TCMED 10

Chapter 10

“Let me hear it first, then I’ll decide.”

*Yes!*

Having received provisional permission, I asked the waiter for a pen and paper. Darrin raised an eyebrow.

“Are you planning to send a letter or something?”

“Something like that.”

I shielded my writing from Darrin’s view and scribbled down a single sentence on the paper. Then I neatly folded the note and slid it across the table towards him. Darrin just stared at it silently.

“Don’t open it under any circumstances. Please deliver this to the Crown Prince without anyone knowing.”

For reference, the sentence I wrote was this:

**[Prepare for the even greater worst that will follow the worst.]**

In other words, it was a roundabout warning about the impending doom.

Originally, I had planned to just stay still since there was nothing I could do, but seeing Darrin made me change my mind. Darrin, and Hin, have more than enough ability to secretly deliver a note to the Crown Prince.

Knowing exactly what will happen in the future, and having the means to secretly relay this information, it felt wrong to do nothing.

“I really didn’t expect this…”

I had whispered the word ‘Crown Prince’ almost silently, but Darrin seemed to understand immediately just by reading my lips.

“Hey, do you have some kind of hidden identity? Like, actually being a lost bloodline of the royal family, or the dead Saintess’s long-lost daughter?”

Honestly, even I thought I looked suspicious.

But I couldn’t exactly say I was a reincarnator. Even if I said I was just an ordinary person, it would clearly be taken as an excuse.

After a moment of thought, I decided to make convenient use of Darrin’s misunderstanding.

“Well, who knows. If things work out well between me and Ethan, maybe I’ll let you know.”

“Wha—?”

*Are you crazy? Saying things like that with no basis will get you into big trouble, you know?*

It’s fine. I have absolutely no intention of getting involved with Ethan.

Separate from liking the protagonist and feeling sorry for him, I have absolutely no desire to get entangled in the storm of events that are about to unfold. All I want is a peaceful life.

I had already resolved that once I returned to Oligo, I would avoid even looking in Mapel’s direction and lie low.

So, saying ‘if things work out with Ethan’ is a plausible-sounding but utterly impossible condition.

Haha!

The conversation had taken up so much time that I didn’t get to properly enjoy my dinner. Because of the lecture time, I had to leave with almost half the meat uneaten.

When I apologized for not finishing the food he’d kindly bought, Darrin said he’d buy it for me again next time, and I should eat properly then.

I guess he’s a merchant guild leader. His generosity was indeed out of the ordinary.

Anyway, I am now at Miret Academy.

Even though it was late, there were many people in the main building. Apparently, the head of the academic society was holding some kind of banquet to commemorate a new technology announcement, which seemed to be drawing the crowd.

But my interest wasn’t there, so I headed straight for the annex.

Unlike the main building, which was teeming with people, the annex was deserted, with only dust rolling around. The interior was so eerily quiet that it wouldn’t have been surprising if a ghost appeared.

I brushed down my sleeves and climbed the stairs. My destination was the outdoor banquet hall on the roof.

“…There’s no one here.”

Even after arriving at the rooftop, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

However, something on the empty outdoor banquet stage—probably meant for an orchestra performance—caught my eye.

As if drawn, I approached it.

It was covered in a black waterproof tarp and showed the outline of a long cylinder, about as long as my arm span.

I was certain. This was the telescope that had lured me here.

The pleasant thumping of my heart echoed through my blood vessels and resonated all the way to my cochlea.

*Clack.*

Just then, I heard the sound of leather shoes from behind. I turned my head toward the noise.

A man wearing obviously high-quality suit and wire-rimmed glasses was approaching me.

He saw me and pressed his palm firmly against his temple, a hint of irritation in the gesture.

*That must be Baron Bron.*

I guessed as much and was about to greet him.

“…Why are you here?”

What kind of greeting is that?

“Isn’t there a lecture here?”

“That’s right.”

But what… I was so dumbfounded I was momentarily speechless.

Meanwhile, Baron Bron passed by me and climbed onto the stage.

Up close, I could see his dark circles were shockingly deep. He reminded me of the clerk I saw during my reincarnation process.

“I told them no one would come if it was held at this hour.”

He slid closer to me, standing below the stage, and looked me up and down.

Then, as if deciding he didn’t need to bother with formalities, he plopped down onto the stage floor.

I stared with my mouth agape at his dangling legs.

