Chapter 110

Candy (6)

The sky cleared in an instant after the rain stopped.

The full moon emerged where the dark clouds had vanished. Beneath the pouring moonlight stood the half-burned Christmas trees, monsters reduced to piles of ash, and humans who had been left utterly dazed after witnessing something beyond the limits of their understanding.

“You…”

Argon was the first to speak.

“You… What in the world… are you…?”

He barely managed to force out the question before his voice faded weakly.

When that thing jumped down from the meteorite and began approaching, Argon unconsciously took a step backward.

The other residents also instinctively tried to turn and flee, but soon stopped in place as though they had all reached the same conclusion.

Could they truly escape from that thing through their own strength?

The blue glacier exposed between the snowy plains that thing had split apart gleamed vividly beneath the moonlight.

Even if they ran from this place, it did not seem possible to escape its domain.

After slowly surveying the people, that thing opened its mouth.

Argon believed that no matter what price it demanded—even if it demanded their lives—they would have no choice but to surrender it helplessly.

“Could…”

At last, that thing spoke through its fully opened mouth.

“Could we… get something to eat?”

I ravenously devoured the monster meat brought to me by the residents of the Candy Zone.

Even though “eating” still meant that the food disappeared into blue particles the moment I brought it near my mouth, one thing was different this time.

I could feel hunger.

And it was a level of hunger I had never experienced before in my life.

Perhaps it was the aftereffect of using such an enormous amount of my ability. For the first time since entering this world, I felt truly hungry.

Maybe because it was a sensation I had not experienced for so long, it felt overwhelmingly intense.

No matter how much I ate, however, the urge to put something inside my mouth and chew it did not disappear.

Neither did my desire to gulp down a cold, refreshing drink.

It was a hunger that seemed destined never to fade as long as I was forced to eat like a player.

How much had I eaten?

Only after realizing that eating any more would accomplish nothing did I finally give up and look around.

‘Huh…?’

The way the Candy Zone NPCs were staring at me was rather unsettling.

Why were they looking at me as though I might devour them next?

Luna, who had returned to the ring at some point, muttered quietly.

[Honestly, even Luna was scared of you just now.]

“Ahem.”

I cleared my throat and stood up.

“I showed you something rather disgraceful.”

“Disgraceful?”

Argon, who had watched me eat with his mouth hanging open the entire time, frowned as though he couldn’t accept that description.

“A moment ago, you summoned rain and slaughtered monsters as though possessed by a god. Then you ate like a starving ghost. Just what are you? Are you even human?”

Hmm.

I couldn’t remember exactly what I had done.

Still, looking around, it clearly wasn’t something an ordinary human could accomplish, so Argon’s question was fairly reasonable.

Even I was no longer certain whether I should answer that I was human.

Could a human body withstand the tremendous power I had wielded moments ago?

I felt hunger this intense, yet human food couldn’t even quench my thirst.

Could I truly call myself the same kind of human as these people?

Therefore, I had no choice but to answer like this.

“I am merely the son of His Excellency Commander Hayden.”

“Then either your father isn’t human or your mother isn’t. Perhaps neither of them is.”

What a harsh joke.

I had saved his life, too.

“Instead of wasting time wondering whether I’m human, why don’t you find the arsonist? It looks like it was someone from your zone.”

“You truly weren’t the one who started the fire?”

“I went through all that trouble to put it out. Surely you’re not still suspicious of me?”

When I looked around at the residents, they merely flinched and trembled.

I gave up trying to explain and opened the chat window.

Han Yeoreum had already sent me several messages.

She must have seen that the flames in the Christmas forest had disappeared while I was busy eating, so she was probably wondering why I hadn’t contacted her after extinguishing the fire.

When I opened her messages, I found some welcome news.

[Stay-at-home Wifey: Found two Candy Zone residents outside the zone.]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: One of them is Dentist.]

Fortunately, it seemed they had already secured Dentist near the airship, which put me at ease.

I had wondered why I couldn’t find him inside the zone.

Had he already escaped from the burning forest?

