Chapter 316: The Transfer Student is a Singularity (4)

I talked about many things.

About a stained past and the unexpected master I met during the rainy season. After he took me in as an orphan, the memories that made me human.

“Back in the days when I misbehaved, he beat me so hard the rain would kick up dust.”

I even clumsily added my personal reflection that even those beatings were a form of affection.

‘I need to help preserve the image of the first boss. After all, it’s the least I can do as his son.’

Of course, I left out the fact that this all happened in the original world. That is, on Earth.

It weighs on my conscience like lead, but I have no way to explain it and, deep down, I’d rather keep it hidden.

I swear I don’t want to deceive Ryozo or Abel. If I could, I’d tell them everything. But…

‘If I did…’

I’m already an unusual existence. If they also knew I came from outside this world, how would they react?

Even if Ryozo and Abel completely understood, their gaze toward me would undoubtedly change. I’m not ready to handle that.

‘I still have a long way to go, Kang Geom-Ma.’

Turned into a god in a human body, all I care about is hiding the truth. I committed to telling them about my master, not about myself.

And yet, here I am, rationalizing it with cheap excuses.

A moment of self-loathing crept in.

And as always, Ryozo’s voice pulled me out of the pit.

“He was a great person.”

Ryozo lifted her cheek, which had been resting on my chest. Her sky-blue eyes looked at me firmly.

“…Yes, he was.”

My lips went dry. I felt my skin crack.

“The truth is, if it weren’t for me, he could have enjoyed life however he wanted. But he dedicated his entire life to me.”

That sentence carried a heavy weight.

My adoptive father, the founding hero Balor Joaquin —Ho Ah-Hyun on Earth— was an infinite regresssor.

A piece of G.M.’s plan to delay the world’s destruction caused by the false gods.

But that G.M.… was me, Kang Geom-Ma.

In other words, the boss never had a life of his own. In the world of “Miracle Blessing M,” he was just another cog in the system.

And on Earth, he sacrificed his whole life for a spoiled brat like me.

‘My father never had a life of his own.’

The fuller and happier my life becomes, the stronger that sense of debt grows.

He gave everything, and his son can’t even repay the bare minimum. He’s only ever taken from him.

“As the years go by, you start thinking about these things. But just growing older doesn’t make you an adult.”

I drifted into reflection. I stared at the calm light of the room. I should’ve been sharing happy moments, but all I’m doing is burdening my wife with negative thoughts.

“Maybe it’s just my nature. I bet by my age, my father was already much more admirable than I am now. But me…”

“Sorry to interrupt.”

Ryozo silenced me with her index finger on my lips.

“When I said your adoptive father was admirable, I wasn’t just talking about his character.”

“Hm… I don’t really know how to explain it… but in your style, Kang Geom-Ma, I’m sure you’d rather see something once than have it explained to you a hundred times.”

Murmuring as if thinking aloud, Ryozo suddenly turned toward me.

Then she grabbed my wrist and pulled me to my feet.

“Let’s go.”

So suddenly?

Ryozo yanked me up and walked outside. As I said, the grip strength of an archer isn’t a joke. Still, for some reason, I felt uplifted.

Driven by Ryozo’s determined steps, I followed her without resistance. Her triple-braided hair swayed gently in the air.

***

“Here.”

Our upward movement was brief. We climbed a few stairs, and that was it. The place Ryozo had taken me to was none other than the rooftop of our three-story home.

Though the moment didn’t feel like it, I couldn’t help but think that the view was incredible. Across this costly expanse of the Joaquin Academy grounds, our family was probably the only ones with a spot so privileged as private property.

Ryozo stretched out both arms. I froze for a moment, but then knelt on one knee and extended my arms as if I were about to hug the air.

Gently, I lifted Ryozo, cradling her like a treasure under my knees and at the back of her pale neck.

She also wrapped one arm around my neck and pointed out constellations with the other.

“Let’s go higher.”

I had flown like this many times before, carrying Ryozo or Abel like a princess. If someone said I looked like some kind of magical airplane, I couldn’t argue—but it was the perfect way to score points with my wives.

‘She must have something in mind.’

I didn’t doubt her. Her intelligence was the best in the world, and the person I trusted most—was me.

“At your command.”

My eyes blazed with an intense light. As if a strong electrostatic shock ran through me, my hair stood on end, and a current of energy spread across the surface of the rooftop.

I pushed off from the ground. The view trembled and the horizon pulled inward.

Boom!

A bolt of lightning struck.

Ryozo closed her eyes tightly and then opened them slowly. The next instant, the full moon filled her vision completely.

We were floating.

Somewhere between the buildings and the clouds.

With Joaquin Academy beneath our feet.

Ryozo’s sky-blue eyes—like two merging skies—reflected first the moon, then me, then the academy below.

“Wow…”

Even Ryozo, who rarely showed emotion, couldn’t help but sigh in wonder. Her reaction made my smile widen until my mouth trembled.

“Shall we go higher?”

“…Yes.”

