Protagonist Knows Everything

Chapter 51: Realization

Yes.

A week ago, the pendants whereabouts were found with the help of my ability. But, surprisingly, the person who knew about the whereabouts was the President of the Guild Association.

I thought it was quite strange for a pendant that was stolen from the Halo Estate to make its rounds and end up in the hands of the Guild Association president.

Anyway, I told Dirk, I know that. But what do I have to be so cautious about? Its just a cup of tea.

I dont know much about the president.

But, he rose up the ranks of the association at a frantic pace. Hes the youngest person to ever become the president of the guild association. And thats what makes him dangerous.

Hmm.

Of course, nothing bad will happen. But be careful nonetheless

There seemed to be something weird about the president, but I heeded Dirks advice nonetheless.

Okay. I got it. Anyway, You did a really good job. Youre done, take a break for the rest of the day.

This job did not concern the guild so youll get a better reward.

Dirk sighed and said, I dont know about the reward, but for sure Ill take the break, I am grateful for the favour.

Okay, good.

Then Ill be on my way.

Dirk turned around and headed towards the door.

But right before the door, he stopped and said, By the way, is the Vice Guild Master having trouble sleeping these days?

Youre looking a bit dull.

Yeah.

That was the end of the conversation.

***

That night.

I once again visited Jeriel.

No need to knock.

I just nonchalantly opened the door and walked inside.

Jeriel- no, Goddess Parmel, as always was sitting on the bed. It had been like that for the entirety of the last week.

It looked fine from a distance but Jeriels skin was starting to get a bit loose.

I said, Im here.

Yes, yes. You are here.

Parmel sounded monotonous, but her eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

I beamed a confident smile and said, Thats it?

Yeah yeah, youve gone through numerous hardships and as a result youre standing right in front me. Thank you for your efforts.

Even though she was a goddess, she was starting to get on my nerves like an actual human being. Parmel handed me a quest a week ago, and since then weve been meeting every night like this.

Every night like this since last week. That was the reason I looked exhausted.

Her calling methods, namely, passwords, were also quite funny. They had all kinds of variations. For reference, today it was, the moon will shine brightly I want to appreciate it together with you. Of course, she said that in broad daylight.

Looking back at it today Jeriel said that she was tired of it.

Jui. Youre really weird these days. Are you sick?

OK. Lets pray to the goddess together. She will heal you.

That very thought made me giggle inside.

Parmel said with a slightly annoyed face, I know what youre thinking.

Did you pray to the goddess?

Parmel picked up one of her pillows and hurled it towards me.

I caught it and said, Its a new twist, it is meant to be fun.

No, thats just worse.

Anyway, things will be clear in a few more days

Saying that I took the pendant out. Parmels eyes widened the moment I put the pendant on the table.

This is Jeriels pendant right?

I havent seen it myself, so I dont know. However

She got up from her seat and carefully looked at the pendant.

Well. This must be it. Although faint, I can feel a bit of Jeriels warmth.

Parmel was saying things that made no sense whatsoever. Jeriel had lost the pendant a few years back.

But without further speculations I simply said, Thats fortunate.

I cant believe it. Where and how did you find this? No one keeps records of these things.

I wont answer you.

Parmel smiled softly and said, Okay. Then I wont ask.

Taylor Mason. You did well. When this is all over, I will give you my blessings.

(Note: Here blessings are like a buff. Refer to older chapters.)

It seemed like the goddess was somewhat in a good mood.

I came here thinking about how I will bargain my price for all this.

After that she suddenly got up, took the pillow she hurled at me and made her way to her bed. Then she hid the pendant under the pillow.

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She said, laying her head on the pillow, Then sleep well.

Are you crazy? Youre really doing this right now? Arent you supposed to be a god? How are you this stupid?

I managed to refine the language before saying

Are you kidding me?

Huh?

Remember the purpose of this quest in the first place.

Purpose? Finding the pendant was the purpose right?

I patiently answered while wanting to hit the wall.

No. Pendant was just an extra. The purpose was to make Jeriel realize that Jui is actually Parmel.

Ah.

But when I woke up in the morning and looked under the pillow, there was a pendant, so would you like to finish it?

Parmel fluttered and crawled out of the blanket.

She fidgeted for a few moments and then said, I- I didnt forget it.

I just sighed.

I said,You mustve had a great personality and a lot of patience, Peterine.

Parmel understood what I wanted and groaned at me.

Before she got too angry I said, Anyway, I have an idea. Listen.

I put a lot of thought into this plan when I first received this request and thus I was pretty confident in my plan. As I explained my plan, Parmel listened very carefully, which was quite unlike her.

After a while she said, Will it really work out that way?

Were not losing anything if it doesnt work that way.

You speak like its nothing.

Parmel seemed a little dissatisfied with my plan.

