A peaceful morning.
Warm sunlight seeped through the window, and the rich, savory aroma of toast lingered faintly in the room.
Sihyeon was preparing breakfast, frying eggs in a pan.
“Runa, do you like your eggs runny? Or cooked through?”
Across the table sat a girl, her small body held straight and upright.
Golden eyes stared quietly at Sihyeon.
The girl pondered for a moment,
“…Something tasty.”
A short, confident answer. A gaze that seemed to ask, *Why would you ask something so obvious?*
“Then I’ll make them runny. You don’t like them dry and rubbery, right?”
Runa slowly shook her head.
“…I don’t.”
*Well, I guess even a ghost story would hate bad food and prefer tasty stuff.*
And so, Sihyeon was making runny fried eggs for a girl who, until yesterday, had been a calamity-class ghost story.
*Is it really okay for life to be this dramatic?*
A being that seemed to hold an enormous secret.
Yet also a being that looked like an innocent little girl who would leap into your arms, overcome with emotion, if you simply called her name.
Runa.
The girl quietly looked down at the plate before her, then soon raised her small hand and took a bite of toast.
Crunch.
Lips chewing slowly, as if savoring the taste for quite a while. Eventually, she quietly moved her mouth.
“…It’s delicious.”
A brief but certain impression.
Sihyeon also casually took a bite of toast.
“Looks like it suits your taste.”
Honestly, until yesterday, he hadn’t thought this would be possible. Eating a meal together with a calamity-class ghost story.
*Well, at least she’s eating well.*
Watching Runa quietly eat her toast, chewing away, she looked like an ordinary little girl.
*In the novel, stronger ghost stories above a certain rank could hide their presence too.*
To anyone watching, Runa looked like a normal child right now, so she didn’t feel threatening.
Feeling slightly more at ease, Sihyeon took another bite of toast.
*But what am I going to do now? Now that I’ve met Runa, it feels like I can’t put this off any longer.*
The notification window that had suddenly started appearing after meeting Runa, and the sentences floating within it.
『Please bring the story of the calamity-class ghost story to an end.』
『Resolved Stories: 0』
It seemed he had to end the stories of all the calamity-class ghost stories…
*At least tell me how many I need to do!*
Another problem was that he had absolutely no idea how to end a calamity-class ghost story’s tale.
In the novel, ghost stories that were dispelled could only be easily resolved once you knew the backstory of why they had become ghost stories.
Trying to dispel one without knowing that was sheer madness, and even if it were possible, countless sacrifices were inevitable without tremendous luck.
*Runa must have a backstory too, one that forced her to become a ghost story, but I can’t even ask about it.*
Ghost stories were, fundamentally, beings who had been exposed to irrationality and fallen exactly as they were.
That was why they forgot why they had become that way, and if forced to recall what happened before, their minds became unstable and they were highly likely to go on a rampage.
*It’s the same as forcing a person to recall their PTSD.*
Moreover, Runa was calamity-class. If she ever went on a rampage…
*Wouldn’t the world be destroyed immediately…?*
That was why Sihyeon resolved to learn about Runa even more carefully.
*If a status window would pop up like in a game and tell me, it’d be worth trying…*
—Ding.
*That sound?!*
The notification window began responding to Sihyeon’s call once more.
『Sihyeon. Are you alive?』
*No way, the first thing it says after turning back on… This is absurd.*
But since he didn’t know when the response might cut out again, Sihyeon decided to let the small stuff go and stood up from his seat.
“Runa, I’ll be right back. I’m going to the bathroom. Can you sit still?”
Feeling that he shouldn’t let Runa know about the notification window, Sihyeon thought he should continue the conversation in the bathroom for a moment.
“Yeah. Sihyeon.”
Runa’s response was more obedient than he’d expected.
He had been worrying about what to do if she followed him in, but it seemed she would listen to him, at least a little.
*Since she’s staying put, she’s just a pretty girl.*
“I’ll be right back. Keep eating your bread.”
Sihyeon quickly entered the bathroom and locked the door.
—Click.
“So… did you appear again to check if I’m alive and well?”
A familiar light floated before his eyes.
『I’m truly sorry about yesterday. I thought we were out of time, so without realizing it, I just…』
The notification window’s text flickered faintly. It seemed aware of its mistake and hesitated.
“Sigh, anyway, I’m alive so it’s fine, but from now on, please listen to what I say.”
『Yes. I’ll do my best!』
“…You know that tone right now doesn’t inspire any trust at all, right?”
『Ehehe…』
Truthfully, he wanted to nitpick much more, but he felt he’d only feel better if he quickly asked what he was curious about.
