BCGWR Chapter 38 Part 1

037.

Sweet Dreams 9

Ji-su, with tears welling up, patiently watched as the text eventually formed a single sentence and read it.

[‘Patron’ God of Rest asks if you’re done crying now]

“…Sniffle…”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest tuts, saying if you keep crying like that, you’ll get a headache]

“Hmph… Now… Hmph… Tears, sob… are falling, what do you want me to do…? Sob, sob, sob…”

As he answered somewhat rebelliously, the text vanished instantly, then began to fill in a little faster this time.

[‘Patron’ God of Rest shakes his head, saying he spoke out of concern, but your attitude is quite disrespectful]

“…Sniffle…”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest chides you to at least wipe your face]

“Nothing to wipe, sob, with…”

Less than a second after he whimpered and grumbled, a box of tissues appeared before Ji-su’s eyes. As he pulled out soft tissues and wiped his tears and snot, a trash can also appeared this time.

Han Ji-su, who had never had a Patron, had no experience with such things, but other Espers often mentioned anecdotes about Patrons providing necessary items in dungeons, so he tilted his head and mumbled.

“Is this a dungeon? Seeing how, sniffle, all these things just appear? Ah, I’m sleeping in the hospital right now, aren’t I…? Sniffle…”

He first thought it might be a dungeon-like space, but as he spoke, his own situation came to mind, and just as he concluded it wasn’t, a new message popped up.

[‘Patron’ God of Rest denies that this place is a dungeon, stating that it is a ‘Passage for Souls’ personally designed by him, created in a form similar to a dungeon but not a dungeon. He boasts that the reason he specifically called you here is because it is the only space where he can give bound items without any restrictions to a human not under contract with him, meaning it’s free from the surveillance or interference of other Patrons.]

“I don’t know why you’re so proud, sob… Ahem! Well, thanks for the good stuff. Sniffle. Did you call me all the way here just to give me equipment if I refused the contract?”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest nods, saying roughly so.]

“Why go to such lengths…? Don’t you usually, sob… sniffle… not even glance at anyone below S-rank, gasp… right?”

As he diligently asked, still hiccupping, the Patron, who had been silent for a moment, sent a slightly longer message this time.

[‘Patron’ God of Rest frowns, saying he merely has strict standards and doesn’t only patronize S-ranks. He also adds that he was originally planning to call you when the opportunity arose, but as his Protégé happened to fall into a state of brain death today, he was able to easily extract your soul.]

“Sob… Don’t say brain death. Just say I’m, sniffle… turning off my brain and sleeping.”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest says that regardless, since your brain was completely stopped, you were able to come here.]

“…”

Ji-su, suspicious of the God of Rest making such unnecessary remarks, pulled out more tissues.

In the meantime, he wiped his tear-streaked face, gently pressed the back of his hand against his swollen eyes to cool them, and took a deep breath.

He felt a little calmer, and his mind cleared. So Ji-su leaned back comfortably on the floor and said.

“Whew… Now that I’ve collected myself a bit… tell me. Sniffle. Why did you contract with me? I accepted because I had nothing to lose, but I’m neither an Esper nor a Healer, and I don’t really have any rare skills, so I probably won’t be of much help.”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest says there are few humans in the world who can help him in the first place. He snorts, calling the young human quite arrogant.]

As Ji-su stared at the text window with suspicious eyes, the Patron began to speak first, even though Ji-su hadn’t said anything in particular.

[‘Patron’ God of Rest says he actually has something he wants to ask of Han Ji-su.]

“…Ask? What is it?”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest tells him to wait a moment, choosing his words carefully.]

“…”

While the Patron paused, Ji-su tried to make his own guesses, but he had absolutely no idea why the Patron had taken him as a Protégé.

Of course, the God of Rest wasn’t unaware of Ji-su’s existence. He was Kang Jae-yoon’s Patron, so even a busy Patron would inevitably know Ji-su, who was constantly by Kang Jae-yoon’s side whenever there was time. However, the reason for taking him as a Protégé remained completely unpredictable, no matter how much he thought about it.

While waiting for the Patron’s reply, as Ji-su was diligently racking his brain, a new message appeared before his eyes.

[‘Patron’ God of Rest asks Han Ji-su to eat three meals a day, sleep well, not smoke, stay away from alcohol, take occasional walks, and exercise moderately to live a healthy life.]

“What kind of demands are these…? Surely you’re not planning to sell my organs or something?”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest leaps up in indignation, asking why he would say such a terrible thing!]

“No, it’s suspicious! Just to live healthily? You contracted with me because of that? I may not be smart, but I’m not stupid, you know? What’s the reason? Is there something good about my body? Like the Awakened in another country whose tears turn into jewels? Did my organs suddenly become incredibly good? Do you need my body?”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest chuckles, telling him to ramble on some more. He then adds that the jewel-maker is a fraud, so don’t believe him.]

“…”

The Awakened whose tears turned into jewels was a fraud…? Ji-su, who had wanted to collect one of those beautiful, pure-colored jewels, spoke, trying his best to hide his disappointment.

“I knew it seemed like a scam. I wasn’t going to buy one anyway.”

[‘Patron’ God of Rest gazes intently at Han Ji-su’s eyes.]

“…Sniffle.”

Ji-su, averting his gaze, awkwardly pulled out a tissue and pretended to wipe his tears, at which point the God of Rest displayed a new message.

[‘Patron’ God of Rest says the joking ends here, and now he will truly speak honestly.]

“Alright. Since we’ve already contracted, tell me honestly.”

This time, too, the status window disappeared.