He hadn’t seemed like the sort of person who would abandon the NPCs and run away alone…

[Stay-at-home Wifey: But the other one is suspicious.]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: He came running out carrying the unconscious Dentist over his shoulder, so I thought he was an NPC who’d rescued him…]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: But when I used Character Inspection, he turned out to be a player.]

A player…?

Was there another player in the Candy Zone besides Dentist?

Han Yeoreum’s messages continued.

[Stay-at-home Wifey: He probably doesn’t know that some players have unlocked the System. He doesn’t seem to suspect for a second that we know what he really is. Then again, even Dentist didn’t know how to use Character Inspection, so I guess that makes sense.]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: If you’ve put out the fire, why don’t you come back already?]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: Hey.]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: Are you okay?]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: If you don’t reply within five minutes, I’m bringing the airship over.]

More than five minutes had already passed.

When I raised my head, I spotted the airship flying toward us.

The Candy Zone NPCs seemed to notice it as well, gathering together and murmuring among themselves.

I stared at them for a moment before surveying the burned forest.

The houses in the zone were unharmed because I had suppressed the fire before it reached them.

However, the Candy Zone had only been able to survive because the Christmas forest existed.

Now that the trees that kept the monsters away were gone, there was no way such a small number of people could survive using only bows and arrows.

Even those bows and arrows required wood, and all of their source material had burned away.

‘This wasn’t originally part of the plan…’

Still, simply taking Dentist and leaving would weigh on my conscience.

[You had a conscience?]

I ignored the voice, uncertain whether it belonged to Luna or my conscience, and looked at Argon.

Argon seemed to have realized that their home was no longer safe, and his face was filled with worry.

“Excuse me, mister.”

“Mister? I am Captain Argon, you sinister brat.”

“I’m not a sinister brat either. I’m Captain Haydam. Anyway…”

I raised one corner of my mouth and asked,

“Do you have anywhere to go?”

“Anywhere to go…?”

“Give me this meteorite, and I’ll relocate all of you somewhere safe.”

Technically speaking, the meteorite probably belonged to Dentist, the player.

However, since it had served as the zone’s power source until now, it couldn’t be considered his alone.

That was why I was also asking Argon for permission.

“Relocate us somewhere safe…? Is such a thing possible?”

“Did what I did a moment ago look possible to you?”

“…”

Perhaps he found that convincing, because Argon appeared to think it over briefly.

They had no way of moving such a massive meteorite by themselves, and if they could relocate to a safe zone, they would no longer need its power.

Or perhaps, after seeing me draw power from the meteorite, he had decided that it was a dangerous object.

Whatever his reasoning, his deliberation did not last long.

When Argon nodded and accepted the deal, I sent Han Yeoreum a message.

[Dopamine Addict: Hey.]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: What the h—]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: Why didn’t you answer when you were perfectly fine?]

[Dopamine Addict: Ask Mickey Parker.]

[Stay-at-home Wifey: Ask him what?]

[Dopamine Addict: How many people can fit on that airship.]

***

“The airship has returned?”

The Cola Zone.

After hearing the unexpected report, Commander Hayden rushed out of his office and headed toward the outskirts of the zone.

Just as Major General Plato had reported, an airship could be seen in the distance, flying toward the zone.

“It has only been two days since they left, and they’re already back.”

In truth, Commander Hayden had already resigned himself to the possibility that Haydam might not return for several weeks—or perhaps even several months—now that he had seriously decided to run away from home.

‘He isn’t the sort of child who would stage a kidnapping simply for two days of amusement.’

Apparently, Hayden wasn’t the only one who thought so.

The others who had gathered after hearing that the airship was returning also wore expressions of disbelief.

At the same time, however, they were relieved.

They knew Haydam was not someone who would easily be defeated wherever he went, but with the apocalypse only three years away, they wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.

“Well, now I’ve seen everything. Did the captain finally realize that running away from home is more trouble than it’s worth?”

Hearing Colonel Bones mutter behind him, Commander Hayden allowed himself to hope that Haydam was aboard the airship.

However, before the airship even reached the zone, it lowered its altitude, dropped off a large group of people, then rose again and began flying away.

