TRPM 452

chapter 452

As I left home and headed in the direction of my maternal grandparents’ house, I wondered how I should ask the people there about past events.

Going up to them directly and asking would be one way, but in that case, they might only reveal facts that are favorable to themselves.

So…

‘I guess I’ll have to either secretly eavesdrop on their conversations or use some sort of spell or mental magic to make them spill the information.’

Sneaking into someone’s house to listen in or manipulating their mind isn’t exactly something I’m eager to do.

Ah, it’s not that I can’t, just that I’m not particularly keen. I’ve done things like this more than a few times before.

It’s just that…

‘The people I’ve used mental magic or snuck into before were mostly villains that anyone could recognize as bad.’

Not that there were never exceptions.

Still, I wanted to avoid doing something like this to people who haven’t yet been confirmed as villains.

“Still… I have to do it.”

I climbed to the rooftop of a building that had a view of my maternal grandparents’ house in the distance.

Even though I could see the house, it was mostly just the roof peeking over other buildings—but that was enough.

I didn’t intend to cast any complex spells.

‘Alright… let’s see.’

I focused on my maternal grandfather and began casting a spell.

There were many people in the house, but the one who had lived there the longest would undoubtedly be my grandfather.

He was likely the person who knew best about the events that happened between my mother and my maternal family.

‘Let’s try a light homospecific spell.’

I took out a notebook and pretended to be reading something.

According to my perception, my grandfather was currently in his room looking at some sort of book.

Homospecific spells work best when I match the state of the person I’m targeting as closely as possible.

‘Besides, even if we’ve only met today, I am, after all, his grandson. That means the blood flowing from him runs in me.’

Even a light spell like this wasn’t hard for me to perform, but with that connection, the spell worked even better.

The fact that I could see exactly what my grandfather was seeing confirmed this.

‘I thought he was reading a book, but it’s an album.’

My grandfather was looking at a photo album.

His gaze lingered particularly on a photo of a young girl.

Considering what happened today, that girl was probably my mother as a child.

‘Looking closely, there are some similarities with my mother now.’

Thinking that, I moved on to the next step of the spell.

If I stayed at this stage, I’d just be watching my grandfather look at the album without getting the information I wanted.

“Alright…”

I began delving into my grandfather’s memories.

It wasn’t easy. Humans tend to forget even recent events.

For someone to perfectly remember things from before I was born… at least sixteen years ago—would be impossible.

Perhaps because of what happened today, he was revisiting past events, so his memories were relatively clear.

The timeline was messy, and some minor details were forgotten, but I could grasp the gist of what had happened.

“Was this memory first? Or maybe that one came first.”

I used the notebook I had brought for the spell to organize the memories I observed.

Excluding the fine details…

• My mother started college as an adult and simultaneously founded a business using her own savings.

• My grandfather and other family members approved of the act of starting a business, but they believed the field my mother had chosen was unlikely to sustain a long-term business.

• Their interference prevented my mother from focusing, and she eventually had to close the business and sell it cheaply to my eldest uncle.

• Shortly after, the business, including the one sold to my eldest uncle, became very successful. Coincidentally, my grandfather and the family ended up giving a thriving business that had been my mother’s to my eldest uncle.

• Angry about this, my mother was told by my grandfather that he would no longer interfere, and she said she didn’t expect any support from him.

…That’s the general flow.

Judging only by my grandfather’s memories, it didn’t seem like the family intended this, but circumstances made it look as if the maternal relatives conspired to take my mother’s business and hand it over to my eldest uncle.

“At least my mom believed that.”

The maternal relatives had tried to explain that they had no such intention, but my mother likely saw it as a weak excuse.

And, most importantly…

‘The reason the maternal relatives are doing well now is thanks to the clothing business my mother handed to my eldest uncle.’

Currently, that clothing business has my eldest uncle as the CEO, with several other relatives working there.

The business my mother built by hiring employees one by one had now become a family enterprise.

“…What should I do?”

From my mother’s perspective, the problem was that her maternal relatives had entirely taken over her business.

Resolving this misunderstanding… would not be easy.

Even if the misunderstanding was cleared up, it would still cause problems. Two decades of resentment wouldn’t dissolve that easily.

