there was no reason for Kim Min-hyuk to come with us to the 60th floor.
“No, I’m going to go there.”
It seems that I placed too much stress on Kim Min-hyuk.
He had several chances, but he kept himself from diving and avoiding work ever since he joined us.
“Let’s put this soup in my sub-s.p.a.ce. It will cool down.”
I received the packaged soup, rice, and side dishes from Kim Minhyuk and put it in my inventory.
I succeeded in connecting the 60th floor to the portal and had a chance to meet Lee Yeon-hee’s parents before going there.
Unlike my family who all disappeared or died, everyone in Lee Yeon-hee’s family was alive and well.
They were even living a decent life by receiving subsidies from the government.
However, even though they were living in abundance, they were sad that they have not seen their daughter in 10 years.
Lee Yeon-hee’s parents asked me to deliver their homemade pork soup to her when I said I would go to the 60th floor later to meet her.
During our conversation, I learned that her parents had been selling pork soup before. And because of that, Lee Yeon-hee ate a lot of pork soup during her childhood.
“Let’s go when we’re ready.”
“Huh. What am I supposed to do? Should I drink some potions?”
Kim Minhyuk asked.
“You just need to stay still like when you’re going into a Tutorial portal.”
Kim Min-hyuk somehow got a little anxious and climbed the portal.
I also stood on the portal holding Yong-yong’s hand.
“Why, Seregia, do you want me to hold your hand too?”
“No thanks.”
Seregia, who hesitated for a while, climbed the portal a beat later.
“Then move.”
* * *
[You have entered the 60th floor.]
“Oh, is this the 60th floor?”
Asked Kim Minhyuk.
“It’s completely different from the 60th floor in normal difficulty.”
“Of course. I did a few remodeling.”
Because I smashed it in a fit of anger.
I had to do some major reconstruction work four or five times, not including the countless small repairs here and there.
There were also many new things that have been created since Yong-yong became interested in architecture.
Anyway,
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.”
I have been on Earth for only two months, but I feel like I’ve been gone for a year.
I scratched my chin.
Even though it was a place where I previously struggled to leave, I never expected that I would feel like I was back home once we returned.
“Yeah! It’s been a long time!”
Yong-yong answered.
It’s been a while since we’ve been home, so he was pretty excited.
I could literally feel Yong-yong’s heartbeat from his little hand that was holding onto mine.
“Dad, I’m going to my room.”
“Okay.”
Yong-yong excitedly flew to his room.
Was it in that direction?
From Yong-yong’s point of view, this was literally and truly his home, so his reaction was only natural.
“Where is Yong-yong’s room?”
Asked Kim Min-hyuk.
He seemed to be wondering where Yong-yong had gone.
“There.”
“There?”
“No, it’s the one at the top.”
Kim Minhyuk asked with a quizzical expression.
“But… that’s a tower, right? It’s a tower. That’s, crazy. I thought it was some kind of background.”
Yong-yong’s room is a little big.
It may be difficult to recognize because it cannot be easily seen at a glance.
“It’s not really that big, it’s just the s.p.a.ce distortion magic… Seregia! Where are you going!?”
Meanwhile Seregia, who was next to him, was quietly heading in a different direction.
Seregia disappeared without answering.
When I looked at the direction she went to, I noticed that she headed for the barriers.
Seregia spent a long time becoming an energy source for the barriers as a great sword.
Maybe Seregia feels like the inside the barrier was her room.
Sigh.
Yong-yong and Seregia quickly left for their rooms after arriving.
I wish Hochi had come with me.
“Let’s go to my room first.”
“Is your room like that tower?”
But before that, there was someone I had to take care of first.
There. There was a woman hiding among the buildings in the residential area who was quietly observing us.
It was Lee Yeon-hee.
“Ah, uncle? … Are you really uncle?”
* * *
“Waaahhh.”
“Eat slowly, a little. Rest and eat later.”
Lee Yeon-hee was literally pouring out tears like a waterfall while eating the soup.
It was a grim sight, but on the other hand, it was also unhygienic.
If she keeps, her tears and the mucus from her nose would fall into the soup.
I forced Lee Yeon-hee to hold a towel in her hand (a small handkerchief or tissue paper wasn’t enough to handle), wipe her face first, and eat the soup.
“Have you calmed down?”
“…Yes.”
Lee Yeon-hee said after wiping her face continuously with the towel.
In that short time of crying, her eyes and nose became very red.
“Is the soup that delicious?”
Lee Yeon-hee was anxious and scared when she saw me on the 60th floor.
Honestly, I thought she would be a little happy, so I was embarra.s.sed.
First, I tried to warm up the mood by letting her eat the soup and talking slowly.
