I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 54: Hunger Before Truth (I)

「3rd Quest Reward — 3 QUESTIONS, 3 ANSWERS」

The blue window did not disappear.

It hovered quietly in the cold air, its light softer than before— not playful like the System’s usual sarcasm,

not dramatic like a quest announcement.

Just... still.

Like something waiting.

Snowfall Mountain had grown strangely silent.

Even the distant groans of creatures moving beneath the frozen fog had faded, as if this entire first floo— no. Region, understood that this moment was not meant to be interrupted.

The campfire crackled between us.

Its warmth reached Hana first— wrapping around her small shoulders— but it never fully touched the ground beneath our feet.

Nothing on this floor was actually truly warm.

Not the air.

Not the stone.

And definitely not the questions hanging in front of me.

「3rd Quest Reward — 3 QUESTIONS, 3 ANSWERS」

The letters pulsed once.

Slow.

Heavy.

"...Ah," I murmured.

Right.

I really did forget.

After everything— the monsters, the running, the cold, the stats and skills picking, the ridiculous rock paper scissors war that somehow felt more exhausting than survival itself— there was still this.

The other mysterious reward.

Or maybe... something closer to a warning.

Behind me, Seorin had gone completely quiet.

No dramatic sighs.

No fake whining.

No teasing.

Just silence.

When I glanced at her, she was no longer slumped like a defeated actress.

She was watching the floating window.

Carefully.

Like someone who understood exactly how dangerous questions could be.

"...So it finally showed up," she said softly.

Her voice had changed.

Not loud.

Not scared.

Just... serious.

The kind of seriousness people only use when they’re standing near the truth but aren’t sure they want to touch it.

Hana, on the other hand, looked between us with confused eyes.

"Dad...?" she whispered.

"What’s... a three questions?"

I didn’t answer immediately.

Because the moment If I did, this quiet, fragile peace around the fire would end.

And once truth starts moving— it never stops.

The System spoke again.

Not joking.

Not teasing.

For the first time since we entered the tower... its tone was perfectly neutral.

「You may ask anything. About the Tower. About this Floor. About the System. Or... about what waits beyond. Anything.」

A pause.

Then—

「Answers will be truthful. But not always kind.」

The fire cracked sharply.

A spark drifted upward...

and vanished into the foggy sky that never showed stars.

My throat felt dry.

In a place where one wrong decision could mean death... choosing what to ask might be more dangerous than any monster on this mountain.

"...Si-Heon."

Seorin’s voice was quieter than the wind.

"If you waste this... you might never get another chance."

I knew.

Of course I knew.

Hana gently tugged my sleeve.

"Dad..." she said softly,

"...are the questions scary?"

I looked down at her.

At the only warmth that didn’t belong to this frozen world.

And for a brief second—

I wished

I could stay inside that stupid rock paper scissors moment forever.

Where victory was tiny.

Problems were simple.

And the future didn’t feel like a blade hanging above our heads.

But Snowfall Mountain was not a place that allowed wishes.

Only choices.

I lifted my head.

Looked at the blue window.

And slowly— very slowly— opened my mouth to speak.

"I would..."

Seorin looked straight at me.

Hana held her breath.

"...I would like to do this later. My kid here" I gently patted Hana’s head. "is hungry."

A short pause.

"So... System, dismissed."

The blue window vanished immediately— Only to pop back in a split second later.

「(ಠ_ಠ)>⌐■-■... Then what was that dramatic buildup earlier?」

Seorin slowly turned her head toward me.

Her whole body went stiff.

"...ಠ_ʖಠ... Si Hon..."

Silence.

Cold wind blew between us for absolutely no reason.

"...You rehearsed that line in your head first, didn’t you?"

she asked quietly.

Me; "No."

Seorin; "You did."

Me; "Maybe a little..."

Seorin closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"...Aigo... I’m traveling with an idiot..."

Hana tugged my sleeve.

"Hehe, Dad... food first... drama later..."

"...Yeah," I sighed.

"Food first."

Behind us, the System whispered softly—

「(⌐■-■) Character development... delayed due to hunger」

"Stop narrating my life."

「(⁠⌐⁠■⁠-⁠■⁠) pleasurably... no,」

My eyes twitched.

"Yea, alright."

「(⁠⌐⁠■⁠-⁠■⁠) Look, (⁠ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ⁠)⁠>⁠⌐⁠■⁠-⁠■.... ಠ⁠ᴥ⁠ಠ Tada~ 」

I ignored the System and looked at Seorin.

"So... should we go get food?"

Seorin was still pinching the bridge of her nose like she was fighting a headache caused specifically by me.

"...Yeah, yeah. Let’s just go," she muttered.

