Those that had died before her…

How could she just forget?

Take on a new identity and act as if all her past sins were nought.

To assume all her sins as mere ‘somethings’ that happened to ‘EunHa’?

What kind of bullshit sophism was that?

“Pl… ease…!”

A whisper; an answer.

It could’ve implied anything… everything.

Nothing or something.

A vague answer that had no concrete steps; a lack of utility.

No steps, no functions.

Just a word.

Tears couldn’t stop flowing from her eyes as she kept a tight grip around her neck.

“Eun-chan.”

She screamed, wept.

The kinds of sounds she was making… she didn’t know.

A retching, animalistic cry as she struggled to regain sanity.

“The world may stop believing in you but… I won’t.”

Clarity.

Hope.

“I’ll believe in you no matter what.”

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

⌖⨊ Tatsuki Rize ⨞⋅

◬ Origin Year 138, 5th of Yǔ.

It was a rainy day.

People wearing black suits gathered around the presence of an ash coffin. Sitting on it a candlelight burning, the small flame swayed.

Ms. Lili was my superior, a dear friend. On a deeper level, she was someone I always thought of as my half-mother.

Friends and family came to attend her funeral. Her passing was one of the few most unpleasant things that has happened to me in this life.

Of course, not everyone was crying. Most took this chance to catch up with those whom they hadn’t met in a while.

I suppose I was no different.

“Tatsuki-san.”

The War Saint, Wu XiaoLe called out my name.

I turned around to meet her sullen gaze.

“Yes?”

“I apologise.”

She lowered her head. And because of it, I was able to see a few strands of shiny white hair weaved in between her glossy pink hair.

I could tell this girl was seriously overworked and overstressed.

“Apologise for?”

“We left abruptly that day, unaccompanied by a proper farewell.”

“Heeh… is that even something to apologise for? I mean, isn’t it a normal reaction when facing the person who killed EunHa?”

The War Saint’s expression clouded over.

“…I still feel that I could’ve handled it better.”

Could’ve handled it better huh? Maybe instead of that, you should make that extra effort to look after yourself.

“You have white hair growing you know?”

“H-Huh?”

“Relax a little more. Otherwise, you’d grow into an old woman in no time.”

I couldn’t tell if she was confused or conflicted.

“I’ll… keep that in mind.”

“You better. Well, if nothing else—”

“Wait, there’s still something I wish to convey…”

“Okay. Fess up—”

I actually wanted to leave ASAP because it would be uncomfortable for both of us to continue exchanging pleasantries but… alas, she had ulterior motives after all.

“Would you like to join my brigade?”

“Oh?”

The War Saint herself was offering me a position.

“As my direct subordinate. That… of course I will do the best in my ability to provide you with anything you need.”

I don’t know how many people were part of her team but, I was sure she didn’t lack personnel right?

Whatever the reason…

“Just so you know. I didn’t resign from First Sergeant Hai’s company just because she passed away.”

“…?”

“I resigned because I’m going to become a mother.”

“???”

It took a few moments for her to process my words. From her slow response, I’d bet that she had not the remotest suspicion that my daughter was the very person they were trying to find.

“…I see.”

“Thank you for the offer. But, I can’t join your brigade.”

“In that case…”

She took something out of her bag.

A phone.

The blocky 9-key kind with four arrow buttons on top; was a major industry breakthrough before flip phones became a thing.

“What’s this for?”

“In case you ever need anything.”

“Are you investing in me?”

These kinds of tropes were pretty common in anime culture. The story goes: a random guy or gal who already knows the future invests in someone they know will make it big.

“I am.”

So it seems I’m a very important person to this girl. The intensity in her gaze was harsh.

“So… what kind of person was I in the future?”

I asked. Caught surprised by my nonchalant question, she went blank a second time.

“The kind of person you were…”

Of course, she knew what I was referring to. The regressor genre was popular among young adults during the early 21st century.

“…The empress of the First Stratum.”

“Ah. Seriously? That’s a really troublesome future.”

Empress? Me? How old was I when I took over the mayor? How curious.

She showed a tired smile as if already expecting my response.

I averted her gaze and faked a cough.

“Anyways, just to be fair, if you need anything, you should also contact me. But only during emergencies okay? It must be tough trying to save the world alone.”

I said. She lowered her head again.

“…I appreciate the favour.”

“XiaoLe-tan.”

We were friends. So…

“I know it’s hard on you but… don’t beat yourself up too much. I think you’re doing great.”

“…”

Nodding to my words, I didn’t know exactly what she was thinking then.

Only that she looked like she was about to cry.

◃⊰⊱⊹. ⊹⌖Ω ⩏⊹ϑ ⊰⊱▹

Vice Admiral Chen QiangWei stood before the candlelight. His fist tightened, frowning.

Words fail to express his parting wishes to the comrade who died. Guilt.

What did he do when he saw her body covered by a white cloth? And regret.

Yeah. He kicked the girl she tried to protect. Cursed her, told her to die.

Only after cooling his head did he realise just how stupid he was. Out of impulse, out of rage.

Maybe the reason Rize left the squad was because she thought EunHa would be safer away from him.

Had he not made such a blunder that day then, could things have turned out differently?

He shifted his gaze away from the candle. Eyes scanning the crowd, his gaze unconsciously fell on her.

She was exchanging words with Chu Lili’s husband.

The charming smile on her face remained. Not because she lacked the conscience to read the mood, rather, in her own words:

Death is what makes life precious.

He felt his chest tighten remembering everything she taught him.

He should’ve waited until she grew a little older, a little more beautiful.

He should’ve restrained his emotion, his desire and impatience.

Then he would’ve been able to continue admiring her without having to keep this distance, without feeling this misery.

If only…

He laughed inwardly.

From behind, First Sergeant Hai Aki placed his hand on QiangWei’s shoulder.

“Your gaze towards her has changed.”

“What kind of response am I supposed to give to that?”

He asked without turning to him, rolling his eyes.

“I wasn’t looking for one. Just curious why you didn’t pursue.”

“It’s none of your business.”

QiangWei shook Hai Aki’s hand off. Hai Aki didn’t pay mind to his rough gesture. He raised his gaze towards the altar where the candlelight stood.

“What do you think was going on in Ms. Chu’s mind when she saved her?”

He asked.

QiangWei thought about it before giving his most honest response.

“God knows.”

He denied the notion of fate and destiny. But he agreed that there existed things that couldn’t be changed. The inevitable was oftentimes hard to differentiate from those within possibility.

Which one he was pursuing, whichever the case it didn’t matter.

He’d rather not know than stall deliberating the inevitable—rather die than be shown the future result of all his actions.

Not because he was afraid, but because he… did not believe he could shoulder the responsibility that it entailed.

Another brief glance back at the crowd.

This time his eyes stopped at the sight of another girl. Short pink hair, silver-blue eyes—Colonel Wu XiaoLe.

The one who assigned that accursed girl to their squad.

The one who tasked them to kill her.

The one who had seen the future.

…If EunHa’s death had been necessary to prevent humanity’s end. Then Rize’s scheme, which went against her decision…

“No.”

He refused to believe that Rize’s decision was wrong.

Having experienced numerous struggles and delights alongside her, he was convinced that she had never been more right in the things she did.

Even if she was the harbinger of disasters, the results that followed from them had always…

Always…

◃⊰⊱ϑ⊹ ⨞⋅⫝⫘⌖ ⊹⊹⊰⊱▹

Death was a part of life.

It entailed loss and change.

But from it, we move on still.

For the smiles of those still living.

—Sizzle.

From when the candlelight was lit until the second it toppled over was the time which we mourned. The candle’s flame reached the base of melted wax unfallen, a sign of good luck and blessing for us all. The procession moved into its final stages.

Chu Lili left no will.

Her husband, Mr. Kim Hyeon had now to decide how he would handle Ms. Lili’s ashes.

He could bury them in the earth or scatter them to the wind. It didn’t take a lengthy contemplation, he decided to take the ash back home.

And with that, came the end of the funeral.

While she may no longer be here, she continues to live in the hearts of everyone. Amen.

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

It was the evening when I returned.

The rain had all but stopped when I left the funeral venue. With nice puddles scattered all over the plain paved streets, I skipped across them and enjoyed a few showering splashes.

Protected by a thin layer of wind magic, my clothes were kept dry.

A large building common house annexing a restaurant located over a hill-like berm. It very much resembled those template suburban homes you could find during the olden days of modern society.

This was the new place I moved into a week ago.

“Welco.. eh?! Rize-chan, you’re back!”

“I’m back~”

I took the restaurant entrance and was greeted promptly by Ms. Ng YiChen, one of the waitresses at this restaurant. She has been a long-standing staff for almost two years now.

“I want a drink.”

“So what drink would you like?”

“Coffee.”

“Warm coffee coming right up! Find a seat somewhere.”

The place wasn’t busy during the non-rush hours. With that said though, at least half the restaurant seats were occupied.

Hmr, hmr. Business is good.

“No food?”

Ms. YiChen popped her head out from behind the counter, asking me again to confirm.

“Nah. I just want coffee.”

“Okay.”

I gazed out the window.

The scenery of green plains and tall mountains. Large tea plantations, fields of paddy, rows of greenhouses, and terraced vegetable fields extended to the ends of where one’s eyes could see.

Second Stratum, New Hangul Island.

A peaceful countryside region focusing on agriculture and family development. The opposite of the high tension, hustle-bustle city life of Fortress City Fuji.

Compared to other regions, New Hangul City’s development was relatively recent, having formed into a residential city in only the past two or three decades or so.

“Here’s your coffee.”

“Thank you.”

The aroma was great though it lacked the finesses of my personal brew.

“So… how was it?”

Ms. YiChen asked, her voice slightly wary.

I don’t think she was referring to the coffee.

“Mr. Hyeon decided to use the ash to plant a small tree in the house.”

“Oh? Isn’t that great then?”

“Right? At least Ms. Lili’s spirit would live on in their home.”

I do suppose Ms. YiChen was trying to cheer me up.

That’s very sweet of her, I appreciate it.

“Speaking of which, have you seen Eun-chan around?”

“Eun-chan? Now that you’ve mentioned it… I haven’t seen her the whole day.”

“Hm…”

How suspicious. Wasn’t she helping out around the restaurant yesterday? Don’t tell me she got injured?

Downing the rest of the coffee in one go, I thanked Ms. YiChen and made my way to the residence building.

I actually wanted to savour each sip but responsibilities come first!

The living room was eerily dark when nobody was around using it. I turned on the light before heading upstairs to my room. There was light coming from beneath the door.

