Kang Naram, She Is God
She told them she was a god. Adam and Eve brought news from the Academy.
“If it’s a mysterious entity capable of expanding unknown spaces, it seems to be at the Academy,” they said. It was separate from the blue tissues and red tissues. According to rumors, students were occasionally sucked into inexplicable spaces. After encountering some enigmatic being there, they would regain consciousness only to find themselves back in the dormitories.
The number of Hwanjong quarantined at the research institute exceeded a hundred. That meant each specimen possessed its own unique and mysterious abilities, and the variety of those powers was equally vast. Unlike the reports of Hwanjong with clear traits—red tissues, blue tissues, red masks—the story that had just come from the siblings’ mouths carried far too faint a signature to be called a Wormhole.
Still, I had no choice but to go.
“There are plenty of Hwanjong that come to mind, but I hope it’s the Wormhole,” Kang Naram said. Nuna was trapped inside it. If I could absorb the Wormhole and wield its power freely, pulling her out from beyond that grotesque door would be nothing.
This wasn’t the time for idle talk.
“Then we’ll take our leave. We’ll continue to bring you any news that might help, Lord Suho.”
Adam and Eve promised to gather more concrete information and said they would return to the research institute once they had enough. Their loyalty was absolute. Saving them had been worth it. If they could build a faction in the slums without incident, they would become a great asset in searching for Hwanjong as well.
Academy, huh.
I looked at the valuables I had stockpiled. Maybe I could move together with that girl Lulu.
“Nuna.”
“Yeah.”
“What do you think?”
“We’re not in a position to be picky about cold rice or hot rice.”
Kang Naram’s thoughts aligned with mine.
“If Suho’s fine with it, I don’t think going there would be a bad idea!”
“Right?”
“There’s just one thing I’m worried about……”
Hm?
“If the Academy is located too far from the research institute, we won’t be able to communicate.”
“Ah.”
“This world has no communication satellites or cables. The institute’s antenna is the only means of transmitting signals, and while it’s the safest option, its performance isn’t that great. The maximum range is probably……”
In other words, I would have no choice but to be separated from Nuna. I wouldn’t be able to receive her help, and if anything happened at the institute, I wouldn’t know.
“Will you be okay?”
More than anything, I was worried about her mental health. She was already struggling enough being isolated in that cramped space. If even my voice disappeared from her world……
Wouldn’t she feel truly alone?
“Uuuuugh. Honestly, I don’t know.”
Even Nuna couldn’t make any guarantees.
“But it’s something we need to do. I’ll try to hold out as best I can. It’s not like I’m working as hard as you are, Suho.”
“No. You’re really suffering a lot too, Nuna.”
“Hehe. Thanks for saying that, Suho.”
I had to go and come back as quickly as possible. That was the best I could do right now. My goal was to return to our original world together with Kang Naram. That would probably remain an unchanging, absolute objective until the very end.
On the promised day, Lulu was waiting. She looked at me with an anxious expression. She must have been desperate for any clue about the Hwanjong. I dropped the bag at her feet. It was filled with luxury goods from Korea. When she peered inside, Lulu’s eyes widened into circles. Maybe because she was a girl at the age where she liked dressing up, the glittering luxury items must have caught her eye. Her gaze stayed on me, but the way she kept stealing glances into the bag made it clear she was quite taken with them.
That wasn’t the important part, though. Lulu looked like she had something to say as well.
“Um……”
“Take me to the Academy.”
An awkward silence fell. Lulu’s face was clearly flustered. It must have been an unexpected request. If she granted my favor, I would have to give her information about the Hwanjong in return. The reason I had changed my mind was partly because she was a student at the Academy, but the main reason was time. If she accepted this proposal, I would gain a direct route to the Academy. And making a deal with someone who wanted something from me seemed like it would be cheaper than going around asking suspicious people to “please take me to the Academy.”
Her objective still bothered me, but if Lulu was someone who feared me, she wouldn’t easily do anything to harm Nuna or me.
“S-suddenly asking me to take you to the Academy?”
