When I used the summoning magic, a hero claiming to be my fiancée appeared.
From what I'd heard, it seemed the two of us had made quite a few memories together. Unfortunately, I couldn't recall a single one.
To top it off, the hero had even said something resembling a confession, declaring that she would make me fall for her again.
"…."
"…."
Maybe it was because I'd heard those words.
This awkward silence was getting to me.
Only the sound of our breathing could be heard, and I felt like I had to say something, anything.
So I just blurted out whatever question came to mind.
"Um… what was our first meeting like?"
"The day we first met was in Year 219 of the Eden calendar, a spring when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom."
Rachel opened her narrative as if she'd been waiting for just that.
According to her explanation, she had been appointed as the Hero of a place called the Eden Empire.
A hero's duty was to topple the Demon King's Castle, a tower that brought chaos to the world.
While gathering companions and hunting the demon beasts outside the tower, she had ended up in a near-death crisis.
Apparently, I was the one who saved her then.
"You have no idea how dashing you were, Brother? You were like a prince on a white horse straight out of a fairy tale."
"Ah, I see. What happened after that?"
"You hunted tens of thousands of demon beasts by yourself, saved the empire from crisis, and even defeated all the demon worshippers."
"Hmm, I see."
I couldn't imagine it.
Just how strong would you have to be to pull off such a feat?
'It means it's possible if you raise all stats to the maximum.'
Sigh.
But that was impossible in my lifetime anyway due to skill restrictions.
What was the point in listening to more? It would only make me feel more miserable.
I was already dizzy from the alcohol; I might as well just go to sleep.
I spoke to Rachel, who was busy chirping praises of my achievements.
"Let's save the detailed stories for later and get some shut-eye before heading out."
"Shall we sleep together?"
Her eyes suddenly lit up like crazy—as if I'd ever agree to that.
I don't share a blanket with someone I'm not dating. That was my creed.
'But what if she clings to me in her sleep?'
I briefly considered just unsummoning her,
[Soul Summon - 144:00:00]
but a 7-day cooldown had appeared at some point, so I stopped.
Judging by the fact that the time wasn't decreasing, it seemed the timer would start counting down from the moment of release.
For now, I needed to check her capabilities.
"You can sleep here."
I took out a blanket from the wardrobe and laid it on the floor. The bed was mine.
Though the cramped space should have been uncomfortable, Rachel hugged the blanket with a satisfied expression.
"A blanket soaked in Brother's scent. I'm so happy!"
"That's fabric softener. I did the winter laundry and stored it in the wardrobe."
"Can't we switch it for the one you're using?"
"No, the floor is still cold, so it's better to use a thick blanket."
"Hmph. You used to let me sleep beside you."
There's no way I would have done that….
The marriage talk, the sleeping beside me—
Her credibility was plummeting.
But what could I do?
Without evidence, there was no way to find out the truth.
I had no choice but to accept it and move on.
'I really need to sleep now.'
My eyes were closing on their own.
Just before letting go of my fading consciousness, my eyes snapped open at the words I heard.
"Back then, Brother… made me a woman."
At what point had I lost consciousness?
When I opened my eyes at the sudden shocking remark, I saw Rachel with her head bowed, her cheeks dyed crimson.
Meanwhile, my face had gone pale.
I made her a woman?
Had I somehow gained a TS ability after suffering for 500 million years?
So I had turned Rachel, who was a man, into a woman….
There's no way!
Even someone as dense and romantically inexperienced as me could figure out what those words meant.
So I did it. I actually did it.
Somehow, I had promised to marry someone.
Since I had taken her first time, she must have thought I naturally had to take responsibility.
…But I don't remember any of it. Is it really right for me to take responsibility?
No, since that was also me, did that ultimately mean it was right for me to take responsibility?
Ugh. My head felt like it was going to split.
'I never dreamed that a lack of memories could lead to such a troublesome situation.'
