TRPM 129

chapter 129

As time passed, Yeon Mirae returned from the police station.

But her expression was unusual—like she had just heard something completely unexpected.

“What’s wrong?”

Rachel, noticing Yeon Mirae’s look, asked her. What could she have heard to make her look like that?

“… First, about why they targeted that dessert shop in particular—it seems it was just out of jealousy. Among the criminals, there was someone who ran a dessert café. Apparently, when they were deciding on a target, that person suggested going after that shop.”

So they planned the crime first, then picked the place afterward.

That meant the identity of the victim didn’t matter much to them at all.

“And as for how they knew you, Artist-nim, were in Japan…”

They mentioned the word Oracle.

“… Oracle?”

“Yes. A group that introduced themselves as ‘Oracle’ supposedly contacted their leader and pushed them to commit a crime in Korea.”

They claimed their organization’s name was Oracle…

“Are you sure about that?”

“Judging by the polygraph responses, at the very least, they themselves seemed to believe it.”

That was Yeon Mirae’s answer to Chairman Shin Han-ji’s question.

But everyone present knew.

They said their organization’s name was Oracle?

If this “Oracle” was the same Oracle they knew, that made no sense.

“No way.”

“The Oracle we know… sure, there’s a leader called Oracle, but…”

It was never the actual name of their organization.

I only ever called them “the Oracle organization” for convenience. In truth, whether that group even had a formal name was unclear.

So if this case really was orchestrated by Oracle, they wouldn’t have said their organization was named Oracle.

That meant some other group, impersonating Oracle, had pulled the strings.

Besides, the very existence of Oracle was only known to those in fairly high positions, and the name “Oracle” itself was known to even fewer.

Which meant this impersonating group either had exceptionally strong intelligence-gathering ability—

Or they were a powerful underworld organization themselves.

The reason such people would impersonate Oracle and orchestrate crimes like this…

“I can only think it’s because they wanted to screw Oracle over…”

At my words, Yeon Mirae, Arthur, and Chairman Shin Han-ji all nodded in agreement.

But Rachel, not quite understanding, asked Arthur,

“(They wanted to screw Oracle over? How does that make sense?)”

“(When you put all the clues together, that’s the only conclusion.)”

The criminals who carried out the attack had been far too sloppy.

It was clear the organization behind them was just using them as disposable pawns.

Disposable pawns meant to get caught by the police—and then leak information pointing to Oracle as the mastermind.

“(In truth, Oracle had nothing to do with this. But if the police believe it? And if the dessert shop’s manager and employees—the victims themselves—hear that? Then Oracle’s existence, which so far hasn’t been known to civilians, will inevitably spread.)”

Revealing Oracle’s existence to the world.

That was probably the true purpose of the organization behind this case.

It wasn’t as though they gained anything directly from it—so the only explanation was that they simply wanted to hurt Oracle.

“So, in a way, the enemy of our enemy? Since the ones behind this incident also oppose Oracle…”

“There’s that old saying, ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend,’ but in this case, I don’t think that applies.”

Sure, Oracle clashing with a crime syndicate was something I welcomed.

But that didn’t mean I’d side with criminals just because they wanted to bring Oracle down.

I’d rather they just fought each other until both were weakened.

“With this, I think the mystery is pretty much solved.”

Chairman Shin Han-ji summed it up.

That was true.

We still didn’t know exactly who was behind it, but at least we had a picture of why the dessert shop was attacked.

At the very least, there was no need to worry about it being attacked again.

That evening.

Back in my real body, I was eating a strawberry parfait with my mom, which I had brought home from the dessert shop.

“It’s delicious, but… wasn’t it expensive? Was your allowance enough for this?”

“Yeah. I’ve been saving up—I don’t usually spend it.”

Right now, as a middle schooler, I officially had no income.

Sure, I could get a part-time job, but I didn’t bother.

Spending that time cultivating energy in my room—where I had a magic circle set up to gather mana—was much more productive.

That’s why it wasn’t strange that my mom found it odd for me to suddenly buy parfaits.

Of course, it wasn’t that I had no source of income at all. I had quite a bit of wealth set aside. But my mom didn’t know that.

“… Is that so? Still, I didn’t know there were shops that sold parfaits these days.”

She muttered in wonder.

After all, parfait shops had mostly disappeared in Korea.

