Chapter 26: Repetition
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: Repetition
12
I listened to Si-ho’s entire story, a blank expression on my face.
I had even met and spoken with Si-ho’s mother, Kim Ji-seon, myself.
She was clearly Si-ho’s mother; there was nothing strange about her at all.
But she had actually died?
“How?”
“It’s my spatial ability.”
“But that can’t bring people back to life.”
“I didn’t bring her back to life.”
Si-ho pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face in them.
“I brought her here.”
“Am I just too stupid to understand?”
She shook her head.
“Do you know what a parallel world is?”
“You mean a parallel universe?”
It was the stuff of science fiction, but of course, I knew.
A parallel world was, simply put, a split timeline.
World A is a world where I ordered and ate chicken.
World B is a world where I didn't.
The term referred to the infinite number of worlds created by the endless branching points that arise from every single choice.
When I looked puzzled at the mention of a parallel world, she began to sketch two circles in the sand.
“This is A, the world we live in. And this is B, the world where that incident never happened.”
As soon as I heard that, my eyes began to widen.
“Wait a minute. Don’t tell me.”
“I brought Mom from here. To be precise, it’s more like I projected that world’s space onto this one, so ‘copy’ might be a better word. Like taking a reflection from a mirror and giving it a will of its own to move.”
Though it seemed to involve a lot more complex factors.
Si-ho skipped the detailed explanation and simply drew a line from World B, connecting it to World A.
A copy. If that was the case, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that the Kim Ji-seon I saw was created through Si-ho.
Hearing this, I stared blankly for a moment.
Was that even possible by common sense?
No, before that, just what level was Si-ho’s spatial ability?
There’s never been an S-rank spatial ability user before.
There were A-rank ones, but S-ranks were exceedingly rare.
Then again, dimensional travel exists.
It wasn’t necessarily impossible.
It just meant that Si-ho’s ability was far beyond anything I could have imagined.
“But if I let go of my power, Mom will disappear. Even if I bring the vanished Mom back again, she’ll be an empty shell, just like the first time—with no memory of the last four years, of us, of anything.”
Si-ho seemed terrified of that fact.
An empty shell.
To even think of such a word, Si-ho must have felt a sense of disconnect from the mother she had brought back so long ago.
It took four years of filling that void—changing, building, and accumulating memories—for her to become the Kim Ji-seon of today.
That’s how long it took for that feeling of disconnect to fade.
To her now, the current Kim Ji-seon was another mother.
A mother who had lived with her for four years.
“So that’s why you were measured as A-rank during the hunter evaluation.”
Si-ho slowly nodded.
She was constantly using her ability to maintain the existence of the mother she had brought from a parallel world.
Just then, her nose began to bleed.
It seemed the reason she so often had nosebleeds or appeared weak was because she was constantly maintaining her power.
The fact that she still registered as A-rank despite that was a testament to just how absurd her power output was.
“If I push myself, my spatial ability can block and deflect small-scale dimensional gates. When a gate opens nearby, the space gets distorted, and it becomes hard to maintain her…”
Finally, the pieces fell into place.
The reason she had been pushing herself to block dimensional gates was to protect her mother.
“…If I send Mom back, we’ll be able to return right away, too.”
As if struck by guilt, Si-ho buried her face in her knees again.
“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? My real mom is dead. And here I am, obsessed with a fake.”
Seeing Si-ho laugh at herself, I frowned.
I knew exactly what emotions were behind those words.
“Si-ho, what kind of way is that to talk about your mother?”
At that moment, Si-ho lifted her head at the scolding tone.
Her wide eyes were slightly moist.
“The mother I saw was not a fake.”
The Kim Ji-seon who cherished her and cared for her more than anyone was, without a doubt, Si-ho’s mother.
There is no such thing as a fake in this world.
If she thought of her current mother as her own, then the Kim Ji-seon I saw was Si-ho’s mother.
Because the family I had seen looked incredibly happy.
Something a child was desperately trying to hold onto should not be taken away by others.