“First, I understand that I have to bring stories to an end, but why did the novel become reality, why is my appearance changing, and who are you—there’s so much I’m curious about, but at least tell me this.”
『I’m sorry, Sihyeon. There are things I ‘can’t’ answer yet, so I can’t tell you everything you’re curious about.』
*Ha, so they put good, law-abiding me, who just quietly read novels, into this situation… What the hell?!*
“…Ah, it’s really packed with clichés. Is it just a ‘I’ll tell you when you get stronger!’ kind of thing?”
『Hmm… similar?』
“I was joking, but it’s real?”
The novel becoming reality was a cliché in itself, but did it have to be like this in every aspect?!
“…Fine, I get it, so at least answer the things you can from what I asked. That much should be possible, right?”
『I’ll tell you everything within the limits of what I can tell you.』
“Please do.”
『First, the reason the novel became reality is because you wanted it to, Sihyeon. Very intensely, and for a long time.』
“I don’t think I wanted it that badly. I did read the novel from the beginning, but I didn’t wish for it.”
Sihyeon replied, tapping his temple.
『This is all I can tell you for this question. I’m sorry…』
“Sigh… then what’s with my body changing?”
『That’s… please think of it as a kind of starter package! It’s the bare minimum device for you to move forward, Sihyeon. You can’t just die to some random ghost story, right?』
*Well, thanks for that.*
Tossing him some ability whose nature he didn’t even know, and then talking like that—really.
He was starting to wonder if he should be grateful for this or not.
“Still, the risk is too high. I might have been lucky not to die at our first meeting, but Runa is mistaking me for someone she longs for or something precious. I might die the moment she learns the truth.”
『Hoho, is that so?』
“Don’t talk like it’s someone else’s problem. My life is on the line here!”
『Don’t worry too much, Sihyeon. I’m sure it’ll be fine.』
He had no idea what it was basing such confidence on, but if he pressed further, it would probably just say it couldn’t tell him, so he gave up.
“Third question. Who are you?”
『……』
“Just who are you to be able to teach me these things?”
『I’m sorry, Sihyeon. For now, I can only tell you that I’m an ‘Assistant.’』
“Hoo, frustrating answers right up to the last question.”
But it wasn’t entirely fruitless.
*They aren’t answers that clear things up, but… it’s better than knowing nothing.*
『Right? Hehe.』
“Don’t read my mind.”
『…I can’t tell you more than this for now, but please do your best, Sihyeon.』
“I’ll try my best. I don’t want to be destroyed either.”
He leaned against the wall without a word and looked at the ceiling.
It felt a bit strange. For some reason, it felt like something that had originally existed was falling back into place.
『Sihyeon.』
“What is it.”
『For the time being… it will be… difficult to meet. But… please know… that I am always… worried about… you…』
Suddenly, the notification window began to glitch, its text scattering, and soon looked like it would disappear.
“Wait, why is this happening again!”
『Please… save… her… them…』
His heart dropped.
Them?
A simple word. But in that moment, his head twisted as if some massive cog had engaged.
He realized instinctively. This wasn’t a simple request.
*If I don’t save them, they can never be turned back.*
“Wait, wait! Tell me how to end the stories! I have no idea how!!”
Despite his desperate cry, the notification window shook violently, and the text remained impossible to read.
『The mo re you see the end of a s tory, the mo re th ings yo u wi ll kn ow. So—』
『Si… hye on… if it's yo u… you ca n… do it… so do n't… worry… too… mu ch. Ta ke ca re… of yo urself…』
Soon, the anxiously flickering notification window vanished, and silence filled the space.
He reached out and swept through the empty air, but the notification window was already gone.
“Sigh… it really shows up and disappears as it pleases.”
Closing his tired eyes, he slowly exhaled.
*…So in the end, it’s because I wanted this world? If that’s true, what on earth was I thinking when I wished for this?*
And.
*…Them?*
He instinctively thought of the calamity-class ghost stories.
*Could it be that all the calamity-class ghost stories are related?*
Even ordinary ghost stories would make you faint if you saw them in person, and now he had to face more calamity-class ones?
“Well, if I’m going to die either way, I might as well try. Sigh.”
Since the story had already begun, it couldn’t be stopped until the end was seen.
“I’ve already collected—… met Runa.”
Coming out of the bathroom, he glanced at Runa sitting quietly in the room.
Golden eyes rose to meet his gaze.
Seeing Runa sitting there so obediently, a complicated feeling swept over him.
*…It asked me to save them.*
He had no idea who was supposed to save whom.
*And here I am in a situation where I could die at any moment.*
Even after the notification window disappeared, the words he’d heard earlier wouldn’t leave his head.
