TWLPOD 13

Whatever the intention, the moment he recognized it as a sacrifice, his heart churned.

An act he would never like, and could never like.

Kay, who did not want to acknowledge the possibility that others could sacrifice themselves for him, also put a third possibility that he had almost missed into his mind.

‘What if there is another purpose?’

What if there is another purpose for him in not sharing his power with the center, and he is using him for that?

‘Then it makes sense.’

Either way, the suspicion that there was some reason he could not predict was more comfortable for his mind than belief. He took a step towards Aran, who was looking back as if searching for Kay who was not following. This land, where the sun existed, was making the blonde hair in front of him sparkle, and at the same time, was also dyeing it increasingly black.

Every time he walked following him, even more otherworldly buildings continued one after another.

Aran recited the names of the buildings in sight one by one, adding simple explanations, and among them, a building that had started construction because Kay had blown it up came into view.

They were all buildings of different appearances and forms, but among them, there was one bluish building that stretched particularly high towards the sky, and that was the ‘dormitory’ where the ability users affiliated with the center stayed.

[Welcome. This is the dormitory.]

The door opened when he brought his bracelet to the machine next to the entrance where the guide text was written, and while walking between the outer automatic door and the inner automatic door, biometric recognition was performed. The inside of the door that opened after passing through security was….

‘It’s dazzling.’

Crystal decorations and a huge chandelier hung from the ceiling. The diffusely reflected light stung his eyes. In the sense of space that was extremely different from the scenery of the desert, Kay walked following Aran with all his five senses on high alert.

It was then, as he was rounding the building’s pillar, looking at the mark indicating the elevator.

“Whoa! Sorry!”

He almost bumped into someone who came running out. He showed a surprised expression upon seeing Kay’s attire and joined his friends without an apology, and a look of wonder and then realization successively crossed his friends’ eyes.

Kay, who was calming his startled chest and standing in front of the elevator, would soon be able to tell what those who had narrowly avoided a collision had been whispering about.

“Is that that thing? The monster.”

His ears perked up at the provocative word.

“The center is something else too. No matter what, there’s no need to bow and scrape to a bastard like that.”

“They say he’s an S-class. We saw him blow up a building while wearing restraints.”

“And he comes now, of all times? His shamelessness is S-class too, I guess.”

“Come to think of it, I heard Aran is paying for that building.”

“Really? Why?”

Kay also became curious, and his gaze almost turned.

“I don’t know. Isn’t it a responsibility fee? He’s the one who brought him, after all.”

“Or maybe they hit it off.”

“Hey. Why would the one and only Aran Repard be wanting for anything?”

“They say the ones from Willamere are amazing in bed.”

The man, who was repeatedly inserting and removing his index finger into a circle made with his hand, turned his back to Kay as soon as their eyes met.

“Does it bother you?”

Perhaps because his attention had been focused in one direction, he did not notice Aran getting closer until his face touched his shoulder. His smile deepened at the flinch.

“It would be a lie to say it doesn’t, but I can ignore it.”

When he pushed him away with his hand, he was pushed away obediently.

“More than that….”

“Yeah.”

“Do you have a lot of money?”

At the same time as the question, the elevator arrived.

Everyone who got off looked at Aran once, and even with the empty elevator after everyone had gotten off, he stood there just blinking his eyes.

“Hey. Are you listening?”

The guy, who finally came to his senses, held the closing elevator door and signaled for him to get in. The elevator they rode side by side moved.

“Ah. I was taken aback. It’s the first time in my life I’ve been asked if I have a lot of money.”

He covered his mouth with his left hand, which wore the bracelet, and giggled.

“I wouldn’t ask under normal circumstances either. But it’s a building. It wouldn’t be just a penny or two.”

He had asked quite seriously, but the guy buried his face in the corner of the elevator and his shoulders began to shake. He could not help but think, ‘I shouldn’t have asked.’

“Alright, forget it. It’s not my money anyway.”

In the first place, he did not know why the question of whether he had a lot of money was funny. He gave up on further conversation and looked at the continuously rising numbers. It was already passing the 40th floor.

“Ha… I really laughed for the first time in a long time.”

He wiped away the tears that had formed as a price for his suppressed laughter and cleared his throat.

“That’s right. The building was terribly expensive. So now I’m a beggar.”

It would be a natural thing to say since he had paid for the building, but why was he so suspicious?

“But I did it because I wanted to.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t like the style of the building. Instead of paying money, I decided to have it built to my taste when they rebuild it. Sounds good, right?”

“Don’t ask me.”

It was a conversation where common sense just did not apply, so he gave up on thinking any further.

[This is the 51st floor.]

When he got off the stopped elevator, he could see a hallway that stretched out coolly on both sides. Passing all the rooms located in the middle, at the very end. Room 5101.

Below the front door and a small bell, a nameplate divided into four was attached.

Aran Repard

Iris Bernstein

Jude Feng

In order, Aran Repard, Iris Bernstein, Jude Feng, and one blank space.

Kay wondered if his name would go here, and checked the interior that Aran had thrown open.

“Here, this is our dorm.”

The wide, clean, and comfortable space overwhelmed him.

“Come in.”

He took off his worn-out shoes and slowly set his feet down. The smooth and cool feel of the marble was something he could not have experienced in Willamere, which was full of sand. Feeling the unfamiliar sensation, he followed the guidance and stood in front of the first door of the hallway that stretched to the right, with the living room at the center.

“This is your room.”

Aran offered the doorknob as if yielding. Kay, who felt a subtle tension over what this was, opened the door, and a space so wide that it made him think, ‘Can you even call this a room?’ came into view.

“The other rooms already have owners, you see. It’s the smallest, but the view is good, so don’t think badly of it.”

Aran, who had entered, opened the floor-to-ceiling window in front wide open. As he said, the scenery of Lympus came into view at a glance. The city that shone with the force to erase even the darkness that had come after the sunset had already set.

‘This is….’

The place the person he loved most had spoken of. The center of Lympus.

-The sky, you say.

It was around ten months after everyone in the circus troupe had died, and he had started his journey with El.

-That’s right. You can’t see it in Willamere.

El’s steps slowed as he looked up at the darkness that was more accurately described as a ceiling rather than a sky. Kay, who was walking ahead, turned back when his footsteps grew more and more distant, and then were no longer audible. Then he saw El, sprawled out on the desert.

-El?

-Let’s stop walking for today. I think I’m tired.

-We’ve walked less than usual, though?

-Old men get tired!

Kay sat down next to the whining El and spread out a curtain made of fire. It was the reason they could travel with light attire and without a tent.

Then, El grabbed his waist and made him lie down side by side.

-Whoa!

His long robe fluttered, kicking up a sandstorm.

-Kay.

-Yeah.

El, who had closed his eyes as if he would fall asleep right away, muttered while hugging Kay’s body.

-Actually.

-Yeah.

-I don’t think the ceiling here and the sky in Lympus are that different.

-That’s deceptive.

-Who taught you such words?

-You did.

El pinched Kay’s cheek as if to say he was detestable, but it was his honest feeling.