Chapter 190 – The Hero (11)
The universe is incredibly vast.
So vast that even saying “it lightly surpasses human imagination” feels half-hearted and inadequate.
And in that universe, find one human-sized Sword Demon?
It would be harder than finding a woman on Earth who looks exactly like ‘Kang Moon-soo.’
“But how did you find him, Mom?”
“I spread my soul out in all directions like radar waves. Very far~”
“But it’s space?”
Space is a place where even traveling at the speed of light for hundreds of billions of years wouldn’t reach the end.
The speed of light.
How fast is that? Leaving aside the fact that it could circle Earth seven and a half times in one second—if a human ran at the speed of light for even one second, every living thing on Earth would die.
“The dream world isn’t actually that big. It’s more like a model garden.”
“What about the stars?”
“Just think of them as fluorescent stickers stuck to the ceiling. You used to love falling asleep while looking at those stars when you were little~”
“Ah…”
“The dream world is built on the patient’s imagination, but the human brain doesn’t have the processing power to fully simulate the entire universe. Even supercomputers can’t handle it.”
“So that means…”
“There’s no need to be intimidated just because it’s called ‘space.’ Think of your favorite sci-fi movies. There’s always one thing that never fails to appear: faster-than-light space jump technology. It’s used to travel between planets, but they never explain what’s actually between those planets, right?”
“Right.”
In novels, just listing planet names could fill several volumes. And even then, it’s questionable whether anyone could come up with names for all those planets, asteroids, stars, moons, and so on.
You can’t imagine everything.
“But that doesn’t mean it’s not wide. Unless you’re a primitive person, modern people basically know that Earth is round and that there’s a moon. Ah! I once treated a patient in Africa who thought the Earth was flat. There were even people who still believed Earth was the center of the universe.”
“Ah, yes.”
Mother’s characteristic chatter had begun.
‘Even this feels touching…’
When I was little, her endless talking was so boring that I used to plug my ears and pretend to sleep. And now here I am, having become a half-baked adult.
“Now! We’re starting the special lecture from the world’s most beautiful mom! Tuition fee is ten kisses!”
“Uh… that’s a bit…”
I’m a full-fledged adult now, you know? I even have a girlfriend.
“Then seven! I absolutely won’t accept anything less.”
“…Let’s make it five.”
“Deal! Five it is!”
“……”
Absolutely, my ass…
“My son is so smart that he can copy anything perfectly after seeing it just once.”
“Who said that?”
“So Un-hyeon-ssi!”
“He only ever scolded me for being frustrating.”
“But the opponent is a god (神), right? To a genius, everything looks frustrating.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes. He’s the kind of person who can instantly recreate a witch’s top-tier technique he’s never seen before, just because he needs it—like making instant food. There’s absolutely nothing lacking about my son.”
“Hmm…”
But despite Mother’s explanation, my confidence didn’t really rise.
“Setting So Un-hyeon-ssi aside since he’s a god, when comparing among humans, you’re on the same level of genius as your great-great-grandmother.”
“Really?”
Me, similar to P?
“Yes. Mom has no reason to lie to her son, does she?”
“…Plenty of reasons.”
How many parents boost their child’s self-esteem like this? It’s a classic line teachers and tutors use during parent consultations:
“Your child is actually very smart—he just doesn’t study!”
Parents fall for it hook, line, and sinker, opening their wallets or hearts.
“Ranuvela inherits the knowledge and experience of previous generations through dreams.”
“I’ve heard that.”
“But you reached this point without any shortcuts like that. And once you see a technique, you can copy it immediately.”
“Is that really impressive? It’s just imitating someone else’s work.”
“Ranuvela cannot imitate a Sword Demon’s arm.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Yes. The sword you used to cut Mom was your own original creation, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“P is a born inventor. The aptitude test device is just one of her inventions. On the other hand, you don’t seem to be an inventor type. It might be due to a lack of foundational knowledge, though.”
“Well…”
Probably both.
“But instead, you’re extremely good at imitation. And you develop it further to surpass the original. Thanks to that, you even severed a Sword Demon’s arm, didn’t you?”
