EFME 37

“Anyway.”

Sunyul looked at Muyoung, who was changing the subject, with an unfriendly gaze.

“To find out for sure, it would be best to get a detailed examination.”

Sunyul, forgetting to glare at Muyoung, flinched. An examination? The countless tests and experiments he had undergone when he first opened his eyes automatically came to mind. He didn’t want to go through something like that ever again.

“I’m not telling you to get one by force. If you don’t really want to, I don’t recommend it either. If they find out about the dreams, the Ability Management Office will probably pester us to verify it. I’d rather handle this quietly myself.”

“…Okay.”

“I’ll look into a way for a simple examination, so just keep that in mind for now.”

Muyoung looked at the nodding Sunyul with a serious expression.

“Is it hard for you to sleep because of the dreams?”

Come to think of it, such a problem could arise, he thought. But there was no reason he couldn’t sleep because of the dreams. If he were to endure without sleeping, that strange dream would probably find him in a different way. That’s what he felt.

[The ‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ advises you not to go against the irresistible flow.]

The usually quiet constellation chimed in while he was talking to someone else. Sunyul doubted whether this constellation, which was encouraging him to dream, was really on his side.

[The ‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ sheds a tear, saying it’s too much that you’ve completely forgotten about our special time together.]

Cry all you want. Sunyul ignored the subsequent message.

“It’s not hard to fall asleep. I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief. I was going to give you some sleeping pills if you couldn’t sleep.”

“If I take sleeping pills, will I not dream?”

“No. That has nothing to do with it.”

Is that so? He was momentarily tempted, but his hopes were mercilessly crushed.

“Do you not want to dream?”

“…Yes.”

“You must be very anxious.”

Sunyul nodded his head vigorously.

“Actually, I’m extremely anxious. I’m really anxious… I get the feeling that I never want to dream again. But I keep dreaming, and the more I dream, the more anxious I get……”

“Is it because of the content that you don’t want to dream?”

“The content doesn’t matter. In fact, looking back, it’s nice. Everyone treats me, um, like a human… And I act like a human too……”

The Lim Sunyul in his dreams was confident and self-assured. It wasn’t that he didn’t have difficulties, but he was always bright and loved by many people.

He was completely different from the Sunyul of now. The real Lim Sunyul had no confidence in anything and was doubted and disliked by many.

If only he could have confidence in himself. But he knew nothing about himself, so he felt as anxious as if he were crossing the ocean standing on a small plank.

Sunyul became very crestfallen.

“I wish I were human.”

“You are human.”

“…I wish I could be as sure as you are, Guild Leader. I can’t be.”

“Lim Sunyul.”

At Muyoung’s voice, Sunyul raised his head. An unwavering, heavy gaze was directed at Sunyul.

“Don’t doubt, and believe in yourself.”

“……”

“I’ll believe in you, too.”

Sunyul’s eyes widened into circles.

It was something he had heard before. Just a few hours ago, in his dream. The words the Muyoung in his dream had said, the real Muyoung was saying again.

Sunyul felt his heart pound quickly, just like in the dream. A strange, ticklish feeling spread through his body.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“…It’s nothing.”

Sunyul decided not to say that it was the same thing he’d heard in the dream. He was a bit annoyed with Muyoung for not telling him what he dreamed about, and…….

It was just too embarrassing to talk about that moment.

Sunyul avoided Muyoung’s questioning gaze, intending to keep this as his own little secret.

“If you’re not having trouble sleeping because of the dreams, get some rest.”

Instead of probing further, Muyoung suggested he rest. Sunyul shook his head.

“I’m fine.”

“You probably don’t have anything to do by yourself.”

“What are you going to do, Guild Leader?”

“I’m going to get some sleep.”

They were simple words, but Sunyul was startled.

“Are you tired?”

Muyoung shook his head. For some reason, everyone reacted like that whenever he said he should rest first in a dungeon. Muyoung was human too, but did he really have an image of someone who wouldn’t rest?

“No. Resting when it’s time to rest is also part of the job.”

“Then I’ll sleep too.”

Sunyul naturally moved to Muyoung’s side. Instead of saying that the inside of the temple wasn’t that cold and he didn’t need to stick so close, Muyoung pulled Sunyul into an embrace.

⊹₊｡ꕤ˚₊⊹

A mere four hours couldn’t relieve all of Sunyul’s fatigue. On the other hand, Muyoung woke up looking completely refreshed despite having only slept for a short while. It seemed like his face was even glowing.

