ReLife Player

Unlocked chapter (9/13)

[The Zoo]

Fall, when sweet potatoes naturally start pulling in.

Dad took a rare vacation. He said he finally had some time to relax after spending the whole summer working tirelessly at the office.

Perhaps that was why, carrying luggage on his shoulders, he led the way while humming a tune.

«Please give it here. I’ll carry it.»

«No, these are our kids’ things, I should carry them. It’s okay.»

«You took care of Miye, and you drove all the way here by yourself, so let me help you with something.»

«Really….»

«I’m quite sturdy among the players. You don’t have to worry about me being uncomfortable.»

Dad hesitated but couldn’t refuse Sun ki-joon’s offered hand.

In the end, he entrusted his luggage to Sun Ki-joon.

When he put the luggage on his broad back, it looked tiny.

«Sunmi, your dad is so big!»

«I’m worried about my dad being too big. Yesterday, he bumped into the door head when he came out of the bathroom.»

«I see.»

«Eunae, you didn’t understand a word I said, did you?»

«Yeah!»

Eunae nods vigorously, smiling as she wonders what’s so good about it.

Miye, who had been walking holding Eunae’s hand so she wouldn’t get lost, just chuckled softly.

The two, who had known each other like best friends for almost two years now, were having a conversation among themselves.

«Eunae is excited.»

«It’s her first time coming with a friend.»

Eunha slowly followed them down the crowded sidewalk.

Beside him, his mom chimed in.

It was true that Eunae rarely played outside with her friends.

There weren’t many kids her age in their neighborhood.

She usually brought her kindergarten friends home or played at their houses.

If she did play outside, it was usually at the local playground.

«Eunae, what do you want to see?»

«The tiger! I want to see the tiger.»

«Uncle, Eunae wants to see the tiger. Let’s go see the tiger first.»

«Eh? Umm…, let’s go to the Big Cat village first.»

Eunae, who usually doesn’t play outside, came to Seoul Children’s Grand Park to play.

Together with her best friend, Miye.

Eunae couldn’t help but run around screaming with excitement.

Each time, Miye would calm her down so she wouldn’t get too excited.

Having been raised by her father, she is unusually mature for a 6-year-old.

It was one less thing Eunha had to take care of.

«Don’t you think Eunae and Miye get along well?»

«And I think Dad and Mr. Ki-joon get along well, too.»

«Oh, yeah.»

My mom, who covered her mouth with her hand, burst out laughing.

Even though Dad and Mr. Ki-joon had just met for the first time today, they didn’t feel awkward around each other.

They were looking at the maps they received at the entrance information center side by side.

By the way, Mr. Ki-joon was good at directions….

Eunha remembered the old days when he saw Sun Ki-joon straining his eyes and trying to figure out where they were.

He was a pillar of support for the Misty Flower Party, and he was such a good navigator that everyone in the party would nod without hesitation.

If he joined a dungeon raid, it was not uncommon for the raid to be delayed for hours.

They say people don’t change easily.

There was no way he could change the temperament he had acquired over the years, even though he had lived half his life.

He was a navigator until he died.

He was not a bad guardian when it came to aggro management… but he had many problems when it came to dungeon strategy.

He was a Guardian who had to be pushed around by his party members when dungeoning.

Even though he knew he was on his way to die, he still took the lead for the Mist Flower Party to enter the Abyssal Dungeon, and lost his life in the process.

At the moment he was out of breath, he looked at his party members with a look of regret on his face.

‘I… am going first….’

‘Uncle! Please don’t say such things and endure it a little longer!’

‘…No… Yes… Okay.’

‘I’ll go first… wait for me in hell.’

Until the moment of his death, Sun Ki-joon could not completely shake off his regret for the daughter he had killed.

Every time he got drunk, he would mutter things like that.

He thought to himself that he had killed her with his own hands, that he had rolled in all kinds of mud, and that he would not be able to meet her even after death.

He believed that he should be a being who deserved to go to hell, unlike his daughter, who was in heaven.

‘…Go and prepare a place there.’

In the depths of despair, the person who extended a hand to guide him to hell was none other than Eunha himself.

He didn’t avert his gaze until the moment he closed his eyes.

«…Eunha, you go and set up your seat there. Mr. Ki-joon will take care of it.»

«…What?»

«Huh? Didn’t you hear?»

It seemed he had been lost in the past.

When Eunha regained his senses, he was surprised to see Sun-joon right in front of his face.

He scratched the back of his head apologetically.