“Yeah.”
“This is a little sudden……”
“No need to be flustered. So, is it possible? I can give you the information you want.”
“Well, if it’s not about enrolling as a student, I could probably show you around as much as you like……”
“I have business at the Academy. I’ll also need a status that lets me move freely. I’m thinking of staying for about a month. Can you arrange that?”
“I-I’m just an ordinary student. A day or two might be possible if I ask a friendly professor, but giving you that much authority is impossible.”
“Then I’ll have to look for another way.”
It was a shame. Still, there had to be other means besides asking the girl. The world was wide, and opportunities were just as plentiful. I had already repaid her for helping me in the arena. I had given her information about Jason and handed over luxury goods worth a fortune. Judging by the dazed look on her face as she stared at the accessories, she was quite pleased with them.
I was about to turn away when—
“W-wait a second!”
“Hm?”
“I-is any kind of status okay?”
“What do you mean.”
“If it’s a way to stay at the Academy, then…… even if it’s something like cleaning up dirty things, would that be okay?”
“Speak clearly.”
Lulu fidgeted with both index fingers, hesitating before finally making a suggestion.
“W-would you work as a cleaner?”
“Hah.”
How dare she suggest that this Woo Suho become a cleaner. Interesting.
“I-if I offended you, I’m sorry, but it’s the only method I could think of……”
“It’d be troublesome if everyone falls for me.”
“?”
Even a worm has its talents. Just as Kang Naram had a talent for research, this Woo Suho had a talent for cleaning. I was a cleaner renowned throughout twenty-first-century Korea. It was time to show off the skills that had earned me the highest praise from a veteran cafeteria auntie with twenty years of experience: “I’ve never seen a cleaner like this in my entire life.”
It would be a problem if students fell for me while watching me clean. Oh well, nothing I could do about it.
“This is called sodium hypochlorite (NaClO). Commonly known as bleach.”
Kh-kh. My, my. I couldn’t hold back my delight.
“Aah, you don’t know? You use hydrogen peroxide to clean old blood.”
“?”
“D-don’t raise your voice,” she stammered.
The thought of making an otherworldly school sparkle with my cleaning skills made my heart race. Had Kang Naram always looked at the world with eyes like these? The idea of teaching modern cleaning to these ignorant primitives sent a thrill through my entire body.
“For the record, bleach refers to a solution of sodium hypochlorite dissolved in water, Suho.”
How dare she talk back to me. It was fine. This Woo Suho’s ideal type was an intelligent woman.
“Today I learned another little piece of knowledge. As expected, Nuna is the smartest person in this world. She’s on par with Einstein. If von Neumann stood next to Kang Naram, he’d be nothing more than Porn Neumann.”
“Uuuuugh.”
Lulu began looking at me the way someone might look at a madman for the first time. She probably didn’t understand that Nuna and I were communicating. I offered a prayer to the goddess in the sky.
“Suho?”
“Yeah. I don’t know what religion it is, but she looks like a truly devout believer.”
Anyway, the important thing was that I could head to the Academy. From now on, I planned to disguise myself as a cleaner and search for Hwanjong.
“I’m counting on you.”
“R-right! Don’t go back on your word later!”
“I won’t, so don’t worry.”
Even as she spoke in a rush, Lulu busily packed the backpack full of accessories. The way she diligently gathered them reminded me of a squirrel with its cheeks stuffed with acorns.
“Suho Suho, what do you mean ‘the goddess in the sky’? What’s that supposed to mean……”
Did you know that an airplane honed to its absolute limit can even reach space?
“Lulu.”
“What.”
“From now on, I’ll tell you about the Kang Naram Mythos.”
Lulu stared at me with a look of utter disgust. Even Kang Naram was freaking out and begging me to shut up, but my mouth wouldn’t stop moving.
“Kang Naram—she is God!”
“Y-yeah.”
“Suho, please!”
“Kang Naram Punch! Kang Naram Punch! Kang Naram Punch! Kang Naram Punch!”
And so, the path to the Academy opened.