[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 319

Yoo Dona dragged me to the front of the club room.

A cute signboard with “Hourglass” written on it dangled on the door.

“Here we are.”

*Click.*

Without waiting, Yoo Dona swung the club room door open.

The first thing that caught my eye as soon as the door opened was an assortment of experimental tools.

Among them were high-end experimental devices that looked like they’d cost hundreds of millions of won.

“How is it?”

Yoo Dona’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.

“Is this really the club room? It looks more like a lab.”

“Right? Come this way.”

Following Yoo Dona to the other side, the atmosphere instantly changed.

The fragrant scent of coffee wafted into my nose.

“This place is decorated like a café.”

“The pride of Hourglass, the break room.”

“It feels even better than the lab.”

“That’s a bit sad to hear.”

Both the research equipment and this place were way beyond what ordinary students could access.

“Take a seat. What drink would you like? Anything’s possible.”

“I’ll have orange juice.”

Baekseol and Danpung peeked out from my pocket.

“Sure!”

“Pit!”

“Could I also get a shot glass worth of apple juice and grape juice?”

As I pulled out a chair and sat down, the three companions who followed also took their seats.

“I’ll have coffee.”

“Senior, I’ll have coffee too.”

“I’ll also have coffee, please.”

Yoo Dona, who had walked into the open kitchen and tied on an apron, smiled.

“Such a colorful order. I’ll get it ready in no time.”

Just the café equipment in the kitchen alone probably cost tens of millions of won.

Looking at all this, I finally realized this was Wisdom Academy.

“Ugh.”

Noa groaned and flopped onto the table.

The other two also looked exhausted.

“You must be tired after training. Should’ve gone to wash up and rest.”

“I got curious about the club and followed you.”

At Shin Yong’s words, the other two nodded.

They didn’t look curious at all.

It seemed like they were just worried I’d joined some shady place and followed to make sure I was okay.

Originally, all three of them were swordsmen aiming for the Swordsmanship Department. They had no connection to a place like this.

“Thanks for coming even though you’re tired.”

“I don’t abandon my comrades.”

Daechul suddenly acted all serious.

“Can you say that in front of a monster next time?”

“I’ll do it next time.”

“Alright. Then I’ll tell you to leave me behind and go first.”

“That’s our Supporter for you.”

*Crunch, crunch.*

“Pit.”

Danpung, sitting on the table, peeled a sunflower seed and handed me the kernel.

“Ahh.”

I opened my mouth, and it popped right in.

“Mmm, delicious. Thanks.”

“Pit-it.”

As I patted Danpung, it wagged its tail slowly while looking at me.

“Is that the one you summoned after we left?”

“Yeah. This is Danpung.”

“It really likes you.”

“It’s just a sweet little thing.”

“Oh, really?”

Kim Chan-yong, sitting across from me, reached his hand toward Danpung.

*Zap—!*

“Yikes!”

Kim Chan-yong quickly pulled his hand back.

“Hey, you said it was sweet. Why’s it shooting electricity?”

“Huh? Danpung, are you feeling off?”

“Pii— Pit-it.”

“Ah, I see.”

As I patted Danpung again, it stretched out.

“What’s going on? Why’d it do that?”

“It thought you were reaching for me. It’ll be fine after you greet it.”

“I see. Hi, Danpung. I’m Kim Chan-yong, a friend of Ga-eul.”

“Pit-it.”

Danpung wagged its tail while looking at Kim Chan-yong.

It’s just sensitive when it comes to me. It’s not like it hates people.

It got along with Yu Bit-na after greeting her, so it shouldn’t be a big issue.

“Is it okay now?”

Kim Chan-yong cautiously…

A hand reaches out for a moment.

“Pfft.”

Pong.

Maple lightly taps Kim Chan-yong’s hand with her tail.

“Oh, she accepted it.”

“If you get used to her face, she won’t do that anymore.”

“True.”

Seeing this, Shin Yong also sticks out his finger.

“I’m Shin Yong. I’m friends with Han Ga-eul.”

“Pfft.”

Pong.

“Impressive.”

After the greetings, their gaze turns to Noa.

“Uh…”

Noa, feeling the stares, hesitates but eventually reaches out her hand.

“I’m Noa Taylor, and I’m friends with Ga-eul.”

“Argh!”

Zap—!

Noa quickly pulls her hand back and gives a bitter smile.

“She doesn’t seem to like me much.”

“Argh—”

“Huh? Maple, it’s okay. You’re not a tiger.”

After calming Maple down with some pats, she finally starts to relax.

