"What did I just hear?"
"Well, it was the first time I'd ever heard such a tune."
"It's like my cousin banging on a toy piano."
"H-how rude!"
" Hm ... Couldn't it have some kind of hidden meaning?"
The princess still wore a smile, though it seemed less like calm composure and more like her face had frozen in place. Her expression was cracked and brittle, like parched earth splitting under the sun. Not that it mattered to me.
I bowed gracefully. "Thank you for listening. Now, my second brother, Hector, the pride of the Badnikers, will play the follow-up song."
Hector glanced at me in surprise. Once he felt all eyes turn toward him, he recovered and offered a slight smile. I almost applauded his speed.
The young ladies around us squealed again.
Hector walked to where I stood and muttered through gritted teeth, "Seriously, dun maake mee laugh."
"I'm sorry."
He exhaled, his tension dissolving, then sat at the piano. His complexion returned to normal as he began to play with refined skill. Of course, he performed far better than someone like me. Still, to be blunt, his technical level wasn't extraordinary. It was roughly the same as I had learned.
" Wow.. ."
"Cool."
"Great skills!"
Yet the nobles praised him with bright smiles. Two factors likely contributed. First, their ears had been sensitized by my earlier performance. Second, Hector's posture at the keys resembled that of a world-class pianist. He had dressed for the banquet as elegantly as I had—perhaps more stylishly—and his figure at the piano, framed by the hall, looked striking.
Finally, the princess' gaze shifted from me to Hector, and she appeared dazed.
I seized the moment to approach Seren.
Seren was staring at Hector, or more precisely, at the piano he played. Her eyes swirled with emotions too complex for words.
"Should I have called you up instead?"
"What?"
"You looked like you wanted to play."
"Don't assume things." Her voice was sharp, cold as icicles. It carried the kind of fury that arose when someone prodded the reverse scale of a dragon.
Not that I cared. I had literally jabbed the reverse scale of a dragon-sized snake. This level of sharpness didn't intimidate me.
"If you don't like talking about yourself, we can change the subject, Shi-Hyeon."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Don't pretend. Seren already told me everything."
"I did? That so? Sorry, but I've been scattered and unstable lately. Sometimes nonsense just slips out. Hope you understand."
Going this far with such an unconvincing excuse?
I stared at her, incredulous. However, Seren showed no intention of revealing the truth anytime soon.
This didn't mean I could just say, "Oh, is that so?",
"Hey, let's be honest. I'm not treating you as a church member. I don't even think you are crazy. To put it bluntly, I believe you."
"You believe me?"
Seren laughed, unconvinced.
It was understandable. Two souls in one body? Most people of this era couldn't accept that easily. Even an open-minded person like me felt the strain of it.
Still, life had taught me a simple fact: when something seemed impossible, it usually had cause and effect behind it. The same applied to Seren. I trusted that there was a reason I was the only one who knew her truth.
"I know the world you lived in," I told her.
"What?"
"To be precise, I've heard about it."
"From whom?"
"My senior brother."
Seren paused before echoing the words, "Senior brother?"
"It's a long explanation. He is connected to my blessing, and he is probably from the same world as you."
"How do you know that?"
"Third Senior Brother's name is similar to yours," I replied.
"How interesting," Seren replied, her expression betraying no interest at all. "In that case, this should be easy. Tell me his name."
Her request caught me off guard, and I faltered.
Seren caught my hesitation and sneered. "You can't just say it, can you? You can't make up a name on the spot. Only someone who has lived in that culture for a long time can get the nuance right. It changes drastically depending on the era and the region."
I had a vague idea of what she meant. For instance, the book Biography of the Fairy King was among the most famous hero novels. It had sold over a million copies in the empire but was poorly received by the fairies. The character's name sounded outdated, a flaw stemming from the author being human.
"No," I said. "It's because his name is unusual. He disliked saying it himself and hated being called it even more. Sharing it feels like an invasion of his privacy," I said.
"Your words get slippery whenever you try to dodge the truth."
I considered my options but found no clever escape. There was no avoiding it.
Forgive me, Third Senior Brother. After a brief apology in my heart, I spoke aloud. "Fine. I'll tell you. But you can't repeat this to anyone."
"I have no one to tell."
That was true.
I nodded. "My senior brother's name is..."
The moment I said it, Seren's expression changed violently. First surprise, then confusion, and finally, she burst into laughter. " Pfft! Ha, haha! Hahaha! "
I had never heard her laugh like this before. Her laughter was louder than expected, drawing curious glances from those nearby. It even rose above the piano's notes.
I looked at Seren and silently apologized again, I'm really sorry, Third Senior Brother.
***
I took the laughing Seren out to the balcony. She laughed for a long while before looking at me. "I believe you. You know about Earth."
"Finally. Thanks."
"By the way, what type of blessing do you have? Can you still talk to this senior of yours? Could I meet him too?" Her words tumbled out in rapid excitement.
She usually appeared lethargic, cold, and aloof, as if she lived behind a wall. Now, just mentioning Third Senior Brother had cracked that wall wide open.
Her voice carried deep nostalgia. It was understandable. When I spent those years on Spirit Mountain, I longed for my own world in the same way.
I was surprised by this new side of Seren but replied calmly, "I've already told you plenty. Now it's your turn. A fair exchange, don't you think?"
Seren calmed down instantly. "Fair enough."
