Chapter 746: Mouse and Cat (1)
“No way! You barely even know these people! And you’re not exactly someone who trusts people that easily either, hyung!”
Just like Park Hayul said, I didn’t trust people easily. If anything, I was the cautious type.
Because if I wasn’t, there was no telling when or where I’d get stabbed in the back.
“I’ve been burned plenty. There were always people talking trash about me without knowing a damn thing, and plenty more who came sniffing around with rotten intentions. That was true before the regression, and I’m sure it’s still true now. So even now, standing in front of people still scares me sometimes.”
Right after the regression, if I hadn’t had Fear Resistance, I probably never would’ve been able to set foot in a TV station or anywhere else like that. What happened back then had left a scar deep enough to last a lifetime.
“There’s also bastards like Cho Hwawoon, who kidnapped me and broke my leg, and people like you, who helped him and turned everything into this mess. It wouldn’t be weird if I’d started hating people altogether. But even so, I still like the people who like me.”
I turned my head.
My eyes met the gazes fixed on me.
“When you think about it, isn’t that how it is? Why should I be the one shrinking back because of assholes like that? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The wounds were still there, and maybe they’d never fully disappear.
But I didn’t want to stop because of them.
Out of sheer spite, if nothing else.
Why should the people who hated me get exactly what they wanted just because I caved?
“So yeah, I’m still going to like people. And besides.”
A smile came to me without effort.
“How could I not like the people here? Even if this is a dream. Even if they think it’s safe. They still came here to help someone else.”
Whatever their reasons, they had come.
They had stepped forward to lend a hand.
They were people who had joined hands because they wanted to accomplish something together. Not just here, but back at the Breeding Facility too. And I knew very well what lived in the hearts of the ordinary people mixed in among them.
Because I’d wanted to do the same.
That more than anything was why.
“I like you. Thank you.”
There was no way I couldn’t feel affection for a sight like this.
It was their dream, yes, but at the same time it was mine too.
“So no one gets to touch Park Hayul.”
No matter who it was, if they had come here for our sake.
Park Hayul let out a disbelieving laugh.
“You really are… amazing, hyung. Did you sign that contract planning this from the start? But you left yourself out of that ‘no one.’”
I saw Yuhyun’s shoulders twitch. Yerim and Ms. Hyunah were tense too. Behind them, Chief Song’s face had gone rigid.
“Don’t do anything rash!”
I shouted at my group.
If they made anything that looked even a little like an attack, we’d lose our chance. Right now, Park Hayul at least couldn’t attack first.
So—
Bang!
“Argh!”
A gunshot rang out. The bullet grazed Park Hayul’s ear. It hadn’t broken the skin, but his ear turned bright red like it had been smacked hard. He clapped a hand over it, looking genuinely pained.
Everyone’s attention snapped toward the direction of the shot.
It was from atop a military vehicle. The soldier standing on the hood tossed aside the gun he’d been holding.
“It was an accident! You’re letting one slide anyway, right?”
He raised both hands over his head, saying he wouldn’t do anything else.
Park Hayul bared his teeth and glared at the soldier.
“You—!”
“True.”
Bang! Another shot cracked through the air. This time, Park Hayul blocked it. The shooter tossed away the gun too and raised both hands again.
“I’m pulling back!”
That made one more person who could no longer attack Park Hayul.
But it was only two.
Countless eyes regained their spark as they turned toward him. People tightened their grips on the weapons in their hands. Even for the foreigners who didn’t understand Korean, others started explaining with wild gestures. Some translated smoothly.
“Me too!”
A booming shout rang out.
Wrapped in thick padded gear with a helmet strapped on tight, Shishio charged like an enraged bear. Park Hayul startled and tried to stop him as Shishio closed the distance in an instant.
“If you hurt him, that’s a contract violation!”
I shouted in a hurry. Park Hayul hesitated for a split second, and Shishio slammed into him with his whole body.
