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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: A First to Cherish
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I was as indifferent to my own emotions as I was to others'.
It seemed I had hoped, at the very least, that Helios would reach the top with a clear mind.
Even though that was an impossible task.
“I have a question, too. Why do you use honorifics for the guy who controls your body? It makes your teacher, who you speak to so casually, feel left out.”
“…Did it bother you?”
“No, not really.”
“…Saying that with a face that doesn't look the least bit hurt isn't very convincing.”
Helios said this and briefly bowed his head. His lips parted.
“…I figured there was no need to act like a brat in front of my teacher.”
I didn't quite understand. What did he mean?
“You mean acting like a brat is huffing and puffing at me like you always do? If that's the case, you're already a newborn.”
“…”
Helios’s face flushed. Even as the sun was setting, his reddened cheeks were perfectly visible.
“I-I know that.”
“If you know, then why?”
“…It's you who makes me that way!”
See? Why is he being so prickly again? Helios looked at me, his lips parting once more.
For some reason, I couldn't look away. His eyes seemed different than before.
“You told me to climb to the top of the tower, didn't you?”
“I did.”
“You told me to make allies.”
“Mm, I said something like that.”
“But you never told me to belong somewhere.”
For a brief moment, a thought I hadn't had in a long time crossed my mind. The thought that it was a shame I couldn't read others’ emotions well.
“Mama knows. That’s called interest, dear. You just… came here when you were too young and forgot. Your emotions.”
A voice I had no desire to remember whispered sweetly in my head.
“I will diligently carry out whatever my teacher asks of me, even if it is unjust.”
“…”
The sunset was visible behind Helios. For a moment, I thought the light was blinding.
“Because you taught and protected me without any reward or satisfaction in return.”
“…”
“It was the first time something like this had ever happened in my life, and I want to cherish this first.”
It felt strange. Helios’s words sounded as if he were saying, ‘I want to cherish you.’
It’s not like there’s no price. You just don’t know it.
“…Why are you making me say such useless things?”
“What? You’re the one who said them.”
“…”
As I stared at him in silence, Helios scrubbed at his face, then brushed past my shoulder and walked off ahead.
“I’m leaving first.”
I gazed at the spot where Helios had been standing and scratched my cheek.
I hadn't done anything, but I felt a little drowsy.
I slowly closed my eyes.
Helios, you'll reach the top someday. And when you do, you'll regret what you said today.
By the time you learn the truth and regret it, I'll be long gone.
I looked back toward the path we had come from. I could feel gazes from the group still gathered there.
Gazes that contained desire for Helios.
I shrugged.
“Your prison life is about to get a little more tiring.”
I guess I raised him too well.
* * *
“Teacher. I'm asking this in all seriousness, so I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from any foolish answers.”
My prediction, unsurprisingly, became reality. Overwhelmed with fatigue, Helios muttered before me.
“Was acting like a jerk the right answer all along?”
“Who knows.”
After rummaging through my memories, I recalled the affiliations of the high-ranking prisoners who had been hiding among those who approached Helios.
“I think they’d like it if you were feisty.”
“…That’s a joke, right?”
“Oh. If you want it to be a joke, should I say it is?”
“…”
Helios’s face grew pale. Seeing him like that was slightly grating.
Yesterday, we cleared the 32nd floor.
On the 31st floor, something Ged feared had appeared. On the 32nd, it was something Haira feared.
Haira had once been abandoned in a forest as a child and gotten lost, so she was dropped into a massive forest.
The boss was a man-eating wolf, and taking it down wasn't too difficult.
The problem was that every time we came out of the tower, my student received a flood of love calls.
‘The difficulty is definitely increasing, so the attention we get goes up with every floor we clear.’
This fame wasn't entirely unhelpful for Helios. From the 40th floor onward, this kind of reputation would come in handy.
The problem was fams like Chika's from the ‘Top Committee,’ who were trying to recruit him by force.
I had blocked their advances as Helios wished, but there was a limit to what I could do in public places.
‘It got so bad that the warden secretly contacted me and told me to stop coddling him so much.’
I got an earful.
“How about you just join a decent place? I can recommend a less-bad one.”
“What’s the standard?”
“Hmm, a place that at least doesn't do human experiments?”
“…”
Helios’s face crumpled. I reached out and smoothed out his wrinkles.
Helios flinched but didn't bat my hand away.
“You won't get a girlfriend if you get wrinkles.”
“…What does that have to do with anything? Are you interested?”
“Nope.”
“…”
For some reason, Helios looked dejected.
“This is when you’re supposed to retort that you have the kind of face that never has a shortage of women.”
“…I don’t particularly want to live a life where I don’t have a shortage. And what if the life I want isn’t a popular one? For example…”
“I’m listening.”
“Gender… Never mind.”
He was huffing and puffing again.
His mood swings had definitely been severe lately. Enough to make even someone as oblivious as me tilt my head and take a second look.
“…It goes without saying, but if I join a group, I’ll have less time to train with you, right?”
“Yup. It’ll probably be less than now.”
“I won’t do it. I had no intention of doing so in the first place, but now I’m dead set against it.”
However, unable to handle the mounting stress, Helios banged his head against a tree a moment later.
Seeing this, Ged, who was training nearby, cautiously approached.
“Uh, Big Bro?”
It wasn't just Ged, but Seth, Haira, and Brett, too. The rest of the party was with him.
“What?”
What was surprising was that not only Helios, but none of Ged’s party had joined a fam either.
“This is Ged! How could I go anywhere when I have you, Big Bro!”
“Why? Go ahead and join. I don’t mind.”
If you asked whether I had been good to them, all I could remember was beating them up.
Besides, as Helios would attest with disgust, my training methods were nothing but brutish, like planting a spear in a pit and throwing them in.
“Is joining a fam that important?”
“Not right now.”
“Ah…!”
“But, if you guys make it to the 40th floor, something will definitely happen that makes it important.”
Ged’s brightening face fell. I propped my chin on my hand from my seated position.
“Just join one. It’s better for you.”
“But we have you, Big Bro…!”
Recently, Ged had awakened a new ability: one that allowed him to make his body as hard as iron.
For him, who already possessed a musculoskeletal Kia, this ability, with its slight elemental properties, would undoubtedly be a great asset to his position.
“I have no intention of tailoring my training to your positions or the attributes of your abilities. And it’s better for you to meet and interact with people who have similar powers.”
I had made it clear from the beginning that I had no intention of taking responsibility for Ged’s party.
They no longer seemed hurt by it.
“Join a decent fam. It’s your choice whether you listen or not, but you should.”
“Then, we’ll join!”
“M-Me too!”
“…”
I shrugged.
They asked me to pick a fam for them, since they were going to join one.
I looked through the papers Ged's party handed me and chose one for each of them.
“…Uh, Big Bro, do I really have to go here? The name is weird. ‘Potion Emporium’?”
“You’re a healer. It’s a place for people with healing Kia.”
“But why potions?”
“Healers are basically human potions.”
“…”
By the time I was done choosing for them, a good amount of time had passed.
“Oh, by the way, Big Bro. The person who gave me this business card said he was a high-ranking prisoner…”
“I’m listening.”
“I heard something interesting. He said there might be a change, or something like it, among the guards.”
He probably brought it up to me since it was about the guards. I looked at Seth’s face.
“Well, the ‘Guard Committee Chairman’? The one who was away for a while? Anyway, they said that high-ranking person is back.”