“Eun-chan, I’m back.”

I knocked and entered.

There was a human dumpling… and a small turtle was sitting on said dumpling.

“Hey.”

Snap. Snap.

First to respond was the small turtle—Cinnamon.

“…M-Mom.”

Second to go was the human dumpling. Wrapped in a blanket, she turned to me with a cautious gaze.

“You okay?”

“Mn…”

The human dumpling met my eyes ever so briefly before quickly looking away.

“What are you doing?”

“Reading…”

So she decided not to volunteer in the restaurant today because she found a novel to indulge in? I sat down beside her.

Cinnamon moved from the top of the dumpling to my shoulder. I stroked his head.

“What are you reading?”

Akane-san had a lot of novels. Eun-chan probably borrowed one from her.

“…”

She shut the book tight and hid it in between her legs.

“Eun-chan.”

Erotica exists in this world.

“Is that what I think it is?”

Akane-san owns a few actually.

“…”

“…”

It must be that.

“Onwards!”

“Gyah?!”

I tackled her.

Even she can let out a scream this cute when attacked.

Her light brown hair scattered. Behind the frame of her fake glasses, the panic in her blue eyes was evident.

“Gimme!”

“Ah! No!”

“I’ll tickle you to death! Gimme!”

For a daughter, she was crazy strong.

She flung the book underneath the nearby desk.

“Aha!”

I was going to jump. But then Eun-chan quickly wrapped her arms around my waist, holding me down.

“Geh!”

My body felt like it was being crushed. She buried her head in my shoulder.

“Hey, your glasses are going to break if you…”

“…Why didn’t you tell me.”

“…What?”

“…That her funeral was today.”

“Ah.”

Whoops. Should’ve changed out of my mourning clothes before entering.

“Um, well. I didn’t want you to think about it so…”

“But…”

“…Not to worry Eun-chan. I’ve already made the arrangements.”

I felt her body tremble slightly.

“We’ll be visiting them at their home soon enough.”

“…Yes.”

She nodded silently.

I pouted.

Because despite answering her question I was still stuck. She wasn’t letting me go…

I was itching to know what kind of novel she read, so I tried desperately wriggling. But that only made things worse as my chest now buried her face.

She didn’t make any effort to change the inappropriate position.

“Eun-chan…”

“Are they angry…?”

“They? No. I don’t think they’re angry.”

It’s so ticklish!

“Come on, let go of me already Eun-chan!”

“No.”

Uwah! She’s already rebelling at such a young age!

I began tickling her side. She flinched and moaned.

Her grip loosened, and I made my escape!

“…No!”

“Aha! Gotcha, this is…”

…Not a novel. I turned to Eun-chan.

“Where did you get this?”

She looked away…

Whenever I have a flash of inspiration, I write it down. The same when I’m frustrated or angry, sad or depressed. I pen down the thing that made me feel that way.

It’s a bible of my raw, honest thoughts about things. It was also a way of understanding myself better; an exercise for maintaining good mental hygiene.

Journaling.

This was the first time someone other than me had read the journal. Not that I mind. It’s just… how in the world did she get her hands on this? I swear it was well hidden underneath my pillow.

“I-I just found it.”

“Mn… fine. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Well. At least my writing occupied her mind enough that she didn’t try to hurt herself.

“Have you eaten dinner?”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal, come on…”

I hugged her.

Hey, at least she knows a little bit more about her mother (a.k.a., me) now.

◃⊰⊱⊹. ⊹⌖Ω ⩏⊹ϑ ⊰⊱▹

Every arc of a fresh new story introduces new characters.

Because there are so many new people, let me give you a summary of who does what here in this shared house.

With Eun-chan and I now added to the mix, this makes a total of six residents living here.

Tendou Akane. Her characteristic features were dark red hair and amethyst-coloured eyes—a biologist specialising in bioprana.

She wasn’t an orphan of my foundation per se, but she did lose both her parents to a demonica invasion. The first time I met her was when she tried to haggle me for the prana crystals I obtained from the Zeroth Stratum.

And from the close ‘kinship’ we’ve formed, she now pays rent at a discount.

Now you know why she’s always trying to get on my good side.

Next up! DaHong, no sir name. A bulky guy with curly dark brown hair, and somewhat darkish skin. He was once an orphan under my care. Now grown up, he operates his own restaurant.

I provided him with the essentials in education and capital to start up his business… and voila! The amazing chef DaHong was born!

Real estate-wise, I own basically all of the stakes of his restaurant. So, until he earns enough to buy it from me, the building and equipment will remain under my name.

Then we have TaeHyun and Kazuo Nana. These two are often away from home because they’re currently cadets in training. They’re often times posted to patrol the yellow zones of the Second Stratum.

Then we have our lovely waitress, Ms. Ng YiChen, the young lady who works in DaHong’s restaurant. Born and raised in New Hangul, she’s a semi-freeloader who still lives with her parents. She isn’t part of the residence but I thought I’d add her here because she’ll be appearing frequently throughout.

There were also a few other people around, but I’ll get to them when I get to them. For now…

“So, how do you feel as of late?”

I asked.

It was dawn, Eun-chan and I were taking a light walk down the suburban district.

The morning air was fresh and crisp. In the skies, the sun’s glowing rays bouncing off clouds made for a holy sight.

“I don’t know.”

She said, wonderingly.

“Mn, then until you think it’s getting worse, I’ll assume you’re getting better.”

I don’t think I need to find a doctor to prescribe her antidepressants. Or maybe she forgot she used to eat them. Either way… a good sign.

“You know, I met XiaoLe-tan yesterday.”

“You met XiaoLe…?”

“Yup.”

She went silent for a little bit, but we didn’t stop walking.

“…Did she say anything?”

“She tried to recruit me as her adjutant, or something like that.”

“…So what was your… response…uh.”

“I said no of course.”

Eun-chan nodded slightly.

“On that note, talking to her did make me wonder. What kind of person was I in that future? What do you think?”

“…I don’t know. She never once mentioned you in her oracles.”

“Is that so? Odd. XiaoLe-tan said that I became the empress of the First Stratum, you know?”

“…Which means humanity probably perished then…”

“Yeah, perhaps… huh? WHAT?!”

So you’re saying because I became the empress humanity perished? What kind of logic was that! I’m not a psycho… I mean, I did have an era like that but it was a long time ago!

“What if humanity didn’t perish and I won the war instead?!”

“…”

Is faith so hard to earn these days? Sheesh.

“Well, since she came to change the world, let’s do our best to prevent the future disaster.”

I coughed.

“…”

Seriously lame…

I decided to change the topic.

“Eun-chan, what dreams do you have?”

“Dreams…?”

She seemed to contemplate those words for a long time.

Out in the streets, I noticed a group of kids playing at the playground. They were assuming guns and swords using dry sticks, pretty generic superhero stuff.

“What about you, Rize-chan? What are your dreams?”

“I told you about it before, didn’t I? Becoming your mother.”

“…”

“Second is to experience being a mother and explore the world while we’re at it. Third, find a cure to your curse and whatnot. Fourth… I don’t know, anything goes I guess.”

I’m happy enough knowing I have a family I need to take care of.

“…”

“How about it? Did it inspire you?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Didn’t you try to die because you wanted to save humanity? Wasn’t that a dream?”

“But… just look where that got me. I can’t even do anything myself anymore.”

There was a crunching sound, a dry leaf shattered into pieces. The step she took just now was quite heavy.

I wasn’t a hero, never wanted to be one. But, I knew the feeling of someone who did. So I understood her sentiments to a degree.

“Don’t worry. This is just one of the many encounters you’ll have in life. Just because you fell from grace, doesn’t mean you can’t save humanity in some other way.”

I patted her shoulder.

“…Like how?”

“Like that.”

I pointed to the group of kids. There was now an adult accompanying them.

She lowered her head sullenly.

“I failed at that too.”

“What?”

“I can’t conceive a child now…”

Uh, what, no?! That wasn’t what I was talking about!

“No, no, no. That’s not what I meant.”

“Then?”

“Being human.”

“???”

“Humanity can mean the whole human race. Or, it could also mean the essence of what makes us human. I’m talking about the latter.”

The emotions we experience, the love we give to others, the compassion for ourselves…

“What’s the whole point of fighting and surviving if we have nothing to look forward to?”

“I’ve failed even in that…”

Geh. She’s gotten completely stuck in a mud hole inside her head.

“We’ll keep working at it.”

I said resolutely.

“What if more people die because of it?”

“You already know I don’t care if people die.”

“…But Staff Sergeant…”

I pressed a finger to her lips.

“Eun-chan.”

I stared into her eyes.

“Have faith in yourself.”

She blinked at me blankly. I moved my finger away from her before we continued walking.

“Alright. Until I know what you want, we’ll rest and recuperate here in New Hangul. You’ll help me open a cafe, and then we’ll start selling good coffee.”

“…Coffee? When did we start talking about selling coffee?”

“Saving humanity one cup at a time. 30 percent of profits go straight to the military!”

That’ll be the perfect tagline!

◃⊰⊱ϑ⊹ ⨞⋅⫝⫘⌖ ⊹⊹⊰⊱▹

“Yo.”

“Yo. Morning.”

DaHong. A brusque, medium-build guy who had a tall figure and chocolate brown hair.

He was already busy priming the restaurant by the time Eun-chan and I got back. His other two cooking staff were busy preparing ingredients, the waiters and waitress’ were cleaning the cutlery and prepping out front of the shop.

There’s a lot that goes on behind an F&B. Restaurant preparations have to be done even before the shop itself opens.

“Have you eaten breakfast?”

I asked DaHong-san.

“Planning to in a little bit. You joining?”

“Yeah. Should I cook?”

“No. I’ll do it.”

Another chef volunteered. I think his name is Mr. Chow-something. He’s peculiar because of his brown skin.

DaHong-san looked at Eun-chan who tagged behind me.

“Yo, EiYun-san. Morning.”

“…Morning.”

Eun-chan greeted, awkwardly.

“Next time say good morning.”

He reminded her, she nodded.

Then afterwards we went around and greeted the staff before heading to the residence.

There Akane-san was doing laundry. The soggy clothes in the bucket were being hung on clothes liners.

From this, you could tell she had an independent upbringing. It’s not every day you see a biologist get their hands wet and dirty to perform tasks like this.

“Akane-san, have you eaten breakfast?”

“No.”

“Then breakfast at the restaurant later once you’re done. I’ll go help out in the kitchen.”

“Alright.”

“EunHa, you help Akane-san. See you.”