Baekseol didn’t like her either, and now Maple’s acting like this.

“Pfft.”

Meanwhile, Yoo Dona approaches with a tray.

“Drinks are here.”

Yoo Dona hands coffee to the trio and places a drink in front of me.

One large drink cup and two soju glasses.

Since I said it was as small as a soju glass, she actually poured the drink into a soju glass.

“Why are there soju glasses in the lab?”

“Haha…”

Yoo Dona gives an awkward laugh and sits down.

The soju glasses are too deep for the two of them to drink from easily.

I open a space and pull out small bowls and some fried potato chips, making Yoo Dona’s eyes widen.

“Let’s have a snack.”

“Great!”

“Pfft.”

Baekseol likes apple juice, and Maple likes grape juice.

Honestly, they’ll eat anything, but even these little ones have their preferences.

Baekseol has been fond of apple juice ever since she had it in Dubai.

The first experience always sticks with you.

“You really just casually open a space? I didn’t believe it when I only heard about it.”

“It’s not my power; it’s a gift.”

“A gift?”

Yoo Dona’s eyes sparkle with surprise.

Just looking at her is exhausting.

“There’s a lot about the tower and stuff that can’t be explained scientifically.”

“Right?”

“This is similar. It’s hard to explain in words.”

Yoo Dona, still sparkling, now starts fidgeting excitedly.

She’s like an excited Baekseol.

“Want to join our club?”

“Eh, that sounds like too much trouble.”

“Why not? We’re even funded by the government.”

“A club…?”

Yoo Dona nods.

“Bending time is a national research project. We even get to use a tokamak. How about it?”

“In the club…?”

Yoo Dona nods again.

The more I hear, the less it sounds like just any club.

“What’s a tokamak?”

Shin Yong, sipping his coffee, throws out the question.

“It’s a nuclear fusion device. Like how you trap pork belly in your stomach, it traps high-temperature plasma in a magnetic field. Think of it as an artificial sun.”

“Does that make you stronger?”

“With plasma heated to 100 million degrees, it could fry you to death.”

“Is the sun that hot?”

It’s like watching an innocent child’s endless questions.

“Gravity’s different. The sun’s high gravity allows nuclear fusion at 15 million degrees, but on Earth, we need much higher temperatures. That’s why we aim for at least 100 million degrees.”

“I see. Learn plasma magic, Han Ga-eul.”

“If you’re tired, go wash up and sleep.”

National projects don’t just fall into anyone’s lap.

You need a solid theory, visible potential, or some progress.

Would the government just dump funds into a bottomless pit?

Absolutely not.

The most important thing is feasibility.

If you think about it, the hourglass research must have made some progress.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t assign such a task to a mere student.

There’s absolutely no reason to give Tokamak the right to use money like water.

I knew this place was different from the Earth I used to live on, but at least the surface looked similar.

However, just stepping inside, the differences are enormous.

“Isn’t it too heavy a responsibility for just a student or an undergraduate to handle?”

“But thanks to magic, things have improved a lot. We used to rely on serendipity, remember?”

“Is that so?”

“Autumn, what’s serendipity?”

This time, Noa throws the question.

“It’s a fortunate discovery by chance, like penicillin.”

“I see.”

“Autumn’s friends don’t seem very interested in this kind of stuff, huh?”

“My friends are more into physical stuff. They’re probably aiming for the swordsmanship department.”

The trio sipping coffee nod in agreement.

“As Autumn said, most scientific advancements so far have relied on chance. But now, thanks to the manifestation of magic, we’re advancing at an incredible speed. It’s called magitech.”

“Hmm, magitech…”

“Exactly, magitech. The 100 million degrees plasma you mentioned was achieved by targeting the lowest nuclear reaction temperature of deuterium, but now, thanks to magitech, the cutoff line has dropped significantly. We no longer have to rely solely on deuterium and tritium.”

Scientists have made great discoveries through serendipity while working hard.

So, they’ve even tried to process the occurrence of serendipity to intentionally create chance.

But here, magitech has surpassed that.

The surface being the same as the Earth I used to live on might be to avoid giving ordinary people a sense of dissonance.

While some people like progress, others are extremely resistant to it.

Humans inevitably adapt to changes that come their way, but not many actually like change itself. Most people feel uncomfortable with change.

The reason is that they’ve already adapted.

That’s why I think the government must have hidden it somehow.

“Autumn, why don’t you join too?”

“I’m more into physical stuff too.”

“…You? You seem to have a lot of general knowledge for that.”

“Me? I’m a fool, I don’t know about these things. I just know because my grandfather liked stargazing. My friends need to rest now, so I’ll think about it a bit more and let you know.”

