730

 [Chapter 186]

[Mute (3)]

The first day of the Academy Cultural Festival.

On this day, Twelve Seats <Silent > Yoo Su-jin visited the academy for a lecture.

""""...""""

After being guided by the instructors, she climbed onto the podium and looked around.

The academy students were looking up at her with sparkling eyes.

Pouring gazes.

Nevertheless, Yoo Su-jin calmly opened her mouth without getting nervous.

"─Hello. I'm Twelve Seats <Silent > Yoo Su-jin. I'd like to use this opportunity to talk about how to become an excellent sniper."

A somewhat subdued voice.

She opened her mouth with a voice that sounded somewhat sleepy.

And for a moment.

Yoo Su-jin, wearing headband-type hearing protection around her neck, paused to emphasize her introduction.

Eventually, she said─

"─Just shoot well."

""""...""""

"I'd like to say that the best sniper is one who trains to hit the target in one shot and safely completes missions without dying."

Yoo Su-jin made people doubt their ears with such an obvious statement.

People who thought they would hear something special couldn't help but show signs of bewilderment.

Regardless, she continued to speak.

"Make your body like a machine. Maintain your biorhythm by eating, sleeping, and waking up at precise times. Try to be able to count how many times your heart beats today. Develop a sense of knowing the exact time by your biological clock without looking at a clock."

""""...""""

It was nonsense.

Something impossible even with effort.

How could that be possible with effort?

Nevertheless, she emphasized effort and qualities that ordinary people could never achieve.

"A sniper must have no emotions at the moment of sniping. You must have the mindset and corresponding ability to silently perform your duty like a machine and stoically leave your position. If you can't snipe without emotions like a machine─"

""""...""""

"─It's one of three things. Either you lack talent, you lack effort, or you're too soft-hearted. Whichever it is, it's not a type suitable for a sniper, so I recommend quickly switching to another field. With that, I'll end the lecture."

30 minutes after starting the lecture.

People were at a loss for words seeing her say what she wanted to say and immediately leave the podium.

The instructors were startled and tried to stop her from leaving.

But <Silent > was quick.

She vanished before the instructors could catch her.

She literally disappeared without making a sound, like silence.

People clicked their tongues.

It was as shocking as when Twelve Seats <Yama > Kang Hyeon-cheol made people lose their minds with his theory of perseverance two years ago.

☆

The cultural festival began.

During the cultural festival period, all classes except for 3rd year are canceled.

Of course, even 3rd year high school classes were sometimes canceled when the interests of instructors and students aligned.

This was especially true for guest instructors' classes.

Their classes didn't affect students' grades.

So when the cultural festival period came, guest instructors could freely roam around the academy.

"So I thought I could rest comfortably..."

"This is resting comfortably too, you know. Just walk around and enjoy moderately, right?"

"Yeah, you're right."

But they weren't infinitely free.

Eun-ha had to patrol the academy campus bustling with outsiders, taking turns with other guest instructors.

Two-person teams.

This was why Eun-ha was wearing an armband and looking around the cultural festival with Jin Seo-na.

The two were focusing on maintaining order while walking around crowded places.

"What's wrong? Do you dislike walking around with me that much? Your face looks grumpy."

"It's not that. I prefer patrolling with you like this rather than with someone I don't know."

"Then? Why do you look so grumpy?"

"I can't concentrate because there are so many people, and I want to train at this time. Something feels like it's about to click."

"You're becoming like Eun-hyeok now? Thinking only about swords day and night."

"Ugh..."

Jin Seo-na chided him.

Eun-ha couldn't refute.

A few days ago, after receiving advice from <Sword Empress> Hwang Jin-hee.

Eun-ha had noticeably become less talkative and lost in thought.

Make a microcosm into a macrocosm....

How on earth am I supposed to do that?

<Sword Empress>'s advice gave him an enlightenment.

Because of it, he could grasp a higher-dimensional worldview.

But that was all.

Eun-ha couldn't find a way to reach an even higher worldview than now.

He only knew it existed.

He didn't know how to reach it.

So Eun-ha couldn't help but be deeply lost in thought.

"─In the end, isn't it about not just using your imagination as a medium, but also using other people's imaginations as a medium to implement magic?"

"..."

"Hmm, but is that even possible? To use other people's imaginations as a medium, there would need to be at least some part that matches with your imagination. And it would require that much control too..."

"..."

