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I Have A Damn Family Again - Chapter 342
🕑 Added 2025-03-14 04:23:54 +0000 UTCChapter 342: Family (12)
Summer rain fell endlessly.
The downpour from the heavens was always heavy, dreary, and unpleasant.
If the wind happened to be blowing as well, it was the absolute worst.
But something unexpected happened.
My skin was completely dry.
My hair was almost entirely free of moisture.
Only a few droplets had splattered onto my uniform.
I had barely been touched by the rain.
Up until now, becoming drenched like a drowned rat on rainy days had been inevitable.
My uniform would have been soaked through, requiring immediate washing if I wanted it dry by the next day.
For my skin to be this dry, I would have had to shower, washing away the grimy rainwater, thoroughly toweling off, and even rewashing and drying my hair.
None of that had happened.
It was all because of the umbrella someone had given me.
“…”
Staring at the lone umbrella, I felt a strange sensation.
This umbrella… I had initially refused it, pushed it away.
I had met countless people up to this point. I knew the motives of those who deliberately approached me at school. I knew exactly what they wanted.
I knew it all. What they hid on the surface, and even the thoughts they concealed within.
That’s why I pushed them away.
Even if that umbrella was the very thing I needed most at that moment.
But he had said it.
He wasn’t giving me the umbrella for my sake, but for his own.
What kind of nonsense was that?
Giving his only umbrella to someone else, for his own benefit?
Letting himself get soaked while offering it to me?
It was utterly incomprehensible, but… he explained in detail why he had arrived at that conclusion.
I had expected a real reason this time, but… when I actually heard it, I was so dumbfounded I could only gape.
He went on and on about endlessly calculating and self-serving reasons, explaining how it was all connected, and his blatant honesty was almost infuriating.
Just do me one favor.
Think of this umbrella as a trade.
And please, never reveal this.
His objective was utterly baffling.
I had met so many people, and I knew how obvious and pointless their desires usually were.
But this person in front of me had a motive entirely different from their usual, off-putting intentions.
He's different.
That was the reason.
The reason I had brought this umbrella home.
The reason I hadn't been exposed to the cold rain.
The reason I felt none of the loneliness and melancholy that came with being drenched.
Something else… something else was taking its place.
...I quickly shook my head.
He was probably just an eccentric.
There were all sorts of strange people in the world, so there was bound to be someone like him.
I could just brush it off and return the umbrella the next day.
But my clothes never got wet when it rained.
Every time, I returned home from school without a single drop of water on my skin.
Driven by his consistent motive, I continued to accept the umbrella and return home, shielded from the rain.
The rainy days disappeared.
At the same time, as time passed, I learned more.
I gradually came to know him better.
And so, the rain stopped falling.
Because summer had completely passed, and winter was approaching.
…But now, I felt a sense of longing for it.
Now, snow fell from the sky.
The softly falling snow was colder.The loneliness and desolation deepened. Whenever those white flakes fell, the entire world was painted in white.
When it rained, I didn't have to worry too much about the umbrella. It might have been different if it snowed heavily enough to accumulate, but it wasn't that bad yet.
I didn’t use the umbrella.
Yes. That's what I felt a longing for.
Because at some point, I had stopped hating the rain.
Couldn't it rain a little more?
My side felt strangely cold.
***
-Ding!
▶ Hidden Memorial has ended. ◀
▶ Time will resume shortly. ◀
With a flash of bright light, my vision returned. The Memorial had shown me the modern world again. The snow, filling the sky, painted the world in white.
It was likely my memory, not Carsein's.
But I still didn't recall anything like it. There were countless snowy days. If I had to pick just one, which one should it be?
Perhaps it was a meaningless memory. There were no clues, no information. Therefore, I couldn't figure anything out.
“The only thing that stands out… is the umbrella.”
The black umbrella I always used when it rained. The one I hid from my youngest sister, Eunji, and kept secretly at school, only to take it out when it rained.
That umbrella had a bit of a story behind it.
My second year of high school. The time when I hadn't really gotten to know Jieun yet. I had given her that umbrella. That was probably the first time. I had proposed a trade, offering her the umbrella in exchange for holding onto my belongings.
My family often found my hidden things, so I had to be upfront about my intentions to reassure them.
And there was another reason I deliberately walked in the rain.