She nodded softly, a little embarrassed.

I pushed off again, using the tips of my toes to push through the clouds. Joaquin Academy receded swiftly.

What once was sharp detail now shrank to a pinpoint. From here, it felt as if we had plucked a handful of stars from the night sky.

The air thinned; vapor escaped our lips. I glanced at Ryozo.

“Can you breathe okay?”

“Yes. I activated the blessing.”

Her Archer’s Blessing specialized in regulating breath. Besides, Ryozo was the daughter of the Absolute Archer of the Seven Stars. Her cardio-respiratory endurance was unmatched even among archers.

“And you, Kang Geom‑Ma?”

“I’m fine.”

I knew she asked as courtesy. After all, I had already traveled through space ten years ago. Being in an atmosphere was nothing to me.

I snapped my fingers a few times. We continued ascending.

Before long, the flat horizon curved into an arc. In mere seconds, we were closer to the sky than the earth.

As if we were stars. To any students strolling the courtyard at night, we likely looked like a pair of twinkling stars.

“You know…”

That’s when Ryozo began to speak.

“When the previous director offered me this position, I swore I would never accept. Do you remember?”

“Of course. Lady Media came to see you day and night for a week straight, begging on her knees.”

“And in the end she even performed an imperial bow, remember?”

The imperial bow.

A clear example of how low human dignity could fall. And Media had done that to Ryozo.

‘It was a perfect bow, by the book.’

Ryozo recalled it and let out a loud laugh. Her breath dissolved into a pale cloud.

“At the time I said no because we were preparing the wedding, but you know that wasn’t the real reason, right? Preparing a wedding doesn’t take that long. I’ll tell you only—actually, it was because of Kojima.”

“…”

“Being at the Academy stirred a whirlwind of emotions in me. Kojima was the worst as a father—and even worse as a husband. But during the Second Great Human War, he sacrificed himself for humanity.”

Ryozo’s face hardened.

“As family, he was the worst, but as a hero… I respected him. That mixture of feelings… I, just a teenager, couldn’t bear it. And while I suffered in silence, one day my mother called me and said this that no matter his personality, that man was one of the heroes who saved Joaquin Academy. Because of him I exist today—and because of him I met Kang Geom‑Ma.”

“Your mother said that to you?”

At my words, Ryozo made a slight grimace.

“My mom adores you, you know that? Sometimes it feels like you’re her son, not me. Whenever she sees you, it’s always ‘our Geom‑Ma this, our Geom‑Ma that.’”

“Your mother is delightful.”

Free‑spirited, indeed.

After all, she was someone who gave her own daughter sex ed—and in conservative Korea, that kind of intellectual is born once in a generation.

“Anyway… what I mean is that humans can’t be flawless, and in the end… Kojima was a great man.”

Just then, a stream of clouds brushed past us. Ryozo clenched her fists as she continued.

“It doesn’t erase his sins, but my mother and I forgave him. Besides, he lost his mind when his first wife, Lady Alice, passed away. Back then I couldn’t grasp it, but now I think I understand.”

“You think you can understand now?”

“Yes. Because if you, Geom‑Ma, stopped existing, I feel like I would break inside too. Everything would become hollow and meaningless. I’d wish the world would crumble—but that buried heroine spirit in me wouldn’t let me. And that would lead me straight into self‑loathing.”

That line pierced my heart like a dagger.

I don’t know if Ryozo said it deliberately, but she hit the exact spot of my current emotional state.

Damn it. I never thought I’d feel empathy for Kojima.

“Kojima chose humanity over his family. Because he believed it gave his life more meaning. Or rather—he believed it was his destiny.”

“…So what are you saying…”

“Your adoptive father didn’t give up on his life either. He found purpose in raising his son. And look at the result.” Ryozo nodded downward.

Our eyes took in the world below.

This place—once a battlefield between humans and demons due to false gods—now shone brighter than any era before. It was the fruit of sacrifices by those spirits who passed on, and the tireless efforts of my father.

The ground they paved with their bodies.

This world that my father handed me—protecting it fills me with pride, Geom‑Ma.

She had stepped away from dinner just to tell me that.

“Geom‑Ma.”

Ryozo stroked my cold cheek.

“Your father, by saving you, also saved this world, and all of us.”

“Don’t you think he’d be proud if he could see it? Even I—his daughter, who suffered from his absence—respect him as a hero.”

My eyes welled with tears, my nose burning. It must’ve been cold at this altitude.

Every hole in my face seemed about to leak.

“Geom‑Ma.”

Ryozo called again. Her hand left a crease in my clothing, right above my collarbone.

“I can’t breathe well.”

“Did your blessing run out? Should we head down?”

“No.”

She shook her head vigorously.

“I deactivated the blessing on purpose. I don’t want to go down yet.”

“Then…”

I moved closer and pressed my lips to hers. In that rare atmosphere, we shared each other’s breath.

Under the Milky Way as our crown, we stayed like that for a long while…

The night, up here, felt warm.

Incredibly warm—for being above the clouds.