«I’m sorry, I startle you, Eunha. I’ll take your order, and I’ll take it all at once. Just find a place with the kids.»

«Ah…, yes, I’ll do that.»

He was surprised as hell to hear him say that.

With his back turned, Eunha sighed inaudibly.

His face resembled Sun joon’s right before he died, and he felt like he was back in the Abyssal Dungeon.

«Oppa, come here! Hurry up! Hurry up!»

Eunae called out.

Even as the tigers and lions that had been inside the Big Cat Village approached, she was waving her hand fearlessly.

«Oppa, here.»

«Thank you, Sunmi.»

«It’s Miye.»

«Right, Miye.»

As I approached the table, Miye, who was sipping her drink, handed me a wet wipe from her small bag.

She was so prepared.

Perhaps Eunae found it too bothersome to wipe her hands by herself, so Miye did it for her.

«Miye is so mature.»

«That’s because Eunae is so young.»

I think it’s the same for you.

His mom said to Miye, who was taking care of Eunae.

Shrugging her shoulders, Miye looked away in embarrassment.

But even so, Eunha could see the contentment in her eyes and the slight curl of her lips.

Speaking of which…, it won’t be long before something happens to Mr. Ki-joon.

Eunha thought back to the future as he knew it.

Mr. Sun Ki-joon had lost his daughter when she was 7 years old.

It happened on the day he couldn’t attend his daughter’s graduation ceremony at the age of six because monsters rushed into the kindergarten.

Doan Kindergarten also has a lot of problems.

During my time, goblins appeared, and Hayang and Eunhyuk could have died. And now, there’s the possibility that Sunmiye could die.

Eunha checked the mana in Sunmiye’s body.

It wasn’t much more than Hayang’s, but it was a bit more than average.

It was likely that the monsters that would attack the kindergarten would target her because she stood out among the children.

I’ll have to do something about it somehow….

I’ll have to ask Uncle Bruno to keep an eye on her when that time comes.

It wouldn’t hurt to give Eunae a handkerchief embroidered with the Dawn Group’s crest.

Even if it was a one-time use artifact, the handkerchief still contained a tiny bit of mana resistance.

It was better than nothing.

«Hey, kids, did you wait!? I got cola for Eunha, and Eunae and Miye soft serve ice cream…, where did Eunae go?»

Sun-joon appeared with food in both hands.

He looked for Eunae, who had been sitting on a chair made of carved wood just a moment ago.

«Eunae is over there.»

Eunha pointed to where Eunae and his mom were, near the snack shop.

Eunae, who had been interested in pigeons, had gone there to give them snacks.

…What happened to them?

Eunha was dumbfounded to see them surrounded by pigeons.

«Oppa, look! The pigeons have…, no! These are not yours!»

«Hey, honey…. I’m scared, can you do something about these…!»

Excitedly holding the bag of sweets, Eunae swayed back and forth as the pigeons flew in to snatch them away.

His mom, on the other hand, trembled as she watched the pigeons clinging to her and flying around.

She was panicking in an uncharacteristic way.

«Wait! I’m coming! Mr. Ki-joon, please take care of this.»

«What? Uh-uh-yes…!»

Dad, who was carrying all the food in his arms, ran to the pigeons.

At that moment, the pigeons flew up with the food.

Swinging his arms this way and that, he tried to chase the pigeons away to protect Eunae and his mom.

«…Are you okay?»

By now, onlookers had gathered.

The people filming dad’s struggle with the pigeons cheered.

The three were covered in pigeon feathers.

«-Uh, I was scared to death…!»

«It’s okay, I chased them away. Why are you so scared of pigeons? Are you hurt anywhere?»

«They’re so gross, do you know how scared I was when the pigeon craned its neck back and forth!?»

«Yes, yes, you were very scared, and I know from old times that you are afraid of pigeons.»

Holding tightly to his dad’s hand, mom lost control of her emotions and burst into tears.

Eunae, whose hair was disheveled, started sobbing too.

«Are you okay, are you hurt?»

It was Miye who comforted her.

Miye rushed over and took out a handkerchief to wipe Eunae’s face.

If his noona were here, Eunae would have asked for a magical cleaning.

Eunae was at the academy.

Unable to leave, Eunha sipped his cola through a straw and stared at the two people who had been attacked by a flock of pigeons.

«Mister.»

«Huh? Yes?»

«Mom and Dad and Eunae…, please clean them up with magic. Can you do that?»

«Uh…, yeah. I forgot about that. Stay here, I’ll be right back.»

