Chapter 179 – Molang Fantasy (17)
“And I will also follow Kang Moon-soo, believer’s decision. The Holy Roman Empire owes a debt to your senior, after all.”
The cardinal put a final period on the conversation.
“What did the senior do…?”
“That’s a secret just between us. It has nothing to do with my sister.”
“I see.”
I decided not to ask any further. I owed the senior a debt too, after all.
「Fatigue」
“Kang Moon-soo, believer. Shall we head out now? My sister seems tired. If you need time to think it over, take as long as you like.”
“…Yes.”
「Blessing」
“Thank you.”
I bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle to Ranuvel—the one who wished happiness for her descendant and respected his choice.
***
We took the elevator back up to the palace on the surface. The cardinal hurriedly left to attend to her backlog of duties…
Adults really are different.
Legally, I’m an adult too, but I still couldn’t shake the feeling that I was narrow-minded and self-centered.
“Good work!”
Except for Mother!
She was so easygoing that she felt more like an older sister in a similar situation than a mother.
“You really haven’t aged at all, Mother.”
If a few more years pass like this, I might end up looking like the older brother.
“I’m a witch, after all. As long as I don’t die in an accident, I can live until the Earth is destroyed. And the same goes for you, my son.”
“Me too?”
“Just think of the Olympic marathon. It’s like extending lifespan the same way you extend stamina. While everyone else gets exhausted the closer they get to the finish line, we can keep running.”
“Ah…”
I understood instantly.
“I’ll teach you everything one by one from now on. Passing it through dreams would be simple, but I don’t want my son turning feminine.”
“Through dreams…?”
“The Ranuvela pass down knowledge by letting the next generation indirectly experience the lives of their predecessors through dreams. The degree of absorption varies depending on talent, but it drastically shortens the time needed for education.”
“Wow!”
That’s totally cheating?!
“The problem is… you’re a man, right? Do you want to experience a woman’s body?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
I refused immediately without even needing to think about it.
Ring ring~♪
“Hm?”
My smartphone in my pocket rang.
「Missed Calls (8)」
“Ah…”
It must not have had signal down in the basement.
“Who is it?”
“My girlfriend.”
“Oh my oh my! I see! My son’s at that age now! Hurry and answer it!”
Urged on by my immature mother, I cautiously picked up the call.
“Hello.”
(Moon-soo-ssi?)
Song Sun-young’s voice, coming from the opposite side of the planet, was full of certainty.
“Huh? How did you know?”
(Your tone is completely different from that sly older brother’s.)
“Ahha!”
(What are you doing? The moment you woke up, you should’ve contacted me right away!)
“I was talking with my mother.”
(…What?)
“I was talking with my mother.”
(……)
Suddenly, she went quiet.
“Hello?”
(Wait, right now… your mother is right next to you? Didn’t you say she went missing?)
Song Sun-young’s tone suddenly became as polite and ladylike as a proper young miss.
“I found her.”
Looking at the mischievous face my mother was making as she stared at her son, I felt extremely regretful!
(I see. Then I understand. If you’re reuniting with your mother after so long, you wouldn’t have the presence of mind to make a call.)
“…”
Song Sun-young sounded quite hurt.
“Son~ Let me talk to her.”
“No thanks.”
“Is it because you’re not at the stage of marriage yet, so you don’t want to introduce her?”
“Please refrain from weird assumptions.”
“Then?”
“…I just don’t want to because I’m afraid Mother will say something strange.”
“Son, try trusting family a little, like your great-great-grandmother.”
“…”
Mother was dragging P into this.
If I said I couldn’t trust here, wouldn’t that be disregarding P’s family love?
“Come on~ Your girlfriend is waiting, isn’t she?”
“…Fine.”
Swish—
I handed the smartphone over to Mother.
“Hello!”
(Eek?!)
Song Sun-young let out a startled yelp at the forceful voice.
“This is Moon-soo’s mom! What’s your name, young lady?”
(Ah, hello. I’m Song Sun-young.)
“Song Sun-young! What a pretty name! Let’s have a meal together when we meet later!”
