< Chapter 104: An Unexpected Encounter (2) >
Goldie had slightly nodded at my words and looked at me.
His deep eyes seemed to urge me to touch the wall in front of us.
Even White Tiger had a desperate expression for some reason.
“What’s going on?”
Could there be a hidden room? I walked toward the wall that both were staring at.
“Here?”
Nod.
It seemed to be the right spot. I nonchalantly reached out and touched the wall.
Sizzle–
“Whoa!”
At that moment, a fierce spark burst forth. I wanted to pull my hand away, but my body wouldn’t move.
“Ugh!”
I was straining every muscle to move my hand when–
–I leave this message for the descendants of the tribe who stand here now.
Suddenly, a male voice was heard. It was neither Korean nor English but a type of language I had never heard before. Yet, somehow, the meaning was clear.
–Please take good care of the last hope of the Rena.B.Riferiel tribe.
Zap, sizzle–
With those words, the sparks intensified even more.
“Aaaagh!”
It was a piercing pain I had never experienced before. My consciousness began to fade away in that agony.
* * *
I had a dream.
The dream of that day.
–Seo-yul-ah, I have something to ask you.
For the first time, I saw my brother Shin with a desperate expression. In the fuzzy world of the dream, he was saying something to me.
I couldn’t hear it.
It was blurry, like a thick fog.
The dream world was fading away like clouds.
However, the expression my brother Shin wore, as if he was about to cry, was clearly visible.
–Thank you, Seo-yul.
A single choked-up word.
Amidst the blurry scenery, that single word was heard clearly.
–There’s not much I can do to help you. All I can offer is an exceptional memory, good enough to remember the original work, and… knowledge about the world. These things will undoubtedly be a great help…
With those words, the dream world shattered and dispersed.
* * *
I had woken up.
“….”
What was that just now?
The first thing that consumed my mind upon waking was the two-letter word.
Dream. Yes, I had dreamed.
I had heard the words “thank you.”
And then…
“Memory and knowledge?”
He had clearly said that at the end.
I was certain.
I couldn’t hear the last sentence entirely, but there was no mistake.
“…So that’s what it was?”
I had once questioned my own memory.
Could it be possible to remember a long novel, among the 1000 I had read, in such detail, even though I had only read the original [S-Class Status Window] about ten times?
That had been my question.
I had simply concluded that it was because my ‘intelligence’ had increased. The character ‘Kang Seo-yul,’ into whom I had reincarnated in this novel, was a genius who excelled in both letters and martial arts.
The fact that the knowledge that the original protagonist should know unconsciously existed in my mind was one of the reasons supporting my hypothesis.
But that was not it.
“This memory and knowledge were gifts from Shin hyung?”
It was an unexpected fact.
And I learned one more thing. This reincarnation was not a coercive act by Shin hyung but had occurred because I had accepted it.
The conversation that started with ‘please’ had ended with ‘thank you,’ so it was probably certain.
Then why had I accepted such a request?
“…Ah.”
I scratched my head.
My head felt so heavy.
I couldn’t think anymore.
Something felt like a brake had been forcibly applied to my mind. A feeling that the brake was slowly being released.
“What the heck?”
It was while I was sighing like that.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, I snapped to reality at the cold, rough touch of the floor on my back.
I sprang to my feet.
I had clearly touched the wall moments ago, a spark had exploded, and I had fainted due to the pain.
“Goldie, White Tiger, where are you?”
I didn’t see the two tigers that should have been around me. Although I don’t know about White Tiger, Goldie wouldn’t have left me fallen like that.
Wondering what had happened, I quickly looked around.
“Ah.”
Fortunately, I found Goldie and White Tiger quickly. They sat side by side, about 10 meters away from me, looking up at something.
“…Ice?”
It was a block of ice.
A giant block of ice, bigger than myself. It was more opaque than regular ice; I couldn’t see inside. I walked over to it.
“Is this ice created by magic?”
I sensed the aroma of magic from the ice. What was this?
Why was there a block of ice here?
“Meow.”
“Meooow.”
It was when I was looking around the ice. The two of them bit each of my feet and pulled.
“…Should I touch this one too?”
Nod.
