A Forum Full of Stories
The forum was overflowing with stories.
I couldn't use [Blink] to teleport us since I had CocoNenne with me.
Using [Blink] with another person requires a significant amount of mana.
It wasn't worth the risk, so I used [Haste] to travel to the location CocoNenne gave me.
Using [Haste] was much more cost-effective than teleporting.
"Ugh... Can't you just let me down? I can follow quietly," CocoNenne complained.
"Nope."
There was no room for compromise; CocoNenne couldn't be trusted.
Besides, floating like this would be more comfortable for her.
I might have good stamina for a mage, but CocoNenne seemed to lack it.
With that in mind, we headed towards her dwelling.
How long had we been walking?
"Let's just take a carriage."
This was too far to walk.
Her base was incredibly remote.
So we hired a carriage and set off.
I gave the driver a generous sum.
We needed to get there as quickly as possible.
Clip-clop, clip-clop.
The rhythmic sound of the horse's hooves and the gentle rocking of the carriage brought a wave of exhaustion over me.
I decided to take a nap.
But first, I needed to deal with CocoNenne.
[Lightning Bolt].
I used [Lightning Bolt] to analyze her body structure once more, blocking the flow of mana within her.
It was a structure almost impossible to undo without my help.
Just in case, I bound her feet with a simple spell.
If CocoNenne escaped now, I'd be the one at a disadvantage.
With that thought, I closed my eyes and lay down.
The carriage I rented this time was spacious enough to lie down in.
And so, bathed in the breeze, we continued our journey to CocoNenne's dwelling.
*
Chirp-Chirp-
I woke to the sound of birdsong.
Looking around, I saw CocoNenne sound asleep.
She looked incredibly comfortable.
'...Does she not realize she's been captured?'
She must know her situation.
How could she be so carefree?
Not that I had any intention of waking her.
We still had a long way to go.
I decided to check the forum since I was awake.
Browsing the forum was the best way to pass the time.
'What's the hot topic today...?'
This was always an exciting moment.
I wondered what kind of discussion was happening.
As I opened the forum—
[Sharing a story from my childhood...][12]
[Has anyone experienced a confession attack?][4]
[I got confessed to once without ever confessing myself lol][23]
[Please, stop with the personal stories...][1]
[Why are you guys doing this? Stop it!][4]
[Argh! These stories are driving me crazy!][2]
The hot topic was childhood memories.
Or more specifically, childhood crushes.
I didn't have any stories to share, so I decided to read other people's posts.
I started with the most commented post.
[Author: 5278]
[Title: I got confessed to once without ever confessing myself lol]
[Content: It's a bit long, so only read if you're interested.
Back in my original world, when I was in middle school, I had a crush.
My type is someone with a Western look,
and her parents were French, so she had a very Western appearance.
I never told anyone about my crush and just admired her from afar.
Back then, there was this prank app that supposedly told you your compatibility if you entered the name of your crush, lol.
My friend sent me the app, and I entered her name. That's how my friend found out about my crush and started teasing me.
The important thing here is that my friend was very close to my crush.
So, I used that as an excuse to get closer to my crush. I even went to her house and played games with her.
But then, the bastard who introduced me to her asked her if she wanted to date me when I wasn't around.
And of course, her answer was fucking... ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ…]
"...This is..."
It was hard to leave a comment.
It was such a sad story.
I cautiously opened the comments section.
And then—
L: Oh, shit...
L: Why would you tell this story and torture yourself? It's so sad.
L: You're inhuman...
L: This is so pitiful.
L: At least you went to her house, that's half a success, lol.
ㄴ: True lol.
ㄴ: I couldn't even talk to my crush.
ㄴ: It's still sad, though.
L: Your writing is amazing, dude.
L: I guess people who've experienced it firsthand are good at writing.
L: This is hilarious, hahahahaha.
L: So, what happened in the end?
ㄴ5278: Why do you think I'm telling this story?
ㄴ: Just tell us, I'm dying to know lol.
ㄴ: You've already embarrassed yourself enough, just tell us.
ㄴ5278: She said she was scared because she didn't know why she would date me, lol.
