Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Ruler II
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Shin Noah
3
I mentioned it in the previous episode. All the guild leaders across the country gladly accepted the AI judge.
All except Dang Seo-rin.
"Ah, seriously—."
Now, I'm going to talk about the reason for that.
Because, in a way, when it came to this issue, I wasn't free from responsibility either.
Therefore, this could be called the record of two accomplices: Dang Seo-rin and me.
"Failed again. Again."
The starting point was the 6th loop.
Dang Seo-rin was tearing at her hair with one hand, her conical hat set aside (which was extremely rare).
Like a novelist blocked by writer's block, or a lyricist dissatisfied with how the lyrics came together.
In fact, this description was closer to the truth than a metaphor. Dang Seo-rin was gripping a quill pen (genuinely made by shaving a real goose feather herself) and creating magic.
"It's taking quite a while this time. What kind of magic are you trying to make?"
"Equivalent Exchange."
Dang Seo-rin pouted.
"I'm making a magic that swaps two different objects or phenomena one-for-one."
"…I have no idea what you'd even use that for."
"Huh? You don't judge magic by practicality. You chase the romance first and make something cool."
"Very much like you, Guild Leader."
As I mentioned before, Dang Seo-rin's ability was Song Enchantment. In other words, 'magic made of song.'
Put another way, she had to sing to activate her magic, and naturally, the song had lyrics.
In short… for Dang Seo-rin, developing magic was no different from 'creating song lyrics.'
I don't have magic abilities myself, so I wouldn't know, but according to Dang Seo-rin herself, "When the right lyrics are complete, the gears in your head go click!—and the magic activates!" or something like that.
That's why her trademark 'regeneration magic' actually sounded like this when sung:
Roll, roll
Bottom of the abyss, pinnacle of ether
All things turn and swirl
Pinnacle of ether, bottom of the abyss
O wheel of fire that breathes eternally
By the way, the language was all Latin.
Does Dang Seo-rin know Latin? No, there was a Three Thousand Worlds guild member majoring in Latin, so she used him as a translation shuttle. That guild member got promoted to executive solely because he knew Latin.
By now, it shouldn't be surprising, but I hope you all deeply realize just how serious Dang Seo-rin is about her witch cosplay. This woman lives for her fandom, plain and simple?
Thanks to Dang Seo-rin's bullshit philosophy of "Latin is the superior poetic language" and "Choruses must always be in Latin no matter what," we got to hear grand Latin choruses that blanketed the sky during large-scale Song Enchantments like the Ten Tribes subjugation.
Honestly, it was cool.
That's why she rose to become the Korean Peninsula's top output idol. Anyway.
"What part are you stuck on?"
"Uuuum— it feels like it's lacking a bit of intuition? For example, Vice Guild Leader. If someone offered you a factory-made bag of potato chips in exchange for six cartons of milk, what would you say?"
"Sounds like a good deal."
"Right? That's exactly my idea of 'Equivalent Exchange.' The problem is, it gets ambiguous once you exclude food and drink."
Dang Seo-rin chewed on the tip of the feather.
"For example… say someone offers to wipe out all the monsters in the world for you. But in return, you have to spend 1000 years in prison."
"Hmm."
"By the way, solitary confinement. Meals come on time, but no talking to guards. You can read books or watch dramas, but zero contact with other people."
If I heard the same offer now, I'd think, 'That's a total steal!' and accept immediately.
But back then, I was just a 6th-loop regressor. I hadn't even lived 100 years, and even that short time felt grueling.
"What do you think? Would you take the deal?"
"…It's ambiguous. Not sure."
"Exactly. 'Not sure' is the honest answer."
Her Excellency the Grand Witch smiled in satisfaction.
"Because we don't—and can't—have an accurate intuition for what 1000 years really means, right? Simply put, even if someone tells you to live 1000 years, you can't grasp how long that actually is. Whether it's 1000 years, 900, or 1100, it all feels vaguely the same."
"Hmm."
Dang Seo-rin was right.
In fact, in our relationship, Dang Seo-rin was almost always the one who was right.
Even now, the reason I say I'd accept the offer is precisely because I've gained an accurate intuition for 1000 years.
"It's not just 1000 years—my entire life experience is too shallow."
"Hmmm."
"…Yeah. I get what you're trying to say. What I mean is, even if I've experienced more than most people, it's still not enough seasoning to unleash a grand magic like [Equivalent Exchange]. Got it?"
"Who could accumulate that kind of experience? Life isn't infinite, and lifespan is limited."
"…True."
Dang Seo-rin stood up from her wooden chair and suddenly started singing. It was a song I'd never heard before.
In fact, Dang Seo-rin often hummed spontaneously and habitually. Appreciating it like a music critic each time was one of the vice guild leader's unofficial duties.
I clapped.
After finishing her one-woman concert, Dang Seo-rin elegantly picked up her conical hat and bowed.
"Was that the Equivalent Exchange magic just now?"
"Yeah. Didn't activate, though. What'd you think?"
"It was good."
"Good."
Dang Seo-rin smiled brightly.
And that was it.
Occasionally, Dang Seo-rin would agonize over how to create the Equivalent Exchange magic—or in other words, what lyrics would make it activate. But she never completed Equivalent Exchange.
She died to the Ten Tribes first.
It was the same in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th loops.
