Chapter 401
19
"Sis, you know..."
"Use formal speech."
"Oh, right. You know..."
"Yes. What is it?"
"I think I'm in love."
"I mean, you'll get into trouble if Dad finds out, so make it a habit to always use formal... Wait, what did you just say?"
"I'm in love."
One day, my adorable younger sister confided in me like that. I put down the pen I was using to study and looked at her with a swift turn of my head.
"Oh. Um. I see. Well..."
"Sis, your eyes suddenly look scary."
"My eyes are your eyes. If I look scary, it’s because you subconsciously want to appear scary to yourself. So, who is it?"
"The teacher."
"Oh, I see. A former teacher? Hmm. I don't think our family would accept homosexuality, but sis, don't worry! Once I send Dad off on a fantastic vacation, I'll completely overhaul this damn family tradition..."
"No, the current tutor."
"..."
"Uh-uh? Don't look at me like that. Keep staring like that and you could really kill someone. Sis, it's my first love, my first relationship. You're going to help me, right?"
Indeed.
So I have to help my future 'self' by supporting my sister in every way possible so that her love with me can succeed?
"Hmm..."
How absurd.
20
In ancient Greece, there was someone who found joy in arguing with people and was eventually branded a community troublemaker and executed. They liked to use this phrase:
"Know thyself."
I too have recently engraved this saying deeply in my heart.
To not know one's own nature, to pretend to be knowledgeable about the world, yet remain ignorant about oneself, is truly sorrowful.
In that spirit, I'll say this:
"What a thieving scoundrel."
"...? Excuse me? Miss Cheon-hwa?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Ehehe. I was deep in thought about someone, and a bit of an inner monologue slipped out unintentionally."
"Ah, I see. Well, I also have a friend who talks to themselves a lot, so I'm familiar with it."
"Oh, really, do you?"
"Yes, someone you know too. The person who used to teach you ladies..."
"Oh, the first teacher, right? Seems you're close to them?"
"Haha, close isn't quite the word. We are indeed on friendly terms, though."
"A thieving scoundrel like no other."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, sorry. Once again, my habitual spontaneous monologue syndrome just burst forth."
"..."
"What? What are you looking at? Ah, I see. It must be your first time seeing the daughter of someone who runs a temple and built a mansion spanning thousands of pyeongs on the most prized mountain slope in Sejong City. That must be fascinating."
"Oh, nothing much."
The person in front, ahem, let’s just call him the 'Undertaker', out of convenience.
This Undertaker is essentially a past version of me. A regressor from the first timeline.
If you ask what’s different between a regressor from the first timeline and an ordinary person... nothing is different at all.
A regressor who has never actually regressed! What even is that!
It's like having fish-shaped bread without the fish filling, just a bread shape without anything!
Everything you hold in your hands just slips away like the red bean paste!
You can't even eat it!
We’ve agreed to call inedible food 'food waste'.
"This trash."
"...?!"
My whisper made the Undertaker from the first timeline flinch. Oh? Is he really intimidated by this meager display of intimidation?
Oh, how pathetic, my past self is.
Well, no wonder! There’s no way such a young, inexperienced, newbie, trash self could withstand my pressure having yet to even reach the 1000th lifetime, or even the 100th!
"Then, Miss Cheon-hwa. Shall we conclude this little break here and move on to the next chapter..."
"What about planning for retirement?"
"Excuse me?"
"Do you have any means to continuously and stably manage assets enough to keep pace with inflation?"
"Uh, um... Yes?"
"Oh, I apologize. You don't even have seed money yet. We sisters come from wealth, sorry for not being considerate. Let me rephrase. By when and how much do you plan to secure your assets?"
"..."
"Surely, you aren’t acting without any plan, are you?"
"Gah!"
"I see. Relying on youthful passion and determination and planning to fight as you go. I don't dislike such youthful ideas, but that lack of planning is why you end up tumbling around for thousands of years! Do you understand this?!"
"I'm not sure, but I'm sorry!"
"You claim not to know, yet you dared to flirt with my sister?!"
"No, no. I truly have no such intention. Even if Lady Yo-hwa were to harbor such feelings, I fully intend to reject them..."
"Hah? You're daring to reject my sister’s confession?!"
"...Please spare me."