(Yes, yes! Mother…!)
“Shall I pass the phone back to my son?”
(It’s fine! It’s nothing urgent! Please talk more!)
“Your voice is pretty too.”
(Thank you!)
“Then, Song Sun-young-ssi. See you later~”
(Yes! See you then!)
Click.
The call ended as abruptly as a storm passing through.
“See? It wasn’t weird at all, right?”
“…Yes.”
Mother didn’t say anything particularly strange, but now Song Sun-young was acting weird.
Was she okay?
I felt a little worried.
“When my son makes his decision, I’ll be leaving the empire.”
“Are you going too, Mother?”
“Of course! My credibility is rock bottom, so they’ll probably attach monitors and trackers, but I got permission from the elder.”
“They’re letting you go that easily?”
Considering how the Ranuvela bloodline had once been fiercely guarded against being cut off or leaking to foreign lands, this was a surprising change.
“Circumstances always change.”
“…Is this because of the senior too?”
“Half of it, probably.”
“Half?”
“Figure out the other half yourself.”
“…Okay.”
It was a vague answer, but it seemed related to the debt (the secret) the cardinal owed the senior, which was why she was reluctant to explain.
“Son, over here. This is the room I used before I ran away from home.”
“It’s nice.”
Mother’s princess syndrome didn’t seem to come just from her appearance. This really looked like a “princess’s room.” I couldn’t understand why she chose an ordinary father and left an environment like this behind.
“Make yourself comfortable.”
“Am I staying here too?”
“Of course. We’re family.”
Family.
Mother seemed to notice how that word made me weaken.
“Son, want to sleep together after so long?”
“I’m an adult now.”
“Mom’s fine with it.”
“I’m not fine with it.”
“Oh dear. Missing out on precious moments like this is sad.”
I sat on the soft sofa, while Mother perched on the wide bed.
“Have you decided?”
“Not yet.”
With just one word from me, the aptitude tester that saved humanity—created by P—would disappear.
The weight and responsibility of that.
Every time I thought about it, my breath caught in my throat.
“Can I tell you what Mom thinks?”
“…You already switched from ‘Mother’ to ‘Mom’ without me noticing.”
“Son, have you ever seen such a young mother? ‘Mom’ fits perfectly.”
“…”
Witches really are cheats.
“There’s no such thing as perfect fuel without a price in this world. Take the extreme example of fossil fuels that dominated the old era. Everyone knew they were sickening the one and only Earth, yet no one could stop.”
“But it did stop.”
“Yes. Thanks to P’s aptitude tester.”
“…”
“To reduce fossil fuel usage, everyone had to equally endure the inconvenience and cooperate. But in the old era, there was no way to root out selfish politicians and businessmen, so it failed.”
“I’ve heard that.”
But with the new generation of politicians and businessmen verified by P’s aptitude tester gradually pushing out the rotten old guard,
The result was the occupational revolution!
What had seemed absolutely impossible—global harmony—happened simply, and Earth, infused with advanced science and technology, regained the health it had before the Industrial Revolution.
“Son, what would happen if P’s aptitude tester disappeared?”
“It’s a topic schools covered to death.”
“Oh! Really?”
“Most people describe it as hell. They say bizarre teachers who see students as money would appear. The idea of devils like that teaching kids? It’s unbelievable, yet plausible enough to be shocking.”
“In the old era, irrational things happened so naturally.”
“Is that indirect experience too?”
“Yes. From the 9th, who passed away pointlessly in a traffic accident.”
“…”
It might just be my imagination, but Mother seemed to harbor a lot of regret toward her maternal grandmother who died early.
“Can I tell you what Mom thinks?”
“You already did, didn’t you? That we should keep P’s aptitude tester.”
“Oh! Not at all.”
“Huh?”
“You misunderstood. Mom is the opposite. There’s no need for the 8th to suffer and live for strangers she doesn’t know. The 9th also hid her identity and devoted herself to strangers, only to die in a traffic accident.”
“…So that’s why you ran away from the funeral, because you couldn’t stand it.”
“That’s right.”
“And that’s how I was able to be born.”
