Chapter 257: Outsiders (1)

‘When I open my eyes, I find myself staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.’

That’s what I’d like to say.

But what greets me is a very familiar white ceiling. Even the scent of disinfectant tickling my nose.

Everything is so identical to the scene I imagined before losing consciousness that I can’t help but let out a dry laugh. I inhale through my lips, swallow the sound, and hold back my emotions.

If I so much as chuckle, I might faint. And if I cough, I feel like my lungs might explode.

There’s no concrete basis for this—it’s just a hunch based on experience. After all, even a dog learns something after three years in a temple; after three hospitalizations, you become something of a self-diagnosis expert.

Although my body feels like it’s been smashed to pieces with a hammer, my mind is fairly clear.

‘Looks like things turned out okay.’

If this place where I woke up isn’t some afterlife disguised as a hospital, then it means they brought me back to the Academy while I was unconscious.

Which also means the operation to defeat Fermush was a success. It’s just my own assumption, but I’ve decided to believe it.

Since I’m hospitalized for the first time in a while, I might as well take the time to fully recover. That was my train of thought when—

Shaa, shaa.

I heard the faint sound of a knife. Like someone peeling fruit.

‘Who is it?’

I tried to move my eyes to catch a glimpse, but just then the sound stopped, and a sigh followed.

“Don’t move.”

If I’d only heard the voice, I might’ve hesitated. But with that peculiar way of speaking, I instantly knew who was next to me. There’s only one person who talks like that.

‘Yu Sein.’

“What?”

‘……!?’

What the hell!? She responded to something I only thought! Is she psychic or something?

“It’s not telepathy. And by now, you must have noticed, right? That the one communicating with you through the system was me.”

What’s up with her? She’s not using her usual cold, clipped tone but a totally normal one. Yu Sein continued.

“Anyway, if you have something to say, just think it. I’ll answer accordingly.”

Alright. First question.

“How did you get into the hospital room?”

“You and I are officially distant cousins. Since I’m family, they let me in.”

“……”

You get past security just by claiming to be family? That’s ridiculous.

Maybe she sensed what I was thinking because she added right away.

“It’s not that the Academy’s security is weak, it’s just that you and I are too different from this world. That’s the reason.”

“Different? How?”

When I asked, Yu Sein stopped slicing the fruit and leaned in close with a gentle look. Her warm breath brushed against me, our noses nearly touching. She tapped the small mole under her eye.

“Black eyes.”

With that, she sat back down in the chair beside the bed. In that calm atmosphere, she went on.

“Listen closely. You probably realized it already, but I know you’re not from ‘this world.’”

“Cough!”

I nearly choked dry. Yu Sein clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“Has your body weakened so much your mind’s gotten sluggish too? You’re startled by anything?”

“……”

“Anyway… ah, I forgot where I left off.”

“You said you were an outsider like me.”

“That’s it. In short, I’m in a situation similar to yours.”

Yu Sein paused her explanation to take a bite of an apple and sighed contentedly.

“Wow, this apple is amazing. Seriously, it pays to be successful. An apple sent to the Seven Stars is on another level. I’ve never seen one with a quality certificate per piece. It’s so sweet it melts in your mouth.”

So it was for her all along. And on top of that, it was an apple sent to me. And now that I’m Seo Kang of the family, I’ve been robbed right to my face. How shameful.

“I’d give it to you, but you can’t eat, right? Aww, what a shame. If I leave it, it’ll go bad, so as your distant cousin, I guess I’ll have to eat it for you…”

Not only was she an expert at provoking, but she did it with style. This so-called “saint” was, at the same time, a shining prospect as a first-rate thief.

And to top it off, she bit into the apple with a deliberately irritating crunch.

I’m seriously starting to doubt the authenticity of the religious order Yu Sein belongs to. They must have a commandment like “Thou shalt covet thy neighbor’s goods.” Or maybe she’s just a fallen, wayward saint.

“Enough already. Finish what you were saying.”

“Ever since you became one of the Seven Stars, you’ve gotten too bossy, don’t you think? Why are you barking orders like you’re my superior?”

Right in the gut. Damn it, that hurt.

“Well, I said it just to annoy you, so I’ll drop it. Anyway, you and I come from similar roots, but we’re different in essence. In short, I’m also an outsider who came from elsewhere. Just that my route was different from yours. I was born here. And the world I came from isn’t the same as yours. We’re talking parallel timelines or a multiverse—something like that.”

Timeline, parallel universe, multiverse.

Concepts straight out of a superhero movie, tossed around like it was nothing. It made my head spin. But despite the confusing content, her tone was completely calm. As if it were an everyday matter.

“So, Yu Sein, you reincarnated?”

That was the conclusion I reached after a moment of reflection. Yu Sein, chewing on the apple, nodded nonchalantly.

“Yep. If we put it in ‘Earth terms,’ yeah. You’re a ‘possessor,’ I’m a ‘reincarnator.’ So here’s a quiz, If you and I, with black eyes and hair, are possession and reincarnation, then—”

“What!? You don’t even have black hair!”

“Oh, this?”

Yu Sein stroked her long, waist-length white hair.

“I dye and bleach it regularly. Black hair draws too much attention—I didn’t want to stand out. And I can’t wear contact lenses because my retina is too sensitive.”