My youngest sister, Eunji, would tease and mock me when I came home drenched, so the bullying lessened. Eunhye, my second sister, would nag, but she wouldn't get too angry at someone who was already soaked, so she'd let it go.
As for my eldest sister, Eunseo, our mother was always working late, so she wouldn’t know if I came home in the rain. And even if she came home early, I could easily hide it from her.
That's why, when we parted ways, instead of walking me all the way home, I would give her the umbrella and walk in the rain.
“…But even with that umbrella, I don’t remember anything.”
I didn’t understand why it was showing me this.
-Ding!
▶ Time stop effect has been lifted. ◀
Time was flowing again, so I should ignore that and focus on what I needed to do.
“The three notes are gathered. But they’re difficult to decipher. They’re enchanted, requiring mana to unlock them. It’s difficult to access them without knowing the exact method. If you recklessly infuse them with mana, the contents will disappear…”
“I think I can handle that,”
“What?”
“Don’t I just need to figure out which way the mana flows?”
Harnie nodded in agreement.
“That’s true.”
Read the magic formula?
I had the perfect ability for that.
The Eyes of Wederos were meant for this.
With a calm mind, I controlled the flow of mana, slowly unraveling it, until item combination became possible.
▶ Item combination successful. ◀
▶ Item acquired! ◀
[ Someone's Note ]
After the combination, it transformed into an item, making it possible to decipher.
‘The item name is “Someone’s Note.” But…’
I thought I knew who that someone was.
This handwriting was familiar.
I had seen it often, not just in the study, but in other places as well.
This handwriting… was Karn Bagrand’s.
『I couldn't understand why Father made that expression. But I soon realized.』
『A demon. There's no other way to describe it. It was a demon.』
『That thing, nothing more than a primordial seed, must be eliminated. But what can I do? I can't risk involving the Duchy. If things go wrong, that demon will consume the entire Empire, no, the entire world.』
『Those tainted by the seed immediately became monsters. Those who consumed the seed transformed into arboreal grotesqueries, intent on harming humans.』
『They multiply. Endlessly sowing seeds, they multiply. It strips humans of their sense of self, separating their bodies.』
『What are they planning to do with all those separated bodies? I… suggested to Father that we investigate and leave records throughout the Duchy.』
『Father grabbed my shoulders and readily agreed. I know it's a huge gamble. It might never be discovered, or if it is, it might be dismissed as a child's delusion.』
『I exchanged clothes with a child. They said they were going to wipe out the Wederos Kingdom. Wearing the clothes of the Wederos Kingdom, I will surely die. But this is my choice. This way, one person, a child around my age, can survive. With the carriage doll, they'll surely be found.』
『Unlike me, a mere child, someone with the Eyes of Wederos will be different. I believe without a doubt that someone with true power will understand my intentions and follow through. So…』
『I have one request. Future Prince of Wederos, please, save my family.』
-Whoosh!
As soon as I finished reading Karn Bagrand’s note, it burst into flames.
“It was enchanted to disappear after being read. That’s not very common, but…"
“Does that mean this information shouldn’t be leaked?”
Harnie nodded, her face donning a more serious expression.
“If it gets out, the enemy can prepare. That means it was carefully hidden, meant only for a specific person to see.”
“…”
Hearing her words, I realized I probably had the same expression.
If this was true, it meant Carsein had survived because of Karn in the past.
Karn Bagrand had sacrificed himself in Carsein’s place, hoping that Carsein, having awakened the Eyes of Wederos, would find this note and learn about Project Yggdrasil.
It was an insane gamble, almost impossible to conceive.
A gamble that might have resulted in nothing if Carsein hadn't arrived at the Bagrand Duchy.
But… this gamble had successfully led me here.
“…What are you going to do, Carsein?”
Harnie quietly asked for my opinion.
Karn Bagrand had asked me to save his family.
Considering my current situation, it was an absurd request, but…
-Ding!
▶ Acquired the second treasure, Karn Bagrand’s Dawn Jade. ◀
▶ Proceed to the third-floor lamp stand to acquire the next treasure. ◀
I didn’t have much of a choice anyway.
“Let’s find the other notes first,”
Together with Harnie, I started moving towards the third-floor lamp stand.
‘…The Memorial, the current situation… I don’t know anything about this. I definitely don’t.’
But why did I feel so uneasy?
It was just a story within a game.
Why did it feel so real?
…It was unsettling.
Incredibly so.