“That was just because I was stronger…”
“If brute strength were enough, P would have wiped out all the Sword Demons long ago. A driver’s superior skill doesn’t make the car engine more powerful, does it?”
“Is that how it works?”
“That’s exactly how it works~”
Thanks to my ridiculously outstanding Senior, my self-esteem—which had been buried at the bottom of the deep sea—finally rose just a tiny bit.
“Let’s start the lesson. Hold Mom’s hand tightly.”
“…Is there really a point to holding hands?”
“Of course there is!”
“Hmm.”
For now, I did as I was told.
…It feels strange.
Even though this is a dream, it was the first time I’d held her hand since that time at the zoo right before she went missing.
“Do you feel something?”
“Ah…”
If I were to compare it to war, it felt like rapidly advancing deep into enemy territory without bothering to occupy it.
And that unstoppable advance…
Was blocked by a towering castle wall.
“…Is this a Sword Demon?”
“Correct!”
“It’s easy.”
The principle was so simple that, with just a little thought, I could probably do it on my own.
…No, wait.
That’s how most inventions are. Once you see them, they seem like nothing special, but coming up with that “nothing special” thing is incredibly difficult.
“Can you do it by yourself?”
“Yes.”
I felt like an idiot for mobilizing the goddess and angels to search for the patient.
“I’d love to teach you more, but time flows way too inefficiently here. So let’s move on to the next opportunity~”
“Ah! Right.”
Because of the patient’s poor health, one day in the dream world equals several days in reality.
“Can you catch him?”
“Of course.”
Blink!
The eye-tentacle transformed into the shape of a sword.
“Jung Yong-sang-ssi. I’m sorry for not even pretending to try and save you.”
Thud!
I plunged the sword tip into the ground.
“Blood God banzai.”
The blade tentacles shot up in a parabolic arc, piercing straight through the cosmos—and through the Sword Demon as well.
***
“Welcome back~”
“…I’m back.”
Mother, dressed like a fresh young lady in a wide-brimmed straw hat and a pure white one-piece dress, waved cheerfully to greet me.
“You’re late.”
Song Sun-young, sitting right beside me, openly showed her displeasure.
“Uh… sorry.”
Unlike usual, she was dressed in a modest, innocent girl-style skirt that covered the legs I loved so much.
By the way, where are we?
The scenery was moving.
“Son, it’s been a long time since Mom went to an amusement park with you, hasn’t it? And you’ve only been once with Sun-young, right? You’re really too much.”
We were inside a Ferris wheel cabin.
“Did Senior take control of my body?”
It didn’t seem likely that he’d carried my unconscious self up here on his back.
“No.”
“Then who on earth…?”
“Infinity Blade.”
“Huh?”
Wait—did Mother just say a monster took control of my body?
“It’s true. So Un-hyeon oppa apparently left it behind for you.”
“……”
I have no idea how far Senior’s care for me goes.
A true benevolent god (善神)!
Even if he dyed the Central Plains red with blood, to me he is a great deity.
“He promised to take care of you in exchange for borrowing your body, right?”
“He said something like that, yeah.”
Back in the martial arts world of <Is This Heavenly Demon for Real?>, I hadn’t taken Senior’s words very seriously, so my memory was fuzzy.
But I vaguely recalled him saying something like:
- If you’re a god (神), you have to keep the words you speak.
“Valentine listens to me so well—I love it.”
Song Sun-young, who had been grumbling about me being late, now broke into a smile.
“What does that mean?”
“Oppa apparently ordered it to obey only Song Sun-young from now on? It’s wonderful. It felt like raising a pet.”
“……”
Dear respected and grateful Senior… why would you do something so terrifying…?
It seems even a genius can make mistakes.
“Son, it’s already winter. Doesn’t anything come to mind?”
“Uh… not really?”
Knowing both Song Sun-young’s and Mother’s birthdays, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Chivalry.”
“Ah! Right!”
I had applied to enter ‘Chivalry’ in this year’s Winter Olympics.
