This Universe Needs Old People - Chapter 82



Only Noblemtl

Apocalypse Needs Old People Episode 082

61. Divorce (8)

[There is 1 message from the game developer. Would you like to confirm it?]

“… … .”

actually.

I couldn’t bring myself to open that message.

So far, only two people have been revealed as ‘game developers’.

A man who is the representative of Cthulhu Games.

And my mother, the representative of the Salvation Project.

If we assume that the person who started this ice skating was the CEO of Cthulhu Games, then it’s likely that he’s the one who sent this message.

The game that guy made was only a pre-teen game, so it could be that my mother left me a message through the system.

You might be wondering why I hesitate to open the message my mother sent me… … .

‘But I’ve always resented that person.’

What if I opened the message and it said something about why I had to be abandoned?

If I went there in person after logging out, I could have argued with them or said something, but I didn’t want to hear it unilaterally in a place like this.

‘This is… next time.’

I eventually gave up on opening the message.

I hope what’s written in it isn’t anything important.

* * *

The next day.

I left it with the commander and forgot to pick it up, so Luna scolded me.

I just stared at Luna, who was getting angry at me.

‘If Luna Moon is my mother, and this guy is really Haydam… then he’s my older brother.’

[I, Haydam, said no!]

anyway.

I headed to Daphne’s mansion with Shin Jo.

With a few preparations.

Shin Jo looked back and forth between me and the object I had handed him and asked me a question.

“……what’s this?”

“The key that will open Daphne’s heart.”

Then Shin Jo’s expression became subtle.

“This is… a tarot card. And it’s incredibly crude.”

“Hey, don’t call it sloppy. I worked hard on it all night.”

Last night, I ended up not opening the game developer’s message, but I did think hard about how I could meet Daphne and hear her true feelings.

Tarot cards were the result of that struggle.

“What on earth do I do with these tarot cards… What do I want me to do?”

“You can use your major.”

“So what is that?”

“Tarot shop.”

[What is a tarot card?]

‘I guess you could call it a skill that can read minds.’

[You asked me if I had a false detection function, and then you ended up making it yourself?]

‘Well, I guess that’s what it is.’

Unlike the innocent Luna, Shin Jo resisted stubbornly.

“You sound like a tarot reader. I’m a shaman.”

“No, listen. I know you’re a shaman.”

“You know?”

“But if you say you’re a shaman, do you think Daphne will be that kind of person?”

“Are you saying that the tarot shop will accept it as it is?”

“Tarot shops somehow fit the worldview.”

“… … .”

Shin Jo was speechless for a moment, as if he was dumbfounded, and then sighed.

“… Seriously, I don’t know how to read tarot cards or anything.”

“It’s okay. I’m not asking you to really look after me. Just pretend to know a little.”

“Pretending to know a little?”

“When Daphne picks a card, she asks with a serious expression if there are any concerns regarding men.”

Then Shin Jo nodded as if he understood what he meant.

“To put it simply, it’s asking me to cheat.”

[You only think about cheating.]

This is not a scam that I’m trying to profit from, so I hope you’ll be lenient and overlook it.

“No, more than that, are you worried about men? Are you still curious about Daphne’s thoughts on Meursault? I’ve said this many times, but Meursault is not a character to be conquered.”

Shin Jo muttered on the way to Daphne’s mansion that she didn’t know why she had to dig up Meursault’s thoughts while committing a tarot scam.

I said just one thing to that god.

“When you meet Daphne, open the character list.”

“… … ?”

“By the way, it’s a secret that we’re players. Try to pretend to be children who don’t know anything.”

Shin Jo looked at me with a face that asked, “What on earth are you talking about?”

It seems strange to be asked to view the NPC’s profile and to be reminded once again that you must keep the fact that you are a player a secret.

But after a while, everything will make sense.

“You better not be too surprised.”

Shin Jo gave her a final warning and entered Daphne’s mansion with Luna in her arms.

A dazzlingly beautiful silver-haired woman came down the stairs, wearing a snow-white fur draped over her shoulders that I had seen before.

I had been struck by that beauty before, so I changed the title in advance and destroyed the item’s effect, but Shin Eun-jo was dazed for a moment.

“I heard you bring a cat with you these days… but do you have other companions?”

Daphne looked surprised that I had brought a companion.

You might have thought he came to ask why you had refused to meet Meursault, so it would have been even more surprising that he had brought a stranger with him.

Nevertheless, Daphne smiled kindly at Shinjo.

“I guess you’re the kid from the rumors. Come with me. I’ll treat you to some warm tea.”

As I followed Daphne’s instructions, Shin Jo whispered to me.

“You said not to be surprised because it was so beautiful?”

How could that be?

‘View the character.’

I just smiled with my mouth open, and luckily, Shin Jo seemed to understand what I said and turned her gaze towards Daphne.

And after a while, Shin Jo’s expression became strangely distorted.

As if I had seen something I shouldn’t have seen.

You’d probably be surprised to learn that she’s a player.

‘Mrs. Meursault’s nickname is a bit shocking, after all.’

But if you knew that nickname and the fact that Daphne was a player, you would understand why I said that it was Daphne who wanted the divorce.

