“Gang Rina,” she introduced herself.
And then she called me “Patriarch.”
At the age of twenty-four, I was not at an age to be called “Patriarch.”
Did the concept of a “Patriarch” even exist in Korea to begin with?
Despite her polite tone, I could tell she was uncomfortable around me.
“Seogwang (Dawn)...?”
“Please, speak comfortably. The company name has changed. The IT and biotech firm that the previous generation—your, the Founding Ancestor’s parents—operated is now called Eden Genesis. Truthfully, it changed a long time ago.”
Despite her clear reluctance, she calmly explained herself.
“I am... that person’s... eleventh-generation descendant... I suppose.”
It didn’t feel real.
But, that child... no, though calling her a child seems off since she looked about my age.
Still, to think that girl was my eleventh-generation descendant.
I had wondered if she might be family.
Even in my hazy state, the moment I saw that deep blue hair, I thought of my younger sister.
“Even though you, Patriarch, did not personally leave behind any descendants before entering the device.”
As if reading my thoughts, Rina added.
“Then, are you Seoyun’s descendant after all?”
“That’s the gist of it. Grandmother Seoyun... I’m not sure what to call her, but when I asked the clan association, I was told she is roughly my eleventh-generation ancestral grandmother.”
This is insane.
My own sister, an eleventh-generation grandmother.
She’d be furious if she heard that.
As I held my throbbing head, Rina spoke.
“Honestly, I was very surprised when I received the contact. To think that the elder brother of my founding grandmother... was still alive... Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real, even now. I heard the atmosphere was quite hostile back then. They were rounding up S-X carriers into camps... And yet, your parents refused to be quarantined.”
“......”
Rina had started to ramble on with brief sentiments, but then seemed to catch herself, or pretended not to, and changed the subject.
“I’ll show you later, but she—Grandmother Seoyun—missed... Grandfather... I mean, she missed you her whole life, or so they say. She left behind letters—no, diaries. Thanks to that, I learned the context.”
An awkward silence passed between us.
I fell into thought as I gazed at Gang Rina’s pale wrist, revealed by the rolled-up sleeves of her white blouse.
Though her skin seemed well-maintained, I felt a subtle age and experience beyond her appearance.
*How old is she?*
It was out of nowhere, but that question came to mind.
There was something about her expression—mature beyond what you’d expect of an ordinary twenty-something.
Like someone who had seen through the world, as if she had no emotions of her own.
Her half-closed eyes even made her seem completely uninterested in me as we faced each other, but... if that were the case, she wouldn’t have come out to greet me so kindly and ask after this and that.
Perhaps it was because of her background as the chairperson of a corporation.
Position makes the person, after all.
That was probably why I couldn’t shake the thought that she seemed older than me, but remembering that she was my descendant, the idea of submitting to her felt strange and somehow unacceptable.
When I stayed silent, the woman with that cool blue hair couldn’t endure it and broke the silence first.
“I shall serve you as Patriarch. Please feel free to call me Rina.”
“You’re nicer than you look.”
I had been feeling suffocated, but our terms of address were now pleasantly settled.
“What do you mean by ‘nicer than I look’?”
“Don’t glare at me like that. Hah... you really are similar to my sister.”
“......”
“‘Patriarch’ is a bit much, so just call me by name. Gang Doyun.”
“I don’t think that would be physiologically possible.”
“Physiologically? Ah~ you mean your body won’t accept it? Haha~”
At my nonsense, Gang Rina shot me a look of contempt that reminded me of Seoyun.
For some reason, vitality seemed to return to my body.
“Here is the schedule going forward. In principle, you would need to undergo surgery, but it would be difficult for you to endure such a thing. Surgery for adults has side effects, and it is not a perfect method either.”
“Surgery?”
“Surgery performed from the fetal stage has become commonplace. It was developed after the S-X disease. Though that was 100 years later. That is why you have awakened from the cryogenic device like this, Patriarch.”
Of course.
If there were no cure for the S-X disease, I would be nothing but a potential sex offender who disrupts the social order.
Because when symptoms are severe, you can’t control yourself.
What a terrible world.
Still, surgery from birth? That was a shock.
I smiled bitterly.
Gang Rina, watching me intently, added.
“Don’t worry, Patriarch. I will protect you.”
“Oh...”
I had thought she was a cold, distant grandniece, but suddenly she says something so reliable.
I was so moved that I exaggeratedly covered my mouth.
Seeing that, Rina added.
“If the Patriarch gets entangled in problems, it becomes disadvantageous for me too. Not just for me, but it is a nuisance to the company our family has built up over generations. I believe you, Patriarch, would agree with this as well. Therefore, I trust that you will absolutely not cause any problems. I mean, even if such a situation were to occur, I intend to do my utmost to defend you, but the power of a mere corporate figure has its limits.”
“Thank you. Rina. I shall endeavor to behave.”