I gently patted Hana’s head.

"Hana, go to the tent. Take care of Arven. Don’t worry... I’ll call you once we’re back."

She nodded obediently, then tiptoed across the cold ground and slipped inside the tent without another word.

For a brief moment, the world felt... quiet.

***

Si Hon stepped toward the faint red boundary line surrounding the tower’s safe circle.

Without noticing, he crossed it— and the thin glowing ring behind him faded silently into the frost groind, as if it had never existed at all.

No sound.

No warning.

Just disappearance.

***

I kept walking.

Seorin followed beside me, hands inside of her robe as we moved deeper between the pale, frozen trees of Snowfall Mountain. The firelight behind us slowly shrank until only dim gray fog remained.

After a while, I spoke.

"...How did you know Hana is ten, by the way?"

Seorin yawned lazily.

"ಠ,_｣ಠ She looked ten, so I assumed she’s ten. Why? You still don’t trust me?"

I stayed quiet for a few steps.

"...Nah. It’s not like that. Just... making sure."

She reached over and casually patted my back.

"Yeah, yeah."

I smiled a little.

Just a little.

Then—

"Han Seorin," I said.

She answered immediately, playful as always.

"Kim Si Heon? ( •̀ᴗ- )"

A small laugh slipped out of me.

"...How did you even get here?"

Her smile faded.

Seorin let out a slow breath, then draped one arm loosely around my shoulder as we walked through the silent white forest.

"...Sure," she said quietly.

"I’ll tell you how I got here..."

A pause.

"...We still have a long walk before the pile of crushed by Frosthowl mole-rat bodies anyway."

The fog ahead thickened.

And for the first time since we met— her voice carried no joke inside it.

***

(Seorin — past)

Seorin sat lazily in her chair— a gaming chair, slightly tilted back, one leg folded under the other as bright colors from an open-world game reflected across her face.

Her character stood on a cliff inside the game world, wind blowing dramatically...

Meanwhile, in real life— nothing dramatic was happening at all.

"...Man," she muttered to herself, tapping the controller lightly.

"I wish I’d get isekai’d or something..."

She sighed, paused the game, and slowly stood up.

The room was quiet.

Too quiet.

No parents.

No siblings.

No noise from the TV.

Just silence filling the house like an empty loading screen.

She walked toward the front door, opened it, and looked down the stairway outside.

For a moment... she just stood there.

Waiting.

"...Nothing," she mumbled, disappointed, before closing the door again.

In the kitchen, she placed her phone on the counter and walked to the refrigerator.

Cold air brushed her face as she opened it.

She grabbed a bottle of water, twisted the cap, and drank—

Then suddenly— spill.

Water splashed across the floor.

"...Agh! Oh my god— how did I even spill that?!" she shouted, staring at the spreading puddle.

A beat of silence.

"...Well... good thing nobody’s here," she muttered.

"Mom, Dad, and the three gremlins kiddies are all on vacation..."

She sighed and walked toward the sink to grab a towel.

Right then—

BRRRRING.

Her phone vibrated loudly on the counter.

She froze.

"...Oh— wait— crap! Is the event today?!"

Her eyes widened.

"I forgot!!"

She rushed toward the counter—

Her foot stepped on the spilled water.

Slip.

The world tilted violently sideways.

The ceiling lights stretched into long, blinding streaks as her balance disappeared in an instant.

For a split second, she felt weightless— like the moment right before waking from a dream.

Then— silence.

No sound of impact.

No cold kitchen floor

Just... quiet.

A faint smell reached her first.

Not detergent.

Not food.

Not anything from home.

It was damp earth... mixed with something metallic... and the distant scent of smoke.

Her fingers twitched.

Soft mud pressed beneath her palms.

...Mud?

Slowly— very slowly— she opened her eyes.

Gray sky.

Thin drifting fog.

And far ahead— a massive castle.

Tall black towers pierced the clouds, surrounded by iron bridges, spinning gears, and pipes that released slow trails of steam into the air.

The entire structure looked like something pulled straight from an old Victorian painting... twisted together with humming steampunk machinery that groaned like a living creature.

She didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

Didn’t even blink.

Because her mind was still stuck on one simple thought...

"...What...?"

Her voice came out dry and small.

She pushed herself upright in the mud, hands trembling slightly as her eyes traced the impossible skyline again... just to make sure it was real.

The cold wind brushing her cheeks said it was.

"...No way," she whispered.

A weak laugh escaped her lips— half disbelief... half shock.

"...Did I actually... get isekai’d...?"

Far in the distance, one of the castle’s enormous gears turned with a deep metallic groan.

As if answering her.

And somewhere inside those towering walls— something had already noticed her arrival.