Chapter 17. The Dreamer (3)
“It’s been over ten years already, but... Lottie didn’t want to live anymore.”
As he said that, Arnaud Duré was inwardly shaken.
Lee Si-hyeok, the leader he had acknowledged from the heart despite being a few years younger. Jeong Se-bin, whose talent and achievements he had admired endlessly even though she was younger. Back in the days when they fought together against the demons, he had cheered for them to confirm their feelings for each other. Their son, Lee Dojin, born from that union.
He was staring at Arnaud with a deeply somber expression.
Having lost his parents at just fifteen and grown up so well— as a comrade of Lee Si-hyeok and Jeong Se-bin, Arnaud should have felt proud. That had been his primary emotion at first.
Yet Arnaud Duré kept repeating a question inwardly as he gazed at Lee Dojin.
Why am I... why am I even telling him all this?
The fact that Charlotte Tate had tried to take her own life. He had never told anyone about it.
The first reason was that it was an intensely personal matter.
The second was that he wanted to keep it as a memory shared only between the two of them.
So he hadn’t told a soul, and he certainly hadn’t planned to in the future...
This is strange. I feel like I can trust this kid, like it’s okay to bare my soul to him, like things will definitely get better if I do... Why do I feel this way?
Of course, Lee Dojin’s talent was exceptional. A graduate of the university division at National Academy 1. By Arnaud Duré’s standards, the young man had only received the most basic education, and it had been just two months since he’d seriously begun researching magic theory. In that time, he had unveiled a composite defense construct to the world, and now he was developing a methodology to dramatically increase an awakener’s mana attribute proficiency.
It was unbelievably outstanding talent, and Arnaud’s praise for him had been no exaggeration. That he surpassed the great archmage Jeong Se-bin. Even if not yet, he would earn that evaluation within ten years.
Arnaud Duré truly believed that.
His character seemed impeccable too. The defense construct, the attribute proficiency methodology— both were achievements that would turn the world of magic theory upside down. Yet Lee Dojin had declared he wouldn’t profit from those two studies or any future ones.
What he wanted was to bring prosperity to the world through his research. Just like the great archmage Jeong Se-bin. Just like the Guardian Lee Si-hyeok.
Worthy of the title “son of heroes.” Without tarnishing his parents’ legacy. In fact, to elevate their names even higher after their deaths.
A commendable young man living solely with pure, progressive intentions.
Talented, virtuous, and the son of his old comrades. His personality even seemed to mesh well with Arnaud’s own. It was natural to feel some fondness, but...
It’s not just that level.
Arnaud Duré came to that conclusion. To casually spill even the story about Charlotte?
That was on a whole different plane from how much he liked the kid.
How to put it into words? He pondered for a moment...
And found a word somewhat akin to the emotion he felt toward Lee Dojin now. A feeling that let him naturally draw out stories kept deep in his heart. A strong desire to gain his empathy, to deepen their bond through conversation.
Yes, this is...
Unbelievably...
‘charming.’
Having reached that judgment, Arnaud Duré subtly raised his mana to check, without making it obvious.
But nothing stood out. No traces of Lee Dojin interfering with his mind.
It was just how he felt, then.
Not sexual attraction. Arnaud was heterosexual, had met many opposite sexes in his life despite never marrying for various reasons. This was purely person-to-person magnetism.
Then it’s fine to tell him. Lottie seems to have shaken it off too.
That was the limit. The insight honed over decades as a hero pinpointed the word “charm” accurately, but he couldn’t grasp its source.
He didn’t connect it to the charm and will Lee Dojin had gained in the Silver Demon Mountain ruins. To how his desire to uncover the truth and his aptitudes had combined into a demonic effect.
Dispelling his doubts, he continued speaking.
“It was probably thirteen or fourteen years ago. Lottie suddenly contacted me, asking if I could come to London. Her voice was so subdued that I rushed over. That’s when she told me. That she might die.”
“What was the reason...?”
Arnaud Duré calmly recalled the old memory and explained to Lee Dojin.
“Back then, it was taken as fact that the rifts would close and mana would disappear. No one knew when, but everyone predicted at least fifty more years... though that wasn’t certain either. There were even observations that it might vanish within ten years. That was Lottie’s worry. She said she couldn’t live without mana. People often say awakeners feel like they have an extra organ and sense compared to non-awakeners, but for Lottie, an immune body holder, it was far more intense. To her, no mana would be like having all limbs severed, eyes gouged out, tongue cut off, and massive nails driven into her nose and ears— or perhaps an even greater sense of deprivation. That’s what she said herself. It wasn’t exaggeration. Lottie never lied about mana-related things. I was... well, quite shocked at the time, and she told me. She didn’t want to live like that. She’d rather die. Jin, what do you think? What do you suppose I said to her?”