Leaving my daughter in the biologist’s care, I assisted the cooks with prepping the ingredients. A lot of onions, chives, yam and cabbage had to be chopped up. All the fish had to be pre-filleted. The day’s soup also had to be prepared, and seaweed miso it was.

“You’re really good at this.”

The guy from earlier, Mr. Chow-something said.

“Well, of course. I’m that guy’s master after all.”

I think he was recently hired. I didn’t see him the last time I came to visit.

“Really now…”

He wasn’t skilled with the knife. But he wasn’t completely bad either. I gave him a few pointers on the proper way to grip and position the fingers.

After cutting everything, we proceeded to make breakfast for everyone. I made a big bowl of seafood salad with sashimi. Mr. Chow made stir-fried squid gongbao style, and egg-tofu with fish roe… despite his lack of knife skills, his wok techniques were quite the show.

I prepared a black tea cocktail with sour plums; bluebell vine flowers and chives were used to decorate the top like a lily. It wasn’t anything special in terms of taste, only adding to the aesthetics.

“““Itadakimasu.”””

“““Thank you for the food.”””

“…”

We all gathered around the tables to eat before the busy day.

“Where were you yesterday Akane-san? You didn’t come back until late at night yesterday, right?”

“Me? I went to the department lab to check on the results of some of the tests we did. And also to catch up on my colleagues, students and class stuff.”

“I was too busy in the kitchen to check. I didn’t know EiYun-san was left alone.”

“EiYun-san didn’t do anything bad though?”

“Oh, she did. She picked up my journal and read it top to bottom.”

“Rize-chan has a journal?”

“What’s written inside?”

“Um…”

“Don’t say! If you do, I’ll get angry!”

“A journal or diary?”

“Dairy.”

“Journal.”

“Anyone else want the squid?”

“Wow, it’s gone fast.”

“When do you plan to visit the fish market?”

“Me? Maybe tomorrow. You free then?”

“I actually plan to go visit Nana-chan and TaeHyun-kun at the barracks.”

“Then maybe we’ll go the day after when you’re free. I need your opinion on something there.”

“Sure thing.”

“Hey, when is the next special dish competition going to begin?”

“YiChen said she has a secret dish in mind to blow everyone’s tastebuds.”

“W-What? I never said that!”

A lively breakfast with a lot of chattering and talk. Even Eun-chan who was silent had no choice but to join in the conversation.

The only problem was that she kept being pestered about the contents of my private journal.

“Eh?! Rize-chan is a God’s Emissary?”

“Ah, you didn’t know?”

“I didn’t. Then why the hell…”

“She’s a retired soldier now.”

“Now that’s just weird for someone her age.”

“I think it’s weirder you never realised.”

“What kind of place is Earth?”

Amid the flurry of questions and comments, Eun-chan asked me a question of curiosity.

“Earth? It’s pretty similar to what we have now if we took out the fact that there are no floating islands.”

“No way! So that means you’ve used those super-intelligent handheld computers where you can search for anything?”

“Can you really search for anything?”

“Yup.”

“Then do you think we’ll be able to get back to using those eye-phone things?”

Ms. YiChen said pointing to her eye.

Oh. I thought they meant LIVE AI. It’s the small pin you put on your clothes or smart glasses and all you need is to talk to them to find an answer you need. Less intrusive, and much more convenient than a smartphone.

“I don’t know. I’ve recovered a lot of artefacts and manuals from the Zeroth Stratum. Now it really just depends on how fast the tech geeks can get the engineering part right.”

The Earthen tech of this world… as a citizen of the AI and AR era, it feels like I’m going back in time. Nostalgic.

“How soon?”

“They say you can even call see everywhere in the world using that thing. Is it true?”

“No, no. Not just that. They say there’s this social media thing where they take videos of people doing a lot of lewd things.”

“Hey, someone sound the pervert alarm!”

“Based on current world technology, I feel like maybe in a decade or two? I mean, they’ve already developed this thing so…”

I showed them the clamshell phone device XiaoLe gave me.

“No… it looks like that? I thought it was supposed to be flat and small.”

“This is the original phone before the slim phone thing. It actually goes through different stages of evolution.”

From the hardware to the firmware, a lot is missing in current civilization to make smartphones work. Trying to create a worldwide internet here was already proving to be a difficult task.

“So what even is this?”

“It’s a phone.”

“Military use?”

“Probably.”

It was quick for them to develop the technology for this. I only brought back the reference artefact two years ago.

Anyhow. The conversation of Earth went on forever until DaHong-san had to chide in to say the restaurant was about to open.

“What kind of fish are chicken, turkey and cows?”

“They’re not fish.”

Ah… I miss eating Korean fried chicken.

◃⊰⊱ϑ⊹ ⨞⋅⫝⫘⌖ ⊹⊹⊰⊱▹

Tendou Akane had always been suspicious of Rize.

She knew Rize was abnormal. But, logic couldn’t explain how the person she was came to be.

So when Akane learnt of Rize’s identity as an unidentified God’s Emissary, she was compelled to form some kind of connection with her. And for her own benefit, she wanted to hide the fact that Rize was from Earth.

But the damn gal’s unreserved attitude about sharing her past made this selfish wish anything but impossible. Akane was worried that someone might take advantage of her if they knew her not-so-secret secret.

Two years had passed since then, none of her worries had come to fruition thus far. In fact, it was Akane who found the absence of it disturbing. Nevertheless, being with her so long, she got to learn all sorts of things from this genius.

Coming back to the present, she was currently stuck on forming a thesis on how prana can hinder the function of ‘infected cells’. The change from normal marine life to demonica doesn’t happen overnight. There’s usually an incubation period before external features present on the organism’s body.

Prana shockwaves have been shown to disrupt the mutation process, proving the concept that prana plays a major part in certain cell mutations.

If she could somehow find some way to halt the transformation, or better yet, a solution to reverse the transformation before the creature turns completely, it could revolutionise the way people view and handle the ‘infection’.

One big problem with the ‘infection’ isn’t only that it creates all these marine zombies, it also destroys entire ecosystems.

The natural ecosystem of marine life in the First Stratum had mostly died thanks to it, and should things continue as is, the Second Stratum’s natural ecosystem would soon follow.

As a foodist, she couldn’t let fellow fish (food) go extinct.

When Rize brought EiYun to her home, Akane’s suspicion alarm had once again been triggered.

There was something absolutely fishy about the girl Rize calls her daughter.

Teal-coloured eyes hidden behind round glasses, beautiful brunette-coloured hair, and an innocent figure full of a womanly charm.

“Who is Rize-chan to you?”

So when the two were alone, Akane took the chance to strike.

“She… she’s my mother.”

Rize went out to find places that rented rare brewing machines, she wouldn’t be back until late evening. Akane had been told to take care of EiYun while she was away.

“Your mother?”

“A-Adopted.”

“Hm…”

Call it bullshit. How could any sane person accept that an adult accepted a child to become her mother?

EiYun’s vigilance was high. To break through to the truth would be hard. Akane nodded to herself.

“Where did you two first meet?”

“…”

She avoided the question. So it must’ve been an important clue.

“I’m sorry for asking.”

“It’s alright…”

“Are you curious about what I do for a living?”

“For a living?”

“I’m a biologist, and lecturer. On the side, I’m working on my own research.”

“Oh… what kind of research?”

“Prana and its effects on infection. Do you want to see the work I’ve done so far?”

Since she had nothing better to do, why not build a relationship with the girl with whom Rize made family? It would benefit both parties.

There was a miniature lab in Akane’s very own room. It was large, the walls between two rooms had been torn down for expansion. Few of the artefact lab items found inside were supplied by Rize, but most other consumables and common technology she bought herself.

The prana crystal which she took from Rize was displayed neatly on glass stands within a locked cabinet.

Then there was a giant fish tank.

Inside were koi. Both normal, and demonised ones.

EiYun observed them curiously.

“Why do they follow a queen? What does it mean to be a queen of a hive?”

Akane asked solemnly.

“Queen?”

EiYun turned to her.

Prana, by scientific definition, is a transitional form of energy between kinetic, and heat energy. A form of energy that touched the fourth dimension in its purest form. The only substance in the world able to store energy in the immaterial world.

It wasn’t an absolute truth, but demonica are naturally drawn to dense concentrations of prana. It’s from this principle that the Fortress’ prana cores were built.

“Yes. Why do they gather around a queen? Is it because they have a high concentration of prana or… something else?”

If prana concentration alone was the defining factor that created priority in what the demonica follow, why was it that creatures containing greater bioprana do not necessarily attract those of lower ones?

And how was the bioprana different from a Hive Queen? No one had ever brought back a sample of a queen alive. So scientists could only hypothesise.

The demonised koi were seen desperately trying to break towards the side of the regular koi.

EiYun touched the glass.

The demonised koi suddenly shifted its attention over to her finger.

It was… a positive reaction. Demonised koi had no reason to attack humans, aware that they were unlikely to do anything to harm them.

“How curious.”

Rize had brought back yet another interesting find.

Akane mused to herself.

Certainly, EiYun was… different.

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

“Your presence brings confidence and protection to others.”

“You’re the most amazing person in the world.”

“Everything you do works in your favour.”

“You feel light and happy every day.”

“You’re super lucky in whatever you do.”

“People feel safe in your presence.”

“You’re the most beautiful person in the world.”

“You’re…”

She could barely keep her eyes open as weird, hypnotic-like words of encouragement kept pouring from my mouth.

In a trance state, her eyelids drooped, and her body fell hunch. Give her a little push and she’d most probably fall.

“You will wake up feeling completely refreshed as if you’ve just had optimal sleep. In the count of five, you’ll snap back awake and…”

I snapped my fingers at the end of the countdown.

“Hm?”

Eun-chan, who had been out of it earlier, raised her head languidly to look at me. Her drowsy blue eyes were starting to regain their light.

Her lips parted.

“How long do we have to keep doing this?”

She asked, looking slightly fed up.

It was currently the evening. Every time before bed, Eun-chan and I would do something like a little ritual.

She and I would sit facing each other. I would tell her to look into my eyes to apply charm magic to force her into a trance. And while in that state, I try to speak into her subconscious mind a different view of herself and the world.

If my charm magic was stronger, I wouldn’t have needed to take this odd method of saying positive statements out loud. But you know, sometimes you’ve just got to substitute the lacking areas with actual hypnotherapy techniques.

“As long as we’re together I guess.”

I answered wonderingly.

I have no idea how long we have to do this. The treatment really depends on person to person. Plus, I’m no hypnotherapist. I’m merely mimicking what I know from the experts since it was effective in treating certain groups of people in my past life.