Both nodded their heads at the same time.
“Bro, I fainted just now by touching the wall for no reason.”
Goldie seemed to hesitate for a moment but looked up at me with a desperate expression, as if asking for a favor.
“…”
I had no idea why they were doing this. Could something important be inside this ice?
“Ah.”
I didn’t know.
I probably wouldn’t die.
I closed my eyes tightly and touched the block of ice.
At that moment, cracks appeared in the ice.
—Elven contact confirmed.
At the same time, I heard a voice.
A voice strangely familiar to my ears.
“Ah.”
This was the voice I had heard just before losing consciousness earlier.
He had certainly asked for something and at the end…
At that moment, my pupils began to dilate slowly.
Rena.B.Reperiel.
“Rena Beast Reperiel?”
The moment I uttered that name.
—Releasing the seal.
Crash-!
The ice shattered into pieces.
After a shower of scattering ice fragments, a young girl with silver hair appeared.
Judging by her appearance, she was about 10 years old.
Her silver ears were prominently displayed on her head.
“…Insane.”
That figure.
I was sure.
Rena Beast Reperiel.
Beast was the middle name of the royal family of the beastmen. This little girl was the last heir of the beastman royal family.
“…You’re the princess of the beastmen.”
In the not-so-distant future, she would be one of the executives working for the destruction of humanity under the organization known as the ‘Demon King.’
The worst traitor of the beastmen.
That was Rena Beast Reperiel.
“Why…?”
Questions piled upon questions, spawning countless question marks in my head.
* * *
“Ah…”
It was 11:26 PM on a Sunday.
After arriving home, the first thing I did was lay down the princess on the bed.
“What trouble you cause.”
I couldn’t even begin to explain how much effort it took to bring her here secretly.
First, I had to prepare a hat and a hooded sweatshirt to hide her bright silver hair and the two ears sticking out of her head.
I had to avoid drawing attention, so I chose times when people would be scarce to use public transportation like trains and taxis.
I could have asked for help from Yu Hwa or Jia, but it felt awkward. How could I even begin to explain her existence?
Anyway, after all the twists and turns, we successfully arrived home.
“White Tiger and Goldie, you both worked hard too.”
I spoke to the two tigers huddled in a corner of the bed.
They must have been extremely uncomfortable hiding in my bag.
Indeed, Goldie looked quite dull.
“Meow~”
But why did White Tiger look so happy?
“Ah.”
Maybe being next to Goldie made even the confines of a bag feel like heaven?
“Really, you’re spoiled,” I clicked my tongue.
“Anyway…”
My gaze shifted back to the princess.
Her name was Rena Beast Reperiel. An ‘antagonist’ with a significant role in the original story. Her emotionless expression while tearing people apart was the epitome of terror.
Thinking about the gruesome descriptions from the original story happening in reality, gave me shivers.
“What do I do with her?”
How should I handle her? According to the original story, I should have killed her right away but…
“Hmm.”
A desperate voice I had heard in the ruins weighed on my mind. Probably the entity that sealed her away.
He had referred to her as the last hope of the Riferiel tribe. Their last hope in the fight to protect the world.
Which meant…
“Is this princess originally good-natured?”
This led to this hypothesis. Of course, I couldn’t be sure. If she were evil, as in the original story, I would be in danger the moment she opened her eyes.
But I felt I didn’t need to worry. If she were evil, Goldie and White Tiger wouldn’t have been so desperate to rescue her.
“Meow.”
Just then, Goldie affectionately licked the princess’s cheek as if willing her to wake up. White Tiger didn’t even show jealousy, just watched as if it were natural.
About 10 minutes passed.
“Uh…hm.”
That’s when a moan escaped the princess’s lips. She was shivering as if she had a nightmare.
Then, she opened her eyes.
“?”
She looked at me with eyes as clear as the day. A stark contrast to the weapon-like, lightless eyes described in the original story.
At that moment, my speculation turned to conviction. This princess was not evil.
“Have you come to?”
However, the princess didn’t respond to my words.
“Hm.”
She simply trembled, like a frightened rabbit.
“Meow.”
Startled!
She jumped at the sound of Goldie’s meow. She looked at Goldie with frightened eyes.
