Chapter 109
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The One Who Was My Companion Ⅰ
Shin Noah
1
If I were to pick the most fundamental ability among the powers I've awakened, it would be [Time Seal].
It not only formed the foundation of my alias "The Funeral Director," but it was also the very first skill I awakened.
However, the ability I use most practically, as naturally as breathing, is definitely [Complete Memory Ability].
Without this skill right here, how could I have possibly spun tales spanning thousands of years to all of you?
But in truth, [Complete Memory Ability] didn't actually mean I remembered everything 100%.
In my long, long life as a regressor, there existed exactly one place—0.01%—that remained blank, like forcibly deleted data.
And so, today I'd like to talk about my ability's "incomplete memory."
This is the story of the 173rd iteration.
2
One day, the Saintess spoke.
[Mr. Funeral Director.]
"Yes."
[Perhaps I've been operating with preconceptions about the Constellation all this time. Don't you think I need to refresh the Constellation's image in a friendlier, kinder direction?]
"Ah, yes. Do as you wish."
[A good idea suddenly came to me last night.]
Perhaps some of you with exceptional memory might find the dialogue above familiar.
[Hello hello! Greetings to all Awakened of the Korean Peninsula! Nice to meet you meow!]
[I am the Constellation who will al-ways watch over you from now on, the Saintess of National Salvation meow!]
[Meow-ong! Please take care of me from now on meow!]
"......"
Indeed.
The 173rd iteration was one where I deliberately left the "Butterfly Effect" unpurged.
The flutter of wings that occurred in Beijing moved to neighboring Korea instead of departing for America or Brazil, inflicting massive damage on the Saintess's psyche, a territorial fixture of the Korean Peninsula.
"Saintess."
[Meow?]
"That's not it. Please stop......"
[Yes.]
The Saintess's deviation was suppressed, leaving countless question marks on SG Net.
Anyway, the Butterfly Effect randomly generated variables that could never be seen in previous iterations.
In creating "futures the regressor could not predict," the Butterfly Effect might actually have been my greatest nemesis. But conversely, in generating "novel events that couldn't bore me," it was a rather welcome anomaly.
After all, one couldn't always hear the Saintess's meowing speech pattern, could they?
I created a folder named "173rd Iteration Saintess-Cat Constellation Transformation" on the desktop in my mind, saved the recording files, then returned to daily life.
A regressor had their own thoroughly set schedule. This was still only 7 months into the iteration, so I was busy in many ways.
After purging the World Tree Udumbara in Onyang, Asan, I moved to the rehabilitation hospital where I would first meet Noh Do-ha to propose the creation of the National Road Management Corps.
Noh Do-ha was dead.
"......"
The location was a national hospital. One that doubled as a rehabilitation center.
Hospitals, pharmacies, and supermarkets were most vulnerable to attacks at the end of the century. Rehabilitation hospitals, being public institutions with poor security, appeared as prime targets for looters.
The national hospital couldn't claim services vastly superior to private hospitals, but thanks to government subsidies, it provided reasonably cost-effective treatment to patients.
Its reputation was good. Among those high ratings, the skills of Noh Do-ha, an assistive device technician working at the prosthetics center, likely played a part.
Noh Do-ha's body lay sprawled at the entrance to the patient wards. Far from the prosthetics center where she worked.
If it had been just looter attacks, the damage wouldn't have been severe. This was still a period when the apocalyptic situation hadn't fully deepened. Even looters weren't completely unhesitant about murder.
The looter attack coincided with monstrous entities running amok. When the hospital began to be destroyed, Noh Do-ha left her post and ran to the inpatient ward. And died.
The attack seemed to have occurred just a day ago. On Noh Do-ha's white coat, which she favored wearing, the blood had not yet fully lost its red hue.
"Why......"
I muttered, then swallowed my remaining words.
This was a first. An iteration where Noh Do-ha died this early on.
Therefore, I could immediately grasp what cause had brought about this result.
The Butterfly Effect.
An anomaly that, when left un-purged, escaped existing causality and generated random variables. Those variables somehow triggered the looter and monster attacks.
As a result, Noh Do-ha died.
Leaving the Butterfly Effect be resulted in observing such a route as well.
"...The gift has become useless. Master of the Workshop."
I sat with my back against the wall next to Noh Do-ha's body. And placed the gift box I'd brought from China beside her.
Puer tea. Bingdao Old Village, first harvest. A luxury item commanding roughly 20 million won.
It wasn't a fake. An authentic item obtained using a regressor's knowledge and connections. I gifted this every iteration for Noh Do-ha, who preferred tea slightly over coffee.
Noh Do-ha didn't open her heart to others easily. But upon receiving this gift, even while furrowing her brows, she would say "...Well, shall I at least hear you out?" and allow room for conversation.
Like this.
-Hah? A regressor? Hey. Sorry, but are you telling me to believe such absurd nonsense right now...?
