A Horror Novel’s Supporting Character Wants to Live as a Human

Chapter 240

He, who was not in his right mind, made decisions that were not in his right mind and lived pretending to be sane.

Fortunately, Tika was recovering smoothly except for being tormented by countless whispering voices.

The weather grew colder and colder. What they had brought from Shambhala was no longer enough to endure it.

After agonizing for a long time, Shan finally came to find him.

"Yesung. There's something I'd like to ask."

"What is it?"

"If I suggested leaving the sea now, would Tika dislike it? She used to love the sea."

"...Why are you asking me that? Ask her yourself. Shan spends the most time with Tika."

"But I don't want to burden Tika if possible."

"Ah, so you're asking me to ask Tika instead? You're using me as a shield because you're afraid she'll hate you for burdening her?""You're definitely Yesung."

He wondered if he should punch him.

He stopped writing about recent events and closed the red book.

"If you leave the sea, where are you planning to go?"

"We'd have to go inland. It would be good if there were wide plains with a river nearby. There are too many hills and forests here, and the sea wind hits us directly."

That was true.

When all three were healthy and the temperature was high, there had been no problems,

But when it got cold, various difficulties were bound to arise.

"I'll ask Tika."

"Thank you. Then I'll go to the river to prepare a meal."

When Shan left with light steps,

He spoke to Aphoom-Zhah, who was lying beside him trivially playing the prank of freezing grass blades.

"Can't you raise the temperature here a bit? We're going to end up moving for no reason."

[Do you want to freeze, believer? You become more rude and arrogant by the day.]

"A threat to freeze from a god who filled Dreamland with sand for several hundred million years, anxiously waiting until I visited. Well heard."

[Crazy believer...]

Leaving behind the irritated Aphoom-Zhah, he returned to Theem'dra.

Since Tika had become able to move her body, she had been looking for other tasks to ignore the strange whispers.

Extracting fiber from plant stems was one of those tasks.

"Tika, how are you feeling?"

"Yesung."

Her fingers, stained green with dye, were still covered with black fingernails.

She swept the messy leaves and stem husks on the floor with her palm and invited him to sit beside her.

"Better than before. I think I'm getting better every day."

"Your voice has improved a bit too?"

"Not that, but... at least I can distinguish between other people's voices and hallucinations now. Still making progress!"

He wanted to roughly ruffle Tika's hair and comfort her as she spoke positively with effort,

But since he had come here for business anyway, he had to hold back.

"Shan was worried that it's getting colder day by day. Do you have any thoughts about moving?"

"Wouldn't it be fine either way? Does Shan want to go?"

"It's not that, he asked me. He said he was hesitant to ask about your intentions."

"Ah."

Tika's fidgeting hands stopped.

She somehow seemed disheartened.

"Wouldn't it be better to do as Shan wants? Anyway, he would make better judgments than me."

"That doesn't seem to be what Shan wants. If you said you wanted to stay here, Shan would repair the house more. And Shan's judgment isn't always right. You and Shan need to talk it out and reach an agreement."

"What Yesung says is right, but. Sometimes I think Shan would make better judgments than me. Um... Since I've become like this, I think Shan wouldn't have done this."

"Tika."

"He's older than me! It's natural that he's more mature than me."

So she had been thinking such thoughts.

Tika's blue eyes had returned, but her golden hair still hadn't come back.

The day she met Idra wasn't anyone's fault,

But she would surely remember that day for the rest of her life whenever she saw her black fingernails and hair.

In a way, it could be called visible trauma.

"How about honestly talking and consulting with Shan? It's pointless for me to relay messages like this."

"Shan!"

Tika suddenly closed her mouth.

As if it was difficult to speak, her hesitating lips opened after a while.

"...Shan hasn't given me an answer about the proposal, you know? He definitely said he'd answer after Yesung returned, but he hasn't said anything yet, you know? This is a problem, right?"

"What?"

"Has, has he started to dislike me? Because my hair turned black and my fingernails became like this? Or maybe he became afraid of me because I bit Shan's shoulder? But that wasn't me then. I won't do it again. I'm all better now..."

Tika started sniffling again.

Though Tika, who was crying while snapping and twisting thick plant stems, looked pitiful,

He was just as flustered.

"Ti, Tika."

"Thinking like that makes me scared of Shan. I can't talk with him properly. I'm afraid Shan will avoid me if the proposal comes up during conversation, and I can't even talk about the voices I'm hearing now. What if Shan thinks I've gone crazy?"

"So that's the thing."

"What if it all ends? What if Shan becomes afraid of me? What if he says he wants to go back to Shambhala?"

Tika was now lying down and wailing.

Shan, for his part, didn't want to burden Tika with important conversations since she was recovering,

And Tika, for her part, was worried that Shan might have changed his mind since he wasn't telling her anything.

