Chapter 44
A Variable
“You… how do you know that?”
Stay-at-home Wifey knew about the Middle-Aged Handsome Men Dating Simulation Game?
I stared at him suspiciously, but he gave me a breezy answer.
“I played it.”
“You played it?!”
He didn’t merely know about it.
He had actually played it?
A dating simulation about handsome middle-aged men?
When I looked at him with complicated emotions, Stay-at-home Wifey frowned.
“My older sister is obsessed with old games. She made me play it too. That dating sim is how I first learned about Safe Zone.”
‘He has an older sister?’
I hadn’t expected anyone among the people transported through Safe Zone to know about that dating sim.
But since neither Stay-at-home Wifey nor his sister had been transported through the dating sim, unlike us, it seemed that its system did not indiscriminately transport random players the way Safe Zone did.
“I didn’t know there was a dating sim in the Safe Zone series.”
Stay-at-home Wifey shook his head at my muttering.
“There isn’t.”
“There isn’t?”
“They weren’t made by the same company.”
Not by the same company?
“The dating sim was made by a company called Cthulhu Games. I think they went bankrupt after releasing that one game.”
“Oh. That certainly sounds like the name of a suspicious game company.”
Cthulhu was a famous mythological creature, but hearing that they had been transported into a dating sim made by a company with that name only made the whole thing sound more suspicious.
‘Then Square Soft must have made Safe Zone as a homage to that dating sim.’
Whenever the online version of Safe Zone launched, the logo of the American game company Square Soft appeared prominently on the screen.
Unlike the completely unfamiliar and suspicious-sounding Cthulhu Games, Square Soft was a reputable company that had remained in business for several decades.
‘A game company…’
That person had also founded a game company.
My mother, whose existence I occasionally forgot after we lost contact.
The last company name I had heard before all communication ceased had been something like Project Salvation.
Because of her, I had avoided games for a long time.
Only in the end, while searching for dopamine, had I begun playing Safe Zone.
And of all things, I had ended up being transported into that very game.
‘Well, my mother doesn’t matter anymore.’
“…Why do you suddenly look so upset?”
“It’s nothing.”
Apparently, my useless thoughts had shown on my face.
That relationship was already over.
There was no reason to cling pathetically to memories of it.
“So what exactly is that middle-aged-whatever game?”
“What do you mean? Don’t you know what a dating sim is?”
“No.”
“You lived that long without ever playing a dating sim? What were you doing with your life?”
Serving in the military, you bastard.
“To put it simply, a dating sim is a game where the goal is to romance attractive characters. The reason an apocalypse game like Safe Zone has affection mechanics is because the original work was a dating sim.”
After explaining that much, Stay-at-home Wifey suddenly assumed an arrogant expression.
“You don’t even know what a dating sim is… You may have become the first person to clear every district, but I’ll become the first person to conquer every NPC. I’ve trained my skills on all the dating sims my sister recommended.”
The first person to conquer every NPC?
‘I can’t tell whether that’s impressive or pathetic.’
Even though I had uploaded every walkthrough, had he ignored clearing the districts and spent all his time raising NPC affection instead?
Now that I thought about it, perhaps the reason he had created such an unnecessarily handsome character was also to help with affection grinding.
“Luna Moon and Daphne… It’s surprising that those two NPCs were players transported through another game.”
Taejeong naturally ignored everything Stay-at-home Wifey had said and continued:
“If there are similar transported players in the other districts, then there may be far more players in this world than we originally thought.”
I found Taejeong’s opinion reasonable, but Stay-at-home Wifey shook his head.
“Probably not.”
“What do you mean?”
“The dating sim only takes place in this district. Actually, even saying it takes place throughout this district is generous. Old games are always like that. Their worlds aren’t very large. You just move between places like the Commander’s residence, the training grounds, the church, and the backyard while raising the affection of the characters you encounter. Even if there are more transported players, they should all be inside this district.”
So the dating sim’s entire setting was the Cola District?
If that was true, then there was a high possibility that Daphne and Luna Moon were the only players transported through the dating sim.
I wanted to ask how different the dating sim’s status window was from the Safe Zone status window.
But Stay-at-home Wifey did not have access to a status window, so it would be difficult for him to compare them.
“Did that dating sim have any special functions?”
“I played it so long ago that I don’t remember. Didn’t you ask Daphne?”
“Daphne?”
“If she told you that she’s a player, she must be friendly toward you.”
After saying that, Stay-at-home Wifey suddenly looked at me with widened eyes, as though something had just occurred to him.
“Wait. Does that mean you told Daphne that you’re a player too?”
“How do you think I found out she was transported through a dating sim without revealing that I’m a player? I’m talented.”
“If I reveal that I’m a player, I can’t keep pretending to be the illegitimate son.”
“Whoa. Right.”
Whoa. Right?
Maybe I should have just let the Unicorn player kill this bastard.
“Since we’re already talking about it, both of you need to be careful not to expose yourselves as players. If you’ve written anything in Korean, destroy it as soon as you return. Daphne will be able to read it.”
“That makes sense.”
“Yes. I’ll dispose of everything immediately.”
