Chapter 10


    "Hey... E. I just need to collect one talisman, so can you wait a bit?"


    Ha-rim speaks quietly so as not to offend me. I guess I know roughly what kind of misunderstanding there was. First of all, I denied Ha-rim''s words after wiping the knife that was soiled by killing the rabbits that attacked the children.


    "Wrong. They''re all gathered now."


    I took the remaining talisman and handed it over to her. With this, all the talismans have been gathered. Four talismans glowed and ascended into the sky, then spread out in all directions around the school.


    A transparent barrier is created. The scope is the whole school and the convenience store right in front of it. This barrrier ys the role of preventing the "physical invasion" of monsters. It doesn''t y a particrly meaningful role in games where save and load is possible, but it was a necessary task for survival now that it has be a reality.


    Anyway, with this I can take a breather.


    The children who had been staring nkly at the barrier turned their gazes back to me. They seem to be wondering what I''ve done.


    "This physically prevents monsters from entering. You can rest assured."


    Ha-rim''s expression improved at those words. She fell down as the tension left her body. The children went to help her.


    "Thank you for your help, E..."


    "...Right."


    I nodded and replied to her, who spoke in a weak voice. It is natural that both the body and mind are exhausted. Stress exhausts even those who stay still, let alone children who have been running around, so I need to give them a break.


    I pretended to be tired and yawned.


    "Ah~ I''m tired from acting so much outside~ I''m going back to the full-length mirror in the ssroom. See youter."


    After that, I went back to the mirror in the ss. A full-length mirror isfortable, and it''s a small consideration since they won''t be able to rest well if I''m next to them.


    <strong>POV Switch - Ha-rim</strong>


    "Haa... I lived."


    When E disappeared, Kyeong-min said. As I sensed that everyone needed a rest, I took each one to seat on the cafeteria floor. The group looked at me. They seem to have a lot of questions.


    I exined it one by one to them.


    "E agreed to help us? On the condition of providing snacks and games?"


    "Yeah.... Somehow it happened like that."


    It was hard for Suho to believe that. Obviously, E helped us, but the figure in the mansion was a blood-crazed ghost. It''s possible that so far it''s only been a whim, and it''s much more believable that she''s slowly harassing them and then try to kill everyone.


    "Didn''t you say <em>see you tonight</em>? If we y games with E again, won''t our lives be in danger?"


    Kyeong-min''s face seemed to read "I''m anxious". It might have been traumatic ying hide-and-seek. I made a suggestion to the group.


    "Be true friends with E?"


    The reaction of the members were "the hell this means?". I opened the diary I had brought from the mansion and exined it to the rest.


    E may be a vicious ghost now, but she was once an innocent child who was abused. Sorrow and pain warped her personality. If we correct it, she will no longer be a danger.


    "If E just wanted a friend and she considers killing to be ying... Then maybe we can survive by teaching her normal y?"


    "As expected, Kyeong-min is correct."


    "After listening to it, I feel sorry for E."


    Because Eun-jeong had a lot of affection, she forgot the memory of her fear and sympathized with E. Seeing her kindness, the rest of the group leaned toward agreeing with me.


    "...If it wasn''t for that transparent barrier, we''d still been chased by monsters... And she saved us from the rabbits... Alright, let''s try it!"


    Kyung-min clenched his fists and made up his mind.


    Growl... But there was an ugly sounding from his stomach.


    "First, let''s fill the stomach..."


    Giggles.


    Friends are still friends even if we are in different worlds. Being able tough just by being together. Will theree a day when we canugh with E too?


    I imagine a smiling E. Wrong. I see Eughing at us with her bloody knife. I''m is worried if we will be able to corrupt(?) E into our friend. Let''s think about it after eating something.


    "Looks like the barrier extends all the way to the convenience store. Let''s go get something to eat!"


    Eun-jeong said to me.


    "I don’t have any money, can I just take it?"


