EFME 4

Muyoung started the car. Leaving the parking lot was instantaneous. Sunyul, who had been sitting stiffly, let out a gasp at the drastically changed scenery outside as they left the parking lot. His wide eyes twinkled with curiosity.

“Wow……”

Sunyul kept looking around in admiration, as if he was seeing the outside world for the first time.

Muyoung recalled the time he first brought Sunyul in. He had knocked him unconscious and tried to put him back in his inventory, but he wouldn’t fit, so he ended up putting him in a coffin-like box. So it was only natural that this was the first time he was seeing the outside world.

“Is this the first time you’ve seen something like this?”

“……I don’t know. I have memories, but it feels new.”

When Muyoung asked out of pure curiosity, Sunyul answered honestly without a second thought. Then he started looking outside, his hand resting on the window.

“Prepare for dungeon disasters with SR Insurance. Safe with SR Insurance today, too.”

“…….”

“Hero Legend pre-registration now open.”

Muyoung laughed silently as Sunyul read the advertisements on the passing bus.

It was quite funny how he was reading the billboards out loud, as if he were a child who just learned to read. It was also a little cute.

The Ability Management Bureau treated Lim Sunyul as if he were some dangerous bomb. But Muyoung felt differently. Lim Sunyul was certainly a peculiar being, but he wasn’t harmful.

It wasn’t that Muyoung’s conviction was baseless.

One of Muyoung’s traits, [Survival Strategy], reacted to anything that could harm him. From the moment Lim Sunyul opened his eyes, this trait hadn’t reacted at all.

Of course, Muyoung understood the Ability Management Bureau’s reaction – they couldn’t simply release Sunyul based on Muyoung’s trait alone. That’s why he tried not to get involved as much as possible.

But he was disgusted by the way the Ability Management Bureau pushed Sunyul into a training ground with monsters and watched him as if it were some experiment, so he finally decided to bring him out.

It was an impulsive decision for Muyoung. It was also unlike him to make a decision based on emotions and compassion, excluding logic.

Still, he didn’t regret his decision. Muyoung usually didn’t care what others did, but strangely, his eyes kept being drawn to Sunyul sitting next to him.

Why did his gaze keep going back? Was it because he was a unique being, one of a kind in the world? He didn’t know the reason himself.

“Jihye Korean Medicine Clinic. Taste and style……”

Now Sunyul was reading the signs.

Muyoung left Sunyul, who was deeply engrossed, and headed home. As the advertisements and signs disappeared from their surroundings, Sunyul stopped reading but kept his gaze fixed outside.

The car diligently drove on and arrived at Muyoung’s house.

Muyoung’s house was a two-story detached house. Parking the car in the driveway, Muyoung spoke to Sunyul, who seemed oddly stiff and nervous.

“Lim Sunyul.”

“Y-Yes.”

“We’re here, so get out.”

“Yes.”

Muyoung brought Sunyul inside. Sunyul’s eyes widened again as he looked around the house.

Muyoung’s house had a clean atmosphere. Filled mainly with white and black, it gave a somewhat bleak impression, but with the setting sun pouring in through the high windows, it had a warm atmosphere at that moment.

“Master, you’re home?”

Someone approached Muyoung and Sunyul. Instead of answering, Muyoung explained to Sunyul.

“This is my housekeeping homunculus. Call him Jooyoung.”

Jooyoung had an incredibly intricate appearance, hard to believe he was a creation of humans. Sunyul stared at Jooyoung with wonder, then quickly averted his gaze as if he felt it was rude.

“Hello, I’m Jooyoung. Are you Mr. Lim Sunyul?”

“That’s right.”

“I remembered Mr. Lim Sunyul. Mr. Lim Sunyul, please call me anytime if you need anything.”

“Oh, yes……”

“Lim Sunyul, come here.”

Muyoung led the way. Sunyul glanced at Jooyoung, then quickly followed behind Muyoung. Muyoung walked up the stairs located to one side.

“The first floor only has a guest room and a storage room. Don’t touch anything in the storage room.”

“Yes.”

“The second floor has my room and your room.”

“My room?”

“Yes. That’s my room over there, and this is your room.”

Muyoung opened the closed door, revealing a fairly large room.

Inside, there was a sofa and a table. A separate inner space contained a bed. It was a quite spacious room, complete with a dressing room and a bathroom.

“……I can use this?”

“Yes.”

After looking around the room, Sunyul was stunned beyond words. It was a continuous stream of surprises. He hadn’t even expected anything of his accommodations, and yet he was given such a nice room.

“You must be tired. Rest. What about dinner?”

“I don’t think I need to eat.”

