ReLife Player

[When the Fox Rain Stops (7)].

Seona is absent.

She wasn’t feeling well.

Still, Eunha and her friends couldn’t take it lightly.

She had never missed school before.

Even when she was sick, she had attended school with the determination to be sick at school.

They couldn’t help but worry.

«Did anyone go to Seona’s house today? Did you know that Jin seona isn’t coming to school?»

«She called me this morning, and from the sound of her voice, she sounded very sick….»

Hayang and Eunhyuk talked behind the classroom after the morning assembly.

The classroom was quieter than usual.

It wasn’t just Seona who was absent.

The kids who had been targeted by Eunha yesterday didn’t come to school either due to illness.

What’s more, none of the kids were talking, just staying in their seats.

Even though they were together in the classroom, it felt like they had built a wall between them.

They couldn’t shake the feeling of emptiness.

«Minji hasn’t been herself since this morning… and Captain fell asleep as soon as he entered the classroom…»

There was one more reason for the feeling of emptiness.

Minji had been in low spirits since she saw her mother participating in Seona’s expulsion movement yesterday.

The slightest mention of her would set her nerves on edge.

Eunha, too, couldn’t sleep today.

Even when Im Dohon tried to disturb him, it was futile.

In the end, even their homeroom teacher raised his hands.

Hayang seemed strange too.

Eunhyuk pursed his lips when he saw Hayang zoning out during class.

At least she was in good shape, but she seemed to be lost in other thoughts all day.

He couldn’t help but feel like they should play together today.

«Let’s go visit Seona!»

I need to liven things up.

Eunhyuk suggested to his friends as soon as they got home from school.

«…Yeah, I want to go see Seona too.»

Hayang cautiously agreed.

She, too, was planning to go see Seona as soon as her class was over.

«Sorry, I don’t think I can go.»

«What? Why? Come with me. It’s not like you have to work today.»

«…Not today.»

Minji strongly refused.

She pushed Eunhyuk, who was blocking the way with his arms wide open, and left the classroom.

Eunhyuk couldn’t do anything but let her go.

«Captain, you’re coming with us, right?»

«…Sorry, you guys go by yourselves today. I have other things to do.»

Even Eunha turned away.

Leaving aside the brief moment when he got up during lunchtime, he had been sleeping all day.

«…So it’s just us?»

In the end, Eunhyuk decided to go to see Seona alone with Hayang.

☆

As soon as class was over, Im Dohon sent the kids home without cleaning up the classroom.

He had to deal with parents who were demanding that Seona should be expelled.

«…Seona is an excellent student. She was even in the newspaper….»

«Teacher Im Dohon, we’ve seen that newspaper.»

To convince the parents, Im Dohon mentioned that Seona had won a brave child award.

The snorting parents interrupted him.

«Do you know what we thought when we saw that newspaper?»

«…….»

«That is, why a child who can telepathize at such a young age is still in elementary school instead of being accepted into the Player Academy.»

«That’s because age….»

«What does age have to do with it? There’s no age limit for the third year of the Higher Academy, isn’t it possible for an elementary school student to enter?»

Im Dohon frowned.

The reason why people could enter the third grade of the Higher Academy regardless of age was not to turn elementary school children into players.

It was for those who desperately wanted to become players, who had a hatred for monsters.

«I received a telepathic message directly from an Ain, a girl, asking me to save her. At first I thought I had to save her, so I reported it to the Mana Management Organization, but do you know what I thought later?»

«…….»

«I thought maybe the telepath could control my mind.»

«That’s not what a telepathy is, it’s a special ability only found in Ain that allows them to communicate even in mana-dense areas….»

«I know, I know, but it’s not like we know exactly how Ain’s telepathy affects people.»

«I know that too. But do you understand how alien telepathy feels? It scares me. What if that kid spies on us, manipulates us?»

«Even if telepathy doesn’t have any effect on the human body as you say, there’s still the possibility that the Ain could misuse it, right?»

«Did you not see the news today? There was an article about an Ain sending telepathy to someone for several days, driving them crazy.»

«…….»

The general public is ignorant about the Ains.

They don’t understand that after being labeled as monsters and forced to immerse themselves in the player industry, Ains are defending themselves.

Im Dohon could only silently face the parents who just insisted on their points.

