Chapter 127
Chapter 127
‘He doesn’t budge at all. I should touch him to find out if it’s a dream or a monster.’
She carefully punched his chest a few times, sneakily groping it from time to time.
Then, the man in front of her flinched. However, he showed no signs of retaliating. Was he really a monster? She tilted her head and wiped the drool flowing from her mouth. For some reason, she couldn’t stop salivating.
‘Is he trying to fool me? As if I would let him!’
Now, every two punches, she’d grope him eight times, and started to fondle his chest. Only then did the man laugh in disbelief, blocking her hand.
‘Is he trying to block my punch? There’s still another way.’
She tried to headbutt his chest! …While also sneakily rubbing her face against his burly chest. Whether she was attacking him or was acting out her selfish desire, she no longer knew. As the strange standoff continued, the man sighed. Taking a strand of her brown hair in his large hand, he lowered his head to whisper.
“What are you doing?”
“I was attack—who the heck are you?!”
Pricked by her conscience, she muttered the first half, before pulling back. She glared at the man. The man looked at her with a puzzled look and answered in a languid voice.
“Attacking me is useless. I’m not a monster. There’s nothing above my head.”
The man was right. Normally, a monster would have a name above their head or something, but he had none.
The man spoke again as if noticing her confusion.
“I’m Luca’s older brother.”
Sylvia’s eyes widened at his words. But wasn’t his brother dead? Why would a dead person show up in front of her? It had to be a dream. The damn game system must’ve triggered the event in hope of a threesome between brothers.
‘Actually, that’s horrible! I still have a conscience! Even in a dream, I refuse to attack both brothers! I’m not interested in a threeway with the pair of siblings! It’s just wrong! This… this has to stop! What a stupid game! I’m not interested in seducing his brother or anything!’
Sylvia, who got ahead of herself, made a declaration of conscience in her mind. She blindly cursed the game. They said a strong denial was a strong affirmation, but no one would know her true feelings unless she put it into action.
‘I need to figure out if this is a dream or not.’
Since he wasn’t a monster, there was no need to attack anymore. Thinking it was a dream, she became bolder. Her small hands freely groped his chest regardless of the man’s consent. His chest, thicker than Luca’s, had a different sensation when held.
The man seemed to have given up and was just letting her do as she pleased.
‘This feels so real—too real to be a dream.’
Before she knew it, she was rubbing her face against his chest. As she did so with an ecstatic look on her face, she noticed something odd. The man didn’t have a heartbeat. She tilted her head and muttered to herself without realizing it.
“This is a dream after all…”
“It’s not a dream.”
“It’s not?! Then what is…”
Before Sylvia could finish speaking, the man gently smiled and whispered in a low voice.
“Is the game fun?”
“!”
‘Is the game fun?’ The man knew that this world was a game, just like Secret, the special NPC. Come to think of it, she didn’t notice because she was so focused on his chest, but didn’t he show off his knowledge of the game earlier? After all, he said that “there was nothing floating above his head.”
Shocked, Sylvia hesitated to answer and merely looked into his eyes. In turn, he showed an unreadable smile. Somehow, that smile felt dangerous. Unbeknownst to him, she pinched the back of her hand so hard that she began tearing up. It hurt, yet she didn’t wake up at all, so it wasn’t a dream.
‘Wait, then…’
Sylvia’s face turned pale as she reached an ominous conclusion. The man who claimed to be Luca’s older brother, whose heart didn’t beat, was neither a monster nor a dream. Then, there was only one answer.
“Oh my god, are you a ghost?!”
“I asked you a question. Is the game fun?”
Sylvia felt the blood drain from her body when she thought the man in front of her was a ghost. What would happen to her if she gave the ghost the wrong answer? She was scheduled to move into Slothful Hell, so she hated ghosts since she was possessed by the game. The ghost in the cabin wasn’t scary at all because Limbo and Sevis were by her side, so it was just a little annoying yet chill. However, the ghost in front of her was different. Since they were alone, it could drag her into the Slothful Hell at any time.
The man’s expression as he looked down at her, who was frozen still, gradually hardened. His golden eyes, which looked exactly like Luca’s, took in the hickeys carved into her collarbone. His lips twitched. Then, he drew closer and whispered softly into her ear.