I will do as you suggest. But it must be something better than waking up and finding the pendant under the pillow.

Thank you for the cooperation.

Cooperation is what youre doing. I wouldve done anything thatd make Jeriel even slightly happy.

And then she smiled and said, Thank you. Taylor Mason.

Ill be grateful.

And that way the meeting ended.

***

The next morning.

Dirk came in early and it looked like he rested quite well last night.

Good morning.

I just came in yesterday and now Ill have to head somewhere again.

Huh?

Dirks bright face suddenly became gloomy to the point that I could see black smoke around him.

(T/N: Not actual black smoke. Its just a symbolism.)

Vice Guild Master. Thats the carriage that I took for that trip last week.

Oh.

Dont worry about that. Its not a business trip this time. Its just some simple work.

Simple?

I took the pendant out of my pocket and handed it over, and then whispered to him about my plan.

Dirk, as expected, understood all of it quickly.

I See. It will be a perfect gift for Ms. Jeriiel.

Okay then.

But if Im not mistaken, did the Vice-Guild Master speak to goddess Parmel?

Is there even a way to do that?

But then how did you come up with this plan?

I just smiled and said, You have a lot of questions today.

Excuse me.

He immediately lowered his head and left the guild.

I heard a little chattering, it seemed like Dirk had encountered Kasha and Elena on his way out.

Uh? Mr. Dirk. Where are you going?

Somewhere.

Dirk couldnt tell her about the plan because it was supposed to be a secret. And for sure he wasnt prepared enough to give Kasha a proper excuse.

Kasha, who knows nothing, gave serious advice.

No. Tay will get angry if you do that.

Looking at your expression, it looks like its something important. Ill handle Tay, so please go quickly.

Their conversation was quite funny, it even made me smile a bit.

After a while, Kasha and Elena entered the guild.

Kasha said to me with a very proud face, Tay. We met Mr. Dirk, I think hell be a bit late today.

Okay?

Huh. It seemed like he had something important to do.

I replied with complete seriousness, No matter how urgent it might be, you cant go somewhere before reporting to me.

Dont be angry Tay. Mr. Dirk has suffered a lot these days.

Can you let this slide for once? Please?

Knowing how much I care about time and attendance, Kasha and Elena sincerely tried to defend Dirk. I wish Dirk could see their faces while they asked me to forgive him.

At around 11 oclock.

Jeriel entered, she was a bit late.

I looked at her face and thought, The Goddess is doing well.

Jeriel looked like shed cry if someone even touched her.

Kasha asked her while looking into her eyes, Jeriel did something happen?

Jeriel wiped her face and replied, Jui- she hasnt said anything since this morning.

Yeah?

Shed start talking to me the moment I woke up, telling me to make my bed and to properly wash my face. But today today she hasnt uttered a single word. She didnt say anything about making the bed.

As she said that, tears were forming in her eyes.

For Jeriel, Jui was way more than just a friend, she accompanied Jeriel for decades. So naturally Jeriel was shocked that Jui suddenly stopped talking. Parmel never did this, so it took quite a heavy toll on Jeriel.

I tried to act as worried as possible and asked, What is going on?

I dont know. Its just.

Tell us. Well think of a solution together.

Jeriel hesitated for a few moments and then said, Actually, Jui visited me in my dream yesterday.

And?

She flew with me across the sky.

Like Peter Pan?

But suddenly I saw a golden light.

When I came to my senses, I was in the middle of the Kelk estate Market.

So, after that?

Just that. The dream ended right there.

If I hadnt been aware of the circumstances then I wouldve just dismissed this as a silly dream. Kasha thought the same and wore an ambiguous smile.

But her party member, Jeriel, was serious. She put her hand in her pockets and pulled out her handkerchief. And then she vigorously blew her nose. After that she wiped her eyes with the other side of the handkerchief.

Lets just pretend that I didnt see any of it.

That person from your dream, How did you know it was Jui? Did you see the face?

No. Its hard to explain, but I somehow knew that it was Jui.

Hmm.

I was curious why Jui appeared in my dream, so I asked her about it as soon as I woke up, but she wasnt answering at all

I pretended to worry for a moment and then said, If so, lets head to the marketplace.

Huh?

The last place you saw in your dream was the marketplace so it might have some clues.

Jeriels face brightened up. But her face sank back as she looked at Kasha.

Today I have a party quest with Ms. Kasha.

To that Kasha quickly replied, We have quite some time before the deadline for that quest. So its okay right Tay?

Sure. Thats why I offered to head there in the first place.

Then Jeriel bowed to us.

Thank you very much.

We didnt do enough for you to bow to us.

So, after reporting to Sain, all of us headed to the marketplace.

As the market got closer, Jeriels face became more and more anxious. Like a child who had got separated from his mother in an amusement park.

Jui. Jui. Answer me.

