Chapter 276

I had a dream.

Not the so-called nonsense dreams, but a happy dream from the past.

In my life on Earth, I was just an ordinary guy living an unremarkable life.

Born and raised by ordinary parents, I was just going through an ordinary life.

But was I unhappy? Not at all. In fact, because it was ordinary, I cherished the value of life.

With a harmonious family and friends who played together. Sure, there were tough moments, but we pushed through.

I didn’t long for the lives of the rich or a special life. I was grateful for the ordinary life itself.

I didn’t think I was unhappy at all. Seeing my family every day and happily playing with friends.

What could be happier than that? Sure, there were annoying things now and then, but that didn’t matter.

‘So why?’

Why did the gods of this world pull me into this place? No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find the answer.

I couldn’t understand being dragged here just for enjoying a game. After all, didn’t they stick me in the body of a demon?

I’m worlds away from being a warrior navigating a harsh world. More like an ordinary citizen cheering on the warriors.

I was a small fry too busy enjoying my happy daily life to get caught up in politics.

What crime did I commit that brought me to this place?

‘······Was it that time I swiped ten bucks from my parents’ wallet when I was a kid?’

If that’s a crime, then sure. But I haven’t done anything like that since I grew up.

How many people are living lives like mine? Why did they single me out?

Let me be clear: I’m someone who can appreciate an ordinary life, far from a special one.

I’m just your average Joe, rolling around like a stone on the street, trying to show appreciation to my parents for giving me a normal life.

Maybe that’s why it’s even more confusing and perhaps angering. Is living a normal life a crime?

But what’s even more frustrating is the fact that it’s hard to just sit still. Doing nothing won’t get me anywhere.

To return to an ordinary life, there’s a mountain of things I have to do whether I want to or not.

‘If I could go back…’

If I could return to the life I was satisfied with, what would I do first? Would I cling to my parents, crying how hard it is?

Some might think it’s weird for an adult to cling to their parents. But when times are tough, it’s tough, you know?

A life spent rolling around happily every day versus one where I have to fight every single day.

I mean, I bet most would choose the former.

‘······But could I really just turn my back on it?’

The bigger problem is the sheer number of people I’ve grown attached to.

From the girls I’ve kissed all the way to Rod, who’s practically my grandpa now.

Even if I get a chance to go back, could I ignore all of them to leave?

‘Whoever brought me here, seriously…’

I couldn’t forgive that. It’s the hatred I collected from the forest onward.

Gaia probably brought me here, but I have no idea why.

If I ask the other gods, I don’t think they’d tell me. Especially not Chaos.

If I could just find out the reason for bringing me here, I’d be able to calm my anger, but there’s no sign of that.

Could there be another reason? In this situation, it’s hard not to have reasonable doubts.

‘I just want to throw it all away.’

Honestly, I don’t want to do anything. It doesn’t matter if the world ends; I just want to lie still.

But the fact that I can’t is what infuriates me even more. I’m not just dipping my toes in; I’ve immersed myself completely.

Even if I want to get out, I can’t. Therefore, it’s more important to stick it out till the end, whether I like it or not.

‘No matter what happens…’

One thing seems certain: this won’t change.

‘I will find a way to go back.’

I’m going home.

******

“··· ···”

I blinked my eyes. I think I just had a happy dream.

A happy yet sad dream. Life on Earth that is now hard to return to.

Who said it? The sweeter the dream, the sadder because it can never come true.

That’s exactly how I feel right now. The sweetness of my dream made a tear trickle down my cheek.

‘······I miss Mom.’

That thought couldn’t help but arise. In times like these, I want to see my mom’s face.

No matter how grown up children are, they’re still someone’s kids. Adults are just kids of someone after all.

With a troubled heart, I slowly sat up. Strangely, my body felt a bit sluggish.

I wondered why my body felt so heavy and just then realized what was going on.

‘Ah. Right. That bastard…’

I recalled Gaia’s follower unleashing divine power on me out of the blue. Thanks to Luna’s slip-up, my identity was exposed too.

Since my body seemed fine, I guessed Luna had managed to take care of it somehow. I lifted my heavy body and looked around.

It wasn’t night; the sun was shining bright. But the scenery around me was distinctly different.

‘Why are the trees down?’

All the trees were toppled over. As if someone had cut them down.

When I pondered the chaos around me, a familiar voice floated to my ears.

“No, not there. Dig here.”

“Kay?”

“Yeah, that’s it. Good job.”

Turning towards the direction of the voice, a shocking scene unfolded before my eyes.

Luna, covered in dirt, and Neoburi, who was helping her. The problem was what they were doing.

“We need to dig deep to make sure the evidence disappears. If we’re caught, it’ll be a headache.”

“Kay?”

“You might not understand, but that’s how the world is.”

Luna was digging a tunnel with a sword, and beside her lay a corpse.