    Since Eun-jeong was an exemry child who usually crossed the road with green light with her hand raised, she might feel guilty. But this is a different world, the same as where we live, except for being uninhabited, so maybe parallel world is the right expression?


    After hearing my thoughts, Eun-jeong nodded her head and got convinced.


    That''s how we brought various snacks from the convenience store. There were some foods that needed hot water, so I went into the home practice room and boiled the water.


    It''s a different world, but electricity and gas seem to be working. It''s a world we don''t even know. While taking a bite of triangr gimbap, I set up a strategy with the kids to deal with E, whom we would meet at night.


    <strong>POV Switch - E</strong>


    After all, a full-length mirror isfortable. It''s a good ce to organize my thoughts because there is a sense of security.


    Let''s organize our thoughts, first of all, we defeated the monsters and activated the barrier, and thanks to that, the children''s safety was secured to some extent. But it isn''t entirely safe.


    What can be prevented is a physical invasion. For example, if a beast-like monster rushes into the school, it will be blocked by the barrier surrounding the school. However, it is possible for a monster like me to move through something as a medium to infiltrate.


    The same goes for the type that teleports like Slenderman... This can be prepared by going on patrol every day, but there were cases where even that didn''t work.


    If you simply break through with "power". In this case, it breaks the barrier and invades. A monster capable of such a thing... Yes. This is the so-called "boss".


    There are four bosses in total. Excluding me, [E In The Mirror], there are three more. I once ran into the school surrounded by the barrier when trying do defeat one of the bosses in the game. As a result, the barrier was shattered. I remember it was shocking to see the ce I thought was a safe zone copse.


    Judging by the fact that the developers intentionally put in such a thing, it must have been what they were aiming for.


    <em>''Tsk, perverted developers. Fucking clowns!''</em>


    If that''s the case, can I, a boss, break the barrier? Not at all. Although [E In The Mirror] is a boss, it is more like a tutorial boss. If you ask me what that means, it means weak! Only the mean of attack is noteworthy, but it is not particrly strong. The defeat difficulty is also very easy.


    To be honest, one of the reasons I tried to entrust everything to the original characters in the first ce was because of the bosses. I, who struggled against Slenderman, a trash mob, in my mansion where I can exert my full power. How can I deal with bosses who are stronger than me outside!


    Thankfully I got the ability to materialize after defeating Slenderman... If I didn''t get it, it was really hopeless.


    While I was nning to deal with these bosses that had been patched in reality using gimmicks in the game.


    Suddenly the ssroom door opens.


    Ha-rim and her teammates? I hadn''t even gone to meet her yet, but she came on her own, and she had a strangely stiff expression on her face. She, who didn''t even tremble when dealing with monsters, getting this tense, to the point where I wondered if she hade to exorcise me for a moment.


    "...Oh? What do you need for you toe to me first?"


    E''s acting, which I''m used to. A smirk and a rxed manner of speaking. There is no feeling of incongruity. When I asked that question, Ha-rim said as the representative.


    "Of course I''m here to <em>y</em> with E!"


    <em>''y?''</em>


    <em>''Come to think of it, I made that suggestion...''


    </em>


    I epted it because it was strange to just reject the conditions proposed by the other side, but it''s impossible to refuse it now. I smiled as if it was interesting.


    "Are you doing something special? What game would you like to y?"


    It wouldn''t be bad to hang out for a change of mood. Would it be a game like Bonama, Shiritori, or simple Halli Galli. No matter how old I am, I know about the games that kids y these days, right?¹


    However, the game that came out of Ha-rim''s mouth was unexpected.


    "It''s called house y... Each person decides on a role and ys with each other!"


    What do you mean ying house?! Isn''t that a game that is yed by kindergarteners, not elementary school students? Am I misunderstanding? I don''t know because I''m old? Is it like that?


    To begin with, calling it a game would be ambiguous. Because it''s more like role y.²


    I can''t refuse. Sigh. ying house at this age... No, let''s think positively. Because I didn''t have any friends from kindergarten to middle school. Let''s think that we can experience something that we couldn''t then.