☆

Among her friends, Hayang is the only one who knows where Seona lives.

They knew that she lived in a church, but they didn’t know where the church was.

This was because she was reluctant to invite her friends to the church.

She said it might hurt the children who live in the church.

So, unless there was something else going on, Hayang didn’t look for Seona’s church.

«…Is that really it?»

«Yes, that’s it.»

The church was located in the northeastern part of the province, in an area adjacent to the slums.

Climbing up the hill where the asphalt was peeled off, Eunhyuk doubted his eyes when he saw the cross visible above the bushes.

The cross was partially broken.

Even from a distance, it looked like an old building.

«…Was it always like this?»

«…No, it wasn’t like this.»

They continued down the street.

What caught their eyes before anything else was the graffiti on the entrance wall, more visible than the chipped stones.

The words were rather harsh.

[Hang the devil’s child on a cross now!]

[There’s an Ain child living here ^^ Let’s put a dog collar on her for God’s sake].

[It’s too fucking noisy to live here.]

[I hear a dog barking. Shut that mutt up.]

«»…….»

The curses were also on the ground.

The two were left speechless by the other unspeakable words.

«…Sister Maria, what happened? What’s going on here?»

Then Hayang saw the nun scrubbing the stone wall with a floor brush.

She came to her senses and ran to her.

«…Is Hayang here?»

The nun had a cigarette in her mouth.

This was Maria, who was almost always present whenever Seona talked about what happened in church.

«Some bastards did this last night. Those bastards who I wouldn’t be satisfied even if I killed them twice…!»

Maria gritted her teeth.

She extinguished her cigarette with her boots and gestured for the two to enter the church.

Eunhyuk followed her guidance and entered the church.

Women dressed in nun’s habits were cleaning the graffiti near the entrance, and small children were diligently carrying buckets of water.

«Everyone’s been in this trouble since morning. The pastor went to the municipal office to protest and didn’t come back….»

«The pastor?»

«Yes. What’s wrong?»

Maria asked.

Eunhyuk, who was looking around, looked up at her as she grumbled that her cigarette pack was empty.

«It’s not a problem… Why are both the pastor and the nun here? And…»

Was there a nun in the church originally?

Eunhyuk finally found something strange from Seona’s story.

There couldn’t be a nun in the church.

Nuns belonged in cathedrals.

«Is this beyond your understanding?»

«What?»

«Do you not understand this saying?»

Maria smirked.

She tossed the cigarette into a random pile and clasped her hands in front of her chest.

As if spreading enlightenment to a foolish believer.

«God is dead.»

«What?»

«The world has already ended once. What use is religion in a world that has ended?»

God is dead.

Humanity realized on the day the world ended that there was no salvation.

If God existed, He wouldn’t have sent them through trials that only led to despair.

Humans cried out, rather than being abandoned by God, they would rather kill God themselves.

Ironically, people who waged endless wars under the banner of the gods they believed in were able to acknowledge each other only after the world ended.

«Then why is there a church?»

«God may be dead, but humans must live.»

If God wouldn’t save humans, then humans could save each other.

The places that had functioned as religions in the past had become places to help people who had nowhere to go.

Under one ideology, people gathered with the determination to save people who had fallen into despair, regardless of their different religions.

«So forget all the religions you learned in school. Even if you learn, it’s completely useless. Well, religion hasn’t completely disappeared… but most of them are pseudo-religions like Manaism.»

Maria clicked her tongue.

Although God was dead, a new supernatural being was born in the place where God died.

People who fell into despair still yearned for a supernatural being called God in a world where God was dead.

And they fanatically fell into the God they created themselves.

She warned Eunhyuk not to fall into the traps of pseudo-religions along the way.

«Nun, is Seona okay?»

«You’ll have to see for yourselves.»

Maria stands in front of the room where the children are gathered.

«Jin Seona. Your friends are here. Stop playing games and come out.»

Maria knocked on the door.

There was no answer from inside.

«Jin seona, if you can hear me, answer me!»

«…I’m sick, please tell my friends I’m sorry I can’t go to school.»

«Tell them yourself.»

«I don’t want to, I’m sick.»

A voice came from behind the door.

Seona was acting strangely, not like herself.

Maria sighed.

