Chapter 271. We're Friends, Right? (2)
[Yes, Mr. Kim Giryeo. I have set the alarm for 7 AM tomorrow. It will ring in 18 hours.]
Soon, Seonwoo Yeon's expression grew serious. That wasn't the reaction I was aiming for. I had tossed the joke hoping to lighten the mood, but sohow it only made the atmosphere sink even further. Was it still too early for alien species to share humor?
"Just so you don't worry because of our planet's level of technology—I'll say this in advance, there's no chance of another Alphaurin coming to Earth."
"Yes?"
"Here's one hint. Before I died, I used an enormous-scale magic that crossed intergalactic distances. And that too... from a planet suffering from resource depletion."
Tracking from my ho planet was a risk worth being wary of, but there was a reason I could still feel this at ease. As we spoke, I occasionally mimicked a smile, trying to ease Seonwoo Yeon's tension.
"They're probably in total chaos over my reincarnation right now. It'll take their top scholars at least a few months of nonstop work just to prevent total extinction of their species. Even if there were a mage desperate to co after ... by the numbers, they simply don't have the fuel to waste anymore."
But within seconds, the muscles in my face returned to a natural, almost expressionless state.
"It's a sha to steal the energy that my compatriots were saving so frugally. Except for that engineer, there weren't any more altruistic people, so what's the big deal?"
I had already used up too much magic between conversations, so wasting more on things like controlling facial expressions just wasn't worth it.
"Besides, even in such a technologically advanced world, the people back ho can't extract any proper information from the brain I left behind."
Hmm.
I took a breath as naturally as I could, trying not to reveal that I was out of mana. Now that I had completed the necessary spell and gotten through the worst of the crisis, I had more ti than I needed—so I let myself say so of the things I had vaguely wanted to.
"What do you think the components of the soul are, Seonwoo Yeon-ssi?"
The woman sitting there quietly is an Earthling. Co to think of it, even if I asked the sa question, her perspective might offer a different opinion. Since I've already revealed my secret, talking more with an alien probably wouldn't turn out to be a bad experience.
"Actually, I don't know the exact truth myself yet."
"_ _"
"But at the very least, I've found out that the soul is a mixture of the material and the immaterial."
"_ _"
"Just as you can't talk about the self without mories, mories play a very important role in this concept of the soul. So the chances of the Alphaurins stealing my reincarnation magic? None at all."
"_ _"
"One of the components is the material part, and by manipulating that, you can naturally handle the immaterial mories as well. When reincarnating, I scraped and collected every single particle of my soul without leaving even a trace, which ended up damaging the mories stored in the corpse. It was a way to indirectly bypass the constraints that were placed on my body."
"_ _"
"Well, honestly, the spiritual entities we imagined were roughly like that, so this phenonon isn't that surprising. It's like distinguishing between a child ghost and an adult ghost, even though it's the sa person. Honestly, when I was a kid, I thought it was funny. But once I started researching, I realized the soul really does get influenced by physical growth. Anyway, it's pretty fascinating."
Even after achieving the very first reincarnation, the concept of the soul still feels mysterious. Anyway, it's been ages since I've been able to express my curiosity this freely.
"I've spent almost my entire life studying, and yet there are still so many things left that feel this amazing..."
I felt completely relieved. Only after pouring out everything I wanted to say did I finally check the direction of my listener's gaze.
"Ah."
Until now, I had simply thought that Earthling's attentive listening was good. But looking again, Seonwoo Yeon was staring blankly into the void, clearly at a loss for what to do. Well, even I had never imagined eting an alien in person, so I could understand how bewildering this situation must be for her.
"I can't help but feel shocked."
I rolled my eyes briefly and reflected on my own actions. At the end of this contemplation, I decided to give Seonwoo Yeon a chance to speak as well. The question I asked her was actually a half genuine curiosity that welled up from my heart.
"By the way, since this is a good opportunity, is there anything you'd like to ask ?"
Seonwoo Yeon showed little reaction until I returned to my previous spot. But just as I plopped down into my seat, she finally began to speak cautiously.
Having realized the existence of an alien—sothing that usually only appears in science fiction—I naturally didn't expect her to say sothing like "I have no questions" or give a aningless reply.
"You want to ask sothing? Then... a na...?"
"What did you say?"
It was shocking. After a mont, Seonwoo Yeon, having pondered for quite so ti, chose her first question—not about powers or origins, but sothing else entirely. She asked what your na was. Since she knew you were just a wizard inhabiting Kim Giryeo's body, she thought that to distinguish your soul from the original, a new na or title would be necessary.
Seonwoo Yeon's question was completely different from what you had imagined.
Oh my god. Even after encountering the existence of a binary star system, the best she can worry about is sothing so trivial.
"Our thought processes are completely different!"
If I were in the sa situation—that is, sitting over there as an ignorant native—I would have asked at least 500 words' worth of questions. And of course, that wouldn't have been enough; I'd have gone on to interrogate about whether you breathe sulfuric acid, nitric acid, or so other substance.
"Co to think of it, maybe responding like Seonwoo Yeon instead of pestering with endless questions is the more genuinely way to go."
I drifted into a brief daydream but quickly snapped back to reality. After all, now was the mont to answer Seonwoo Yeon.
Let see. A na. A na, huh?
"Hmm."
Looking back, except for the late civilization, my hotown mostly used a system of double and single consonants. And double consonants require multiple sounds to be overlapped, so it's basically difficult for Earthlings to hear and pronounce. So most Alphaurins wouldn't be able to answer even such an easy question.
I was lucky. Fortunately, I'm a very old person, and when I was born, my social status was low, so my na was short and simple.
"Um... yes. I got it."
Swah.
What followed was the action of spreading the hand fully with the palm facing forward and extending it toward the other person—in other words, a handshake request in Earth style.
