Chapter 04
“Eh? What are you talking about?”
I blinked, confused by the sudden, out-of-nowhere statement.
Hamma noticed the puzzlement in my eyes and patiently began explaining again.
“Until I met you yesterday, I was trapped in Hannek Village for seven hundred years.”
“Seven hundred years?”
I stared at him, eyes wide, scanning him up and down.
What the—
With that round, squishy face, I thought he was a kid, but he was basically an ancient relic-level grandpa?!
“No one ever passed by, but every day I came out near the hut and repeated the same line—begging for help. And then after two days, I’d forget everything all over again.”
Hamma’s white, rice-cake cheeks began to puff up in frustration.
“Waiting for a hero who never came! For seven hundred years! Like some brainwashed beastman! Wasting time with no meaning at all!”
His eyes sparked red as he worked himself up.
I pulled a nut bar from my pack and stuffed it in his mouth. His heated cheeks slowly cooled down.
Crunching loudly, Hamma continued.
“But then… after I ate the food you gave me, all those memories from the seven hundred forgotten years suddenly came back…”
His last words faded out weakly, and I blinked.
“Why? I didn’t add a feature like that.”
“Feature? What feature? And also—why are you not reacting properly? Why aren’t you shocked?!”
Hamma stared at me suspiciously.
I shrugged.
“I mean, it’s a little surprising, but not that surprising.”
“Why not?!”
Well, this was a game world. NPCs having preset programming was normal.
Sure, breaking free from the programming was unexpected—but not impossible.
My cooking has special effects, after all.
My cooking was basically a bug generator.
If it could cure chronic lethargy, why not dispel brainwashing too?
Then… if Kaizen eats my food, will he recover his memories, too?
I fell into thought. Hamma’s voice pulled me back.
“Who am I, anyway?”
You’re someone created by a game developer, kid.
“Why did I have to live like that for seven hundred years?”
“Mm.”
“And you know what’s even more ridiculous? This world keeps repeating endlessly.”
The sun had climbed high now.
I was preparing to slip away from Hamma when the next words froze me.
“I lived a seven-year life ninety-nine times!”
“…What?”
My eyes snapped open wide. Hamma smirked proudly.
“Hmph. So this shocks you, huh? And I also know you’re not a real hero. I remembered everything!”
“Hold on.”
“Well, you did say you weren’t the hero, so I’m not accusing you.”
“No—wait. That’s not the point. You said ninety-nine times? Not ninety-eight?”
“…?”
“Why? Why ninety-nine?”
But this was my ninety-eighth cycle.
Why was his number different?
“Is that what matters right now? Seriously, you— Oh! Right. You’re not the hero anymore.”
Hamma shyly folded his ears in half.
“So, fake hero… who are you?”
“Me? I’m just Choi Romin. Call me Romi.”
“What? A tick?”
“I should have eaten you earlier, shouldn’t I?”
“Sorry, Romi-nim!”
The half-folded ears popped upright again.
Tch. Coward.
I still had a ton of questions, but I had to get moving. The pickpocket was due to appear soon.
I pointed at a shabby inn with a brown roof.
“Hamma. See that inn?”
“The brown roof one?”
“Yeah. Meet me there later—we’ll talk more then. I’ll be staying there for a while.”
I shouldered my pack and started down the hill when Hamma suddenly grabbed my sleeve.
“I’ll go with you!”
“Nope. I’m not feeding extra mouths. And you need to go back to your village.”
“Ha! That fake village where everyone pretends they don’t know each other? Absolutely not! Please take me! I’m good at a lot of things, Romi-nim!”
Why did this kid shout every sentence like he was spraying verbal spit everywhere? … use an indoor voice.
“Even if you refuse, I’m still going! You freed me from the brainwashing—so take responsibility!”
“Okay, okay. Calm down. You’re too much chaos at once.”
How could a rabbit be this brazen?
If he wasn’t so cute, I’d have flicked his forehead a hundred times.
“So you’ll take me?”
“Hm. What are you good at?”