According to the research, Sunyul didn’t need to consume food. It had been ten days since he was first discovered, and during that time he hadn’t eaten once, and they said he didn’t feel hunger either.

They said his physical structure was similar to a human’s, but… He certainly didn’t feel human in aspects like this. He looked so human, but he wasn’t. It was fascinating.

“Then rest. Take a bath in the tub or something.”

“A bath?”

Sunyul’s expression, as he asked back, seemed to be saying, “What’s that?”

“Come here.”

Deciding that showing him was faster than telling him, Muyoung led the way to the bathroom.

He’d told Jooyoung to put in as many necessities as possible, and even bath bombs, which he’d received as a gift but never used, were neatly placed there.

Muyoung filled the bathtub with a bit of water and then put in a bath bomb. A fragrant, floral scent spread through the air. It didn’t suit Muyoung, but it suited Sunyul.

“When the water fills up enough, turn off the faucet, and get in the tub and soak your body.”

“My body?”

“Yes.”

“Like this?”

“Take your clothes off.”

They said he hadn’t been properly washed. Even though they said he didn’t get very dirty because he wasn’t human, it would still be better to clean him up nicely.

“Get in there, soak your body, and relax. If you can’t stand it, come out.”

“Can’t stand what?”

“If it’s too hot and you feel stifled, come out. Or stay in until you feel comfortably good, then come out.”

Muyoung even explained how to bathe in detail. If anyone who knew Muyoung saw this, they’d probably fall over backward asking why he was being so kind, but Sunyul simply nodded with a slightly doubtful look.

“Then rest well.”

“E-Excuse me.”

Sunyul hurriedly called out to Muyoung as he was about to leave. When Muyoung turned around, Sunyul’s lips trembled with a somewhat anxious expression.

“Thank you. For… bringing me here.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll be good.”

“Just don’t cause any trouble.”

“Yes. I won’t cause any trouble.”

Muyoung nodded at Sunyul, who spoke enthusiastically, and went outside. Left alone, Sunyul’s tension eased, and he leaned against the wall.

Sunyul stared blankly at the water filling the bathtub. He didn’t understand what was so good about soaking in hot water, but since Muyoung told him to, he intended to obediently comply.

Sunyul took off his clothes. He then stared blankly at them, folded them, and placed them outside the door. After washing his body as Muyoung had instructed, Sunyul stared at the not-quite-full bathtub.

Finally, after waiting for a while, the bathtub was full. He’d turned off the water just before it overflowed, so it was precariously full. As Sunyul put his foot in, the water, naturally, overflowed and spilled out of the tub. Startled, Sunyul froze.

‘Since the water overflows when I go in, I should have put in less…’

Hitting his head at the belated realization, Sunyul had no choice but to submerge the rest of his body in the tub. He realized that if he’d pulled the drain plug and drained the excess water after it overflowed, it wouldn’t have spilled. It was a belated realization, but a realization nonetheless.

‘I shouldn’t get confused next time.’

Making that resolution, Sunyul carefully moved around in the tub. He hadn’t known before getting in, but being enveloped by the hot water felt quite nice.

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ is clutching his stomach and laughing while watching Lim Sunyul.]

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ says Lim Sunyul has become a complete idiot.]

The system window’s contents were imprinted in Sunyul’s mind before he even finished reading the sentences. Sunyul froze in surprise, looking at the system window that blinked and disappeared.

“W-What?”

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ explains that he doesn’t need to speak out loud.]

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ brags that he waited on purpose until Sunyul was alone before speaking to him, so he should be grateful for the consideration of not making him look like a crazy person.]

‘……Who are you?’

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ explains that he is the constellation contracted with Sunyul.]

His mind was in a whirl from the messages being imprinted into his head.

‘What’s a constellation?’

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ explains that a constellation is a being who has cast off the shackles of mortality and obtained divinity, allowing them to observe mortals and share their power.]

‘What’s divinity?’

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ is speechless at your innocence.]

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night,’ finding the explanation bothersome, says he can just think of it as a great person.]

What was he talking about? Sunyul wiggled his body in the water and stared at the blinking window.

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ pities Sunyul, reminding him that he said nobody would appreciate his sacrifices.]

He had no idea what any of this meant. Sunyul wiggled his toes in the water and quietly stared at the appearing windows.

[‘Traveler of the Eternal Night’ says that although Sunyul is frustratingly naive, he’ll keep watching over him because he’s pitiful and pretty.]

‘You don’t have to watch over me……’

Then the messages went into a frenzy, asking why he was saying such hurtful things. He didn’t know what was going on, but he was sure he’d gotten himself into something annoying.