Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: There Is No Teacher for Fate (6)
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Long ago—it felt like just yesterday.
Sheep obeyed their shepherds and ranch owners.
Locked away in the ranch, they grew the wool the humans wanted.
They fought other livestock when told to fight. They endured pain when told to endure, and swallowed their screams when told to stay silent.
—Why! Why can’t you do it!
—The blood and flesh of the people we poured into making you—do you have any idea how much that was!
Because of that vaunted patriotism of yours?
—This is your last chance. I’ll give you three seconds.
—Complete the blessing. The Saintess did it in just one second!
—If you fail this time too…
Were they afraid of the whips?
—Subject 112 has been terminated. Your fault.
—Subject 31 has been terminated. Your fault.
—It’s all your fault.
Did they submit to the torture?
No, no. The sheep’s obedience to the shepherds wasn’t for any grand reason.
The sheep didn’t know what freedom was.
They didn’t know what the leash around their necks meant, or what the shepherds could do with it…
So they obeyed.
And in doing so, they lost everything.
—There’s five of them. One should be…
On the day the ranch owner grew disappointed with the sheep.
The shepherds dragged away a white sheep. And they never returned.
Only then, after losing their precious family, did the sheep grow furious.
For the first time in their lives, they resisted the shepherds. Then they thrashed about. And finally, they despaired.
The leashes around their necks granted them no freedom whatsoever.
—You fools. Did you think we left no safeguards?
Only after feeling the bone-chilling pain from the leashes could the sheep smell what clung to them.
Blood, tears, rotten meat.
The black sheep, who had charged at the shepherds most fiercely, couldn’t bear the stench.
She hid in a corner of the ranch, out of the shepherds’ sight, and looped the leash around her neck.
Despair, suicide, freedom.
Death came for the black sheep, but she couldn’t die.
Because the leash wasn’t hers alone.
The sheep’s leashes were all connected to one another. Tightly, intricately.
The moment one sheep hanged herself, the others would suffer alongside her.
The black sheep was certain that it was the ranch owner’s final safeguard—and that she could never break it.
—Never forget the reason you were born.
—For the country. For the nation.
—Obey.
The sheep obeyed once more. No—they submitted.
In a ranch where even death offered no release, where they held each other’s lives hostage, they bowed their heads.
But things weren’t entirely the same as before.
Because the sheep never forgot.
What the shepherds had done to them. The ranch owner’s cruelty. The stench on the leashes. And…
[10-11-16]
The number of the shepherd who had taken the white sheep away.
***
The moment Seti’s trembling fingers reached for the “call” button on her phone.
Dawn, who had silently approached, snatched it from her hand.
“W-Wait…”
By the time Seti looked up in shock, Dawn had already gripped her wrist.
Crunch.
The phone shattered, plastic shards and bits of broken screen spilling between his fingers.
“Worry about it after the job’s done.”
Dawn met Seti’s eyes as he spoke. His gleaming golden irises burned with unyielding resolve.
“Don’t forget why I came all this way… Whatever it takes to get here now, it’s not too late.”
Seti’s eyes quivered.
It reminded her of the old days, when she’d scolded him for sneaking into the girls’ dorm.
When she was the one who deserved the scolding.
She hadn’t been thorough enough. She’d let her guard down, wasted time.
If Dawn hadn’t come to the girls’ dorm, she and her sisters would’ve…
She shoved the grim what-ifs to the back of her mind. Right now, in this moment, there were no ifs.
Dawn was here. For her and her sisters.
Realizing anew the immense risk he’d taken, Seti clamped her mouth shut and bowed her head.
Dawn patted her shoulder.
“It’s fine. No problems. So chin up.”
“…Okay.”
As the tense atmosphere loosened just a fraction.
Siri, who’d been watching from right beside them, let out a sullen sigh.
“That was my phone…”
Oops. Dawn shot Siri an apologetic look.
Seeing that face—casual, almost leisurely—made even Siri’s tension evaporate.
Of course, it was just a feeling.
Her expression had relaxed, but her hands were still shaking.
“…Sis, you’re in for it later.”
“Huh?”
“That guy’s definitely gonna be a total playboy.”
“…”
As Siri spouted nonsense to mask her nerves, footsteps approached from beyond the rooftop door.
The remaining sisters they’d been waiting for, no doubt.
Just as Seti exhaled in relief, the footsteps stopped right in front of the door.
“…Seti-sis? Siri?”
A husky voice, like a rock singer’s.
So familiar that Seti immediately opened the door.
***
“Sis, what’s going on at this hour…”
The first to step onto the rooftop was a tall girl, nearly eye-level with Dawn, her unkempt blue short hair striking.
“…A guy? What the fu—!”
Dawn reflected in her pale blue eyes—eyes so different from Seti’s—just as a voice full of shock burst out.
Seti spoke up.
“Neti. You already know him, right? The transfer student who fought alongside Sis in the shelter. Name’s Cheon Yeomyeong.”
“Uh… yeah?”
“Yeomyeong, this is Neti. Park Neti. Our third sister.”
…Park Neti?
It exceeded Dawn’s expectations, but hardened as he was to odd names, he casually extended his hand.
“Nice to meet you, Neti. I’m Cheon Yeomyeong, your sister’s friend. Just call me Dawn.”