"Mmm, delicious! Look at this. The cheese stretching out. It's really delicious."

At that moment.

Jin Seo-na, who had bought a hot dog with stretchy cheese from a booth, spoke.

She bit into the hot dog, trying not to get it on her mouth as much as possible.

As if to express the taste.

Her triangular ears moved greatly.

"To implement magic using other people's imagination as a medium too..."

Meanwhile, Eun-ha stopped walking after hearing Jin Seo-na's words.

Something clicked in his mind.

It's not completely impossible.

There are things like illusion magic that activate using other people's imagination as a medium.

Magic belonging to illusion magic or brainwashing magic was very profound.

There is an existence called 'I'.

But with just the existence of 'I' alone, one can't know what kind of existence 'I' is.

Also, if 'I' exists alone, one can't even know if they're alive or not right now.

Therefore, for 'I' to exist, there needs to be another existence called 'you' that recognizes 'I'.

From there, the world is established.

The world is formed as the cognition of 'I' and 'you' interlock.

In that way, the world we are in now is made up of the interlocking cognition of countless people.

That's how it was expressed in mana studies.

Illusion magic was magic that applied this to be implemented in the world.

The world is nothing special.

A narrow sense of the world is created the moment I and the other person recognize each other.

The worldview that 'I' and 'you' recognize.

The caster and the target.

Illusion magic was magic that acted on the worldview directly shared by them.

It was like the caster forcing their worldview on the targets, making them recognize it, and sharing it.

Interpreted differently, it could be said to be magic that manifests in a narrow sense of the world using the imagination shared by the caster and the targets as a medium.

And if you expand that narrow sense of the world larger and wider─

─Illusions can become reality.

If a microcosm connects other microcosms to share one huge idea.

And if it binds all of them together, a macrocosm is born.

And the idea is realized in this world that the macrocosm recognizes.

It's manifestation.

It's not entirely impossible since there are things like illusion magic or chorus magic.

The problem is─

─The idea that people share.

How can you bind people with different thoughts to have one idea?

Furthermore, how can you unify the images they imagine into one?

Is that truly possible?

Unless you have the <Connection > gift that connects heart to heart, is that really possible?

Eun-ha felt skeptical.

It felt difficult and unfamiliar that he had to use not only himself but other people as a medium too.

At that time, Jin Seo-na said.

"─But if you think about it that way, doesn't it mean you have to become the center of people's ideas and become a universal concept?"

"Universal concept?"

"An idea shared by all people. What else would that be but a universal concept? It seems like <Sword Empress> was telling you to become a universal concept?"

"..."

"But hmm, a universal concept.... Isn't God the only existence that's considered a universal concept?"

"..."

"Because there's belief in God, even if God doesn't actually exist, we can say He exists. So that's how it became a universal concept as an existence, what else could it be?"

Jin Seo-na grew up in a church.

So she could say such things to Eun-ha.

Eun-ha felt somewhat entranced hearing her words.

"─Then how do you become a universal concept?"

"How... Wouldn't it be by building up faith and receiving people's idolatry? But aren't you already receiving idolatry as <Crimson Wing> or Eun-ha God?"

"..."

"Let's stop this conversation now. I came out to play with you, not to help with your training. Hurry up and open your mouth."

"Why my mouth?"

"Your noona is being generous. I'll give you one bite of this."

The leftover hot dog.

Jin Seo-na held out the hot dog where the cheese was now breaking off.

Eun-ha looked down at her with drowsy eyes.

"You're giving it to me because you're full, right?"

"So you're not going to eat it?"

"Yam."

"You can't fill your stomach with just one hot dog at a cultural festival. You have to taste various foods. Right?"

"I agree."

"Peep peep peep baa baa baa boo boo boo!"

It wasn't even a full bite.

Eun-ha quickly bit into the hot dog she held out.

☆

─Ah, I forgot one thing.

I forgot to advise them to make sure to eat sugar.

Twelve Seats <Silent > Yoo Su-jin.

She had this thought belatedly after quickly slipping out of the grand auditorium.

Well, never mind.

She decided to just forget about it.

She didn't want to go back in and get caught by students bombarding her with questions.

To begin with, she didn't like giving lectures.

"If you have time to worry, you should just shoot."

She couldn't understand them.

How can they try to learn someone else's knack while sitting still?

There were no knacks to begin with.

You just have to shoot.