“Anyways. How do you feel right now?”

“A little stupid.”

“Eun-chan…”

“W-Weird. I feel weird—!”

She panicked when I threatened to tickle her.

“How so weird?”

“Like, how am I supposed to feel one way when I’m feeling another? Just like that time at your old apartment. I felt really happy… even though I shouldn’t have felt like that…”

“So you feel happy now, yes?”

“A little.”

Happy, yet she looked like she had just bitten into a lemon.

Some people simply believe they’re not worthy of joy and happiness, like EunHa. However, there are also those who believe the opposite, but struggle to change because of how deeply entrenched the negative thought patterns are inside their subconscious mind.

“We’ll do it again tomorrow until you stop thinking you shouldn’t feel how you should.”

“…Okay.”

This therapy is the current substitute for psychotic medication. Medicating someone isn’t always the answer.

“Now then. Something you’re grateful for today. Chop. Chop.”

“Do we really have to do this every night? It’s… not like it’s actually going to help, is it?”

“You didn’t get good at slinging guns right out of the gates I reckon?”

“…I’m grateful for your guidance.”

“Feel it. That gratefulness. Don’t just say it.”

“Ugh… fuck.”

Is it really that weird to say that you’re grateful for me?

She became all fidgety. Squinted her eyes once and twice, then shifted her position beside me.

Then a big hug came my way.

I almost fell down from the sheer weight.

“Wow!”

I yelped in surprise.

“Mom.”

She quipped.

“Thank you.”

I felt my heart skip a beat. A warm feeling spread from the centre of my chest outwards.

“You got me. You got me.”

I stroked her silky smooth hair that had the nicest smell of candy to it. It was such a mysterious feeling of pride and love.

“That concludes for today. Let’s go to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow.”

Eun-chan wasn’t completely healed. But I think she’s at least ready to meet Ms. Lili’s family.

“…Yes.”

Snap. Snap.

Cinnamon, who was observing us, said he wants to go to bed already so make it quick.

◃⊰⊱⊹. ⊹⌖Ω ⩏⊹ϑ ⊰⊱▹

“Where you headed off to?”

Akane-san asked.

“We’re going to visit Mr. Hyeon.”

“Eh, that’s so sudden.”

Akane-san’s gaze shifted to Eun-chan for that very slight moment. My motherly instincts warned me of something.

“Well then, we’ll get going. Let DaHong-san know we’re out if he asks. And remember to NOT use Cinnamon as your experimental guppy.”

“Okay. Oh right! Hold on, since you’re heading out, could you help pass something to Nana-san and TaeHyun-san?”

Akane-san rushed back into the house and then brought out two large bulky containers.

“What is this?”

“It’s the new PP-grenade prototype the lab made. They agreed to test it out on my behalf.”

“I didn’t know you had the licence to manufacture weapons.”

“It’s an institutional project.”

“Heeeh… okay then.”

“I’ll help carry it.”

“Eh. Seriously?”

Eun-chan swiped the two containers from the ground and hung them over her back. The container itself had a strap so it could be slugged behind the shoulder much like a bag.

“Then I’ll carry one.”

“It’s not that heavy.”

Eun-chan denied my help.

“Well, suit yourself. Thank you”

If she insists, by all means. Just don’t complain when you get tired.

“Thank you.”

What’s there to thank me for anyway?

◤◢

The public transport here wasn’t as developed as Fuji City, so much of the distance coverage had to be done on foot.

Of course, we could also rent bicycles, but in this situation where both Eun-chan and I were ex-soldiers, I didn’t think we needed something like that. It’s barely a hike.

The barracks where Nana-chan and TaeHyun-kun worked were a little further away from Ms. Lili’s home. As much as we would like to clear the baggage before the visit, I thought it would be better to do the home visit first before anything.

To arrive late was a no-go.

We stopped by the florist to get a hamper of flowers and fruits.

Ms. Lili’s home was a two-story residence resembling that of your typical Japanese bungalow. It wasn’t large, but it certainly felt more than comfortable for a family of four.

The housing district here had houses of pretty much the same design. I saw a few elderly gardening, and youngsters playing on the swing at the nearby playground.

I stepped up to the gate and rang the bell.

Eun-chan was nervous, but not to the point of fainting. She looked a lot more composed than I anticipated.

There was no response after a full minute of waiting

“Huh. I’m quite sure it’s supposed to be today, or did I forget something?”

I said. Eun-chan then looked around.

The streets were rather quaint beside the distant voices of kids cheering and wind chimes.

We could see from the gaps of the gate, the slightly overgrown front garden as well as flowers that hung from DIY inverse pots. Just as I was thinking of leaving after ringing the bell a couple more times, the door burst open.

“Hold on!”

It was Mr. Kim Hyeon… and little SuBin was crying in his arms.

…Something must’ve happened.

◃⊰⊱ϑ⊹ ⨞⋅⫝⫘⌖ ⊹⊹⊰⊱▹

“It’s been busy.”

Mr. Kim Hyeon said tiredly.

“Being a father isn’t easy.”

“You’re a lifesaver.”

If Ms. Lili was the mature-looking mother, then Kim Hyeon would be the aloof father. And, just like Ms. Lili, he is a magnanimously kind and inviting person.

From what I know, he was once a military man himself. However, he was forced to retire when he lost his left wrist. All that was left was the stump. Since he still had his right hand, it wasn’t too big of a loss. Much better than death.

Currently, he’s a literary writer and house husband. Though, with Ms. Lili gone though, I was a tad concerned about his financial situation.

Then again, if Ms. Lili had said that she planned to retire, it probably meant they had more than enough funds to go a couple years without working.

“Does SuBin and ChaDong eat porridge?”

“SuBin likes it if it’s got shredded fish, ChaDong prefers milk.”

“Okay.”

It was a depressing sight seeing Kim Hyeon fall limp on the chair. Good thing I was here to help make breakfast in his place.

Stir, stir, stir~

“Speaking of which, that girl you brought.”

He recalled.

“Her name is EiYun. I call her Eun-chan because it’s cuter.”

“…She’s the one my wife saved, right?”

His voice contained a peculiar undercurrent of emotion.

“Yup.”

“Why did you bring her here?”

“Don’t you want to see the person your wife saved?”

“…”

“I thought maybe it would be good for you two to get to know each other. Ms. Lili actually had plans to adopt her.”

“Adopt her?”

“Metaphorically. Another reason is so that she can pay her respects to you.”

“Come again?”

Come on… aren’t you a writer? Was what I said that confusing?

“She feels really guilty for causing Ms. Lili’s death. Or at least, she thinks she’s the cause.”

“So you brought her here to pay respect to my wife’s spirit.”

“Yes. And also to talk to you.”

“…”

“I can’t rewind time. And even if I had that choice, I wouldn’t. The best is still to move on from where we stand. Quite insensitive coming from me but, I think Ms. Lili would’ve wanted you to meet EiYun someday too.”

“I can somewhat tell. Since you’re doing that now.”

He heaved a deep sigh.

“Is there anything you want me to say in particular to that girl?”

“Not really. I think it’s enough to tell her to cherish the life she has.”

“Cherish life…”

He looked towards the small potted bonsai placed at the window side… the one he planted with the remnant of his wife’s ashes, scattered.

◃⊰⊱⊹. ⊹⌖Ω ⩏⊹ϑ ⊰⊱▹

EunHa was being stared at by the twins.

Fraternal twins, to be exact.

SuBin and ChaDong.

It was easy to tell between them by the length of their hair. Otherwise, they both look pretty feminine. Their appearance took after their mother more than they did their father.

If Cinnamon were here, then keeping the kids entertained would’ve been much easier. She imagined him flying between their noses to tease them. Too bad Rize had refused, worried that the kids might shove the turtle into their mouths if not careful. Of course, that was just a joke excuse.

EunHa focused her attention back on the two kids.

SuBin and ChaDong.

What should I do?

Why was SuBin crying earlier? She looked alright now.

Rize said to take care of the kids while she made breakfast. She also said she had some private matters to relay to Kim Hyeon.

They both moved to the kitchen, leaving EunHa on the spot.

She didn’t know anything about how to play with kids, let alone being a mother. For a moment she thought maybe it was right of her to refuse the marriage.

“SuBin, ChaDong.”

She called out their names. They reacted by staring deeper at EunHa.

“Can you understand me?”

“Pretty.”

“Unnie.”

“…!”

EunHa didn’t know why, but their puerile words stabbed her heart like a Cupid’s arrow. Infatuated by their cuteness, she closed the distance slowly.

They too, out of curiosity, closed the distance. SuBin grabbed EunHa’s glasses with her tiny hands.

“Ah, no. Don’t grab that.”

SuBin’s grasp wasn’t flinching. She was curious, as it was the first time she had seen an accessory like this. Meanwhile, ChaDong took a seat between EunHa’s crossed legs and leaned back against her stomach.

SuBin let go of the glasses and looked at ChaDong who seemed to be showing a smug. SuBin’s cheeks puffed up.

Ah wait, could it be?

The girl tried to push the boy away from EunHa’s. ChaDong refused to relinquish his domain.

SuBin, who was further frustrated, stood up using EunHa’s body as support. She tried to hug EunHa from behind, her arms barely reaching around her neck.

EunHa found the whole situation puzzling. Wasn’t she a total stranger to them just a minute ago?

“I want to carry.”

SuBin said.

“You want to carry?”

EunHa parroted her words. She nodded with pleading eyes.

ChaDong’s expression turned slightly dark. EunHa’s focus had shifted from him to the attention-hoarding SuBin.

“Do you mean you want me to carry you?”

SuBin nodded again, this time more fervently.

“I want too!”

ChaDong stepped on EunHa and grabbed her by the chest.

There were no perverted intentions behind his actions. But, EunHa found being groped around by the kids simply uncomfortable. She endured.

“Um…”

“Me first.”

“No. I said I want first so me first.”

SuBin shot down ChaDong’s reasoning.

“I’m closer.”

ChaDong tried to pry SuBin’s hands away from EunHa.

It was a successful counter. SuBin almost fell.

“ChaDong hit me!”

“I don’t care. Carry.”

ChaDong wrapped his arms around EunHa.

EunHa only grew increasingly confused. ChaDong was clearly in the wrong, so why did it feel wrong to lecture him? By logic, SuBin should go foremost because she was the one who first asked for it. Yet she found it a dilemma to let go of ChaDong.

Basically, whichever she chose would earn the animosity of the other… SuBin’s eyes were starting to water…

Which was the right choice?

