Chapter 10 – The Culprit of Group Possession

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Translated by Seoulbound

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Meursault Pendleton was an orphan, just like most of the children in the zone.

The military had begun accepting the enlistment of child soldiers to save even one more child, but.

From some point, children became beings who were abandoned upon birth, raised by previously abandoned children, entered the military when they came of age, and later raised other abandoned children.

Thus, being an ‘orphan’ was not a major flaw in the zone.

And no child felt dissatisfied with the fact that they were an orphan.

However, Meursault had a wish that other children did not have.

While orphans all lacked last names, it was also due to that wish that only Meursault created and attached the surname ‘Pendleton’ to himself.

The reason he created and attached the surname was only one.

The wish to have a family to inherit his surname.

Of course, orphans also formed families and lived together, but the family Meursault wanted to have was somewhat different.

A spouse who had been raised with love by a grandfather and grandmother, a father and mother, rather than being an orphan.

Making grandfathers and grandmothers for the child to be born between them too.

And showing an old photo to the grandchild born after that, saying, ‘This is your great-grandmother.’

That was the ideal family Meursault dreamed of.

And in Meursault’s opinion, there was only one woman in this zone who could fulfill his dream.

Daphne Goodman.

The commander’s daughter.

Her surname, ‘Goodman,’ was a surname inherited through generations in the family.

By that alone, she was an extremely ideal spouse.

Meursault spent his life hectically dedicating it all to the military to marry her.

However, when he came to his senses, the one standing by her side was a stranger he had never seen before in his life.

‘Hayden? At least, there was no such name among the orphans I knew. Is he even a guy from our zone?’

When the commander married his daughter to Hayden, Meursault despaired.

He didn’t want to take another woman as his spouse now.

He wanted to be discharged from service and rest, but he couldn’t do that either.

Because although he failed to marry Daphne, Meursault was evaluated as the most competent talent in the current military.

The only saving grace was that the man named Hayden was a man worthy of loyalty.

Aside from the Daphne issue.

Having become Hayden’s adjutant in that way, Meursault had to watch the married life of Hayden and Daphne from the closest distance.

At first he thought of it as punishment, but.

Soon Meursault learned that he still had a chance remaining.

He noticed that Commander Hayden and Daphne Goodman did not love each other.

They were merely married out of necessity.

Finding out that fact, Meursault was overjoyed and committed the most insane act of his life.

Confessing his feelings in front of Commander Hayden.

“If Lady Daphne were happy, I too would not have stepped forward. But Your Excellency does not love Lady Daphne. Lady Daphne does not love Your Excellency either! This marriage is invalid!”

Hayden replied without taking his eyes off the documents despite the adjutant’s sudden and out-of-nowhere insubordination.

“I had heard rumors and knew of it, but you are truly crazy. Although you do your work well.”

“Do not change the subject, Your Excellency. I have dedicated myself to the military to marry Lady Daphne since much longer ago. Now that Father has passed away, you must acknowledge my merits.”

“Look here, Meursault.”

Commander Hayden only then took his eyes off the documents and looked at Meursault.

“Daphne doesn’t love you either, but.”

The commander added in a flat tone as if pointing out that his attire was disheveled.

“You don’t love Daphne either.”

At that time, Meursault received a shock as if struck by lightning.

Since he had always dreamed of marrying Daphne, he thought he loved her, but.

Somehow, he couldn’t refute Commander Hayden’s point.

If the story had ended here, Meursault would have folded his feelings and backed away, but Commander Hayden’s words did not end there.

“But yes. It is not wrong to say this marriage is invalid.”

“Not wrong, you say?”

“Meursault. Just as you said, my woman is not Daphne.”

“Yes?”

And the words that followed were the most insane story Meursault had ever heard in his life.

“Someday, my woman and my woman’s child will come looking for me. Daphne knows that too.”

“Lady Daphne knows too? What on earth does that…”

“You’d better pray that child grows up safely and inherits my position, Meursault. Only then will Daphne become a free woman.”

Having married the most noble woman in the zone and risen to the position of commander, yet having his woman and child separate.

Although it was an absurd story, Meursault, knowing that the man named Hayden was not one to speak lightly, believed those words and waited quietly.

For at least two or three years.

Since neither the woman, nor the child, nor anyone else had visited even after ten years had passed, Meursault had given up on waiting for them and was just beginning to harbor the intention of becoming the commander himself to marry Daphne.

However, yesterday morning, like a lie, he heard news that a child claiming to be the commander’s son had visited.

With an extremely polite, calm, and mature attitude, Meursault had been swelling with dreams that this child would inherit the commander’s position, and he would soon be able to marry Daphne who became a free woman.

