NOVEL NEXT Chapter 25
*
Last Side Story.
There’s no such thing as “if” in history.
So, the story that will unfold in the future is not history.
Someone’s dream, an illusion, hope, or something else entirely.
Something ambiguous.
What if.
What if the protagonist was reborn in the prologue world, not the original world?
That hypothetical story.
*
Sorrow is the most fundamental emotion, that’s what I think.
People who cannot empathize with others’ joy are treated as unfortunate, but those who cannot properly feel sorrow from others’ sadness or failure are not treated as proper people.
The reason is that everyone’s life is a tragedy, not a comedy.
With extremely few exceptions, everyone has their own sorrows and worries.
And even those exceptions can be considered unfortunate in the sense that they lack sorrow and worries.
Since everyone is such an unfortunate being, they reject those who cannot understand them.
So, I unequivocally consider sorrow as the greatest among all emotions.
There’s no place to rise above success anywhere.
Only failures can become the steps one can stand on to reach a higher realm.
Therefore.
I only wanted to be their stepping stone.
I don’t want to be the being that holds their ankles…!!
“—Ispa.”
“…..Yuta, sir.”
Crack, the hand that caught me with a powerful grip slowly turned white.
I struggled to shake off the wrist, but as a still child, I couldn’t shake off her grown-up strength.
It felt like my wrist was about to break, but I wasn’t in a position to care about the state of my wrist.
I have to run away.
I need to get away from these kids…
“Where do you think you’re going again?”
“….!!”
*
A long struggle.
In the end, I couldn’t free my wrist.
Thud, thrown onto the bed, I had no time to feel the texture of the somewhat stiff mattress as I looked around.
In the wide room where several people could easily live, not a single window was in sight.
The only exit is the door, blocked by the one who brought me here.
Click, something unknown wrapped around the door.
“….Yuta, sir.”
“Ispa, right? No, you can’t be wrong.”
The windowless room was so dark. The only light in the room was snuffed out by the wind caused by Yuta stepping forward.
Without any sign, the room turned into darkness itself, making everything invisible.
Determined to escape somehow, I tried to crawl across the bed to move into her blind spot.
But her hand caught me faster.
“That eye. That hair. That smile. How could I forget, Ispa?”
“….I—”
“—No rebuttals.”
No matter how much time I spent training and honing my skills, what I realized was that the logic of innate strength cannot be overturned by anything.
“At first, I thought I was seeing a mirage.”
“You saw wrong.”
Her left hand grasped my right hand.
“But when I touched you, I definitely felt it.”
“I’m not, that, person, anymore.”
Her right hand grasped my left hand.
“Ispa. You’re alive.”
“That, person, I don’t know.”
“—Lie.”
My legs were wrapped around my waist like a snake.
Completely restrained, it was now impossible to escape.
Was it wrong to think I wanted to see them from a distance, having been reborn with the same appearance in the same world?
Or was it wrong to have presumed my existence wasn’t that significant among them?
Hearing about the renowned mercenary group’s leader and vice-leader, my heart would swell with joy as I saw them pass by, achieving remarkable growth.
I was caught by Yuta, who discovered me.
“Ispa. Ispa. Ispa….”
“Ugh… Let go…! What would happen if it became known that the vice-leader of the Eunhyeong Mercenary Group did this…!?”
“—What are you going to do?”
“Ah—!?”
In an instant, a pain shot through my shoulder.
Her hands and legs restrained my body, and the pitch-black darkness completely obstructed my view, so I had no idea what attacked me.
With the unpleasant sensation, strength slowly drained from my body, making it hard to think clearly.
What’s happening?
What on earth is going on?
Her breath resonated loudly in my ears.
“By the way, Ispa, you haven’t changed at all.”
“Cough, cough… What the…!?”
“Your hair, height, chest, eye color, scent, all just as they were before.”
Did she notice that my resistance had weakened?
Her two hands ceased restraining me and slowly began to explore my face.