“I love you! Live a long and healthy life!”
…Could somebody please teach Shishio Korean properly?
Park Hayul was knocked back with a thud. Shishio hurried toward me, but Park Hayul was faster. He teleported in front of me and blocked the way, irritation written all over his face.
I quickly gestured for Shishio to go back.
“This is such a mess!”
“Get lost, Demon King!”
someone shouted.
A stone came flying. Park Hayul caught it, but when more came right after, he tried to bat them away with his arm—
Splat!
“What the hell!”
It was an egg.
Egg white and yolk ran down from the shattered shell. It probably didn’t hurt, but it sure had to feel disgusting.
“Hey, don’t get mad. Everyone only gets one hit anyway.”
I said it with a grin. Off in the distance, Ms. Hyunah relaxed just a little and spoke up.
“Like hyung said, it’s only one hit each. Let’s see, if you get smacked maybe a billion times, that should cover it. Anyone who gets their turn, drive out of here and spread the word. They’ll probably wake up once they’re far enough away.”
There were bound to be people who weren’t good at lucid dreaming, kids, and plenty who just wouldn’t want to get involved, so estimating low, that was probably about right.
With bad luck, maybe it’d be two or three billion.
Might even make the Guinness Book.
“Give my brother back.”
Yuhyun drew his sword. Yerim got a baseball bat from one of the nearby hunters and gripped it hard with both hands. A hunter from the Management Office handed Chief Song a baton. After some hesitation, a Sesung guild member offered Seong Hyunjae a golf club.
“Hand Mister over while I’m still asking nicely!”
Even if all those people rushed him at once, they wouldn’t be able to do any real damage to Park Hayul.
But Park Hayul wasn’t exactly in a good position either.
He couldn’t control people anymore, and he couldn’t threaten them either.
As soon as the system kicked in, I could run.
“…This is annoying.”
Park Hayul muttered under his breath.
– Grrr.
The dragon that had been hanging back started to move.
Wait a second.
“Hey! That’s a contract violation!”
“I’m not controlling that dragon. I let it loose.”
…Damn it.
So the bastard could be crafty when he wanted to.
The dragon stomped forward with a heavy thud, planting itself in front of the crowd trying to surge in. Even if it wasn’t obeying Park Hayul’s orders, it still instinctively bared its teeth at the side that seemed weaker.
Moon Hyunah hurried in front of Yuhyun and Yerim and shouted for them to get back. Yuhyun shoved Yerim up onto Peace’s back. Flames gathered inside the dragon’s jaws. Hunters from the Management Office and Sesung raised their shields to protect Chief Song and Seong Hyunjae.
Fwoooosh—
The breath attack, impossible to predict, superheated the air before blasting out in a long torrent.
Light and heat slammed toward us. I squeezed my eyes shut on reflex.
Please, not toward the kids—
“Am I really that forgettable?”
A light voice rang out.
I opened my eyes.
The flames hanging in midair curled into a circle, then fizzled out and vanished. Standing in front of them was a face I knew, and yet didn’t.
The Puppeteer.
He lowered the hand he had raised. His sleeve slid down to cover half the back of it.
“I don’t have my full power, so taking on the ruler of this world would be difficult. But cooking a lizard? That’s easy enough.”
– Krrk!
“Shh.”
The dragon, which had been about to attack again, staggered back coughing like its throat had been sealed shut. The Puppeteer turned to me.
“So how about saying you like me too?”
“…Well, looking at that face, it’s a little weird. Still… yeah, I like you too, Puppeteer.”
The corners of my eyes felt a little hot.
Maybe I had a stye.
I was more at ease with myself than I used to be, sure, but yelling I like you! at a face that looked exactly like mine still felt…
No, wasn’t that weird for anybody?
Granted, self-love was important and healthy and all that, but unless you were Seong Hyunjae, it wasn’t exactly something that rolled off the tongue.
“This is my dream. My dream, so why…”
Park Hayul muttered under his breath.