“Um, ChaDong. SuBin asked for it first so can I carry her first?”

ChaDong’s expression fell. He didn’t retaliate against EunHa and nodded sullenly.

“Good boy.”

EunHa patted his head and gently let him down from her lap. His mood seemed to lighten from that.

“Yay!”

SuBin cheered. She jumped twice on the spot before reaching her arms out.

EunHa lifted her carefully. She wasn’t sure exactly how to hold a child so it became something like a princess carry?

SuBin became confused. This was the first time she was being carried like this. She saw ChaDong stick his tongue out secretly behind EunHa’s back.

“Am I doing it right?”

EunHa asked.

“No?”

SuBin reached her hands out and grabbed EunHa’s neck.

“???”

Everyone was basically confused by this point. EunHa didn’t know about the typical koala hold most parents did with their children. Not to mention, SuBin was already a big baby by this point.

“Like this.”

ChaDong quickly ran towards her and tried to move EunHa’s hand underneath SuBin’s butt.

“NO!”

“Ah?!”

SuBin writhed, hitting EunHa.

“SuBin!”

EunHa staggered.

“Eh?”

Causing a domino effect and knocking ChaDong.

“AH!”

But just before ChaDong hit the ground, EunHa supported him from the back.

…This normally should’ve been an impossible plate-balancing position to keep stable.

SuBin’s eyes widened in realisation.

She wasn’t just being carried by EunHa anymore… she was being carried by EunHa who was flying!

“Sorry ChaDong.”

EunHa, who was almost completely horizontal, had to let go of SuBin and then help ChaDong up. He had a puffy-angry look.

EunHa turned to look at SuBin with a harsh gaze.

“Unnie, just now fly?”

“SuBin, you shouldn’t hit people.”

“Can I fly too?”

“…”

She was disregarding her complaints completely.

“Why can unnie fly?”

EunHa now felt worse about Ms. Lili’s death. To think her husband would have to deal with manipulative kids like these all by himself…

◤◢

“Breakfast is ready… wow.”

“Papa! Look, look! I’m flying!”

“Papa, she can fly! She can fly!”

“…What in the world?”

Rize and Hyeon came to the living room to call them over, expecting a quiet disaster from the kids.

Yet in front of them was SuBin cheering for ChaDong who was being carried by EunHa in the air.

“Uh…”

When EunHa saw them, she froze up a little. She descended and let ChaDong go. The two kids quickly ran towards their father and hugged him.

“I didn’t know she could use magic. Is that why you made her your daughter?”

“Part of the reason.”

Hyeon asked, Rize shrugged.

EunHa lowered her head. Out of embarrassment or guilt, she didn’t know.

◃⊰⊱ϑ⊹ ⨞⋅⫝⫘⌖ ⊹⊹⊰⊱▹

SuBin and ChaDong ate until they couldn’t anymore. It was the most they had eaten since Chu Lili’s passing.

“I’ll take care of the kids. You two take your sweet time okay?”

As Rize said so, she dragged the siblings out to the living room. Suddenly, EunHa and Hyeon were the only ones left at the table.

“She really is like a storm.”

Kim Hyeon shook his head and sighed. EunHa remained silent. He then turned to her and said.

“I don’t know what her real intentions are for us to meet. So, do you have anything you want to say to me?”

Did EunHa have anything to say?

Engrossed in the meal until Rize went away all of a sudden, EunHa was left completely blank. Did her mama just abandon her? Or was this a test?

“…I’m sorry.”

“Please don’t be, my wife wouldn’t want to hear that.”

“…”

EunHa shrank even further into her mind.

The darkness which had been suppressed by Rize surged into her. She was… completely vulnerable.

The one that brought Chu Lili’s death was her.

The one that caused the thousands of deaths.

The disaster soon to unfold.

Had she died, Chu Lili may have survived.

Had she never stepped foot on the human stronghold, so many people’s lives would’ve been spared.

This infinite cycle of disaster and calamity…

Her fault.

It was all her fault.

“Ms. EiYun.”

Hyeon calling her name pulled her out of the murky depth. She recalled something. That everything she thought as before was the ‘past’ of the girl named ‘EunHa’.

‘EunHa’ was dead, the remnants were ‘EiYun’.

‘EiYun’ didn’t do anything wrong, yet she was trying to atone for what ‘EunHa’ did.

“…I don’t know if I deserve to live.”

Hyeon was perplexed by the depressing response. Rize hadn’t mentioned anything particular about EunHa, but he could somewhat tell that her situation was special.

“And?”

So he continued with one word.

“…And?”

She couldn’t answer.

“What do you intend to do about it?”

“What I intend to do…”

“My wife died for you. What do you plan to do?”

“…”

“I don’t feel angry, just disappointed.”

EunHa wanted to respond, but… she opened her mouth just to close it right back.

If she apologised again, it only showed how much of a damned person she was. She could be cursed, but it wasn’t an excuse to be rude.

“My wife did something noble for you. Are you going to continue tarnishing that by continuing your condemning state?”

Her body felt lighter from his words.

They were harsh, yet liberating.

“…No.”

“Would she have wanted the person she gave up her life for to be in such a sorry state?”

“…No.”

“I don’t know how much of the battlefield you’ve been through, but if there’s one lesson that every soldier must remember in their hearts, it’s to always honour those that have died.”

Honour those who died for the ones alive.

She remembered it as a saying often mentioned during her first and only year of military school.

Back then she thought that it was a slogan made to boost morale or some cheap way to remind soldiers not to take for granted the deaths of those that came before them.

But hearing those words having gone through hell… the saying carried a different weight.

What was it exactly that changed?

Her experiences? The way Hyeon said it? Her mindset? Maturity?

A tear slipped from her eye.

She didn’t have the confidence to lift her head. Beaten so low that she could barely live a normal life without a guiding hand.

But…

“…”

Sorry. For disappointing you Ms. Chu.

Kim Hyeon got up from his seat and knelt down before the silent EunHa. Him on the ground, and she on the chair.

Their eyes were forced to meet from such an unnatural level of elevation.

“EiYun.”

“…Yes.”

“Cherish your life.”

He wrapped his arms around her. Openly, lovingly—just like Ms. Chu.

This second life which had been given to her by one more…

“…I will.”

Even if it hurt, she could always try again.

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

“Thank you for your time Mr. Hyeon! I’ll drop by every now and then, but if you miss either one of us then you should drop by the restaurant!”

“I will keep that in mind Rize-chan.”

“Oh, and let the kids know. I’m a bit afraid that they might ask where I’d gone.”

“I will also keep that in mind.”

I was waving off Mr. Hyeon when Eun-chan bowed and said her farewell.

“…Thank you, and see you next time.”

“Yes. We’ll talk again.”

EunHa carried the big containers while I carried a small bag. Leaving Mr. Hyeon’s residence, next stop, the barracks.

I turned to Eun-chan.

“So, what did he say?”

And asked with a grin.

Something about her had changed. Definitely.

I guess I wasn’t wrong about letting them meet. Mr. Hyeon had always been a genial guy. I knew him even before Ms. Lili got married, since… I was the one who worked as his wingman.

Alas, Ms. Lili couldn’t make it to enjoy her life as a mother.

Her kids were so cute too.

Well, it would be bad to leave them alone, so I suppose I’ll try to support them while I can. So that Ms. Lili can rest in peace, assured that her family will be fine by my watching eye.

“I should honour those who died.”

“Ah… huh?”

Ah? Okay? So that’s what he said? That’s a pretty cliche thing to say for a novelist like himself.

“Is that it?”

I asked her, awaiting a deeper explanation.

She tilted her head and looked at me puzzled. I tilted my head in response to her doing the same.

“What?”

“Your eyes aren’t sparkling.”

Wasn’t I the one who first asked a question?

“Whatever. As long as you got something from that, then all’s good.”

There’s no way she could just end her life now that she was tethered to the expectations of both the dead and the living.

“Rize-chan. I have a question?”

“What is it?”

“How exactly should I live?”

Is that supposed to be a question?

“How you should live is… that’s for you to figure out, isn’t it?”

“Mn…”

I suppose that’s the difference between a normal person and someone struggling with mental health conditions.

“We have time. Don’t worry about it.”

“Rize-chan.”

“Again…?”

“How about you? How do you live?”

How do I live?

Frankly, I don’t know. But if I told her that then wouldn’t it only confuse her?

“My life is simple.”

Well, let’s just tell her about what I’ve decided was my most important value in life.

It’s the thing I’d gladly sacrifice everything for. Which at the same time proves to be a paradox.

“To bring happiness to those around me.”

Because to do that, I have to sacrifice misery and despair, prioritising my own happiness first.

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

The New Hangul’s Special Guard Corp is a subdivision of Second Stratum Special Guard Corp. SGC-2 for short, it’s the army division which TaeHyun-san and Nana-san work under.

The SGC-2 had plenty of responsibilities, and each stratum had its own dedicated SGC. Their main purpose was to maintain plenary safety.

They had duties to monitor uninhabited islands. However, simply establishing outposts to guard the five-hundred-something islands spread across the whole of the Second Stratum didn’t mean we had eyes everywhere.

Besides demonica, they also function to resolve any conflict that arises between two parties. Of course, those were pretty rare. The people of this world I’ve met so far were pretty reasonable, even the bad ones.

The chances of demonica breaking from the First Stratum to the second or possibly the Third Stratum are not low. So the SGC is necessary to ensure the termination of stray demonica before they grow into a Hive.

With defence being humanity’s main current focus, the size of SGC was probably greater than the current United Army.

“Hello.”

“State your name and purpose.”

Wow, how astute.

Eun-chan and I were stopped by one of the guards at the barrack’s main entrance. This military estate was probably as large as Japan’s airports, the whole parameter was surrounded by metal fences.

Having come here once before to enrol TaeHyun-kun and Nana-chan, I know a little about the regulations they have in place here.

“Tatsuki Rize. And this here is Tatsuki EiYun.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“She’s my adopted-sister.”

Well, she’s actually my daughter but I can’t possibly tell him that now can I?

“And for what reason do you seek entry?”

“Do all soldiers speak so eloquently?”

At my poke, his face contorted.

“Answer my question.”

“You’re bored aren’t you?”

I always pity those who have to stand around with nothing to do. He reminds me of Mr. Chen’s pitiful guards. Especially those that have to stay up all night as sentinels.

“Rize-chan, stop that.”

Eun-chan tapped my head.

“Wow!”

She talked back to me! Good girl!

““???””

Both the guard and Eun-chan looked at me confused.

