Chapter 568

Rise gazed at the spot where a woman had left who had shattered good air not once, but twice.

She felt a slight displeasure at the fact that her travel itinerary overlapped with that woman, and that the atmosphere was repeatedly wrecked each time she showed up, all while feeling a twinge of gloom over her own bad luck.

But soon, she calmed herself.

What could she do?

Natural disasters can strike twice, can’t they?

Yet, even with such an understanding, an atmosphere that had once settled didn’t just vanish.

There’s a saying that if the ending is good, everything is good.

By the same token, if the ending is ruined, then nothing goes right either…

Rise bore a slight melancholy as she left the cafe, exited the farm, and during the ride back to the hotel.

*

Was it perhaps because she was too focused on the Great Witch?

Rise failed to notice Jinseong’s expression beside her.

After witnessing the Great Witch’s actions in the cafe, Jinseong was deep in thought.

What could that thought be?

Was it something resembling the peculiar feeling one gets when experiencing déjà vu?

A flickering illusion lingering at the edge of memory?

Something like steam that rises into the sky and then disappears into thin air when water boils?

Jinseong made an effort to recall something definite in his memory yet seemingly insignificant.

That was the reason he had seen the farm owner who fought the Great Witch, had carefully observed the farm after leaving the cafe, and had keenly noted the landscapes as the car moved. Yet despite this, he could not bring anything to mind.

“Hmm. This definitely doesn’t relate to magic.”

There was no way he could forget anything connected to magic.

So what was that flickering thing in his memory?

It was something that briefly flared up and then vanished, neither related to magic nor to his mercenary life, and distanced from those he held an acquaintance with… It was clearly not something of great importance, nor a memory worth pondering.

Why was it lingering around him?

Why was it persistently circling like a ghost’s whisper, desperately trying to reveal its existence?

To find out, Jinseong immediately crossed his legs in a lotus position and closed his eyes once they returned to the hotel.

He quietly began to lower his mind deep within himself.

It was akin to sinking into a swamp.

Even if he remained still, he descended, and if he struggled, he sank even faster.

Therefore, he embraced the blackness that clouded his vision, stirred his heart, creating ripples like a swamp, and continuously dove deeper into that abyss. The swirling dark space was covered in fragmented memories like dust, and in that place, he finally uncovered the information he sought.

That memory turned out to be rather trivial.

Yet, it held gossip-worthy value that he couldn’t completely forget.

“Right. It was around this time.”

It recalled a time when he was just starting his mercenary activities.

The infamous bad cook was on meal duty that day, and they were eating tasteless chickpea soup that made them question if it was meant for human consumption. Naturally, there was a plethora of complaints about what could only be described as “the soup of vomit created after Satan had his drinks.”

Somewhere, a serious discussion arose regarding whether they should find the one who made this godforsaken soup in the middle of the night and beat them senseless, thinking it would improve the quality of the food.

However, within that space, another topic of conversation had emerged.

Word was that a ruin had been discovered in America.

Ruins.

Mostly, those simply ended as a flurry of enthusiasm from stuffy archaeologists, anthropologists, and historians… but occasionally, treasures or artifacts were discovered, resulting in a massive jackpot!

Naturally, Jinseong couldn’t help but become interested in that ruin.

Of course.

The very reason Jinseong became a mercenary was to traverse the world and acquire magic.

It would be strange not to be curious about a ruin, a magical space where artifacts and magic were likely to emerge.

Driven by a sense of being bewitched, Jinseong approached those discussing the ruins and gathered detailed information.

A self-proclaimed treasure hunter from China had bought a part of the farm and excavated the ruin there.

According to that treasure hunter, “It was sealed tightly with concrete as if it were enchanted. When we broke through what was presumed to be an entrance, a vast space appeared, and the walls were covered in unknown languages. Among those was English and Chinese characters, which showed that the influence of China reached this place.”

Of course, that announcement from the treasure hunter held little meaning for the mercenaries, including Jinseong.

What mattered was not the influence but the contents they might hold.

After hearing this rumor, the mercenary who returned faced Jinseong and another mercenary’s urging gaze and, after a moment’s pause, said this.

“The Chinese deciphered the characters, and it says, ‘Just by carrying it, one earns the envy and respect of many; by reciting its contents, one can capture numerous people and make them friends.'”

Just by carrying it, one earns envy and respect.

By reciting its contents, one can make countless friends?

It seemed to describe an object fit for a myth.

“Could it be an object that allows one to manipulate hypnosis freely? That would be great for meeting women.”

“Hoh, thinking of women as soon as you hear the word hypnosis? How lowbrow. I’d just gather a bunch of subordinates and conquer the world.”

“World domination sounds good. Then all the women in the world would be mine.”

Of course, the mercenaries, upon hearing such a incredible description, were excited about that marvelous object, while also snickering at the notion of such a thing existing in the world. They likewise laughed off the idea that all Easterners, especially the Chinese, were prone to such tall tales, before Jinseong belatedly recalled that he himself was also of Eastern descent, adding, “Koreans are excluded. Ah, Japanese? Anyway, only the Chinese are full of hot air.”

At that time, Jinseong had been interested in the possibility that this object might relate to the mind…

But not long after, the item discovered in the ruins that became known worldwide was—

Ha.

It was enough to make him burst into laughter.

“Das Kapital, Kritik der politischen Ökonomie.”

Capital: Critique of Political Economy.

It was a book more popularly known as “Capital.”

…Indeed.

Surprisingly, the ‘ruins’ discovered at the farm were not real ruins at all.

It was merely a secret facility constructed by a Communist to keep this very book safe.

The ‘unknown characters’ densely written on the walls were simply the languages from around the world that the amateur treasure hunters from China failed to recognize… and what they had eagerly entered hoping for was merely three volumes of Capital and a small bone fragment presumed to be a finger bone.

It was truly a stunning and ridiculous farce…

“There was something of value, though… Volume 1 had the signatures of Marx and Engels, and Volumes 2 and 3 bore their handprints.”

It was even said that Marx’s handprint looked like something that belonged in a horror movie.

Since it was a handprint smeared with blood on a palm stripped of flesh.

And reportedly, the finger bone found near the book was a fragment of Marx’s remains.

…It was laughable.

What a ridiculous charade!

As if he were some Bodhisattva.

Disintegrating all over the world and revering it as some kind of treasure…

It was hard to believe the ones who proclaimed, ‘Religion is the opium of the people,’ would engage in such close-to-idolatry behavior. Especially when the idol of their reverence was Marx.

Indeed… nothing was devoid of comedy.

Thus, Jinseong cracked a smile at this bizarre event, burying this memory somewhere deep within.

He was left only with the sentiment that life presents all kinds of bizarre happenings.

“Hmm. Right, it was around this time…”

It was inconsequential.

However.

“…But this incident should not have anything to do with Odilia, should it?”

There was an oddity.

That was the fact that this ridiculous farce did not involve the Great Witch, Odilia.

Based on the information received during the torture—

“Hmm. I heard she was fighting valiantly in Europe to repel an attack on the company…”

It had to have been that way…

“Is this also a shifted future or just a similar flow from before?”

Did the butterfly’s flutter truly alter the course?

Was it an unseen path that had been traversed?

Jinseong began to take an interest in Odilia, who had appeared before him twice.

“Since I’ve arrived in America to understand how the future begins to diverge, this too could be a good omen.”

Thinking so, Jinseong gazed out the window.

The outside was pitch-black.

The sky shimmered with the light of satellites.

Though the celestial bodies obscured by the satellite offered no answers…

“To find out what has changed is crucial, but it would also be good to check out the other sights while I’m at it.”