-There's plenty of evidence. We've had this conversation countless times already. That's why there exists the ["If you know this much, you have no choice but to admit it! 'I'll believe it, you really are a regressor' 100 Selected Questions"] that you personally devised.
-What kind of bullshit is that...
-I'm not a prophet, nor am I from the National Intelligence Service. More importantly, let me first convey what the Noh Do-has of previous iterations asked me to tell you.
-What is it...?
-Are you enjoying the free ride?
-Hah...?
-The materials I just gave you contain not only the questionnaire but also roughly all the failure records from previous iterations. In other words, the current Noh Do-ha is in a far more advantageous position than herself in previous iterations. Regarding that, the Noh Do-has of previous iterations are pointing this out. Are you enjoying the free ride?
-......
-For reference, after this sentence, the profanity "you fucking bastard" is also included.
-You're out of your mind.
After talking through the night like that, Noh Do-ha would accept the duty of rising to lead the National Road Management Corps.
But today, such a conversation had become impossible.
-Funeral Director Awakener...
-Yes?
-Your profession is conducting funerals, right? If I die, please don't funeralize my corpse. Ah, this isn't a request limited to just this iteration, but something that applies to all future times...
-That's not difficult, but why do you ask me not to hold a funeral?
-Heh, I don't want to be enshrined by you... Just leave my corpse there and leave. Don't look at it. Don't examine it. Don't do anything like seeing me off either. Understand...?
-Hmm.
-We'll meet again anyway. Just tell me why I kicked the bucket when that time comes...
I sat beside the corpse, not looking at Noh Do-ha's dead face, simply staring up at the hospital corridor alongside her.
For a while.
"...Then I'll see you next time. Master of the Workshop."
There was no answer.
But I would carry this scene and memory intact to the next iteration. At that time, Noh Do-ha would surely go "Heuh" and react to the story with her characteristic laugh.
Imagining that scene, I was able to smile a little.
I left the gift behind and exited the hospital.
Afterward, with the Saintess's cooperation, I tracked down and eliminated the looters who had attacked the national hospital. Not that it's particularly important content, but the looters formed a cellular organization like the 72 Strongholds of bandits in martial arts novels, and among them, one group had Lee Baek involved.
Evidence that people don't change easily.
After weeding out the large-scale looter group trying to take root in Korea, I crossed to Beijing and finished purging the Butterfly Effect as well.
[She must have been someone important to you, Mr. Funeral Director.]
"Yes. Though she was probably sick to death of me."
[......]
After that, the Saintess and I never mentioned Noh Do-ha again. We continued the 173rd iteration as if nothing had happened.
Just in case, I'll add that I never even considered the idea of committing suicide to start a new iteration.
Living diligently despite Noh Do-ha being gone. That itself was my own funeral and respect for Noh Do-ha's death.
Rather, I should take this variable as an opportunity to collect data even more actively, including parts I normally couldn't collect.
That way, I could convey it to Noh Do-ha in the next iteration and elicit the impression "Hmm, well, I guess my dying in vain had some meaning after all..."
That was why.
The reason I pursued a somewhat more radical route in the 173rd iteration.
3
"National Road Management Corps?"
Dang Seo-rin tilted her head.
"I'm not sure I understand, but you're saying you plan to create such an organization, and you want me to take the position of its leader?"
"Correct."
Noh Do-ha was the number one candidate to lead the National Road Management Corps. And if there's a number one candidate, it means there's also a number two.
Naturally, my number two candidate had always been Dang Seo-rin.
"Hmm... There are many things I want to ask, but let's clarify this first."
"Speak comfortably."
"Why me specifically?"
That was a simple question.
There were truly many reasons why Dang Seo-rin was suited for the position of National Road Management Corps commander.
"I knew you'd ask that, so I prepared materials."
"Huh? Materials?"
"Yes. I'd like you to look at this PPT."
"...Wait, that's strange. Suddenly I'm getting an ominous feeling that I asked something I shouldn't have asked."
(1) Leadership.
Dang Seo-rin had already raised Three Thousand Worlds into Korea's strongest guild across countless iterations.
Not only that, she excellently governed Busan, a major city that had become virtually the capital since Seoul's destruction.
While other guild leaders relied on AI judges, Dang Seo-rin administered Busan's judiciary in her own way using "Equivalent Exchange" magic. Both Three Thousand Worlds guild members and Busan citizens accepted this governance method.
In terms of leadership, there would be no talent to match Dang Seo-rin.
(2) Noblesse Oblige.
While some guild leaders were busy occupying cities and building their own kingdoms, Dang Seo-rin threw herself onto the battlefield without a moment's hesitation. She headed to the frontlines fighting against monsters.
The Ten Clans. Udumbara. Meteor Shower. Whenever powerful monsters swept through the Korean Peninsula, Dang Seo-rin sang her magical songs on the battlefield, literally carving away her "lifespan."
Dedication to the public.
The skill to turn dedication into results.
The charisma to package achievements, spread them, gather supporters, and establish authority.