If you keep shooting, you'll naturally realize what you lack.

If you don't even realize that, it means you're not suited for it at all.

So Yoo Su-jin thought giving lectures was a waste of time.

She only came out to give a lecture as one of the duties of the Twelve Seats, having no choice.

"...I'm hungry."

She rubbed her stomach.

She hadn't eaten anything since morning.

She had only filled her stomach with snacks she brought as junk food.

Even that was reaching its limit now.

She decided to look around the cultural festival booths while clutching her hungry stomach.

Gulp

In fact, there was a reason why Yoo Su-jin visited the academy despite not liking academy lectures.

One was that she could rest comfortably for one day under the pretext of giving a lecture.

The other was that she could eat whatever she wanted to her heart's content while avoiding the Clan Lord's eyes.

"─I'm going to become a pig."

Looking at the beef sizzling deliciously on the grill.

Yoo Su-jin told herself.

She would become a full pig rather than a hungry pig.

The word Socrates didn't even exist in her mind.

"Phew..."

""""...""""

Delicious, really delicious.

Yoo Su-jin, who had blended into the crowd using an artifact that changes appearance, filled her stomach almost as if possessed.

Whether people admired her or not.

She stuffed anything into her mouth and chewed vigorously.

...Now I feel alive.

After wandering around the booths for a while like that.

She was finally able to satisfy her hunger.

Yoo Su-jin felt satisfied as she touched her stomach that had swollen more than before.

She could hold out for a few hours now.

Now she decided to kill time by looking around the cultural festival moderately.

If she returned to the clan early, it was obvious she would get nagged by the Clan Lord.

"─Wow, Ga-yeon! Look at that doll over there. Isn't it really pretty?"

"It is really pretty. Well, I don't have a hobby of collecting dolls anymore though."

When she heard a bang sound.

Yoo Su-jin suddenly stopped walking.

There was a shooting experience booth.

It seemed you could receive dolls as prizes depending on the score you got from hitting targets.

"Sirius SS-16A..."

Just by hearing the gunshot.

Yoo Su-jin guessed the name of the gun used at the booth.

She moved her feet out of curiosity.

"Should I try it... Mi-ye, do you want to do it with me too?"

"Yes, let's. If I win, I'll give it to you, unnie."

"Thank you! Ga-yeon, what about you? Hm? You don't want to? Ah, you've been shooting too much lately so you don't want to shoot for a while? Hmm... I see, that could be the case."

When she approached the booth.

There were people who had arrived first.

Three female students.

One looked like a middle school student.

She took her attention off them and checked the prizes.

...Looks delicious.

The doll that the tallest female student had pointed to earlier caught her eye.

The doll was tightly hugging a huge chocolate.

Yoo Su-jin swallowed her saliva.

It made her think that if those students couldn't win it, she should win it herself.

When the game started─

─They're terrible.

Yoo Su-jin could tell the result without even looking just by seeing the two people's postures.

Their skills were terrible.

Even if it was just a game, their shouldering posture was wrong.

The timing of steadying their breath was wrong too.

And as she expected─

"─Ah, that's too bad. If we had hit just a bit more, we could have won it..."

"Unnie, should we try one more time?"

"Hmm... No. Let's stop and go somewhere else. It was too difficult with the target moving in the middle."

They had to step back without achieving their target score.

At this, Yoo Su-jin was about to step onto the shooting range to participate in the game.

But right at that moment.

"─Ga-yeon, you want to do it too?"

「I'll win it for you.」

"..."

The student wearing a mask stepped forward.

Yoo Su-jin was about to participate in the game but pressed her lips tightly.

Right, it can't be helped.

Let's see you shoot too.

It'll be obvious anyway.

Nevertheless, Yoo Su-jin had a prediction.

Moreover, seeing the female student communicate through the mask, it seemed she couldn't speak.

There's no way such a person could be a sniper.

Yoo Su-jin concluded like that.

However─

─Tang!

Her prediction was beautifully off the mark.

The female student's posture was perfect.

Her breathing was perfect too.

The moment she shouldered the rifle, her aura suddenly changed dramatically.

"..."

Just like a machine.

The female student aimed precisely at the center of the moving target with single-minded focus.

She was quickly racking up points while taking down targets with just one shot each.

Sometimes she even performed the feat of hitting 2 targets aligned on the same trajectory with one shot.

It was a skill that naturally elicited admiration.

"...Amazing."