“There’s more.”
“Hm?”
What did she mean?
Song Sun-young puffed out her cheeks adorably and started saying strange things.
“Whenever you follow me around like a puppy, the prince laughs at you. He used to annoy me on the island too—his name was probably… uh…”
“Leon?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“And?”
“After talking it over with Mom, we applied for every single event in the Winter Olympics.”
“How did you reach that conclusion?!”
Mother stepped in to back up Song Sun-young’s absurd decision.
“It’s infuriating, isn’t it? Some prince punk daring to laugh at my son! That’s absolutely unacceptable. I was ready to throw him into the dream world for good, but I let it slide at just betting our entire fortune on sports toto.”
“My God…”
To all the Olympic athletes: I’m sorry on behalf of my mother and girlfriend.
“Since that’s how it turned out, we can play today and start preparing from tomorrow.”
“Son, don’t feel pressured—just take it easy. Even if you half-ass it, you’ll win overwhelmingly.”
“……”
I only just noticed, but the two women’s coordination was terrifyingly in sync.
What on earth happened while I was gone?
I couldn’t adjust to it at all.
“Son.”
“Yes.”
“The adults will be watching your Olympics too. They may say things like ‘don’t trample on the athletes’ efforts,’ but that’s only when we’re among ourselves. To royalty, face and honor are everything—without them, they’re corpses.”
“Ah…”
That’s right.
Because I’m a ‘shaman,’ no one raises an issue about me competing. There are no rules or traditions prohibiting it.
The reason the Olympics matches aptitude perfectly to event is simply because that produces the best results.
“And son, the P-medal was created precisely because people ignored aptitude and participated in multiple events from the start. Team event loopholes are used all the time too. There’s absolutely no reason for you to hold back.”
P-medal.
With the advent of P’s aptitude test device, the Olympics underwent a revolutionary shift toward something like a superhuman competition—and this honorable new medal was born.
In the past, I hadn’t cared much about it.
But now, just because the name contained a “P,” it bothered me intensely.
It felt like I absolutely couldn’t fail to win it.
Like how it would feel strange if a descendant of Nobel never won the Nobel Prize in Physics!
“…Let’s do this seriously.”
“Good choice.”
“Hehe! The adults back in the Empire will be delighted too. Naturally, including her.”
“…Yes.”
Hearing that even P—who couldn’t move because of the Sword Demons—would be watching gave me strength without realizing it.
“Mother. Where should we go next?”
“Hmm~ Since my son is here, shall we try something a bit more thrilling? If you get scared, you can hold onto my son tightly, you know.”
“Mother, really~”
“Just now, the attendant who stood in line for us sent a message. The roller coaster is ready.”
“Roller coaster! I love it.”
“Son?”
“…I’m good with it too.”
My eyes met with a couple who seemed to have been circling around us the whole time.
Wiggle wiggle~
I naturally waved my hand at them.
“Hm.”
After I returned the greeting, I looked at another couple,
Wiggle wiggle~
And they waved back?
Naturally, I gave a light wave in response.
‘Wait, what the hell…’
Just how many attendants and bodyguards had been mobilized because of us?
“Unnie! Hurry and get on!”
“Thanks~”
“Unnie, thank you.”
“Thank you very much.”
I bowed my head in gratitude to the attendants who had waited nearly two hours in line on our behalf.
Sorry for making you go through all this trouble.
“Son~”
“Yes! Coming!”
I shouted while finally removing the mask that had been interfering with our breathing and conversation the whole time.
But then,
“Hey! Look over there! Quick!”
“It’s Kang Moon-soo!”
“Really? Wow! It’s really him!”
There was a reason I’d been wearing the mask ever since waking up in the dream.
It was still just like back at the airport?
I was utterly dumbfounded.
“I hope everyone here makes lots of happy memories at the amusement park too.”
“Please hold my son’s hand for a second!”
“Just one photo together…!”
“Moon-soo oppa! Look at me please!”
“……”
It seemed the roller coaster was going to be my last ride of the day.
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