EX rank supporting role's replay in a prestigious school

Chapter 940

I was sure it was nearby, but I also thought there was a possibility that Baekho-gun might not show up.

However, it seemed that Baekho-gun had no intention of pretending not to notice and appeared promptly.

Baekho-gun, seemingly surrounded by his ability, remained completely dry even in the pouring rain, but rain continued to pour through the window, splashing water around.

Unfortunately, a raindrop hit my right eye, and when I closed it, my vision blurred.

Slightly.

When I blinked and opened my eyes again, the window was completely closed.

Baekho-gun had not moved his hand, yet it seemed that the Silver Sleep Mansion had moved according to its owner’s will.

Baekho-gun quietly stared at my left eye, which was still not fully healed.

Looking at his indifferent, unblinking eyes, he asked.

“I didn’t sense anything at all. Is this your domain?”

“Yes.”

Baekho-gun answered briefly and closed his mouth.

It seemed he wasn’t planning to speak unless I asked.

Even though Baekho-gun didn’t talk much, during meetings he would say what was necessary, and when we fought together, he seemed to align with me as if reading my thoughts, so I hadn’t felt any difficulty in communication up until now.

But now, it felt frustrating.

‘He doesn't seem willing to volunteer any information.’

At this point, I had no choice but to make him speak.

“You were already nearby before I called, right? It seems like you were opening and closing the window while I was sleeping, yesterday and the day before.”

Baekho-gun hesitated before answering, as though carefully choosing his words.

"Yes. I was around here, yesterday and the day before."

“There must have been a reason for you to be here.”

"I’m asking about that reason."

“Why?”

Baekho-gun didn’t seem to be lying, but he wasn’t willing to fully reveal everything himself.

I thought about what that ‘reason’ could be.

Did Baekho-gun need to stay around while I slept during this retreat?

But when I thought carefully, the important thing wasn’t this retreat.

Regardless of the retreat, Baekho-gun had often been around when I woke up or fell asleep.

“When we stayed at the mansion, you were always nearby when I slept.”

It wasn’t a coincidence, right? There must have been a reason for him to be there then too.”

Whenever Baekho-gun would wake me up, or stay by my side while I was unconscious, or his presence would be felt outside the door, it was clear there was always a reason for him to be there.

While it was normal to have a tiger in the tiger’s mansion, it still seemed strange when I connected it to the ‘reason’ he mentioned.

That reason seemed closely linked to the Dreamcatcher, which had turned black and broken.

“Considering the timing and the situation, that reason must be related to ‘sleep.’ You needed to watch over me while I was sleeping.”

It had been over a year and a half since I came to this world.

Over 500 nights, I had mostly slept alone.

When we did spend the night together, I would stay up all night while someone else slept, keeping watch over them.

There had been no problem at that time.

Also, there were times when everyone else was awake and I was the only one asleep.

‘I fainted while using communication in front of Cheon Dan-su, and was treated at the tiger mansion. I’m not sure if I should separate fainting from sleep, but in any case, I must have slept when I was exhausted.’

I had slept for three days straight, but nothing had gone wrong then, unlike what was happening now with the Dreamcatcher.

In other words, no problems occurred when someone slept beside me or I slept next to someone.

The problem seemed to arise when both I and the other person slept near each other.

“While I was asleep, someone must have been watching over me so that I wouldn’t fall asleep, right? To prevent something bad from happening.”

When I stayed at the mansion, I had slept beside Olmu like that, but Olmu was a genius warrior with special abilities, so maybe that’s why nothing happened.

No, maybe the genius warrior had already sensed something.

I recalled the time I first stayed at the tiger mansion with Olmu.

—未[Nightmare Messenger] "Actually, the reason I went to that domain was more for my hobby than confirming the Nightmare."

In other words, the leader of both factions visited the place where the Nightmare was sensed, partly to confirm it and partly for his own hobby.

Before this 12th zodiac meeting, Eungwang High held a festival.

During the festival, one of Woo Gi-hwan’s associates, a member of the Korean Traditional Music Club, had been gifted a magical instrument by a leader of the Jin-jok and invited to their domain.

When Hwang Ji-ho tried to figure out the identity of that Jin-jok leader, they had the following conversation.

—Is the leader of that Jin-jok still at the merchant’s guild?

—Hmm... No, they didn’t want to stay long, so after the Haegum performance, they left.

That day, several leaders of Jin-jok attended the Eungwang High festival, but only one of them disappeared after completing their task, like they were running away.

What if that leader was the leader of both factions?

If the leader of both factions sensed the Nightmare’s presence in the Ho-jok’s domain, then went to confirm it while indulging in their hobby and disappeared right after, that would make sense.

"Sleep and dreams. The leader of both factions, the embodiment of those symbols, must have sensed the presence of the Nightmare in my domain. Right?"

Baekho-gun didn’t deny it, but still remained silent.

If we were to think coldly about it, Baekho-gun couldn’t definitively say what the leader of both factions sensed and why they came here, so it was hard for him to speak up.

The certainty I had slowly solidified.

There was still something else on my mind.

It happened when I went to the Netherworld.

‘Looking back, there were a lot of strange things.’

Ereshkigal had faced me wrapped in rags and was very cautious about me making contact with the doorkeeper.

She had even advised me to lie down with the rags and wait, and for what felt like weeks or even months, I couldn’t sleep and kept waiting.

Though Ereshkigal didn’t explicitly say not to sleep, every time I tried to sleep, I instinctively tried to remove the rags, so I couldn’t fall asleep.

Ereshkigal had said:

—“It’s unfortunate. How did you end up carrying such a terrible burden? If not for that, I would have gladly invited you beyond this door.”

It wasn’t just Ereshkigal who said something like that.

Princess Sa-hee also said something similar on behalf of the higher beings of death.

—"Though the burden is heavy, no one here denies that you are a strong and good human. Our will is firm."

After receiving permission from the light of life and death, the guard of the cycle of reincarnation said to me:

—"Uishin, there are two higher beings who didn’t attend this gathering."

—"One is the God of Death worshipped by the demons, and the other is... Inseomnium, the Nightmare."

The reason Inseomnium didn’t attend may be related to my sleep.

If the Nightmare moved after I fell asleep, it would have been unable to attend the meeting because I was awake.

And there was one more thing that bothered me.

It was when I directly faced a Jin-jok who was deeply related to dreams.

—“...Huh? You’re human?”

The Butterfly Spirit was surprised when she first saw me, as if it was strange that I was human.

The Butterfly Spirit, born from the Zhuangzi’s theory of the unity of things, was a being that constantly navigates between dreams and reality, making it a Jin-jok deeply connected to dreams.

‘And she asked me several times if I had something precious.’

Could it be that nightmares don’t have anything precious?

Could it be that I am the Nightmare itself?

Though I tried to remain calm, countless signs in this world stirred up anxiety.

I decided to directly ask the one who might know the answer.

“Answer me. Am I the Nightmare?”

Just like before, I wondered what I should do if Baekho-gun didn’t deny it.

Should I accept that I am the Nightmare? My mind felt like it was turning black.

Then, a calm response was heard.

“No.”

Baekho-gun’s answer made everything clear in front of me.

After saying that, I thought he would remain silent, but Baekho-gun spoke again.

“You’ve just inherited the Nightmare.”