[TS] The Return of The Gamer - Chapter 33

The surface reason was simple.

It seemed better not to let others see me in this house for now, so go out and play alone for a while.

Considering my current situation, it's a reasonable reason, and it's not a difficult thing to do.

That's what it was supposed to be...

[Me: Do I really have to go out?]

I ask again, just in case.

I was feeling so burdened about going out.

No, it's not just a feeling of being burdened.

This was fear of the unknown.

[Mother: Yeah. We're almost there.]

"Haa..."

I was slightly surprised as I exhaled a sigh at the reality before me.

Because it was a sigh that sounded too much like a woman's, even to my own ears.

'No, isn't this normal?'

It's not a strange thing.

No matter what anyone says, I am a woman now.

Moreover, a woman unlike any other, a true lady.

The sound of a sigh is nothing to worry about, right?

'…Or am I wrong?'

I feel like I'm not in my right mind because of the sudden expulsion order.

Where am I, and who am I?

'…This isn't the time.'

I quickly regained my composure and began to gather my clothes.

There was no such thing as coordinating.

A thick gray fleece hoodie and jeans. And over that, a long padding jacket and a ball cap, and then pulling up the hood of the hoodie completes a warm fashion while minimizing exposure as much as possible.

'Oh, right.'

I also didn't forget to wrap my face with a muffler, as per past experience.

As expected, you learn everything through experience.

I didn't forget to gather my belongings either.

Of course, there wasn't much to them.

A smartphone and a check card.

It was a so-called "Mom's card."

And when I stood in front of the front door with trembling steps, the first obstacle came.

'What were my shoes?'

The shoe rack was lined with a surprising number of shoes.

So much so that it wouldn't be strange if a pair of my shoes was among them.

"Umm..."

Last time I went out, my mother and younger sister had prepared my shoes in advance, but not now.

However, I didn't want to show them my dependence by asking them for help just to find a pair of shoes.

I was alone in the house, and I had to go outside alone.

'…Is it this one?'

I soon picked up a pair of shoes that looked somewhat familiar.

They were black UGG boots that seemed to fit my feet the best.

My mother doesn't seem like the type to wear these cute shoes, so if it's not mine, it's probably my younger sister's.

Even if they were really my sister's, they probably wouldn't say anything about me wearing them.

'Hmm.'

It's strange, the sensation of putting on shoes is unfamiliar.

I've worn them many times, but I guess I haven't had many opportunities to wear shoes.

-Dding.

I braced myself against the fear of running into a guest and took a step forward.

It was possible because it wasn't the first time I was stepping outside the door.

"Ugh..."

The cold air seeps into my skin as soon as I face the world that's turned white.

Hoo, my breath comes out.

"...It's damn cold."

Although I haven't had much experience, based on my pathetic experience, I dare say that the snow piled up in the winter is only good when viewed from a warm room, and it's not that pleasant when you face it directly.

Damp, slippery, and cold.

Of course, there are many people who say they like these sensations, but it's not my taste, for sure.

Absolutely.

Kii-iik-

I open the frozen door and face the world.

The world is unfamiliar.

It's not the first time I've come out of the house.

However, it was only when I came out in a car or with my mother and a wheelchair, not like this, being kicked out alone.

Even after leaving the house, I couldn't make up my mind where to go and couldn't take a step.

-Where should I go?

The question of a bald monk echoes in my head.

"Where should I go?"

I feel a strange identity crisis, whether I am the bald monk or the bald monk is me.

In the end, the place I chose as my first destination was the park in front of my house.

The park I used to look at when I looked out the window.

Although I had nothing I could call a memory of the park, I liked this park.

The park was quiet.

The park in my memory always had a bustling feel, but it seemed to be because of the cold weather, which felt like a cold snap.

'It's a good thing for me, though.'

I'm still burdened by being around people.

I walked around the park as if strolling.

Even though my body had only built up muscle through studying, my steps felt light.

Perhaps it was because it had been a long time since I went out, I felt a subtle excitement.

It's a strange thing, isn't it?

"Hoo."

White breath comes out.

It's fun, even though I've experienced it many times.

Even though my heart was racing, all I did was wander around the park absentmindedly.

If it were other times, I would have walked while looking at my smartphone, but unfortunately, the weather was too cold, and I didn't want to take my hands out of my pockets.

'So this is what it looks like.'

Of course, it wasn't my first time at the park.

However, it had been a long time ago, and I had been riding in a wheelchair, so the scenery I saw standing up was bound to be different.

Above all, the white-covered park scenery made me doubt whether it was the place I had seen so far.

How long did I wander around the park?

Clatter─

A group of elderly people entered the park with a commotion in the distance.

Seeing them naturally taking their seats in the pavilion on one side of the park, it seemed like they had come out for an outing from a senior center or a community center.

"Oh, that old man said that, you know?"

"Ugh... Who believes that?"

"He did."

The white park, which felt like another world, instantly changed into a different space.

Even though it was a public space, I felt like my space was being invaded, so I seemed to be a shut-in, after all.

As the situation was, my existence could be seen as a unique one, separated from the daily lives of the elderly.

Of course, I couldn't help but stand out.

"Huh? Why?"

"Over there."

I feel the gazes around me.

After all, no matter how much I covered myself up, my eyebrows' color is what made me stand out.

"...Never seen you before. You're not from this neighborhood, are you?"

"Oh my, she's pretty. How can a person look like that? Even I, fifty years ago..."

Although it wasn't a loud voice, I could hear the elderly people's conversations.

As I have always felt, my senses are definitely different from before, and they are something different even by ordinary people's standards.

At that moment.

"Young lady! Come over here and warm yourself by the stove. Your cheeks are so red. Aren't you cold?"

One of the elderly people called out to me.

I didn't expect them to suddenly talk to me, so I stammered to find the words to say.

"I... Oh! Uh, I have an appointment. Goodbye!"

In the end, I had to escape from the park.

"Why did you call that child? She ran away."

"I just thought she looked cold..."

"Ugh, tut tut."

I feel a sense of guilt.

But what can I do?

I, by nature, am as far away from sociability as the sky and the earth.

In the end, I ran away from the park and wandered the streets.

'Where should I go?'

As I became the bald monk again, I began to wander and soon arrived in front of a café.

It's not a large franchise café.

It's a small café in any neighborhood.

There aren't many customers, so wouldn't it be okay to spend some time here?

"..."

I paused in front of the café door.

I could just open the door and go in.

However, stepping into a new space that I had never set foot in before required more courage than I could imagine.

Although the first time is always difficult, I was so afraid of that first time.

In the end, I had to run away again.

In the process of escaping, I also saw a few large PC bang signs.

However, unfortunately, I didn't have the courage to enter for the same reason as the café.

"Where should I..."

I have nowhere to go.

I have money and time, but I realized that I needed someone's help in this irony of being alone with nowhere to go.

But to whom?

As a matter of course, my human relationships are so narrow that they are practically non-existent.

Excluding my family, my human relationships are completely tailored to League of Legends, and even that is practically irrelevant to me in reality.

Then...

-Lee Yuri.

I sent a message to my younger sister, who was expected to be the freest among my family members.

[Me: Are you free right now?]

The reply came quickly.

Perhaps, since it's one of the rare occasions in my life when I've contacted my younger sister first, she seemed to sense something serious.

[Lee Yuri: What's up?]

What should I say?

After searching for what to say, I soon wrote the message.

[Me: I left the house.]