04. Uncomfortable cohabitation (20)

“That was the last promise. I promised that I would never climb the tower again… My son never came back like that.”

His grandfather said, wiping the tears from his eyes.

“I resented the man who brought the belongings of my son and his wife. He couldn’t control his emotions. He couldn’t even rescue the body of the child he promised to return alive… As a father, he couldn’t possibly forgive him.”

I didn’t even notice the tea was getting cold, so I concentrated on the story.

I never thought something like this would have happened between Cha Soo-hyeok and his grandfather a long time ago.

“… ….”

It’s a complicated feeling.

Is Cha Soo-hyeok responsible for his father’s death? If Cha Soo-hyeok hadn’t convinced his father, my parents might still be alive. At least my grandfather thought so.

Then should I also resent Cha Soo-hyeok? Shouldn’t we forgive him, like our grandfather, for causing his parents’ deaths?

Honestly, I don’t know.

I have no memory of my parents. They died when I was too young, and I only saw their faces in pictures. I didn’t have parents, but because I had a grandfather, I never felt that the love I received while growing up was lacking, and that’s why I never missed or regretted my parents’ existence.

Because it’s meaningless to feel sorry for someone who doesn’t exist from the beginning. It would be disrespectful to my grandfather, who did his best to raise me.

But my grandfather would be different. He is of his own blood and is the child he raised himself. Even now, the memories of my lost child will still flicker in front of my eyes, but the intensity of the emotions I feel cannot be the same as mine, which even has a faint awareness of the loss of my parents.

Suddenly, a question came to mind. Cha Soo-hyeok, who never hid the existence of his father. But I had never heard of my father’s achievements in my life. After hearing this story, I could understand why.

“Grandpa. Why… Did you hide your father’s achievements?”

Cha Soo-hyeok told his father that his life was saved. It was unlikely that the man would voluntarily hide his father’s existence.

The reason why people still don’t know the existence of the first clan leader of the Suseong Clan.

I guessed that the reason was his grandfather.

As if my guess was correct, my grandfather did not deny anything. He just didn’t say anything for a long while, then he barely broke the silence and opened his mouth.

“…… Jinah Lee. That’s what Habibi said. Losing a child so… My heart ached so much. It was as if the reason to live in the world had disappeared. But even though the son is lost, is the grandson still alive?”

“Grandpa….”

“If even this old woman leaves, what will I do with this poor thing? So I decided to live for her grandson for the rest of my life. But at the same time, I also had this thought. What if even her grandson leaves like her son? Both of your parents are Awoken, so the child must be an Awakener too, but I was afraid that you would follow your father and promise to become a great hunter.”

That’s why.

I’m afraid I’ll climb the tower to become a great hunter like my parents. I feared that I would lose my son, my daughter-in-law, and even my one and only grandson again in the tower.

So the grandfather kept his mouth shut. Because he wanted his one and only grandson to live a normal life rather than the honor of his dead son.

“So I told him. Don’t take my son’s name out of your mouth. Don’t let your grandson hear his father’s name on TV.”

“Then you haven’t seen Hunter Cha Soo-hyuk since then?”

“I came here a few times. Sometimes he came with a bunch of money, and there were times when he said he would take you to a better place than here, but he refused all of them. He didn’t want to see his face, and he didn’t want to accept it if he thought it was his son’s blood.”

“I see….”

I felt a tightness in my stomach.

Is this really okay?

Cha Soo-hyeok seemed to feel responsible for his father’s death. That’s why he must have visited his grandfather several times after his father’s death and left a word of apology. Even though it has already been decades.

Aside from whether or not Grandpa’s hatred was justified, this situation, where the two of them have lived hating each other and feeling apologetic for such a long time, really bothered me.

Of course, it’s between my grandfather and Cha Soo-hyeok, and I might not be able to intervene. No one can force forgiveness from her father for the loss of her child.

But why? He had a hunch that his grandfather would not be irrelevant to the outcome of future Cha Soo-hyeok becoming a traitor to humanity.

I opened my mouth very carefully.

“You never intended to forgive?”

My grandfather let out a deep sigh at my words.

