The Damn Family Is Back Again - Chapter 294



294. The Prophet of Wederos (13)

-Ding!

▶A dodge trigger has been created due to condition fulfillment.◀

▶The conversation with Arina is nullified, and the choices disappear.◀

Due to being lost in thought and not returning in time, I met Flora, but thanks to Harnie’s help, things didn’t get tangled.

Since the choices have disappeared, there’s nothing to worry about from here on.

Once Flora conveys the fact that I’m safe, whenever that may be, a message indicating that the episode has been cleared will appear.

—

—

Thanks to that, I was thinking of taking her home comfortably.

-Drip. Drip.

“Hmm? Raindrops from above…”

-Plop. Plop. Plop.

“…Is this, by any chance, rain?”

“It seems like it…?”

The late autumn rain was pouring down on us.

“Harnié. Let’s run!”

“Yes, yes!”

We hurriedly ran to avoid the intensifying raindrops.

We didn’t even bring an umbrella. The surroundings were getting dark, and there weren’t many people walking around.

It was a relief that we reached the entrance of a building to take shelter from the rain.

“The raindrops are quite thick, so we can’t go directly. Your maid will soon notice and come looking for you, so let’s go back then.”

“Ah…”

…Why am I sighing?

I’m anxious.

“That’s… well.”

Harnié started to explain hesitantly.

It was… a sound that made my eyes close tightly.

“You told them not to look for you since you would stay here from the moment you got off the carriage?”

“…”

She nodded her head repeatedly, blinking her eyes.

With the festival being held so grandly, there’s no way they would come looking if she said she would stay.

Moreover, she said she came to meet me, so they would think she would play around and come back.

…In other words, even if it rains like this, no one would come looking for her.

“The, the distance to the carriage?”

She shook her head.

It seemed impossible to walk from here.

‘This is the worst.’

Everything happened to overlap at the worst possible time.

—

—

Weather? How would I know that?

After the episode ended, the screen just moved on, so I didn’t even know this was falling.

The same goes for the location.

I just thought there would be a carriage that Harni had ridden, so I was just trying to take her there.

I didn’t give anyone a hint to come through this rain, nor could I… so I just had to stay here.

“…”

“…”

Both me and her.

We didn’t expect this situation at all, so we just stared blankly at the sky.

As the rain got heavier, I sighed, and she pulled my arm and said.

“Um… how about we go inside for now? It doesn’t seem like the rain will stop…”

I doubted my ears for a moment.

‘Go inside? Here?’

I looked at her again after seeing the words clearly written.

Then Harni hurriedly blushed and explained.

“Well, we have no choice! If we want to avoid the rain right now, this is the only option…!”

Logically, she’s right.

We probably should. Who would be stupid enough to wait here until the rain stops, not knowing when that will be?

But the words written there hit me hard.

[ Sturdy bed, highly recommended! ]

[ Soundproof. Enjoy to your heart’s content! ]

[ Special equipment rental available for couples and lovers! ]

Damn. Each sentence is so ridiculous that it makes me close my eyes in a different sense.

It was clearly meant for that purpose.

‘Ha. The creator is a crazy b*stard.’

Why did they put this in the game?

Even if it’s an all-ages game, is it okay because it’s a skip scene?

…Even if I lament, the answer is decided.

All I have is money. There’s no way to get through that rain.

What can you do!

—

If the producer insisted, I had no choice but to shut up and go in.

It can’t be helped.

This is the last resort…!

“…Harnie. Let’s get separate rooms.”

*

“Anyway, there weren’t many people around. There should be rooms available.”

If you look closely, this place also serves as a lodging facility. That means the soundproofing is thorough.

If we just appeal that we’re here to sleep, there won’t be any embarrassment in getting separate rooms!

Even in the worst-case scenario, we can just ask for a double room, right?

…I used to think that way.

Until I spoke to the owner.

“There’s only one room left! If you don’t go in together, you can’t go in at all!”

Thanks to the festival, there are a lot of tourists, so even places like this fill up quickly. So, they say there’s no room.

They didn’t overcharge us and called the normal price, but what kind of nonsense is this…

Fine. That can happen. Then we can just split the room, right?

I thought and asked.

“Double room? Where is that! There’s only a room with one bed here!”

To make matters worse, we were stuck with a single room with no double rooms available.

…So we ended up in a single room with only one bed.

From noble mtl dot com

We found ourselves in a truly embarrassing situation.

“Have a pleasant time? Heh heh.”

-Squeak!

Oh, that guy.

He’s really perceptive. Seriously.

“…”

“…”

Another moment of silence passes.

I wondered what could be said in this situation, but seeing the single bed, I had something to say.

“There’s only one bed, so it can’t be helped. I’ll sleep on the floor, you sleep on the bed, Harnie.”

As I said that, holding one of the pillows from the bed, Harnie immediately objected.

—

—

“Why are you doing this again? I told you I’m fine.”