She always tried not to speak to Jui in front of everyone. But today she was muttering a lot.

Looking at her, Kasha whispered to me, Tay. Where did Jui go?

Of course I couldnt answer her question so I just shrugged.

At that time Jeriel, who was leading us to the market suddenly stopped.

Uh? this is strange, it mustve been this way

Oh, right, this girl.

Jui. Is this the right way? The place you showed in my dreams.

Please. Please answer me. Im not going to complain anymore. Please dont leave me alone.

Saying that, Jeriel began to cry. She wanted to talk to Jui, but she only got silence for a reply.

I hurriedly opened my mouth.

By the way.

Jeriel looked at me with her swollen red eyes.

Isnt Jui just Ms. Jeriels imagination?

Its a bit weird if you say that she isnt there. She is in your imagination right? Then you should be able to call her out whenever you want.

Jeriel did not answer. Noticing the atmosphere and my sharp remark, Kasha pinched my sides.

She knew that just tickling my sides wouldnt cut it, so she pinched it really hard.

But I ignored it and told Jeriel, Or maybe

You dont actually know whether Jui is in your imagination or not..

Jeriels face bore a complicated expression. She was hoping that her face would prevent me from asking such questions anymore. She was basically telling me to not ask her anymore questions till this situation was resolved.

Thinking that my words were enough, I changed the topic.

Lets think about that later, the marketplace comes first.

Yeah?

There are a lot of unique stores there. If you look at them then you might be able to recall your dreams.

Jeriel just nodded in silence. And we strided towards the marketplace without uttering a single word.

A few minutes after reaching the market place, Jeriel finally started to recall her dream.

Ah, that building. That fountain.

Yes. Here. It was definitely here.

After reaching that place, the same place from her dreams, her face lit up, she was genuinely happy. And that bright face sank back into depression in a mere instant.

It- It was right here. But, what now?

Whatever. I started looking around. It was the right timing, the right timing for it to come out.

Excuse me lady. But. do you have a minute?

Oh, here it is.

It was an old merchant, an old man with a lot of goods laid out on the floor near the fountain.

Uh? Yes..? Yes.

Suddenly forced into a conversation with a stranger. For Jeriel it was nerve racking. The merchant gently grabbed her hand and shook it.

Sorry. But dont be alarmed. I am not a weird person.

You didnt have to say that.

By any chance, have you heard of the name, Jui?

Jeriels was amazed.

Ju- Jui, did you say Jui just now?

Yes.

No how do you know that name? Thats my imaginary friend!

(T/N: Yes editor it literally said IMAGINARY FRIEND, not other meaning.)

The merchant then crossed his arms and then started his explanation.

I am a merchant who sells goods while moving from town to town from province to province.

Originally, today I wasnt going to come to Kelk Estate. I was thinking of going elsewhere

Then he paused for a minute. I knew exactly why he had paused. This old man had forgotten his next lines. Fortunately, he recalled his lines before the pause made things look awkward.

I heard a strange voice in my dream last night.

A strange voice? Was it the goddess?

Jeriel, upon hearing the merchants words, shook her head in shock.

No. It cant be. Goddess isnt someone whod speak directly to us.

(T/N: The oracles or the signals received by the nuns and priests after their ceremonies arent actually words, theyre just vague signals like a beam or light or a strong wind.)

The merchant nodded in agreement.

I dont know whose voice it was. Anyway, the voice told me, Go to the Kelk Estate today.

The voice said I would see people confusingly looking for something in the marketplace. It told me to show them the things I was selling.

He explained it in a way that it almost sounded like a lie.

I asked. What if that person thinks that I am taking advantage of them?

Then an answer came back.

This was the important part. If he cant make it sound convincing then all of it will be for nothing. The merchant knew about it so he made it sound as convincing as possible.

At that time, the voice told me to ask whether theyve heard about the name Jui or not.

At that moment, Jeriels expression was enough to want me to get a camera in this world. Despite the runny nose and tears, Jeriels face became blue.

She mumbled, while wiping her tears with her sleeve.

How did Jui come into someone elses dream? Shes

She was already completely convinced by the merchants words.

Then Kasha who was standing beside me whispered, Tay. That person. Isnt he a bit suspicious?

Oh. I am glad youre still functioning alright.

What are you talking about?

I ignored her and intervened into the conversation between the merchant and Jeriel.

I was listening from the side, but Oh, Im with this young lady.

Yes?

So you apparently heard Juis voice right? So you might know something about our current situation.

The merchant recognized my words and said, Thats right. I wonder if youre looking for one of my products.

Would you like to come this way?

It looks like selling goods like this is quite natural for this guy. I guess youve learned a few things.

Jeriel simply followed him.

The merchant unwrapped the bag next to him and laid it out on the floor.

Jeriel looked at each item carefully. Soon after her eyes widened

This, this is No way!