“Um… I’m EiYun, she’s Tatsuki Rize, known by the title Black Siren. We’ve come to pass these new weapon prototypes to Ms. Cadet Nana and Mr. Cadet TaeHyun.”

“The Black Siren…? I-I see. That explains a lot… the rumours but…”

“Hey! Then couldn’t you have at least recognized me!”

“I can’t just let a kid enter without proper inspection.”

“Wow! You hurt my feelings!”

Being short has always been a disadvantage. I wish I’d grown taller already! Like, where the hell is my growth spurt?! I’m already 12!

“Could I please examine your IDs?”

He faked a cough.

“Here. I forgot to bring her’s.”

I didn’t think we’d bump into a guard who doesn’t recognize me. Can’t help it. I passed him mine.

“…”

Eun-chan looked like she was staring at an idiot. Well, my bad for forgetting.

“What do I do now?”

Eun-chan asked.

“Do you allow her to enter? It’s only for a while.”

“I’m sorry. Not permitted.”

“Ugh… then Eun-chan you wait out here while…”

I was just about to consider having Eun-chan leave first when…

“Oi! Black chibi, how dare you show your face here again!”

“Hah! It’s Monkey Face!”

Sergeant Ng HouZi, my ‘nemesis’ called me out.

He had a face like an ogre, and bulging muscles that of a buffalo. You could almost see his abs through his uniform.

He’s my ‘nemesis’ for numerous reasons. The main one came from an incident we had in the past where he tried to one-up me in a CQC duel. He was jealous of the fact that I was First Sergeant Hai’s number one daughter.

I completely wrecked him.

“Sergeant Ng.”

The guard saluted.

“Good work catching this fool. So, what are they here for? Bringing contrabands again?”

“No way! This is Akane-san’s new weapon prototype!”

“Bullshit. Since you’re holding onto illegal items, we’ll have to examine them. Private Kho, let them in. I’ll take it from here.”

“Yes… Sergeant?”

Our path hath been secured. Yes!

“Does that mean I’m allowed to enter too?”

Eun-chan pointed at herself.

“I can bring my family together with me right?”

“Family?”

Monkey Face frowned. He then looked at Eun-chan.

“Doesn’t matter. Both of you have to be checked for contraband items.”

“So he says. Let’s go Eun-chan!”

“Yes…?”

Leaving the confused guard behind we continued ahead. Eun-chan looked nervous so I held her hand.

And then she tried to shake it off but… I ain’t letting go. Now she just looked plain awkward. Well, at least her expression wasn’t horrid like earlier.

“Black chibi, what prototype are those?”

Monkey Face asked.

“Special PP-grenades that have the capacity to cause permanent damage to the demonica’s central nervous system.”

“Permanent damage you say? Interesting tech the lab came up with. We’ll see if it can handle Whale-classes just as well.”

“Dunno. I’m simply passing a loot box from the lab to the testing facility.”

“This way.”

“…? I thought we were going to the dormitories?”

“Like I said, it’s contraband, didn’t I? The boss has the right to inspect what you brought into the army.”

“What?”

The journey to the major’s office was a long and winding one. I don’t think I remember the path back.

He pushed right into the headquarters without knocking.

Inside were multiple other rooms, he walked towards the one which had the door half open.

From the gap was a girl with ashen hair. He knocked on the door to catch her attention.

“Boss. The guest you’ve been expecting.”

She raised her head.

I felt the hand grabbing mine tighten.

By chance, I looked at Eun-chan’s face.

It was completely drained of colour.

…What?

◃⊰⊱⊹. ⊹⌖Ω ⩏⊹ϑ ⊰⊱▹

“This is the new prototype?”

“Yup. Akane-san said to let Nana-san and TaeHyun-san use them. So could you help me bring this to their dormitory?”

Major Shen GohJi. Or as she would prefer: Major Wang GohJi.

Long ash-white hair, deep purple eyes. There was a scar which ran from her forehead down to her cheeks. Fortunately, the eye itself was uninjured.

She, The Lionfish, was the one in charge of New Hangul’s SGC.

Holding the bombs in one hand, she traced the metallic frame with the other.

I’ve not held it, but from a glance, I reckon it was much denser for its smaller size. The loop of the pin had been made slightly bigger for easier pulling, and a special black colour code had been painted on its body.

“The instructions here say otherwise. Are you sure you don’t want to let me decide how they should be used? If you give the word, I’ll ensure higher accuracy of the data in exchange.”

“Maah. I don’t know about that.”

Major Shen was waving the envelope contained within the containers. Akane-san hadn’t said anything about letting anyone else do the testing.

In fact, this was the first time Major took interest in my visits. Normally she’d simply ignore the fact that I brought weapon prototypes for a single ‘love letter’.

“I was told to pass the container to those two. So I don’t know if it would be wise of me to decide without consent from the original owner.”

“What a pity. Then it seems I can only confiscate this for my own use.”

“Don’t blame me if the lab manager comes knocking on your door.”

“Oh, I’ll hold you completely responsible for this.”

“I’m leaving the testing to you. Just give Cadet Nana and Cadet TaeHyun a heads-up. Do you know where they’re posted currently?”

“Is there any reason for you to know?”

“Obviously. I’m their boss.”

She frowned. Seems she didn’t seem to like the way I phrased the joke.

“Just curious. If not then it’s alright.”

“Ask around later. I’m not the one in charge of the duty rosters.”

She leaned back against her armchair.

“Enough of that. So, how was it?”

How was ‘it’?

What is ‘it’?

“How was what?”

“Killing that accursed girl.”

…Oh.

Slightly suspicious of her intentions, I answer carefully.

“I suppose it wasn’t the most pleasant thing I’ve done. I don’t regret it though.”

“Right. Right. That girl deserved to die, you shouldn’t feel bad about taking a life which shouldn’t have existed.”

With her personality, I doubt she’d even permit First Sergeant Hai to talk to her without a letter of notice. Why now of all times did she invite me personally into her office? It dawned upon me.

“Okay…?”

“How was she at the end of her life?”

“Is there any particular reason you want to know?”

“When both my son and daughter died by her hands, how could I not be glad she is gone?”

She wasn’t directly involved in killing EunHa, but she was someone who advocated for her death. She was a victim of the ‘curse’ EunHa had been endowed with.

“Did that girl regret it?”

A maddening flame consumed her once indifferent gaze.

“She regretted it completely.”

I’m not lying. It’s simply an issue of context.

“Excellent. I thank you for ending her life. Though I must ask if it’s true that… you’ve left your post?”

“I have.”

“I don’t know the details, but I hear you would be spending your time in New Hangul for a relative duration. What caused a change of heart? And here I thought you’d be your papa’s daughter for life.”

“I’m still his daughter even after leaving the nest!”

She chuckled dourly at my complaint.

“Well. I came here to help out with Ms. Lili’s family.”

“In that case, do you have any interest in joining the SGC? I’m sure I could assign you a good position.”

“No thank you.”

“Aren’t you quite the stubborn one?”

“Do you think we’d even work well together?”

“How would you know without trying?”

“Still, no thank you. It’s not my intention to get another job.”

She didn’t respond, only silently turning towards the half-open door.

“That girl earlier. Is she another one of your investments?”

“…Don’t just call her an investment.”

I glared at her.

“Well, I hope you take care of her well. Don’t let innocent people die… like how my family did.”

“If it’s not too much to ask… what exactly happened to them?”

“The dead don’t speak.”

She turned the back of her chair against me, prompting her desire not to continue the conversation.

The dead don’t speak huh?

“Fine. Anything else you would like to add before I hop on out?”

“I’ll assume you didn’t bring anything else unnecessary. Take your belongings and leave.”

Folding the letter of permission and tucking it into the desk, she prompted me to take the three containers out.

◤◢

Fortunately, Eun-chan went far far away before I began the conversation with Major Shen. That authoritarian seems to hold a deep grudge against her.

I found Monkey Face and Eun-chan talking in the nearby field. The contents of the conversation were unknown, but from the looks of their expression, it must be something sentimental.

“Oh, Rize-chan, you’re done?”

“Major Shen said these have completed the clearance. The bombs are ready to enter the dormitory.”

I said, shaking the containers. EunHa quickly helped me carry two of the three.

“Did the boss really say such a thing?”

Monkey Face was suspicious.

“Yup. Otherwise, why would I be holding them right now?”

“Damn black chibi.”

“Sergeant Ng, what exactly happened between you two to… end up like this?”

“Oh, that’s because he…”

“Shut your trap black hair. Say one more word and I’ll pull your tongue out of your jaw.”

“That’s if you can.”

I stuck out my tongue. His eyebrows twitched visible.

“Take care of your damn half-sister’s attitude. Next time I see her here, I want her better behaved.”

“…”

Eun-chan looked alternately between him and me with an awkward look. The Monkey dare give a command to my daughter?!

◤◢

It seems Nana-chan and TaeHyun-kun were both busy as they weren’t in the dormitory. Monkey Face said that they were in charge of guarding the parameters of the northern forestside this week.

He wasn’t their direct superior, so he couldn’t tell me how they were doing exactly. But, he did say that there hadn’t been any major issues with their performance so far.

The two were working hard.

I’ll be sure to compliment them a bunch when I see them next time. By the time Eun-chan and I left the barracks, it was already sundown.

“That was Major Wang, wasn’t it?”

We walked a certain distance, our shadows overlapping, when Eun-chan asked.

“Do you know her?”

I asked back.

Her current expression was neither bad nor good.

I couldn’t really tell if she was alright, or in need of help. An eerie smirk crawled up her lips.

“Rize-chan… they won’t just die all of a sudden, right?”

Her voice trembled as she spoke.

“SuBin… ChaDong… they won’t suddenly just die tomorrow just because I flew a little bit, right…?”

I didn’t know what had happened in the past that caused this line of thought. However,

“They won’t.”

As far as I’ve seen, while her ability does attract the notice of demonica, it isn’t the root of the ‘curse’.

“If you’re concerned, how about we visit them again right now?”

“…Could we?”

She really was concerned.

“Yes.”

I can’t leave her in such an anxious state.

She squeezed a tear as a whimper leaked from her bitten lips.

“Thank you…”

Just what had happened in her past…? I was curious.

But, until she felt safe enough to tell me, I’ll hold back on questioning.

I believe that the wait wouldn’t be too long.

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

Akane-san was enjoying the evening scenery in the herb garden. When she saw us, she stood up from the bench.

“How was it?”

She had been waiting for us all this time huh?

“It’s all well and fine. Right Eun-chan?”

