Chapter 167

“Nameya, it’s a bit sudden, but since we’ve become family, it’s nice to meet you again.”

Semin awkwardly extended her right hand towards me.

“Must have been really fun, huh? Enjoying a drama from such a good seat.”

“No, it wasn’t intentional…! What was I supposed to do in that situation?”

“Well, that’s your opinion, Semin oppa. I mean, Semin-ssi.”

“Hey, that hurts…! Since you called me, you might as well keep calling me oppa.”

If only we had a culture in Korea where we could call each other by our names.

Good cultures should be embraced mutually.

“Guess I’ll keep it up. But aren’t you busy? Isn’t it exam season?”

“It’s exam season or not, it doesn’t really matter. Just… are you really saying that you’re doing a spirit summoning for me?”

“You’re not completely clueless, are you?”

“We’ve only met in VR until now, and this is actually our first face-to-face encounter. I’m really surprised, Nameya.”

“Still, I’m grateful that you submitted the request for a reinvestigation on my behalf. It seems your offer to help wasn’t just empty words.”

My head hurt. I took some ice from the freezer, wrapped it in a plastic bag, and placed it on my forehead.

The coldness spreading over my head was quite welcome.

[Cast: Diagnosis]

“What are you doing?”

“Checking cortisol levels.”

“You know about cortisol? Wow… You really seem to know everything!”

“I don’t know everything. I only know what I know.”

Well, it seems this level is pretty normal.

I can assume that the tears I shed a moment ago were to restore my body to a normal state.

“So where did Professor Cheon go?”

Professor Cheon left hurriedly after chatting with Semin when I went to wash my hands in the bathroom.

“He probably went to meet my dad.”

“Why would Professor Cheon meet your father?”

“Well… my dad was probably the prosecutor in charge of the Walpurgis case…”

What?

In my excitement, my reflexes kicked in faster than my mind, and before I knew it, I had grabbed the young man’s collar and was shouting.

“Why are you only saying this now! Ah, the villain was right here…! No wonder the darkest place is under the lamp…”

Isn’t this just like the plot of the novel ‘I Married the Son of My Enemy’ that the young ladies of debutante age love to read?

But what can I do? I’m ready to kill the parents of my savior at any time.

“That’s not true! My dad was dealing with a case in Jeju Island at that time! He was at the Jeju District Prosecutor’s Office…”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah, he was probably the chief prosecutor there… Look it up.”

I gently released his collar. Seeing his shirt collar crumpled, I used Aura to smooth it out slightly.

“… I’ll let you live.”

“Wow, how shameless…! In any case, since this was a nationwide issue, you’re probably going to see my dad, who’s now the chief prosecutor in Seoul.”

“The chief prosecutor… If he’s the chief of the Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office, I wouldn’t say he has no relation at all, would I?”

“Can you stop painting my dad as the villain…? As a person, I really don’t like him, but at least I think he’s a moral and upright person.”

I could hear him talking on the phone with Professor Cheon.

The sound of them speaking near the elevator was loud enough to penetrate the entrance door.

I thought about using Aura to listen in, but I decided against it. They probably have their reasons.

“…”

“…”

A prolonged silence ensued as we just stared at each other blankly.

“If you’ve seen enough, then go.”

“That’s too much. Your dad called me, and I rushed out in the middle of a PK (poly-clinic) session.”

PK? In context, that couldn’t mean penalty kick, could it? Even if it did, it would still be a problem.

“I don’t know what it is, but is that okay?”

“No, of course not. So, just play with me for a bit. My uncle asked me to.”

He wasn’t someone who wouldn’t worry about me while on his way.

It seemed that Semin had been instructed to keep an eye on me. That’s why he’d been dragging things out until now.

“Well then, help me with that video.”

“What video? Oh, you mean the one where I’ll expose you at a contest?”

“Yeah. So don’t just lie down!”

I tugged on Semin’s arm, pulling him up.

I pointed to the camera placed high on the bookshelf and asked him to get it for me.

I really didn’t need to use Aura for this. It would just be a waste of effort.

While checking if the camera was on, Semin sat on the sofa, seemingly examining me intently.

“Nameya.”

“What is it again? Stop bothering me.”

“I just find it fascinating to watch. You think of yourself as a genius, don’t you?”

“It’s just maturity.”

“Really? I don’t think so…”

“Well, then you can think about the side effects of the mana potion or whatever.”

“If that were the case, it would have definitely been reported in the academic world. Do you like the Academy? Have you seen geniuses like you there?”

“Why do you ask?”

“That was a question from a cute underclassman who used to be vice president in high school. I got curious all of a sudden.”

“You were on the student council too?”

“I was the student council president back in the day, you know?”

“Wow… The school’s level, really…”

My hands that were setting the camera paused for a moment.

If someone were to ask me if I’d ever seen a genius in my life, I could confidently say yes.

Maria Euphrasia Terarubi.

The master of the Black Magic Tower.

She was the most talented person from the Kaizen Empire and had mastered not only the basis of magic studies but also economics, politics, statistics, astronomy, logic, algebra, physics, and medicine.

Unlike the blue lizard that survived for centuries with just a lot of knowledge, she was different.