Daphne was favorably disposed toward me, but only because she believed I was Luna Moon’s biological son.
There was no telling how she would react if she learned I was another player.
Daphne was more dangerous than the Commander.
The Commander was merely an NPC, but Daphne was a true veteran player who had survived for ten years in an apocalypse game while possessing a dating-sim system.
“Let’s be careful not to create any variables. There isn’t much time left before the subjugation battle. Loner, keep practicing your healing. Taejeong, you won’t be joining the expedition this time, but if something happens to us, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Yes. Though I’m certain you’ll return safely.”
Just as Taejeong said, nothing should happen during the first subjugation battle.
As long as events unfolded the same way they had in the game.
Unlike in the game, the barriers between the districts were gone, and the player from the Unicorn District was roaming around.
…Hopefully, nothing would happen.
***
After Haydam climbed over the wall of Daphne’s residence, Daphne seemed to feel as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She ended her seclusion and resumed her outside activities.
She did not even refuse Anton’s request to have tea with her.
As the two of them drank tea in the courtyard of Daphne’s residence, Anton waited for an opportunity before cautiously bringing up the subject.
“Lady Daphne, how have things been between you and His Excellency lately?”
Daphne answered indifferently.
“The same as always.”
She spoke as though it were someone else’s problem.
Unable to restrain himself, Anton asked:
“Lady Daphne, do you truly intend to divorce him simply because that child wants you to?”
Daphne stopped just as she was bringing the teacup to her lips.
She lowered it again and looked directly at Anton.
“Do you think I’m getting divorced because that child wants me to?”
“……”
In truth, Anton already knew.
Daphne herself wanted the divorce.
The relieved expression she had worn after Haydam stormed into her residence and declared that he would make them divorce had made that obvious.
But knowing it did not mean he could understand it.
Had Daphne not once desired to marry Commander Hayden more than anyone else?
Why had he accepted a man who had fathered a child with another woman as Daphne’s husband?
“Lady Daphne, I have watched you since you were very young. I know you are not someone who would grow weak-hearted because of a mere child.”
“Since I was young…!”
For some reason, Daphne suddenly raised her voice.
“Anton doesn’t know anything about me. You don’t know who I am or what I want!”
“What is it that you want, Lady Daphne?”
“I don’t know either!”
After giving that irritated answer, Daphne returned to her usual tone.
“…But at the very least, giving birth to Hayden’s successor is not what I want. It’s what Anton wants.”
“Lady Daphne.”
Anton took one of Daphne’s hands and spoke in a low voice.
“All I want is your happiness. From the day you were born until now, I have spent more time with you than I have with my own son, Plato. I have always regarded you as no different from my own daughter. Even when you said you wanted to marry an unidentified man who had crossed over from another district, I helped you marry him without complaint. Yet now you accuse me of forcing you to bear his child because it is what I want?”
As Anton spoke gently, Daphne looked slightly embarrassed.
“…I’m sorry for shouting. Yes, I was the one who chose Hayden. That is why I want to be the one who chooses to part with him as well.”
“I am merely anxious because once everything is handed over to that child, Haydam, I can no longer guarantee your happiness.”
“Why would handing everything over to that child mean my happiness can no longer be guaranteed?”
“He is a child who returned after losing his mother. You already know he is not like an ordinary child. Who knows what lies in his heart? He may be thinking of revenge.”
Anton spoke out of genuine concern, but Daphne shook her head calmly, as though such a thing were impossible.
“I know that much. Haydam won’t harm me.”
Anton immediately furrowed his brow.
“Why do you trust that child so deeply? He is Luna Moon’s son. He is a child who climbs over the walls of your residence without permission.”
“I don’t trust the child.”
“Then what do you trust?”
“Haydam understands me better than Anton does. Perhaps better than anyone else in this world. What I trust is the version of me that he knows. As long as he understands who I am, he has no reason to treat me as an enemy.”
“…I have no idea what you mean.”
Anton instinctively realized that continuing the discussion would get him nowhere.
He spoke in a resigned tone.
“In any case, I understand that you wish to get along with that child. If that is what you want, then it is only proper that I support you, just as I did when you chose the current Commander.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
“It is not as though I hate the child either. How could it be easy for someone so young to lose his mother and live among strangers as an illegitimate son? There are many times when I pity him as well. He does not even have a single photograph of his mother left to remember her by…”
Anton deliberately trailed off and watched Daphne’s reaction.
She looked at him in surprise, as though this was something she had not known.
“What? Doesn’t he have even one photograph of Luna Moon?”
“So you didn’t know. According to what I learned, Luna Moon erased all of her personal records when she deserted ten years ago. She left behind neither a photograph nor even a portrait. His Excellency regretted it greatly, but he believed commissioning a new portrait of Luna Moon would be disrespectful toward you, his marriage partner, so he never had one made. Personally, I think he assumed he would see Luna Moon again someday and therefore felt no need to recreate her portrait… But then she died, and now only the child is left to suffer.”
Daphne fell into thought.
Seeing her expression, Anton subtly continued:
“Come to think of it… you remember what she looked like, don’t you, Lady Daphne?”