—『The world you wanted.』
—『Please save them.』
“…I never prayed for this.”
The notification window probably had no reason to lie. It had nothing to gain from it.
But if he really had wished for this, why couldn’t he remember?
*No, maybe it’s not that I don’t remember…*
Quietly, he raised his hand and gripped his head.
“…Were my original memories even correct to begin with?”
His head was growing more complicated.
“Sigh.”
It seemed useless to rack his brains any longer.
Suddenly, he felt a gaze from in front of him.
He realized Runa had been staring at him since a while ago. Or rather, it seemed she had never taken her eyes off him from the start.
“…What.”
Lost in various thoughts, Sihyeon had naturally furrowed his brows slightly.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Runa quietly gazed at him.
“…Sihyeon.”
“Hmm?”
“…Are you in a bad mood?”
With her hands on the table, Runa stared blankly at Sihyeon.
*…How does she know I’m in a bad mood?*
Truthfully, Sihyeon wasn’t the type to show his emotions outwardly. Yet Runa had seen through his state at a glance.
“No. I’m just a little tired.”
It wasn’t something he could explain anyway, and saying it was because of her somehow felt like disaster would strike.
“I guess it’s just because I have a lot to do.”
“……”
Runa lowered her gaze without a word. Then she quietly set down her spoon.
“…Sihyeon.”
“Hmm?”
“Give me your hand.”
Runa was holding her hand out toward Sihyeon.
*It takes a lot of courage to touch you, you know.*
“Why my hand all of a sudden?”
“…Because you’re in a bad mood.”
“……?”
Sihyeon didn’t understand what she meant for a moment. But Runa held out her hand as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Runa’s small hand reached out toward Sihyeon.
*She’s really unpredictable.*
Refusing might cause something to happen, so with no other choice, he made an awkward expression and held out his hand.
Squeeze.
Luna held Sihyeon’s hand tightly.
“······?!”
A small, cozy hand, though a little cold.
Without saying anything, Luna held his hand and quietly whispered.
“······It’s okay.”
“What is?”
Luna slowly lifted her gaze and looked at Sihyeon.
“······Because Sihyeon is Luna’s.”
“······?”
He had heard those words yesterday, too.
But now, they felt a little different.
Yesterday, they had sounded like simple attachment, but now, clumsy as it was, it sounded as if she were trying to comfort him.
‘······What is this kid, really?’
Sihyeon looked at Luna, who was holding his hand tightly.
Was this tiny being truly an urban legend?
Could something bearing the title of Apocalypse-class really be this considerate of another person’s feelings?
How did an urban legend even know what comfort was?
He simply couldn’t understand it.
Who in the world would ever think they could be comforted by a being called an urban legend?
“······Hah.”
In the end, Sihyeon let out a short sigh.
Then he looked down again at Luna, who was holding his hand.
“······Did you think doing this would make me feel better?”
Luna quietly nodded. The hand gripping his seemed to be trembling ever so slightly.
“······When someone feels bad, you have to hold their hand.”
“Who says?”
“Don’t know. But······ I think that’s what you’re supposed to do.”
Luna said it as if she wasn’t sure herself, yet as naturally as though she had seen it somewhere before.
Sihyeon had no idea what sort of logic this was supposed to be, but before he knew it, a faint smile had slipped onto his face.
“······Is that so?”
When he left his hand still, Luna held it a little tighter.
Her fingertips were warm. As if she had wanted to hold someone like this for a very long time.
Then she murmured softly, sounding satisfied.
“Yeah.”
For the first time, Sihyeon truly realized that before Luna was an urban legend, she possessed something as a being.
He found himself wondering once again whether he would really be able to bring Luna’s story to an end someday.
Most urban legends are born from misfortune.
Perhaps Luna, too, had forgotten herself amid an unbearable misfortune and fallen into ruin.
‘I don’t know what you went through.’
An unfathomable depth lay within Luna’s golden eyes.
Eyes that seemed to dimly remember even her own existence.
‘But what’s certain is that I’ll have to end your story.’
And yet.
‘Is it really okay to do that?’
In order to restore this world, he had to bring the stories of the Apocalypse-class urban legends to an end.
But was the Luna before his eyes really nothing more than an urban legend?
Without realizing it, he clenched her hand tightly. As if he couldn’t make the decision so easily.
‘Don’t think too deeply··· She’s just an urban legend.’
All he was doing was placing the period at the end of a story.
‘That’s enough, isn’t it? What more is there to think about?’
Sihyeon muttered as though he didn’t want to attach any emotion to it, but in truth, he knew it himself.
In the novel, and in this reality now as well,
he had already come to see Luna as “special.”