Chapter 178 – Molang Fantasy (16)
[Chapter 9 – Section 8] Family
The cardinal of the Holy Roman Empire walked along the palace’s long corridor and spoke.
“Kang Moon-soo, believer, you have proven your worth. Now… it is the Ranuvelas’ turn to answer.”
“I see.”
I hadn’t proven anything myself. So perhaps the senior had handled the negotiations well in reality?
It felt like a difficult homework assignment had solved itself while I was asleep.
“As you’ve already clashed with Her Imperial Highness several times, you must know by now that your actions—waking people from their dreams—interfere with our purpose.”
“Is it because of a lack of fuel?”
“Something like that.”
“…”
Using people as fuel? Just hearing it sent chills down my spine.
“Kang Moon-soo, believer, you became an Olympic star in just one year without knowing anything. So what about a Ranuvela who has been systematically trained?”
“…Interfering with others. I heard that’s 200 times more difficult.”
“Exactly right.”
The cardinal, pleased with my answer, continued.
“The still-young imperial princess is limited to those around her at best, but a skilled one like your mother, Ranuvela 10th, can cast mass hypnosis over an entire village.”
“Ah…”
That was something incredible.
“And the eldest, around the 7th, could cover the imperial capital.”
“…”
It was terrifying.
“There’s no need to be shocked. It’s merely one city with a population of 20 million. Compared to Earth’s population, it’s negligible.”
“The world would be difficult.”
If that were the case, Earth would have already fallen into the Ranuvelas’ grasp, just like the empire.
“But it’s not impossible. If science and talent assist.”
“Surely not…?”
They succeeded in casting mass hypnosis on 5 billion people?
That was absurd.
“Kang Moon-soo, believer. From this point on, this is top secret. Even the emperor and the pope do not know.”
“…”
Was it really okay for me to know such important information? It felt like approaching a Pandora’s box that should never be opened!
I naturally grew tense.
Rumble—
We took the elevator deep underground.
“It’s unlikely, but this place was designed to withstand a direct nuclear strike.”
“It feels like… a bomb shelter.”
“This is a tomb. Excluding the 1st and 2nd, who were cremated, the remains of all successive Ranuvelas are enshrined here.”
“Ah…”
Thud.
The descending elevator came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived. The choice and judgment are yours alone, believer. Whatever decision you make, we will not interfere.”
“…Yes.”
What kind of choice and judgment was she expecting from a boy who couldn’t even take care of his own life yet?
I slowly walked forward.
Rumble—
The steel door, detecting the cardinal’s approach, slid open to both sides.
“It’s unlikely, but this is a device to prevent intruders. It can only be opened from the inside.”
“…”
Rumble—
Rumble rumble—
As many as eight layers of steel doors opened one after another.
“…Has Mother come here often?”
“Yes. My mother, who unfortunately passed away in a traffic accident, is also here. To you, she would be your maternal grandmother.”
“Ah.”
It didn’t have the eerie atmosphere of a cemetery, but the mother’s demeanor carried a clear sense of solemn reverence that was different from usual.
“Don’t be startled, and stay still. Disinfectant will be released.”
Pshhh shhh—
White steam like mist sprayed out from all directions.
“Cough cough!”
Wasn’t the disinfection a bit too harsh?!
“Please endure it just a little longer. Cleanliness is the bare minimum when paying respects to a god.”
“God— cough cough!”
Ding-dong~♪
With the notification chime announcing the end of disinfection, the glass door ahead slid open.
“Please come in.”
“Yes…”
The room was entirely lined with glass and mechanical devices.
And in the very center of that room.
On the bed lay a white-haired woman, lying limply.
“Let me introduce her. This is my younger sister, and your great-great-grandmother—Ranuvela 8th.”
“Ah…”
Didn’t they say she was dead?
“Since becoming a god, her immunity has fallen to an extreme low. She cannot take even a single step outside this place.”
“…”
It might be rude to think this, but if she had to remain confined here until she died, was there any meaning left in living?
I now understood why they had said she was dead.