She was quick-witted, making conversation easy. I immediately took out Laplace's New Book. "You know this, right?"
"You! How did you—"
I cut in, "It was in the warehouse of the Master Craftsman's Sect. The characters resembled the ones my senior brother taught me, so I brought it. Strategy Guide, is that how you read it?"
"That's right. You can actually read it."
"So what does Strategy Guide mean?"
"Let's see... that's hard to explain." Seren paused, then said, "Simply put, it's a guidebook outlining the fastest, best, and most optimal route for conquering."
"Like a tactician?"
"Similar, but a little different."
"Is that so? In any case, I'd like you to interpret it. It's in the language of your original world, so reading it shouldn't be difficult, right?" I asked.
"Not necessarily. I need to see it first." Her response was lukewarm.
I was puzzled for a moment before coming up with a plausible reason. "Could it be that this is the same as the book you have at your house?"
"I don't think so. As I said, I need to see the exact details."
"Then what? Why are you so calm?"
"Is that really the only thing you're curious about?"
Seren's reply caught me off guard. "What do you mean?"
"You don't want to ask how I ended up in your body? Or where I came from? Or—"
"Pass," I cut her off, frowning. "You must have questions about me too. About my senior brother or the events in the Otherworld, for example."
"Ah."
I wondered if she remembered me using Dark Qi at that time.
Seren's expression changed slightly.
I continued, "Even so, that isn't important right now. We can talk about trivial things later, when we have time. Right now, I'm most curious about this book."
"Is that so?" Seren laughed uncontrollably before holding out her hand. "Okay. Give me the book."
"Here." I handed it to her.
Seren flipped through the pages quickly, speaking casually. "Some of my memories are faint."
"Huh?" I looked at her. Her blue eyes, the same ones that had been brimming with tears moments ago, now carried a different depth, like the contrast between surface waters and the deep sea. The dim light of the hall only emphasized it.
Glancing around the banquet hall behind us, I noticed the atmosphere slowly winding down.
"Is it memory loss? What's happening?" I asked.
"It's different. I remember who I am and what I used to do, but faint memories are scattered here and there. The name of the café I frequented, the nickname of a close friend, the scenery of the park I passed every morning—they're all blurry," she explained.
"Sounds like you forgot."
"It's possible. But I feel something strange."
What was she trying to say? I studied her face for a moment.
Seren kept flipping the book, cutting straight to the point. "What I know for certain is that I encountered this world before, back on Earth."
"How so?"
"Maybe through a game."
"A game?"
I tilted my head, and Seren chuckled. "Clearly, you aren't from Earth. You wouldn't look so baffled otherwise."
"Care to explain?"
"It's a long story. The games on Earth are nothing like the chess of this world. They're vast, intricate, and immersive. Playing them feels like stepping into another world," she answered.
I hadn't heard anything like this from Third Senior Brother so it naturally wasn't easy for me to grasp it.
After a while, Seren returned the book to me, her expression slightly sullen.
"Have you read it already?"
"Yes. To be exact, I only read half of it."
"How come?"
"This prophecy book—no, this strategy guide—is written in a language I don't understand."
"What?" I stared at her. "I read the characters on the cover. I also confirmed the same ones are written inside."
Just because I didn't know the language in detail didn't mean I couldn't recognize its structure. Written characters always followed certain rules and patterns, making their unity clear.
Seren shook her head. "You didn't read this book to the end, did you?"
"Well... no." I had skimmed the middle sections once I realized I couldn't decipher them.
"I thought so. Here, look. The language changes from here." Seren flipped to a page and showed it to me. The text was completely unfamiliar.
"This..."
"It was a game made in a foreign country, probably a French company. This strategy guide was written in French, though half was translated. Of course, I don't know a word of French."
I didn't fully understand, but the conclusion was simple. "So you can't read it from the middle?"
"Yes." Seren sighed. "It's similar to the book at the Goodsprings' main house. That was a Setting Book. Thanks to it, I got a rough timeline of events. The game company had a serious otaku tendency, so even the timeline was written vaguely, dreamlike."
"A vague, dreamlike manner..." I thought of the parts of the book Seren had shared at the academy.
"On the second full moon, the crimson Twilight River will reach the darkened sky. When despair and grief swirl and destroy the tree of knowledge, rivers of blood will stain the full moon with its true color."
It definitely wasn't a straightforward explanation.
"So... we're stuck?" I asked.
"I can't learn a language from another world, so there's no easy solution. I was discouraged until recently, but I found a clue."
"When?"
"When I was with you."
Seren pulled something out at those words. The smooth metal surface looked oddly familiar.
"What's that?"
"It is a smartphone."
"Smartphone?" I repeated.
"You can think of it as a high-tech magic tool with multiple functions. It runs on electricity and has a built-in translation feature. If I use it, I might be able to interpret the language in the book to some extent," she explained patiently.
I brightened. "Then supply electricity to it and turn it on."
She shook her head. "Easier said than done. It's a delicate device. If I handle it recklessly, it could turn into a useless pile of junk. I'm not an expert with machines. I need to find a skilled craftsman with sharp insight, have them study its structure, and charge it. That will be incredibly difficult."
"Really? Then will this help?" I showed her the other item I had obtained from the Master Craftsman's Sect.
"This!" Seren gasped. "It's a power bank!"
"Can you stop using technical terms?"
I couldn't talk to her, really.