Neti shook his hand in bewilderment. Her palm was as callused as Seti’s.
“Oh, so you’re Sis’s friend. Uh… nice to meet you. Just call me Neti too.”
As their brief introductions ended and Neti seemed about to ask more.
Another girl peeked out from behind her.
“…Just a friend? Or is this a pinky-swear thing, Sis?”
The girl, wagging her pinky finger, exuded a vibe different from the others.
Like a statue carved from jade, perhaps.
Even her slightly drooping eyes, and the hair tied up to the side—both a pale green.
Like all the sisters, her eye and hair colors were unlike any ordinary Earthling’s.
Knowing the secret of their origins, Dawn swallowed a wry smile and answered.
“Just a friend.”
Dawn’s reply apparently didn’t sit well—the green girl’s brows shot up.
“A friend who sneaks into the girls’ dorm? Oh, from today, more than friends…”
Before she could finish, Seti cut in again.
“Yeomyeong, this is Sis. Isis. Our youngest sister.”
“…”
“…Loosen up your face. You’re obvious when you’re thinking up name puns.”
Dawn averted his gaze without a word.
As the green girl called Sis watched them with interest, Siri spoke up.
“Sis, enough introductions? Now that all the sisters are here, spill it.”
Only then did the sisters’ eyes turn to Siri.
“Why’d you gather us at this hour? It’s not just to introduce your boyfriend, right?”
Now their eyes swiveled to Seti. She cleared her throat.
“…Tonight, we’re removing the inhibitors in our heads.”
The reactions to her declaration weren’t what Dawn expected.
No joy or surprise—just hollow laughs.
Only Siri, who knew about Seti and Dawn’s connection, narrowed her eyes and observed.
“What’re you on about… Sis drunk?”
“It’s impossible to remove them. We’ve tried tons of times.”
Neti and Sis unleashed sharp voices at Seti.
“Girls, hold on…”
Seti tried to explain, but they didn’t give her an opening.
“Last time we almost died! All the release experts helping us really did get killed by the government!”
“Sis, even if we try, the shepherds will notice right away.”
“…”
“Sis! I get you’re frustrated, but let’s hold out a bit. It’s been less than half a year since we entered the academy. Just find Heaju’s staff before graduation.”
“They’ve already decided whose leash to unlock first with Heaju’s staff. Yours, Sis. Just yours. We can die, no problem…”
As the two sisters’ voices rose, and Dawn debated intervening.
Seti raised her hand and flicked each of her three younger sisters’ foreheads in turn.
“…Why me? I didn’t say anything!”
Siri, who’d stayed silent, clutched her forehead in protest, but Seti met each sister’s face with a serious look.
“Neti. No time till graduation. That bitch is already at the academy.”
“…”
“Sis. Enough negativity. Think I haven’t considered that? And Siri, you…”
“…Me?”
Seti chewed her lip while looking at Siri, then whipped around to call Dawn.
“…Yeomyeong, when can we start?”
“Right now if you want. Miri’s magic circle’s been ready ages ago.”
Dawn smiled faintly and pulled out the golden seal.
The moment the sisters saw the rectangular magic tool gleaming gold, question marks popped up over their heads.
The mana within it felt far from ordinary.
“Sis, what’s that…?”
“I’ll explain in detail as we go. Come on, sit in the circle first.”
Seti herded them onto the magic circle Miri had drawn.
“It’s a circle to keep mana from leaking out. Not Earth-style, but…”
“And it blocks light too.”
“…What’s this for? None of it relates to removing inhibitors.”
All three sisters were versed in magic, so they voiced their impressions right away.
It might’ve sounded rude, so Seti glanced at Miri.
But contrary to her worry, Miri showed no displeasure.
To be precise, she wasn’t even paying attention to the sisters.
She was just gazing at Dawn and the seal with a meaningful look.
…What’s that about?
As Seti tilted her head, the sisters settled into the circle in a ring.
Dawn stepped to the center past them. He slowly raised the seal.
A brief resolve. A long deep breath.
Just before activating its magic.
Dawn glanced at Seti.
Explaining to her sisters, she looked far more solemn than the usual Seti he knew.
‘If my comrades were still alive… would I be like that?’
Who knew. Unlike Seti, he had no family left.
‘…I hope Seti can protect hers.’
With that short thought, Dawn poured mana into the seal.
Flash!
In the next instant, golden mana flooded the circle.
***
Miri, standing outside the circle, stared wide-eyed.
“…Oh no.”
The magic circle she’d painstakingly prepared to hide mana and light was wavering.
Figuring out why was easy.
Dawn and the golden tool were emitting far more mana than she’d anticipated.
The question was, why so much mana?
‘Didn’t he say it was just removing inhibitors? What kind of inhibitor needs that much mana?’
Sure, he’d mentioned it was complex and powerful.
But an inhibitor was still just an inhibitor.
It wasn’t sealing some dragon or anything. What could require that much mana to…
Crack!
Miri’s pondering ended there. The circle was cracking under the mana.
She hurriedly raised her wand and summoned spirits in her mind.
‘Rellin, Rion! Hold the circle!’
The spirits, grasping her intent, clung to it.
She chanted too, pouring mana into the rupturing circle, suppressing the escaping light and mana.
But she couldn’t stop a single beam from shooting into the sky.
* * *