"Now that I think about it, I'm probably quite late in telling you this. I'm sorry. Then, let introduce myself again."
I produce a vibration from my mory, trying to imitate Kim Giryeo's vocal cords as closely as possible. Not so useless title like "First Magic Master," but my real na—spoken aloud for the first ti in decades.
"------Hello. My na is 'Lemming.'"
"_ _"
"From now on, I look forward to working with you. Now that we've properly introduced ourselves, we're friends, right?"
Seonwoo Yeon reacted sowhat bewildered. She seed a bit taken aback by the Alphaurin way of saying that once you share your real na politely, a friendship is officially ford. Still, she didn't seem displeased. On the contrary, if anything, she appeared a little excited.
"Uh, uh... yes, yep. I'll be counting on you from now on too..."
But it only took a few seconds for that awkwardly raised corner of her mouth to settle back into place.
"Ouch!"
After a mont, Seonwoo Yeon let out a sharp sound. The likely reason for her reaction was that right after the handshake, a sudden, mysterious prickling sensation had appeared on her palm.
"Static electricity in the sumr?"
Moreover, for just a mont, a blue light flashed through the palms that touched. Seonwoo Yeon tilted her head in puzzlent but soon thought of a common explanation.
But that's not the right answer. It's ti to correct my alien friend's understanding.
"Hunter Seonwoo Yeon."
"Yes."
"But you know, this is a secret, but I honestly really hate being called 'Lemming.'"
"Yeah."
"Now that I've forgotten all about the old days and started fresh, I want to drop my past-life na and be called only by an Earth-style na. Honestly, by this point, I've grown quite attached to the na Kim Giryeo. I really like how it sounds."
With a light tone, I brought up the topic. At first glance, it seed like a simple request to just keep being called Kim Giryeo from now on.
But the reality is.
"Ah, just so you know, these aren't requests—they're warnings."
"Yes?"
"When we shook hands just now, I cast a spell through your hand that would shatter your mind to pieces if you say the word 'Lemming.'"
The Earthling with the long straight hair drops what she was holding. It was a cheap heat-resistant cup.
"A spell that activates based on a specific trigger. Let's see, in your terms here, it would be called a curse 'skill,' right?"
Of course, I continued speaking without the slightest concern for whether her teacup rolled across the floor or not.
"And even if it's not specifically the two syllables 'Lemming,' if you carelessly let anyone else hear the secrets you've learned in this room, the sa fate will befall you."
Unlike when Justitia first appeared, now Seonwoo Yeon took over and began to break out in a cold sweat instead of the host. Though soone was deeply lost in thought, the actual conversation ti in this one-room apartnt was barely about 10 minutes, so for an Earthling, the situation could have been quite shocking. Even for an alien, to complete a curse that can blow soone's mind in the ti it takes to cook a single cup of instant noodles?
But this is how reality truly is. Now, there are no external constraints placed on a certain grand sorcerer.
"Would you like to share a useful piece of information with you?"
I rested my chin on my palm and looked at her. I fixed my posture like that and conveyed this ssage in Korean, the native language of this country.
"Seonwoo Yeon-ssi. When a mage suddenly starts rambling about their personal backstory... nine tis out of ten, it ans they're secretly stalling for spell-casting ti."
"_ _"
"This was considered common sense back in my hotown."
"_ _"
"Anyway, that's why when a sorcerer suddenly gets talkative, the right move isn't to just sit quietly like you did—it's to strike your opponent's throat imdiately."
Hahaha.
I laughed lightly as I said that.
"But now it's too late. I've also finished modifying the barrier conditions in this room, so from now on, Seonwoo Yeon-ssi, you won't be able to leave freely without my permission."
Clank.
At this mont, Seonwoo Yeon was holding onto Justitia's torso as if it were a rope, so the results were revealed.
Truth.
Truth.
Truth.
"If you're hoping for that damn scale's [Judgnt] effect, just give up. Can't you tell from how confident I am now?"
A genuine reaction followed. Anyway, it was a relief that the grueling ten minutes hadn't been wasted. How many centuries' worth of stories did I have to mutter just to outsmart that damn Justitia?
"Now, listen carefully. I'm an alien who could kill a low-rank B-rank hunter with just one finger. Resisting is absolutely useless! So from now on, you have to be extrely careful with your actions."
Clank.
The scale tipped firmly toward truth without wavering. One by one, signs appeared proving that the archmage's trick had successfully taken effect. Seeing that, Seonwoo Yeon, unaware of the truth, trembled with a pitiful expression. A few days ago, I might have deeply sympathized with such a kind-hearted person, but right now, I simply didn't have the luxury to cut her any slack.
"But surely you're not thinking this situation is unfair, are you?"
"U, unfair?"
"If you think about it, you're the one who ultimately trespassed into the mage's domain without permission."
While intimidating the archmage in front of to prevent any foolish resistance, I also took a gentle, soothing tone on the side. My ultimate goal wasn't to beco her enemy, but rather to win her over to my side.
"Whatever nonsense Kang Changho said, Seonwoo Yeon-ssi clearly got involved in our business of your own free will. Isn't that right?"
"Heuk..."
"So from now on, let's pay the price for that choice. I'm asking you to help this poor, unfortunate alien. But don't worry too much—honestly, I've actually thought quite well of you."
But before diving into the main topic, there was a brief question that crossed my mind.
"Unless you do sothing reckless first, I won't get angry. Really. I sincerely hope that my newly made friend gets out of this room safely, too, you know?"
A truly friendly remark wishing for her safe return ho. That line was definitely ant as a gentle carrot to ease the tension—so why has Seonwoo Yeon been shrinking back more and more, as if she's been whipped, ever since a little while ago?
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