Yet when he heard within a single day that the child was a fake and that the real son had appeared again.

Meursault instinctively felt that things would not be resolved easily.

Since a fake had appeared once, there was no guarantee that the newly appeared son was not also a fake.

‘But… what… is this?’

Certainly, when I first saw him, he was an ordinary young child.

However, at some moment, the child’s atmosphere suddenly changed completely.

The words that poured out of the child’s mouth after that far surpassed expectations.

“Do you still plan to marry Daphne Goodman?”

“……!”

As if pointing out disheveled attire.

A familiar intonation.

The child added in the commander’s unique, indifferent tone.

“But it seems you still lack confidence in whether you love Daphne?”

Meursault stared at the child in front of him with a face as if he had discovered a bizarre creature.

Although it was absurd that the commander had shared his weakness with such a young child in the short span of a single night.

Somehow, rather than a child he was seeing for the first time, Commander Hayden Goodman.

He felt as if he was conversing with him.

“Your… Excellency?”

Meursault spat that out without realizing it, then startled and shut his mouth tight.

To call someone other than the commander Your Excellency.

Even after hearing the irreverent slip of the tongue, the child was only smiling, who knew what he was thinking.

“That’s right. His Excellency told me.”

“Ah…”

Did he not notice his mistake?

Somehow, Meursault got the feeling that the kid in front of him was trying to pass over his mistake slyly.

However, the child’s words did not end there and continued.

“But I… understand.”

“What do you mean you understand?”

A child like this understood the immoral and inappropriate heart of coveting his superior’s wife?

No matter how much of Meursault he was, he knew at least that his heart was not honorable.

The reason Commander Hayden did not criticize him was because Meursault’s feelings toward Daphne weren’t important to him, not because he understood him.

Even so, the kid in front of him was putting the word ‘understanding’ on his lips.

Just as he was about to think of such a kid as laughable.

“You just want to make a family, don’t you, mister?”

The words that poured out of the child’s mouth next were enough to shake Meursault.

“Not just any family, but a spouse raised with love by a grandfather and grandmother, a father and mother. Making grandfathers and grandmothers for the child to be born between them. And showing an old photo to the grandchild born after that, saying, ‘This is your great-grandmother.’ A family like that.”

Meursault’s eyes widened.

“H-how do you…”

When Meursault asked stutteringly, the child smiled bitterly.

“That’s because I, too, was an orphan.”

Meursault realized as if struck by lightning.

That only now did he meet the one who truly understood him.

* * *

‘Did pretending to understand him go too far?’

Meursault, whose attitude suddenly changed completely, begged forgiveness for his rudeness, and told me to let him know anytime if there was anything uncomfortable while staying in the mansion in the future.

If it had stopped there, it would have been just right, but this guy Meursault disappeared saying he would bring a list of prospective spouses so that I could set up an ideal family…

‘I’m only ten years old, what is he blabbering about spouses.’

I poisoned him even when playing the game because I wondered what kind of NPC is this.

Although his mental state was strange, since he was the most competent guy in this zone after Commander Hayden, I had no choice but to carry him along.

‘Daphne Goodman’s life is also star-crossed.’

Married under her father’s coercion, the partner she married having another woman and child, and some crazy guy clinging to her wanting to marry her when he doesn’t even love her.

I almost felt a bit sorry for poisoning her multiple times in my past playthroughs.

This time, instead of poisoning her, I should keep her well alive and let her show her abilities.

It was absolutely not because there was a shortage of NPCs to exploit.

Just then, a system message popped up before my eyes.

[Player ‘God’ enters the public chat room.]

‘Oh.’

Apparently, a player in another zone acquired a meteorite item and opened their system.

I was expecting that other players would start entering the chat room soon.

Since it is soon to be Day 3, it would be a problem if no system opener appeared even in low-level zones like Candy or Beer.

However, the messages did not stop at one and appeared in succession.

[Player ‘Dentist’ enters the public chat room.]

[Player ‘SsapPossible’ enters the public chat room.]

[Player ‘IDontCryThatIsCardio’ enters the public chat room.]

[Player ‘Druggie’ enters the public chat room.]

‘What is this? Simultaneously like this?’

Apparently, there was more than one or two people who acquired meteorite items last night.

After all, if one couldn’t acquire a meteorite item even on Day 2 of the clear, it was practically a failed clear.

Even so, since all of them wouldn’t have opened the system at the exact same time… did the system wait for morning to arrive before letting them enter the chat room?

But.

In the final entry message that popped up, a very familiar nickname caught my eye.

[Player ‘HomeProtector’ enters the public chat room.]

‘This bastard!’

The culprit of the group possession.

HomeProtector had entered.