Yoo Su-jin let out words of admiration.

Her body moved automatically.

She suddenly handed money to the staff and headed straight for the seat next to the female student.

「?」

"I won't interfere, so continue."

When Yoo Su-jin approached the seat next to her.

The female student stopped shooting and glanced at her.

A question mark appeared on her mask.

 Yoo Su-jin spoke calmly.

Then, as soon as she finished adjusting the rifle and shouldered it─

─Tang!

Like the feat the female student had shown.

She precisely aimed for the moment when the targets lined up in a straight line.

Three targets fell.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you're not allowed to use personal devices..."

Regardless of what the staff was saying.

Yoo Su-jin kept pulling the trigger in succession.

「...」

The female student, who was momentarily surprised by her skill, also resumed the game.

Two people's gunshots rang out alternately.

Tang! Tang!

The targets kept falling one after another.

People gathered to watch the spectacle.

"Wow, they're both amazing!"

"Are they professionals?"

"Look at that! They hit three at once!"

The spectators exclaimed in admiration.

Meanwhile, Yoo Su-jin and the female student were focused solely on shooting.

They didn't care about their surroundings at all.

Tang! Tang!

The sound of gunshots continued.

The two's scores kept rising rapidly.

Soon─

"Congratulations! You've both achieved perfect scores!"

The game ended.

Yoo Su-jin and the female student put down their rifles at the same time.

Then they looked at each other.

「...」

"..."

For a moment, silence fell between them.

Then Yoo Su-jin opened her mouth first.

"You're good. What's your name?"

「Son Ga-yeon.」

"Son Ga-yeon... I'll remember that name."

Yoo Su-jin nodded slightly.

Then she turned to the staff.

"I'll take that doll."

She pointed at the doll hugging the chocolate.

The staff handed her the doll with a bewildered expression.

Yoo Su-jin received it and immediately held it out to Son Ga-yeon.

"Here, take it."

「?」

"Consider it a gift for showing me something interesting."

Son Ga-yeon tilted her head in confusion.

But she accepted the doll.

「Thank you.」

"No need to thank me. Rather, I should thank you for the fun experience."

Yoo Su-jin smiled faintly.

Then she turned around.

"Well then, I'll be going now."

With those words, she started walking away.

"Ah, excuse me!"

But someone called out to her from behind.

It was one of the female students who had been with Son Ga-yeon.

"Um, by any chance... are you Twelve Seats <Silent > Yoo Su-jin?"

At those words, Yoo Su-jin stopped.

She turned her head slightly.

"...And if I am?"

"I knew it! I thought I recognized you from somewhere!"

The female student's eyes sparkled.

"I'm a huge fan! I watched your lecture earlier. It was really cool and inspiring!"

"..."

Yoo Su-jin remained silent for a moment.

Then she sighed softly.

"Is that so? Well, I'm glad you found it helpful."

With those words, she started walking again.

The female student called out from behind.

"Um, could I ask for your autograph?"

But Yoo Su-jin didn't stop this time.

She just waved her hand once without looking back.

Soon, she disappeared into the crowd.

Left behind, the female students looked at each other.

"Wow, we just met a Twelve Seats member!"

"She was so cool..."

"But Ga-yeon, you were amazing too! I can't believe you went toe-to-toe with a Twelve Seats member!"

Son Ga-yeon shook her head.

「It was just luck. She's on a completely different level.」

"Still, you were incredible! Right, Mi-ye?"

"Yes, it was really amazing. Both of you were like machines."

The three continued to chat excitedly.

Meanwhile, Son Ga-yeon looked down at the doll in her arms.

She stroked its head gently.

A small smile formed on her face behind the mask.

☆

That night.

Yoo Su-jin was lying on her bed in the Twelve Seats dormitory.

She was staring blankly at the ceiling.

Then she muttered softly.

"Son Ga-yeon..."

The image of the masked girl shooting flashed through her mind.

"Interesting. Very interesting."

A smile formed on Yoo Su-jin's lips.

She had a feeling she'd be seeing that girl again someday.

And when that time came, she looked forward to seeing how much the girl would have grown.

With those thoughts, Yoo Su-jin closed her eyes.

Soon, she drifted off to sleep.

In her dreams, she saw herself and Son Ga-yeon standing side by side, rifles in hand.

They were aiming at a distant target together.

Tang!

The sound of their synchronized shots echoed in her mind.