Chapter 270: Their Own Time
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 270: Their Own Time
The hazy mist shrouding my vision gradually began to clear. My ears, however, remained muffled, as if submerged underwater. My mind hadn't fully awakened yet.
"Lord Geomma...!"
I covered my eyes with my hand and slowly dragged it down my face. Only after the stinging friction swept across my skin did I turn my gaze.
Shail and Karon were looking at me with eyes full of concern.
I glanced back toward the window behind me. A pale full moon hung in the sky. It wasn't just evening; it was late at night.
Considering it was late afternoon when I touched the Holy Nail, a considerable amount of time had passed.
It felt like less than five minutes...
I waved a hand to show I was fine. Only then did Karon, who had been stomping his feet in anxiety, let out a deep sigh. Shail, on the other hand, immediately began making a huge fuss.
"Your eyes look so dim! This won't do. I must stay up all night to nurse you."
"I told you I'm fine. I'm not a child."
I swatted Shail's hands away somewhat coldly. If I didn't act like this, this woman would literally follow me all the way to my bedroom.
"Lord Geomma, you are a child."
"...A moment ago, you said my mind was that of a middle-aged man pushing forty."
"Ah, how could I have uttered such nonsense!"
Shail slapped her own forehead. I glared at her for a second before asking, "Anyway, what happened after I touched the Holy Nail?"
"The moment your fingertips touched the Holy Nail, light burst forth," Karon answered. "Immediately after that, you lost consciousness and slumped back into your chair."
"In short, I passed out."
"Yes. So at first, we tried to call the medical team... but then, with your eyes closed, you said, 'This one is fine. So remain in your places.' That voice sounded like yours, yet wasn't... How should I put it? It was a voice that filled one's heart with reverence just by hearing it."
"Hmm."
Naturally, I had never said such a thing. The words spoken to Karon were likely the God of Sword speaking through my mouth.
Having roughly grasped the situation, I breathed a sigh of relief. Then I glanced at the wall clock.
[A.M. 03:00]
My lingering grogginess vanished instantly. I quickly turned my gaze back to the two of them.
"Don't tell me you two have been standing guard this whole time?"
"Yes."
Shail and Karon nodded simultaneously.
"That means you've been stuck here for about seven or eight hours."
"We are here to assist you, Heavenly Sword. We have merely fulfilled our duty, so please do not trouble yourself over it."
I reached up to cover my eyes again, but stopped and settled for rubbing the bridge of my nose. In times like this, a simple, sincere thanks was best.
"Thank you both for your hard work. Go inside and get some rest."
"Yes. May you rest peacefully as well, Heavenly Sword."
Karon and Shail closed the door and left. But the moment I was left alone, the door swung open again.
In the next second, Shail peeked her face halfway through the doorway and spoke.
"If you ever need night attendance, just say the word—"
The moment my hand reached toward the shelf, Shail scrambled away at top speed.
"...I didn't think Miss Shail had such a mischievous personality."
I let out a dry chuckle. Though really, was I in any position to talk about someone else's personality changing?
"The one who completely turned into a different person in just a single year is none other than me."
Even just now. Looking at how my hand moved before my words when communication failed.
Was my personality... always like this...?
My memories were hazy.
Awkwardly opening and closing the hand that had almost grabbed the Sashimi, I pulled it back.
"I need to move that shelf farther away. I'm picking up bad habits."
* * *
Ryozo lay face down on her bed, her chin resting on a pillow. Her feet lightly tapped against the blanket in an alternating rhythm.
[Ryozo: Are you busy with work?]
[Kang Geomma: So-so. How's your mom's place? Is it comfortable?]
"Mmm."
She tilted her head against the pillow. The crisp, soft texture brushed against her left cheek.
"What should I reply?"
During winter break, Ryozo ended up staying at her mother's place.
Though describing staying with one's parent as "staying over" felt a bit strange between mother and daughter, Cynthia wasn't part of the Saki family, after all.
Originally, Ryozo was meant to remain hospitalized in the Academy Affiliated Hospital.
However, the Academy had issued an order for all cadets to return home. It was to keep them away from potential danger.
Subversive forces were attempting to infiltrate without rest, and they had actually succeeded twice.
The current Academy was not safe. The Academy itself had directly admitted this fact—an unprecedented move.
This was only possible because the Council of Elders, who used to be the main faction, had vanished. They were people who prioritized honor over facing reality.
Now, Joaquin Academy's course of action was clear: respond swiftly with reason and logic, acknowledge shortcomings and improve them, and pursue change and growth.
The cadets were moved by this stance. The arrogant noble children no longer raised objections to the Academy's decisions. Among the cadets, trust in the Academy Principal and Kang Geomma was already sky-high.
For that reason, Ryozo discharged herself from the hospital room and came down to Busan. She had declined her older sister Saki Hina's offer to get her a good hospital room in Japan, as her mother could handle all her further medical treatments.
Honestly, during winter break, it didn't matter where she stayed—whether the house was small or spacious. What mattered was that she was setting foot on the same land as Kang Geomma.
Not that her mother's place was small, mind you...
...Is it a little small, though?
It was a spacious forty-pyeong apartment, but Ryozo had originally grown up in a palace-like mansion. Even a middle-class lifestyle felt like a commoner experience to her.
"Ugh, what should I really send?"
Ryozo groaned and rubbed her forehead. It was just a simple exchange of pleasantries, yet every single character weighed heavily on her mind. Even though they weren't strangers who rarely texted, she had become intensely self-conscious lately.
[Ryozo: Busan's not bad. The weather's warmer than Gangwon-do. Come visit if you have time...]