Gradually, her hands trailed down, starting to touch every corner of my body. When they reached my legs, her touch changed to an exploring fervor.
“….!!”
“Is this a dream?”
Her grown-up body, over twenty years old, tightly embraced my still child-sized body with tremendous strength.
With the strong pressure suffocating me, I was left helpless, unable to make a proper resistance.
This is… dangerous..!
“I think it’d be fine if it were a dream. You haven’t appeared in my dreams these days.”
“Stay… focused…!”
“I’m more normal than ever right now. Yes, I’m so rational. Like this.”
“—!!!!!”
The intense pain I felt earlier came back in a wave.
I usually wouldn’t feel pain, so why is this pain not diminishing at all?
It hurts. Stop. Stop.
“—Cough, ha… ha…”
“Ispa. Why did you do that?”
Thud.
Using the last bit of strength, I escaped her embrace, but could barely take a few steps before getting caught again.
Pulled back to her, I could distinctly see her sapphire-colored eyes shimmering in the darkness.
The eyes I once praised as jewel-like.
Now, they glowed as they gazed at me in the darkness.
“I’m… not the person called Ispa…!”
“……. ”
“I don’t know what the vice-leader of the mercenary group is talking about….!!”
“……”
Even if I was reborn, I didn’t want to stand before them.
Who cares about the stairs that have already been stepped on.
Stairs merely help others ascend over themselves quietly.
They have already grown enough and achieved remarkable accomplishments. If my name were just written at the end, I’d be satisfied with that.
The stairs should merely serve as tools for users, not burdens upon them.
“So—!”
Thus.
“—Did you say everything you wanted to say, Ispa?”
“…..!!”
It seems that from the beginning, my story never entered her ears.
As strong pain was once again felt on my ankle, like hot iron pressed down.
“Hyaahh!?”
“Why, after you died because of my mistake right in front of me, are you here alive now?”
In the darkness, I was forcibly pulled back. My tiny hands couldn’t even grip the floor to resist.
My body was.
Slowly.
Moving back.
“Let go of me…!”
“It’s full of things I can’t understand. This might be a dream. Maybe I have finally lost my mind.”
“R-Really!?”
Pain like flesh being ripped away struck the other ankle.
All I could do was cover my mouth with my hands and pray that my scream wouldn’t escape, so Yuta’s honor wouldn’t be tarnished.
“But it’s okay.”
“Ha… huuh!”
“—Because you’re here.”
A heavy sensation blanketed my entire body.
She collapsed on top of me.
Ah, where did it all begin to go wrong?
Was it because I desired to see their beautiful grown forms?
Or was it because I overlooked the fact that they hadn’t given up on me?
I don’t know.
I hear a sound in my ear.
“So, until this dream wakes up.”
“Ha… ha…”
I had no choice but to accept it.
“—Stay with me.”
I decided to spend this life indulging her childish whims.
A gift for her, who has grown so well.
I cannot help but let it be this way.
Clunk, I heard the sound of the door carefully closing.
A considerate gesture not to wake me from my slumber.
However, the truth is I was already awake for a while, simply lying down with nothing to do, so I got up quickly.
Well, that consideration was so warm that it felt nice.
As always, I crawled out of the bed a bit and welcomed the visitor of this room.
With the sound of the chain jingling connecting my neck and legs, I welcomed the house owner.
“I’m back, Yuta?”
“—Yeah. Ispa.”
Yuta looked down at me happily as I looked up, then slipped her hand under my armpit and lifted me like a pet.
I couldn’t help but put a helpless expression on my face as I rubbed my cheeks against her cheek.
I don’t know where it all went wrong.
But, in this life that was going to be useless anyway.
I decided to use it for the sake of my long-time friend who has been so kind.
That was all.
*
This essentially concludes the side story.
I might write a part two later and possibly plan other side stories then.
This is Ispa’s pet route, someone who doesn’t particularly value her life too much.
What happened in the darkness, nobody knows.
Because observation happens through light.
In a space devoid of light, what happens is unknown to anyone.
Not even the author.