“R-Right…”

Sounding slightly embarrassed, Eun-chan simply nodded.

We dropped by Mr. Hyeon’s place again before returning. Nothing disastrous happened to SuBin or ChaDong. Both of them happened to be playing with each other while Mr. Hyeon lazed on the couch.

Our second visit was sudden, so when I told him why, Mr. Hyeon laughed.

“That took longer than expected. I became a little worried there.”

“I managed to pass the samples to Nana-chan and TaeHyun-kun, but along the way, Major Shen, the superior of New Hangul’s SGC took me aside to have a chat.”

“That’s surprising. What did she say?”

“Asked if I would join the SGC-2. I declined of course.”

Akane-san nodded satisfactorily.

“By the way, is DaHong-san still in the kitchen?”

“He still is. I haven’t eaten dinner yet, and I’m guessing the same goes for the two of you?”

“Yup. I’m going to have him make kimbap or something.”

“I’m not having that. I hate gochujang.”

“Then just order something. What about you Eun-chan? What do you think you’d want to eat?”

“Mn…”

She pondered with a finger placed to her lips. It made for quite a cute sight.

“I want grilled teriyaki unagi.”

◤◢

“Eun-chan, here, here.”

Ms. YiChen reserved a seat for my daughter.

I showed a nod, she moved over to the seat.

It was closing time, and we’d typically have what we call a closing meal. Looks like the only ones staying back for dinner were Ms. YiChen and Chow-san. Which… was a little bit unusual, was it because the others were intimidated by me?

“They don’t normally leave early right?”

I asked DaHong-san as I donned the apron and tied up my hair.

“They all have their own things they need to mind back home. It happens every so often.”

“Not because you’re a scary boss right?”

“Don’t jinx it.”

“I’m joking.”

◃⊰⊱ϑ⊹ ⨞⋅⫝⫘⌖ ⊹⊹⊰⊱▹

Akane stared at EiYun as she slowly sipped on her cold black tea.

Long, curly brunette hair, round cheeks, gentle blue eyes and a pair of glasses Akane couldn’t tell were fake or real.

She was talking with YiChen about the day’s events. And YiChen was being surprisingly considerate of this girl whom she met only a week ago. Her kind personality was a nice pairing with her always shining smile.

Unlike her.

No matter how hard she tried to dismiss EunHa as just ‘someone special’, she couldn’t get her mind over the sight of the demonised koi reaching out to bite the girl’s finger.

Spending the whole day testing out tens of hundreds of possible hypotheses, she couldn’t replicate that same behaviour using regular, or even modified prana crystals. The koi would either react in too much of an extreme manner or not bother with the sample she held up before them.

Rize was a God’s Emissary, so it explained the weird magical phenomena she could execute. Which, itself could be a potential study into the field of thaumaturgy, but, it wasn’t something Akane had much interest in as it implied heavily on scientific philosophy.

EiYun however was different.

A God’s Emissary with a unique power to affect prana.

And not only that but also… the demonica.

If she wasn’t a special existence, there would not have been any reason for Rize to keep EiYun under such close supervision.

Akane could tell that EiYun was trying to act normal when in truth, she was struggling to adapt.

“EiYun-san, do you mind if I ask?”

“Yes?”

“Where did you and Rize-chan first meet?”

“…”

Again she asked.

But unlike last time, she was in front of an audience. There was no way for her to evade the question.

Akane had unwittingly caught the tail of the world’s biggest ploy.

◤◢

While Eun-chan was biting her lips, Akane-san was wearing a subtly suspicious smile. What is this?

“What’s going on?”

I set down the food I made on the table.

“Rize-chan. If you don’t mind, could you let us know where you and Eun-chan first met? You see, both YiChen and I are quite curious.”

Akane-san turned to me with begging eyes.

What the… suspicious, suspicious. Why would she want to know that?

“What did she tell you guys then?”

“She refused to disclose.”

“Then I won’t be telling you anything either.”

“Why?”

Ms. YiChen asked, puzzled.

“It’s probably sensitive information.”

Looks like Chow-san was on my side. Yeah!

“If you knew where I found her from, we might end up in big trouble.”

I quipped.

“Is that so?

Ms. YiChen turned to look at Eun-chan slowly.

“Yup. So to keep everyone safe, it’s better to not ask about our identities too much. All you need to know is that Eun-chan is my daughter.”

“Mn…”

Akane-san looked dissatisfied, balancing a fork on her puckered lips.

DaHong-san soon came out with Akane-san, Chow-san, and his own dinner. We split the cooking duties.

Eun-chan had teriyaki unagi don. Ms. YiChen’s was crispy fish in sweet, sour, spicy gravy with rice. Mine was a mini kimbap missing carrots.

DaHong-san made udon for himself. Akane-san had egg salad, and Chow-san went with a big bowl of kimchi stew and rice.

As for drinks we had black tea, warm or cold depending on personal preference.

“How was work day? Busy?”

I asked.

“Yeah.”

“So-so.”

“I think everyone managed well.”

The three restaurant members each had different responses. But it was generally positive.

“How about you two? What did you do outside today?”

Chow-san asked.

“We… went to visit Mr. Kim Hyeon’s home.”

“Kim Hyeon? You mean Sergeant Chu’s husband?”

“Yup.”

“Oh right, I remembered you telling us that just two days ago.”

“Yup, yup. And then because Akane-san had a new weapon prototype, we had to travel all the way to the barracks to pass it to Nana-chan and TaeHyun-kun.”

“How are they?”

“Well, they weren’t in, but from Sergeant Ng’s testimony, they seem to be doing well. It won’t be long before they return for a big break.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“I’ll never understand why that girl wants to be a soldier.”

DaHong-san was referring to Nana-san. In fact, I too vibe with his statement. Nana-san is such a sweet girl, I was worried it would be hard on her.

Though, you could never underestimate the power of dreams can you now?

“How about you Akane-san? What did you do today?”

“Nothing much. I stayed at home doing a bunch of personal research.”

“Oh? What kind of project are you working on right now?”

A workaholic even when she’s away from the office.

“I was trying to find a correlation between the density of prana’s static kinetic output to a demonica’s hyperreactivity state.”

Okay… a fancy way to determine the effects of prana density on a demonica’s sense of attraction.

Wait.

“You’re doing that at home?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with that?”

“Let me rephrase. You’re researching demonica in the house?”

“Ah…”

She seemed to have realised her slip-up.

“Akane-san…”

“Y-You said that you met the major right? How was she…”

Ignoring her attempt to change the topic, I looked at her (possible) accomplice.

“Did you know about this, DaHong-san?”

“She’s a scientist, isn’t it normal for her to bring some dangerous things into the home?”

Geh. I can’t disagree with that statement there.

“N-No. I assure you it’s super safe. I’ve taken multiple precautionary steps to ensure that there won’t be an outbreak…”

“Then I’ll just have to see for myself what kind of demonica you brought back home.”

As the landlord, I think it was time to conduct the long-awaited room inspections!

“I swear it’s nothing dangerous!”

“I’ll break into your room right this evening! You better prepare yourself!”

With both cheeks going round and round, Ms. YiChen, Mr. Chow and Eun-chan silently watched as chaos unfolded.

◃⊰⊱⊹. ⊹⌖Ω ⩏⊹ϑ ⊰⊱▹

During dinner, I got this ingenious idea of ransacking all the residence’s rooms. That included not only Akane-san’s room, but also DaHong-san’s.

I was hoping to find porn lying around… to think he had nothing like that. What a boring fellow.

Anyway, I looked around Akane-san’s room which I hadn’t seen in a long time.

There were so many additions to her laboratory. Like that fish tank and the special cabinet where she displayed the prana crystals I gave her.

“Why are you keeping Crazy Koi?”

“…I told you it isn’t dangerous alright?”

Even though Crazy Koi were categorised under minor demonica, they still had the potential to infect other larger organisms. Not by biting them, but by being eaten.

“If they ever run loose, I’m calling SGC on you okay?”

If the authorities found out that there was someone illegally keeping demonica as a pet, my house would be done for. Normally, to keep any sort of demonica, a special facility had to be approved by the island-state governor.

“I have a licence. You should trust me enough right?”

“Seriously, seriously don’t accidentally release them alright?”

There were only 4 Crazy Koi in the tank, so it shouldn’t be too hard to deal with if they got loose. I’m simply concerned for the 20 other normal koi that didn’t seem to find their demonised friends a threat.

“Where is your bed?”

“Oh, I didn’t think I needed it. A futon is enough since I spend most of my time in the basement anyways.”

When did she suddenly decide to live in the basement?

“You know, for days when I can’t stop my mad experiments.”

“Just be careful to not drink too much coffee. That’ll kill you for sure.”

“I hate coffee.”

“Then tea.”

Both were caffeinated beverages.

“Not a chance. I can’t stay awake without caffeine.”

“Then go to sleep. You don’t want to die young, trust me.”

“Then help me with my experiments.”

“No thank you. You should be the one helping me with my experiments. I’m the lord, you’re the baron.”

“How unfair.”

“Then I’ll take away the prana crystals.”

“Ah! No, please! Anything but that!”

In the end, Akane-san couldn’t deny the fact that she was bound to me.

“Anyways, what have the results of the experiments been like so far? Did you find anything interesting?”

“I did. They don’t seem to be reacting to prana cores the way I initially thought they would. There weren’t many people studying this, so it was hard to find research papers about the topic. Although prana density makes up for a large percentage of the attraction value, I realised that it alone isn’t the singular factor that decides what a demonica prioritises as a target.”

“Oh. That sure is interesting.”

It made much more sense when put that way. Had the theory been absolute, the Hive that raided Fortress 13 would’ve focused more on securing the prana core than killing humans.

“Which made me wonder, what exactly do these demons want?”

“Want?”

“They gather around a queen, and the queen gives out commands, which causes the demonica to act in certain patterns. That command… could it be electromagnetic waves? Sound waves? Or matters waves that the demonica responds to? And is this ‘something’ also being emitted by prana crystals?”

I roughly grasped how understanding this mystery could help improve current military strategies to subjugate Hives.

The two biggest weaknesses of demonica which scientists have discovered to date were a specific frequency of prana shockwave, and high voltage electricity. Both of which target the bioprana system within the demonica themselves.

The prana shockwaves temporarily render their ability of flight useless. This was good for small or medium-sized demonica, but ineffective against larger ones.

Meanwhile, high voltage completely sends prana into overdrive, essentially killing the organism’s prana organ. The problem however was that the electricity could potentially harm us humans too if not carefully used.

