Chapter 86, Association President, Dorothy (1)
“Yes, that's right.”
She readily admitted it.
She could read my thoughts.
Seriously, a Mystery that allowed someone to read another person's thoughts?
I was shocked by how useful it was, but at the same time, I had a question.
Why had she deliberately revealed one of her cards?
If she had continued the conversation while hiding the fact that she could read my thoughts, I would have been dragged around without even having a chance to react.
I couldn't understand why she would reveal that information when doing so gave her no benefit.
Maybe she read that thought too, because she smiled.
My eyes couldn't detect any change, but my senses told me that she was smiling.
“Your instincts are good. You don't seem stupid either. Yes, are you wondering why I revealed that I can read thoughts?”
“...”
“You look curious, so I'll tell you. It was a kind of apology.”
“An apology?”
“Yes, an apology. Not an apple.”
A familiar kind of wordplay.
It was similar to the joke Seolhwa had made earlier.
At least when Seolhwa did it, even if it wasn't funny enough to make me laugh, there had been a strangely warm feeling that made me smile.
When this woman did it, I only felt dumbfounded.
My already cold gaze sank even further.
It felt like frost was forming around my heart.
I already held no small amount of hostility toward her.
And now she was making pointless jokes like that.
It made me wonder if she was looking down on me.
At the very least, she didn't seem to have any intention of having a serious conversation.
I didn't like it.
I prepared to raise the Flame.
“Ah... I'm sorry. I saw the young lady from the Baek Clan do something like that earlier and thought it looked fun, so I copied her. I guess it was a bad move.”
“Yes. It was.”
“Not a good move?”
“What the...”
I tightly shut my mouth before a curse slipped out.
I was getting a little angry.
I couldn't understand what she was trying to achieve with these stupid jokes.
My companions also gripped their weapons and glared at her.
Sharp killing intent shot toward her like arrows.
She slowly turned her head and looked at each of them before speaking apologetically.
“I'm sorry. The atmosphere was so heavy that I thought I'd lighten it a little, but I only made it worse. I won't do it again, so could you forgive me this once?”
“...”
“Ah, not once. Twice. I'm really sorry.”
It didn't seem like empty words.
Her face was still difficult to perceive because of the Mystery, but I could somehow tell that she was slightly flustered.
Her voice also genuinely sounded apologetic.
Still, considering her attitude so far, it was entirely possible that she was casually deceiving us.
So I didn't lower my guard.
“That's a little harsh. I want to become friends with you, but it doesn't seem easy. So... Yuhyeon?”
How does she know my name too?
Did she hear my companions calling me?
“That too. But I also possess a Mystery that tells me the other person's name. If you want, I can give it to you. As an apology for my mistake.”
I immediately nodded instead of refusing.
If it had been someone else, I might have avoided accepting such compensation because it could create a debt between us.
But I only wanted to see her this once and never meet her again afterward.
“That's a little disappointing.”
After saying that, she told me to wait a moment and reached her hand into empty space.
Then she moved her hand around as though rummaging through objects.
At some point, a book appeared in her hand.
At a glance, it reminded me of Lucy.
Instead of golden borders, it had silver ones.
Instead of black, it was painted the opposite color, white.
And yet, for some reason, it still reminded me of Lucy.
“It's called the Book That Records Names. I don't remember the number very well. I'll give this to you as an apology, so could you forgive my mistake?”
I nodded, took the book, and immediately opened it.
Countless names were recorded inside, each accompanied by a photograph of the person's face.
I turned to the most recently added page.
There was a photograph beside the name Dorothy.
“...Oh my. Are you trying to see my face? Unfortunately, that will be difficult. My perception-distorting Mystery doesn't only affect the naked eye.”
Just as she said, the photograph was filled with noise like a broken monitor.
Parts of it were even blurred as though mosaicked.
I gave up on trying to see her face and closed the book.
For now, knowing her name was enough.
“My name should have been written on the invitation, shouldn't it? Ah. You considered the possibility that it was an alias.”
“Let's skip the pointless talk and get to the main subject. There are people waiting for me, and I don't have much time.”
At my words, she nodded and immediately got to the point.
“Do you know why the Mystery Protection Association was founded? ...Ah. You don't seem interested. I founded the Association because I love Mysteries.”
“...”
“I understand that you're irritated, but please bear with me for a moment. This is something I need to explain before getting to the point. Anyway, I love Mysteries. How could anyone who has experienced their miracles possibly resist loving them?”
I could understand that part a little.
Mysteries had destroyed my everyday life and brought about the disaster known as the apocalypse.
But if I only looked at the outcome, my life had become far richer than before.
Even now, women so beautiful that I wouldn't have seen them even on television before the apocalypse had become my companions.
I didn't know how others felt, but I didn't have a particularly negative impression of Mysteries.
If anything, mine was closer to positive.
“I'm glad you understand. I love Mysteries just like you do, so I wanted to collect more of them. Eventually, I realized it would be impossible to keep gathering Mysteries alone, so I founded what eventually became the Mystery Protection Association.”