The ivory tower of knowledge she had built in just 50 years in a human body was, without a doubt, an unattainable level.

So when I tried to confront her with the little knowledge I had learned about relativity and quantum mechanics in my first life,

[I heard there was someone at the Academy saying their memory was somewhat good.]

I was painfully reminded that the theory of modern genius is a fallacy.

[Is that you, you idiot?]

Instead, the divine had evenly distributed the traits of personality disorder and alcoholism to her.

Of all people, she was the one I respected the most.

“She’s not at the Academy right now. But I possibly know one person who might be.”

I stopped the small talk and handed the camera to Semin.

Click—

“Don’t take it yet… No, just take it and let’s check the composition first. I want to see how it turns out.”

Click—

Click click click—

“Are you sure you’re taking it right?”

“Ah! My camera!”

I scrolled back through the photos I just took.

Among a few normal pictures, I found one where my nostrils were very prominently close-up, filling the entire frame. Delete.

“Stop joking and do it properly. I’m being serious right now.”

“Okay, I got it! But how should I say my lines? Do you have something prepared?”

“I’m still thinking about it. Give me some ideas.”

I was never good with words.

Misunderstandings from my words were constantly happening, and sometimes problems arose simply because I didn’t say anything.

Just like having the talent to weave magic circles using given mathematical formulas, I believed that composing convincing sentences using language was also a skill.

If my eloquence were to reach a stunning level, I might have become Hitler in my past life.

Though I would still end up with a similar fate of being beaten and dying.

“I’m also a science major, so I’m terrible at writing.”

“Wow, that really isn’t helping at all.”

“Hearing that from a seven-year-old makes my heart ache.”

“You don’t even call me oppa when I subtly poke at you. In the end, it’s the beginning that matters.”

There’s a saying that the beginning is half the battle.

No matter how messy the latter part gets, if you can manage to create a good start, it could lead to a decent video.

If I were to do an interview, what would the public first see when I play the video I’ve prepared?

And what thoughts would come to their minds when they saw me?

Fascination? What does fascinating mean specifically? It wouldn’t be the same feeling as seeing a giraffe at a zoo, would it?

Denial? Even at fourteen, there are plenty of people who would be skeptical, so would the public easily accept it just because my avatar looks the same?

When something that defies common sense happens, the instinct is to deny it.

In the end, it was important to present my usual self as it is in reality.

“What was your first impression of me?”

I asked Semin.

He was probably the one who could view me most objectively. Professor Cheon’s reliability was somewhat lacking.

“Did I want to go and hit you?”

“… Not in League, though. Just when I found out you were seven.”

“I thought someone was trying to scam me. I was only convinced when I went to the orphanage and checked your name.”

“Is everyone feeling that way?”

Yeah, that sounds absolutely ridiculous.

The fact that I survived locked in a capsule for seven years was too unrealistic for the public to accept.

“Historically, appealing to emotions has always been a good strategy. Just do what you did with my uncle today.”

“…”

“Ah, I’m sorry… I don’t want to do that; what should I do, hmm.”

Are you about to cry again?

Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever cry again.

Except when I meet Seol-a.

“Since the living room is a bit awkward, how about we take the video in your room instead? It’ll feel more natural that way, don’t you think?”

“What difference does it make? But fine, I’ll go with it.”

I led Semin into my room.

The desk was still cluttered with piles of papers that hadn’t been organized yet.

There was enough space to step, so it shouldn’t matter too much.

“What’s all this? Numbers?”

Semin pointed at a yellow post-it note and asked.

“Oh, this. 1049 and 1051. What do these two numbers have in common?”

“Hmm… They’re both prime.”

Semin’s answer came quickly.

“Correct. Numbers that are two apart and prime are called twin primes.”

I liked how there are names like that for math or physics.

If the difference is 2, they’re twin primes; if it’s 4, they’re cousin primes; if it’s 6, they’re sexy primes.

“No… That’s not what I was asking.”

Semin moved a bit further away from me.

“Oh. You can’t doodle on the wall, so I used post-its instead.”

He slowly walked around, taking in the entire wall, withdrawing his mouth slowly.

“What’s written on this entire wall…? What does it say?”

“It contains the proof that there are infinitely many twin primes.”

“Did you learn this alone from the internet?”

“No? Why would I try to solve a problem that’s already been proven?”

Mathematics is just a puzzle.

You can buy a 1000-piece puzzle as a hobby and put it together.

The thrill and vibrancy felt when first trying to fit a puzzle together can never be replicated after the second time.

“Since it wasn’t solved, I solved it.”

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

Hearing that, Semin took a deep breath, bent his knees, and matched my eye level.

“Nameya… I just realized an astonishing truth.”

His serious expression caused my body to lean back involuntarily.

“What… what is it?”

“There’s no need to go through the effort of trying to persuade the public. You just have to show them that you’re a treasure that will never exist again in this Republic of Korea.”

“A treasure…? What do you mean?”

Semin smiled meaningfully and raised both arms to the sky.

“If you make it so that people can’t help but protect you, that’s all there is to it. Then the public will prove it for you.”

“Why are you being so dramatic? Did you take something wrong?”

Semin whispered his plan to me.

“How does it sound? Isn’t it good?”

“What did you take?”