Someday, when Si-ho grew up and was old enough to stand on her own two feet.
She should be the one to make that choice; it shouldn't be stolen from her by others.
“If you ever say something like that again, I’ll scold you myself.”
I could at least say this much.
Even if it couldn’t comfort her, if it could lessen her guilt, I would say it as many times as needed.
I didn’t want Si-ho to experience the pain of losing her mother all over again.
“So for now, let’s just wait. Either for your powers to return or for rescue to arrive.”
In our current situation, time was the solution.
The World Returnee Association would have heard the story from Orjia and would be looking for us. Ha Seo-ho, too, would be on the move as soon as he heard his sister was missing.
An ultra-elite force of an S-rank hunter and a returnee was on the move.
At the very least, we should see results within a few days.
“To me, you’ll always be an A-rank spatial ability user.”
After hearing my words, Si-ho remained silent for a while before a small sob escaped her.
It must have been a story she could never tell anyone.
Because the moment she said it, it would be the same as her denying her own mother.
Emotions are always consumable, and bottling them up eats away at a person without them even realizing it.
Though all I could do was listen, I hoped her tears would ride the crashing waves and flow far, far away.
That was my wish.
13
A day passed.
Having adapted slightly to life on the deserted island, I shivered a little in the night’s cold.
Hoping it would help, I had torn off several large leaves and laid them on the ground to sleep on, but it hadn’t done much good.
No matter how strong the sun was during the day, the temperature plummeted once it set, especially so close to the sea.
If we had to stay here for a few more days, I’d have to consider building a bonfire.
Wiggle-
Just then, I felt something move in my arms and flinched, looking down.
Si-ho, who had been sleeping a short distance away from me last night, had somehow buried her face in my chest and was sleeping soundly.
Perhaps she had instinctively sought out a warm place because of the severe cold during the night.
I was a bit flustered, but maybe because of her small frame, she felt like a little animal. I gave a wry smile and tried to sit up.
“Uungh.”
The moment I moved, the grip on my clothes was so strong that I couldn’t even sit up all the way and had to fall back down.
Even if she was using her ability for something else, Si-ho was still a hunter.
And an S-rank one at that.
Even in such a small frame, the strength she used unconsciously far surpassed mine, and thanks to that, I couldn’t get up.
“Hnng, achoo!”
At that moment, Si-ho sneezed and opened her eyes.
Clutching my shirt tightly, she blinked once before her eyes met mine.
“Si-ho, uh, good morning.”
As I said this with an awkward expression, Si-ho looked at me with a drowsy, sleep-drunk gaze before burying her face in my chest again.
The instant she did, my hair stood on end. Si-ho’s body went rigid, and the tips of her ears began to turn bright red.
She shot up in surprise, rolled away from me, and curled into a ball like a pill bug.
“Uh, ah, ah, I-I-I have a habit of burying my face in a doll when I wake up!”
She started spouting an excuse that was no excuse at all.
Feeling the warmth in my arms gradually disappear, I got up from my spot.
“It’s okay. It happens.”
Thank god we’re on a deserted island, so I don’t have to worry about getting sued.
With that thought, I shifted my focus elsewhere and felt my empty stomach scream.
I was sure they said a person could survive for ten days without food.
I think that’s a load of crap.
I’m this hungry after just one day.
Well, I did run all over the place yesterday, even through the forest.
Since I hadn’t slept properly either, the fatigue and hunger were bound to pile up.
Growl.
Just then, a sound came from Si-ho’s direction.
She was in the same boat as me.
“Should we try to catch something?”
“…Okay.”
I stood up with Si-ho and walked out to the beach, where the morning air still lingered.
As the sun began to rise, it gradually grew warmer, and I felt the chill from the night begin to dissipate.
“I guess we’ll be catching fish.”
Most fish were edible, after all.
The problem was whether I could actually catch a swift-moving fish.
I have to at least try.
As I stepped into the water, I could see a large number of fish even in the shallow areas.