“How do you feel after meeting your great-great-grandmother?”
“Uh… it doesn’t feel real. Including the fact that this person is a god.”
“I understand. Would it feel more real if I said P?”
“…Pardon?”
“Ranuvela 8th. She is the P who saved wandering humanity.”
“…”
I finally understood what the senior had meant back then by “connection.”
***
Thanks to P’s aptitude tester, humanity no longer wasted time searching for talent or wandering aimlessly. As soon as people became adults, they could live efficient lives.
Politicians: patriotism and abstinence.
Merchants: honesty and calculation.
Legal professionals: fairness and cold rationality.
Soldiers: responsibility and courage.
…
By placing the right people in the right positions, humanity stopped repeating the same mistakes throughout history and began walking the correct path.
The occupational revolution.
No one would dispute that the foundation of it all was P’s aptitude tester.
“P, you say?”
“Yes.”
“…”
In the Holy Roman Empire, anyone impersonating P—regardless of nationality or status—was tracked down and punished without exception.
What if it really was the genuine one?
The confidence with which they judged without even considering that possibility came from the fact that they had the “real P”!
“The principle is simple. It’s a device we call an aptitude tester that peers into another person’s soul and discerns their aptitude.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Oh my! That doesn’t sound like something an Olympic star who cut more than half of the world records in track and field and marathon events should say.”
“…”
I truly had nothing to say in response.
“There’s no need to overcomplicate it. Humans are computers made of blood and flesh. By looking at the completed performance after growth, you can immediately tell which occupation suits them.”
“No wonder…”
That explained why countless scientists had studied and disassembled P’s aptitude tester but found nothing. Their approach had been wrong from the very beginning!
“Existing religions and gods had clear limitations. Limitations of imagination and purpose. That’s why they only operated around the birthplace of the religion. They might have flooded the world to punish fallen humanity, but the other side of the planet remained perfectly peaceful. For a god, their vision was far too narrow and incompetent.”
“Well…”
It was an uncomfortable truth about religion. Like the ignorance of ancient people who believed the Earth was a flat, sandwich-shaped piece of land.
“But P is different. Not salvation of the soul, but salvation in reality. Anyone can be saved in just one second the moment they turn nineteen.”
“That’s… yes.”
Having experienced the dream world of traveling to the past thanks to Nam Hae-soo, I couldn’t deny the cardinal’s words.
Fraudsters who shouldn’t go into politics, sex offenders, liars—they were openly serving as members of parliament and running for elections. And the voting system forced people to choose the “less idiotic” candidate among such people.
It was truly shocking and horrifying.
‘That’s impossible now.’
Thanks to P’s aptitude test, anyone who isn’t suited to be a politician can’t enter politics no matter how much money they have—they’re disqualified.
And it’s not just politicians. No. The old era had every system running inefficiently and irrationally.
Just watching it was frustrating enough!
P had saved humanity from that.
“Is she sleeping?”
“No. She simply can’t open her eyes.”
“Ah…”
It seemed it wasn’t just her immunity that had declined.
“The cameras and microphones installed in this room serve as her eyes and ears. It was also her will that allowed the door to open for us.”
“…Can we converse with her?”
“Of course. But since moving her body is extremely difficult for her, she can’t write long sentences. Look at that monitor.”
「Hello」
A really short sentence.
When she was introduced as an ancestor, it felt vague and distant, but the moment she was called P, I naturally felt a surge of awe.
P.
The genius scientist or alien whose true identity everyone wondered about.
The mere fact that I could meet and speak with the historical figure who had revolutionized humanity filled me with overwhelming emotion.
Thump thump!
My heart was already straining. Still, I had to do what needed to be done.
“Hello. I’m Kang Moon-soo.”
「Understood」
Really short indeed.
「Dad」
“Huh?”
Why did “Dad” suddenly appear?
“In interpretation, it means you resemble your father very closely.”
“Ah!”
Thanks to the cardinal’s kind explanation—clearly from someone experienced in conversations—I understood.