“I know it’s not his fault. After all, it was my son who chose to climb the tower. He’s a daughter-in-law, but he just followed his husband… But when I look at his face, I have no confidence not to resent him. So I decided not to watch it at all.”

Hearing his grandfather’s words, he pondered for a while.

If you say that, there may not be no answer at all. Of course, it is not a matter to be decided at this meeting, and I will have to talk about this with Cha Soo-hyeok later.

Since I was so troubled, my grandfather smiled softly at me and said,

“I was very happy when Lee Jin said you would make a sword.”

“Yes?”

“I was proud that my grandson would continue the path I had to give up, but if I became a craftsman, wouldn’t I climb the tower even if I became an awakened person later on?”

“Ah….”

Come to think of it, it was like that. When I saw Cha Soo-hyeok’s Excalibur in my childhood and dreamed of making a sword like that.

My grandfather was genuinely happy and supported me. He readily handed over his workshop, and if there was anything he needed, he would provide anything.

I thought he was just supporting his grandson’s dream, but it turned out that he was also happy that he had chosen a path not to climb the tower.

“Just because Grandpa resents him, you don’t have to do the same. Because this is not your problem. So you live your life got it?”

I nodded slowly.

“… Yes, Grandpa.”

–

I came back to my room.

The mood was still complicated. Grandpa’s work, Cha Soo-hyeok’s work, and parents’ work… There were many thoughts, but this was the part that bothered me the most.

In the end, I too will climb the tower someday.

To prevent the destruction of the world in 10 years, the demons in the tower must not be left unattended. I had no intention of leaving everything to only Yoon Seo-hee and Baek Ji-soo and staying behind.

But climbing the tower and putting yourself in danger is against your grandfather’s wishes.

How long can I be fooled by lies? It’s not something you can hide for the rest of your life anyway.

“Whoa….”

It’s disturbing.

My head was very dizzy.

‘I can’t. I need to make something and focus on it.’

If you focus on production, your complicated hair will be tidied up. Apparently, Yuna also got the sealing magic stone, Kertatus should make a sealing sphere in this quiet gap.

Come to think of it, I have to check the contents of the box Seohee told me to open at home….

「Beep-!」

Suddenly, tinnitus rang in my head.

“Huh?”

The world turns. No, it was me who was spinning.

Thump!

What do you mean? Oh, that sounds like me falling to the floor.

The scene in front of me is far away.

‘This is… what….’

Without even time to grasp the situation.

I passed out in an instant.

–

A room full of silence.

Kim Yi-jin’s fingers twitched as he lost consciousness and fell to the floor.

At that moment, her eyes suddenly widened.

I want to raise my legs all the way, but I use the recoil of my lower body to raise my body.

“… Flaw.”

Look around the room lightly, or clench and clench your fists to check your body condition.

“Khehehehe… hahahaha!!”

Kim Yi-jin raises the corner of her mouth and bursts out with a cheerful laugh that she has never made before.

No, it was Kertatus who took control of Kim Yi-jin’s body.

“It worked.”

Why Kim Yi-jin suddenly lost her consciousness and Kertatus took control of her body. It was because Kertatus had finished adapting to every corner of the human body, Kim Yi-jin, over the past few days.

And the moment the opportunity came, Certatus touched some of Kim’s brain cells and put him into temporary suspended animation.

Thanks to that, Kim Yi-jin’s consciousness drooped, and he fell into a deep sleep without any resistance.

“Keuhehehe, a kid. It’s obvious that you’re trying to seal me away, but did you think I’d stay silent?”

Certatus laughed ferociously in satisfaction.

‘I thought it would take a few more days… It was a lot easier today because the mind of a kid has become soft like the things of an old man who has withered.’

Since Kim Yi-jin’s mental state was weaker than usual, his physical control was carried out smoothly.

If it wasn’t for today, it was a pretty close timing because a sealing sphere that could really seal Certatus would have been made.

“Is it roughly 2-3 hours before the kid opens his eyes? That should be enough.”

Now there must be a body. That was more than enough to regain the power to completely take over his body.

“I’m tired of the obvious new dramas.”

Certatus threw the window of the room wide open.

A bright full moon was floating in the night sky.

“Now is the time for this body.”