Her pupils brightened at that moment.
Quickly, she embraced Goldie and buried her face into him.
“Meow!”
Perhaps unable to bear it any longer, White Tiger pushed his way in between them with a grumpy expression.
“Woah…”
Then she embraced White Tiger as well. She held both tigers and wore the happiest smile. It was a smile that made even me feel happy.
“Um, Princess. Are you okay?”
After a considerable amount of time had passed, it seemed she had finally relaxed, so I asked again.
“…”
As I expected, this time she didn’t tremble in fear. It seemed she no longer perceived me as an enemy.
Tilting her head, she responded.
“Hey, am Princess. You okay?”
“Hunng?”
Her tilted head and unclear pronunciation stood out.
“Pfft.”
I unintentionally burst into laughter at that sight.
Then the princess glared at me, her eyes flaring up.
“How dare you! Do you know who I am to be so disrespectful!”
She yelled at me in fluent language.
“Ah, sorry…?”
Just then. What language was that?
The princess was not pleased with my reaction.
“Ah, judging by your expression, it seems you understand the language of the Beastmen. Why didn’t you speak it from the beginning?”
I heard it again.
It was a language I felt like I had never heard before. It felt similar to the language system I heard when unsealing the spark earlier.
It must be the language of the Beastmen.
How did I understand it?
The answer came quickly.
It was because of the dream I had earlier. God had gifted me with the ability to remember everything about the original work and the basic knowledge of this world.
Perhaps this knowledge included the language of the Beastmen.
“Are you listening?”
“Ah.”
I came to my senses at that.
“Is this how it’s done?”
“Ah, so you really do speak the language of the Beastmen. Excellent.”
Fortunately, she seemed to understand me.
“What is the current situation?”
The princess looked at me seriously.
“That’s what I want to ask you, Your Highness. Why were you sealed there?”
“Sealed? You say I was sealed?”
The princess’s expression became grave in an instant.
“Seal… yes, that’s right, a seal.”
She spoke with a desperate expression.
“Where is Genis? Where is he?”
“Genis?”
“He’s my bodyguard. We were definitely fleeing together…”
She seemed confused, her hand clutching her head as she quivered.
“Yes, we definitely fled to Elf Country… Genis…”
“Your Highness?”
Her expression grew more and more grave.
“I can’t take it anymore… I…”
She hugged her small body tightly. It was a dark expression, consumed by fear.
I cautiously approached the crouching princess and put my hand on her back. She flinched as if unaccustomed to human warmth.
After a while, her trembling subsided.
“I apologize for my inappropriate behavior.”
A moment later, her stern expression returned.
“Now, I understand my current situation.”
“Would you like to explain?”
“Alright, first of all…”
Her story was quite long.
The Beastmen nation suffered near annihilation at the hands of demons. They organized a group centered around a bodyguard named Genis to escape with Princess Rena to Elf Country. They succeeded in fleeing there but even that wasn’t safe.
“In the end, I was sealed by my followers for the future revival of the Beastmen.”
And thus Rena Beast Reperiel was sealed in a hard-to-find aerial ruin.
“That’s it.”
“I see.”
“I’ve heard that the Beastmen nation was the first to be destroyed during the great war. So, what you’re saying is probably true.”
“So what is the current situation? What happened to the war?”
“Ah, I’m not sure either.”
“The war ended ten thousand years ago.”
“Ten thousand years?”
She looked aghast.
“So, what was the outcome?”
“Stalemate. Mutual destruction. Both sides were annihilated.”
Her head hung low, clearly shocked.
“No way, that’s impossible…”
She rushed at me, gripping my shoulders and looking up at me with desperate eyes.
“Then what are you? If the war ended in mutual destruction, nothing should have survived!”
“I’m a human.”
“What?”
“The only surviving race from the great war. Humans.”
“Humans?”
She seemed puzzled, her lips trembling. She clearly couldn’t comprehend what I was saying.
“What is a human?”
“What?”
It was now my turn to be surprised.
“I’ve never heard of the human race before.”
My eyes widened in disbelief.
< Chapter 104: An Unexpected Encounter (2) > End.
