“Wait, where did all this snow come from? Whoa!”
Cheon Saetbyeol frolicked in the snowfield and then plopped down into it.
As the mana scattered, the level of the piled-up snow began to gradually lower.
Most of it was fake snow mixed with the mana from the protective barrier of the mansion.
But still, water is water.
The most dangerous and powerful substance on Earth has an outrageous specific heat, stealing away body warmth in the blink of an eye.
“Achoo!”
I sniffled and trembled all over.
“I have no strength to get up.”
Narita Mei rolled around in the snow.
The young wizards were too exhausted to easily get up.
And I was no different.
The 30-minute magic battle and the snowball fight that lasted over an hour were entirely different events.
I was thinking of lying on the ground for about 10 minutes until my muscles and Aura Heart recovered.
“Why is everyone just lying around in the cold? Hurry and come inside!”
Monica’s mother, the mistress of the mansion, urged us inside.
The foyer of the mansion turned into a refugee camp in an instant.
Little icicles melted in our hair, and water dripped onto the carpet.
The staff from the mansion brought in old radiators from everywhere to warm up the rooms.
Friends huddled together on the carpet, avoiding the cold marble floor.
“This isn’t the picture I wanted…”
Where is the gathering overflowing with knowledge and elegance like the Athens Academy or the Fifth Solvay Conference?
“Then you shouldn’t have had a snowball fight, Na-me.”
Emika’s point was valid.
“I thought everyone would be itching to move after taking a plane ride.”
“The one who enjoyed it the most seems to be Na-me Unni!”
“It was fun. I won’t deny that.”
“Hehe.”
Giselle grinned mischievously.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I didn’t know you could make that kind of face.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know… I want you to watch the sponsorship video together. Na-me Unni, let me run a sponsorship for a bit.”
“Hey, wait! No!”
Ding ding—!
[“‘Charming Sadness’ donated 10,000 won!”]
– “I’m a little scared when you threaten me with that much aura…”
As the gigantic 32k quality hologram premiered, I quickly hid under the blanket.
– “How did you break through in that situation? LOL”
– “NoName, you’re a little big… Don’t fight, just protect us…”
– “How am I supposed to handle Na-me acting cute right in front of me? LOL”
– “Na-me, you have all the world’s cuteness ❤❤❤”
– “I didn’t see it, how many times was the camera on her?”
– “This is serious. NoName has also realized she’s cute ㄷㄷ”
– “This… is… heaven.”
In the past, I worried that my past life self would be completely swallowed by my child self.
But now, I had to worry about my past life self maintaining a clear identity while acting childishly.
It was a hundred times better than the previous situation that caused existential dread, though.
Yet, because of the delayed wave of self-loathing, I covered my mouth with one hand and screamed.
“Get a grip, NoName. You have a mission to successfully complete today’s gathering.”
Getting the first button correctly fastened is of utmost importance.
I ran over to the dining table to cool my face.
“Can I take the tiramisu here?”
“Oh Na-me, of course! We’ve been waiting for you!”
“Thank you. I appreciate the delicious food as always.”
The chefs prepared snacks and stacked them neatly on a tray.
They served authentic Italian tiramisu while chatting warmly with each person.
First and foremost, I was curious about the ones who painstakingly searched for their benefactor.
“Everyone, enjoy! Did you have a good trip in China?”
“Noo—!”
Narita Mei gave an unexpected answer.
I was curious what her complaint was and found it to be justifiable.
“Luohan, she knows less about China than we do. When I ask her if the food is good, she always says it’s her first time tasting it.”
“That’s understandable with how vast China is.”
“No, listen Na-me, we were supposed to stop by Fuzhou City but ended up in Jiangxi Province instead of Fujian Province. It was so frustrating… We traveled for 6 more hours from there.”
Seems like Hiroyuki nodded vigorously, perhaps having been wronged by Luohan many times.
“So, Luohan Unni has hardly ever ventured outside Hubei Province.”
“Um, roughly?”
“What does roughly mean?”
“I’ve been in Mudang Mountain except for about ten days a year.”
She recounted her seven years of life from ages 9 to 16.
Her stories were vivid, something hard to come by online.