Though its face was squashed like a can, I could immediately tell it was Duke.

So, to summarize, Luna was digging a hole to bury Duke’s already cold body.

“······Luna?”

“Huh? Oh, you’re awake?”

I cautiously called her name, and Luna looked at me. Her face was covered in dirt, making her look like she could dig up potatoes.

But the corpse next to her was a deal-breaker. I alternated my gaze between her and Duke, slowly backing away.

Seeing my reaction, Luna seemed to realize something and looked at me, slightly perplexed.

“What? Why are you backing up? You’re not seriously forgetting what happened yesterday, are you?”

“Yesterday?”

“Yeah.”

I furrowed my brow and thought hard. All I remembered from yesterday was getting knocked out by divine power.

Since losing consciousness, I’d just been dreaming until now. So, how could I know what happened?

Seeing me genuinely clueless, Luna made an exasperated expression, then shook her head.

“No, never mind. It’s probably better that you don’t know.”

“······Did I do anything?”

Based on her reaction, it seemed I might have done something. I definitely wanted to avoid killing someone.

When I asked with a trembling voice, Luna shook her head to say no, then nodded towards Pijon-tu.

“Pijon-tu stepped on him and killed him.”

“Jeeek?”

When Luna mentioned Pijon-tu, the bird cocked its head. I cast a doubtful glance at the bird.

It was bird-sized, sure, but ultimately it was still a baby bird.

Would that little thing really have enough strength to squish a person’s head? I felt a bit skeptical.

‘It shouldn’t be impossible… right?’

Even that little Porori could pack a punch. Maybe Pijon-tu was one of those rare cases.

The Chaos Forest is a place you just have to take everything that happens in stride. It’s easier to think that way.

“Sivar, if you’re okay, could you help too? It’s a bit tough doing this by myself.”

“Do we really have to bury it? The beasts can eat it.”

“Wouldn’t eating it make someone sick? It’s super furry.”

“··· ···”

I shifted my gaze to Duke’s corpse. Definitely too much fur to eat comfortably.

So at least a creature like a bear could eat it. But, if anything, the fur would be a high deterrent.

“Let’s dig deep and hide it. I don’t want to see it anymore.”

“Okay. Sure.”

Luna and I worked together to bury Duke’s body.

Perfect evidence disposal that would be completely hidden from anyone.

[Your faith is increasing!]

Even Chaos seemingly found our actions wholesome, flooding us with divine approval. It was a message we hadn’t seen in a while.

“What the heck is this…?”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. This should do, right?”

Luna pointed to the neatly buried ground. Inside lay Duke’s body, tucked away nicely.

A beast might catch wind and sniff around, but digging it up would be tough. Besides, there’s no chance of him coming back as undead.

Undead arise only in specific circumstances through particular rituals.

“Now that we’ve done what we had to do, we can head back.”

“What about food?”

“Let’s just eat something on the way back. I want to sleep as soon as we get back. Yaaaawn…”

As Luna finished her sentence, she yawned widely. I suppose standing guard alone must have been exhausting.

As we gathered our things to leave, I suddenly felt something weird on the bottom of my foot.

It felt sticky and unpleasant, kind of like stepping on gum. I lifted my foot to check the bottom.

“··· ···”

Not only was it smeared in bright red blood, but there was something pinkish hanging from it too.

As someone who’d touched plenty of organs and corpses, this was something I really didn’t want to touch.

What on earth was this pink stuff? I grimaced as I rubbed my foot against the ground.

‘I have my suspicions about this…’

I glanced back at Duke’s grave. When I checked earlier, his head was definitely squished.

Almost like someone had stomped on it. But Luna assured me that it was Pijon-tu’s doing.

There’s no reason for her to lie about it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.

‘Still, whatever…’

He was a guy who could’ve been dead without anyone blinking. I wonder if all of Gaia’s followers are like that.

Duke’s reason for targeting me? Odds are someone upstairs sent him after me. It’s pretty much a given.

‘I still don’t know why the demon had it out for him.’

Now all that is in the past. I wanted to put as much distance as possible from anything related to the Gaia Cult.

After that, I returned to the Academy with Pijon-tu and Neoburi. It felt like days had passed even though only a single day went by.

“No way.”

“Why not? Ratatosk was okay.”

“That time, I didn’t know, and Ratatosk was a spirit creature. These are just animals. Can you handle it?”

“··· ···”

But the trouble didn’t stop there.

As soon as Rod saw the animals we brought, he outright rejected them.

His reaction was too different from when Ratatosk came. I pleaded with a gloomy voice.

“I’m confident we can take care of them…”

I held Neoburi tightly in my arms. Maybe sensing my feelings, Luna chimed in.

“Principal, we are really confident we can take care of them.”

“No offense, but you’re the biggest problem. Who thinks it’s a good idea to bring a bird the size of a person?”

“······”

Luna’s mouth snapped shut.

---