I Don’t Want This Reincarnation

“Yesterday’s explanation may be still not enough, but there’s nothing good about hearing it in a hurry.”

Elohim said, placing the hotcakes sprinkled with fruits and syrup on the table.

“It’s true that we have to stop Kali in the end, but you have a lot more important things to do than that.”

“Important things?”

“It has something to do with why you accepted the first price.”

“You mean the red book I saw in the library on the second floor?”

“Right. I’m sure you’re curious about the back story. The contents after the fourth book of ‘Abyss’ will be the same.”

That was what I was curious about, of course. I brought out the content I wanted to ask since yesterday.

“El. If Elahah wrote ‘Abyss’ in which Ha Tae-heon-ssi is the main character… does the red book I saw have the main character?”

“Of course.”

As expected, it was. My mind quickly became complicated.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you read the book myself. Then you have to pay another price. But I can you tell why these things happened. It’s hard right now, but later.”

Elohim pushed the hotcake in front of me again and added affectionately.

“Eat. Because eating candy and forcing you to dream of the past consumes more energy than you think.”

“Thank you.”

Right. Let’s eat first. I could do anything if I ate.

I sighed, took the fork and put the hotcake in my mouth. I could taste the fluffy and sweet hotcakes, but I was still in a bad mood.

‘Kim Woo-jin is good at making hotcakes too…’

To make matters worse, I started to remember people I used to hang out with at random. I was trying not to think about it on purpose. I thought of the people in Korea as I ate hotcakes as if I was chewing on sand.

I wondered if everything was okay. Kim Woo-jin, who had only me as a friend, was the most I worried about. I hoped Min Ah-rin-ssi could take good care of him. Come to think of it, I couldn’t even tell Kwon Jeong-han to stop making fun of Kim Woo-jin.

Team Leader Park Geon-ho or Woo Seo-hyuk-ssi… Well, I was sure they would be fine. The two weren’t too concerned. And Cheon Sa-yeon…

“It seems like you miss the children you used to live with.”

Elohim, who was noticed my condition amazingly, brought a new bowl of salad. I couldn’t hear anything, but I kept wondering where he kept getting the dishes like this.

“Just a little bit.”

I smiled while touching the nape of my neck in embarrassment, he smiled with a look of understanding.

“It’s understandable if you miss them. They are good kids.”

“Right.”

“Shall I show you?”

“Yes?”

I tilted my head slightly at the sudden suggestion. How did you going to show it?

‘Ah. Does it mean that he will let me see with his power?’

If that was the case, it wasn’t bad. Just knowing how everyone was doing would make me feel much better.

As I nodded my head, Elohim smiled softly and pressed his hand against the part of the wall in front of the table. Then, with the sound of the building shaking, the wall slid back one space and a large TV screen appeared in the empty spot.

“……”

I was blown away by the state-of-the-art facility that I had never imagined. Elohim was puzzled at my bewildered expression as well.

“It’s TV. Don’t you know?”

“No, I know. But why is the TV here…”

“We watch TV, too.”

I see…

Living in a temple, being close to a god, and having a TV installed even though you could watch everything with your power. Leaving me alone, Elohim turned on the TV with the remote control.

“Fortunately, it’s time for the news.”

For some reason, I lost my appetite, so I put down the fork and picked up a teacup instead. I washed my mouth with the fragrant tea and turned my gaze to the distorted screen.

[Do you remember Talented Kim Woo-jin from the Requiem Guild who was re-awakened by going up from C-rank to A-rank on February 25th? This is the news that Talented Kim Woo-jin finished training and successfully completed his first gate attack.]

A picture of Kim Woo-jin in a black suit was displayed next to the announcer. I wondered if the photo was taken when announcing an official position with Cheon Sa-yeon.

[The B-grade gate in G31 Area is in charge of the Jayna Guild and through cooperation with the Requiem Guild…]

The screen changed and the video of the clear team just coming out of the gate was played. In the meantime, an unusually white face caught my eye. It was Kim Woo-jin.

[The following is an on-site interview. Physics Support Team Park Hyuk-joon and Kim Woo-jin were interviewed.]

I saw Kim Woo-jin standing next to the man I had ever seen for the first time. Maybe it was because of the sharper jawline and dark circles that came down compared to when I was with him, he gave off a more sensitive atmosphere than before.

Still, there seemed to be no serious injuries, so I was relieved a little.

[You have cleared the gate from the front for the first time. How do you feel?]

[It was a good experience.]

Kim Woo-jin calmly answered the reporter’s question.

It was refreshing to see the guy who was always by my side on the TV screen, but entering the gate when I wasn’t there was a little worrisome.

Besides, it was a bit uncomfortable to be interviewed like that. Kim Woo-jin was very shy, so he wouldn’t like to do an interview, but what’s the matter?

[As far as I know, the next schedule is in three days.]

[That’s right.]

[They usually take a break for about a week, but is there any reason to enter the gate in such a hurry?]

Kim Woo-jin slowly blinked and opened his mouth.

