Overpowered Reincarnation Perks! - Chapter 10.2
The distance between us has been closing naturally, and we share more of our daily lives. It’s more comfortable being together than being alone.
I liked that Arvan worried about me. I almost got excited earlier. At this rate, I might forget that this is a transaction to get what he needs.
The truth is, he’s not telling me anything, and the sweet daily life is arbitrarily covering and erasing that fact. I need to face reality before I get more confused.
“If this deal ends and our relationship breaks, I might get hurt.”
“I’m sorry.”
Arvan suddenly apologized. I looked up at him in confusion, and he apologized again, grasping my hand.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. I was trying to approach carefully, but I made you anxious.”
Ah.
Only then did I realize that I had spoken my thoughts out loud. Suddenly, both my ears felt hot.
“I’m going to take a bath.”
“Ju-in.”
“I’ll calm down while bathing. Arvan, think about what you want to tell me too.”
I ran to the bathroom, hiding my flushed cheeks. When I closed the door and everything became quiet, the sound of my pounding heart grew louder.
‘I’m crazy. What hurt! Anyone would think we’re dating.’
I plunged into the hot water as if I was going to be boiled. Actually, the water was just warm, but it felt hot because my body was cold.
‘I’ve never felt this comfortable before.’
I really enjoyed this peaceful daily life after so long. Even knowing it was fake, I wanted to fall into the illusion.
‘Because when I’m with Arvan, I can forget.’
My death. The relationships I had to part with when I died. The heavy, depressing, and longing emotions that shake me from the ground up just by remembering.
‘Callion. I wonder if you’re doing well.’
I can’t leave the castle now. I don’t know how to get out, and even if I did, I wouldn’t survive in this world where monsters roam.
So I’ve given up on looking for Callion. He can’t come to the castle, so I’d have to go find him, but I don’t know where he is.
Even if I knew, I couldn’t go.
‘He probably wasn’t hurt too badly.’
Given that he was fighting the monster amalgamation until the end, he probably wasn’t severely injured, but he couldn’t have escaped without any damage. But I sent Senes to that place, so he must have treated his brother somehow.
‘I wonder if everyone else evacuated safely? Since I fell off the cliff with the monster amalgamation, if they returned and worked on restoring the village, they might be able to return to their daily lives.’
I’m curious about the news from the village I was in, but I don’t know the village name or where it’s located, so I can’t find out.
At the time, I thought everything would be resolved if I just lured the monsters towards me and killed them, but looking back, I’m worried if the aftermath was properly handled.
‘And the last words Senes said… what did they mean?’
I can’t ask him now, but remembering his expression then makes me uneasy.
‘I won’t be able to meet them in this life anyway.’
It’s not even the world I used to live in, my remaining lifespan is short, and the quest is even forced. Right now, surviving comes first, so I tried to put out the fire at my feet.
‘But instead of doing the quest I was supposed to, I just enjoyed a vacation.’
I was comforting myself, intoxicated by the comfort Arvan gave me. Even though I knew it wasn’t the time for that.
‘Get it together. If I don’t somehow complete this annoying quest, there’s no hope for my life or reunion with Callion.’
If I die this time and revive next time, I think my lifespan might be a bit longer. Maybe by then, I’ll have some decent skills too.
‘Then I might be able to go meet him.’
Maybe next time, I’ll revive where Callion is.
‘Think positively. Even if the system is harsh to me, it doesn’t lie.’
Didn’t it say it would answer the calls of those looking for me? So I’ll be able to meet Callion again. It just didn’t say when, but surely it will let us meet before I completely disappear.
‘I’ll help Arvan clear the quest, level up to increase my lifespan, and then go back!’
I slapped both my cheeks with a clap and got out of the bathtub.
***
When I came out after finishing my bath, a freshened-up Arvan was brewing tea.
“Sit down, Ju-in. Let’s talk over tea.”
“Arvan. I was using the bathroom, how did you wash up?”
“I briefly imposed on the neighbor.”
In this neighborhood, houses are close together, and you can reach the next house just by crossing one fence.
“You said the person living next door is your colleague too, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What kind of person are they?”
“They work as a carpenter.”
That’s not what I meant, I wanted to know what role they play in that mysterious group you belong to.
“Drink, Ju-in.”
What Arvan handed me was warm ginger tea. The cinnamon aroma is nice.
“You didn’t put anything in the tea, did you?”
“I sprinkled some cinnamon powder.”
“No, I mean like medicine…”
“What kind of medicine?”
I guess the scene where the villain reveals their secret to the protagonist who’s collapsing after drinking tea laced with drugs or poison only happens in novels.
I sipped the tea while observing Arvan. He only took one sip of his tea before setting it down again.
“Ju-in. What did you think while staying with me?”
“Just that it was comfortable and nice.”
I answered honestly.
Arvan treated me too well for me to feel uncomfortable living with a strange man. I was surprised at how quickly I came to see him as a comfortable roommate, in less than a day.
Meanwhile, I was also surprised that my instinct to feel excited by a beautiful man remained unchanged.
“What aspects did you like?”
Your face was the best.
Of course, that’s not all.
“Living ordinarily. Waking up in the morning, having meals, going to the clinic, organizing medicines, watching you treat patients… I liked spending such peaceful days.”
“Ju-in likes ordinary things, I see.”
It’s because I’ve been living a life so far from ordinary. Looking back, I realize how precious this is.
“The patients who come to see me, they’re ordinary people.”
“They seemed so.”
“The people in this castle are the same.”
“Huh?”
“When you first came here, you only met people who were afraid of you and avoided you, or those who threatened and imprisoned you. I wanted to show you that if you don’t appear as an intruder, people here treat you normally.”
I nodded slowly.
