AEPOB 08

Chapter 08

As the bright dialogue window shimmered before my eyes, the target of my resentment shifted from the creator to the dialogue window itself.

‘Isn’t that obvious?’

Even shit you have to know about beforehand to avoid stepping in it.

So the more information I had about the original story, the better.

**[I have prepared something for the Possessor. Would you like to take on the challenge?]**

**[Y/N]**

At this point, the only way was to gather all the hints about the original story, find out the title, and avoid the main characters.

‘Yes!’

**[Mission!]**

**’Even if the sky falls, there’s a hole to crawl out of.’**

Possessor, it seems you need to improve your social relationships for a smooth possessed life. We hope you make a ‘true friend’ here.

—Reward: Hint about the original story (2/3)

‘Hey, are you watching me?’

I had just told my father I wanted to make friends, and now this dialogue window kindly linked it to a mission.

And that phrase ‘true friend’ was quite grating.

‘How am I supposed to make a true friend here?’

With the new mission, my already sharp mind became even more alert.

Looks like sleep is out of the question tonight.

I was about to say, ‘Thank you so much for caring about me, I’m going crazy,’ to the dialogue window.

Friend.

Although not family, they can be the closest relationship.

Okay, that’s fine. It’s true that you need a lot of help from people around you to adapt after being possessed.

But a ‘true friend’?

That changes things. In game terms, the difficulty has suddenly jumped from Normal to Hard.

And I don’t even know the criteria.

‘How am I supposed to figure this out?’

The ultimate problem was whether I could make a true friend in a short period of time, something I hadn’t had in over 20 years.

I chewed on my lips and moved my pen restlessly.

Even after filling the paper with circles, no decent plan came to mind.

‘I need to get the rewards related to the original story somehow…’

In other places, they’d give quests around this time to help with the mission.

But this damn dialogue window just throws the mission at me and disappears again.

Curses I had stopped for the sake of civility rose to the back of my throat.

I pressed my temples firmly, calmed down, and began to think things through step by step.

Friendships start with close relationships. So it’s easier to target someone you can spend time with easily.

But I can’t just choose anyone.

If I recklessly set a target and accidentally press the obsession button, it would be terrifying just to imagine.

The person I have the most contact with in this situation is Kiki.

Since my father said he’d help, he’s someone I can naturally secure time with.

‘He seemed like a decent kid when I saw him last…’

There were some questionable aspects, but he was a much better target than the boss boy, who was another contact my age.

Come to think of it, my father said he was meeting Kiki tomorrow, right?

I immediately threw open my door and headed to the hallway.

After knocking a couple of times on the pharmacy door across the hall, I heard my father’s voice telling me to come in.

The moment I opened the door, I ran straight to him and asked.

“Father! You said you’re meeting Kiki tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. Do you have something to say?”

“Well… Could I go along to gather herbs starting tomorrow too?”

“You, Bell? You’ve been having a hard time waking up lately. Will you be able to get up at dawn?”

My father’s concern wasn’t exaggerated.

Although my body had changed, whether it was influenced by the person inside or not, I still found it difficult to wake up early.

But what could I do?

If it was for escaping this place, I had to do it.

I dragged out my words and answered.

“But…”

Just having breakfast together wouldn’t be enough to observe Kiki.

I needed at least a few days to spend enough time observing him closely.

In my heart, I wanted to just come clean and say I needed to become friends with Kiki because of the mission.

But I couldn’t do that.

As I hesitated, my father let out a small laugh. He looked at me as if he understood without me saying a word.

“Pfft, I didn’t know our Bell wanted to be friends with Kiki that much.”

Worried that my father might feel left out, I quickly added a flattering comment.

“And… I also want to see how you grow the herbs, Father.”

At my words, my father’s eyes softened, as if he was pleased.

“Then let’s go together tomorrow. But since your hands are hurt, you’ll only be allowed to watch from the side.”

Unlike his gentle expression, his tone was firm.

He occasionally showed a stubborn side, but most of it was related to Abeli’s safety.

He was already overly sensitive about that, and I had poured fuel on the fire yesterday.

For the time being, I had no choice but to follow what my father said.

I obediently nodded.

The next morning, early dawn.

As the sun rose, the surroundings grew dimly bright.

Normally, I’d be deep in dreamland, but today I was in the herb field instead of my bed.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’d stayed up all night many times before, but this was the first time I’d voluntarily woken up early.

To complete just one mission, I had to personally practice a miracle morning I’d never done in my life.

‘I hope the dialogue window appreciates this effort.’

With my daily routine ruined, I kept yawning and had to secretly swallow them back.

But the other two showed no signs of fatigue. They just silently piled herbs into their baskets one by one.

They were both so focused on picking herbs that I felt like I’d be interrupting if I spoke.

Just then, while I was only watching, my father gestured to me.

*Flap, flap.*

His palm waved up and down busily.

‘What?’

As I just stared blankly, my father soon straightened his crouched legs and stopped working. Then he came over to me.

He took a water bottle from the basket in front of me and whispered secretly.

“Bell, I’ll step away for a moment. Try talking to Kiki.”

“Yes…?”

Before I could answer, my father called out.

“Kiki! Let’s take a break for a bit. I’ll go get some water over there, so you catch your breath too.”

We had already brought water bottles full from home.

This was probably part of my father’s plan from yesterday.

I looked up at my father’s dependable face. True to his word to trust him, he was actively helping me.

Leaving my father behind, who quickly disappeared, I took a bottle of fresh fruit juice and approached Kiki.

Kiki was wiping the beads of sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief.

I cautiously held out the juice to him.

“Here, drink this. It’s fresh fruit juice my father made yesterday, so it’ll be delicious.”

“…….”

But despite my outstretched hand, Kiki just looked at me silently.

It was quite awkward, but I forced the juice into his hand and asked.

“Did you get your wound treated properly?”

“…Your father treated it for me earlier.”

As if to prove that, Kiki had a piece of gauze on his forehead since morning.

I had no doubt about my father’s treatment skills. I knew firsthand that his medicine was effective.

He had disinfected the scrapes on my palms and applied his ointment yesterday, and they were already healing, so I could acknowledge his skill.

After Kiki’s answer, the conversation died. The longer the silence lasted, the more anxious I became.

I pursed my lips tightly and racked my brain.

What kind of topics would kids his age like?

I tried to think of conversation topics, but nothing came to mind.

‘Ha, I should have had more conversations with early teenagers before possession.’

But I couldn’t just treat it like business, could I?

The only information I had about Kiki was his wound, and I’d already mentioned that topic.

It wasn’t easy to break the ice.

At that moment, Kiki spoke first.

His gaze was fixed on the juice bottle he was fidgeting with.

“What do you want from me? You’ve been staring at me since earlier.”

His rather blunt words caught me off guard.

“Wh-what?”

“I told you before. Don’t come near me.”

But contrary to his cold words, his attitude was excessively calm.

There was none of the gradually rising tone or frowning expression that usually accompanied such words.

It was the same as last time.

That terrible aura, as if he had let go of everything.

That gloomy energy that seemed to take no interest in anything, not even himself, could be felt once again.