[It’s just my personal greed.]

With that, the interview video ended. I took a deep breath.

‘Kim Woo-jin, this kid really.’

He looked tired already, but he was going to take only three days off and enter the gate again? I couldn’t quite figure out why he was overdoing this.

If I was in Korea, I would have asked.

While staring at the crimson tea in the teacup with a complicated mind, I remembered the time when Kim Woo-jin was a C-rank.

Indeed. Even when he was a C-rank in the past, he used to run after the gate at risk. He had been re-awakened to A-rank and had only been training, so it seemed he was quite frustrated.

I hoped he was careful not to get hurt though. Of course, I was sure Requiem would take good care of him, but…

“All the other children will be fine.”

“It would be.”

Elohim turned off the TV and approached me.

“I’ll leave it like that while you’re here, so watch it whenever you’re bored.”

I smiled bitterly as I accepted the remote control he was handed.

* * *

I sat on the floor with my back to the temple pillar. I could see the blue sky and puffy clouds and a wide meadow spread out below. Even in front of a landscape that was difficult to face, the news I had seen before continued to linger in my mind.

I don’t regret coming here. It was a necessary choice and that thought still persisted today. Even if I went back to when I left Korea, my decision wouldn’t change.

I just… right. I kind of missed them. It was funny to feel this way now, but it was hard to force myself to turn away anymore. Without realizing it, I got quite a bit of affection.

Maybe it was because Ha Tae-heon left and was left alone.

“Haa…”

I couldn’t help it. As I sat and did nothing, I kept thinking useless thoughts. It seemed better to go to the library where Elahah was and get a recommendation for a book worth reading.

I was about to stand up, clicking my tongue, but the grass in front of me shook and a white face popped out.

It was the fox I met this morning. The kid who ran with a branch in his mouth spit it out under my feet.

Then he lifted his hips high and just wagged his tail. I didn’t know what he was doing, so I watched it for a long time and realized it later.

“…what. Throw it?”

Piik!

Perhaps it was the correct answer, now he was running around me as if he was going to jump out right away.

Was it a dog, not a fox? No, if I thought about it, foxes were canines too, right?

I smiled helplessly inside, picked up a branch, and threw it away. Pababak! The fox ran out.

Even though I threw it with a lot of force, the fox came back quickly. On the contrary, he seemed quite satisfied and more excited than before.

‘Annoying…’

But unfortunately, I didn’t want to play anymore. If I ignored it and went back to the room, I was afraid he would bite my ankle, so I had to throw the branch far away and run away quickly.

“Hup!”

This time, I really threw it away with all my might. The branch thrown by the A-rank body with all its power quickly disappeared through the bushes. The fox, who stood still and looked up at a branch that was flying in the distance, ran out.

This time. I hurriedly turned around before being caught again. I even used my wind ability to quickly run away into the temple, but belatedly, I heard a faint sound of exhaustion behind my back.

I’m sorry. Ask Elohim to play with you, not me.

Passing through the main hall and standing in front of the arched marble door, the door opened on its own in the absence of Elohim. Apparently, there was a measure to make it easier for me to drop by.

As I slipped my face through the open door, Elahah spoke to me as if he had waited.

“Why don’t you play with him more, why are you here?”

“Hello.”

When I replied with an awkward greeting, Elahah, who was lying in the mid-air, slowly opened his eyes.

“Were you watching me?”

“It’s you this time.”

“Yes?”

As I blinked at his words, Elahah came down to the floor and beckoned.

“Come in. You look pretty bored.”

“I’m bored.”

Before Elahah changed his words, I went straight to the library and looked around.

“If you are here…”

“Is there any book you would like to read? There aren’t many, but there are.”

The fragrant scent of flowers brushed the tip of my nose as Elahah’s long-awaited robe fluttered. Elahah was quite tall, but unlike Elohim, when I looked at him, I felt a bit of a breath-taking atmosphere.

“Here you go.”

“…is there anything else?”

The book Elahah pulled out of the bookshelf was the Botanical Encyclopedia. When I was disgusted with the “Encyclopedia” that was written on the cover of the book titled, he raised the corner of his mouth lightly.

“Do you want me to find children’s fairy tales?”

It was the first time I saw Elahah smiling. That was how he smiled like that.

I shrugged my shoulders and answered with a more relaxed mind.

“I think that would be better.”

“Hm, right.”

Elahah, who flew through the air and pulled another book from a high bookshelf, held it out and warned.

“It doesn’t matter if you look at something, just ask me or El and take it out. This place is different from the study in a poor house.”

“I understand.”

“Two times is enough to touch someone else’s past without paying for it.”

“……”

The last words were stabbed like thorns in pain.

‘Two times.’

One probably meant ‘Abyss’, and the other…

“Don’t worry.”

When I shrugged my shoulders and gave a light response, Elahah, who had been staring at me for a moment, turned his back first. Looking at him returning to the centre of the library, I lowered my gaze. The title ‘The Little Prince’ caught my eye.