༺ 𓆩 Chapter 49 — Nightmare (2) 𓆪 ༻
「Translator — Creator」
᠃ ⚘᠂ ⚘ ˚ ⚘ ᠂ ⚘ ᠃
When I fell asleep and opened my eyes,
I found myself standing at the entrance of a back alley.
I looked ahead.
The alley was a place untouched by human care.
"Ugh... Ughhhh..."
Between the narrow paths, beggars were huddled together, pressed closely against one another; they sat with bowls placed before them, begging for alms.
This was their way of not dying.
I turned around.
Behind me was not the back alley but a place where human hands had shaped the world.
"Hahahahahaha."
There, merchants and children wandered freely, moving back and forth; they were selling goods or engaging in cheerful conversations.
This was their way of living.
There wasn’t an actual line dividing the two places, but it was as if an invisible wall existed; the people avoided even glancing toward the back alley, let alone stepping into it.
I knew immediately.
This was a dream—or rather, a nightmare.
Without medicine or Yerika, the nightmares I had were always the same.
No matter how many times I had them, I could never grow accustomed to them.
The fear didn't stem from the unknown.
On the contrary, it was knowing exactly what was about to happen that made it even more terrifying.
Step—, Step—, Step—
My body began moving deeper into the back alley.
It moved regardless of my will.
"This place makes me tremble every time I visit... shit. I can't even control my words."
Even my mouth began to move independent of my will.
At this time, I was unfamiliar with and embarrassed by the Clown's manner of speech, so it often wavered.
The reason I went to the back alley was to obtain a magic artifact.
"Ugh."
It was then that someone bumped into me as they ran toward me.
My body lowered its head to look at the person who collided with me.
It was a small girl.
She didn't look like someone who belonged in the back alley.
"I-I'm sorry!"
The little girl trembled as she knelt and begged for forgiveness.
This was how children survived in the back alley.
Tap—, Tap—, Tap—, Tap—, Tap—
At that moment, someone ran and stood between the little girl and me.
"B-brother."
"It's okay. I'll protect you."
It was a boy, slightly older than the girl.
But he wasn’t old enough to make such a claim of protection with any real weight behind it.
"Just try laying a hand on my sister!"
The boy held a knife, brandishing it as if to threaten me.
But the knife in his hand was in such poor condition it barely qualified as a weapon—likely something discarded by someone else.
Both of them were painfully thin, their bodies gaunt from malnutrition.
There was nothing children could do in the back alley.
Swoosh—
".............."
Without saying a word, I pulled a loaf of bread out of my [Subspace] and handed it to them.
I don’t remember if it was because I had nothing to say or because I didn’t want to speak in that Clownish-tone.
The girl remained hidden behind the boy, and
The boy stood his ground, still acting as if he was protecting her.
The children regarded me with caution, though their eyes remained fixed on the bread.
"Eat," I said simply, placing the bread down and walking past them.
The girl's gaze remained locked on the bread on the ground, while the boy watched me warily until I disappeared from sight.
"Brother, is it okay if we eat this?"
"Wait just a little longer."
Hidden from view, I watched as they slowly began to eat the bread; this was my first encounter with them.
Suddenly, everything around me—everything except me—began to move rapidly, as though the world itself was fast-forwarding. Before I realized it, my body was once again walking through the back alleys.
"The bread you gave us last time was delicious!" the girl approached me with a warm smile and greeted me. The boy remained silent, bowing his head. Though he hadn't drawn his knife, his wariness hadn’t diminished.
"............"
Once again, I handed bread to the children.
"Eat."
This time, unlike before, the little girl accepted the bread I offered.
"Thank you!"
I walked past them without another word.
"Hehe, we got bread again today. How should we repay him?"
"Still, we can’t let our guard down. Don’t forget he’s wearing that suspicious mask."
"Tch, you say that but you ate it too. I wonder if he'll give us more tomorrow?"
"Sigh, I’ve had enough. You should eat more."
"No, I've had plenty too. You eat more, brother."
Once again, I remained hidden, watching over them. And once more, the world rushed past, leaving me behind.
"Hello!"
The girl ran up to me with her short legs and greeted me cheerfully as soon as she saw me. The boy standing beside her also bowed his head in greeting.
"Eat."
This time, I handed them more bread than usual, along with water, before walking past.
"Why do you give us food?"
The boy, who had been staring intently at the bread and water, called out to me as I walked away.
Turning around, I looked at him. His clothes were thin and tattered, as if he had given his younger sister the thicker, warmer garments to wear.
A child who should have been playing cheerfully had grown up too soon to protect his sister.
"Just because."
I left after those brief words.
Once again, the world rushed forward, leaving me behind.