I wouldn't feel so wronged if I'd just gone on a drunken rampage.
To think pressing the 500-million-year button would lead to a situation straight out of a morning drama.
'If this were someone else's business, it'd be entertaining, but now that it's mine, I feel nauseous.'
I found myself wishing someone would butt in and dispel this silence making things awkward between us.
But even the neighbor who'd been knocking on the wall was quiet now.
Normally, they would have shouted asking if I wasn't going to sleep because of the noise.
Was this situation as entertaining as a late-night radio show?
Or perhaps it was because the young man next door, who never brought anyone home, had a woman over.
They might be looking forward to what would happen next.
"…Brother. Will you hold me?"
An awkward silence hung in the air.
Rachel climbed onto the bed and looked down at me with a flushed face.
Perhaps because we were in a cramped room, a strange atmosphere formed,
and maybe because I'd been drinking, too.
'Since she's going to marry me anyway, should I just do it once?'
While I was agonizing over that,
Buzz—
my phone rang.
When I checked, it was an alarm I'd set for the first bus.
Thanks to that, the mood was shattered.
My mind cleared in an instant.
I came to my senses.
"I'm sorry. Having a relationship with someone I just met today, someone I even summoned, feels a bit off."
"…No. I'm the one who made a rude request. You must have completely forgotten me, Brother."
Thud, thud!
The neighbor knocked on the wall as if demanding their time back.
I ignored it and checked the time.
5 AM.
It was still dark outside the window.
Normally, I would have been busy rolling around in bed.
I got up immediately.
Because I felt like I'd make another mistake if I stayed like this.
I took the hand of Rachel, who was hanging her head dejectedly.
"It's time for the first bus, so let's go clear the tower."
"…What?"
"If we're late, it'll get crowded, so let's hurry."
I couldn't look her in the face because of what had just happened.
I averted my gaze unconsciously, then stole a glance at Rachel's attire.
Pajamas with frills.
They were so thin that her skin showed through in places.
If I took her out like this, it'd probably make the news as familiar abuse.
"It'd be a bit much to go out in those clothes, so I'll lend you some of mine."
"Ah, yes! I love Brother's clothes!"
Rachel's disappointed face brightened in an instant.
Sniff, sniff.
After briefly smelling my clothes, she slowly took off the pajamas she was wearing.
Even though I wasn't looking, I squeezed my eyes shut at the sound of rustling fabric.
But closing my eyes only stimulated my imagination, driving me crazy.
No, I had to run.
In the cramped studio apartment, there was only one place to run.
"W-wait. I'll go to the bathroom, so change while I'm there."
"Huh? I don't mind, though."
"I'm just a bit embarrassed, so let me know when you're done."
I sat on the toilet and thought.
If I lived with Rachel, would this situation unfold every morning?
Wow, just thinking about it is suffocating.
I got lucky today, but there was no guarantee it would be like that next time.
'I need to save up money quickly and move to an apartment with multiple rooms.'
That would lessen this burden a bit.
It would cost a lot, of course, but if I just cleared the tower, I could probably earn enough to buy a building.
"Brother, I'm done changing!"
Having set my goal, I came back out.
Rachel, standing in front of the bathroom, spread her arms with a shy smile.
"How is it? Does it suit me?"
"Yeah, you totally look like a model."
I unconsciously gave her a thumbs-up.
An oversized T-shirt and shorts you wear for soccer.
Maybe because she's pretty, the clothes looked like luxury brands, unlike when I wore them.
I'd intentionally given her the ones in the worst condition in case they got bloody.
Feeling somehow regretful, I licked my lips.
I pulled out a wooden sword I'd used for kendo from under the bed.
Though it was cheap, it was the only weapon I had.
"What a cool sword with Brother's name on it?"
There had been so many thieves at the kendo hall that I'd written my name on the handle; she seemed to like that.
"By the way, aren't you bringing a weapon?"