The conversation isn't getting anywhere!
Even as I looked down at the Undertaker, who had sprawled on the floor after getting up from his chair, my anger wouldn’t subside.
How can there be a man so unmanly!
...But that was me!
That’s what became me!
So this is how Archer felt!
"Um, Miss?"
"Yes...?"
"Why am I on the floor, and why has Miss also sprawled beside me? Is it okay for someone as unworthy as me to ask?"
"Just shut up."
"Yes, ma'am."
Well. At least we've got some results.
‘The Undertaker of this time was acquainted with Go Yuri. No, surpassing mere acquaintances, it seems they were in tight collaboration…this information is certain.’
Though I had an inkling already during the summer I spent with Yu Ji-won in middle school.
‘It's certain.’
Invaluable information indeed.
However, the question of where this information actually originated from remains prominent.
‘This is inside Yo-hwa’s dream. Yet there's no way Yo-hwa would remember.’
‘Even with the fairies of the tutorial cheering on, they wouldn’t have restored information regarding Go Yuri and the Undertaker.’
‘Then...’
Could it be from Go Yuri’s dream?
‘Deep from the unconscious world, the data Go Yuri possessed reversed like a sewer during the rainy season... that seems like a reasonable interpretation.’
How peculiar.
I merely ventured into Yo-hwa’s dream, aiming to fill the void gaping within my sister’s heart.
‘Somehow Yo-hwa’s dreams... are linked to Go Yuri’s unconscious world? Why?’
A riddle unto itself.
How much of this dream landscape I'm witnessing now is truth, and where does the tainted information begin?
“I suppose that’s what I need to confirm from here on out.”
“…”
“Oh, were you following my command to keep quiet? Well done! From now, just answer my questions sincerely, please.”
“Understood.”
As I stood, the Undertaker did the same, and we sat down facing each other across a table.
I clapped my hands twice, switching off the room’s power.
It was voice-activated technology. The Undertaker, encountering this modern invention, showed a surprised reaction. Every reaction betrayed his subtle lack of wealth.
“Just to give you a heads up—. Senior.”
“Senior?”
“Oh. The term ‘teacher’ is already reserved for someone else. Although Yo-hwa doesn’t seem bound by such naming conventions, it’s quite important to me.”
“…”
“Anyway, I’m already assured a spot at Seoul National University. Might as well call you senior in advance, right?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then, the first question. What exactly is your relationship with our ‘teacher’?”
The Undertaker’s expression hardened.
How naive. I can almost hear the wheels turning as he tries to figure out what answer would best dispel my suspicion.
“For the record, I really dislike lies. So much so that it might jeopardize the promised tutoring fee.”
“…The money doesn’t matter.”
“Those who claim that money doesn’t matter often have the strongest ties to it.”
I opened a fan to cover my mouth. Striking now would force him to reveal some vulnerabilities.
“I heard some news. That you have someone very dear to you.”
“What?!”
“Where was it? Ah yes, Seoul. In some rundown neighborhood... Haha. I forgot the name.”
Then, subtly.
I pulled a magazine from the shelf and opened it.
The magazine featured a truly beautiful girl, her picture printed as a lookbook model.
“…!”
Suddenly, the Undertaker’s eyes widened.
“You, how do you know about... Ji-won?”
“I’m a fan. Of this person.”
“…”
At last, his expression became worth seeing.
“I heard she lives alone, taking care of her grandmother. Admirable. No matter how much she earns modeling, there must be limits. She desperately needs someone’s earnings.”
“…What do you want from me?”
“The truth. Information.”
I closed the magazine with a thud.
“I’ll ask again. Senior. What, exactly, is your relationship with the teacher who took care of us in our childhood, gave us breathing room in this hellish mansion?”
A tense silence followed.
“…Even if I tell you, you wouldn’t believe it.”
“The truth is determined by those in power.”
The Undertaker drew a small breath.
Moments later, his resolved eyes met mine. Hmm. They carried some undeniable spirit.
“The world will end.”
Blink.
“Pardon?”
“You may think of it as a prophecy. But I consider it a foregone conclusion. Because it’s information given to me by the ‘teacher’ you spoke of.”
“…”
“You seem to find it hard to believe.”
“No, that’s――not it.”
The reason I was taken aback was different.