He could roughly understand both their feelings, but watching it made him think, 'Now I understand why they say not to give or receive romantic advice.'

He came out after listening to complaints and comforting her for hours without being able to properly console Tika.

Feeling completely drained and just standing there, Shan was coming from afar with a smile, thinking everything had been resolved.

"Did you talk with Tika? What did she say?"

"She said to do as Shan wants."

"What? That can't be right. Can't you talk to her again? Didn't she say where she wanted to go? You should have asked that."

"No, so she just said whatever Shan wants..."

"Since Tika's body has weakened, we need to go to a better environment. It has to be a place where she can live long."

Ah. Damn.

Why were both of them doing this to him?

Get married! Just get married, both of you! Please!

*

While Aphoom-Zhah watched with disdain as he went back and forth between Shan and Tika,

An accident occurred where part of the house roof collapsed.

Concluding that this house could no longer hold up, they quickly prepared to move.

Actually, there wasn't much to pack.

The traps they left in the river could be made again at their new location.

They decided to take only the tools made when carving wood and things that would be difficult to remake.

Other than that, they just prepared enough food to eat during the journey.

While they packed, Aphoom-Zhah maintained a very noble attitude and didn't lift a finger to help,

Which caused Aphoom-Zhah's stock in his mind to drop somewhat.

[Believer. Those humans are handling it themselves, so why are you laboring?]

"Because I hate the sight of sitting with a crooked attitude like you, watching people who are working."

[I don't understand. Can't you just sit too? You're so thin with only bones that even if a ghoul came, it would leave saying there's nothing to eat.]

"Are you picking a fight?"

If he would just shut his mouth, it would be half as good.

From this attitude, he would surely complain about this and that while moving.

He wondered if he should tell him to go back across the sea until they finished moving.

Fortunately, Shan stepped forward saying that since he had promised to serve Aphoom-Zhah, he would take care of him.

It was almost self-sacrifice.

But his admiration for Shan's kind heart was brief, as Tika stood beside him with an anxious face.

Only then did he realize why Shan had volunteered to take charge of Aphoom-Zhah.

Shan had voluntarily sacrificed himself for Tika's comfortable journey.

Ha.

Only he was unhappy here again.

They left the beloved seaside with a god in tow.

Since it was the path back along the river, retracing exactly the way they had come, it wasn't that unfamiliar or scary.

However.

"Should we rest here for a bit? What do you think?"

"If Tika is tired too, that would be good."

"Hmm. Tika, what do you think? Would it be better to rest a bit?"

"If, if Shan says it's okay."

"Hmm. Shan, are you okay?"

"That depends on Tika's opinion..."

[The two are playing well together.]

At Aphoom-Zhah's words, Tika and Shan glanced at each other and sat down a little apart from each other.

Even in the midst of this, not looking at each other was a bonus.

[Why does this being's believer have to be stuck between those two?]

"...I don't really know either. Can't be helped."

[Shall I freeze the two of them stuck together? Then they'd be forced to talk.]

"What are you talking about?"

Even though he said that, honestly, he wanted to agree with Aphoom-Zhah too.

He suppressed the urge to force them together and tell them to spill what they were thinking about each other.

After walking for days while enduring such feelings,

At night, to overcome the cold, everyone except Aphoom-Zhah slept huddled together,

While pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, when night deepened, Tika, who had been lying on his right, quietly got up and headed somewhere.

And a little later,

Shan, who had been lying on the left, also got up silently and left.

He lay there and pondered intensely.

Whether to follow or not. He could roughly guess what the two would talk about.

Since both had a lot pent up, he was worried they might get heated and fight with each other.

Just as he was about to quietly get up,

[Believer. You're good at pretending to sleep.]

"Oh, you startled me!"

[My believer would naturally be curious. I watched where those humans went. Come here.]

Though his smug tone was strangely annoying,

He immediately followed when Aphoom-Zhah said he had watched where Shan and Tika were heading.

About a 5-minute walk from the camping spot.

In a place where the completely open landscape felt refreshing with nothing blocking the view, Shan and Tika were sitting side by side.

He and Aphoom-Zhah crouched low and approached as close as possible.

Even so, they couldn't hear voices, and just as he was wondering if there was any way, Aphoom-Zhah spoke.

[Shall I relay it? It would be difficult for the believer's pathetic ears to hear.]

"What? You can hear their voices from here? What are they saying?"

[Wait and see. ...One human is saying that if the other has come to dislike them during this time, it can't be helped.]

What!

The conversation had already progressed that far while he was away?

Whether he looked at Aphoom-Zhah with shocked eyes or not, Aphoom-Zhah continued speaking.

[And then they say something roughly.]

"You have to tell me what!"

[The other human hugged the crying human.]

"I can see that too!"

[They're apologizing, saying sorry. Believer, do I need to say more? The two seem to have gotten along well. Isn't that the end?]

"Just because people are hugging doesn't mean everything's over!"