In every loop, Dang Seo-rin was obsessed with Equivalent Exchange magic, and in every loop, she failed to check it off her bucket list.
In terms of completion, maybe 10% at best.
We weren't granted enough time to create a magic like Equivalent Exchange.
I don't know exactly how Dang Seo-rin died. I failed to protect her, but my only pride was that I always died a little before our little witch.
Thus, the long-awaited 10th loop.
"I can't walk the same rail as you, but at least I'll follow your stride with my own lifespan, step for step."
"We can't live together, but we'll journey together in death, huh."
"Looking forward to it. Companion of my time."
Dang Seo-rin left those words as her last and died.
I couldn't prevent her death, but at least I could hold her funeral. I acted as chief mourner. She had no relatives, just like me.
I don't want to describe Dang Seo-rin's funeral in detail right now. No, I can't even guarantee if that day will ever come.
But one certain fact is that her laughing last words left a deep mark on my heart.
Even after the 10th loop ended, into the 11th.
"Ah, seriously—. Failed again. Again."
"It's taking quite a while this time. What magic are you making?"
"Equivalent Exchange."
I no longer used formal speech with Dang Seo-rin, and she started calling me 'Undertaker' instead of 'Vice Guild Leader,' but our relationship remained on great terms.
"Cool name. Magic that swaps two objects or phenomena?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Exactly."
Dang Seo-rin blinked.
"How'd you guess? You really nailed it."
*Because I'm a regressor, and I once served you as my liege,* I swallowed those hard words.
It was the woman before me who asked me to keep my regressor secret until the end.
I'd received that request.
Looking back now— Dang Seo-rin had a chillingly cruel side.
To herself. To me.
Sometimes, how much cruelty humans allow each other is the litmus test of their relationship.
"…What part are you stuck on? Feels like trying to exchange all things is too grandiose an intent."
"Oh? Yeah, that's a valid point. More precisely, it's the fundamental issue of lacking intuition for all things. Uuuum."
Dang Seo-rin closed one eye.
"Wanna hear it? Getting someone else's opinion might spark some ideas."
You never showed your magic creation process to anyone, believing "Magic must always be secretive!" And when I retorted, "Then you don't plan to cast any magic on me?" you just laughed blankly, "Huh? Does that follow?"
As the one who remembered all that, I couldn't refuse Dang Seo-rin's request.
"The Three Thousand Alliance Leader's unfinished piece, for my ears first? What an honor."
"You bet. Feel honored."
I listened.
"What'd you think?"
"Sounded good. Pretty cool."
"That's a given. What I want from you is feedback, feedback. This part in Latin means this… Any spots that could use fixing?"
"Hmm. How about changing 'objects' to 'starlight' or 'moonlight' here?"
"Oh?"
"This part expresses worldly things hard to quantify. Instead of the dry word 'objects,' something that more starkly conveys how hard they are for human hands to grasp might be better."
"Ah— so starlight, hmm. Ooh? Hold on. Then…?"
Inspiration struck Dang Seo-rin, and she scribbled furiously on her notebook with the quill.
Of course, I had zero talent as a creator, critic, or even magic aptitude.
I merely recited the unfinished lyrics from previous loops exactly as they were.
"Got it! Yeah! Still a ways to go, but it definitely feels like progress!"
"Glad I could help."
"Whoa— thanks, Undertaker. What the heck. You got witch potential or something? Come join our guild already. I'll parachute you straight into executive. Yeah?"
"Sorry, but Three Thousand Worlds' uniforms are a bit…"
"Huh? Wanna die?"
And so, our 'Equivalent Exchange magic creation' began— mine and hers.
Even though Ten Tribes subjugations started from the 10th loop, Dang Seo-rin poured nearly all her lifespan into the battlefield, so she never had enough time to fully focus on magic creation.
Nevertheless, loop by loop, Dang Seo-rin got closer, word by word, phrase by phrase.
"Wouldn't 'judge' fit the chorus better than 'exchange'? At least for you, Dang Seo-rin."
"Oh?"
My role was delivering the unfinished product to the 'next loop's Dang Seo-rin.'
"'Alchemy' carries more emotion here than 'trade'…"
"Maybe you don't have to complete Equivalent Exchange in one incantation. It's stubborn. Split the song into two for activation."
"First regeneration, then a song about things beyond valuation, and finally…"
11th loop, 12th, 13th.
The completion of Equivalent Exchange rose steadily.
Dang Seo-rin's once half-resigned expression grew noticeably brighter as loops progressed.
"Huh? Wait. Hold on! With your advice like this… Huh. Maybe, just maybe, I can actually make it…?"
Honestly speaking.
Maybe all this was just my small selfishness.
Even if I couldn't reveal I was a regressor to Dang Seo-rin, I wanted something we 'created together over time.'
It didn't matter what. Equivalent Exchange just happened to catch my eye by chance.
I, Undertaker, always had this pathetically soft side that made me chuckle. Toward myself. Toward you.
I wanted to believe that how much softness humans can show each other is sometimes the litmus test of their relationship.
And once more, Dang Seo-rin was right.
"No way! I actually did it!"
Finally, the 26th loop.
"To think such a grand magic with just two incantations… I'm a genius! And Undertaker! You're kinda a genius too!"
Dang Seo-rin completed Equivalent Exchange.