Rustle.

“Let’s go, guys.”

As I get up, the trio also drag their chairs and stand up.

“Senior, thanks for the drinks.”

“Thanks for the drinks.”

“Thank you.”

“Hmm…”

As I turn my back to leave, I hear Yoo Dona’s sigh from behind.

“Autumn, I think we’re different from our past selves. With a little more effort, we can create an entrance.”

Looking back, Yoo Dona is waving her hand and smiling.

“Yes. I’ll go, senior.”

“Come again next time.”

Only after Noa, who came out last, closes the club room door does Yoo Dona’s smile disappear.

“Let’s go. You guys need to wash up and rest.”

As I move, the trio follows me in a rush.

The more we talked in the club room, the more a strange sense of discomfort seeped in, but now I feel a bit more at ease.

“Autumn, what did the senior mean by what they said at the end?”

“About the past and all?”

Kim Chan-yong, walking alongside, nods.

“I’m not sure. But bending time means forming a time loop by connecting the beginning and end of the cut time.”

“Does that mean we can go to the past?”

“Hmm… Theoretically, it might be possible. But there are many mountains to climb.”

“Then what did they mean by being different from our past selves?”

“Who knows? Am I a detective?”

Kim Chan-yong taps my shoulder.

“You’re the brains of our Shin Yong Loan Team.”

“Should we just change the name to ‘High Credit Durahan’? If I’m the brains, our team’s image is already ruined.”

“Haha.”

Our current selves are different from our past selves.

That means denying the present that has grown under the influence of the past.

“Are you talking about parallel universes?”

“Parallel universes?”

“Yeah.”

You can place an entrance.

In other words, you ‘observe’ an infinitely replicated parallel universe.

Observation is an extremely subtle and abstract term.

It simply derives a changed result from mere looking.

It’s that complex and difficult.

Arthur Wellington, a man who won the Nobel Prize twice through observation and left behind achievements as a great figure, pretty much says it all.

Scientists strive to turn the illogical into logic.

To the point of logically organizing a method to intentionally obtain coincidence.

“I think it means digging a tunnel to the past and taking what you need.”

“Do we really need to go that far into the past?”

“That person thinks that the Earth of the past is a completely different place from the present. Every minute, every second, with every action we take, an uncountable number of Earths are formed and replicated.”

“Huh…?”

“It’s not observation like quantum mechanics, but measurement. That guy is researching that.”

Kim Chan-yong tilts his head.

“So, you’re saying you go to a replicated Earth from the past that doesn’t cause a time paradox and bring back something valuable. Like, for example, bringing back an elixir that someone drank up.”

“Ah, I see.”

In the end, to sum it up, my conclusion is that Yoo Dona is closer to a mad scientist.

“Or, you bring back a second Earth and make it a satellite and colony of the current Earth. Then everything would be doubled. Precious resources, manpower too.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because the current us is stronger than the past us.”

“…Autumn, are you crazy?”

“In conclusion, Yoo Dona is an alien preparing to invade Earth.”

Kim Chan-yong dramatically spreads his palms.

“Ta-da! The aliens were actually future us. Something like that?”

“Pretty much.”

“I want to eat Earth’s sixth.”

“Daechul, did you hurt your brain during training? Should I heal you with a ‘ping-ping’?”

Come to think of it, the name of this place I came through the training ground was Earth.

A second Earth, different from where I was.

***

Tick. Tick.

The sound of Yoo Dona chewing her nails echoes in the empty club room.

“Why is it irregular…?”

Blood was flowing under her nails, but Yoo Dona was just glaring at the tightly closed club room door.

If it had been irregular, it would have reacted to the words she left.

Judging by her outward personality and rumors, she’s a simple and ignorant person.

The troublemaker of Class J.

Such a person wouldn’t have a great poker face either.

“It definitely wasn’t there…”

She tried dropping important keywords here and there, but there was no reaction.

Unless she was well-versed in related knowledge, she was just the granddaughter of an old man who liked stargazing.

Thankfully, someone of that caliber wouldn’t even be able to infer her story with the shallow knowledge passed down.

“Phew…”

Thanks to that, a sigh of relief mixed with relief escapes Yoo Dona’s mouth.

***

“Grandpa, I’m going to smash Orion’s head someday.”

“Because it’s a constellation that hunts rabbits?”

“Yep.”

Grandpa raises his big hand and strokes my head.

His hand, rough but warm, is filled with years.

“Go for it.”

It was Grandpa Arthur, who unusually liked Baekseol.