He was a fool to trust Aphoom-Zhah.

After punching Aphoom-Zhah once, he began stealthily approaching behind the two.

The words of the two, who were distracted by hugging each other, finally began to be heard.

"...sorry for making you do that. Tika, you looked troubled, so I wanted to give you time."

"I was constantly worried that Shan would start avoiding me. You fool. I thought you disliked me because I didn't return to how I was originally!"

"You are you. Your changed appearance is pretty too."

"...Even with black fingernails that grow really fast?"

"I can cut them for you."

"Even though my hair isn't a pretty color? Even though it's completely different from Shambhala people?"

"I don't know well, but since I have light-colored hair, one of our children will be golden. I think black is pretty too."

"You don't dislike it being like scorpion shell?"

"There are no scorpions here."

A brief silence flowed.

"I hesitated whether to say this. You have both night and sea in you. I think that's very wonderful."

"Shan, I."

"Ask me once more. You know what you said before."

"Will you, will you live with me...?"

To the tearful Tika, Shan answered very tenderly.

"Yes. I'll live with you. Sorry for saying it late."

Tika rushed into Shan's arms.

Just before the two fell over in happiness, he stood up from behind and began clapping.

-Clap clap clap clap!

"Finally! Damn! How many years exactly! I've lived until now to see this!"

"Aaaaah!"

"Yesung! What are you doing here!"

"That's not what's important right now. Both of you stand here. Quickly!"

He grabbed the shocked Shan and Tika and made them stand facing each other.

Both had bewildered expressions, but it didn't matter.

"Now, hold each other's hands. Originally, this kind of thing should be done quickly before minds change. Tika, will you take Shan as your husband and cherish and love him for life?"

"What? What?"

"I'll consider the question as agreement."

"Of, of course I will!"

"Good. Shan, will you take Tika as your wife and cherish and love her for life?"

"Of course I would...?"

"Good. You two were born together in Shambhala and came to a distant place together. The god who Shan serves and who saved Tika, and I who accompanied you two, will remember your vows in this place."

From afar, Aphoom-Zhah waved his hand as if uninterested.

Seeing that, Shan and Tika's faces began to turn red, but he pretended not to notice and declared.

"I declare that Shan and Tika have become husband and wife in this place. Please live happily and rely on each other from now on. I hope the two of you will move forward together harmoniously, excluding me!"

"Th, thank you."

"Thank you, Yesung."

Whew. One matter resolved.

He lightly patted the two's overlapping hands and said.

"I'm glad I could see you two getting along before I leave."

At the sudden news, Shan and Tika's expressions became blank.

"What? Before you leave?"

"Where are you going this time? I, I don't hurt at all now. Really! I can even run around now!"

The touching moment was brief. The flustered two grabbed onto him.

Was this such a surprising thing? He answered while not letting go of Shan and Tika's hands.

"That's true now. For now."

"Are you saying it will change again later?"

"You two don't need to worry about anything. Now, both come here."

This time, he took one hand each from the two.

He also wanted to take good care of the two if possible,

But it was impossible as long as Idra remained on this planet.

To gain one thing, another had to be sacrificed.

Their hands were warm. Perhaps because they had gone through many things since leaving Shambhala, both their hands were slightly rough.

"Where there are meetings, there are partings. Just as I met you two by chance, now there's just a reason I must leave."

"Is that related to us...?"

"Whatever the reason, it wouldn't matter. I'm just glad I can leave after seeing you two together like this. The relationship of friends is sufficiently trustworthy, but you two have become a community of shared destiny that relies deeply on each other."

If possible, he also wanted to come see how the two were doing someday.

But he didn't know how long it would take to deal with all of Idra's avatars.

Moreover, he would be in terrible shape, and showing them that would only make them worry more.

"Yesung, don't go."

"Both of you, don't fight and get along well from now on. Don't do dangerous things. Shan, please pray diligently for the 'Lord of the Extreme Realm.' Help expand his territory. It would be even better if you think of me sometimes."

"We'll remember Yesung more!"

"That would be very nice."

See that, Aphoom-Zhah? He had won.

The two held onto his sleeves until the end,

But when Aphoom-Zhah sauntered over and pushed their hands away, they were pushed back powerlessly.

Shan murmured.

"Can we see you again later? Someday?"

"If our luck connects, of course."

"You'll definitely come visit us, right?"

"Of course. When I miss you two, I'll drop by."

"Can't you just not go..."

Tika started crying again.

Shan watched him quietly with a face that was both devastated and wanting to cry, then put his arm around Tika's shoulder.

Yes. That's how it should be.

Aphoom-Zhah nodded to him with an indifferent face as if watching a melodrama.

Dragging out time here would only leave regrets.

"Well then, goodbye here."

Stay healthy.

Thus he left the two behind and parted ways with Aphoom-Zhah on a different path.