“Looks like it is. My brother’s scent is on you. Unfortunately, you’re alive. I guess you finally detoxified the poison I made.”
“…”
‘He said that he’s Luca’s brother, didn’t he?! Then, he’s really a ghost!!’
Sylvia remained frozen and didn’t say anything. He tilted his head, folded his arms, and sulked.
“This is starting to get annoying. Are you mute? Why aren’t you saying anything?”
As expected, blood was thicker than water. Luca’s brother, who seemed gentle, was starting to lose his temper. Judging from his stable posture despite being in water, he wasn’t an ordinary being. He really was a ghost… She tried hard to suppress her fear and stammered out her words.
“I-it isn’t fun. I was possessed by the game for some reason. …By the way, you’re Luca’s brother… right? Are you a ghost…? Oh, no. I made a slip of the tongue…”
The game itself was hard, but the strategy was fun. It was so fun that she sometimes forgot the purpose of being possessed here. But with a ghost standing right in front of her, let’s just say that the game was boring.
It would also be rude to ask a ghost if it was a ghost, but the words came tumbling out of her mouth without realizing it. She couldn’t help it. Anyone could see that he looked like a ghost.
She pointed at him with her trembling hand and barely finished speaking before she shut her mouth tightly like a clam again. The man’s hardened expression was just that scary. After looking at him with fear, he smiled sweetly as if about to melt her.
“A ghost? It’s annoying to be called a ghost. I’m not such a low-dimensional being, but—oh well. If I reveal my identity, you’ll be shocked and dumbfounded, so let’s keep it a secret.”
‘Did he just complain of being called a ghost? But he’s a ghost! If there’s something more surprising than a ghost, what would that be?’
She was annoyed inside, but she tried not to show it and nodded obediently. However, she couldn’t help but feel her face turned white like laundry soaked in bleach. When she responded, the man smiled contently, twisted a few strands of her brown hair with his fingers, and smiled for some reason.
“Hmm, by the way, the game isn’t fun? … That’s nice to hear. If the game isn’t fun…”
“If it isn’t fun?”
She gulped hard and asked again without realizing it. The man’s smile deepened. Then, he made a strange suggestion.
“Would you like to go to the real world?”
“Really…? But in the real word, I’m already dead…”
Her body had been cremated, so where would she go? When she couldn’t finish her words and trailed off, the man snapped his fingers as if congratulating her for getting the right answer. Finally, it dawned on her, and her green eyes widened in shock.
“That’s not what I mean. By the ‘real world,’ I was referring to where you were supposed to go—the Slothful Hell.”
“…Eek!”
Sylvia, startled by the man’s outrageous suggestion, mustered up her courage and brushed his hand off. It was a ghost after all. Her words were wasted on him. She tried to run away by stepping sideways, avoiding the man.
Briefly, the man looked at his empty hand as if feeling a sense of loss, before seizing Sylvia’s thin wrist and pulling her toward him.
“You don’t want to?”
“What do you think?! Ugh!”
Sylvia waved his hand off with all her might, then jumped into the water and swam away. She was afraid that Luca’s brother’s ghost might follow her. Luckily, there was no sign of it.
As he watched Sylvia swim away, the smile on the man’s face slowly vanished.
“…Why? Why does she prefer the fake one rather than the real one?”
He made a perplexed expression, then chuckled. The man’s body gradually blurred and dissipated into black smoke.
Sylvia, who had been swimming frantically, rose to the surface of the water. The thick fog that had shrouded the area soon disappeared, revealing the original valley. Luca was sitting on a wide rock by the water’s edge, neatly dressed. As Sylvia struggled out of the water, he smiled brightly and pulled her into a hug, enveloping her with a towel.
As he wiped her body, he kept kissing her as if unable to contain his yearning for her. Then, he peered into her face and smiled.
“What, were you scared because you played alone for a while? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Ah…”
Sylvia let out a small sigh and buried herself in his arms. Then, Luca whispered softly, “Are you trying to hide how scared you are? How adorable.” He gently hugged her and nuzzled her small head.
Based on his reaction, Luca seemed to be unaware of what had just transpired. He looked so calm, as if the fog and meeting his brother were merely hallucinations she had experienced alone.
‘If I told him that I saw his brother, he’d think I’m weird. I should just not say anything.’
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