“What…?”

For a moment, the commander nearly went blank.

Still, he convinced himself that his son must be among the group who had disembarked.

“S-Surely he must be among them. That was a very large group.”

Even Major General Plato, who rarely became flustered when it involved Haydam, was stammering.

A while later, when the group from the airship drew closer to the zone, Commander Hayden doubted his own eyes.

The man limping at the front was a face he knew very well.

It was Argon, captain of the Candy Zone.

“Our captain doesn’t seem to be among them.”

“Who are all those people? Their clothes don’t look like the ones worn by people from our zone…”

“Doesn’t that guy in front look like Lieutenant General Max?”

“How long has it been since he became captain? Why are you still calling him Lieutenant General? Didn’t he say you could call him Father?”

“Father, my ass…”

“Why are you so embarrassed to call him Father?”

“Shut up! More importantly, doesn’t that man look like Captain Max?”

“In what way?”

“His beard looks like birds could build a nest in it.”

“…Captain Max would be furious if he heard that, Bones.”

While Bones and Lucas whispered to each other, the newcomers continued approaching the Cola Zone.

Major General Plato was about to signal the soldiers to raise their guns when Commander Hayden stopped him.

“Are they people you know?”

“They are from the Candy Zone.”

“The Candy Zone? Why did they get off Lord Haydam’s airship?”

Commander Hayden had no idea why they had disembarked from the airship his son had taken either.

All he could do was wait for Argon to approach and explain the situation.

Eventually, the Candy Zone residents stopped some distance away.

At Argon’s signal, they politely bowed to the people of the Cola Zone.

Unable to endure it any longer, Commander Hayden asked,

“What is going on, Argon? Why did you get off my son’s airship?”

Argon was the one who reacted with surprise.

“What? He didn’t discuss this with his own father? That boy really is unbelievable.”

Commander Hayden felt a powerful sense of foreboding, but he forcibly ignored it and asked Argon,

“What do you mean?”

“Last night, the Christmas forest burned to the ground.”

“What?”

“Your son saved the people of our zone.”

“…Who saved whom?”

“We lost our home, and he offered to relocate us to the Cola Zone. We accepted.”

“What did you say?”

Argon continued speaking without caring whether Commander Hayden had processed the situation.

“We don’t have the same firearm production capabilities as you, but we’re confident in our ability to process monsters. Your son said you only take the meat and hides from monsters before throwing away the rest.”

“No, wait. Are you saying you truly came here to become residents of my zone?”

“Yes. I’m not exactly thrilled about it, but… I have no desire to oppose that thing’s will.”

While Commander Hayden stood frozen, Argon grinned so widely that his beard twitched.

“So let us forget the grudges of the past and try to get along from now on, Hayden. No, I suppose I should call you His Excellency, our Commander.”

“…”

Only yesterday, Argon would grind his teeth whenever he saw Hayden, yet he had changed his attitude overnight as easily as turning over his hand.

That was remarkable enough.

However, Commander Hayden was far more concerned about where his son was.

“Then why are only you here? Where is my son?”

“Your son? Wait, your son wrote me a note explaining what I should say.”

…Haydam wrote him a note?

“Ah, here it is.”

Ignoring whatever expression Commander Hayden was making, Argon pulled a crumpled note from his pocket.

He cleared his throat and began reading aloud.

“Father, I took advantage of a momentary lapse in the kidnappers’ vigilance and managed to save the people of the Candy Zone, but I failed to escape. For someone who has grown up like a flower in a greenhouse until the age of seventeen, this place is far too cold and frighten… ing. Sniff… Ahem. For me to be released, your active cooperation is required. Father, I miss you. Therefore, I beg you to faithfully comply with the kidnappers’ demands…”

“…”

He nearly wavered for a moment at the words, Father, I miss you.

Nevertheless, Commander Hayden had no choice but to accept the facts.

His runaway son had saved an entire zone after only two days.

Without discussing anything with him, Haydam had then relocated all those people onto their land as he pleased.

And Haydam himself had simply boarded the airship and flown away again.

All while continuing to maintain that ridiculous kidnapping act.