Since Ranuvela 8th was the daughter miraculously born to Ranuvela 6th from the seed of the friend who took a bullet in his place and died,
In other words, it meant I resembled P’s father.
「Correct」
“Do you also know about my mother’s situation?”
「Idiot」
“Yes. She really is an idiot.”
I could tell that even without the cardinal’s interpretation.
“Sorry for being an idiot.”
Mother grumbled, but I cleanly ignored her and continued the conversation.
“Even though there are certainly people dissatisfied with their aptitudes, humanity was saved thanks to your sacrifice. Thank you.”
「Wrong」
“Huh?”
Wrong?
「Explanation」
“I’ll explain in my sister’s place. This is also the reason we invited Kang Moon-soo, believer.”
The cardinal, taking up P’s request since long sentences were difficult for her, began speaking.
“Could it be… fuel?”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Even after sacrificing everything she had, there are limits to what one person can do alone. The citizens of the Holy Roman Empire would probably be manageable. Just imagine it: a future where only the empire achieves dazzling progress through the occupational revolution.”
“There would be war.”
Human history has always repeated itself.
When a new power emerges, the old powers try to crush it, and the envious weak band together to bite back viciously.
Instead of emulating, they obstruct!
There’s probably no animal more irrational than humans, who claim to be the lords of creation.
“Right now, anyone can take the aptitude test at age nineteen. But what if we limited the number? Commoners wouldn’t have access, and it would be abused for political purposes. Just like every religion has done.”
“…”
My shallow mind was gradually being pushed beyond its limits of comprehension.
“Kang Moon-soo, believer. Haven’t you ever thought it strange? The reason new patients appear around you the moment you wake someone up.”
“Ah…”
“You’re not the one putting them to sleep, after all.”
“…”
As soon as Vice Director Seo Hye-joo declared, “There are no more Ranuvela patients in the country, so rest easy,” two new ones appeared right away.
Park Hyo-man, the construction worker who dreamed of the hunter novel <I Became an SSS-Class Hunter>.
Yoon So-ra, who became Deok-sun, the friend of the protagonist in the historical drama <Palace Maid Deok-chun>.
Especially when I saw Yoon So-ra fall asleep right in front of my eyes, I even suspected I was spreading it like some contagious disease.
“Why is that?”
“…Is it because I cut off the fuel supply, so new people nearby became fuel instead?”
「Correct」
P affirmed it.
“Not just anyone is randomly chosen as fuel. It’s those who can’t adapt to reality—social misfits. In exchange, they’re shown happy dreams until the day they die.”
“Ah…”
The patients I had treated were all dissatisfied with their current situations in life.
So when they decide to accept reality again, the “fuel condition” breaks, and they wake up.
The principle was now perfectly clear.
“Kang Moon-soo, believer, your actions only increase the number of victims. If you wake 100 people, 100 new ones fall asleep.”
“Ha, haha…”
So that was why Ranuvela 13th had been so displeased with me.
Then she should have just explained it properly!
I had plenty of grievances toward her too.
“And on top of that, you even received money as compensation for the treatments and bought people’s favor. You went as far as trampling on the efforts of ordinary athletes by participating in the Olympics.”
“Uh…”
Hearing the cardinal put it that way made me sound like absolute trash?!
I couldn’t even refute it.
“Elder. If you keep saying things like that to my son, it’s war!”
“You just stay out of this…”
“No way!”
Mother, who had been quietly listening, defended me—but it didn’t help at all.
「Choice」
P demanded a choice from me.
“…Honestly, I don’t even understand why I’m here. P… a god who saved humanity has no reason to care about the choice of someone as insignificant as me.”
「Idiot」
Me?
“You and your mother are both idiots. Kang Moon-soo, believer, you are P’s descendant. Do you still not understand?”
“Uh… no.”
“Then I’ll explain it simply. My sister has no intention of continuing this work while being cursed at by her own descendant.”
“Ah!”
With the cardinal’s detailed explanation, P put the final period.
「Family」
“…I’m sorry. I really asked a foolish question.”
In this world, nothing is more precious than family.
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