“That’s right too!”
Mother smiled gently.
“Hmm…”
“Still agonizing over it?”
“Yes.”
“Then let me tell you one more thing. For us, it would actually be better if P’s aptitude tester disappeared.”
“Why is that?”
“Because the old era wasn’t bad for everyone. For the rich and politicians, that time when they could escape fair judgment under the law was paradise.”
“Ah…”
“You might not feel it yet, son, but we are the upper class of the Holy Roman Empire. If P’s aptitude tester disappears, the 8th can finally be free and live as she pleases.”
“…”
“Honestly, I was a little upset. When I ran away, the 8th didn’t budge an inch, but the moment she saw you, she started wavering.”
“Is that so…”
There’s no need to sacrifice our happiness for strangers we don’t even know.
That was what Mother was saying.
“And besides~ P’s aptitude tester isn’t eternal either.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“All resources are finite. Even solar or wind power plants, which seem infinite, consume resources during maintenance, right?”
“…Is P’s health really that bad?”
“Not right now, but if the Sword Demons keep increasing, eventually…”
Sword Demons.
Knowing that the senior had been surrounded by them made this extremely concerning.
“What’s their goal?”
“A protest.”
“A protest…?”
“They’re protesting to P, demanding she return their happy dreams.”
Happy dreams.
Considering the conditions for becoming a Sword Demon, that wasn’t exactly new information.
“So the Sword Demons are the ones tormenting P?”
“Yes. Even the 8th—who was so outstanding she was called the reincarnation of Ranuvel—was healthy at first. But as the Sword Demons gradually increased, it led to her current state.”
“…”
“The 8th is just too kind! If she’d just give up her stubbornness and spend her days watching her descendants’ cute antics until the Earth is destroyed, she could live happily. Mom finds that so frustrating!”
“…Thank you.”
“Have you decided?”
“Yes. Thanks to Mother… Mom’s advice, I was able to make my decision.”
It felt like I had finally realized the reason I was born into this world as a “shaman.”
***
Holy Roman Empire, First Airport.
I had expected the cardinal to come up with all sorts of excuses to keep me in the empire longer, but surprisingly, she let me go without resistance.
“You’re leaving.”
“Thank you, Your Imperial Highness.”
Ranuvela do not travel in groups of two or more unless there is a special reason. An unexpected accident could wipe them all out at once!
That’s why only Ranuvela 13th came to see me off at the airport.
In her capacity as imperial princess, not as a witch.
It had been arranged that I had stayed in the Holy Roman Empire as a VIP from my biological mother’s homeland and was now returning home.
“Kang Moon-soo-ssi. You are the descendant of the most noble person on Earth. Never lose your dignity, no matter the time.”
“Ah, yes.”
People seemed to think of me as some collateral branch of the Holy Roman Empire’s imperial family.
In truth—P’s descendant!
Because the ancestor was so surreal, I had even developed the habit of wondering if I was dreaming.
“Your decision was unexpected.”
“Is that so.”
“I wish you martial fortune.”
“Thank you. The flight time is approaching…”
“Sigh… Are you an idiot? This is the Holy Roman Empire. There’s no need to rush. The plane will never leave the airport until you board.”
“What…”
Isn’t that way too much of an inconvenience to everyone?!
“Take care.”
“Yes.”
As I boarded the royal seat on the plane, I made a call.
(Moon-soo-ssi? I’m watching your departure live on TV right now.)
“How have you been, Vice Director?”
(I’ve been great! I did have to sign an affidavit promising not to draw your blood carelessly anymore, but in recognition of my past achievements, I’ve been promoted to director.)
“Wow~ So you’re the director now?”
(That’s right!)
She might be number one among the people whose lives turned around after getting involved with me.
“I have a request.”
(Anything, just say the word.)
“As soon as I return, please select Ranuvel patients for treatment. People in poor health, like Yoon So-ra-ssi.”
(That’s not difficult, but may I ask why?)
“It’s war.”
(War?)
“Yes. A war that won’t stop until the seed of the Sword Demons is eradicated.”
That is my choice.
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