I knew it was because they were complicated to make, and the profit margins weren’t worth the effort.

Not that it really mattered to us.

I was thinking that while watching the news—

[Our next story. An awakened individual has declared himself to possess multiple types of abilities, essentially a multi-ability user.]

“?”

I turned immediately to the screen, parfait spoon still in my mouth.

‘… Before my regression, when was it that Lee Ha-eun—Serenity—first became famous as the world’s first multi-ability user?’

I remembered it happening back when I was in middle or high school, though the exact date escaped me.

But one thing I knew for sure—

This was earlier than before my regression.

[This awakened individual from the Czech Republic declared himself both a mage and a psychic, and the Prague Awakeners’ Association has confirmed it. The World Awakener Association has summoned him to headquarters for verification. In about two days, they will officially announce whether or not he is truly a multi-ability user.]

Czech Republic…

Yes, before my regression, a multi-ability user had appeared there too.

I couldn’t remember his face, but chances were this man was the same one.

‘Makes sense. Lee Ha-eun awakened as a multi-ability user nearly ten years ago, so there are bound to be people who still don’t know—or who hid it even if they did. It’s not strange for one to appear a little earlier this time around.’

In this timeline, that man would probably take the title of “first multi-ability user.”

That’s what I thought, until—

[Experts say that if the existence of multi-ability users is officially recognized, then the true first may actually be Artist. Given his confirmed abilities so far, it’s possible he wields not only aura but also mana, and even psychic powers such as telekinesis.]

I hadn’t expected to be named.

Not that I could blame them.

They probably thought I had telekinesis because of the Myriad Blossom Dance I used when I first appeared as Artist, and the sword techniques I kept using afterward to prevent impostors.

As for thinking I had mana—that was probably because of the magic I used during the Beast Frenzy incident caused by Kim Baek-rang.

I would’ve preferred if they had attributed it to my sword instead of me, but the world doesn’t always work the way I want.

‘Or maybe word got out when I used spells in front of those strong fighters in Japan.’

Anyway.

The truth was I wasn’t a multi-ability user. But I couldn’t really fault people for assuming.

“Hmm… Son? Is being a multi-ability user really that amazing?”

“Huh? Well… since it’s the first time, people think so. One person being able to use multiple powers is impressive, after all.”

To my mom, a civilian with no understanding of awakened abilities, it didn’t make sense why the news was making such a fuss.

… Honestly, even knowing the future, I felt much the same.

People might think a multi-ability user would automatically be stronger, but that wasn’t true.

Of all the multi-ability users I knew from before regression, only a tiny handful—like Lee Ha-eun—ever reached a truly high level.

‘It’s because spreading yourself thin across multiple abilities slows down your growth compared to others.’

Even if one ability grew, others would naturally increase in energy quality and quantity—but the techniques themselves still had to be trained individually.

That was why I had told Lee Ha-eun never to use aura, never to try learning aura techniques.

She had awakened aura, but had no talent for wielding it.

Still, as her mana grew, the aura in her body increased too, which was why she was able to use it to tame Fenrir—our Sarang.

Anyway.

“So son, being a multi-ability user—is that greater than being an Aura Master?”

“No, it’s not.”

I answered honestly while continuing to watch the news.

“Multi-ability user,” huh. For now, they’d call it that. Later it would shift to “multi-class awakened.”

Personally, I thought “multi-ability user” was clearer.

But since I’d used “multi-class” longer, I was more comfortable with that term.

“(At last, a multi-ability user has appeared.)”

“(Yes, just as you foresaw, Oracle-nim.)”

At Oracle’s words, one of her subordinates praised her.

But Oracle’s expression was far from pleased.

‘(… The first multi-ability user… was supposed to be a woman.)’

Until now, Oracle had only told her subordinates that one would appear—never exactly who.

So they believed her foresight was correct.

But—

‘(Did my foresight… fail?)’

She was shaken.

It wasn’t unusual for her foresight to yield no visions at all—but for it to be wrong? This was the first time.

Of course, she didn’t show it.

Her position as leader rested entirely on her ability to foresee.

If her subordinates realized that her foresight could be wrong, would they still accept her as their leader?

‘(No… impossible.)’

And so Oracle kept her turmoil to herself, bearing the weight of her doubt in silence.