If Akane-san could distil down the ‘holy grails’ that the demonica chases after in order, it would make it possible to intercept their command line, or predict their movements with much more precision.

“Akane-san, keep researching this.”

“…Huh?”

“This project you’re working on could potentially revolutionise the way we fight the Hives. The priority of what a demonica follows, and a method to intercept it—if you can find a correlation, it would save many, many lives.”

“Oh. I didn’t think of that at all.”

Like how one invents antibiotics from an accident during the study of bacteria. Akane-san had just stumbled into such a territory.

I wasn’t sure why no other biologists had thought to study something so important. Either way, since we have a biologist here aware, I suppose she’s obligated to start it now. If Akane-san doesn’t do it after this, I might do it on her behalf.

“But it’s troubling you know.”

Akane-san placed her hands on her face and made a squeamishly pitiful expression.

“Someone said that it’s dangerous to keep demonica in the residence. What should I do?”

“Fine! Fine! You get to keep the demonica! Just be careful not to let them loose.”

Akane-san responded with a sly chuckle.

“Of course, I will take the utmost precaution, my landlord.”

Akane-san had a mischievous side to her too.

“Also.”

I felt my motherly instincts kick into gear.

“To even begin the experiment, I would need the source of the experiment’s inspiration.”

“The source…? And what could that be?”

Akane-san simply raised a smile. I figured out why in that instant I felt alarms going off in my head.

She was referring to Eun-chan.

She must’ve discovered something about her ability to fly—a human being with a prana organ. But what has that got to do with factors that affect a demonica’s attention?

“Why does she need to be involved? In what way do you intend to use her?”

I was vigilant, worried that Akane-san would force Eun-chan to do something ridiculous even with my consent.

“That girl you brought here with you. She’s not an orphan, isn’t she now?”

“Anyone could tell as much. Just get to the point.”

“I simply need her to touch the tank wall.”

“Touch the tank wall?”

“If you don’t plan to disclose how you two met, that’s fine. Just tell me one thing, Rize-chan. EiYun-san, that girl, she’s a God’s Emissary just like you, isn’t she?”

EiYun? A God’s Emissary?

I couldn’t say yes, nor could I say no. Yes would mean I lied, no would make her question Eun-chan’s identity further.

“I think you know the answer better than I do.”

So I simply gave Akane-san the right to choose which answer she desired.

Akane-san looked like she was on the verge of losing her mind.

“We really live in a small world.”

“…Not really. I think Second Eden is pretty big at least.”

A fraction the size of Earth, but still quite expansive. Akane-san chuckled.

“Don’t worry. I won’t try to put her in any harm. All I need her to do is use her weird magic to draw the attention of the demonica. She’ll be my scale for now.”

“No, what? Can’t you do it without her weird magic? I mean, just compare their reaction between a stone and some other factor, can’t you?”

Akane-san shook her head.

“You don’t understand do you?”

No. I don’t.

“I didn’t research this with the intention of figuring out what the demonica are attracted to.”

“Then what were you researching?”

I was getting closer to the truth.

Akane-san was weird in ways that I could empathise with. As her counsel in research, she had never deceived me with her interests.

“Hadn’t you realised by now that her magic could be acting as a queen-like existence to the demonica?”

“…What?”

A queen-like existence…?

“She told me that she easily attracted the attention of demonica. Not just these small ones, but entire Hives.”

How did Akane-san get hold of such a ridiculous theory in such a short time? And, when did Eun-chan tell Akane-san something like that? But Eun-chan was human though? Shouldn’t they be trying to kill her? No.

Why was she afraid of flying? If she was right, and EiYun was a sort of queen, then…

In the first place, the demonica hadn’t been passive. I witnessed it myself. That day I broke my arm to save her from that Bloodfin Orca. The demonica hadn’t been trying to protect her, it… was trying to do something else.

If Akane-san could draw on a hypothesis, I could layer my own on top of it..

Wouldn’t that explain why she had been experiencing all these misfortunes? More specifically, I was talking about having survived battles against demonica she should’ve died in.

It was just a thought but perhaps.

Just perhaps…

What if a human could turn into a demon?

It was an absurd thought for anyone who knew the common sense of this world. But I who have been to three would know that nothing was too ridiculous to prove impossible.

And…

Could this be the reason why the War Saint wanted Eun-chan dead?

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

It was night.

Having just taken my shower, I came into the bedroom rubbing my still-wet hair with a fluffy towel.

I felt a nice cold breeze blow through.

The veranda’s window was open. Eun-chan was sitting on one of the chairs, looking towards the night view while stroking Cinnamon’s head in her hand. The capital of New Hangul created a small cascade of glittering, bustling lights that reached the skies and merged with the stars of the galaxies.

She turned to me.

“Mom.”

It was only when she was in this room, just the two of us together, that she’d refer to me in that manner.

Not that I disliked it. I was simply grateful for her consideration.

“Any particular reason why you look so sentimental?”

Being sentimental was better than being suicidal. Eun-chan had made significant progress in the past few weeks.

“I was thinking about Hyeon-ssi’s words and… about the major.”

“The major? Oh right, you went pale when you saw her right?”

Eun-chan let Cinnamon go, he snapped a few times and took his throne on her head. She didn’t mind his peculiarly annoying actions and came in.

She sat on the soft cushion.

“The major’s children… Sergeant Wang, and… Ayumi…”

Her voice choked up as she struggled to speak.

“Both of them… died before my very eyes. She… knows that.”

I silently urged her to go on with a nod.

“I… know I promised in Ms. Chu’s name… to stay alive, but it’s hard when I… still don’t know if I deserve to live. I don’t know… about the future, what if I cause another disaster like the one at Fortress 13 and lead to people’s death? What if because of me you… you…”

Die.

A disaster upon disaster. In fact, wasn’t I the disaster magnet here? If Eun-chan was a disaster magnet attracted to me who was also one, wouldn’t the next disaster that occurs be double the trouble?

“You know we can’t predict the future can you now?”

“Yes…”

“Then it’s honestly pointless to worry. Saying it is easier than practice, but in my hundred years of experience, I know its truth. As you know, I put people’s happiness above all, and sometimes that happiness comes with a price.”

That price is death.

They say the heart is the most selfish organ in the body. It takes the best blood for itself, leaving the rest for the other organs.

“Ms. Lili’s death was an unfortunate incident, and I clearly took my anger too far on you. I wouldn’t say that we’re all sane all the time, just, you know, people dying, or humanity ending… what does it matter?”

However, if the body lost the heart, everything else would die alongside it.

“We’re but small, inconsequential existences in this infinite pool of quantum jelly and electromagnetic waves. So enjoy the pain and sorrow while it lasts.”

I see myself as that heart. I am selfish, but I think it’s a necessary condition to fulfil my life.

“I can’t change the way you view the world overnight, nor can I take away your suffering without going through years of self-discovery and self-reflection. But what I can tell you is this.”

Because without first owning everything I need, I wouldn’t be able to help those around me.

“So as long I’m alive, I swear in every way possible, I’ll take care of you as my daughter. Bit by bit, we’ll overcome these hurdles together.”

At those words, the thought that I would actually die before Eun-chan crossed my mind. What would happen then?

Well, who knows. I’m simply doing what I think is best for my best-ever life.

As I sobered up to my cool speech, I found myself hugging Eun-chan. She wasn’t crying, but her tight embrace told me everything I needed to know.

“Anyways. Eun-chan, can I ask you something?”

“Yes? Ask what?”

She let go and looked at me confused. It was cute.

“You said you could fly because you are a half-human, half-marine-kind of lifeform right? Then is there a possibility that maybe you could become a demon, or more specifically, a queen.”

Eun-chan blinked a couple times.

“Did… XiaoLe tell you that?”

“Huh? No. Akane-san and I theorized about it.”

Eun-chan bit her lips. That gave me enough information to piece together some parts of the puzzle.

“So I was right. XiaoLe-tan knows about you becoming a demon in the future.”

I said. She nodded meekly.

“…And for that reason, you were sent for execution?”

She nodded again.

“You silly fool.”

I hugged her again.

“Well, you were lucky that I was there. Now we can sort out this problem together. So, can you tell me what you know about the future so I can get a clear picture of what we’re dealing with here? What did XiaoLe-tan tell you about being a demon? How did it happen? Were you hot and sexy? Did you grow a horn?”

“…”

I wasn’t sure if her silence was due to distress, or simply speechless.

If my daughter could become a sexy demon, I’d love to see her in that form.

◃⊰⊱. ϕ⊹ ⋈⊶⌖⊹⊰⊱▹

◬ Origin Year 138, 9th of Yǔ.

War was a place where people died.

“Mom! But I…”

“Don’t you dare fucking decide when you don’t know anything about the world!”

“Mom! I don’t want to die! I can’t fight I…”

The loss of a family and friends.

And ultimately, a part of oneself.

The loss that can’t be accepted becomes corruption, and this corruption spreads throughout.

Within communities, within families.

Soon, it causes a breakdown.

“We all promised him that one of you would live up to his honour!”

A kind, loving tender mother gone mad from the death of her husband.

Betrayal, and abandonment. Her husband’s sacrifice had been twisted into a false tale of deceit and crime.

“And brother died because of that!”

A daughter who wanted to deny her fate.

The mother… Shen GohJi grabbed her daughter by the shoulder.

In tears…

“Ayumi… Ayumi please… just this once… listen to your mother. You must… you must become a great, great general. Father wanted that for you, he loved you all so much…”

The girl, her daughter clenched her fist and bit her tongue.

She hated it. She hated how broken her family had become.

First her father, now her brother. Was she going to be next?

Did her mother want her to die? Did her mother not love her?

Such thoughts must’ve crossed Wang Ayumi’s mind.

But the mother wouldn’t be able to tell now that her daughter had passed.

Major Shen didn’t know. She didn’t know a thing.

Why her husband whom she loved so much could be framed for something he didn’t do.

Why she, her home, her reputation, her friends, her life—to forgo it all just to compensate for an unjust crime.

Why her son and daughter had to die in battle so young when that bitch survived.

Smoke left her mouth, the cigarette in her hands dimly lit under the moonlight.

Many years had passed since she lost her last family. And in those years of grief, she resolved herself to avenge the ones that had caused their deaths.

On her balcony office which overlooked the quiet field, she chuckled.

She crushed the cigarette in the ashtray. Picking up the document beside her to… read it again.

And again.

…And again.

It told her of her first victory. A revenge ploy she barely played a part in.

The monster who brought the death of her only two children. In the documents about that one person… Hwang EunHa.

She was finally dead.