ㄴ: What the fuck, hahahahaha.
L: That's ridiculous, lol.
There were more comments, but I couldn't bear to read them.
My heart ached.
By the way…
'Should I share a story too?'
I said I didn't have any stories, but something did happen after I became an adult. Maybe I could share that memory.
With that thought, I started writing.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: Sharing my girlfriend story lol]
[Content: I got into a decent university in the Seoul area and was living a normal life.
Then I encountered this thing called group project <<<
I was so nervous and scared because group projects were notorious.
So, I just sat there silently without saying a word.
Then, this girl I sometimes saw in class sat next to me and greeted me. She said we were in the same group and asked if we could be friends.
I'm not the type to refuse, so I nodded.
That's how we became friends.
But she kept wanting to eat and hang out with me.
Maybe because I'd never dated before,
I just stayed silent, giving off the typical vibes of a clueless virgin, even though she was giving me signals.
Time passed, and maybe she got tired of it because she confessed to me lol.
That's how we started dating.
I wonder what she's doing now, lol.]
It was a simple story.
A common story anyone who went to university would have.
An ordinary story.
But the process of falling in love was an unforgettable memory for me.
...It was quite eventful, in many ways.
Breaking up with my girlfriend was the reason why I, someone who couldn't bring myself to criticize others, learned to speak my mind.
As I was lost in thought,
Comments started pouring in.
L: What the fuck, you arrogant bastard.
ㄴ: Have you ever dated in your life?
ㄴ: I'm a high school graduate, how can I date?
ㄴ: Some high school graduates date.
ㄴ: Stop mentioning high school graduates, you're killing me.
L: Cthulhu: There's nothing wrong with being a high school graduate.
ㄴ: As expected of a high school graduate, all brawn and no brains lol.
ㄴ: You're not even a middle school graduate, you're practically a scholar at this point.
ㄴ: I'm a middle school graduate, and I've always wondered why I couldn't communicate with the warrior dude. Maybe it's the difference in education level lol.
L: MayTheUnfaithfulFindPeace: So, what happened in the end? Did you break up?
'...Why is this old man asking this?'
It was good to see him after a while, but why did he have to ask this first?
It was absurd.
At least he used to try to act sophisticated.
'…Well, at least I won't have to see CocoNenne fight on the forum anymore.'
Watching them argue was another form of entertainment.
It was a shame.
Thinking that, I replied to the comment.
ㄴReallyDirtPoor: She was too clingy, so we broke up.
When I used to read novels, I thought being clingy was a good thing, but in reality, there's nothing more suffocating.
If I even talked to a girl on my phone, she would immediately delete their number in front of me.
Those were tough times.
'The scenery is beautiful.'
The scenery passing by from the carriage window was always breathtaking.
It was healing.
As I admired the view, I checked the comments on the post I wrote earlier.
[Author: ReallyDirtPoor]
[Title: What’s a good job for a woman who’s about to become unemployed and unskilled? Please recommend some lol]
[Content: Title says it all]
L: Prostitute?
ㄴ: hahahahahahahahahahahahaha
ㄴ: Are you crazy?
ㄴ: Straight to prostitution.
ㄴ: Well, if it's a medieval setting, being a prostitute is the standard option, lol.
L: How about a small-scale farmer?
ㄴ: If you're a small-scale farmer, you'll barely be able to put food on the table. Don't recommend that.
ㄴ: As if putting food on the table is even an option, lol.
L: By the way, why are you worried about that? lol
ㄴ: Right?
ㄴ: Such a sweet guy.
ㄴ: More like a sweet middle-aged man.
ㄴ: Saying "middle-aged man" makes him sound like a Chinese man, damn it lol.
L: Seriously though, there's not much she can do.
ㄴ: True.
ㄴ: What can an unemployed woman do in this world? lol
ㄴ: Marry rich?
'...Sigh.'
It was my fault for asking this on the forum.
I thought there might be at least one person who would give me a genuine answer, but there was none.
Letting out a sigh, I closed the forum and spent my time enjoying the scenery.
How much time had passed?
"We've arrived."
We had reached Lukphelton.
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