“...You needn’t make such a dejected expression. When I say this, it is not baseless confidence. As the chairperson of Eden Genesis and as an advisor on the government’s social maintenance policy, I am quite a prestigious and influential person. Though it is all thanks to my ancestors, including you, Patriarch.”
“What a humble child...”
“Of course, the Patriarch entered the cryogenic device early, so you hardly contributed anything.”
“You’re so inconsistent—!”
Gang Rina’s eyebrows twitched.
The corners of her lips twitched too.
I wondered if she was sneering, but more than that... it seemed she was simply holding back laughter.
I was quick to read people.
This girl... I had the feeling she’d lived her life making quite an effort to hide her emotions.
“However, the Patriarch is a socially high-risk individual, so you must consult with me before doing anything. Understand? If you consult with me sufficiently, you will not cause any disturbances. For your information, I will do my utmost to ensure that the Patriarch spends the rest of his days in comfort, to the extent of my abilities.”
After that, I heard many things from her.
The most shocking was the gender ratio of future society.
She said women were ninety percent.
How on earth?
“It is the advancement of technology. The trigger was the S-X disease.”
Rina puffed out her considerable chest—which she had inherited straight from Seoyun—and pointed her finger at me.
“I don’t know if it still exists, but it resembles the signature pose of the Empress character from that comic called One X.”
“...What’s that?”
“As expected, even a masterpiece is buried after 400 years.”
Groaning, I rose from my seat and struck the pose of Boa Hancock.
“You tilt your head back, point your finger down, and say, ‘You are beneath me...’”
“I’ve never thought of the Patriarch as beneath me, but if you tilt your head back like that, I think I’d only see behind your head. More importantly, I didn’t tilt it back that dramatically. You’re exaggerating.”
“It is merely an approximation. And that is simply how that character is.”
“Anyway...”
Rina ignored me as if uninterested and continued her explanation.
“As the S-X disease spread rapidly, male violence became a problem. The situation grew increasingly serious, and finally, with the invention of two decisive technologies, the Women’s Revolution occurred about 100 years ago.”
Rina spoke quietly, as if reciting.
“In the end, your parents—my ancestors—made the right choice. If you, Patriarch, had chosen to wait for treatment or chosen isolation, you would have died an unfortunate death.”
*Women’s Revolution.*
At that unfamiliar yet somehow familiar term, I blanked out for a moment.
Though I hadn’t witnessed the catalyst with my own eyes, as Rina put it, present society was mostly led by women as a result of that so-called Women’s Revolution.
The origin was the worst disease, “S-X disease,” which broke out only in men.
Suddenly remembering the devastation of that time, my mood sank heavily.
“......”
“What is it, Patriarch? You’ve suddenly gone quiet. Is my hospitality not to your liking?”
“What hospitality?”
This comes rather late.
Right now, I had just awoken from the cryogenic device and was not wearing any clothes.
The moment I came to my senses, Gang Rina had been talking to me without even taking me out.
But seeing how much she knew about me, it seemed she had actually already completed all verification procedures to identify me before waking me, and was now explaining everything before we left the lab.
“Thinking about S-X disease doesn’t exactly put me in a good mood.”
“That doesn’t mean you can cause a rampage.”
“I didn’t say I’d cause a rampage. For starters, I’m naked right now. Is it that you want to see the Patriarch’s naked body? Our Rina is quite devious. Unlike her appearance...”
“I’m not devious. And your speech has suddenly turned archaic.”
“Why wouldn’t it? You’re treating me like an old man, Rina.”
“I clearly called you Patri—”
“Ah, I see now. You were afraid I’d be upset if you called me Grandfather, so you went with ‘Patriarch.’”
“......”
“What a cute grandniece. Shall I give you a hug?”
“......”
Feeling somewhat detached, I blabbered whatever came to mind.
Rina furrowed her brow and then gestured to the researchers nearby.
“Is there something wrong with his head? His manner of speaking has become strange.”
“I’m fine, perfectly fine.”
Thanks to Rina’s reaction, my mood lifted somewhat.
“So, has the S-X virus been removed from my body, Rina?”
Rina stopped the female researcher who had been approaching at her request for help.
“To tell the truth, no. Because the virus has adapted to your body over such a long period, surgery is impossible. However, for some reason, symptoms are not manifesting.”
“Of course. If symptoms had manifested, I might have done terrible things to my grandniece.”
“...We opened it because we checked that first.”
“I was frozen for 400 years. Isn’t it possible the virus all died?”
“As you can see, there is none.”
“That is hardly an explanation.”
Rina called the researcher over, and she brought a large mirror to reflect me.
Despite a face like an innocent boy, reflected in the capsule was a rugged, sexy 190cm muscular giant with a steroid-pumped frame exuding raw masculinity, bearing a slightly languid expression.
“If the S-X virus had not been present, your muscles would have already completely atrophied.”
Rina spoke clearly and deliberately.