"No! That's way too obvious!"
Ryozo delivered a heavy flick to her own forehead. Tap-tap-tap. Her fingers rapidly hammered the backspace key. Just as she was agonizing over deleting and rewriting the message over and over again—
Feeling a presence behind her back, Ryozo whipped her body around.
"...!"
Her bedroom door was wide open. Cynthia stood leaning crookedly against the doorframe, wearing a subtle smile.
Thump.
Ryozo rolled right off the bed.
"M-Mom!"
Ryozo jerked her head up. Whether from the flick or hitting the floor, a red bump had swelled on her forehead.
"D-D-Don't you know what privacy is?!"
Cynthia snorted.
"Excuse me, young lady. This is my house, you know? Strictly speaking, you are invading my privacy."
"..."
Ryozo merely chewed her lip and glared at Cynthia. She couldn't refute a single word.
"Besides, I called you several times to come eat. Ryozo, you didn't listen to a word I said, did you?"
"I didn't hear you..."
Right then, her smartphone screen lit up.
[I heard it.]
Vixbig chimed into the conversation.
[Mother did not merely speak; she knocked twice as well. Of course, it was impossible for those sounds to reach the ears of a thoroughly distracted Ryozo.]
"..."
Bzzzt. Sparks flew from Ryozo's pupils as she glared at the smartphone. The lit screen went pitch black, shutting off like a blown fuse.
"See?"
Cynthia shrugged. Then her face suddenly brightened.
"Daughter."
She strode over and squatted down in front of Ryozo.
Grab. She caught Ryozo by the shoulders. At Cynthia's solemn gaze, a lump formed in Ryozo's throat.
"How old will you be in five days?"
Today was December 27th. Ryozo had only four days left of being seventeen.
"Eighteen."
"The emotions and troubles you're feeling right now... I went through them at that age, too."
Cynthia slowly released her shoulders. With a warm smile, she gently stroked her daughter's disheveled bangs.
"It's a necessary process in life. A pure innocence that you can't feel once you become an adult, no matter how much you might want to."
For a moment, a prickle hit the back of Ryozo's nose. Her heart swelled at the cozy warmth of family.
"Honestly, eighteen is a bit late to be going through puberty. But still, Ryozo, you still have time. Two years ahead of you. Build up your foundation thoroughly during that time."
...At least, until Cynthia opened her mouth again.
"And once you become an adult, pounce on him and pin him down."
Ryozo's expression went completely blank.
"What..."
"I refuse to watch my daughter lose to another woman."
Cynthia swept her hair back, revealing the face of a mature woman.
Phew.
She blew a breath of air to flick back a loose strand sticking to her forehead. Fighting spirit blazed in Cynthia's eyes.
"Go grab a notebook and write this down."
And so began the health education class taught by the Divine Doctor.
As the lecture grew more heated, Ryozo's light-blue pupils spun in dizzying spirals.
Her face grew so flushed that the bump on her forehead looked ready to burst.
Yet even while her mind reeled, she kept her ears perked up wide.
After all, there was always a reason why teenagers paid the most attention during this particular class.
* * *
Time flew by like an arrow.
They were frantically busy days. Buried under a mountain of work, I became utterly numb to the passage of time.
I worked so hard that I only realized belatedly I had crossed over from seventeen to eighteen.
Without exaggeration, even ten bodies wouldn't have been enough. On top of my duties as one of the Seven Stars, I had to carry out operations to root out conspiring factions.
Is there no such thing as a Blessing of Cloning among Blessings?
I stretched my body out with a deep yawn. After staring at the stack of paperwork with hollow eyes for a brief moment, I stood up from my chair.
"Time for a walk."
Breathing only the stale, enclosed air of the office was stifling my lungs. I desperately needed some fresh air.
Grabbing a light outer coat, I left the office. Walking lazily through the deserted Academy grounds gave me a strangely bittersweet feeling.
"I've spent a full year at the Academy now."
Stepping on the snow-covered ground, I recalled the day I enrolled. Back then, I was consumed by worries.
The dark clouds hanging over my future, my bank balance draining by the day, life at this Academy that felt so bizarre at first...
And yet, look at me now.
Somehow or another, I had overcome all kinds of obstacles. I had even learned the truth about myself—more precisely, why I was dragged into this world.
I opened my hand for no particular reason. My palm was densely covered with blisters and calluses.
"...Lycan, the original owner of this body."
The reason I had buried myself in work over the past few days was that I couldn't readily accept that truth.
To think that this body named Kang Geomma, whom I had always considered nothing more than Background Extra A, was actually the 1st Corps Commander. No matter how much I thought about it, it was absurd and ridiculous.
Yet, looking back over the circumstances step by step, it made sense. For starters, the justification for the invasion by Basmon, the 6th Corps Commander half a century ago, had been the 'Resurrection of Lycan.'
Back then, I just thought it was a plot hole typical of mass-produced mobile games.
A thought suddenly occurred to me: perhaps Miracle Blessing M was actually a masterpiece game with a meticulously crafted scenario.
"Or maybe it was only wearing the disguise of a game from the start."
I recalled the God of Sword's final words.
"When we meet again, you will be far stronger than us."
Who did "us" refer to? For now, I couldn't know. But I had a vague idea of what the God of Sword was trying to tell me.
There was far more left to achieve than what had already been accomplished. Was that his indirect way of saying it?
I looked up at the sky. The midday sun pricked my eyes.
"So this is what it feels like to be blessed by a god."
Muttering those words, I raised the side of my hand near my forehead to shield my eyes like a visor.
Perhaps because it was the New Year, the sunlight felt exceptionally clear today.