And as soon as Lee Yeon-hee put the soup in her mouth, she started crying.
“Yeah…It’s very good…”
Lee Yeon-hee, who answered that it was delicious and ate the soup again, began to sob again.
This is driving me crazy.
I reluctantly put the spoon down.
Lee Yeon-hee’s parents prepared plenty of soup so that me and Kim Min-hyuk could also eat it.
I was also looking forward to eating soup because it’s been a long time.
But I lost my appet.i.te upon watching Lee Yeon-Hee sobbing like that.
She wasn’t just crying, she was completely sobbing while shoving soup in her mouth at the same time.
“Is it really that delicious? I’ve had much more delicious food from the Tutorial shop than the food from Earth.”
I muttered quietly.
Kim Min-hyuk, who was sitting next to me, kicked me in the leg.
As I looked right at him, Kim Min-hyuk turned his head and pretended not to know.
Even though it was Lee Yeon-hee who was supposed to be sad, I could also feel my chest tightening a little.
Her emotion at that time was something that I was familiar with.
All members of my family had died or gone missing.
And by the time I entered the Tutorial, they were completely out of the picture.
So in a way, I could understand Lee Yeon-hee’s feelings.
Her case wasn’t like mine, but Lee Yeon-hee was also trapped for a long time.
She was alone.
It must have been even harder for her after being trapped on the 60th floor.
It’s only been two months, but an isolated person will naturally become unaware of the pa.s.sage of time.
But in the midst of all this, as soon as she felt the taste of the food her parents used to serve her when she was a child, tears welled up in her eyes.
Lee Yeon-hee’s goal was to return to Earth.
I understood her because I knew how much she wanted to see her family again.
I felt sorry for her again.
“Lee Yeon-hee.”
I called Lee Yeon-hee while keeping my voice from cracking.
Lee Yeon-hee raised her head, which had been plunged into the bowl, and looked at me with teary eyes.
“Your mother’s soup is delicious, right?”
Lee Yeon-hee nodded.
“You’re thankful I brought it to you, right?”
Lee Yeon-hee nodded.
“Aren’t you lucky to be my apostle? If you had refused, you wouldn’t have been able to eat that soup.”
Lee Yeon-hee nodded her head repeatedly.
I also nodded with a warm smile.
Hahaha.
“Yes, yes, eat a lot. Slow down and eat a lot. Let’s talk about it later after we’ve finished eating.”
From the side, Kim Min-hyuk looked at me with disgust, but I ignored it.
This is really important.
Lee Yeon-hee was an important resource in many ways.
It’s good to score points when she’s not alert.
“Auntie, don’t cry.”
Before I knew it, Yong-yong had sat on Lee Yeon-hee’s lap and started patting her.
Lee Yeon-hee embraced Yong-yong unconsciously and began to cry again.
Don’t ignore me.
It looked like Lee Yeon-Hee kidnapped Yong-Yong and used him as a hostage.
When the emotions are so intense, the head does not work rationally.
Yong-yong gave Lee Yeon-hee a small pat.
Such a sight would warm anyone’s heart.
Yong-yong did not panic and hugged Lee Yeon-hee tightly and patted her back.
I guess it’s a good thing I packed the soup.
I was worried about how to make up with Lee Yeon-Hee and get closer at first, but this seemed to be a good opportunity to move on .
Although Kim Min-hyuk was looking at me like he wanted to say a lot of things, I decided to ignore it.
* * *
“At first, I thought it was a hallucination.”
“What, us?”
“Yes…….”
When Lee Yeon-hee saw us on the 60th floor, she thought she was seeing hallucinations.
“I have been alone for too long… As I keep thinking the same thing all along, I’ve always felt like I could see what I was thinking…….”
I nodded.
I know what it’s like.
I’ve been through it a few times.
“Thank you for doing the work I asked you to do. Had it not been for the signal you sent here, it would have taken me more time to reach the 60th floor.”
“Yes…”
Lee Yeon-hee nodded.
Still, her complexion looked a little better than when I first saw her.
“By the way, uncle.”
“Uh, what?”
“Are you not going to kill me?”
I paused at the calm question.
I think you asked a similar question before.
“Why would I kill you?”
“…because I’m now useless?”
The biggest reason for leaving Lee Yeon-hee as an apostle on the 60th floor was to easily connect the 60th floor to the Earth.
Do you think we don’t need you anymore because you’ve already fulfilled that role?
“Do I look like someone who just kills you once you are useless?”
“Yes…….”
It was a cold judgment.
“I even betrayed you and… I don’t think you’re going to let go of the one who turned their back on you.”
In the past, Lee Yeon-hee quietly asked if I would kill her on the 61st floor.
