In an era where talent becomes the national power…
Thus, Na-me’s unexpected announcement of her Wolf Prize has opened the era of unification between national pride and criticism.
[Shout out to the great Han Min Guk!]
[So you’re saying it’s not 38 years old, not 28, not 18, but 8?! Ugh, even dramas don’t go this far!]
[Korea has truly been blessed, hahaha! The gifted education system relies on the U.S., and the country doesn’t give a single cent of support. But talents keep pouring out from this wasteland!]
[Why did the heavens give birth to me and Na-me?!]
[Wow, it’s crazy! Proving a mathematical conjecture wasn’t just to get attention!]
[Look, she didn’t even use magic in the middle… Na-me is ‘real’…]
[How smart is she? Has someone like her existed until now…?]
Mathematics hadn’t been an attractive field even for the highly intelligent academia, let alone the general public.
In the early 20th century, techniques to replace the ZFC axiomatic system with equivalent runes and magic circles were invented, allowing many problems to be solved in advance.
Human intellectual curiosity maximizes when one cannot discern whether a proposition is true or false.
Those with a perverse nature who still attempt to prove it knowing the result is true are naturally few.
However, no one disagreed that, regardless of any popularity, mathematics remained a difficult field to grasp.
Marketing managers of various companies were preparing for overtime, desperate to get a spoon in Na-me’s national glory.
“How about a lifetime of free Kumon worksheets?”
“What Kumon! The kid doesn’t even have the brain for it! Look for something in another subsidiary!”
“There are adult Kumon programs too…”
In the Republic of Korea, where a fast-fingered presidency would be upset at being second to anyone, the Presidential Office immediately posted congratulatory messages.
[Lee Jo-won @2trillion365]
[Student Na-me, congratulations on winning the 2051 Wolf Mathematical Award on behalf of the entire nation. This award is a remarkable achievement that reaffirms our country’s status as a advanced nation in basic sciences in the field of mathematics…]
[We pray you will continue to be a compass that illuminates the path for human intelligence. Congratulations once again. – President Lee Jo-won]
But perhaps due to being too fast with their fingers, numerous curses began to flood the SNS, targeting the President.
“I’m currently in the emergency room. What’s going on here?”
“Seriously amazing. Even though a person is sick, does one have to get involved this badly?”
“I’ve never seen someone forcibly log out during a broadcast… I was shaking all over…”
“Take this down. Be aware of your surroundings.”
Sadly, news broke shortly after that Na-me, who was refusing to give a speech upon her victory, had been rushed to the hospital.
It was unfortunate, but what could be done? They had always faced misfortune whenever they recklessly opposed public sentiments, so they quickly deleted the post.
Once misfortune strikes, it relentlessly follows.
[Na-me broadcast interruption announcement… Is the health concern true?]
[Fact Check News: Na-me exhibits symptoms of overall amnesia.]
[Na-me’s adoptive father under police investigation for child abuse charges.]
[No health issues found, but… will Hameo’s nightmare be repeated?]
As if the gods did not allow such talent in the Republic of Korea, Na-me’s health and psychological state were being re-evaluated, amplifying the anxiety of netizens.
“What if she never returns to her memory?”
In the worst-case scenario, the Wolf Prize might become Na-me’s final achievement and last activity.
Turning their backs on an internet world filled with all sorts of speculative articles and finger-pointing, people were working tirelessly behind the scenes to restore Na-me’s memories.
*
I had a short and sweet dream about my mother.
Upon waking, even though the dream had been vivid, the moments I spent with her began to fade within my mind.
I don’t want to forget this memory forever.
I recounted my experiences from the beginning, recalling everything my mom had said.
Once an electric signal has been transferred to the memory storage, it will accompany me until I die.
If only my mother were alive, would she have treated me like her real daughter?
An answer to that eternal question gnaws at me relentlessly.
Just as my heart began to feel heavy, I felt a great discomfort in knowing my body was not moving as I wished.
It seems the remnants of erosion are still clinging to my self.
What is this feeling…
It’s almost as if I’m possessed by a traffic light emotion character living in the Emotion Control Headquarters.
And now,
the name of the person imprinted on the film of my retina was Daniel.
“Na-me, I once thought music was everything in the world.”
She held my hand tightly and spoke.
“I couldn’t bear to think about other paths because all my efforts seemed too precious… Betraying my parents who sacrificed their entire lives for me…”
That’s how it was.
A person walking only one path typically has no leisure to look to the side or behind.
