The watchman was disappointed when I greeted him back.
I thought I might’ve done something mannerless, but I couldn’t think of anything upon reflection.
As if he was the type to save his words, the watchman immediately expressed his feelings.
“You are very polite. You can take it easy! I didn’t want to greet you too formally, so I chose an appearance close to your age. Well, it’s our first time meeting, so I guess it’s a bit hard to treat me like a friend, right?”
Was the watchman acting like a friend just now?
He was said to have died not long after the worldly collisions, so if he ages based on the mortal world, he’d be a hundred years more than his age when he died.
Even if the age issue is behind, I cannot help but be polite to the father of Eun Seoho, Eun Iho, and Eun Jaeho.
And, wouldn’t it be a little difficult to be friends with a college junior’s son-in-law?
“Just so you know, this is how I looked like when I died. I’m practically the same age as you. I’ve been here for quite a long time though.”
I’m seventeen in this world.
The watchman died at that age?
Then that means he was a freshman in high school when he entered the bridle of reincarnation.
“Haha! I didn’t expect you to be sad. It’s okay. It’s common for people to be short-lived when the world collisions began.”
“Even if it’s a common thing, you were one of the victims.”
My family died in a car accident, a common enough occurrence, but it’s hard for the victims to take it as that.
The watchman seemed to have shaken off a different feeling at an early age.
“It’s really alright. If I knew what would happen though, I would’ve fought with light skills and energy waves.”
“Did you get caught up in an enemy attack from an otherworld spawning?”
“No. The reason I died is…”
The watchman’s words stopped in the middle.
Then, he looked at me, at the straw mat that covered my body to be exact.
“I’ll tell you once you get a good rest.”
“I’m alright.”
“Nope.”
There’s really no need for me to rest since I’ve only been sitting still.
However, the watchman was stubborn.
“Wanna take off that straw mat? You’re completely out of Ereshkigal’s realm so you’ll be fine.”
I looked around just in case.
Turning my gaze around, I saw the atmosphere that was different from the dark underworld where I stayed for a long time.
As the watchman said, I was sure that this place was not the underworld.
I turned the straw mat into an item card.
Fwat!
My Eungwang High uniform was revealed the moment the straw mat disappeared.
The watchman observed the uniform with great interest.
“So this is the uniform of Eungwang HIgh now! It was white during my time.”
“You were a student at Eungwang High?”
“Yep, at that time, the concept of players wasn’t established yet, so Eungwang High wasn’t a Player Master High School.”
“I see. You are my sunbaenim then.”
“Haha, I’m embarrassed to be called a senior since I didn’t graduate. Oh, I’m looking forward to seeing my kids in this uniform.”
As if he were really embarrassed, the watchman changed the topic.
Everything he said and did seemed like what a high school student around my age would do.
It would be perfect if it weren’t for the mention of his “kids.”
“You had a big fight up there, didn’t you? Your energy waves are recovered, but you look exhausted.”
“I had a good rest.”
“I don’t think so at all though? Anyway, I’m not okay. How could I face my wife’s family if I push you?”
Wife’s family.
I was speechless at the words.
The Tiger Clan could be regarded as the family of the Silver Hero, but the words sounded new to me.
While I tried to collect my dropped jaw, the watchman pointed at my wrist.
Hwang Jiho engraved something on it to allow me to use earth power.
It was almost losing its light because I was out of reach, but its shape was intact.
“You are such a precious benefactor that Hwangho allowed such a thing. Though you don’t make a very good impression knowing the reason for your visit here.”
I thought Hwang Jiho’s seal would disappear once it’s used.
I already used earth power, and I expected it to disappear once the day changed.
Does this mean he’ll allow me to continue using earth power in the future?
Well, maybe this seal will be lost once I go back to the mortal world.
Probably.
“I’m worried about you, benefactor. And even though it's late, I want to make a good impression on my wife’s family. Let’s go get some rest.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to hurry?”
“It’s alright. It’s not as much as the underworld, but time here also flows differently from the mortal world.”
Is it really okay?
I was anxious, but I thought he would be difficult to persuade so I decided to follow.
The watchman took the lead, saying that he would guide me to rest.
‘It’s more vast than I thought.’
I was amazed at the sight as we walked.
Perhaps because it’s a place that hosts numerous deaths, we walked for a while without seeing an end in sight.
The distant landscape was unstructured, changing its appearance from moment to moment.
What seemed to be a meadow became a stone field after a few steps, and then some spires would appear here and there.
The watchman spoke to me while I was anxious that I might get lost if I didn’t follow his footsteps well.
“How was your walk from the underworld? You didn’t look back, but I thought you would stop at least once. You walked straight ahead though.”
“There was no problem.”
“I can’t believe the voice of the dead didn’t catch you… Was there no voice to borrow in that underworld? No, if they don’t have a voice to borrow, they’ll hold you back by screaming or asking for help using any voice.”
Just before encountering the watchman, Ereshkigal took about ten steps after telling me not to look back.