Good grief, what a ridiculous story. And then she says she didn’t want to stand out, while talking like some robot with “style”? Did she think that would make her sound young?

‘Wait a second.’

Just as the suspicion showed in my eyes, Yu Sein quickly added.

“If you’re wondering, I was already a woman before reincarnating. And my face looked the same too. I don’t remember how old I was. Maybe due to the effects of reincarnation, my memories of my past life are blurry. The only difference I recall is that, being born a saint, they removed any ‘romantic emotion.’”

“…Removed?”

“Too strong a word for a man to hear? But there’s no other term. ‘Cutting’ sounds off. ‘Extracted’ doesn’t fit either.”

If she used such harsh words so naturally, maybe she really had lost all emotional affection.

“We’ve gotten way off topic. Let’s go back to my question. If there’s possession and reincarnation, what’s left?”

Yu Sein pressed me to answer.

Possession, reincarnation. Aside from those two, only one option remains. Any Korean with experience in genre novels or games would know.

“Regression.”

“Correct. One more question. Aside from you and me, who else has black eyes and hair?”

I knew that too.

“Balor Joaquin.”

“I like how quick you catch on. Exactly. The founding hero, the man who saved humanity 700 years ago. Balor Joaquin was a regressor. More precisely, an ‘infinite regressor’ who kept reviving over and over until he saved this world.”

I listened in silence. Yu Sein spoke with a serious expression, and I was too shocked to respond.

“Unlike us, Balor Joaquin was born in this world. But like us, he was chosen by the ‘external entity.’ That’s why he too is a human with black eyes and hair.”

A wave of discomfort swept over me. Not just for myself, but for the boss. Are they saying Balor Joaquin was trapped in an endless loop until he saved the world? That some “entity” did that to him on purpose? Disgusting. It’s slavery dressed as salvation.

The boss is my teacher and a father figure. And now I’m being told he was used like a hamster in a wheel. It pisses me off. Deeply.

I frowned and said.

“If that ‘entity’ is so powerful, why doesn’t it do it itself? Why use others, like you, like me?”

“I know how you feel, but there’s no other way. I admit that external entity seems pretty comfortable. But it actually doesn’t have a choice. To protect the entire timeline, it needs to act through representatives. It wants to intervene directly, but it can’t. The necessary conditions haven’t been met. It may sound like I’m defending it because I’m its saint, but that’s the truth.”

Despite her cutting words, Yu Sein remained calm.

“I can’t tell you more. There’s a lot I’d like to say, but the price would be too high. In the end, everything we do is just to survive, right? Besides, I don’t know everything either. I’m only telling you this because you, with your actions, have tangled the fate of this timeline more than usual. And I don’t mean that in a bad way, but a good one.”

Yu Sein took another bite of apple and stood up. Then she leaned over me, getting very close. She placed her right knee and one hand on the bed, stretching out her left arm and leg like a cat lazily stretching.

With the apple in hand, she opened her mouth in front of me like saying “Aaah.” She tapped my front teeth with the fruit as if trying to feed me.

“Open your mouth. You’ve been fasting for three days, so it might upset your stomach, but you need to eat to live. You’re so skinny—how are you supposed to stay a man? At least eat a little, for the girls fighting over you.”

When I hesitated, Yu Sein tilted her head.

Honestly, after all the talking, I felt like I could move a little. But I couldn’t. This upperclassman from another world had no concept of personal space.

Her serious expression murmured.

“Not even enough strength in your jaw? Want me to chew it and feed you mouth to mouth?”

Like a turtle, I stretched my neck and bit the apple. I chewed energetically so she’d see I could.

Only then did Yu Sein realize how suggestive her position was and stood up. Hands on her hips, she looked down at me, satisfied.

“You eat well.”

She pulled a stone from her pocket and placed it on my chest. It wasn’t big, but it had an uncomfortable weight. As she stepped away from the bed, she explained.

“You said you were collecting magic stones to reinforce your weapons, right? Turns out the holy knights recently hunted a ‘manticore’ and picked one up. So I stole it.”

“Is it really okay to steal something like that?”

Yu Sein shrugged.

“I’m the only saint in this world. Within the order, I’m practically the Pope. If I ask for something, they have to give it. Don’t get the wrong idea. I only stole it because I was too lazy to explain.”

“…And you’re the one who accused me of being authoritarian?”

“People are always two-faced. Especially you and me. Our existence is dual by nature.”

She had a slick tongue, that much was clear. Maybe it was the saint thing? I caught myself nodding. Damn it, she convinced me.

“Well, if you’re giving it to me, I won’t turn it down.”

“That’s right. Accept it when it’s offered. If you hadn’t, I was planning to sell it on the black market.”

“And what were you going to do with the money?”

“Top up in a mobile game, obviously.”

I’m convinced this saint is completely rogue.

Having fulfilled her mission, Yu Sein paused for a moment at the door before leaving. And suddenly, she said something unexpected.

“You’ve done well all this time.”

A sentence packed with meaning.

Yu Sein had lived seventeen years as a solitary outsider.

Her loneliness had to be several times greater than mine.

So this young man, wanting to return at least a little comfort, replied.

“You’ve done well too.”

At that moment, for the first time, a gentle smile appeared on Yu Sein’s usually serious face.