“After we went abroad together, I thought of my mom and dad so much that I stopped by home. Even though we fought all the time over the phone, when I actually came home, they served me a warm meal saying thank you for your hard work. Both my mom and dad got up at dawn to go to work to pay off debts… As my heart settled, I finally began to notice my surroundings. Classical music doesn’t put food on the table, yet… After I recognized that my starting line is different from my friends, my heart became much lighter.”
Daniel embraced me.
The scent of shampoo like Yoon-seul wafted past my nose.
“Thank you so much… Na-me, I hope you remember quickly so I can properly show my gratitude. And I’m not giving up on classical music! I’ll earn a lot of money and participate in the Maestro competition someday. Please come to watch.”
Daniel’s eyes became moist as he pulled away from me.
Makeup will likely smudge.
I want to wipe those tears away with my own hands, but my body still wouldn’t move as I wished.
*
Unlike Schadenfreude and Sekhmet, Astarte was relatively less contaminated by the condition of erosion.
The erosion of ‘lust’ grows stronger by feeding on the desires of those around.
Conversely, within a society that enforces purity, it rapidly loses strength. Therefore, I sent ‘lust’ into a doll with a non-arousing body and sent it to the most purity-valued kingdom.
Perhaps that’s why the memory still lingers.
The ‘me’ now shows an intense aversion to the exposure of others.
“Pervert…”
“Huh?”
I pointed with my finger at the woman’s belly button.
Ban So-wool, wearing a crop top, tilted her head.
When Shin Yeon-ho covered her with a blanket nearby, I felt somewhat relieved.
“I warned the Altair Academy kids not to lose to you, but how could they lose so overwhelmingly? I was so embarrassed back then.”
Shin Yeon-ho burst into laughter.
“Na-me is stronger than she looks. Even against her opponents, she didn’t use her full power.”
“Are you saying that’s not using her full strength? Are we talking about the same match? The last part was basically a stalemate!”
“Do you really think so? If your eyes are useless, how about you hand both of us over?”
“This kid… what kind of spine-chilling words does she speak?”
“Na-na-me, do you remember when we arm-wrestled together?”
Ban So-wool grabbed my hand and swung it aimlessly in the air.
My arm felt like jelly, lacking strength.
“Heavy things always stay put. It’s always the light ones that move. So, I believe you haven’t left us. Na-me is a heavy friend.”
“Sometimes you say strange things, So-wool. Na-me, take care of yourself. If you remember what we just said, come visit us again at Korea University. We’ll treat you to something delicious. Okay?”
“I’ll buy you 10 salmon and cube steak bowls.”
*
“Alright, let’s read Asteria’s lines by 6 o’clock and finish the broadcast.”
A youthful voice flowed from the screen.
“Back then, no one could guess you were 7 years old…”
Yushia showed me old broadcasts with tears welling in her eyes.
“Ugh… hey, don’t you remember what you said…? You’re supposed to be a genius who remembers everything! We even had a stream together when we hit Master, right? Why can’t you remember…?”
I could only wrap myself in the blanket and watch the video with a decayed look.
Even when trying to speak, I could not respond.
So far, everyone who visited the hospital raised their hands in defeat.
“Yushia, don’t get mad at her.”
“I’m not mad…!”
Yushia rubbed her face with her sleeve, wiping away her tears.
My gaze remained fixed on the broadcast.
“The stars are elegantly beautiful. It’s always humans who give them meaning.”
“They always strike sneakily.”
“Burn them.”
“I want to be a shining being even in death.”
I flinched.
My body jerked.
“…!”
The clan members focused on me didn’t miss even the slightest reaction.
“What? What was about to come to mind?”
“Look, you copied Asteria’s voice! It’s a bit lacking, but who cares? It’s cute!”
It was a chaotic scene, like an uncle shaking a rattle in front of a baby.
The video ended, and I chewed my dry lips.
“This… is me…?”
I finally opened my mouth.
Everyone looked at each other with tears of joy.
“Yes! The cutest streamer in the world! That’s you, Na-me!”
“Seems like it’s really effective?”
“Yeah, even if you don’t remember yet… just being able to talk is so amazing, ugh…!”
Yushia probably thought that with this momentum, the symptoms might recover.
“So much…”
“Yeah, what about so much?”
“Too cool.”
Is this cool? The words that involuntarily slipped from my mouth were unexpectedly surprising even to me.
Anyway, the girl’s feelings remain difficult to understand even now.
“Oh, really cool?”
“Hehe! No wonder she has middle school syndrome! No, is it elementary school syndrome?”
“Is there any more of this video? Min-jun, go call the manager outside.”
“Who’s the manager? Oh, that high school girl with the nickname Cat Love is the Best?”
Moments later, Lee Bo-reum rushed in with a hologram projector.
She bared her canines in a sinister smile.