“I think the Guild Leader sucked away all my energy……”

“No way, would I suck your energy because there’s nothing else to eat?”

Muyoung said, sounding dumbfounded, and laid Sunyul, who couldn’t even open his eyes properly, back down.

“Go to sleep. The temple is a safe zone, so you don’t have to accompany us today.”

“Okay……”

Sunyul thought he wanted to at least see Muyoung off, but he passed out right then and there.

When Sunyul woke up again, it was late at night. When he went outside the tent, everyone had a fire going and was gathered around it, talking.

“Sunyul’s awake.”

Jihyun waved his hand. Sunyul paused and hesitated.

“Is it okay for me to go over there?”

“Of course.”

The reply came from Muyoung. Sunyul slowly shuffled over and squatted down next to Muyoung. Muyoung shooed away the hunter sitting next to him and offered a small camping chair to Sunyul.

“I’m fine.”

“It’s okay, you can sit. I need to go have a smoke.”

The hunter said that and left, so Sunyul ended up taking a seat.

In front of them, an image of a map was floating. On the rather elaborate map, the locations of the evil god statues and temples they had found so far were marked.

Sunyul was surprised to see X’s drawn over seven of the evil god statues.

“You destroyed four more?”

“Of course. This much isn’t difficult.”

Jaehoon answered, bragging.

“Is the blizzard okay now?”

“Luckily, it stopped. It won’t snow anymore. We made an offering to the God of Winter.”

“The God of Winter?”

“Yeah. There’s a small shrine to the God of Winter in this dungeon. If you make an offering there, disasters like blizzards, hail, or avalanches don’t happen.”

“That’s a relief!”

“Yeah. We’re lucky with this dungeon. There was a time before when we couldn’t find the temple and had to endure a blizzard for three days.”

“That was horrible……”

Sunyul was glad they were lucky. How much would they have suffered if they had bad luck on top of carrying a burden like him?

“I guess Sunyul is our good luck charm.”

Sunyul was startled by Jihyun’s smiling remark.

“I’m not a charm or anything.”

“Why? I think you are.”

“I’m not……”

Sunyul’s face fell. Muyoung, who had been watching quietly, sighed.

“He doesn’t mean you’re an item… It’s just a figure of speech.”

“…Ah.”

Understanding the meaning, Sunyul’s face immediately turned bright red. Jihyun hurriedly held back his laughter. He actually wanted to burst out laughing, but Muyoung’s fierce glare forced him to keep his mouth shut.

“So many bastards call you an item, it’s understandable you’d get confused. Don’t worry about it.”

“…Okay.”

When Sunyul didn’t cheer up despite Muyoung’s comfort, Muyoung scowled and jutted his chin at Jihyun.

“Song Jihyun, go stand in the corner with your hands up.”

“Ah, no. It’s okay. I’m not bothered at all.”

Sunyul hurriedly stopped Muyoung. While the two were talking, Jihyun, who had barely managed to calm down, also smiled quite generously.

“Anyway, I’m saying things turned out well because you’re here.”

Although he had laughed, Jihyun’s desire to cheer Sunyul on was genuine. He felt a subtle pity whenever Sunyul got discouraged, and no matter how he looked at him, he didn’t seem like a monster.

“Now, focus again. Since that’s over.”

At Muyoung’s words, everyone’s gaze returned to the map.

“Starting tomorrow at 9 AM, we will proceed with the search, heading south. The goal is to destroy four statues by heading south and then going back up east. We’ll identify the location of the remaining one in advance, subjugate Kandiva by nightfall, and then sleep. If the plan goes well, the day after tomorrow we’ll destroy the last statue, take down the boss, and get out.”

It was a neat summary.

“Raise your hand if you have any objections. If not… you’re dismissed.”

At Muyoung’s words, some got up from their seats, while others remained. The hunters who stayed were quite excited as they chattered.

“This could be a new record.”

“I know, right? Wasn’t the previous record 91 hours?”

“That’ll cut it down by almost a whole day.”

“We just need to find the statues tomorrow.”

Sunyul listened intently to the hunters who were chatting cheerfully. Muyoung, who was about to warn them not to get carried away and make a mistake, saw Sunyul and held his tongue, not wanting to spoil the happy atmosphere Sunyul was enjoying.