*Seriously, what is this guy?*

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

“His Highness the Crown Prince? No, I didn’t know.”

So it was true that the Crown Prince was very interested in this event.

“If you feel like going over there, say so now. I’ll send you off.”

“I don’t really want to go…”

It seemed the Baron desperately wanted me to head over there, but unfortunately, I couldn’t comply.

I came all this way to piggyback on this world’s Galileo Galilei’s achievements; there’s no way I’d give up just because of the Crown Prince.

“Why?”

He looked utterly despairing.

However, I resolutely pointed to the telescope behind him.

“I came all the way here because I was told there would be a demonstration of that. I’m not interested in anything else.”

“Why?”

“Because I like looking at the night sky.”

“You came here just for that reason?”

*This bastard?*

I was annoyed, but frustratingly, he was a noble. I unfocused my eyes and smiled.

“Isn’t that reason enough?”

At my answer, Baron Bron pressed his lips tightly together.

“Haa…”

Letting out a deep sigh, he sluggishly got up from his seat. Despite his seemingly apathetic demeanor, he removed the tarp with swift and precise movements.

The model of an early astronomical telescope, which I had only ever seen in educational videos, was revealed. My heart began to dance to an excited rhythm, feeling as if I had stepped into the 17th century.

After fiddling with the telescope here and there, he spoke in a lackluster tone.

“Come up.”

Finally!

I quickly climbed up and stood beside him.

“Have you read my book?”

“The one you recently published, ‘Optics’? Yes.”

I had given up on reading the other treatises I’d bought, but I had forced myself to finish that one.

“Then there’s no need for further explanation.”

“…Huh? I didn’t understand half of it, you know.”

“You understood half. That’s enough. Let’s look at the moon first.”

He adjusted the telescope’s angle, speaking while placing his eye to the eyepiece.

For reference, this planet could be considered a twin of Earth, where I used to live. Whether the author lacked creativity or not, the language used and the laws of physics were remarkably similar to Earth’s.

It was good for me, though; less headache.

“Alright, done. Just put your eye here now.”

Filled with anticipation, I put my eye to the eyepiece.

The universe I had walked through before I reincarnated. If I could see even a fragment of that ecstasy I had never forgotten, even in my dreams, I would achieve all my reasons for coming here.

“Oh…”

The first thing I saw was the rugged surface of the moon. The edges were hazy, but the lunar maria were clearly visible in the center.

And what else was there…

*Zzzzt…*

There was a noise, like a radio connection being established.

‘…Wait, noise?’

*Since when did telescopes have a function to convert cosmic radio waves into sound?*

My entire body stiffened at this phenomenon that defied all my common sense.

-Ah, we’re finally connected, Hee-ju!

A familiar halo suddenly popped into the telescope’s view.

*That’s what I saw when I reincarnated. Why is that coming out of here?*

*CRASH!*

“Holy shit!”

“Holy… shit…?”

“Ah, that’s just an exclamation of awe because it’s so beautiful. This is how we usually express it in my hometown.”

I was so flustered that I sold out my hometown without a second thought.

Pressing my startled heart, I picked myself up from where I’d fallen backward and pressed my eye back to the eyepiece.

*I must have seen it wrong because I was tired,* I thought.

-Considering the human lifespan, it must have been a long time from your perspective, Hee-ju. I am truly, truly glad to see you again. I’ve been waiting for a moment to talk briefly.

But my hopes were easily shattered.

Without anyone touching it, the magnification automatically decreased, showing the full whale-shaped lunar mare.

-Don’t worry, my voice is only audible to you, Hee-ju. Stay calm and keep your eye on the lens.

And there, in front of the moon, was the guide from the Reincarnation Management Bureau, calling my name from decades ago.

His presence looked as disjointed from the background as a collage made of cut-out magazine clippings.

The clerk I hadn’t seen in a long time looked very different from the seemingly emotionless one back then—he seemed highly strung, and his face was gaunt.

-You don’t need to answer out loud; just thinking it will convey your words to me. If you understand, blink your eyes twice in a row.

*Blink. Blink.* I followed his instruction, trying to hold onto my reeling consciousness.

I hadn’t even recovered from the shock of meeting the protagonist yesterday, and today I meet the clerk who helped me reincarnate after I died.

‘In Korean terms, wouldn’t this be like the grim reaper who took you away coming back to visit?’

Thinking that, I suddenly missed the sacred power of Ion that had been calming me.