Dang Seo-rin possessed these extremely rare and precious virtues.
...As I've mentioned a few times before, in this apocalyptic age, a bizarre ideology called "Awakener Supremacy" ran rampant.
I, like Noh Do-ha, always called Awakeners simply "Awakeners." But many people called the same beings "Transcendents" or "Ascenders."
Dang Seo-rin didn't place even a fingernail's worth of her identity on such wordplay. She simply bore endless responsibility equal to her powerful strength.
For the position of National Road Management Corps commander, which required "not only gathering Awakeners but considering all humans on the Korean Peninsula," one couldn't find a candidate more qualified than Dang Seo-rin.
(3) Personal Charm.
Not only the charisma needed to lead a group, but on an individual level as well, Dang Seo-rin......
"No, wait wait! Stop! Stooooop!"
"Hm?"
Just as I was enthusiastically expounding on "101 Reasons Why You Must Become National Road Management Corps Commander," Dang Seo-rin waved both hands.
"Funeral Director, that's enough! That's sufficient, so stop now! Please!"
"Why? I haven't even finished speaking."
"Did I not tell you to stop?! You- this, you're trying to kill me with embarrassment, aren't you? Huh? Trying to make me die of shame? Seriously, good heavens. You're crazy!"
As could be inferred from the fact that she normally carries around a cone hat and witch's broom, the part of Dang Seo-rin's brain responsible for emotions like embarrassment and shame had atrophied.
Nevertheless, when carpet-bombing her with praise unrelated to "magic," "witch," or "song," her brain exhibited panic, like withered thigh muscles trembling when forced to do squats.
And at times like this, forced demands worked with high probability.
"Understood. Then may I take it that you'll accept the National Road Management Corps commander position?"
"Fine! I'll do it. I'll do it so just shut up before anyone hears!"
See. This is the technique of a former Dang Seo-rin manager.
Thus, Dang Seo-rin's Three Thousand Worlds guild merged with the National Road Management Corps. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say Three Thousand Worlds evolved into the National Road Management Corps.
This entire process went smoothly.
There weren't many people concerned that too much authority was being concentrated in a mere guild called Three Thousand Worlds. Dang Seo-rin's name alone had the power to transform worry into expectation.
If one were to ask why, despite such convenience, I hadn't entrusted the National Road Management Corps to Dang Seo-rin in previous iterations——aside from minor excuses, there was truly only one core reason.
-If possible, don't reveal to the next iteration's me that you're a regressor.
I cannot confess to Dang Seo-rin that I'm a regressor.
Because of Dang Seo-rin's own dying wish.
In the iteration where we first succeeded in purging the Ten Clans, the 10th iteration when I revealed I was a regressor, Dang Seo-rin placed a binding knot of eternal restraint on me.
-I'm greedy and a devotee of the impulse-buying god. I absolutely cannot think "I'll sacrifice this iteration for the next one."
-If I learn I have hundreds of years of lifespan remaining, I'll definitely use it all for the current iteration.
-Make sure my lifespan is saved up until the very, very end. Until the true final crisis arrives.
I kept that promise.
From the 10th iteration to the 173rd, I never once revealed my secret to Dang Seo-rin.
And that meant, unlike Noh Do-ha or the Saintess, Dang Seo-rin could never join our regression alliance.
While I could share information obtained through regression with Noh Do-ha freely, to share it with Dang Seo-rin always required some packaging and acting... in other words, lies.
Lies. Something I would never do to Dang Seo-rin under normal circumstances.
But the 173rd iteration, perhaps because Noh Do-ha's early departure was so shocking, I decided to experiment with an IF route—[What if Dang Seo-rin were to lead the National Road Management Corps?]
Sure enough.
In this route I was pioneering for the first time, Dang Seo-rin displayed her talents to the fullest.
"Funeral Director. You know that Equivalent Exchange magic you helped me develop before. I was thinking about it yesterday, and this magic seems to have infinite potential for application."
"Yeah. When sending National Road Management Corps members on patrols to other regions, I always try to include at least one person who participated in the Ten Clans purge. That way, if something happens and we get into a dispute with another guild, we can brush it off saying we're all comrades, right?"
"Hmm- While the AI judge that Cheon Yo-hwa's guild leader arranged is certainly convenient... But there are often cases where people don't accept the AI judge's rulings, right? So I want to make it so final judgments can be issued here at the Busan National Road Management Corps headquarters......"
My judgment wasn't wrong.
Though she had the data Noh Do-ha accumulated and my advice, Dang Seo-rin led the National Road Management Corps with astonishing speed, as if it were only natural.
And before long, Dang Seo-rin came up with ideas that neither Noh Do-ha nor I had thought of before.
"Hey, Funeral Director."
"Hm?"
"Can't I record the song I spread through the main supply channels and play it faintly throughout the entire city? For example... developing magic that makes people feel a bit happier."
That was the beginning.
Infinite Regressor Spinning Tales