Not just for my mother—the maternal relatives were also involved.

‘Even my younger uncle feels this way. He feels sorry for my mother but is also angry at her attitude.’

My mother’s refusal to hear the family’s explanations had built up a lot of frustration on their side as well.

Perhaps, as my mother told my grandfather…

“Not interfering with each other might be the best solution for everyone.”

After confirming the general truth, I ate dinner and lay on my bed, pondering silently.

Should I try to clear up the misunderstanding? Or should I just leave it alone?

Some might say I should do everything possible to clear it up, but in this case, trying to resolve the misunderstanding could hurt both sides.

So leaving it as it is could also be a solution.

“Tch… thinking about this during the holiday…”

I turned over on my bed.

I decided to stop thinking so hard and just sleep.

Knock, knock.

“?”

Someone knocked on my door.

Who could it be at this hour?

I had an idea.

‘Since I didn’t hear the doorbell, it must be someone who was already at home… like my mother, or perhaps Sofia or Yeon Mirae who had dinner with us.’

Thinking that, I grabbed the doorknob lazily and opened the door.

I was too lazy to get up or tell them to come in.

Yeon Mirae would probably make a funny face if she saw me doing this, but I let it slide.

“You’re already on the bed? You should’ve washed up first…”

“I washed with magic.”

With a cleanliness spell, you can get cleaner than a normal shower.

Some people prefer washing with water because magic doesn’t give them the same sense of cleanliness, but I didn’t mind.

“So, what’s up?”

I asked Sofia, who had entered my room.

“I came to give a mid-report on the task you assigned earlier today.”

“Hmm? Oh, investigating my mother’s past? You already have results?”

“The hacker said that many people had requested past investigations on you and your mother before. So most of the necessary data had already been copied and stored.”

“……”

I didn’t know whether to feel annoyed that many people, including that hacker, had accessed my and my mother’s past, or glad that the investigation was fast.

“Additionally, we could pay extra to get a list of those who investigated the past. What do you want to do?”

“You can? I’m not familiar with that industry. Is that okay?”

“Normally, requests are made through hidden brokers. But to prepare for being double-crossed, they check the identities of both the broker and client.”

“… That hacker told you all of this?”

“…Ah, I forgot to mention that first.”

That hacker is a friend of mine from the same facility.

“…Hmm?”

“The one I saw at Shinsegye last Children’s Day. That friend is the hacker. They make money that way.”

…Ah, that makes sense.

Sofia had come to Korea only last year, so having hacker connections here probably required this method.

“I haven’t told Artist yet, but the reason I’ve been saving money recently is also because of that friend. They want to move to avoid the broker finding their current address. They also need a lump sum for equipment, so I’m helping.”

Enough about my friend…

“Here’s the material regarding the incident you were looking for. It’s from shortly before your mother became independent from her generation, so it should be reliable.”

“Thanks.”

Thanks to Sofia and her hacker friend, I was able to confirm the information about my mother handing over her clothing business to my eldest uncle.

“Oh, and your mother said she wants to spend this evening playing with you.”

“…Huh?”

My mother?

“Yes.”

“Suddenly?”

“She said she wants to play Hwatu with us.”

Because it’s the holiday.

“She thinks the reason you asked about your maternal family is that you want to enjoy the holiday.”

“Hmm…”

Maybe my mother had already guessed I had returned.

“Apparently, she’s been worried that you were longing to see all your relatives gathered together.”

“Could be…”

I had only asked Yeon Mirae that my maternal family lived in our neighborhood.

“So, Artist, come along. Oh, you know how to play Hwatu, right?”

“I know the rules… but do you know, Sofia?”

“Of course I do.”

Wait, you’re American. How do you know Hwatu?

“Stop assuming Americans don’t know Hwatu.”

“…Ah, right.”

So Sofia and I went to the living room where my mother and Yeon Mirae were waiting and played Hwatu.

Just like adults from other families playing Hwatu together during the holidays.

By the way…

“Mom…”

“Yes?”

“Were you a master gambler back in the day?”

If we had played for money, Yeon Mirae, Sofia, and I would have lost everything to my mother.

She was that good at Hwatu.