«Are you sick? I’m sick too. But Seona, you’re young, so get over it.»

«If you’re sick, go to the hospital. I have medicine where I always keep it, so you can take it, and don’t tell me music is the only drug the country allows.»

«Stupid. There’s no way that’ll work.»

«That’s right. I don’t want to hear you say music is the only drug allowed. Besides, this isn’t an ordinary pain.»

«I don’t know. I feel dizzy, so I want to sleep. And I’m not stupid!»

Maria retorted and banged on the door.

There was no response from inside.

«If you don’t want to come out and lock the door…ugh I have my thoughts too. Even if you lock the door, it’s within the palm of the Buddha, you idiot.»

Maria pulled out a key from her sleeve, revealing her yellow-stained teeth with a grin as she ground them together.

«Kids! Go in and drag Jin Seona out right now!»

«»Yes!!!»

Maria opened the door.

Hayang and Eunhyuk opened the door and ran inside.

The room was dark.

Hayang pressed the light switch.

It wasn’t hard to find Seona.

In a room full of bunk beds, there was a figure wrapped in a futon.

«Seona, it’s Hayang, are you okay?»

«Hey, Jin Seona, are you in a lot of pain?»

The two asked, ignoring what had happened earlier.

The futon twitched, but didn’t show its face.

«…I’m sorry. It’s nice of you to come, but can you please go back, I want to be alone.»

«No, they can’t. Jung Hayang and Choi Eunhyuk, pick up Jin-seona’s futon!»

Maria pointed her finger at the futon.

Eunhyuk and Hayang looked at each other.

They nodded almost simultaneously.

«»Seona, I’m sorry!»

Being alone when you’re depressed only makes you more depressed.

They both tried to lift the futon Seona was wearing.

«Don’t do this! You guys need to go!»

Seona struggles under the blanket.

She struggled to keep the blanket from being taken away.

Although her bare paws and tail were sticking out, she wrapped the blanket around herself to protect her face.

«Oh, come on, look at this, you think you’re a disease spreader? Even if you were, it’s not viruses that come out when you stick your head out, it’s fluff, you idiot!»

«Let go! The medicine is always in the same place, so please stop going crazy!»

Maria pulled Seona’s blanket.

In the end, Seona had no choice but to reveal her messy hair outside the blanket.

«It’s too much… I haven’t even washed up….»

«Well, who asked you to hide in the blanket?»

Maria crossed her arms.

And Seona pulled the blanket with both hands.

«You should behave properly. Your friends who used to play with you have come to see you in this state.»

«….»

Seona bit her lips.

Eventually, tears fell from her red eyes.

«…How am I supposed to look at my friends’ faces when I lied about being sick and didn’t go to school?»

«Why can’t you? Are you guilty?»

Eunhyuk took a step forward.

Seona wiped the tears from her eyes.

«I’m so sorry that you guys are playing with me like this…, and I ran away like a fool, so how am I supposed to look at your faces?»

«Why did you run away? We played together, didn’t we?»

«That’s right, don’t talk like that, Seona.»

Eunhyuk and Hayang replied.

Seona couldn’t hold it in any longer and sobbed.

«…The kids in my class say I’m a monster. They said I’m…, they said I’m a monster! You must have seen the sign in front of the church…!»

«Why are you a monster! When did we ever call you a monster?»

«I know too! I’m not a monster…! But… but… everyone says that to me. I won’t go to school anymore… I’m too scared. I won’t go to school.»

Seona cried, tears streaming down her face.

Despite Eunhyuk and Hayang’s attempts to convince her, she didn’t budge.

«…I won’t… I won’t go to school anymore…»

«»Seona!!»

«Jin Seona!»

Seona had been in tears since last night.

She had been crying for more than a day without eating, so it wasn’t surprising when she fainted and collapsed.

Maria rushed out of the room and called an ambulance.

Eunhyuk shook Seona’s shoulder, who didn’t answer no matter how many times he called.

«…I…, I don’t have the strength.»

Hayang could only stare at this scene with reddened eyes.

No strength.

The strength to protect a friend.

«So….»

If she didn’t have the strength, she could borrow it.

Since she was Alice’s direct descendant, she had the value for it.

She couldn’t afford to be discouraged like this.