We arrived at the salon where the artwork was displayed and sat across from each other with a small table between us.

As soon as I sat down, I asked Daphne.

“Why did you refuse to meet Meursault?”

There are two expected responses when I ask this question.

If Daphne is taken aback by my question and is concerned about the presence of Shin Eun-jo, a stranger, that’s not bad.

In that case, if I’m left alone to listen to the story, there’s a higher chance that he’ll tell me honestly about his situation.

but.

“You’re still young and don’t know much, Hayden. Only two men are allowed to enter my mansion: Hayden and Hayden.”

It’s not good to come out with an attitude like this, like you have no idea what you’re talking about.

I clearly remember telling Meursault that I would muster up the courage to confess to him, but now that I think about it, it’s likely that something changed in his mind in the meantime, and that he’s trying to pretend that everything he said up until now never happened.

‘I thought this would happen, so I prepared a tarot shop.’

If this is the case, I’d better get out of here.

If I stay here, Daphne will just smile mechanically like that.

Daphne looked surprised as I stood up.

Looking at his slightly anxious and shaking eyes, it was clear that he was hiding something.

“Actually, I came here today to ask you to take care of this child. There are only dark men around me, so I don’t have anyone to look after him.”

“Ah… …! So that’s why you brought me here.”

“Can you be my conversation partner today?”

“It’s not difficult. If you’re Heydam’s guest, you’re my guest.”

When I showed no intention of asking more about Meursault, Daphne looked visibly relieved and readily accepted my offer.

Shin Eun-jo, who was sitting with a thoughtful expression on her face, looked at me with a betrayed expression for a moment, as if she didn’t know that I would leave all the work to her, but soon looked at Daphne and smiled shyly.

[It’s too much to leave it like this.]

‘A guy who is a cult leader in his own area wouldn’t be able to cook even one Daphne.’

[Still a little pitiful.]

‘Don’t feel sorry. You have to stay too.’

[What?!]

‘We have to watch to make sure Shinjo doesn’t say useless things to Daphne.’

[this person……!!]

Luna helplessly fell out of my arms and into Shin Eunjo’s arms.

In any case, it would be easier to confide in Shin Eun-jo, a stranger, rather than me, Hayden’s son and Meursault’s closest confidant.

Above all, Daphne knows that I am not an ordinary child, so she is careful with her words.

Little did he know that what was left in front of him was a more persistent old man than he was.

* * *

Shin Eun-jo returned to the commander’s residence only when it was almost evening.

I found Shin Jo lazing around on my bed in my room, and I saw him shaking his fists.

“How was it? Did you have a good conversation?”

[Heydam is an idiot!]

Luna, who returned to Shin Jo’s arms, cried out in frustration and went into the ring.

Was it a bit much to leave it in someone else’s hands twice in a row?

Unlike Luna, Shin Jo, who seemed to have already given up on the part of me that was abandoned, sat down on the bed and spoke.

“I hate to admit it, but… going to a tarot shop was a good idea.”

“Really? How did you do it?”

“I did as you told me. Then, you told me everything without me even drawing a few cards.”

Fortunately, it seems like the tarot shop operation worked.

In fact, even if she had gone to a different counseling center instead of a tarot shop, Daphne would have confided in them.

Because as soon as he found out that I was a player, he started telling me his whole story as if everything that had been building up inside him exploded.

“So… why did you change your mind?”

“I was afraid.”

“You were afraid?”

I sat up straight and asked.

“What? Confessing to Meursault?”

“No. Divorcing Commander Hayden.”

“hmm?”

I blinked, not understanding why she was afraid of divorcing Commander Hayden, and Shin Jo sighed as she continued.

“I heard that you recently got rid of two of the Chindaphne faction leaders. Max and Anton.”

“No, it wasn’t me. I brought it on myself.”

“If the two of them had kept their power intact, Daphne wouldn’t have been afraid of divorce. But after you purged the Chindaphne faction… I think I would have been afraid of divorcing Commander Hayden.”

Oh, that’s where it got twisted.

So, Daphne’s previous stories about wanting to divorce the Commander were all true.

That was only a story about when he held power equal to that of the commander.

Right now, in every way, the power seems to be tilted toward the commander.

I thought that given the circumstances, it would be less of a blow to the Commander if he divorced Daphne, but on the contrary, it ended up being a blow to Daphne.

I hadn’t thought about it that far ahead, but now I understand why Daphne’s attitude changed.

“After getting rid of her close associates, she told me to divorce my father and marry Meursault. From Daphne’s perspective, it was understandable that she would have doubted my intentions.”

“So, what do we do now?”

“If you can’t get a divorce because you’re afraid, then you need to stop being afraid.”

“It’s not like you’ll be able to bring Anton back to his original form… … .”

Of course not.

Because there is someone else who can solve this problem.

* * *

“…What did you just say, Heydam?”

Meursault asked me back with a face that seemed to doubt his own ears.

“If Daphne wants a divorce… what should she do?”

I smiled and repeated to Meursault what I had just said.

Meursault looked at me for a moment, speechless.

“…Do you really think that’s possible? No, this is just crazy!”

“You didn’t know, Meursault?”

Marriage is basically crazy.