Chapter 10

“I’ll decide after I hear what the favor is.”

Yes!

Having received a tentative yes, I asked the waiter for a pen and a sheet of paper.

Dallin raised an eyebrow.

“What, are you asking me to deliver a letter?”

“Something like that.”

Shielding the paper with one hand so Dallin couldn’t see, I wrote a single sentence.

Then I folded the note neatly and slid it across the table.

Dallin simply looked down at it.

“Don’t open it.”

“Please deliver it to the Crown Prince without anyone finding out.”

For reference, this was what I’d written:

Prepare for the even greater disaster that will come after the worst one.

In other words…

It was a vague warning about the coming Apocalypse.

Originally, I’d planned to do nothing.

There wasn’t much I could change anyway.

But after meeting Dallin, I’d changed my mind.

Because Dallin…

Hin…

Was more than capable of secretly delivering a note to the Crown Prince.

Knowing exactly what would happen in the future…

Having a way to warn someone discreetly…

Yet doing absolutely nothing…

Somehow didn’t sit right with me.

“…Now that one I definitely didn’t see coming.”

I’d spoken the words “Crown Prince” so quietly they were almost silent.

Yet Dallin seemed to understand just by reading my lips.

“Sweetheart…”

“Do you happen to have some hidden identity?”

“Like being the lost child of the Imperial Family…”

“Or perhaps the daughter the late Saintess lost?”

Honestly…

Even I thought I looked suspicious.

But there was no way I could tell him I was a reincarnator.

Even if I insisted I was just an ordinary person, he’d probably think I was making excuses.

After thinking for a moment…

I decided to make use of his misunderstanding.

“I don’t know.”

“If Ethan and I ever end up together…”

“I’ll tell you.”

“What?!”

Wasn’t it dangerous to say something like that when nothing was actually going on?

Not at all.

I had absolutely no intention of becoming involved with Ethan.

Liking the protagonist and feeling sorry for him was one thing.

Getting caught up in the endless storm of events surrounding him was another.

I wanted only one thing.

A peaceful life.

I’d already decided that once I returned to Oligo…

I’d avoid Mapel entirely and evacuate as soon as the time came.

So saying “if Ethan and I end up together” sounded plausible…

While actually describing something that would never happen.

Ha!

* * *

We spent so long talking that I hardly had time to enjoy dinner.

Because the lecture was about to begin, I had to leave nearly half of my steak untouched.

When I apologized for not being able to finish the meal he’d generously bought me, Dallin simply said he’d treat me again next time.

Perhaps that was the confidence of someone who owned the largest trading company in the Empire.

In any case…

I had now arrived at Millet Academy.

Even though it was already late, the main building was crowded with people.

Apparently the conference chairman was holding some kind of banquet later to celebrate the announcement of a new technology.

That seemed to be where everyone was headed.

But…

I wasn’t interested in that.

I walked straight toward the annex building instead.

Unlike the main hall, which was overflowing with people, the annex was practically deserted.

It was so quiet that I honestly felt like a ghost could appear at any moment.

Rubbing my arms, I climbed the stairs.

My destination…

…was the rooftop observatory.

“…There’s nobody here.”

Even after reaching the rooftop, not a single person was in sight.

However…

In the middle of the empty outdoor venue…

On what was probably a stage meant for orchestral performances…

Something immediately caught my eye.

Almost hypnotized, I walked toward it.

It was covered by a large black waterproof cloth.

Beneath the cloth, I could make out the long cylindrical shape of something about as wide as a person’s outstretched arms.

I knew immediately.

This was the telescope that had brought me all the way here.

The sound of my excited heartbeat echoed through my veins all the way to my ears.

Click.

At that moment, I heard footsteps behind me.

Turning around…

I saw a man walking toward me.

He wore an obviously expensive suit and glasses with a chain attached.

When he noticed me, he pressed a hand against his temple.

The gesture carried unmistakable irritation.

Is that Baron Bron?

Thinking so, I prepared to greet him.

“…Why are you here?”

…Excuse me?

“Aren’t you giving a lecture here?”

“I am.”

Then what…?

I was so dumbfounded that I momentarily forgot how to speak.

Meanwhile, Baron Bron walked past me and climbed onto the stage.

Looking at him up close, I noticed the astonishingly dark circles beneath his eyes.

They reminded me of the employee I’d met at the Reincarnation Office.

“I told them nobody would come if they scheduled it this late.”

Dragging his feet, he wandered over to the edge of the stage and looked me up and down.

Apparently deciding formalities weren’t necessary, he plopped himself down on the floor.

I stared blankly at his legs dangling over the edge.

What is wrong with this guy?

“Don’t you know the Crown Prince is visiting the main building right now?”