“I can make any weapon. The best blacksmith in the village even came to steal my designs!”
“Really? If you’re good at weapons, you’re good with metal too, right?”
“Well… I guess…?”
Hamma’s eyes trembled anxiously.
So that’s how it is.
A good idea clicked into place.
“Then you’ll earn your keep. Let’s go, Hamma!”
Unexpectedly, I’d gained one more mouth to feed.
Oh well.
He’s cute, so it’s fine.
As expected, Kaizen finally dragged himself downstairs sometime after noon.
Long time no see, Kaizen.
I hadn’t seen him once since the 90th loop—almost a full year.
From my corner seat, I studied him closely. Then I spotted something, and my eyes narrowed.
Why are there only two bars instead of three?
Hovering above Kaizen’s head was a tiny skull icon.
The first time I saw it, I had no idea what it was. Only he had it.
Then, after watching him die several times, I realized it was the marker for chronic lethargy—visible only to me.
The skull icon had five bars.
When they filled completely, Kaizen would go off and die—even in the middle of eating.
So the trick was to keep it from filling.
Good. Only two realised now.
Kaizen sat at the long counter connected to the kitchen and spoke in a lofty tone.
“One chicken stew. Season it lightly. Cook the meat thoroughly. I despise any hint of gaminess, so add a bay leaf. A touch of pepper would be ideal.”
“Oh my—why so picky? The stew is pre-made. I’ll just ladle you some.”
“…Ha. So you’re telling me this isn’t cooked to order?”
Kaizen let out a deep sigh.
Fatigue sharpened with irritation on his face.
“Very well. I shall report you for violating the Food Hygiene Act.”
“Hey! What are you talking about? Report?!”
“You said yourself the food was prepared in advance. It appears the cook here has no concept of sanitation.”
Ugh.
He was being a menace here, too.
Hamma and I exchanged a shared expression of exhaustion.
“Fine, fine! I’ll make a fresh one, okay?!”
The innkeeper grimaced but kept sneaking glances at him.
I understood her completely. Anyone would.
The cool grey hair, the long straight brows, the pale blue-grey eyes full of tragic depth—
He looked like he stepped out of a movie scene.
In short: stupidly handsome.
Then—
“Romi-nim! Romi-nim!”
Hamma glared at Kaizen as if he were his sworn enemy.
He leaned toward me and whispered sharply:
“That’s him! The real hero!”
“What? You know him?”
“Of course, I know him! Who do you think made me live the same life ninety-nine times?!”
Oh, right.
He was a victim too.
Sudden sympathy welled up.
It felt like we were attending a Kaizen Victims’ Support Group.
“He always nitpicked everything with that annoying face and then died instantly!”
“I know, right?”
Hamma perked up, spitting energy as he ranted.
“And another time, we asked him to deal with the orcs, but he refused for two weeks straight—then suddenly drowned alone in a lake! Because of him, I had to be eight years old again! Why does he die every single time?!”
“Exactly! He died in all ninety-eight loops for me, too.”
“See?! And a hero is supposed to… Wait. Ninety-eight?”
His already round eyes grew even rounder.
His white ears trembled like they recognized a fellow sufferer.
“Romi-nim… don’t tell me…”
I nodded.
Hamma’s jaw dropped so fast it nearly hit the counter.
“No wonder! I felt this overwhelming aura from you! Then we really are comrades who survived life and death together?”recognisedmp us together. You’re just an extra mouth.”
“Cheh…”
He pouted, then muttered gloomily,
“But… isn’t he going to die again soon? From what I remember, it was always around this time. This is the seventh year, after all.”
I thought my short repeat cycles were torture—
These were seven-year cycles.
He must have suffered far worse.
Seeing him so miserable made me want to tell him my plan.
“Hamma. Actually, I—”
I was about to say I’d come to cure Kaizen’s lethargy, when I spotted a suspicious man approaching him.
Hat pulled low.
Head bowed.
That posture—
100%.
“…A pickpocket.”