‘So, this version of me, the first timeline Undertaker, already knew the world would end?!’
Unbelievable!
‘Then why did old Schopenhauer allow Madam Adele to be lost? If you knew about the apocalypse, about the coming of the white nights to Seoul... She could have been evacuated!’
‘Or perhaps... was it intentional? Was leaving Madam Adele to die a deliberate act? But why?’
Amidst the chaos in my mind, the Undertaker’s voice filtered through.
“Shall we stop here?”
“…No. Please, continue.”
“Understood.”
The Undertaker spoke quietly.
“There are many causes for the world’s end, but the primary contributors are you. Miss Cheon-hwa and Miss Yo-hwa.”
“What?”
“You two are, unavoidably, catalysts for this world’s end... or at least for summoning those who will bring about the end.”
“…”
The Outer God.
---TL NOTE: The translation are a bit iffy here since I have exactly 0 knowledge of the Korean language.---
Yin of the Taiji. Mukang. (Infinite Void? I know Mugen means infinity in japanese.)
Yang of the Taiji. The Veil. (Mastermind? I think "The Veil" is another name for Mastermind.)
“We call them by a different name—Outer God.”
Not Anomaly, but Outer God?
At this point, had Go Yuri and I officially adopted the term Outer God?
“We cannot avert the descent of the Outer God.”
“…Forgive me, but wouldn’t eliminating the two of us solve the problem? Since we summon them?”
“Even without both of you, the Outer God would descend by some means. This is also confirmed information.”
“…”
“Actually, the situation worsens. As you see, a rational conversation is possible with you. However, if other candidates are chosen as the sacrifices for the Outer God—control becomes nearly impossible.”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips.
“It’s confirmed?”
In other words, they experienced different rotations where candidates other than Cheon-hwa and Yo-hwa were chosen as the ‘Priestess of Infinite Void’ and ‘Priestess of the Mastermind’.
That means...
“This place... isn't the ‘first timeline’?”
Dizziness overtook me.
A sensation that overturned the very laws and history I’ve come to accept.
“Miss? Are you alright? Perhaps it's best if we end this discussion now.”
“No.”
I, pressing a hand to my forehead, spoke resolutely. Maintaining eye contact with the Undertaker through my fingers.
“Please continue.”
“…Apologies, but your teacher’s appointment to this mansion was also part of a larger plan.”
“Oh, to curry favor with us? Sowing seeds of affection from childhood so we could be manipulated at will once we become the priestesses for the Outer God?”
“No.”
The Undertaker spoke.
“It’s to save you both.”
......?
“In their original state, the moment the Outer God descend, you would lose your identity. Naturally, considering you've been exposed to the indoctrination of a cult leader since birth. Being reborn as sacrifices for the Outer God would have been your sole purpose and joy in life.”
“What are you saying? Yo-hwa and I have led our lives properly...”
“How could that have been possible?”
The Undertaker’s eyes narrowed.
“There would have been no other options for you. Your mother, who tried to love you, passed away early. Your father saw you as nothing more than living sacrifices. Everyone working in the mansion were merely henchmen subscribing to the cult leader’s beliefs.”
“……”
“Yet, what kind of external factor allowed you to grow as proper individuals, not just as successors or sacrifices for the cult?”
“That's.”
Go Yuri.
“It was thanks to the teacher.”
“......”
“Is it not?”
Ah.
“Ordinarily, Scripture reading lessons were so crucial that the cult leader was supposed to conduct them personally. It was the first task in raising successors. Naturally.”
“But…”
“Yes. However, those critical sessions were intercepted by your teacher because they worked so diligently to earn the cult leader’s utmost and perfect trust.”
“......”
“The person who recommended me as the successor to your father was your teacher as well.”
Then,
“The interview where you scored full marks in the exam... The reason you deliberately mentioned believing in Daoism was also to make an impression on your father…”
“Yes.”
The Undertaker nodded.
“The journalist conducting that interview was someone arranged by your teacher. They knew which newspaper your father read regularly.”
“......”
“Miss Cheon-hwa, you must become a sacrifice. Because,”
In the past. From this point onward. Already.
“You are the only perfect candidate who can summon the Outer God while retaining your identity and remaining human.”
――A regressor was already in existence.