She sat on the bed and patted the blanket.

“Well, the place is a bit… but it’s not like we haven’t slept in the same bed before, right?”

“Um…”

I guess that’s true.

I had already fallen asleep on her lap several times.

Not to mention, we had fallen asleep leaning on each other, and we had openly used the same bed before.

I scratched my cheek and thought for a moment, but I didn’t want to feel uncomfortable about this.

“Alright.”

Following Harunie’s suggestion, I decided to use the same bed.

Well, she said she was fine with it.

-Swoosh.

“…”

“…”

Once we lay down on the bed, its size became apparent.

For both of us to sleep, we had to be really close.

“This won’t work. The bed is too small…”

-Thud.

“Ha, Harunie?”

“We can just stay close like this.”

“No, that’s…”

“It’s fine. It’s fine, just… stay like this.”

As I tried to get out of bed, she hugged me tightly with her whole body.

In that close distance where our breaths touched.

Harunie spoke softly.

“I’m cold. I got wet in the rain earlier.”

“…”

“If you could just… hold me, I think it would get better.”

I flinched at her request to hold her, but soon understood.

After all, even though we tried to avoid the rain, it was impossible to dodge all the raindrops.

—

—

I was fine, but this autumn rain might have been quite chilly for Harunie.

‘Her body temperature… seems normal.’

But you never know.

Rather than catching a cold just because of the rain, it’s better to do something like this.

I lightly embraced Harunie.

“Is this okay?”

“…No.”

Harunie burrowed deeper into my arms.

“It’s fine now.”

I wondered if it was too close…

But I didn’t push her away.

She said she was having a hard time today. I thought it wouldn’t hurt to grant such a small request.

How much time passed in silence like that?

Harunie had fallen asleep.

“…”

Watching her sleep soundly, I finally turned my thoughts to a peculiar question.

As the title of the episode suggests, this was a family trip of the Bagrande Ducal House.

Not many people knew I was here.

Even if they knew I went on a trip, they wouldn’t know where I went.

What the Ducal House was doing.

What schedule we had and how long we would stay.

None of this was known to others.

Moreover, considering that a festival was being held, there were even more people around.

It would be extremely difficult to find me alone.

But Harunie appeared before me.

As if she knew everything.

“…Come to think of it, it’s not impossible.”

The Jewel of Oath.

It had revealed my location.

Having been working tirelessly for days, the jewel must have informed Harunie of this fact several times.

—

—

If they were to track my location based on that, it would be possible.

But… did Harnié really use the Jewel of Oath to track me down?

My intuition strangely points in a different direction.

One possibility.

The experience I had a while ago opens up a similar path of possibility.

Like Pollux, if someone had heard a prophecy from the prophet of Wederos and pinpointed the exact place I would be, it was possible.

So I didn’t ask Harnié.

How did you know I was here?

‘I hope not, but if this is correct… I…’

-Swoosh.

The rain started to pour harder.

They say the sound of rain has always been a good white noise for falling asleep.

At the same time, my eyes begin to close.

-Swish, swish.

Breath touches my skin, and the sound of breathing flows into my ears.

And her body heat flows through my entire body.

As always, Harnié’s body heat was warm.

That warmth often brings back strange memories.

‘Back then… was it raining too?’

-I’m cold. I got wet in the rain earlier.

-If you… hold me, I’ll be fine.

Somehow, I ended up getting caught in the rain with Ji-eun.

Ridiculously, I ended up in a motel with Ji-eun…

Just like now. Holding each other, the words we exchanged were almost identical.

“You, why are you so much like Ji-eun…”

-Swoosh.

And just like back then, I fell asleep to the sound of this rain.

*

-Splash.

Someone dismounted from a horse, piercing through the heavy rain.

—

—

“…You’re back. Did you meet Karsein?”

“Yes.”

“What did he say?”

At Talpon’s question, Pollux grinned.

“I didn’t convey the prophecy.”

“…Is that so.”

“You’re not very shaken?”

“I somewhat expected it.”

Talpon also grinned.

“So, what were his last words?”

“You didn’t even think of scolding me?”

“How could I scold you? If I were in your position, I would have done the same.”

Originally, it was not something to laugh off.

Pollux should have been scolded for returning without delivering Beneris’s prophecy to Karsein.

But Talpon also understood, knowing that Karsein was an outsider.

“He said he had a world he originally lived in. He was unwillingly dragged here. So, his goal is to return.”

“Oh dear. Hearing that makes it even clearer that it was the right decision.”

Talpon furrowed his brows deeply.

Considering the prophecy given to them, it was a natural reaction.

There was no reason for someone from a completely different world to risk his life fighting for this one.

“What was his name in the world he originally lived in? I’m curious.”

“…Kim Minhyuk. He said that was his real name.”

“How do you write it?”

“It wouldn’t be in our script, would it?”

“True, I suppose. I should pray for him in Lilfetten’s way.”