I rolled up my pants and cupped my hands.
Then, when a fish came near me, I moved my hands at the speed of light.
And the fish leisurely swam out of my grasp.
I see. Maybe fish are actually faster than light.
“Manager-nim.”
As I was getting discouraged by my repeated failures, Si-ho called out to me.
She had been watching me quietly. Standing with her ankles in the water, she lightly waved her hand.
In an instant, fish of all kinds began to pile up beside her.
As I stared at the scene with wide eyes, Si-ho scratched her cheek.
“As long as it’s within my line of sight, I don’t need coordinates.”
So I just wasted all that energy.
Deciding to hold hunters’ abilities in higher regard from now on, I got out of the water.
After that, I gathered some dry wood and started a fire, just like I’d seen on a TV show once.
Fortunately, the method from my memory worked well, and thanks to that, we were able to grill and eat the fish.
“You’re good at cleaning them.”
“It’s the same way I did it in the game.”
I never would have thought that cleaning a fish in real life would be so similar to doing it in an RPG.
I don’t know why they’d add that level of realism.
I had used a washed-up piece of sheet metal to clean them, so it was a bit clumsy, but they were still edible.
Thankfully, among the fish were several types I recognized from that TV show, which eased my worries.
At this rate.
It might be uncomfortable, but I think we can last a few more days.
“Still no spatial travel?”
“N-No, not yet.”
Si-ho, who must have been very hungry, answered after gulping down the fish in her mouth.
She was still nineteen, an age where she should be eating a lot. I felt sorry for her, getting stranded on a deserted island.
“When we get back, let’s go to a chicken place to celebrate. We’ll bring Ji-eun, too.”
“Hee, okay.”
Hearing my words, Si-ho grinned, probably thinking about chicken.
All traces of the prickly demeanor she had when I first met her were gone, and she looked as cute as her appearance suggested.
It seemed we had gotten much closer, thanks to yesterday’s events.
What should I do today?
Everyone should be starting their search in earnest by now.
I wonder if they’re worried about me.
Just as I was thinking that and reaching for the next fish…
A blue bolt of lightning struck down right in front of Si-ho and me.
13
The moment the lightning struck before her, Si-ho moved on pure reflex.
Having been through this once before, she grabbed Ha-chan and performed a short-range spatial jump into the forest.
Since it was within her line of sight, she didn’t need coordinates.
Thud!
Tumbling onto the ground with Ha-chan, Si-ho frantically lifted her head.
“Ow…”
Ha-chan, who had fallen in front of her, was groaning in pain.
Thank goodness.
He didn’t seem to be hurt.
“Si-ho, that lightning just now…”
“It’s the people who attacked me before.”
As soon as he heard Si-ho’s words, Ha-chan’s face hardened.
He had never imagined they would be the first to arrive.
Seeing him, Si-ho recalled something about her own space.
The blind man who was with the Russian had interfered with her space.
It was obvious they had used that to track her location.
How could I have not thought of that? I was so shortsighted.
Si-ho had virtually no combat experience against others, let alone another spatial ability user, so her inexperience had played a huge role.
“It’s my fault.”
Realizing this, Si-ho’s face turned pale.
The enemy knew her location.
The island was small.
She could only teleport to places she could see; her coordinate settings were still a mess.
Her hands, clenched into fists, began to tremble.
At this rate, both she and Ha-chan would be caught by them soon.
“Si-ho, Si-ho!”
Just then, Si-ho flinched at the warmth enveloping her hand and looked up.
Ha-chan’s face came into view.
“It’s okay. Calm down. If things get bad, we can just teleport again.”
It could certainly be dangerous since she couldn’t set coordinates.
But it was better than being caught right away.
“When you teleport, even if you can’t set coordinates, just aim for the sky, no matter what. At the very least, we won’t get caught.”
“Manager-nim?”
At that moment, she realized something was strange about Ha-chan’s words.
He sounded like he was making a final request, and his image began to overlap with someone else’s.