"Ah, my Holy Sword can be summoned like this from anywhere when I call it."
A longsword suddenly appeared in Rachel's hand.
It was clearly so sharp that it looked incomparably better than my wooden sword.
Plus, it was even a named item called the Holy Sword, so if she sold it, she'd probably get at least several billion won.
"That sword looks really incredible."
"Hehe. But I think Brother's wooden sword looks better. Want to switch?"
I wanted to from the bottom of my heart,
but the moment I touched the Holy Sword, it buzzed and rejected me.
Tch.
Swallowing my regret, I returned the sword to the hero.
"Even if I used it, I probably couldn't wield it properly anyway."
As if agreeing, a brilliant light emanated from the Holy Sword.
Wow, look at that smug thing.
When I punched it, my hand hurt even more.
***
The Tower of Korea was located in Jamsil, Seoul.
I took an express bus and transferred to the subway.
It took roughly two hours.
During that time, I briefly looked up information about the 1st floor.
They said the 1st floor was a subjugation mission where you simply had to hunt the monsters present.
The tower's difficulties were three: Easy, Normal, and Hard.
It was a system where the higher the rank, the greater the reward.
Multiple people could enter the tower simultaneously.
Of course, that meant splitting the rewards, so a rational choice was necessary.
There was also an explanation that if it seemed impossible to clear, you could exit at any time.
Since lives were on the line, there were many extremely kind and detailed explanatory posts.
But nowhere was there any explanation about HELL difficulty.
'It's definitely harder than Hard difficulty, but there's no need to worry.'
Because the woman I'd summoned was none other than a hero who had cleared the tower to the very end.
There's no way a hero who saved the world couldn't beat the 1st floor, right?
Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside the tower.
'Alright, let's do this.'
My vision went dark for a moment, and before I knew it, I was standing in something like a campsite.
Tattered tents were set up here and there, and inside them were goblins with green skin.
But there were quite a lot of them.
Enough to fill the space at a glance.
At the same time, information about this place appeared before my eyes.
『Stage 1. A Village Occupied by Goblins』
『Difficulty: HELL』
『Mission: Subjugation』
In Easy difficulty, it was ten.
In Normal, a hundred.
In Hard, they said you only needed to hunt a thousand.
『Remaining until completion: 100,000』
『In HELL difficulty, mid-stage exit is impossible.』
Roughly a difficulty 100 times higher than Hard.
Still, I wasn't worried.
Because I had the Hero with me.
I stuck close behind Rachel.
"Can you do it?"
"Yes! There seem to be more than when I cleared it before, but still, don't worry. No matter what happens, I will protect you, Brother."
She smiled at me as if I were cute, hiding behind her like a coward, then swung her sword with one hand.
It seemed like a very light swing, yet sword qi poured out like rain.
Goblins who lost their lives in an instant, unable to even scream.
Killing 100,000 of them took but a moment.
Their colony had been emptied in an instant.
Unlike the hero, who sheathed her sword without even breaking a sweat,
my back was drenched in sweat.
Wow, insane.
Even though this is the 1st floor, she showed this level of skill?
'This is totally broken.'
So the skill's rank wasn't EX for nothing.
If I summoned other souls, would they all be around this level?
Just as I was wondering that,
a semi-transparent window appeared along with a fanfare.
『Congratulations. You have cleared Floor 1 'HELL' difficulty with an SSS+ rank for the first time.』
『As a reward, you acquire D-rank Awakening Stones x5 and the title 'Goblin Slaughterer'.』
: Inflicts intimidation when facing goblin-types.
Oh, a title plus five D-rank Awakening Stones worth a million won each.
And a first clear with SSS+ rank at that.
If this happened, I'd heard you could get a special reward from the Reward Room, but only once.
What kind of reward would it be?
After waiting a moment, a semi-transparent window appeared before my eyes.
I made a blank expression.
『Moving to Hidden Stage.』
…Hidden Stage?