Nothing really happened.
I didn’t hear any sound, only the comfort of my vision brightening.
I tried to think of a reason.
“Isn’t it because of the courtesy of the goddess?”
“I don’t think so. Ereshkigal-nim has been courteous to you, but the deterrent of holding those who want to leave is kind of an automatic system. I guess the underworld didn’t want to keep you.”
I don’t know the reason, but it sounds like a good thing.
The people who are welcomed to the underworld are usually dead anyway.
The conversation with the watchman continued.
The topics of conversation were nothing special, and when I tried to talk about the purpose of coming here, the watchman would immediately change his words.
“You thought about a lot of things while you were in the underworld, right? Leave your head empty for now.”
There’s no way for me to not think though.
The watchman’s insistence on resting me until we reached our destination was unbreakable.
Although we were around the same age, he died almost a hundred years ago, yet he was very stubborn as someone who experienced a long time.
“Do you want to open the door yourself?”
The watchman pointed to the door where I was supposed to stay.
I don’t feel any pressure unlike from the door to the underworld so I thought it was a regular door.
Creak.
My eyes became blurred when the door opened.
The view was unstable and blurry, but when I looked closely, I felt a sense of familiarity.
‘It looks like the mansion…’
Hwang Jiho’s living room, which he decorates every season, is furnished to suit the winter atmosphere.
A spacious entrance where Olmu and I meet.
The rug where Eunho’s descendants and Sanryeong plays.
Eunho’s teacup in the annex.
The window where Baekho stands.
Parts of the mansion were mixed in the chaotic landscape.
I was flustered, unsure why this was unfurled before me.
“Well, it’s not in shape. I was trying to surprise you, but… can you think about your home in more detail?”
“Home?”
“Yeah, I wanted you to relax, so I made an accommodation according to your conception of a home.”
I came to my senses.
It’s ridiculous to think of the tiger’s mansion as a home.
‘No, it’s not my home.’
Perhaps because I was alone in the dark for a long time, I thought about the comfortable and noisy mansion without realizing it.
It may be because I visited often in preparation for Christmas.
Yes, it’s clear that I see this because I’ve stayed in the mansion for a long time.
I tried to shake the thoughts of the tigers out of my head.
Then, the landscape gradually stabilized.
It turned into the dorm room on the seventeenth floor of the freshmen dormitory building of Eungwang High.
I was finally relieved.
“I see you don’t have a definite image of a home. Here is okay, but the place that you first imagined looked warmer and better. What a shame. I can change the shape because we haven’t gone in yet, do you want to try again?”
“No thank you.”
“Okay…”
The watchman recommended once more but eventually gave up.
Since I was using a double room on my own, it’s quite spacious and nice even though it’s not as big as the mansion.
The watchman stepped back, urging me to rest.
“I took extra care to greet you. You can feel free to sleep in here. I’ll be right back when you wake up. Good night then.”
Creak.
The watchman closed the door and I was alone again.
Left alone, I took a closer look at the dorm room.
‘It’s just as I remember. There’s no difference.’
After looking around the living area, I opened the bedroom door.
The bedroom was exactly as I last saw it.
I feel like I’m back in my dorm room so I think I can rest well.
‘I’m sleepy, but I don’t think I need sleep.’
However, as I lay in bed and closed my eyes, I immediately fell asleep.
I slept a dreamless sleep at a pace that looked very much like my dormitory room.
I don’t know how long it was before I woke up, but I felt my mind was clearer when I opened my eyes.
As I blinked and prepared to get up, I felt a presence from the living room.
Then came the watchman’s voice.
“Well, looking at it carefully, it’s an assigned room. I was wondering where this was, but it looks like Eungwang High’s dormitory.”
The watchman seemed to be talking to himself.
I think he came to wake me up, but at some point, he got distracted.
“It’s nothing like my time! I wonder if my kids would stay in a dorm or in the mansion. It wouldn’t be bad to experience dormitory life.”
The watchman was a freshman when he died, and his children will soon enter high school.
He might be curious about Eungwang High.
I prepared myself as slowly as possible.
When I felt that the watchman had enough time to look around the dormitory, I opened the bedroom door and went out.
“Did you sleep well? Did I wake you up?”
“Hello. I woke up just before you came in.”
The watchman peered in as if to make sure that I slept well.
Only after did he begin talking as we sat on the sofa of the living room.
“I’m glad that the benefactor slept well. Let’s get to the point then. How much do you want to hear from me?”
“I didn’t have much time then, so I would like to hear it in detail now. I was told to go and hear it from you myself.”
“Yeah, where should I begin? Oh, I’ll tell you the story of when I died first.”
The watchman paused for a moment.
“The thing is, I was killed by the one you fought with.”
I doubted my ears.
No matter how much I thought about it, only the Black Screen came to mind.
The watchman’s shocking remarks continued.
“And at this rate, I’ll cease to exist. Because of that person.”