    "...Okay. What is E''s role?"


    Ha-rim''s face, which agreed to the y, was bright. She told me my role right away. My role was that of "mom". I''m already getting a sense of bewilderment...


    The kids were busy moving around. It was as if the scenario had been nned in advance.


    Why are you so serious.


    Kyeong-min said to me who was sitting at a distance.


    "Uh... Mom! I''m back!!"


    What''s this... In my eyes, they''re children, so there''s no sense of incongruity, but they seemed to be overdoing it. Kyeong-min, who was in front of me, was breaking out in cold sweat, and I didn''t know why he was so desperate, like he made up his mind about something.


    "Wee..."


    Because of Kyeong-min''s burdensome acting, I slowly shifted my gaze to the other side. I saw Ha-rim, who was sitting on all fours. What kind of role are you?


    "Woof."


    ...I was really worried that these kids might have lost their minds because they were being chased by monsters. There is no item that recovers the spirit...


    "Mom! I''m hungry!"


    Kyeong-min... Where are you who tried to protect the children from me? I pulled out a knife, wondering if I should pretend to cook.


    "Uh... Heo-eok!"


    "Wait a minute! If the child is hungry, I will make food for him!"


    Ha-rim jumps up and says. Wasn''t your role a dog? I put the knife back. Only then did she feel relieved. Then, Suho, who had been watching me from the side, came to me.


    "Ha ha ha. Our honey looks tired today. Dad will cook it for you today."


    Suho pretended to cook, and then opened a bag of cookies. He used the bag as a te and set the snacks down on the floor. Ha-rim and Suho sit around me. She hands me the sweet cookie.


    It''s a sweet chocte cookie. It''s crispy and soft at the same time, and it looks like it''s brand new. I quietly epted the snack. Suho, who was watching me, said.


    "Ha ha, it feels really good to see the family together like this, doesn’t it?"


    The way you talk is annoying.


    "...I see."


    "Happiness is when the person you love is by your side!"


    It''s strangely persistent.


    "I am a robber!"


    Eun-jeong opened the door and came in. She puts on a stic bag and calls out that she is a robber. She brought the index fingers of both her hands together and pointed them at us, taking the form of a gun.


    What is this.


    Hmm. do I need to hold back?


    I take out the knife.


    "Stay still! No one moves."


    I don''t want to think anymore.


    "...Stop."


    "Ahh! There''s nothing I can do about it!"


    After those words, Eun-jeong, wearing a stic bag, runs away. I don''t know how to react. When I stare at her in awe, Kyeong-min averts his eyes and yells out lines.


    "As expected! Mom, it''s clear that you love us!"


    Look me in the eyes and say it again.


    "As expected, honey. Protecting the family you love, now only happy things remain!"


    "Woof!"


    Immediately after, the childrenughed as if having a happy ending.


    """Ha ha ha ha ha"""


    Ha ha ha... Ha ha... Ha...


    "..."


    Ha ha... Ha...


    "..."


    Children who are embarrassed to see me expressionless. They were breaking out in cold sweat and talking about a failed operation and whatnot.


    I have a strong feeling that they wanted to show me something in this y, but I don''t know what.


    ...But it was fun.


    If someone listens to this, they might look at me with the eyes of a someoneughing at an old joke.


    But this stupid y is ridiculous. And it''s funny because it''s unexpected and quirky


    "Pft..."


    Augh came out.


    Childish, too childish.


    <strong>POV Switch - Ha-rim</strong>


    Eughed. It seemed that the operation had been sessful. It was a ying house where we worked our brains out to make E value human life.


    It was very crude, but in the end, she became someone who protects people... It should have been enough to teach her family affection.


    "It was pretty fun. Shall we yter like today? You can go back."


    We went to our club room after hearing that. And congratted ourselves on the sess. If we instill her with the right values in the future, no one will get hurt while ying like today.


    This must have narrowed the distance between E and us. I hope that one day soon I will be friends with Epletely and our lives will not be threatened by her.