Then he scooped me up in one motion.
“But hyung, I’m still the strongest one here. I think it’d be better if I took you somewhere no one can find us and convinced you slowly.”
“Wait—!”
Park Hayul shot up into the air.
Taking me with him.
“Hyung!”
I heard Yuhyun shout, and then the sound vanished.
A place I didn’t recognize appeared around us. Park Hayul landed in the middle of a forest.
“These satellite cameras are such a pain. This time I’ll build it where it won’t be seen so easily.”
Even as he said that, he created a fairly large mansion against the side of a cliff. Carrying me tucked under one arm, he walked inside.
“I seriously do not get it.”
“…Neither do I.”
Why the hell are you doing this to me, you lunatic?
Park Hayul climbed the stairs and set me down on a bed. My legs still had no feeling at all. He looked down at me with a sullen expression.
“Why did you change, hyung?”
“Change? What are you talking about?”
“You used to like me.”
…What?
I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t answer for a second.
“When did I ever!”
“You fell for me at first sight.”
“No, I didn’t!”
“When we met at the station, you were staring at me so closely, and you smiled at me. You looked me over really carefully.”
W-Well, sure, he was good-looking, and his skills and stats had been high—
“And you accepted my messages. You ignored everyone else!”
…Because he was A-rank.
“And even though it was dangerous, you came to save me all by yourself. That’s when I completely fell for you. There were tons of S-ranks around you, and plenty of famous people you could’ve gone to, but you came to me.”
Park Hayul’s eyes shone as he looked at me like he was lost in a dream.
“You saved me, and you shared your secret with me. A secret you didn’t tell anyone else, only me! Even a secret that the Haeyeon Guild Leader you care about so much doesn’t know!”
“That was…”
“To you, I was someone incredibly special!”
W-when he put it like that, I could kind of see how he’d gotten the wrong idea.
But still, come on. Was saving someone dangerous really a crime? Huh? Was I not even allowed to save people anymore? I do one good deed and instead of getting thanked, I end up like this?
“But then you changed.”
Park Hayul’s expression turned cold in an instant.
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter now. From here on out, you’re only going to be with me.”
“…Why are you so determined to keep me trapped?”
“Because I like you. And… uh, because it feels like I have to? Now then, hyung!”
Clap. The sharp sound of his hands coming together rang out.
Right after that, everything in front of me went black.
My breath locked in my chest.
“If I make it so you can’t do anything at all, then even when the system applies, you won’t be able to run away, right?”
“W-wait…”
My body trembled on its own. My trapped breath came out ragged. The moment after I’d severed my connection to the system, when I’d lost every single sensation, flashed back into my mind.
I was terrified.
“You don’t even know what you’re doing…”
“I guess I should make it so you can’t use your hands either.”
The feeling vanished from my hands too, then from both arms.
Seeing me panic, Park Hayul laid me down on the bed.
My heart was hammering.
I couldn’t let this keep going.
“…Myungwoo!”
“Why are you suddenly calling for Hunter Yu Myungwoo? Not the Haeyeon Guild Leader?”
“The… mana mark.”
More than a day had passed. Maybe he could connect here again.
Myungwoo, please.
“Should I take your voice too?”
“Don’t, please!”
“Wow, hyung, you’re actually begging. Is it that scary now that you can’t move?”
Myungwoo had helped me use my skill before. Then maybe he could undo the mana mark too.
I still couldn’t see a system message window.
But then, a clear current of mana spread along my back. I drew in a deep breath and sharpened my awareness of my mana circuits as far as I could. My own mana was definitely still flowing through my paralyzed limbs.
And there was mana from outside too.
Slowly, I reached for it.
It was far fainter than usual, but little by little, I began to sense the outlines of the objects around me. Park Hayul’s shape came into blurry focus.
That alone made it easier to breathe, but at the same time my breathing turned more urgent.
“You’re trying to make me cling to you like this!”