“That you’d help her, that you’d find a way... Something like that, I’d guess.”
Arnaud Duré shook his head.
“Half right, half wrong. I did want to help. But that’s not what I actually said.”
Lee Dojin looked puzzled at the unexpected answer, and Arnaud chuckled before giving the real response.
“What I said was this: ‘Training gotten too hard for you now? That selfish trigger become a burden?’ I unleashed a barrage of insults. Not entirely wrong, either. There must have been some of that.”
“So what did Charlotte say to that?”
“‘If I’m dead tomorrow, it’s your fault,’ she said coldly, then stormed out. Of course, Lottie didn’t die and is still doing well. Shock therapy worked.”
“Then what did you mean by wanting to help her?”
“I’d been thinking for a while about making rifts occur only at specific times and places. It stayed at the idea stage, but I’d scribbled some theories. I worked hard to complete it... but then the Great Rift happened first. So I feel really sorry toward you. If I’d succeeded, maybe that wouldn’t have... I still have nightmares sometimes.”
He’d said far more than expected. Maybe too much for Lee Dojin to bear. Arnaud deliberately lightened his tone to wrap up.
“My original dream. The goal of controlling rifts. Lottie added to that, and then the sacrifices of Ri and Seb. So I won’t give up. I know it’s an impossible goal. But I won’t abandon it until I die, and I’ll make sure no more people die to rifts. Not like when I lost Ri and Seb... I don’t want to go through that sadness twice.”
“...That’s impressive.”
Lee Dojin offered only a brief comment, and Arnaud, with an expression like he was walking through a dream, added his final words.
“If I can gather all the rifts in one place, I plan to live there forever. Someone has to manage it. I didn’t intend to say this much... but somehow, I want to tell you. Did you cast some mental magic on me, by any chance?”
“No way.”
“Haha, just kidding. Anyway, helping with your research might give me a clue. And even if I fail and die... with your talent, you might achieve it in your generation. Not that I’m demanding it... but think about it.”
Having said all he wanted, Arnaud quietly gazed at Lee Dojin.
He looked deeply confused. Understandably so. He’d come for research consultation and ended up hearing heavy stories.
Arnaud lightened his tone playfully. “Not that I see Lottie as a woman, mind you. She’s like a little sister to me. Don’t get the wrong idea.”
But Lee Dojin didn’t seem to have thought of that at all. After a dozen seconds of silence...
He finally asked. “I’m a bit out of it. Anyway, at the beginning, you said you hadn’t substantively told anyone about that plan, right? Does that mean you’ve talked about it with someone anyway?”
“Yeah. One person. They didn’t understand the research, so it doesn’t count substantively. They visited the lab, we had some drinks, talk turned to it, so I showed them materials. They were like, ‘What’s this mean?’ But they said they’d cheer me on.”
“Who... was it?”
Arnaud Duré answered. “Andy. If you’re my substantive colleague, Jin, he’s an ally cheering me on in spirit.”
Andy was a nickname. Once Europe’s strongest awakener. Stronger even than Charlotte Tate.
‘Blue Eyes’ Andrey Ilyin.
Perhaps he was... the unconfirmed traitor.
Right then.
> Confirmed European Traitor: ‘Dreamer’ Arnaud Duré
I couldn’t say a word.
If everything I’d just heard was true.
If it was the unvarnished truth, without a shred of falsehood.
If so...
“A hero, huh.”
“Pardon?”
Arnaud Duré responded to my absentminded murmur.
“Well... I’d accept it from Ri and Seb’s level, but I don’t think I qualify for hero talk. It’s probably like how I felt when you denied your own talent earlier.”
“Then don’t deny it. Arnaud, you are a hero.”
If the author hadn’t lied.
If he’d kept his ideas and theories hidden until this moment.
If he was purely trying to save lives out of goodwill, harboring the wish that mana wouldn’t disappear, unaware even in his dreams that the Great Rift stemmed from his research.
If that was the truth...
Arnaud Duré was a real hero.
The Dreamer. A hero with grand aspirations, willing to sacrifice himself to achieve them.
The cause of death for Lee Si-hyeok and Jeong Se-bin: broad manslaughter.
I hadn’t grasped its meaning until now.
Unintentionally, Arnaud Duré’s secret research had been exploited, leading to my parents’ deaths.
Then...
Could I call this man a traitor?
Was that justified?
If someone had a gun.
And another took it without their knowledge and shot their mutual friend.
Then quietly returned it to its place without the owner knowing.
Would... the gun’s owner be a traitor too?
By my common sense, no.
I wouldn’t think so.