"Wear this."
Along with food, I handed them thick clothes.
"Thank you!"
"Thank you."
Even the boy offered his thanks this time.
"Hehe, it's warm."
"...Yes. It is warm..."
Hidden once more, I silently watched their satisfied expressions.
And again, the world rushed forward, leaving me behind.
"Mask brother~"
The little girl ran toward me and hugged me tightly.
It seemed quite a bit of time had passed—both children had grown taller, and their once gaunt figures had finally reached an average, healthy appearance.
"Why are you so late today?"
".....Eat."
I retrieved warm soup and meat from my [Subspace] and handed it to the children.
"Wow- meat! It's meat! Mask brother, you're the best!"
Now, instead of leaving after giving them food, I stayed to share the meal.
"But why do you always keep your responses so brief?" the boy asked, maintaining his polite speech, unlike his sister who spoke casually.
"Yeah! At first, I thought Masked Brother was scary because you barely talked, even though you’re such a kind person."
"If I speak too much, my tone becomes light and frivolous."
Speaking at length would inevitably bring out my Clown's manner of speech. Back then, the only way I could avoid that tone was to keep my words short and curt.
Back then, I hated - no, despised - my Clown's way of speaking.
That light-hearted tone and behavior made people look down on me.
"I wouldn't mind if Mask brother was more playful. What do you think, brother?"
The girl turned to her brother, who was busy cooling down the hot soup for her. Pausing at her question, he appeared lost in thought for a moment.
"I prefer when he’s serious."
But then, he added,
"Still, I think it’s nice to speak casually and lightly every now and then. It feels like you’re deliberately trying to sound heavy, brother."
"..........."
Without responding, my body reached out and patted their heads.
"Hehe."
The girl giggled, clearly enjoying the gentle touch.
"......ugh.."
The boy, on the other hand, seemed unused to being patted, his face flushing slightly red.
If only this was all the dream ever showed me, I wouldn’t have considered it a nightmare. I wouldn’t have gone to such lengths—resorting to even drugs—to avoid dreaming it.
.
.
.
"AAAAAHHH!!"
Johanna entered the house upon hearing a woman's scream from within.
Clunk—
Inside, a woman was writhing in agony, her face twisted in pain, screaming while Loki held her by the collar.
Johanna instinctively moved to intervene and stop Loki — that is, until he spoke.
"Did you sell that child?"
Only then did Johanna truly take in her surroundings. The house was a mess, with trash strewn across the floor, a sharp contrast to the woman’s elaborate, flashy clothing.
"She's my daughter! Of course I can do whatever I want with her! What right do you have to interfere, you stranger!"
Slap—
"Ugh!"
The woman’s head snapped to the side as Loki slapped her across the face.
"Who did you sell her to?"
Johanna flinched at Loki's cold, low voice. She'd never heard him speak like this before.
"Why should I tell you..."
Slap—!
"Who did you sell her to?"
Loki's voice speaking to the woman was devoid of any emotion.
Slap—!
Slap—!
Every time the woman hesitated to answer, Loki slapped her again without pause or mercy.
Johanna could only stand there, silently watching. No, she had no choice but to watch.
Loki had always been someone full of laughter and mischief, yet now, he was utterly unrecognizable. The cold, detached figure in front of her felt foreign, even frightening.
What was more unsettling was that Loki hadn’t even noticed Johanna’s presence yet.
"Tell me."
The woman’s face was already battered and covered in blood, with smears of it staining Loki’s hand.
"The skull! People with skull marks came!"
Thud—
At those words, Loki released his grip on her collar.
"What did you say?"
Shudder—
A wave of killing intent radiated from him, so intense that Johanna involuntarily flinched.
A moment ago, Loki’s voice and demeanor had been devoid of feeling, like an empty void. But now, his bloodlust was palpable—so overwhelming it felt suffocating.
Johanna had met high-level assassins during her practical training. But none of them had ever emanated such dense murderous intent.
"Hic... I don't know anything else!"
The woman trembled, unable to stop shaking from the sheer malice Loki exuded.
"Why the hell would those bastards..."
Loki muttered to himself, lost in thought.
It was too late. His poker face had cracked. Deeply suppressed emotions were bursting forth.
This was different from fighting the worm. Then, he'd known he would fight and had regulated his emotions through meditation multiple times.
But this—this situation was entirely unforeseen.
And worse yet, he didn’t want to hold back anymore.
"Johanna, go back to the Academy first."
He had decided to let his instincts take over.
The best choice in this situation would be to request help from an Academy professor.
But he wouldn't do that.
Those corpse-dealing bastards.
I’ll kill every last one of them with my own hands.
END of CHAPTER
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