However, looking at her actions, it was not like she was a person without regrets in life.
I was curious about her psychology.
“I was betrayed, but the truth is that I betrayed you first. It couldn’t be helped, and as a matter of fact, you couldn’t help it either.
If I had to argue, my fault was bigger than Lee Yeon-hee’s.
I expected Lee Yeon-hee’s betrayal, helped, and even induced it.
Of course, I didn’t mean that someone should apologize because the other did worse.
She meant that she had no intention of talking about the crime because of her fault.
“Although I was an enemy.”
And this was the most important.
“I won anyway, right?”
“Is that so.”
Lee Yeon-hee asked again.
“So I’m not an enemy anymore?”
“Right.”
Lee Yeon-hee quietly nodded.
Her body froze, without even a fine movement.
However, I could see her muscles relax.
On the surface, it didn’t show at all.
Certainly, Lee Yeon-hee had excellent talent.
In fact, it was obvious.
Although I also lent her a hand, she climbed up to the 60th floor of h.e.l.l difficulty on her own.
If anyone could do it, I would have cleared the Tutorial 10 years ago, not two months ago.
I told Lee Yeon Hee about my future plans.
Previously, I’ve given her clues little by little, but I never spoke openly.
“I am taking over the Tutorial from the G.o.ds.”
“Well… Looking at the 61st floor… It doesn’t seem impossible at all,” sighing, Lee Yeon-hee responded.
“Have you been there?”
“Yes.”
She had been to the 61st floor, and it seems like she has met my followers.
Seeing that she was alone on the 60th floor, it seems that she was not accepted even though she met them.
“As an apostle, I wondered if you really needed me.”
Maybe that’s why they didn’t accept her upon their meeting and the reason why Lee Yeon-hee thought I was going to kill her.
“I need you.”
I will be taking over the Tutorial from the Hundred G.o.ds’ Temple, effectively removing the time rewind that was applied to the Tutorial stage and preventing the dead and the destroyed land from coming back.
That was my goal.
However, if left alone, most of the Tutorial stages will be destroyed immediately.
I didn’t mean to bring the Tutorial world to ruin according to the order.
I wanted to overcome the crisis and face a new future.
“So that’s my role. So you’re saying that I will be G.o.d’s apostle who will save the worlds on the verge of destruction, is that it?”
“Yes. In fact, it won’t be much different from the stage mission in the Tutorial. The difference is, unlike before, when you didn’t have to worry about the future after you cleared it, you have to keep the future in mind.”
It’s not a recurring time, but a whole new future.
“I will give you the best treatment as an apostle. After the Tutorial is completely handed over to me, you will be able to go to Earth and see your family whenever you have time. Of course, on the premise that you do your job well.”
Lee Yeon-hee asked me after worrying for a while,
“…Why me?”
“What do you mean, why?”
“That’s something other people can do, even if it’s not me. Why do you want to entrust that job to me… May I ask why?”
I was silent for a moment.
I was expecting Lee Yeon-hee to drop her pa.s.sive att.i.tude.
However, the word ‘something other people could do’ was not easy to handle.
In the past, Lee Yeon-hee was an irreplaceable, must-have existence for me.
I gave her all my expectations and attention.
Lee Yeon-hee also tried to live up to my expectations without feeling too uncomfortable about it.
“Because I need you.”
I decided to be as honest as possible.
“Because you are more like me than anyone else, in judgement and even actions. I taught you that, but you grew up that way too. So I think I can entrust the Tutorial world to you. Because I can trust your judgment there.”
I was serious.
Her judgment did not differ much from my judgment.
Although there were differences, depending on the situation, Lee Yeon-Hee’s judgment could have been better than mine.
I remember every decision that Lee Yoon-hee made as she went through the different stages.
When she first encountered life on the 4th floor and a civilized species.
When she was isolated on the 6th floor and faced despair.
The first time she encountered an enemy who showed her favor on the 13th floor.
On the 16th floor, where she was able to meet some weird but funny friends.
The judgments on the 20th floor where the enemies who looked disgusting and looked ugly appeared.
Stages on the 40th floor where you had to deal with various kinds of monsters and the stages on the 50th floor where you had to lead people as an apostle.
After that, even when the number of communication with Lee Yeon-hee decreased.
I’ve been keeping a close eye on how she cleared the stages.
I also gave advice accordingly.
Remembering all of her steps in those messages, I was able to trust her future judgments.
“And above all,”
It’s not about competence.
“We went through the hardest time together.”
Even though it was a conversation that I couldn’t see before and exchanged only through letters and messages.
In the days when every second was like h.e.l.l.
With Lee Yeon-hee, I could see the future and live.
“I’ll do it, I’ll become uncle’s apostle.”