“I didn’t expect to use what I saved for donations like this.”
Light burst from the hologram, dazzling my eyes.
As Bo-reum adjusted the brightness of the aperture little by little, my form from Wagal appeared.
The blonde princess facing the final boss, Mephistopheles.
“Humans killing each other is only natural.”
Gasp!
My heart started racing without warning.
It seemed Astarte was intimidated by my appearance.
“But saving humans is still human work.”
Bo-reum continued playing the embarrassing video.
“An eternal peace and comfort in the world? The ones who speak such sweet words are mostly insane war maniacs.”
In fact, it felt like the wounds were made on my side.
“Oh please, stop.”
Before I could regain consciousness, I felt so embarrassed I could die right there.
“If you call me that, I’ll let you call me the Demon King.”
I squinted my eyes tightly, gradually lifting my head.
In the video, I was casting the Demon King’s Horn and gathering magic power as much as possible.
Fear… no, what kind of emotion is this…?
Admiration…?
*
“I was… scared… of all the days I lived… whether I was going the right way… whether I wasn’t wrong again.”
“I’m scared of people… everyone… they’re all like demon spawn…”
“I really disliked humans.”
“I’ve decided to admit it. I’ll be honest. I like to receive attention. I enjoy the time spent together. I want to meet the countless people who lift me up.”
“So please, everyone… stay by my side until the end.”
“It’s sad… but also cool…”
I clearly said that through my own mouth.
But I wanted to shout, “What’s so cool about it?!”
Even the video not released on Twish, when did Bo-reum film this?
These people must be trying to wake me up by angering me.
How could they show me only the most embarrassing moments?
Truly, there are no other kinds of demons.
If I had known I’d suffer like this, I would have stayed a little longer in the subconscious with my mom…
“When did Na-me say such things? This is my first time seeing this.”
“It’s from a long time ago. When she was NoName, I remember it was during the intense Wagal Nightmare raids.”
“Oh, I see… Na-me was scared of people…”
Shia muttered softly.
I wish they would just forget everything.
Meanwhile, Astarte was captivated, watching my avatar.
The actions of those who erode truly defy clear understanding.
“Clothes…”
“Huh? What did you just say, Na-me?”
“The witch’s clothing looks too revealing, right…? Her chest… looks like it’ll bounce right out.”
“Oh? Uh… I guess it does…! The avatar’s outfit is a bit much, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… so annoying… small chests are better…”
“Haha, so you liked bigger ones back in the day!”
“Yeah.”
Astarte fell silent after speaking her piece.
I wondered if she was taking revenge since her current body wasn’t her own.
If Astarte has one misunderstanding, it’s that that size of chest isn’t actually that big.
Even someone like Sylvia, who was a saint, had huge breasts and strolled around effortlessly.
“I should just give up on regaining my self in one day.”
It was tougher than expected. Thus, I decided to close my eyes and ears.
Anyway, I could insist that the things I said were not mine.
The 6-circle upper-level Hellfire led to the demise of Mephistopheles.
I couldn’t believe how elaborate and swift the casting that came right after Adella’s 300 runs was.
Casting posture, input amount, variable settings, and circuit methodology.
In my past life, I used to blast such magic around in reality.
That’s why as we age, we tend to say, “Back in my time…”
“I’m remarkable as well. Even if it’s just a game, my old skills haven’t rusted at all. Huh…?”
What I’d thought only inwardly blurted out momentarily.
My mind returned to reality, and just like the sensation of a plane departing, my body suddenly felt heavy.
My hands and feet began to move naturally according to my will.
Why now…!
“Na-me…”
Shia turned around.
“Did your memories just return?”
“…”
I averted my gaze to escape the piercing look of her eyes.
Now that I think about it, that wasn’t right. I should have just pretended to not know.
“Na-no-name! Is that you! Your memories are back, right?!”
“Really? Na-me, do you recognize us?!”
“…”
“Hey, why won’t you say anything?!”
I ignored all the clan members completely.
Would you be able to speak in this situation?
I tried to suppress my emotions and feign nonchalance, but once suspicion arose, escaping it wasn’t easy.
The real Astarte… already dead but wanting to bring her back and kill her again.
“Na-me… Are you going to continue to keep your mouth shut and leave so many people worried?”
“?”
“0.99999… isn’t different from 1, right? Then where did the remaining 0.00000…1 go?”
“…!”
“Be careful, microwaving spinach will release carcinogens.”
“Ugh…”
“Oh! They say sleeping with the fan on will kill you, so you have to turn it off at night!”
“Who the hell would believe…!”
Ah…
Truly, the malice of humans is endless.