Cleaning the dojo, sweeping the floors, and washing the windows.
Preparing simple meals first thing in the morning and setting the dining table were also the responsibility of the youngest members.
When there was a sect event, they helped out by putting up banners, and in their spare time, they attended martial arts classes to earn their credits.
Eight hours of labor and eight hours of education, barely in elementary school age.
“But these days, they cook all the meals in the cafeteria, so I don’t have to wake up early. I still end up getting woken up by the sound of drones flying, though.”
“This sounds like the military…”
– “No matter how much we complain about Hell Joseon, the continent is on a completely different level LOL”
– ???: “Mom, I don’t want to go to the academy!” / ???: “Let’s practice our Kung Fu like we’re putting down stakes in the morning.”
Thud—!
– “At this point, it seems primitive LOL”
– “Shouldn’t we consider putting it all under child abuse?”
– “The Mudang Sect is the most old-school among all the sects.”
└ Wasn’t that Shaolin?
└ The Shaolin branch has hundreds just in the U.S., Europe, and Southeast Asia.
└ It’s the capitalists who birthed the Buddhist monks.
└ Constantly going on about moderation, but they’re extremely extreme – there’s no middle ground!
– Fun Fact: The Qingseong Sect’s meal service is provided by our home.
└ LOL Why on earth?
However, the children completing this curriculum were mostly the offspring of the upper class.
Although it’s nowhere near the third of the power the past Communist Party enjoyed.
That in itself must be a daunting sky for someone.
Thud—
I patted Luohan’s shoulder and raised my thumb toward the viewers.
“After living for about 10 years, I’ve realized that difficult experiences eventually become great assets. Especially if you can find meaning in the obligations you have to fulfill… you can lighten your emotional burden a bit during tough times. Congratulations to Luohan Unni for being outstandingly graduated.”
When I first opened my eyes in the capsule.
I no longer had the motivation to save Seol-ah and myself.
Having achieved what I desired and met a glorious death.
Only a lingering attachment to life remained in a corner of my heart, yet there wasn’t much obsession.
More accurately, I thought I didn’t have any.
An imperfect start, unseen hope.
Seol-ah and the princess have no bond whatsoever.
If I was destined to die anyway, keeping the pain to a minimum would have been the best option.
However, the writhing emotions of the nameless baby made even the existence in another world tremble in fear.
Awakening the instinct of death anew and bestowing the obligation to escape.
Yet, the gentle disposition I was born with never left me.
Let’s not live in fear every day.
If I escape from the capsule, I imagined various possibilities of what I would do and cleared quests.
One day amidst the winter event, where a snow-covered battlefield awaited.
I wanted a snowball fight, yet found it to be trivial.
Having been intimidated by the princess’s cruelty, I proposed a snowball fight that wasn’t trivial.
“[Rurina and the Hero Party are going to have a snowball fight… hmmm, then that sounds like it could be worth considering.]”
Recalling the day when childlike joy triumphed over me for the first time, I reminisced.
“It wasn’t trivial at all. I had so much fun that I lost track of time!”
“The kids were all giving it their all. If Klaus had this kind of tenacity, he would’ve caught the Demon King ages ago.”
“In the end, I was just letting them win. I would never admit defeat.”
Now, after seven years, I could finally repay that debt for that pentakill honor.
But then, I heard snickering by my ear.
“Why?”
I looked at the chat window and realized why.
– “After living for about 10 years ← She’s 10 years old LOL”
– “Oh Na-me~”
– “If Luohan’s experience is 7 years, then Na-me is 9 years old!”
– “Ah, this is why I watch NoName’s streams. Why is she so cute? LOL”
└ Once you’re hooked, there’s no escaping.
└ NoName’s minor gallery welcomes newcomers.
“Don’t talk like you’ve lived the entire world!”
└ “If I almost lived the whole world, would you believe me…?”
└ “For Na-me, no hurtful words allowed!!!”
“Huhehehe. Got it, Na-me, I’ll make sure to remember that!”
Seeing the room explode with laughter, I couldn’t help but smile brightly.
“Of course you should! That’s what a champion’s advice is for. If there’s any disagreement, let’s go again!”