“Huh? Like what?”
“If I can’t do anything on my own… then I’ll have no choice but to depend on you!”
“Oh, I guess that’s true. Do you want to depend on me, hyung?”
“No! …But, stay here.”
I forced the words out through a shaking voice.
Park Hayul blinked.
Take a hint already.
“You want me to stay?”
“If you disappear, if it feels like I’m all alone with nobody there… then I’ll start looking for you.”
I was being absurdly obvious, but this seemed like the only way he’d understand.
Park Hayul tilted his head.
“Oh, so it’s push and pull? Then do you want to be alone for a little while?”
“…”
“How about an hour?”
“Yeah, go ahead. That much is fine.”
“Then half a day?”
“…I can still feel your magic anyway.”
“Really? You’re pretty sensitive for an F-rank. I’ll clear out all traces of my influence too and leave you alone for half a day. It’ll take a while for anyone to find this place anyway. Earth’s huge.”
“I’ll go plant some thorn bushes outside,” he said, stepping back.
Even though I made sure to look scared, I kept my mouth shut. I heard the door open and close.
I let out a long breath and immediately focused on the mana in my arms and legs, slowly bringing sensation back. Since I’d already been through this hell once before, it wasn’t hard.
‘Find a way out.’
[Good job.]
A message window appeared out of nowhere.
That didn’t feel like Myungwoo.
For one thing, the system window and font looked different.
Then a tiny mouse climbed up onto the bed.
[Everyone’s safe.]
“Mi—”
[Shh. You make messages and send them to me too. It’s not hard.]
Easy for you to say. My mana was thin and scrambled to hell right now. Still, I did my best to mimic the system message.
[Wh o]
[This is a dream I control. I dreamed a little mouse and gave it to myself, so it became my puppet.]
[Ppt eer?]
[Spell it properly.]
It was easier this way. Did he have any idea how hard it was just to form letters right now?
The mouse spun in a little circle.
[So your a ppt master then]
[You’re getting awfully casual all of a sudden.]
It’s hard to use honorifics when I’m like this, okay? Hard. Just look at all the typos.
[Thot since it ws you then it was ppt eer]
[It’s both. I’m a puppet too, and I became able to control myself, so I’m both a puppeteer who is a puppet and a puppeteer who controls puppets.]
I see. So it had a double meaning.
[Your brother’s being held back by Moon Hyunah and Park Yerim. He calmed down after hearing I know your location because you’re mine.]
That was a relief.
What I’d been most worried about was Yuhyun pushing himself too hard.
[We need to get out of here. Come this way.]
The mouse jumped down from the bed and scampered over to the window.
There was a fairly large hole chewed through beside the frame.
[I worked hard on that. Here.]
[My fist fits]
The window was locked tight, with bars over it too. Even if I got through, thorn bushes had already grown thick outside.
The mouse stood up on its hind legs and looked up at me.
[Turn into Delroux.]
[No item]
If I became the youngest Delroux, I could squeeze through the hole and slip through the thorn bushes, but I couldn’t open my inventory and my items wouldn’t work properly anyway.
The mouse waved a forepaw.
[You’ve used bonded items multiple times before. You should be used to it by now. And your mana senses are maxed out at the moment. The mana in your body is yours to manipulate however you want, and that’s the basis of transformation abilities. Turning into an ordinary kitten isn’t difficult. I’ll supplement the missing magic power and skill. Use your teacher skill on the mouse.]
[Rank limit]
[Right now, I’m a mouse.]
True. Since he wouldn’t even count as F-rank like this, I probably could use the teacher skill.
I cast the teacher skill on the mouse Puppeteer. Then, following his guidance, I called up the Delroux transformation skill and painstakingly traced the flow of mana from when the skill had activated before.
I fumbled and groped my way through it for a long while.
Then at last, my point of view dropped sharply.
[Let’s go.]
I followed behind the mouse, stepping forward on my front paws.
–TL Notes–
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