Setting the food on the table, Sun Ki-joon ran off.

Eunha smirked as he saw the family making a fuss under the gaze of the onlookers.

He had to do something before the day of Miye’s death came.

The current Sun ki-joon had a face he had never seen before.

The man who lived to die under the moniker <Loser> , he didn’t want to see it anymore.

«…?»

Sensing movement, he turned his head.

The pigeons were approaching the table.

The pigeons, which had been loitering around, halted their movements simultaneously.

Animals didn’t like Eunha.

Although animals often approached Eunae, not a single one dared to come close to him.

«─Go away.»

Did they understand his words?

The pigeons spread their wings and flew into the sky.

☆

This happened when they were entering Little Animal Village.

«What’s going on? Why are all the animals flocking to Eunae?»

Dad couldn’t help but panic when all the animals that had been curled up on the other side of the fence lifted their heads to look at Eunae.

«Goat, eat a lot.»

Animals everywhere were making noises, as if they were asking her to look.

Eunae, who was feeding the goats carrots, turned her head in the direction of the sound.

«Hey, guys!»

Eunae raised her hand in greeting, and the animals jumped for joy and ran over the fence.

Prairie dogs struggled to climb over the fence, desert foxes made whimpering noises.

«What’s going on….»

«Oppa! Walaroo is the same age as you!»

«Walaroo? Who’s that?»

«Him! The one hopping like a rabbit!»

Eunae pointed at Walaroo, who was bouncing around the fence.

Walaroo, singled out, stopped moving and pricked its ears.

Then it jumped again.

«…Eunae, do you know what they’re saying?»

I had been wondering about this for a while.

Eunae often talked to the flowers on the side of the road, and she was comfortable with the neighborhood dogs and cats.

She was also strangely good with newborn babies like Avernier.

Until then, Eunha had thought Eunae was just being childlike.

But he might have to change his mind.

But seeing the animals showing so much interest in her, he couldn’t just brush it off as her innocence anymore.

<Fascination> Gift?

No, it couldn’t be in that category.

Eunae didn’t know how to handle mana. Which meant it was a Gift that could be activated with even the unconscious release of mana.

It wasn’t a seductive Gift like the <Fox> Oh Yeon-jung.

Eunae didn’t enchant their hearts; she was reading their hearts.

«Eunae.»

«Yes?»

«What am I thinking right now?»

«You? Um…, you’re thinking about me!»

«What about that goat over there?»

«More carrots!»

«What about the prairie dog?»

«I want you to look at me!»

«Then, do you know what the oak tree is saying?»

«Um… it says it’s not an oak tree but a sacred tree?»

No, it wasn’t reading minds.

Eunha realized that Eunae hadn’t read his mind, and decided to think differently.

Maybe she was sensing emotions, not reading minds.

«Oppa, what’s wrong?»

«What’s Miye thinking?»

«…I don’t know.»

«And the child the person is holding?»

«Um…, sleepy?»

«Yeah…, I see.»

I had a rough idea of what Eunae’s gift might be.

Eunha patted Eunae’s head, which was tilting slightly.

It seemed to be an Empathy Gift.

Perhaps Eunae’s gift is not to interpret what animals and plants are saying, but to empathize with their emotions.

It’s not just animals and plants.

She seemed to be able to empathize with the feelings of a newborn baby, albeit in a limited way.

«<Empathy>…»

«Em……pa…thy?»

Gift <Empathy> was the ability to empathize with the emotions of living things.

It was not a rare gift.

<Florist> Bang Yeon-ji’s Gift was also in the <Empathy> category.

She could empathize and communicate with plants.

The power of her gift was so strong that she could even control plants.

«…Oppa?»

Eunae’s mana was normal.

It seemed that her Gift could target a wider range than Bang Yeon-ji’s, but its effectiveness would likely not surpass that of Bang Yeon-ji’s Gift.

It was probably limited to the extent of empathizing.

«As soon as we get home, I’ll teach you how to control your mana.»

«Really! You’re going to teach me too?»

«Yeah. If you make a mistake, animals might come rushing into our house.»

No need to be alarmed for no reason.

Eunae’s Gift was likely to attract attention from others like what happened just now.

Guilds that heard the rumors might approach them, wanting to create a second <Florist>.

Or they might try to entice her into becoming a player like <Florist>.

But he had no intention of letting his sister be molded into someone else’s mold.

«I’ll protect you.»

«Yeah!»

So, Eunae had to learn how to control her Gift.

Amidst the gazes of animals, Eunae only looked up at Eunha and replied.