“The Crown Prince?”

“I didn’t know.”

So the rumors were true.

The Crown Prince really was interested in this conference.

“If you’ve suddenly decided you’d rather go over there…”

“Tell me now.”

“I’ll send you.”

“…I’m not really interested.”

The Baron looked as though he desperately wanted me to leave.

Unfortunately…

I couldn’t do that.

I’d come all this way to witness this world’s equivalent of Galileo Galilei’s achievement.

There was no way I was giving up because of the Crown Prince.

“Why?”

He looked genuinely despairing.

Without hesitation, I pointed at the telescope behind him.

“I came all the way here because I heard you’d be demonstrating that.”

“I don’t care about anything else.”

“Why?”

“I like looking at the night sky.”

“You came all this way…”

“…just for that?”

Seriously?

I was annoyed.

Unfortunately, he was still a noble.

So I relaxed my expression and smiled politely.

“Isn’t that reason enough?”

Baron Bron pressed his lips together.

“…Sigh.”

After letting out a deep sigh, he slowly stood up.

Despite his completely apathetic attitude, he moved with quick, precise efficiency as he removed the waterproof cover.

The telescope beneath it looked exactly like the early astronomical telescopes I’d only ever seen in educational videos.

It felt as though I’d been transported back to the seventeenth century.

My heart started dancing with excitement.

After adjusting the telescope for a while, he said flatly,

“Come up.”

Finally!

I hurried onto the stage and stood beside him.

“Have you read my book?”

“If you mean Optics, which you published recently…”

“Yes.”

I’d given up halfway through all the other papers I’d bought.

That one was the only one I’d forced myself to finish.

“Then I won’t need to explain anything.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I only understood about half of it.”

“Half is already enough.”

“Let’s start with the Moon.”

Looking through the eyepiece, the Baron adjusted the telescope.

For the record…

This planet could practically be considered Earth’s twin.

Whether the author simply lacked imagination or not, the language and even the laws of physics were almost identical to Earth’s.

Personally…

That made life much easier for me.

“There.”

“It’s ready.”

“Now just look through the eyepiece.”

Filled with anticipation, I placed my eye against the lens.

The universe I’d walked through before being reincarnated…

If I could see even a fragment of that unforgettable beauty once again…

Then my journey here would have been completely worthwhile.

“…Wow.”

The first thing I saw…

…was the rugged surface of the Moon.

The edges were a little blurry.

But the center clearly revealed the lunar maria.

And then…

There was something else.

Bzzzt…

It sounded like a radio signal connecting.

…Wait.

A sound?

Since when could a telescope convert radio waves from space into audio?

My entire body stiffened at a phenomenon that completely defied my understanding.

Then—

“Ah! The connection finally worked… Ms. Hee-joo!”

A familiar halo suddenly popped into view through the telescope.

Wait.

Isn’t that the halo I saw when I was reincarnated?

Why is it there?!

“Whoa!”

I jumped backward so violently that I fell over.

“Whoa?”

The Baron looked at me strangely.

“Ah…”

“It was just an expression of amazement because it’s so beautiful.”

“People in my village say that.”

In my panic…

I shamelessly blamed my entire village.

Pressing a hand against my pounding heart, I climbed back up and looked through the eyepiece again.

I must’ve imagined it.

Maybe I was just sleepy.

“Considering the length of a human lifetime, it’s probably been a very long time for you, Ms. Hee-joo.”

“It’s truly, truly good to see you again.”

“I’ve been waiting because there’s something I need to tell you.”

My hope was crushed almost immediately.

Without anyone touching the telescope…

The magnification suddenly decreased by itself until the entire Sea of Whales on the Moon filled my view.

“Don’t worry.”

“Only you can hear my voice.”

“Please remain calm and continue looking through the lens.”

And there…

Standing in front of the Moon…

Was the guide from the Reincarnation Management Bureau.

He was calling me by the name I’d had decades ago.

Hee-joo.

He looked completely out of place against the lunar landscape.

Like someone pasted into the scene from a magazine collage.

Compared to the emotionless employee I remembered…

He now looked exhausted.

Thinner.

Far more tense.

“You don’t have to answer aloud.”

“Simply think your response, and I’ll hear it.”

“If you understand, blink twice.”

Blink.

Blink.

I did exactly as instructed while desperately holding onto what remained of my sanity.

Yesterday…

I’d discovered the protagonist’s true identity.

And today…

I was meeting the employee who had helped me reincarnate after I died.

Putting it in Korean terms…

Wasn’t this basically like the Grim Reaper who escorted me to the afterlife coming back to visit me?

At that thought…

For some reason…

I suddenly missed Eon’s divine power, the one that always calmed me down.